Top 10 Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Software for 2022

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is defined as a software solution to manage all recruitment needs and serves as a data bank for all hiring processes. ATS software has become one of the go-to solutions to save time and resources in talent acquisition. While basic ATS solutions have been around since 1991, the last decade has seen a vast technological leap within a compressed period. Let’s take a moment to understand these helpful systems a little better before mining the rather crowded market to identify the top 10 ATS software for 2022. 

What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system or ATS is a software solution to manage all recruitment needs, serving as a data bank for all hiring processes. As the name suggests, ATS enables automated applicant tracking and can store and process vast volumes of data. With features such as interview scheduling, assessment generation and comparison, message distribution, universal search, and customized import and export of data, applicant tracking systems aid in screening, shortlisting, and communicating with candidates. 

ATS options are available for businesses across the board, be it for enterprise, midsize, or small business requirements. Moreover, based on specific business needs, organizations can also choose various formats of deployment. For example, let’s say you need to purchase an ATS solution for a midsize corporation with an employee strength of 800 (spread across three regions) – which you wish to double over the next year. There was a time when you could not find a customized solution specific to your needs, budget, and growth plans. So you would have had to go for a typical one-size-fits-all option. Now, however, organizations are spoilt for choice in a market that offers multiple options for the most specific combination of needs. 

While most human capital management (HCM) suites offer the sub-functionality of an applicant tracking system, several point solutions specialize only in ATS. The challenge now is not hunting for a specialized, customizable solution but rather choosing the solution that is the best fit out of the many that are available. The pie chart below depicts the market share enjoyed by the twenty most prevalent ATS software. We will focus on the top10 ATS solutions for 2022 in alphabetical order. Since there is no one-size-fits-all mantra for choosing an ATS, no “top” or “best” solution would work across the board. The key is to identify your own requirements for an ATS and then choose a solution that can be suited to each unique need of your organization.

The Top 10 ATS Software for 2022

Weighing the pros and cons of various software and matching their offering to your present and projected needs is hard work. We have simplified the process by bringing you the top 10 applicant tracking system software for 2022 and onward. 

Note: The following solutions are arranged alphabetically and are not ranked or rated in any way other than by the services they provide, the price points they offer and how well they integrate with other enterprise software. The best solution for you will depend on your organization’s unique needs and growth plans. 

1. BambooHR

BambooHR provides solutions ideal for small and midsize businesses. With a mobile app to enable easy access, it offers tools for onboarding, e-signatures, attendance tracking, and performance management. 

Pricing: BambooHR has two pricing plan options: Essentials and Advantage. On average, it is $99 per month after a free seven-day trial. It would be best to get in touch with the company for an accurate quote. 

Best features:

• User-friendly and easy to learn
• Streamlined processes for candidates to follow and easy onboarding
• Customizable email templates and message scheduling for multiple candidates
• Integration with job boards and social media

2. Bullhorn

Bullhorn is primarily a cloud-based recruitment software tool that is best suited for staffing and recruitment processes. Being mobile-friendly, Bullhorn ATS allows immediate data entry from anywhere. 

Pricing: Bullhorn offers four pricing modules: Team, Corporate, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus. Online reviews reveal that the packages and price quotes vary based on specific business requirements. 

Best features:

• Easy access and management of candidate data
• Allows the addition of notes to records
• Easy tracking of all email interactions with any specific candidate
• Real-time updating of records
• Viable reporting and management options for the recruiting team’s progress
• In-system access to LinkedIn records

3. Greenhouse

Besides providing applicant tracking, Greenhouse also offers holistic HR administration to create focused interviews and a culture that is free of bias. This software system can be adapted for any team size and can be accessed via the mobile app as well. 

Pricing: Three pricing plans are available: Core, Pro, and Enterprise. The average cost falls within the range of $6,000 to $25,000 per year. 

Best features:

• Easy tracking with the help of candidate scorecards
• Creation of customized assessment plans for interviewers to evaluate the right skill set and qualifications
• Customization of career pages, job boards, and email templates
• Simplified configuration of reports
• Best for mid-sized companies growing fast

4. IBM Kenexa BrassRing

IBM Kenexa BrassRing is a cloud-based ATS solution that draws on behavior marketing to attract and engage talent proactively. The software provides a plethora of recruitment features for end-to-end process management. 

Pricing: Shared after the company performs a business needs analysis. 

Best features:

• Access to a wide range of talent pools
• Engaging and effective assessments
• Powered by IBM Watson analytics and can thus find the best-fit quickly
• Optimized for social media-based recruiting

5. iCIMS

iCIMS Recruit, with a decade of experience to back them up, offers solutions for organizations of different sizes catering to diverse industries. With over 4,000 clients, including about 20% of the Fortune 100, the platform comprises its Recruitment Marketing Suite, Advanced Communications Suite, Hiring Suite, and UNIFi – iCIMS’ ecosystem of integrated partner products and services. 

Pricing: While you are advised to request a quote suited for your specific needs, the average cost for an employee base of 51–100 is $6,000 per year and for the strength of above 5,000 employees, it is $140,000 annually. 

