Top 10 Applicant Tracking Systems Used in the USA (2026)

In a rapidly evolving job market, the "war for talent" in the USA has moved from spreadsheet tracking to sophisticated, AI-driven ecosystems. For HR departments and high-growth startups, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is no longer just a digital filing cabinet for resumes; it is a critical strategic tool that defines the candidate experience and the speed of organizational growth. By automating repetitive administrative tasks and providing deep data insights, these platforms allow recruiters to focus on what actually matters: building meaningful human connections with top-tier talent.

I’m Riten, founder of Fueler, a skills-first portfolio platform that connects talented individuals with companies through assignments, portfolios, and projects, not just resumes/CVs. Think Dribbble/Behance for work samples + AngelList for hiring infrastructure.

1. Greenhouse

Greenhouse has established itself as the premier "structured hiring" platform for mid-market and enterprise companies across the United States. Its core philosophy revolves around reducing bias and making data-driven decisions through highly organized interview scorecards and predefined hiring stages. The platform excels at fostering collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers, ensuring that everyone is aligned on the specific attributes needed for a role before the first interview even begins. While it is known for a premium price tag, the ROI is often realized through significantly higher quality hires and a more professional employer brand presence.

• Structured Interviewing Framework: Greenhouse guides teams to define specific success criteria and attributes for every role, ensuring that every candidate is evaluated against the same consistent standards to minimize unconscious bias.
• Comprehensive DE&I Tooling: The platform includes built-in features to promote diversity and inclusion, such as anonymized take-home assignments and "nudges" that remind interviewers to focus on objective evidence rather than gut feelings.
• Robust Reporting Ecosystem: Recruiters can access hundreds of pre-built reports or build custom dashboards to track every metric from "source of hire" to "interviewer speed," providing the data needed to optimize the hiring funnel.
• Scalable Workflow Automation: The system allows for complex, multi-stage approval workflows and automated task management, ensuring that no candidate is left in limbo and that internal stakeholders are always aware of their next steps.
• Extensive Integration Marketplace: With one of the largest integration libraries in the HR tech space, Greenhouse connects seamlessly with hundreds of tools for background checks, sourcing, onboarding, and internal communication like Slack.

Pricing:

• Custom Quote Only: Generally starts around $6,000 to $10,000 per year for smaller teams, but larger enterprises can expect to pay $25,000+ annually based on total employee headcount and feature sets.

Why it matters:

Greenhouse is the gold standard for companies that prioritize "hiring as a discipline." It transforms recruitment from a chaotic administrative task into a predictable, high-performance engine for organizational growth.

2. Workable

Workable is designed for speed and ease of use, making it a favorite for US-based startups and small-to-medium businesses that need to scale quickly without a steep learning curve. The platform is particularly strong in "passive candidate sourcing," using its AI-powered "People Search" tool to scan millions of online profiles and suggest potential matches that haven't even applied yet. Its mobile-first approach allows hiring managers to review resumes and leave feedback directly from their phones, which is crucial for busy executives who are always on the move.

• AI-Powered Sourcing Engine: Workable’s AI assistant automatically searches millions of public profiles across the web to find candidates who match your job requirements, helping you build a pipeline of talent beyond active applicants.
• One-Click Job Distribution: You can post your open positions to over 200 free and premium job boards simultaneously, including major US sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and Monster, with just a single click from the dashboard.
• Integrated Interview Scheduling: The tool syncs directly with Google and Microsoft calendars, allowing candidates to book their own interview slots based on your availability, which eliminates the tedious back-and-forth of email scheduling.
• Mobile App for Managers: The highly-rated mobile app ensures that the hiring process never stalls, allowing team members to review applications, chat with candidates, and submit scorecards from anywhere at any time.
• Built-in E-Signatures: Workable includes native electronic signature capabilities for offer letters and onboarding documents, streamlining the final stage of the hiring process and providing a modern experience for new hires.

Pricing:

• Starter Plan: $149 per month (billed annually, includes basic tracking for small teams making occasional hires).
• Standard Plan: $299 per month (adds AI sourcing, advanced reporting, and support for up to 10 active users).

