Best applicant tracking software for 2024

There’s a good reason why 98.8 percent of Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) — it saves a lot of money. Even small companies can see significant savings if they use an ATS. According to one U.K. report, savings could be as much as £6000 (nearly $8,000) — exponentially more for large companies.

Before you choose an ATS, you’ll need to figure out what features you need. Some applicant tracking software comes with all the bells and whistles, including keyword searches, data storage, timeline tracking, task status visibility, and filtering. Other systems streamline certain aspects of the hiring process.

Here are five of the best applicant tracking software systems for 2024.

1. BambooHR

If you’re in the market for an ATS that covers almost every aspect of hiring, BambooHR may be worth a look. It includes features for everything from collecting data to onboarding new hires, and you can use it for human resources functions like time tracking.

BambooHR also provides a marketplace full of integrations. For example, you could integrate BambooHR with programs like Checkr to run background checks or Glassdoor for recruiting.

Pricing for BambooHR is available upon request.

2. Zoho Recruit

As part of Zoho’s portfolio of solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, Zoho Recruit integrates into the rest of the company’s offerings. This ATS includes features for creating an employee referral portal, managing resumes, and posting jobs to multiple sites.

Additionally, Zoho Recruit includes some artificial intelligence (AI) features that help with things like candidate matching and improving search accuracy. Along with other features that you’d expect in an ATS — like hiring pipelines and source analytics — it also lets you set up a candidate portal and integrate with Zoho Campaigns to send marketing emails to potential employees.

Pricing for corporate HR departments begins at $25 per month, billed annually.

3. Jotform

Companies looking for a much simpler solution that lets them receive and organize candidate information will find that in Jotform. With over 2,300 HR form templates to help users get started, Jotform is a great way to begin using an ATS.

By using job application forms and interview scheduling forms, among others, HR professionals can save time collecting information from potential candidates. Jotform uses a drag-and-drop interface to create forms, and it lets you integrate with other applications like Google Calendar, Dropbox, and Google Sheets to help organize submitted information.

Jotform has a free version that lets you create five forms and accept 100 submissions per month. For more forms and submissions, plans start at $34 per month.

4. Workable

Billing itself as “enterprise-grade hiring, for everyone,” Workable offers plans for small to large businesses and everything in between. Its ATS product includes a mobile app so that HR professionals can review resumes and schedule interviews when they’re away from their computers.

In addition, Workable also has a library of resources — like sample interview questions, job descriptions, and email templates — for companies to use when they’re going through the hiring process. That’s in addition to standard ATS features like filtering and collaboration.

Workable offers a free trial for essential recruiting features, and plans start at $149 per job, per month.

5. UKG (formerly Kronos Workforce Ready)

Companies that need to integrate HR, payroll, workforce management, and applicant tracking can benefit from the UKG Ready suite. It offers modules for everything from assessing applicant needs to HR functions for existing employees.

The Workforce Ready ATS module, Workforce Ready Talent Acquisition, includes tracking features for job requisitions, career portal capabilities, and integrations with job boards. It lets you track applicant status and send automated notifications, among other features.

Contact the sales team for pricing.

Align your ATS with your company goals

These are just five of the applicant tracking software systems available. Before you choose a system, keep in mind what your goals are for your ATS — streamlining resume submissions, making interview scheduling easier, and/or collaborating with other departments, for example.

Once you decide what you want to accomplish, evaluate systems carefully for things like how user-friendly they are and whether they have the features you need. Keep in mind that, if you choose a system with a lot of features, you may end up paying for things you don’t need.

Ultimately, an ATS will make it easier for HR to screen applicants. Spend time examining different systems to make sure it’s something that can actually help your organization.