Best features:

• Management of job advertisements
• Better searches through collaboration with Google and social media
• Personalized dashboards with real-time insights
• Real-time screening and assessment results

6. Jobvite

Cloud-based and candidate-focused, Jobvite ATS enables social recruiting, creating and managing mobile-optimized career sites, and onboarding functions. They also have a mobile app for the tool. The software provides specific features for interviews, requisitions, and employee referrals. This solution is best suited for medium and large-size companies. 

Pricing: Online reviews peg the price for 26 to 50 employees at $4,000 per year and that for 2,501–5,000 employees at $100,000 per year. That said, it might be best to get a customized quote. 

Best features:

• Easy employee referrals
• Automatic screening and interview-based candidate ranking
• Mobile-friendly application processes for candidates
• Smart Scheduler feature, which looks at the schedules for multiple interviewers and picks the best time to schedule a new interview
• Single record maintained for all conversations with a specific candidate across channels
• Powerful search tool to look for candidates by name, keywords, workflow, location, or date of application

7. Oracle Taleo

Oracle Taleo is a cloud-based software that provides talent acquisition, development, and retention solutions. With end-to-end automation of recruiting processes, it can be modified to suit the needs of any business. 

Pricing: Besides providing a free demo option, the Oracle Taleo business edition offers a choice between three pricing plans: Emerging EDU ($29 per month), Developing EDU ($54 per month) and Developed EDU ($83 per month). 

Best features:

• Easy recruitment marketing
• Increased employee referrals with the use of social media tools
• Anytime-anywhere data access
• Seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook, MyYahoo, and iGoogle

8. SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is best suited for enterprise-grade needs. The Talent Acquisition Suite comes with pre-integrated assessment tools and allows better communication via scheduled notifications and auto-replies. 

Pricing: The SmartStart package is free and can be used for up to 10 hires. The SmartRecruit plan is priced at $10,000 per year. It allows the integration of future add-ons for a growing employee base or if the organization plans on going mobile with their application tracking, for example. 

Best features:

• Easy communication and collaboration within the hiring team
• Easy tracking of message records
• Consistency and compliance with the creation of a template library
• Personalized tags to manage and coordinate talent pools better
• Advanced filter search

9. SAP SuccessFactors

SAP SuccessFactors provides a holistic, cloud-based HR management system from sourcing, screening, and onboarding to payroll management, employee engagement, and performance metrics. Specialized recruiting software enables all processes of the recruiting cycle. 

Pricing: The SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting software is priced at $3 per user per month, while the HCM suite costs $84.53 per user per year. 

Best features:

• Centrally managed global job distribution and access
• Insight into 4,000 job boards, social media portals, and campuses from 80 countries across the globe
• Creation of a responsive career site
• Effective candidate relationship management
• Online offer letter and e-signature solutions

10. Workable

Workable is a holistic recruiting tool that can be accessed on the desktop and mobile. This system provides easy single-point access to candidate profiles, team communications, interview schedules, and scorecards. 

Pricing: Workable offers three pricing plans: Pay as you go ($50 per job, per month), Starter, and Pro. There is the option of the 15-day free trial with the first two options, but we recommend getting a personalized quote. 

Best features:

• Data protection with access rights for the hiring team
• Easy reporting lines with role-assignment, job creation, and posting
• The ability to control the confidentiality of records and reports
• Productivity and activity reports are regularly generated for the hiring team
• Posting on multiple job boards with a single click
• Easy scheduling with email-calendar synchronization

Learn More: What Is Onboarding? Definition, Process, Templates, and Best Practices

Analyze. Track. Strategize.

With the right ATS, you can better analyze, track, and strategize your talent acquisition and management processes. Based on our secondary research, Oracle Taleo and Bullhorn have the best systems for applicant tracking systems specifically, while SmartRecruiter shines with its collaborative features. While Jobvite ranks high for interview scheduling, BrassRing by IBM provides the best assessments. Besides, tools like Rippling, Breezy HR, Jazz HR and ZOHO Recruit also deserve mention. While they did not make it to our top 10 list, they do offer great solutions based on product reviews across multiple portals.

In an exclusive with Spiceworks, Ashkan Rajaee. CEO at TopDevz, states that “Using a sophisticated applicant tracking system or ATS in conjunction with AI to determine performance removes bias from the hiring process, and when you factor in flexibility and freedom for the candidate and employer, you get a higher volume and higher pool to draw from and better quality candidates that you can select.” 

Learn More: What is Talent Pipeline? Definition, Management with Examples

“Companies that are not leveraging these aspects during their hiring processes that we see in the market will see a competitor taking their candidates. Especially in the technology and software development space where competition is fierce, the supply is low, and the demand is exceptionally high,” he adds. When choosing the best-fit ATS for your organization, employee strength, user-friendliness, reporting capabilities, flexibility, and the level of integration allowed with systems already in place must be considered. Are you ready to invest in smarter employer branding and smarter talent management? Choosing the right applicant tracking system software is a crucial step in the right direction and allows you to transform the candidate experience.

What ATS do you use and why? Share your recommendations with us on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!