Why it matters:

Workable removes the technical friction of hiring. It is the ideal solution for businesses that want a powerful, professional recruiting process that can be set up and fully operational in a matter of hours.

3. Lever

Lever distinguishes itself by combining traditional applicant tracking with powerful Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities in a single platform. This hybrid approach is ideal for US companies that focus on "talent pipelining, "building relationships with high-potential individuals long before a specific role opens up. Lever’s interface is designed like a sales CRM, allowing recruiters to "nurture" candidates with automated email sequences and personalized outreach. This makes it particularly effective for technical recruiting and executive search, where the best talent is often not actively looking for work.

• Integrated CRM and ATS: Lever treats every applicant as a long-term relationship, allowing you to easily resurface past candidates for new roles and track every interaction your company has ever had with them.
• Automated Nurture Campaigns: Recruiters can set up personalized, multi-step email sequences to engage passive talent, significantly increasing response rates compared to standard one-off outreach emails.
• Collaborative Sourcing Tools: The "Lever Chrome Extension" allows your entire team to easily "clip" interesting profiles from LinkedIn or GitHub directly into your talent database for future consideration.
• Visual Pipeline Management: The platform uses a clean, Kanban-style interface that makes it easy to see exactly where every candidate stands in the process, ensuring a smooth and transparent experience for the whole team.
• Advanced Analytics Suite: Lever provides deep insights into recruiter performance and pipeline health, helping leadership understand which sourcing channels are providing the best return on investment.

Pricing:

• Custom Quote Only: Generally reported to start around $3,500 to $4,000 per year for small teams, with enterprise packages scaling well over $100,000 for large-scale organizations.

Why it matters:

Lever is built for the modern, proactive recruiter. It shifts the focus from "managing applications" to "building a talent community," which is the only way to win in highly competitive US industries like tech and finance.

4. Ashby

Ashby is a relatively new but rapidly growing player in the US market, specifically targeting high-growth technology companies that demand deep data analytics and highly customizable workflows. It is often described as the "all-in-one" platform that replaces the need for separate sourcing, scheduling, and analytics tools. Ashby’s primary strength is its incredible flexibility; it allows teams to build complex, logic-based hiring pipelines that can trigger different actions based on candidate data, making it the most technically sophisticated option for modern HR teams.

• BI-Level Reporting: Ashby offers business-intelligence-grade analytics built directly into the platform, allowing you to create complex custom dashboards without needing to export data to external tools like Tableau.
• Advanced Scheduling Logic: The system can handle even the most complex "round robin" or multi-part interview schedules automatically, saving coordinators dozens of hours every week in manual coordination.
• Unified Sourcing & CRM: Unlike tools that require a separate CRM, Ashby includes a built-in sourcing environment that allows you to find, contact, and track talent within one single, unified workflow.
• Highly Configurable Pipelines: You can create custom rules and automated "triggers" for every stage of your hiring process, ensuring that your unique organizational requirements are met without manual intervention.
• Modern, High-Speed UI: The platform is built for performance, with a keyboard-friendly interface and lightning-fast load times that allow recruiters to move through hundreds of profiles with maximum efficiency.

Pricing:

• Foundations Plan: $360 per month (Starts at this rate for small teams of 1-10 employees).
• All-In-One Plan: Custom pricing based on company size and specific feature requirements (targeted at mid-market and enterprise).

Why it matters:

Ashby is the "power user" choice. For US companies that view recruiting as a data science, Ashby provides the level of granularity and control needed to squeeze every bit of efficiency out of the hiring process.

5. BambooHR

BambooHR is an "All-in-One" HRIS (Human Resources Information System) that includes a very capable and user-friendly ATS as part of its core offering. It is widely used by small-to-mid-sized US businesses that want to manage the entire employee lifecycle from the first application to the final exit interview within a single software ecosystem. The ATS focuses on simplicity and "candidate delight," providing a clean, branded career page and a straightforward application process that respects the candidate's time. Because it is part of a larger HR suite, the transition from "candidate" to "employee" is completely seamless.

