Applicant tracking system pricing is designed to confuse. Most vendors publish a base price, bury the per-seat fee in sales conversations, and only reveal the add-on costs and renewal increases after you’ve signed. This post lays out the real numbers.
Every figure comes from a published pricing page, an industry review (SelectSoftwareReviews, ITQlick, Vendr, G2), or a standard sales quote. No estimates dressed up as facts.
The actual 1-year and 3-year cost of every major ATS for a 50-person startup, including hidden fees. The cheapest legacy option is still 8x the cost of Curriculo Pro. The most expensive is 40x.
The base price comparison
| Platform | Base/yr | Per-seat | Setup | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | $12,000 | $240 | 2-4 weeks | Keyword matching |
| Ashby | $6,000 | $120 | 1-2 weeks | Basic filters |
| Workable | $4,800 | $99 | 3-5 days | Keyword + rules |
| Lever | Sales-gated (~$6,000+) | Add-on inflation | ~3 weeks | Keyword-based |
| CurriculoATS | $0 Free / $1,200 Pro | $0 | 15 minutes | Outcome-based, written reasoning |
The hidden costs you’ll only learn about after signing
Greenhouse
Greenhouse has the most layers of hidden cost in the market. A 50-person startup usually ends up paying around $25,000 to $33,000 in year one, not the $12,000 on the pricing page.
- $3,000 to $5,000 one-time implementation fee (dedicated implementation manager, 2-4 week onboarding)
- 8 to 15% annual renewal increases, compounding to $7,000+ extra over three years
- CRM locked behind Advanced or Expert tiers ($12K to $50K+/year)
- Sourcing add-on around $5,000+/year for 10 seats
- Complex multi-surface API with version deprecation issues
Lever
Lever is the one vendor that refuses to publish pricing at all. Every quote is sales-gated.
- 40 to 60% add-on inflation over the base quote
- $8,000 to $10,000 per seat per year for LinkedIn Recruiter, which Lever’s sourcing workflow effectively requires
- No native mobile app
- Custom reporting locked behind Enterprise tier
- Owned by Employ Inc. (same holding company as JazzHR and Jobvite)
Workable
Workable advertises $4,800/year. The real cost structure punishes growth.
- 67% price jump when the team crosses 21 employees
- Video interviews: +$99/month. SMS: +$79/month. Combined add-ons add 59% over base.
- Starter plan capped at 2 active jobs at $149/month
- 2.8/10 pricing satisfaction in industry reviews
- 8 to 9% annual renewal increases
The 67% jump at 21 employees is the one that catches startups by surprise. You grow from 20 to 21 people and your ATS bill goes from $9,750/year to around $16,000/year. With no warning on your renewal.
3-year TCO for a 50-person startup
Base cost alone is misleading. Here’s what a typical 50-person startup actually pays over three years, factoring per-seat fees, implementation, and renewal increases.
| Platform | Year 1 | Year 3 cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | $25,000+ | $70,000+ |
| Ashby | $12,000+ | $36,000+ |
| Workable | $11,886+ | $38,000+ |
| Lever | $12,000-$15,000+ | $40,000+ |
| CurriculoATS Pro (regular) | $1,200 | $3,600 |
| CurriculoATS Pro (early bird) | $600 | $1,800 |
The CurriculoATS numbers, fully transparent
Starter: $0/year forever. 1 active job. Unlimited team members. Full AI scoring with written reasoning. Every feature. No credit card.
Pro: $100/month flat ($1,200/year). Currently $50/month during early bird ($600/year). Unlimited jobs. Unlimited team members. Priority support. Zero implementation fees. Zero per-seat fees. Zero add-ons. Zero renewal increases.
Enterprise: Custom pricing. Everything in Pro plus Full API access, SSO/SAML, custom integrations, dedicated account manager, SLA.
No contracts. No cancellation fees. Prorated billing. 15-minute setup.
Against Greenhouse, Curriculo Pro is 20-30x cheaper. Against Ashby, 10-20x cheaper. Against Workable, 8-16x cheaper. And Curriculo includes outcome-based AI with written reasoning, which none of the others match at any price.
Ready to see the full comparison?
See Curriculo’s pricing page for the complete feature breakdown, or jump to specific comparisons: vs Greenhouse, vs Ashby, vs Workable, vs Lever, vs Manatal.