Best Hiring Software
Best ATS for Small Business in 2026
Quick answer: AvaHR at $99/mo is the best ATS for most small businesses, offering the lowest serious entry price with job board distribution included — but Breezy HR overtakes it past about three concurrent roles thanks to unlimited positions and users from $157/mo, and Breezy's free tier is the best no-cost option if you only ever hire one role at a time.
Most "best ATS" lists are written for companies with recruiters. A small business has a different problem: the owner or an office manager is doing the hiring between other work, applications arrive from four places at once, and nobody is going to spend a week configuring software.
So the criteria change. What matters is entry price, whether job board posting is included, how many jobs you can run at once, and whether a second person can log in without an upgrade.
What it costs, side by side
| Platform | Typical monthly cost | Billed as |
|---|---|---|
| AvaHR | $99–$457/mo | Flat per plan |
| Breezy HR | $0–$439/mo | Flat per plan |
| JazzHR | ~$83–$459/mo | Flat per plan |
| Zoho Recruit | €0–€50/recruiter/mo | Per recruiter seat |
| WizeHire | $249–$549/mo | Flat per plan |
| CareerPlug | Not published | Flat per plan, unlimited users |
| Workable | $299–$719/mo | Flat per plan, banded by headcount |
| Greenhouse | Not published | Custom quote |
Pricing above was taken from each provider's own pricing page in August 2026. Always confirm the current numbers before buying — hiring software pricing changes often, and the three billing models in this category (flat per plan, per recruiter seat, and per employee on your payroll) make headline prices hard to compare without doing the arithmetic for your own headcount and number of open roles.
The short version
AvaHR — best for most small businesses, $99/mo. The lowest serious entry price, and unusually for this tier, nothing important is held back: 100+ job boards, branded careers page, resume parser and unlimited candidates are on every plan including Lite. Built around trades and local service businesses, which shows in how little setup it expects.
The catch, and it is a real one: Lite is one user and 3 live jobs. The moment a second manager needs to review candidates you are on Plus at $165/mo. Budget for that if more than one person hires.
Breezy HR — best free option, and best value past three roles. The Bootstrap plan is genuinely free forever with unlimited users and 50+ job boards, limited to one active position at a time. If you hire one role, fill it, then hire the next, that is a complete answer at no cost. Paid Startup at $157/mo removes the position cap entirely and still includes unlimited users — which makes it cheaper than AvaHR Plus once you are running several roles with several reviewers.
Zoho Recruit — best if you already use Zoho, from €25/recruiter/mo. Solid and cheap per seat. Watch the job caps, which are per licence: 10 active jobs on Standard, 20 on Enterprise.
JazzHR — cheapest headline price, at a cost. Hero is $1,000/year, roughly $83/mo, the lowest on this page. But it is deliberately thin: no structured interviews, no automation, and offers and eSignatures only appear on the $5,508/year Pro tier. The tier most people end up wanting is Plus at ~$290/mo.
Two that market hard to small business but are not cheap
WizeHire starts at $249/mo for the same 3 active postings AvaHR gives you for $99, with $99/mo per additional job. You are paying for the hand-holding — job templates, DISC assessments, actual human hiring coaches. Genuinely valuable if you want coaching; poor value if you do not.
CareerPlug does not publish prices, so you have to talk to sales to find out. Worth noting in its favour: no per-user charge on any plan, so every hiring manager can have an account free. Both billing options are 12-month commitments, and monthly billing is only offered on its top tier.
What to skip
Greenhouse and Workable are good products aimed above you. Workable's floor is $299/mo. Greenhouse quotes through sales and assumes someone owns the system as part of their job. Neither is a mistake at 200 employees; both are at 15.
How to choose in five minutes
- Count concurrent roles at your busiest. Not per year — at once. Most small-business plans cap live jobs, and this is the number that decides your tier.
- Count who needs to log in. If it is one person, AvaHR Lite at $99 is hard to beat. If it is three, Breezy's unlimited-users model changes the maths.
- Check job board distribution is included, not sold as premium postings on top. AvaHR bundles 100+, Breezy 50+.
- Try the free tier first. Breezy's costs nothing and will tell you within a week whether an ATS solves your actual problem.
Pricing
| Platform | Plans | What that actually gets you |
|---|---|---|
| AvaHR | Lite $99 · Plus $165 · Premium $332 · Max $457+ | Per month, billed monthly; annual billing saves up to 17%. Unlimited candidates on every plan. Lite covers 3 live jobs and 1 user; Plus 50 jobs and 5 users; Premium unlimited jobs and 25 users. 7-day free trial. |
| Breezy HR | Bootstrap $0 · Startup $157 · Growth $273 · Business $439 | Per month; annual billing includes 2 months free. Unlimited users on every plan, including the free Bootstrap tier — but Bootstrap allows only 1 active position at a time. SMS and Breezy Intelligence are paid add-ons on all tiers. 14-day trial. |
| Zoho Recruit | Free €0 · Standard €25 · Enterprise €50 | Per recruiter per month, billed annually (EUR pricing shown; check your region). Active jobs are capped per licence: 1 on Free, 10 on Standard, 20 on Enterprise. 15-day trial and a 45-day money-back guarantee. |
| JazzHR | Hero $1,000/yr · Plus $3,480/yr · Pro $5,508/yr | Billed annually; monthly billing is available and costs up to 24% more. Hero starts at 3 job postings/month; Plus allows up to 200 active jobs. Offers & eSignatures are Pro-only. Some features are consumption-billed on top of the plan. |
| WizeHire | Quickstart $249 · Growth $549 · Concierge custom | Per month; annual billing gives 2 months free. Quickstart covers up to 3 active job postings, Growth up to 6. Extra jobs are $99/mo each and extra locations $349/mo, so cost climbs quickly if you hire in several markets. |
| CareerPlug | Limited · Hire · Grow — prices not published | CareerPlug publishes plan tiers but not prices. Notably there is no per-user charge on any plan, so you can add every hiring manager for free. Both monthly and annual billing are 12-month commitments, and monthly billing is only offered on the top Grow tier. 14-day Grow trial, once per account lifetime. |
Pricing above was taken from each provider's own pricing page in August 2026. Always confirm the current numbers before buying — hiring software pricing changes often, and the three billing models in this category (flat per plan, per recruiter seat, and per employee on your payroll) make headline prices hard to compare without doing the arithmetic for your own headcount and number of open roles.
Frequently asked questions
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that collects job applications in one place, moves candidates through hiring stages, and handles the job postings, screening, and communication around that — instead of tracking applicants in an email inbox or a spreadsheet.
What is the best option for this use case?
AvaHR is our top pick for this use case, based on setup time, pricing, and how well it fits the way these teams actually hire — though the right choice depends on headcount and budget, which the sections above cover.
Do I need a paid ATS, or is a free plan enough?
A free plan or a job board alone is usually enough if you hire once or twice a year. Once you're running multiple open roles at a time, or more than one person is reviewing applicants, a paid ATS starts paying for itself in time saved.