• Seamless Onboarding Transition: Once a candidate is hired in the ATS, their information automatically flows into the BambooHR employee record, triggering onboarding tasks, payroll setup, and welcome emails instantly.
• Branded Career Pages: The platform allows you to create a professional, mobile-responsive career site that matches your brand identity, helping you attract high-quality applicants without needing any web design skills.
• Mobile Hiring App: Recruiters and managers can use the dedicated BambooHR Hiring app to review resumes, leave ratings, and communicate with candidates on the fly, keeping the momentum high.
• Automated Message Templates: You can create a library of standardized but personalized email templates for every stage of the process, ensuring consistent communication and a positive experience for every applicant.
• Collaborative Feedback System: The tool makes it easy for multiple team members to leave private notes and star ratings on candidates, facilitating quick consensus and faster "thumbs-up/thumbs-down" decisions.

Pricing:

• Core Package: $10 per employee per month (approximate starting rate; total cost scales based on the number of employees in your organization).
• Advantage/Pro Plans: Custom pricing (includes advanced reporting, performance management, and deeper AI-powered insights).

Why it matters:

BambooHR is the best choice for businesses that value an integrated employee experience. It eliminates the "silo" between recruiting and HR, making life easier for both the hiring team and the new employees.

6. Breezy HR

Breezy HR is known for its highly visual, "Trello-like" approach to applicant tracking, which makes it incredibly easy for non-HR managers to understand and use. It is a popular choice for US startups and creative agencies that want a modern, affordable, and flexible tool that doesn't feel like "stuffy" enterprise software. Breezy includes several high-end features for free or at a low cost, such as automated video interviewing and multi-channel job posting. It is one of the few platforms that offers a truly functional "Free" tier for companies that are only hiring for one position at a time.

• Visual Pipeline Management: Candidates are displayed as "cards" on a drag-and-drop board, making it simple to visualize your entire hiring funnel and move people through different stages with a single motion.
• Automated Video Interviewing: Breezy includes built-in one-way video interviewing tools, allowing candidates to record responses to your questions on their own time, which is a massive time-saver for initial screenings.
• Real-Time Team Collaboration: The platform features an integrated "Team Chat" and @mention system, allowing hiring teams to discuss candidates and share feedback directly on the candidate's profile in real-time.
• Customizable Scorecards: You can build specific interview guides and scorecards for every role, ensuring that all interviewers are asking the right questions and evaluating candidates on a consistent scale.
• Automated Reference Checking: Breezy can automatically reach out to a candidate's references and collect their feedback, removing one of the most tedious manual tasks from the recruiter's to-do list.

Pricing:

• Bootstrap Plan: $0 (Free for 1 active position and 1 candidate pool).
• Startup Plan: $157 per month (Billed annually; adds unlimited positions, candidate automation, and mobile apps).

Why it matters:

Breezy HR is the "friendly" ATS. It removes the intimidation factor of recruiting software, making it a great choice for collaborative teams that want to stay organized without the complexity of a legacy enterprise system.

7. JazzHR

JazzHR is a powerhouse for small-to-mid-sized US businesses that need professional-grade recruiting tools without a massive enterprise budget. It focuses on helping companies "out-hire" their competition through advanced job board syndication and a very strong focus on compliance and reporting (EEO/OFCCP). JazzHR is particularly well-regarded for its customer support and its ability to integrate with nearly any other HR or payroll tool on the market. It is a "best-of-breed" ATS that does one thing, recruiting, and does it exceptionally well.

• Advanced Job Syndication: JazzHR posts your jobs to dozens of industry-specific boards and social media platforms, ensuring your open roles get maximum visibility in front of the right American talent pools.
• Strict Compliance Tracking: For US businesses with federal reporting requirements, JazzHR provides automated EEO and OFCCP tracking and reporting, ensuring you stay compliant with minimal manual effort.
• Customizable Hiring Workflows: You can build unique hiring pipelines for different departments, such as "Engineering" vs. "Sales," reflecting the specific interview stages and requirements of each niche.
• Automated Offer Management: The platform allows you to create, send, and track digital offer letters with integrated e-signatures, significantly reducing the time-to-hire once you’ve found the right person.
• Collaborative Ranking Tools: Team members can use "Candidate Ranking" to quickly identify the top applicants in a large pool, helping recruiters focus their energy on the most promising talent first.

