# How to choose hiring software for a small business

> Choose the kind of hiring software before the product. A decision guide by situation, the questions that matter, verified prices for nine products, and how to run a trial that tells you something.

Sara at SortTheStack, October 9, 2026. Original: https://sortthestack.com/blog/how-to-choose-hiring-software

**Choose the kind of tool before you choose the product.** Most bad software
decisions in small-business hiring aren't a weak product beaten by a better
one. They're the wrong kind of product: a full recruiting platform bought to
solve a reading problem, or a spreadsheet kept long after five people need to
see the same candidates.

This guide works through that choice, then the questions that separate products
within a category, verified prices for nine products, and how to run a trial
that actually tells you something.

**Why there's no ranked list here.** A "best hiring software" ranking would need
hands-on testing of every product on the same jobs. We haven't done that, so we
don't rank. Where we describe a product, it's from that product's own pricing
page on the date shown. We also make one of the products, SortTheStack, and say
so wherever it appears.

## Step 1: Pick the category

| Category                         | What it does                                                                        | Good fit when                                          | Examples                                                      |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Spreadsheet and email**        | You track applicants yourself                                                       | A few hires a year, small piles, one decision-maker    | Excel, Google Sheets                                          |
| **Screening tool**               | Evaluates applications against your requirements and tells you who to look at first | Big piles, few people, no appetite for a platform      | SortTheStack                                                  |
| **Small-business ATS**           | Posts jobs, collects applications, runs the pipeline, emails, scheduling            | Hiring most months, several jobs and reviewers         | Breezy HR, JazzHR, Manatal, Zoho Recruit, Workable, Recruitee |
| **Mid-market or enterprise ATS** | All of the above, plus structured process, reporting, integrations, governance      | Many teams, locations or brands; formal hiring process | Greenhouse, Lever                                             |

If you're unsure between the first three, start with
[do you actually need an applicant tracking system?](https://sortthestack.com/blog/do-you-need-an-applicant-tracking-system)
It has a decision table by situation.

## Step 2: Ask the questions that separate products

Feature lists look alike within a category. These questions don't.

**1. How does it help you decide, not just track?** Ask to see exactly what
it shows about a candidate. A score? Reasons? The evidence from the
application? See
[can AI help you identify the best applicants?](https://sortthestack.com/blog/can-ai-identify-the-best-applicants)
for what to look for and a test to run.

**2. What does it do without a person?** Automatic rejections, disqualifications,
stage moves and emails. What's on by default, and can it be reversed?

**3. What does the price scale with?** Per user, per job, per company size or
per AI credit. Model your own next year: how many jobs, how many people who
need access, how many applications.

**4. What's included, and what's metered?** AI screening is frequently an
add-on or runs on credits. So are texting, video interviews and assessments on
some plans.

**5. How do applications get in?** Careers page, job boards, email forwarding,
uploads. Match it to where your applicants actually come from.

**6. Does it support a structured process?** Interview kits, scorecards and
rating anchors make the biggest evidence-based difference to decisions. See
[structured interviews](https://sortthestack.com/blog/structured-interviews).

**7. Can you leave?** Can you export candidates and their history? Is the
contract monthly or annual?

## What the products cost

From each vendor's own pricing page on 9 October 2026, in US dollars. These
change often, so check before deciding. "Not shown" means we couldn't find it
on the page, not that it doesn't exist.

| Product      | Entry price shown                                           | Priced by          | AI screening (as described by the vendor)               | Trial or free plan                  |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Breezy HR    | Free (one active job); Startup $157/mo annual, $189 monthly | Plan               | "Breezy Intelligence" add-on, credit-based              | Free plan; 14-day trial             |
| JazzHR       | Hero $1,000/yr, billed annually                             | Plan               | "AI-Powered Candidate Matching" on Plus ($3,480/yr)     | Not shown                           |
| Manatal      | $15/user/mo annual, $19 monthly (up to 15 jobs)             | Users              | "Automatic AI based candidates scoring" on listed plans | 14-day trial                        |
| Zoho Recruit | Free (one active job per recruiter licence); paid not shown | Recruiter licences | "AI Candidate Matching" on Enterprise                   | Free plan; 15-day trial             |
| Workable     | $299/mo, shown for 1–20 employees                           | Company size       | Workable Agent, billed in AI credits                    | 15-day trial (excludes the agent)   |
| Recruitee    | Quote only                                                  | Employees          | Not checked                                             | Free trial                          |
| Greenhouse   | Quote only                                                  | Hiring needs       | "Talent Matching" on all plans                          | Demo                                |
| Lever        | Quote only                                                  | Size and needs     | "AI-powered screening"                                  | Demo                                |
| SortTheStack | Free first pile; $149 per job; from $49/mo                  | Open jobs          | Included; evidence per requirement, no score            | Free first pile; currently waitlist |

A few notes the table can't hold:

- **JazzHR** says its standard pricing doesn't apply to staffing or recruiting
  agencies, franchises, multi-location businesses or organisations with more
  than 250 employees.
- **Workable** shows its prices for 1–20 employees by default; we couldn't
  confirm whether $299 assumes annual billing. Its plans include an HR suite.
- **Recruitee** says contracts have a one-year minimum, payable monthly, and
  its entry plan allows five active job posts.
- **Breezy's** AI credits don't expire, according to its pricing page.
  **Workable's** expire a year after purchase.

## Step 3: Run a trial that tells you something

Free trials are short. Use one on a real problem, not a demo dataset.

1. **Pick a recent, closed job** where you know who you interviewed and hired.
   Check your privacy obligations before loading real applicants; use test
   resumes if in doubt.
2. **Set it up the way you'd really use it**, with the requirements you'd
   really write.
3. **Have the person who'll use it most do the trial**, not just whoever
   signed up.
4. **Compare its results with what you know.** Did the people you interviewed
   surface? Can you see why each candidate was rated as they were?
5. **Price your real next year** with the vendor's calculator or a quote,
   including add-ons and credits.
6. **Test leaving.** Export the trial data. If you can't get it out in a trial,
   assume you can't later.

## Choosing by situation

**You hire two or three people a year and the piles are big.** A screening
tool, or a spreadsheet with a clear method if you can protect the reading time.
A full ATS is likely more than you need.

**You hire most months, with several hiring managers.** A small-business ATS.
Compare on how each one helps you decide (question 1) and what the price scales
with (question 3).

**You're a recruiter screening for clients.** Look at per-user versus per-job
pricing carefully, and check agency terms; some vendors price agencies
differently.

**You're growing past 100 people with several teams.** Look at the mid-market
platforms, and budget for setup time as well as subscription cost.

## Sources

Vendor pricing pages, all accessed 9 October 2026:
[Breezy HR](https://breezy.hr/pricing), [JazzHR](https://www.jazzhr.com/pricing/),
[Manatal](https://www.manatal.com/pricing),
[Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/pricing.html),
[Workable](https://www.workable.com/pricing),
[Recruitee](https://recruitee.com/pricing),
[Greenhouse](https://www.greenhouse.com/pricing),
[Lever](https://www.lever.co/pricing/), and SortTheStack's
[pricing](https://sortthestack.com/pricing). For how we research products, see our
[editorial standards](https://sortthestack.com/editorial).