Manatal
HR & RecruitingFree trialVerified
Candidate tracking, recruitment CRM and AI tools; posts to 2,500+ channels; from $19/mo with a 14-day trial.
When to pick it: Pick it if you want the lowest entry price and a kanban pipeline.
Applicant Tracking Software for Small Business: 6 Best Picks (2026), Verified
Applicant tracking software for small business posts jobs, tracks candidates and fits a small hiring team and budget. Six verified tools compared on price, trial, job and candidate limits and AI features.
A small business needs an applicant tracking system that posts jobs to boards, keeps candidates in one pipeline and does not require an HR department to run. The six tools here come from our verified catalogue: Manatal, Recruitee, Workable, Recooty, Recruit CRM and Hyreflow. They differ by audience. Manatal, Recooty and Workable suit in-house hiring or agencies, while Recruit CRM and Hyreflow are aimed at recruitment agencies. Recruitee and Workable publish no price on their cards. Entry prices run from $19 to $99 a month, and AI features are often capped by credits. Use the criteria table to match your hiring volume with plan limits.
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The shortlist
6 tools
- $19/moTrial: 14-day free trial, no card required
$99/moFree planRecooty
HR & RecruitingFree planVerifiedAI-powered ATS for small businesses with candidate matching, interview scheduling and a branded careers page; free plan and 15-day trial; Starter from $99/mo.
When to pick it: Pick it if you want AI matching and a careers page.
Custom (contact sales)Trial: 15-day free trial, no credit card requiredWorkable
HR & RecruitingFree trialVerifiedATS plus HR: posts to 200+ job boards, careers page builder, AI sourcing; 15-day trial with no card.
When to pick it: Pick it if you want ATS plus onboarding and time off tools.
Custom (contact sales)Trial: Free trial, no credit card required (length not stated)Recruitee
HR & RecruitingFree trialVerifiedATS with careers page builder, one-click multiposting and automated pipelines; trial with no card.
When to pick it: Pick it if you want a no-code careers page and multiposting.
$95/moTrial: 30-day free trialRecruit CRM
HR & RecruitingFree trialVerifiedATS plus CRM for recruitment agencies with AI sourcing across 800M+ profiles; from $95/mo; 30-day trial.
When to pick it: Pick it if you run a recruitment agency.
$49/moFree planHyreflow
HR & RecruitingFree planVerifiedRecruitment agency tool driven from Claude or ChatGPT: sourcing, enrichment, outreach; free plan with 25 credits; from $49/mo.
When to pick it: Pick it if you are an agency already working in Claude or ChatGPT.
None of these tools has a free plan.
Compared on this task
| Criterion | Manatal | Recooty | Workable | Recruitee | Recruit CRM | Hyreflow | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (price/mo) | $19/mo source | $99/mo source | custom, not published source | custom, not published source | $95/mo source | $49/mo source | |
| Free plan / trial | no; trial: 14-day free trial, no card required source | yes; trial: 15-day free trial source | no; trial: 15-day free trial, no credit card required source | no; trial: Free trial, no credit card required (length not stated) source | no; trial: 30-day free trial source | yes source | |
| Key capability | ATS + CRM, multi-channel posting source | AI matching, careers page, scheduling source | 200+ job boards, AI agent, HR tools source | Careers page, multiposting, pipelines source | ATS + CRM, AI sourcing, Chrome extension source | 54 tools in an AI connector source | |
| Main limit | Professional: 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates; AI Interviewer is an add-on source | Starter: 5 active jobs and 500 AI credits/month source | Price not published; AI agent excluded from trial source | Prices not shown on the card; trial length not stated source | Per-user pricing; features use credits source | Does not send emails itself source |
Facts from the vendors' official pages, checked on the date in the last column. Prices are what the vendor published on that date.
How to do it
Count your hires
Estimate open jobs and candidates per month and compare with caps (Manatal 15 jobs, Recooty 5 active jobs).
Decide in-house vs agency
Recruit CRM and Hyreflow target agencies; Manatal, Recooty and Workable fit in-house too.
Trial with a real job
Use the 14–30 day trials and post one real job.
Check AI limits
Compare AI credits (Recooty 500/month Starter) and add-ons.
Check compliance
Review data-protection requirements for candidate data; this is general information, not legal advice.
Limits and risks
- Several vendors publish no prices.
- AI screening can introduce bias; review decisions by a person and check local rules on automated hiring; not legal advice.
- We have not tested these tools.
- Recruit CRM and Hyreflow are agency-oriented.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best applicant tracking system for a small business?
Manatal ($19/mo), Recooty (free plan) and Workable fit in-house hiring. Pick by volume and budget.
Which ATS scales with a growing small business?
Workable bundles HR tools; Manatal has Enterprise Plus. Scaling limits differ per vendor; check each vendor's site.
Which AI resume screening tools exist?
Recooty (AI matching), Workable (AI agent screening), Manatal (AI tools); see each card for detail.
Is there AI resume screening software for a small business?
Recooty offers AI matching from a free plan; credits are capped.
What are the best AI recruiting tools?
Workable, Manatal, Recruit CRM and Hyreflow list AI sourcing or screening.
Related tasks
Suggest an update
Something wrong or missing on this page — a wrong fact, an outdated price, a tool that should be here? Tell us, ideally with a link to the official page. We check every suggestion within 7 days; a suggestion never changes the page by itself.