Pricing:

• Hero Plan: $75.99 per month (Billed annually; includes 3 active jobs and basic tracking).
• Plus Plan: $269 per month (Billed annually; adds custom workflows and unlimited users).

Why it matters:

JazzHR is the "workhorse" of the ATS world. It provides the essential, high-impact features that US businesses need to run a professional, compliant, and efficient hiring process at a very predictable price point.

8. Teamtailor

Teamtailor is a modern, "Employer Branding" focused ATS that is rapidly gaining popularity in the USA. It treats a company's career site as a marketing tool, allowing even non-designers to build beautiful, high-converting career pages that tell a story. In 2026, Teamtailor has leaned heavily into "AI Co-pilots" to help draft job descriptions, summarize long resumes, and suggest interview questions. It is the perfect choice for companies that want to stand out to Gen Z and millennial talent who value brand authenticity and a smooth digital experience.

• Marketing-Lead Career Sites: Teamtailor provides a powerful drag-and-drop editor to create stunning career pages with blogs, team stories, and "Lead Pages" to capture interest from passive candidates.
• AI Co-pilot Assistance: The built-in AI helps recruiters by generating personalized rejection emails, summarizing candidate strengths, and even suggesting the best interview questions based on the job description.
• Candidate "Connect" Feature: Potential employees can "Connect" with your brand even if there isn't an open role that fits them yet, allowing you to build a warm talent pool for future hiring needs.
• Integrated Multi-Channel Chat: You can communicate with candidates via SMS or an integrated chat widget directly on your career site, meeting the modern expectation for instant, informal communication.
• Detailed Audience Insights: The platform provides analytics on who is visiting your career site and where they are coming from, helping you optimize your social media and job board spending.

Pricing:

• Custom Quote Only: Generally reported to start around $229 per month for small businesses, with pricing scaling based on total employee headcount and specific feature modules.

Why it matters:

Teamtailor understands that hiring is a form of marketing. It gives US companies the tools to build a "magnet" for talent, ensuring that the best people want to work for them before they ever see a specific job ad.

9. SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is a robust, enterprise-grade talent acquisition suite used by some of the largest global companies operating in the USA. It is designed for high-volume, complex hiring needs where global compliance, security, and scalability are non-negotiable. The platform features an "Open API" philosophy, meaning it can connect with almost any other enterprise software, from Workday to SAP. It also includes a unique "Candidate Portal" that allows applicants to manage their data and track their status across multiple applications within the same company.

• Global Enterprise Scalability: Built to handle thousands of hires across multiple countries and languages, SmartRecruiters is the tool of choice for US multinationals with complex organizational structures.
• SmartDistribute Job Advertising: This feature uses data to recommend the best job boards for your specific role and allows you to manage all your paid recruitment advertising spend from one central dashboard.
• Collaborative Hiring Manager Portal: The platform provides a dedicated interface for hiring managers that looks like a social feed, making it easy for them to stay updated on their open roles and provide feedback quickly.
• Transparent Candidate Experience: Candidates get their own login to a portal where they can see exactly where they are in the process, which drastically reduces "ghosting" and improves the overall employer brand.
• Deep Sourcing Intelligence: The tool includes advanced CRM and sourcing features that help recruiters identify "silver medalist" candidates from past roles who might be a perfect fit for current openings.

Pricing:

• Essential Plan: Starts at $14,995 per year (targeted at startups and small businesses needing core enterprise features).
• Professional/Enterprise: Custom quotes only (typically involves significant implementation and annual subscription fees).

Why it matters:

SmartRecruiters is for the "big leagues." It provides the power and security that large US corporations need to manage massive talent pipelines while still providing a modern, human-centric experience for every applicant.

