Updated October 2026
By Dev Rishi Khare, Founder and CEO, former machine learning engineer at Amazon in search and recommendations, and Synopsys.
A free forever ATS plan has no end date. A time limited free offer ends after a set period, and then you pay to keep using it. Before you pick, compare job caps, user caps, and what sits behind the paywall. Curriculo Starter is free forever with unlimited active jobs and unlimited teammates (pricing).
Are there any free ATS systems?
Yes. Eight vendors publish permanent free plans as of October 2026. The limits vary. Breezy HR and Zoho Recruit allow one active job. Odoo is free when Recruitment is your only Odoo app. Giig Hire allows one user. HireCade charges for each resume ranked by AI. OpenCATS requires you to run the software yourself.
Curriculo ATS Starter and Dover allow unlimited jobs and users. Their approaches to candidate scoring differ. Dover reserves AI resume review for its paid plan. Curriculo includes scoring for up to 1,000 candidates.
Prices checked October 18, 2026.
| Free ATS | Free plan and active jobs | Users | Candidate records | AI scoring on free | Careers page and email | What makes you pay | First paid price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculo ATS | Starter, $0, unlimited jobs | Unlimited team members | 1,000 ranked candidates. Later applicants remain stored but locked and unscored until you upgrade. | Included for the first 1,000 ranked candidates | Hosted careers page, Email agent, Gmail and Outlook sync, CRM style drip campaigns | More than 1,000 ranked candidates | Pro, $50 a month early bird price, 50% off $100, 10,000 ranked candidates, no per-seat fees | Curriculo pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
| Dover | Free ATS, unlimited jobs | Unlimited | Unlimited candidates, with recent history on Free | Not included | Basic careers page plus Gmail, Outlook and other integrations | AI resume review, fuller candidate history and higher limits for some features | Premium, $199 a month | Dover pricing, pricing checked October 2026. See Dover vs Curriculo ATS. |
| Breezy HR | Bootstrap, one active position or candidate pool | Unlimited | Unlimited access to candidates added within the last 30 days | Paid add on, credits start at $30 for 100,000 | Not checked for this comparison | A second active position or access beyond the free limits | Startup, $157 a month when billed annually | Breezy HR pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
| Zoho Recruit | Forever Free, one active job per recruiter license | Priced per recruiter license | Candidate management included, no public record cap stated | No AI add ons on Free | Email management included | More active jobs or paid features | Standard plan, see Zoho pricing page | Zoho Recruit pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
| Odoo Recruitment | One App Free, Recruitment must be your only Odoo app | Unlimited | No public cap stated | Not stated as a free feature | Recruitment app features apply within the one app limit | Adding another Odoo app | Region dependent, check before buying | Odoo Recruitment and Odoo pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
| OpenCATS | Free, open source software you install and run | Controlled by your installation | Controlled by your installation and hosting | Not stated | You configure and maintain the installation | Hosting, maintenance and any outside technical help | Your hosting and maintenance costs | OpenCATS, pricing checked October 2026 |
| Giig Hire | Free Forever, unlimited jobs | One user | Unlimited candidates and CVs | AI summaries start on the paid Starter plan | Email integration and a custom careers page capped at three jobs | A second user, more careers page jobs or paid features | Giig Starter, £12.50 a month plus VAT per user with annual billing selected | Giig Hire pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
| HireCade | Applicant tracking system, $0 forever, unlimited job posts | No user limit stated | Unlimited candidates | $0.10 per resume, billed per use | Not specified on the pricing page | AI resume ranking or other paid services | AI resume ranking, $0.10 per resume | HireCade pricing, pricing checked October 2026 |
Curriculo Starter also lets you export your data at any time. It has no self-hosted edition. If a job reaches 1,000 ranked candidates, new applicants remain stored but unscored until you move to Pro. Upgrading scores those waiting applicants.
Curriculo ATS scores every candidate from 0 to 100 against your job, with a written AI summary of the fit.
The score uses the full parsed resume, job title, description, required and preferred qualifications, location, cover letter, expected salary, stated experience and preferred locations. A checklist marks each qualification as met, partial or missing and gives a written reason.
