When a spreadsheet stops working
- Two or more people give feedback on candidates.
- More than about 20 applicants for a role, or more than two open roles.
- A candidate waited a week for a reply because nobody knew whose turn it was.
- You need to show how candidate data is deleted (GDPR) or report on hiring.
ATS, recruiting CRM and HRIS
| Tool | What it manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ATS | People who applied or were referred: jobs, pipeline, interviews, offers | Evander, Ashby, Greenhouse, Workable |
| Recruiting CRM | People you approach before they apply: sourcing, outreach, nurture | Gem, parts of Ashby and Lever |
| HRIS | Employees after they sign: records, payroll, time off | BambooHR, Personio, Rippling |
What matters at each stage
| Company size | Who hires | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| 1–15 people | Founders | A free or cheap plan, a careers page, live in an hour, help with screening |
| 15–60 | Hiring managers, perhaps a first recruiter | Email and calendar sync, scheduling, scorecards, automations, source reports |
| 60–200 | A small recruiting team | Permissions, approvals, reporting, integrations with HR systems, SSO |
| 200+ | Recruiting and people operations | Compliance, analytics, procurement, a large integration marketplace |
Ten questions for every vendor
- What do we pay in a year at our size, including AI, SSO, texting and extra seats?
- Is there a free plan or a trial without a sales call?
- How long from sign-up to a published job? Try it.
- Is every applicant screened, and can I see why someone scored high or low?
- Does it sync with our mail and calendar (Gmail or Outlook) so replies land on the candidate?
- Can hiring managers and interviewers use it without paying per seat?
- Can we write automations ourselves, or does an admin configure them?
- Does it work with Claude or ChatGPT through an official MCP server, and what can an assistant do?
- How does it handle consent, retention and deletion requests?
- Can we export candidates, notes and emails if we leave?
Which ATS is easiest to set up
Ease of setup comes down to two things: can you start without a sales call, and how much do you configure before the first job is live. A free plan or a self-serve trial answers the first; the second you only learn by posting a real job. Quote-only products (Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, Pinpoint) start with a demo and usually an implementation project.
| Product | Free plan | Trial | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evander | Yes: unlimited jobs and teammates, 50 AI resume scorings a month | 14 days of Startup, no card | Free, then from $79/month |
| Ashby | No | None listed | From $300/month |
| Greenhouse | No | None listed | Quote only |
| Lever | No | None listed | Quote only |
| Workable | No | 15 days | From $299/month |
| Dover | Yes: unlimited users, jobs and candidates | Not needed | Free, Premium $199/month |
| Gem | No (six months free under 30 employees) | None listed | Custom; startup program |
| Kula | No | None listed (product tour) | From $5,120/year |
| Breezy HR | No | 14 days, no card | From $157/month |
| Teamtailor | No | None listed | Quote only |
| BambooHR | No | None listed | From $250/month |
| JazzHR | No | None listed | From $1,000/year |
| Manatal | No | 14 days, no card | From $15/user/month |
| Zoho Recruit | Yes: 1 active job per recruiter | 15 days of Enterprise | Free, paid per recruiter |
| Pinpoint | No | None listed | Quote only |
| Recruitee | No | Free trial, no card | By company size |
| JOIN | No | 14 days of Advanced | From €17 per job/month |
Evander generates the job post, interview stages and scorecards from one sentence, so there is little to configure. It is invite-only: sign-up needs an invite code, and there is no public sign-up.
Common mistakes
- Buying for the company you will be in three years. Switching is an afternoon with a CSV export; an enterprise contract at ten people is a year of cost and setup.
- Ignoring metered AI. Credits that run out mid-month stop screening exactly when applications peak.
- Paying per seat for occasional users. Interviewers who log in twice a month should not need a license.
- Skipping the export test. Ask for a sample export before you import a single candidate.
For prices see ATS pricing compared; for a short list see the best ATS for startups.
Questions
When should a startup move from a spreadsheet to an ATS?
When more than one person is involved in hiring, when a role gets more than about 20 applicants, or when you have more than two open roles. At that point candidates get lost and replies are late.
What is the difference between an ATS, a recruiting CRM and an HRIS?
An ATS manages people who applied: jobs, pipeline, interviews and offers. A recruiting CRM manages people you approach before they apply. An HRIS manages employees after they sign: records, payroll and time off.
How long does it take to implement an ATS?
Self-serve products such as Dover or Breezy HR are live the same day: sign up, connect mail and calendar, post a job. Evander sets teams up in a short onboarding call during its launch. Quote-only enterprise products usually involve a sales process and an implementation project.
Can I switch ATS later without losing my candidates?
Yes, if your current ATS exports them. Every major ATS produces a CSV export of candidates and jobs. Evander imports CSV files and Ashby exports, including applications, stages, outcomes and notes.
How much should a startup spend on an ATS?
Nothing for the first hires: Dover, Evander and Zoho Recruit have free plans. From about ten people, $79–400 a month covers the published plans of Evander, Breezy HR, Workable and Ashby.
What is the easiest ATS to set up?
The easiest are the ones you can start yourself without a sales call: Dover and Zoho Recruit have free plans, and Breezy HR (14 days, no card), Manatal (14 days, no card), Workable (15 days) and JOIN (14 days) have self-serve trials. Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor and Pinpoint are quote only and start with a demo. Evander creates the job, stages and scorecards from one sentence, but is invite-only: sign-up needs an invite code.