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43 reviews 71 guides No pay-to-play rankings Updated February 2026
Editor's Choice: Best Free ATS

Stop Tracking Candidates in Spreadsheets

Breezy HR is the easiest way to modernize your hiring. Post to 50+ job boards with one click, automate scheduling, and visualize your pipeline. Best part? It's free forever for one position.

Get Started for Free → Read Full Review

Why We Love Breezy

4.9/5 Score
  • Free Forever Plan: Perfect for startups hiring for 1 role at a time. No credit card needed.
  • One-Click Posting: Push jobs to LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and 50+ others instantly.
  • Visual Pipeline: Drag-and-drop candidates through stages just like Trello.

Our Top Picks for 2026

After testing 43 platforms, these stood out for small and mid-size businesses.

BEST FREE ATS

Breezy HR

4.9
Score

Generous free tier, visual pipeline, easy to use. Perfect for startups hiring their first 10-20 employees.

ATS Free Tier Visual Pipeline
BEST FOR RECRUITING

Manatal

4.8
Score

AI-powered ATS that punches above its weight. Great for teams doing serious hiring without enterprise budgets.

ATS CRM AI Matching
BEST FOR PAYROLL

Gusto

4.8
Score

The gold standard for SMB payroll. Dead simple, handles tax filings automatically, and employees actually like using it.

Payroll Benefits Onboarding
BEST FOR GLOBAL TEAMS

Deel

4.7
Score

Hire contractors and employees in 150+ countries without setting up entities. The go-to for remote-first companies.

Global Payroll EOR Contractors
BEST ALL-IN-ONE

Rippling

4.6
Score

The Swiss Army knife of HR. Payroll, benefits, IT, and device management in one platform. Great for tech-forward teams.

All-in-One IT Management Global Payroll
BEST FOR HRIS

BambooHR

4.5
Score

The best all-around HRIS for growing teams. Excellent onboarding, clean interface, solid reporting.

HRIS Onboarding ATS

⚡ Quick Comparison: Top 3 Picks

Not sure which one to choose? Here's how they compare side-by-side:

Feature
Gusto
Best for Payroll
BambooHR
Best for HRIS
Rippling
Best All-in-One
Starting Price $40/mo + $6/ee Custom quote $8/employee/mo
Best For Under 100 employees 50-500 employees Tech-savvy teams
Payroll ✅ Excellent ➕ Add-on ✅ Excellent
HRIS/Employee Records ✅ Good ✅ Excellent ✅ Excellent
Ease of Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Benefits Admin
Our Score 4.8/5 4.7/5 4.6/5
Read Gusto Review → Read BambooHR Review → Read Rippling Review →

Browse by Category

Payroll Software

Automate payroll, tax filings, and direct deposits for your team.

6 Reviews

HRIS / Core HR

Employee records, org charts, and people data management.

11 Reviews

Applicant Tracking

Streamline hiring from job posting to offer letter.

8 Reviews

Time Tracking

Track hours, manage timesheets, and ensure accurate billing.

6 Reviews

Employee Scheduling

Create schedules, manage shifts, and handle time-off requests.

4 Reviews

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Tailored recommendations based on your role and priorities.

For CEOs & Founders

HR tech that scales with your vision. Strategic, high-level view.

For HR Managers

Day-to-day HR operations made easy. Features that save you hours.

For CFOs & Finance

ROI-focused HR tech. Integration with accounting and budgeting.

For IT Admins

Security, SSO, APIs, and integrations you care about.

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Test before you buy—risk-free trials.

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🔄 Recently Updated Reviews

We continuously test and update our reviews to reflect the latest features and pricing

Updated 2 days ago

Gusto Review

New pricing structure and benefits features

Updated 5 days ago

Rippling Review

New IT management integrations added

Updated 1 week ago

Best Payroll Software

2026 pricing updates across all platforms

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