The score is advisory. A person makes the hiring decision. Candidates see an AI notice and can request a human-only review.
When does free stop being free?
A free plan may stop fitting before it stops existing. Active job caps affect teams hiring for several roles. User caps affect agencies and teams that need shared access. Candidate limits matter when one job attracts a large applicant pool.
The table below gives practical fit estimates. Vendor rules still control what your account can do.
| Hiring scenario | Free plans that fit the stated job and user count | Limits to check |
|---|---|---|
| One open role, one user | All eight plans can fit | Breezy and Zoho leave no room for a second active role. Giig leaves no room for a second user. |
| Three open roles, one user | Curriculo, Dover, Odoo, OpenCATS, Giig and HireCade | Giig's careers page can display three jobs. Odoo must remain your only Odoo app. |
| Ten open roles, two users | Curriculo, Dover, Odoo, OpenCATS and HireCade | Odoo requires the one app setup. OpenCATS requires your own hosting and maintenance. HireCade charges separately for AI ranking. |
The SmartRecruiters Recruitment Benchmarks 2025 report found an average of 73 applicants per role. Using that average, 1,000 divided by 73 is about 13 roles' worth of ranked applicants. This is an estimate, not a promise about your hiring volume.
Self-hosted free ATS
OpenCATS is the self-hosted option in this comparison. It is free, community maintained software that you download and install. You provide the server and handle configuration, backups, upgrades and security releases.
This can suit a team with technical staff and specific hosting requirements. It also shifts work and risk to your team. Curriculo ATS, Dover, Breezy HR, Zoho Recruit, Odoo Recruitment, Giig Hire and HireCade are hosted products.
What is the best free ATS for recruiters?
For recruiters handling several client searches, a free plan needs room for multiple jobs and shared access. Curriculo ATS Starter and Dover both allow unlimited jobs and users. Curriculo also scores up to 1,000 candidates from 0 to 100 and provides a written summary.
Giig Hire allows unlimited jobs and candidates but limits the free plan to one user. HireCade allows unlimited job posts and candidates, then charges $0.10 for each resume ranked by AI. Breezy HR and Zoho Recruit can work for one active search but become restrictive when another role opens.
| Recruiter need | Strong free plan fit | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Several client searches and several team members | Curriculo Starter or Dover Free ATS | Both allow unlimited jobs and users |
| Included AI ranking | Curriculo Starter | Up to 1,000 ranked candidates, with written summaries |
| Solo recruiter with many jobs | Giig Hire | Unlimited jobs and candidates, one user |
| Unlimited records with occasional paid ranking | HireCade | ATS records stay free, AI ranking costs $0.10 per resume |
| Full control over hosting | OpenCATS | Downloadable open source system |
You can compare workflows for an ATS for independent recruiters.
Pricing per seat and job caps often decide when a small recruiting team must pay. On our calls, a recruiter reacted to a monthly price of $50 to $100 with, "That's too much for someone who's not really hiring a lot of people." Starter is free, and Pro has no per-seat fees.
In a public one star review, a two person consultancy wrote that Recruitee told it to take "the highest pricing plan" after the consultancy explained that it only needed the basics. The review was posted October 22, 2025.
Another recruiter wrote on Reddit in September 2026, "I've got Ashby at 16k a year. It's just me in TA at the company".
What is an ATS vs CRM?
An ATS manages people who applied to a specific open job. It records applications, screening, interview stages and hiring outcomes. A recruiting CRM manages relationships with people before they apply or between roles, including talent pools and outreach.
Small teams often start with an ATS. CRM features become useful when recruiters contact prospective candidates, keep long term relationships or recruit for recurring client needs.
| Question | ATS | Recruiting CRM |
|---|---|---|
| What does it track? | Applications, job stages, interviews and decisions | Prospective candidates, contacts, outreach and relationship history |
| Who is in it? | People linked to an open job | People who may fit current or future work |
| When do you need it? | When applications arrive for a defined role | When you build talent pools or contact people before they apply |
| What is the main workflow? | Move applicants through a hiring process | Record contact and maintain relationships over time |
A spreadsheet can imitate a basic contact list. It cannot reliably connect applications, messages, interview stages and team activity as volume grows. A startup recruiter told us, "It sucks because we have a lot of spreadsheets, but we got to do it."
