Editor’s note: This guide is for recruiters, Talent Acquisition teams, HR managers, recruitment agencies and founders comparing ATS software to manage hiring pipelines, candidates, interviews and recruiter workflows.
Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. If you use them, HR Jobs Hub may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only include tools that may be useful for HR, recruiting and hiring teams.
Compare ATS tools before your hiring pipeline gets messy
If your hiring process is spread across emails, spreadsheets, job boards, WhatsApp messages and recruiter notes, an ATS can help you manage candidates, interviews, follow-ups and hiring decisions in one place.
Table of Contents
What is ATS software?
ATS software, or Applicant Tracking System software, helps recruiters and hiring teams manage candidates through the hiring process.
A good ATS can help with job postings, candidate pipelines, interview stages, recruiter notes, hiring manager collaboration, automation, email templates, reporting and offer workflows.
For recruiters and HR teams, the right ATS should reduce manual follow-ups, keep candidate data organized and make it easier to move applicants from application to interview to offer.
Quick Picks: Best ATS Software for Recruiters
| Best for | Tool | Why consider it? | CTA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruiters and HR teams needing a structured ATS | Zoho Recruit | Good for candidate tracking, hiring pipelines and recruiter workflows. | View offer |
| Small and mid-sized teams wanting a modern hiring pipeline | Breezy HR | Useful for visual pipelines, automation, collaboration and candidate communication. | Start trial |
| Recruitment agencies and staffing teams | Manatal | ATS plus recruitment CRM-style workflows for agencies and hiring teams. | Start trial |
| Recruiters wanting AI-assisted workflow automation | CoRecruit | Helpful for reducing recruiter admin, notes and communication follow-ups. | View offer |
| Lightweight hiring workflow tracking | Monday.com | Useful for simple hiring pipelines, onboarding checklists and recruiting project workflows. | Try Monday.com |
ATS Tool Reviews
Featured pick
Zoho Recruit: Best for recruiters and HR teams that need a structured ATS
Zoho Recruit is an applicant tracking system for recruiters and hiring teams that want to manage candidates, job openings, hiring stages and recruiter workflows in one place.
- Best fit: recruiters, HR teams and growing hiring teams
- Useful for: candidate tracking, hiring pipelines, interviews and recruiter workflows
- Buyer intent: teams moving away from spreadsheets or manual candidate tracking
- Perk: $100 wallet credits, valid 60 days, as listed on HR Jobs Hub
Breezy HR
Best for: Small and mid-sized hiring teams that want a visual ATS with recruiting automation.
What it does: Helps teams post jobs, manage candidates in pipelines, collaborate with hiring managers and automate parts of the recruiting workflow.
Good fit if: Your team wants a modern ATS that is easier to scan than spreadsheets and helps recruiters move candidates through stages faster.
Perk: 14-day free trial + Breezy Intelligence credits, as listed by HR Jobs Hub.
Start Breezy HR TrialManatal
Best for: Recruitment agencies, staffing firms and hiring teams that want ATS plus recruitment CRM workflows.
What it does: Helps teams manage candidate pipelines, recruiter activity, collaboration and hiring workflows in a cloud-based ATS.
Good fit if: You manage many candidates, clients or job openings and need a more structured recruiting system than spreadsheets or email folders.
Perk: 14-day free trial, no credit card required, as listed by HR Jobs Hub.
Start Manatal TrialCoRecruit
Best for: Recruitment agencies and recruiters that want AI-assisted recruiting workflow automation.
What it does: Helps unify recruiter communications across video, mobile and VoIP into ATS-integrated intelligence.
Good fit if: Your recruiters spend too much time on notes, updates and manual follow-ups across different communication tools.
Perk: Free trial + 25% off annual plan, as listed by HR Jobs Hub.
View CoRecruit OfferMonday.com
Best for: Teams that want a lightweight way to manage hiring projects, recruiting tasks and onboarding checklists.
What it does: Helps teams manage tasks, workflows, approvals, hiring pipelines, onboarding checklists and recurring team processes.
Good fit if: You do not need a full ATS yet, but want a cleaner way to track hiring stages, responsibilities and recruiter follow-ups.
Perk: Unlimited time on free plan + $30 off/month on Pro plan.
Try Monday.comHow to choose ATS software
Before choosing an ATS, ask these questions:
How many roles do you hire for every month?
Are you hiring for your own company or for multiple clients?
Do you need a simple candidate pipeline or a full recruitment CRM?
Will hiring managers need access to review candidates and leave feedback?
Do you need automation for emails, reminders, interview stages or candidate updates?
Does the ATS integrate with your job boards, careers page, email and HR tools?
Do you need reporting on source quality, time-to-fill, recruiter activity and hiring stages?
Want to compare more HR software categories?
This guide focuses on ATS and recruiting tools. If you also want to compare HRMS, payroll, background verification, global hiring, HR analytics, LMS, compensation and time tracking tools, use our full HR software comparison guide.
Compare All HR Software DealsFAQ: ATS Software for Recruiters and HR Teams
What is the best ATS software for recruiters?
The best ATS depends on your hiring workflow. Zoho Recruit is useful for recruiters and HR teams that need structured candidate tracking. Breezy HR is useful for visual pipelines and hiring automation. Manatal is useful for recruitment agencies that need ATS plus CRM-style workflows.
What is the best ATS for recruitment agencies?
Recruitment agencies should compare Manatal, Zoho Recruit and CoRecruit. Manatal is useful for ATS plus recruitment CRM workflows, Zoho Recruit is useful for structured candidate tracking and CoRecruit is useful for agencies that want AI-assisted recruiter workflow automation.
What is the difference between an ATS and a recruitment CRM?
An ATS helps manage candidates through the hiring process. A recruitment CRM helps manage relationships with candidates, clients, prospects and talent pools over a longer period. Recruitment agencies often need both ATS and CRM-style workflows.
Can Monday.com be used as an ATS?
Monday.com is not a traditional ATS, but small teams can use it to track hiring stages, tasks, onboarding checklists and recruiting workflows. If you need full candidate management, job posting, resume parsing, interview workflows and recruiting reports, a dedicated ATS may be better.
Which ATS is best for small businesses?
Small businesses can start with tools like Zoho Recruit or Breezy HR if they want a dedicated ATS. If hiring volume is low and the team only needs simple tracking, Monday.com can work as a lightweight hiring workflow tracker.
Choose an ATS before candidate tracking becomes chaotic
Compare ATS tools by hiring volume, recruiter workflow, agency needs, automation, collaboration and available perks before starting a trial or moving your hiring process into a new system.