5 ATS software you did not know were free

If your recruiting software is draining your budget, you’re probably stuck with the wrong ATS.

The current market offers many free applicant tracking systems, such as Recruit CRM, Manatal, Zoho Recruit, Breezy HR, and Tellent Recruitee, which can help you save your resources.

If you want to know more about such free ATS, keep reading. 

What is an applicant tracking system?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is specialized recruitment management software that helps organizations centralize candidate data, job postings, and communication on a single platform.

Its core functions include distributing job posts, resume parsing, screening candidates, and tracking them through talent pipelines. Modern AI-powered applicant tracking systems can also help you schedule interviews and provide you with predictive analysis to measure the performance of your candidates. 

While the current market offers numerous ATS options, many recruiters prefer free software to save up on resources. Such free versions often offer only essential hiring tools, which are usually helpful for small teams and growing businesses.

Top 5 free applicant tracking systems of 2026

1. Recruit CRM

Recruit CRM is an AI-powered, all-in-one recruiting software that combines the features of an applicant tracking system and a recruitment CRM. 

It is primarily designed for recruitment agencies and executive search firms to manage their recruitment database, talent pipeline, email communications, job postings, and more. 

Recruit CRM has been one of the highest-rated recruiting software solutions across 100+ countries and currently powers reputable recruiting teams such as Cooper Coleman, Bluebird, and Avizio. It offers an unlimited free trial that requires no credit to start, though some premium features are available only with paid plans.  

Key Recruit CRM features:

• AI-powered resume parsing 
• Candidate screening 
• Chrome sourcing extension 
• Kanban boards for pipeline management 
• Reporting tools and analytics tools 

Success stories that prove why Recruit CRM is the best ATS solution of 2026

• Moor Recruitment saw 35% growth in its candidate database due to Recruit CRM’s user-friendly design. 
• Truckers observed a 10x growth in their revenue after using Recruit CRM. 
• It has helped Placesetter reduce its time to hire by almost 22%.
• Lechley Associates saw a 100% boost in their candidate engagement after shifting to Recruit CRM.

Capterra rating: 4.9/5(opens in a new tab)

2. Manatal (opens in a new tab)

Manatal is a cloud-based applicant tracking system designed to help HR teams and agencies to source and engage candidates. It simplifies your recruitment with smart candidate-matching tools and a visualization of your talent pipeline.

It offers a 14-day free trial to test the software's features and capabilities according to your company’s needs. You should note that this free trial does not allow you to post on job boards, send emails, or generate AI job descriptions. 

Unlike Recruit CRM, Manatal requires a paid subscription to use its tools once the free trial ends. The paid plan starts at $15 per user/month, making it one of the few cost-effective platforms compared to its competitors. 

Key features of Manatal:

• AI candidate recommendation 
• Drag-and-drop functionality for tracking recruitment stages
• Customizable Kanban pipeline 
• One-click job posting 

Capterra rating: 4.6/5(opens in a new tab)

3. Zoho Recruit (opens in a new tab)

Zoho Recruit combines applicant tracking system and candidate relationship management capabilities into a single platform, allowing you to conduct various recruitment tasks simultaneously. 

It offers a ‘free forever’ plan with limited functionality, making it a suitable cloud applicant tracking system for solo recruiters and small organizations with low-volume hiring needs. 

Key features of Zoho Recruit’s free plan

• Offers 1 active job post on free job boards at a time 
• Candidate database storage space of 256 MB (1000 records per module)
• 5 default email templates for candidate communication 
• Third-party application integrations
• 50 custom tags to track candidate data

Capterra rating: 4.5/5(opens in a new tab)

4. Breezy HR(opens in a new tab)

Breezy HR is a US-based ATS, well known for its unique features, such as anti-bias incognito mode and e-signatures. It is known for its drag-and-drop pipeline management, customizable career pages, and easy-to-use scheduling tools.

It offers a free Bootstrap plan with basic features, usable by only one active position at a time. While this is restrictive for organizations with extensive needs, advanced features such as video interviewing and background checks can be unlocked using the paid version. 

Key features of Breezy HR’s Bootstrap plan:

• Basic screening and interview scheduling 
• Access to unlimited candidates 
• Job postings on free job boards 
• Branded career page to highlight job posts 
• Basic recruitment tools (GDPR compliant)
• Access to online support and tutorials

Capterra ratings: 4.5/5(opens in a new tab)

5. Tellent Recruitee(opens in a new tab) 

Tellent Recruitee is an ATS specifically designed for growing organizations to attract and manage candidates from across 1450+ job boards. It promotes collaborative hiring and automated workflow using built-in scheduling, screening, and interviewing tools. 