A fractional recruiting lead described the ATS he wanted this way. When he emails candidates, "it adds them directly into the system. When resumes are shared, it pulls it." Curriculo's Email agent reads a connected Gmail or Outlook inbox, adds candidates and resumes that arrive by email, and drafts replies.
Curriculo Starter also includes CRM style drip campaigns for leads and clients. These campaigns follow a set sequence without branching.
What are the top 5 ATS systems?
There is no supported public ranking here that establishes five universal leaders. Product fit depends on company size, hiring process, integrations, reporting needs and budget.
Greenhouse, Lever and Workday do not publish a free plan. Each asks buyers to request a quote or contact sales. iCIMS has no public pricing page at the checked URL. Their absence from the eight free plans above reflects published pricing, not product quality.
| Vendor | Public free plan | Public pricing position |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | None published | Core, Plus and Pro plans require a demo request |
| Lever | None published | Customized quote |
| Workday Talent Acquisition | None published | Contact sales |
| iCIMS | None found | No public pricing page found at the checked address |
These vendors can still belong on a shortlist for a larger team. A permanent $0 tier is a separate buying requirement from brand recognition or enterprise features.
How much does an ATS cost?
A free ATS costs $0 while your use stays inside the plan limits. The first paid step varies by product and billing model.
Curriculo Pro costs $50 a month at its early bird price, which is 50% off $100. It ranks up to 10,000 candidates and has no per-seat fees. Breezy HR Startup costs $157 a month when billed annually. Dover Premium costs $199 a month. Giig Starter starts at £12.50 a month plus VAT per user when annual billing is selected.
HireCade uses metered pricing for AI resume ranking at $0.10 per resume. OpenCATS does not charge a software license fee, but you pay for hosting and take responsibility for upkeep. Zoho and Odoo prices require a browser check for your edition, region and billing choice.
Enterprise, custom pricing, is available from Curriculo.
Greenhouse, Lever and Workday quote prices on request. iCIMS did not have a public pricing page at the checked address. For a broader comparison, read the ATS pricing comparison.
What changes the price?
Job limits matter when you hire for several roles at once. A plan capped at one active position may be enough for occasional hiring but unsuitable for an agency or growing company.
Pricing per seat grows with the team. A low monthly price per recruiter can cost more than a flat plan once coordinators, hiring managers and agency staff need access.
Candidate and feature limits matter too. Some plans store unlimited records but charge for AI ranking. Others include records only for a set period or reserve AI review for paid plans. Compare the first paid step against the limit you are most likely to reach.
Start with the limit you can live with
Choose the free plan by the constraint most likely to affect your next few roles. Check active jobs first, then users, candidate access, scoring and the paid step.
Curriculo Starter is built for teams that need unlimited jobs and team members, included ranking for up to 1,000 candidates, a hosted careers page, inbox sync and data export.
Start free on Starter
https://ats.curriculo.me/sign-in/
No credit card is required. Sign in with Google or Microsoft.
Related: best ats for small business 2026, ats pricing comparison, dover, and pricing.
FAQ
What is the best free ATS in 2026?
It depends on which cap you will hit first. Compare job caps, user caps, AI scoring, and email intake, and check each vendor's own pricing page before you choose.
Is there a free forever applicant tracking system?
Yes. Curriculo Starter is free forever with unlimited active jobs and unlimited teammates. Pro is $50/mo early-bird (50% off $100) (pricing). Other vendors publish free forever plans too, but limits change, so recheck their pricing pages before you sign up.
How is a free forever ATS different from a time limited free offer?
A free forever plan has no end date, though it may cap jobs or users. A time limited free offer gives you the product for a set period, then you pay to keep using it.
Should a small team pick a free ATS or a free CRM for hiring?
An ATS tracks applicants for each job. A CRM tracks talent pools over time. Small teams often need an ATS first.