HR Tech and ATS Pricing Compared: 60+ Tools (March 2026)

HR software pricing is deliberately opaque. Most vendors hide their numbers behind sales calls because pricing depends on headcount, features, and contract length — and because the variance is wide enough that publishing it would invite immediate comparison shopping.

We compiled pricing for 60+ HR tools across 8 categories — ATS, HRIS, recruiting/sourcing, onboarding, performance management, payroll, benefits admin, and L&D — all verified March 2026. We used published pricing where available, and Vendr/G2 buyer data for "contact sales" tools.

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The Per-Employee vs. Per-User Distinction

Before we get to the data: the most important thing to understand about HR software pricing is how the billing unit works.

Per-user billing (per recruiter, per HR admin, per seat): You pay for the people who use the tool. LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is $170/mo per recruiter seat. A company with 3 recruiters pays $510/mo regardless of total employee count.

Per-employee billing (per headcount): You pay based on total company size. Lever and Greenhouse charge per total company headcount — not per user. A 500-person company with 3 recruiters pays for all 500 employees.

At $6–8/employee/month, Lever costs $36,000–$48,000/year for a 500-person company — even if only 3 people open the ATS weekly.

This distinction is rarely explained upfront. Know your billing model before requesting a demo.

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ATS Pricing

Tool	Free Tier	Starter Price	Pricing Model
Breezy HR	1 active job posting	$189/mo (Startup)	Flat monthly, per-company
JazzHR	No	$99/mo (Hero, 3 active jobs)	Flat monthly, per-company
Workable	No (15-day trial)	$299/mo (Standard)	Flat, scaled by employee count
Ashby	No	$300/mo (up to 100 employees)	Flat — does not scale by headcount

Contact sales (estimated from buyer data):

Tool	Estimated Annual Cost	Pricing Model
Greenhouse	$5,100/yr (50 employees) — $70,000+/yr (500 employees)	Per-headcount
Lever	$12,240/yr (200 employees) — $63,172/yr (1,000 employees)	Per-headcount
SmartRecruiters	$14,995/yr minimum (Essential)	Contact sales
iCIMS	$30,000–$70,000/yr (500–2,500 employees)	Contact sales

Ashby's flat $300/mo for companies up to 100 employees is deliberately designed as a competitive differentiator. They don't charge per-headcount. For a 100-person company evaluating Greenhouse, the difference between $300/mo (Ashby) and $10,000+/yr (Greenhouse) is significant.

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HRIS and Core HR

Tool	Free Tier	Starter Price	Notes
Gusto	No	$49/mo + $6/employee (Simple)	Most popular SMB payroll + HR
BambooHR	No	~$150/mo (Essentials, 25 employees)	Contact sales for exact pricing
Rippling	No	~$8/user/mo	Modular — pay per product
Deel HRIS	YES — up to 200 employees	Free (HRIS); $29/employee (Global Payroll)	Core HR free, no payroll
Remote HRIS	YES — unlimited employees	Free (HRIS); $29/contractor (Contractor Mgmt)	Core HR free, no payroll
HiBob	No	Contact sales (~$6-10/employee/mo)	Mid-market focus

Deel and Remote now both offer free HRIS for core HR functionality — profiles, org chart, time off, documents. Neither includes payroll processing on the free tier. This is a direct competitive move against BambooHR and Personio at the SMB level.

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Recruiting / Sourcing Tools

Tool	Free Tier	Starter Price	Notes
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite	No	$170/mo/seat	Per-recruiter, not per-employee
LinkedIn Recruiter (Corporate)	No	~$9,000/seat/yr	Contact sales
Gem	Yes — under 30 employees	Contact sales	Free tier + startup program
HireEZ	No	Contact sales (~$10K/yr)	AI sourcing; contact sales

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite increased from $140/mo to $170/mo in 2024. This is still in effect as of March 2026.

Gem offers a startup program: free access for companies under 30 employees, then 6 months free + 50% off year 1 for qualifying startups.

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Performance Management

Tool	Free Tier	Starter Price	Notes
Lattice	No	$11/user/mo (Talent Mgmt, annual)	—
15Five	No	$4–8/user/mo (Engage); $11/user/mo (Perform)	Modular product line
Culture Amp	No	Contact sales (~$8-14/user/mo)	Mid-market and enterprise
Leapsome	No	Contact sales	Europe-focused

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2025–2026 Changes to Flag

These changes affect procurement decisions and renewal negotiations:

• Lever: Employ Inc. appointed a new CEO and CTO in February 2026. PE-backed leadership transitions often precede pricing restructures or feature rationalization. Flag for renewal negotiations.
• Entelo acquired by Rival: Now rebranded Rival Recruit. Pricing reset under new brand.
• Sapling acquired by Kallidus: Now Kallidus Sapling. Integration with Kallidus LMS underway.
• Zenefits → TriNet HR Plus: Pricing restructured post-acquisition. Existing Zenefits contracts may have been migrated.
• Deel free HRIS: Expanded to cover up to 200 employees (up from previous limit).
• Workable Agent: AI-powered hiring assistant launched March 2026 as a paid add-on to existing Workable plans.
• iCIMS: Buyers reporting 40% renewal increases in recent contract cycles. Budget accordingly.

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What's in the Full Dataset

60+ tools, 8 categories, 15 columns per row including:

• Pricing model type (per-employee, per-user, flat, modular)
• Free tier (YES/NO) with specific limits
• Starter plan name and monthly price
• Mid-tier and enterprise pricing (or estimated ranges from Vendr/G2 buyer data)
• 2025–2026 pricing changes, acquisitions, and rebrands
• Direct pricing URL for every tool, all verified March 2026

The per-employee vs. per-user distinction is explicitly labeled for every tool in the dataset — the single most important data point for budgeting HR software accurately.

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All pricing verified March 2026. Contact-sales estimates sourced from Vendr buyer data and G2 contract reports — treat enterprise estimates as ranges, not list prices.