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Which ATS is Best for HR? A Comprehensive Guide to Top Choices

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Saying goodbye to a team member is always hard to do. But what’s even harder is finding a replacement to fill their shoes. Employers, managers, and HR professionals know exactly how long and tedious the hiring process can be – from creating the job posting to filtering through applications and interviews. However, with the right ATS tool, the recruitment length can significantly decrease and help you match with the best job candidates quickly. In this guide, we’ll be comparing the best applicant tracking systems on the market and answering the question, “Which ATS is best for HR?” That way, the guesswork is gone and you’re on your way towards an efficient hiring process.

What Is an HR ATS?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is recruitment software designed to manage and automate candidate tracking. It’s a must-have for HR teams that want to streamline their hiring process. Particularly for hiring managers that are looking to reduce their time-to-hire metric and fill critical roles ASAP. From sourcing and job posting to interview scheduling and reporting, an ATS covers the entire recruiting journey.

Furthermore, a 2023 study reported that “90% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS.” If you’re ready to scale your team and find top talent, check out our top 10 best applicant tracking systems in 2025. You’ll find the right platform to enhance your recruitment process, reduce admin workload, and onboard new hires quicker than ever before.

Top 10 ATS Software Platforms in 2025

1. Factorial

Factorial all in one business management software dashboard

Factorial offers more than just HR software – it includes a powerful built-in ATS. With its user-friendly interface, it’s designed to make the recruiting process easier and more efficient. Additionally, Factorial’s recruitment module has built-in AI features to filter through candidates and match you with top talent.

When using Factorial’s ATS software, you can expect advanced filtering algorithms, automated CV parsing, and real-time analytics. You can publish job descriptions that are automatically uploaded to multiple job boards, schedule interviews, and track candidates’ progress, all from one centralized platform.

🚀 From job creation to multi-posting and automated CV analysis — Factorial covers it all. Get a free demo.

All these features (plus more!) make it a strong choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one business management solution. Factorial provides your team with recruitment tools, performance management, time tracking, and PTO management, as well as payroll and expense management.

👉 See Factorial in action!

2. JazzHR

JazzHR is a popular applicant tracking system software that focuses on smart hiring. It offers customizable capabilities to tailor your job postings, automated resume screening, and tools for scheduling interviews. Additionally, JazzHR provides users with recruitment analytics to track and measure key metrics such as candidate quality.

💡Best suited for growing SMBs and startups.

3. Greenhouse

Greenhouse stands out for its user-friendly interface, customizable interview kits, and seamless job board integrations.

It offers smooth candidate management and a standout candidate experience, thanks to automation and multi-channel posting. Moreover, it provides multiple tools to connect you to the best candidate through a structured hiring process to reduce bias and improve hire quality.

4. iCIMS

iCIMS provides a full talent acquisition suite that is an ATS and CRM system in one platform. It simplifies candidate sourcing, posting jobs, and supporting your talent acquisition team. Additionally, it offers onboarding features to help welcome your new hires through software integrations.

With an ATS system this powerful, your overall recruitment process will become more efficient. Ultimately, saving you time and reducing admin work for your team.

💡 Best for mid-sized to large organizations with frequent hiring needs

5. Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is a great ATS system for smaller organizations that have smaller budgets to work with. It’s also ideal for businesses that are already part of the Zoho ecosystem. Zoho Recruit supports team efforts by simplifying hiring workflows, including candidate tracking and scoring candidates to find which applicant is the best match. Additionally, features include automated resume parsing and job posting template creation to ensure efficiency and save your team time.

6. Workable

Workable is an all-in-one recruiting software designed to streamline every stage of the hiring process. It offers advanced features like AI-powered candidate sourcing, customizable pipelines, and one-click job posting to over 200 job boards. Workable also supports team collaboration with built-in messaging, evaluation tools, and automated workflows to move candidates through the funnel efficiently.

Additionally, its reporting and analytics tools help hiring teams track performance and improve recruitment strategies over time.

💡Best suited for fast-growing teams and companies hiring at scale.

Workable is a top choice for the best applicant tracking systems for HR. It offers hiring teams advanced features like built-in AI, customizable pipelines, and the ability to post on multiple job boards at one time. Additionally, it makes collaborating with colleagues easy as there are

7. Lever

Lever is well-suited for high-volume hiring as it centralizes candidate data with the option to add customizable tags to categorize candidates. Its platform was designed to encourage relationship-building throughout the hiring process to give recruitment a human touch. Additionally, the platform offers personalized communication templates and tailored reporting tools to track key metrics.

