The best free applicant tracking systems (ATS) give users all the basics to find top talent and nurture them through the interviewing process from one central location.
I reviewed seven ATS platforms to land on the top five free ATS providers for small- to mid-size businesses. Here are the providers reviewed in the final top free ATS list:
Top 5 Free ATS
Overall score
Best for
Career site in free plan

Breezy HR
3.7
Best for diversity-promoting and bias-reducing candidate sourcing
Yes
Why you can trust my advice
I have spent over a decade consulting small, medium, and large businesses on business technology. During much of that time, I specialized in reviewing and producing user guides on HR software, including ATS platforms. In doing so, I have tested dozens of software and have developed a feel for what works and what doesn’t for small- to mid-size businesses when it comes to HR software, including what products are best for specific use cases.
I used the following criteria to judge each software on this list, including its place and inclusion. In each category, scoring was based on our overall rubric that looks at several to a dozen features in each category. In addition, the rubric considered my expert scoring based on my first-hand testing of the product. I also compared each provider against top competitors to determine its best use case while considering its strengths and weaknesses.
Candidate sourcing and management: 30%
For this criteria, I honed in on each software’s ability to source top job candidates and successfully nurture them through the recruiting and hiring process. To do so, I looked at whether the platform offers the ability to customize the process to each company’s needs. I also looked for features that make decision-making easier, such as robust reporting, automated workflow alerts, and candidate match scoring.
Pricing: 25%
When scoring each provider for pricing, I primarily looked at the ATS’s free plan, including if it offered critical features such as resume parsing and extra features such as third-party integrations and social media job postings. I also considered the value offered for the price point in each software’s paid-tiered plans.
Platform and interface: 20%
I tested each software to determine its ease of use and efficiency. In doing so, I looked for a clean interface that was easy to navigate via properly placed links, menus, and action buttons. I also looked for step-by-step processes that were intuitive and easy to complete within the platform. Finally, I considered how easy training a team in each platform’s usage would be.
Support: 15%
To score each provider, I considered the channels, hours, responsiveness, and knowledge level of its customer service team. I also evaluated each provider for helpful tutorials and live training options.
User scores: 10%
This criteria takes into account how users rate the software on popular user review sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. In doing so, I considered the software’s star ratings on each platform, in addition to the number of reviews listed.
Software reviewed
- Breezy HR.
- Zoho Recruit.
- MightyRecruiter.
- Loxo.
- monday work management.
- Indeed.
- Jobsoid.

MightyRecruiter: Best for diverse candidate sourcing
Overall Score
3.78/5
User scores
3.19/5
Pricing
4.5/5
Support
3.13/5
Platform/interface
1.36/5
Candidate sourcing and management
3.65/5
Pros
- All features are included in the free forever plan.
- Candidate sourcing from social media.
- Chrome extension that sources candidate contact information.
- Unlimited users and candidates.
Cons
- No extra features such as interviewing tools.
- Limited integration options.
- Limited support hours and channels.
Why I chose MightyRecruiter
MightyRecruiter is an all-in-one and completely free platform that tracks candidates and gives you tools to recruit them from diverse channels. This includes email, social media, and job posting sites. There is no limit to the accounts you can set up, candidates you can process, and users you can add to your accounts. Each account also comes with collaboration tools that allow you to communicate with candidates and share their scores and notes with your hiring team.
MightyRecruiter also lets you source candidates from its database of over 21 million resumes. When doing so, you can filter for specific search criteria like location and job experience. After, you can save resumes into candidate profiles for future reference and use. From their MightyRecruiter profile, you can email candidates of immediate interest and invite them to apply for your job.
Another means of candidate sourcing with MightyRecruiter is through a free and customizable career site. On your branded site, you can post all of your open roles, and candidates can apply there. Candidate applications and resumes are automatically entered into MightyRecruiter for your or your hiring team’s consideration.

Zoho Recruit: Best for internal recruitment management tools
Overall Score
3.7/5
User scores
4.09/5
Pricing
2.94/5
Support
3.38/5
Platform/interface
4.28/5
Candidate sourcing and management
3.98/5
Pros
- Affordable paid plans to scale up.
- Free email templates.
- Workflow alerts are available as an affordable add-on.
Cons
- Only one active job opening is available.
- Social posting is not available.
- Limited integrations.
- Video interviews are only available as an add-on per job slot.
Why I chose Zoho Recruit
I chose Zoho Recruit for its intuitive and affordable candidate management tools. Its Forever Free plan offers a free career site where you can invite potential candidates to learn more about your company and apply for jobs. I particularly like how the site’s features help companies manage candidates even before the latter reaches out. For example, candidates can use filters to ensure that the jobs they apply for suit their experience and skills. Plus, the company can also publish its values on its career page. Doing this helps cut down on candidates who aren’t likely to succeed before they even apply.
In addition, for an affordable add-on fee, you can tap into features that further streamline internal candidate management, including automated task assignments and alerts. Using this feature, custom email templates are sent out each time an alert is triggered, offering relevant details that keep everyone on track. To further ensure your team is poised to offer an efficient and positive candidate experience, the software also offers multi-personnel interview scheduling and coordination tools, including feedback notes for each stage of the interview process.
Overall, during the testing process, I found the software intuitive but not that simple to use. With its advanced features, it offers platform training within the user account. For example, you can view videos on how to set up your account and customize it to your company’s needs from the welcome dashboard. On each page, you can easily find buttons and links to guide you to the next steps.