While it does not offer a ‘forever free’ plan, it does offer an 18-day free trial to test its ATS features. Unlike its competitors, this free plan does not limit job postings and allows you to publish 5 jobs at once. 

Key features of Tellent Recruitee’s free trial:

• Allows you to post 5 active jobs simultaneously
• Helps you create a branded career page 
• Gives access to applicant tracking features for candidate management 
• Automates basic workflow using interview scheduling tools 
• Allows you to send 50 emails 
• Provides AI-powered features to write job ads

Capterra rating: 4.4/5(opens in a new tab) 

Software	Free access type	Free plan limitations	Capterra rating
Recruit CRM	Unlimited free trial	Premium features are available only in the paid version	4.9
Manatal	14-day free trial	No job posting or email sending	4.6
Zoho Recruit	Free forever plan	Offers only 1 active job post and has a storage space limit of 256 MB	4.5
Breezy HR	Free bootstrap plan	Offers only 1 active position at a given time	4.5
Tellent Recruitee	18-day free trial	Offers only 50 emails with a small free trial	4.4

What things should be considered before choosing a free ATS?

1. Core features 

Before you choose a free ATS for your recruitment tasks, it's essential to know which specific features you need to target, as they would have a direct impact on your hiring process. 

You can choose these core features based on your organization's goals and hiring requirements. Based on these requirements, you need to choose the appropriate ATS, as not every free plan offers the features you are looking for. 

For example, if you are a recruitment team that handles over 200 applications per job opening, automated resume parsing, candidate tracking pipelines, reporting dashboards, and collaboration tools are the core features without which your recruitment goals won't be supported. 

2. User experience

Free plans of an applicant tracking system should not compromise its interface, as it might hamper your productivity and user experience. An ATS should be easy to navigate, with minimal clicks required to move through candidate stages. 

If you wish to evaluate the user experience of an ATS before committing to it, check out online reviews about their free plan. 

3. Growth potential and scalability

Many ATS platforms restrict the number of users, active jobs, or automation features under their free plans. This becomes problematic for small agencies with limited resources, as their growth potential gets restricted. 

If your organization plans to increase recruitment volume, you may require a scalable applicant tracking system with advanced features to support growth.

Based on your growth plans, you can select a free ATS with a ‘free forever’ plan or a limited free trial that can be switched to a premium paid version. 

4. Data security and compliance 

Ensure the free applicant tracking system you choose offers data security and complies with data protection laws and regulations, such as GDPR.

Look for features such as data encryption, consent management, data retention controls, audit trails, and role-based access only to keep your candidate data safe from unauthorized people.

You should also verify whether your ATS vendor provides documented compliance policies and secure hosting infrastructure before storing candidate information. If not, you must change your ATS immediately. 

5. Hidden charges

Some free ATS software often has limitations or integrated advanced features that may require a paid upgrade as your hiring activity grows. These hidden charges mostly apply to additional data storage, advanced analytics, or premium integrations with other tools. 

Before you make your purchase, you must review and confirm the pricing plans with your ATS vendor and ask for transparent pricing models. 

Free applicant tracking system FAQs

1. Is there a completely free applicant tracking system?

Yes, some applicant tracking systems, such as Recruit CRM, offer an unlimited free plan. However, these plans may lack some core features that can be unlocked by purchasing the premium version. Other ATS do offer a free trial, but they have limited functionality and require a paid upgrade after the trial period ends. 

2. What features are usually missing in a free ATS plan?

Most free ATS plans exclude the following features:

• Advanced workflow automation 
• Premium third-party integrations 
• Large-scale data storage 
• AI-powered resume parsing and candidate matching 
• Multi-user role permission 

3. How to select the best ATS? 

To select the best applicant tracking system, you can follow the given steps:

• Step 1: Identify and define your recruitment goals based on your hiring needs and resources.
• Step 2: Based on your recruitment goals, identify the ATS features that you would require.
• Step 3: Review, compare, and contrast different ATS software available in the market based on your requirements and resources. 
• Step 4: Check user feedback for the applicant tracking system you are interested in.
• Step 5: If the user feedback is good, you can make the purchase.  

Summary

• The top 5 free applicant tracking systems of 2026 are Recruit CRM, Manatal, Zoho Recruit, Breezy HR, and Tellent Recruitee. 
• Recruit CRM, Zoho Recruit, and Breezy HR offer free ATS plans, while Manatal and Tellent Recruitee offer a free trial period. 
• Before you choose your ATS software, you must consider key factors such as the core features it offers, its user experience, growth potential, scalability, data security, and any hidden charges.