8. Bullhorn

Bullhorn is a popular ATS system for staffing agencies that is also well-suited for corporate HR teams. It offers AI-powered tools to enhance efficiency and create an effective hiring process. Moreover, Bullhorn provides a centralized candidate database, candidate tracking, and tools for scheduling interviews.

With just a few clicks, you can create custom reports to analyze your recruitment process. This valuable information makes it easier to make well-informed recruitment decisions.

9. SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is tailored for enterprise-level recruiting. Its offers a flexible platform with a wide range of options for 3rd-party integrations that include background checks or onboarding solutions.

Also, it combines multi-posting, AI-powered sourcing, and seamless collaboration between hiring teams. Additionally, users report that SmartRecruiters is an intuitive system, even for those who aren’t tech-savvy.

💡 Well-suited for large organizations looking for a premium tool to simplify their complex hiring needs.

10. BambooHR (with integrated ATS)

BambooHR’s ATS is simple yet powerful and comes as part of their broader HRIS offering. It’s recruiting software allows you to create custom reports to check key recruitment metrics and automate publishing open positions to multiple job boards.

Widely used by SMBs, it helps centralize applications, schedule interviews, collect feedback, and move successful candidates straight into the HR system. BambooHR’s ATS and HR tools make it a powerful tool for teams looking to centralize all their company workflows and documents.

Features of an HR Applicant Tracking System

The best HR ATS platforms solve both functional and strategic recruiting challenges. Here are some key features that you should look:

  • Centralized applications: Automatically collects applications from job boards, career sites, and social media.
  • Smart screening: Uses algorithms to sort resumes based on predefined criteria, surfacing the most relevant candidates.
  • Candidate tracking: Keeps a record of every applicant’s journey—from interview to offer—helping recruiters avoid duplicates or missed steps.
  • Team collaboration: Enables seamless communication between recruiters, HR teams, and hiring managers with features like feedback sharing, interview scheduling, and internal notes.
  • Automated communication: Sends status updates to candidates automatically, enhancing the candidate experience.
  • Recruitment analytics & reports: Gain valuable insights about your recruitment process to make the experience the best it possibly could be.
  • Use of ease: Choose a platform that is easy to navigate and allows your team to leverage technology to its maximum capacity.
  • Integrations: Ensure your recruitment process is connected with your daily tools to ensure all communication and core operations are centralized.

Choosing the Right ATS for HR: Key Takeaways

Finding the best ATS can feel overwhelming. Your final decision should depend on your company’s size, recruitment volume, desired integrations (like with HRIS or communication tools), and budget. Take into consideration the needs of your talent acquisition team and ask yourself, what features do they need to streamline the recruitment process? Do they need reporting and analytics tools? Do they need platform that stores applicants in a talent pool?

For many businesses, an ATS platform may not be enough to manage their needs. They need a tool that will help them throughout the entire employee lifecycle journey – from candidate sourcing to offboarding. A popular choice a full-featured HR platform with ATS features, payroll, and more is Factorial. Its platform includes an ATS which simplifies the hiring process with its built-AI features that writes job descriptions, post open roles on multiple job boards, and filters through resumes. Factorial is the only tool you’ll need to manage your business and team. Transform your hiring workflows today!

FAQ – Choosing the Best ATS

What tools are most commonly used in recruiting?
Recruiters often use ATS platforms, video interview tools, job boards (e.g., LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.), and skill assessment platforms.

How to use ATS in HR?
An ATS platform can help HR teams in various ways. It collects applications from different sources (career pages, job boards, referrals), filters them based on set criteria, and helps recruiters manage every step of the process from screening to hiring.

What are the main benefits of using an ATS?
An ATS saves time, improves candidate experience, reduces human error, enhances collaboration, and provides actionable recruiting data.

How do I choose the right ATS for my HR team?
Evaluate your company size, number of hires, integration needs, and budget. Always test the interface and customer support before committing.

Is an ATS mandatory for HR teams?
No, but it quickly becomes essential when managing multiple open roles. It helps structure your processes, improve hiring quality, and save time.

Is ATS is best for recruitment?
Factorial is the best HR ATS tool for the recruitment process. Its platform helps centralize all candidate communication, automate tedious tasks, and improve the overall quality of your hiring process. Get your free 7-day trial to change how you hire.

📌 Need to find a tool to help manage your new hires and team? Check out the best talent management software in 2025.

Did you like this article? Mailan specializes in creating business management content that is accessible and easy to digest. She graduated from CSU Long Beach with a B.A. in Communications and later pursued her Masters at UPF in Barcelona with M.A. in Media and Communications. Her passions include learning languages, cooking, reading, and watching movies (everything minus horror). Check out Factorial's blog for more of her posts on time management in the office, tracking business expenses, and the latest HR news and trends.