Breezy HR: Best for diversity-promoting and bias-reducing candidate sourcing
Overall Score
3.7/5
User scores
4.17/5
Pricing
3.94/5
Support
2.88/5
Platform/interface
3.53/5
Candidate sourcing and management
3.65/5
Pros
- Free GDPR compliance and automation.
- Free resume parsing.
- Free unlimited users.
Cons
- The unlimited candidates offered in the free plan are limited to candidates added in the last 30 days.
- Limited support for free and lower-tiered plans.
- Limited free tools compared to alternatives like MightyRecruiter.
- Paid plans are expensive.
Why I chose Breezy HR
I chose Breezy HR for this list because it offers some free features that alternatives do not offer. This includes:
- A branded career site.
- Focus on GDPR compliance.
- Features that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
- Bias reduction in the job posting and hiring process.
However, I was particularly impressed by its highly customizable free career sites. It allows you to tailor all its features, connect the job site to your website domain, or even embed the same onto your company website. Furthermore, it offers a free employee referral website you can use to attract more talent, such as the top talent you already have. In doing so, you reduce job posting costs, such as the cost to post to premium job boards.
Uniquely, Breezy HR provides add-on tools for free plan users to customize the plan’s functionality. You can, for example, add a tool that allows you to remove candidates’ names, photos, gender, and other types of identifying information that could lead to hiring bias. In addition, its candidate matching score add-on allows you to reduce hiring bias by leaning on AI to match candidates to your open roles.

Loxo: Best for candidate experience
Overall Score
3.24/5
User scores
3.31/5
Pricing
3/5
Support
2.5/5
Platform/interface
3.05/5
Candidate sourcing and management
3.9/5
Pros
- Recruiting CRM available.
- Unlimited seats.
- Unlimited jobs.
- Client portal.
Cons
- No careers page.
- No reporting.
- No integrations.
- Limited customer support.
Why I chose Loxo
I chose Loxo’s ATS for this list because it uniquely combines customer relationship management (CRM) and ATS software to create a streamlined and positive candidate experience. For example, you can easily access contact information from your candidate’s Loxo CRM profile in your Loxo ATS. This makes it easy to reach out to candidates when job openings match their descriptions.
Both of these software are offered for free under Loxo. Notably, its free plan also includes a hiring manager, client portal, and resume forwarding to ensure recruiters can act quickly to create a responsive candidate experience. In addition, your activity and communication history are automatically synced in the Loxo platform, ensuring that both recruiters and hiring managers are on the same page about each candidate every step of the way.

Jobsoid: Best for multi-channel candidate sourcing
Overall Score
3.04/5
User scores
2.69/5
Pricing
3.44/5
Support
2.38/5
Platform/interface
3.03/5
Candidate sourcing and management
3.18/5
Pros
- Unlimited candidates.
- Branded careers portal.
- Mobile app.
Cons
- No live support.
- No interview scheduling.
- No email or SMS templates.
- Resume parser is only available as an add-on.
Why I chose Jobsoid
I chose Jobsoid for this best-of list due to its ability to help companies reach top job candidates across multiple channels. It allows you to post open job roles across social media sites and free and premium job boards.
When I tested the platform, I found it easy to navigate with its clean and uncluttered layout, appropriately placed widgets and buttons, and customizable features. It also offers some robust features, including processing unlimited candidates and accessing a highly customizable branded career portal even in its free plan.
When to choose a paid ATS
Free ATS is great when you’re an HR department of one and need something to organize your hiring efforts outside of a spreadsheet. But, as your hiring efforts ramp up, free ATS platforms become unwieldy. Consider a paid ATS when:
- Evaluating candidates is time-consuming: Most paid ATS offer assessments and knock-out application questions to speed up applicant evaluations.
- Hiring efficiency decreases: Paid ATS offers advanced automation, like automatic stage progressions, to speed up candidate progression through your hiring pipeline.
- Candidate experience suffers: With a paid ATS, you can automatically keep candidates informed of their progress, allow them to self-schedule interviews, and even facilitate their onboarding process.
JazzHR, for example, offers an affordable paid plan that streamlines candidate stage progression with custom workflow stages and integrations with your HRIS. Learn more by visiting our Applicant Tracking System Software Guide and JazzHR below.