10. Recruitee

Recruitee is a collaborative hiring platform that focuses on "Team-Based Recruitment." It is highly popular among US tech teams and product-led companies where the decision to hire is made by the whole squad, not just a single manager. The platform is incredibly fast and features a clean, minimalist design that prioritizes "Actionable Insights." Recruitee excels at "Sourcing Automation," helping teams find and reach out to candidates on platforms like LinkedIn and GitHub with a very efficient Chrome extension.

• Collaborative Hiring Focus: Recruitee makes it easy to share candidate profiles with the whole team, collect "Yes/No" votes, and discuss specific applicants in a private, integrated comment section.
• Sourcing Extension: Their powerful browser extension allows recruiters to import profiles from any social site directly into their pipeline, automatically checking for duplicate entries in the process.
• Customizable Automated Actions: You can set up "if-this-then-that" rules for your pipeline for example, automatically sending a skills test if a candidate is moved to the "Technical Interview" stage.
• Branded Employer Sites: Like other modern tools, Recruitee allows you to build a professional career site that features your company culture and open roles, helping you attract the right "culture fit" talent.
• Advanced Data Privacy: The platform is fully GDPR and CCPA compliant, providing the robust data protection tools that US companies need to manage candidate information safely in a regulated environment.

Pricing:

• Launch Plan: Starts at $225 per month (Billed annually; includes 5 active job slots and basic collaboration tools).
• Scale Plan: Starts at $442 per month (Billed annually; adds automation, custom reports, and advanced sourcing tools).

Why it matters:

Recruitee is for companies that believe hiring is a team sport. It provides a shared workspace where everyone can contribute to finding the next great teammate, making the entire process faster and more collaborative.

How to Stand Out in the ATS Era

For professionals navigating these systems, the secret to getting hired isn't just "keyword stuffing"it’s providing "Proof of Work." When a recruiter looks at your profile in an ATS like Greenhouse or Lever, they want to see more than just where you went to school. They want to see what you’ve actually built. This is why we created Fueler. By creating a Fueler portfolio, you can link directly to your best projects from your application, giving hiring managers a tangible reason to move you to the next stage. In a world of automated screening, your actual work is your greatest competitive advantage.

Final Thoughts

Choosing an Applicant Tracking System is a foundational decision for any American business. In 2026, the best tools are those that balance high-level automation with a human-centric candidate experience. Whether you need the structured rigor of Greenhouse, the scaling speed of Workable, or the branding power of Teamtailor, the goal is the same: to find the best people and get them into your organization as efficiently as possible. Start by identifying your team's biggest bottleneck: sourcing, scheduling, or branding? and choose the tool that solves that specific problem first.

FAQs

What is the most common ATS used by Fortune 500 companies in the USA?

While many large corporations use older legacy systems, Greenhouse and SmartRecruiters have become the dominant choices for modern Fortune 500 companies that prioritize a high-quality candidate experience and deep data analytics.

Can a small business use these systems for free?

Yes, tools like Breezy HR and SmartRecruiters offer "Free" or "Starter" tiers that allow small businesses to manage a single job opening at no cost. This is a great way to professionalize your hiring process without an initial financial commitment.

How does an ATS handle "Keyword Filtering" in 2026?

Modern ATS platforms have moved beyond simple keyword matching. In 2026, they will use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand the context of your experience. Instead of just looking for the word "Python," they look for evidence of how you used it in actual projects and your level of seniority.

Do I need to be a technical person to set up an ATS?

No, most modern SaaS-based ATS platforms like Workable and BambooHR are designed for HR professionals and business owners. They feature "plug-and-play" integrations and intuitive dashboards that don't require any coding knowledge to manage.

Is candidate data safe in an ATS?

Yes, reputable ATS providers use enterprise-grade security and are compliant with major data protection regulations like CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act). They encrypt candidate data and provide tools for "Right to be Forgotten" requests, ensuring your business stays legally protected.

What is Fueler Portfolio?

Fueler is a career portfolio platform that helps companies find the best talent for their organization based on their proof of work. You can create your portfolio on Fueler. Thousands of freelancers around the world use Fueler to create their professional-looking portfolios and become financially independent. Discover inspiration for your portfolio

Sign up for free on Fueler or get in touch to learn more.