San Francisco-based Lever is a leading talent acquisition suite you’ve probably heard of before, but just because it’s well-known doesn’t mean it’s right for you and your team.
Lever specializes in streamlined applicant tracking and candidate relationship management, which helps convert qualified candidates into exceptional hires.
But like any tool, it has its downsides, too. For instance, its full-cycle recruiting functions are far from comprehensive, making it tough for talent teams to filter skills and optimize the candidate experience.
These limitations mean that Lever might fit your hiring goals, but it’s still worth shopping around before you settle on software. Luckily for you, we’ve done all the heavy lifting by comparing the ten best Lever alternatives, comparing each’s features, pricing, and pros and cons.
Before you get started…understand your recruitment needs
Before we get into the shortlist, here’s some advice: Finding the perfect fit is much easier when you start your search by understanding your recruiting needs.
Use this quick checklist to help your hiring team find the right software partner:
Do you need a full-cycle recruiting suite or just assessment tools? A comprehensive ATS costs more but ensures a unified hiring process. Assessment tools help if you struggle to identify talented hires.
Decide what features matter the most. Some companies lean heavily on analytics or generative AI. Others foreground optimizing the candidate experience. Determine your priorities and choose accordingly.
Consider user experience. It doesn’t make sense for small, inexperienced teams to buy complex applicant tracking systems. Choose software that you can implement quickly without extensive upskilling.
Key features to look for in a Lever alternative
Some talent teams are happy with Lever’s service, but many report challenges. Common pain points for Lever users include:
Interface bugs and poor customer support
Lack of detailed reporting functions via Lever analytics tools
Poor customization options
High prices to unlock higher-level features, costly at scale
Not enough training materials to get busy talent teams up and running
Complex data migration from other ATS tools
Lever likely isn’t ideal if you need to tailor talent pipelines, analyze performance, or have a small recruiting budget.
The good news is that Lever alternatives exist (almost too many, in fact). Here are some critical features you should expect to see in an elite recruitment platform.
User-friendly interface
The best software isn’t just powerful—it’s easy to use. Hiring teams should be able to easily navigate different pipeline stages to manage every candidate efficiently. The learning curve should be minimal to ensure your talent team can work productively.
Lever’s interface is a common problem. Some features are easy to master, but users often report excessive complexity.
Cleaner and leaner Lever alternatives like Toggl Hire may be better options. Simple solutions onboard hiring teams and kick-start talent pipelines in hours (if not mere minutes).
Top tip:
When scheduling demos or working your way through Lever alternatives, the onboarding process is usually a good indicator of how easy the software is to use. Below, you will see how simple Toggl Hire’s onboarding process is, allowing you to get set up and hiring in minutes. Use this as a benchmark!
Advanced analytics and reporting
Analytics is another frequent pain point for Lever users, which might initially sound like no biggie. However, when you’re working to use hiring data to inform strategic decisions, having easy access to numbers and results is a huge help.
Advanced analytics in hiring mobilize every piece of evidence when comparing candidates. Customized reports deliver insights into the hiring process, enabling efficiency gains. Unfortunately, Lever makes it tough to export and analyze data.
Detailed reporting is important, too, but depending on your processes and hiring frequency, you might be able to do without it. At the very least, the platform you choose should deliver key metrics and allow for customized data visualizations.
Integration with other tools
Full-cycle hiring tools should ideally integrate with payroll, staff training, collaboration tools, and HRIS systems. However, the integration options Lever supports are a bit weak. Because of this, applying a Lever integration can be more complicated than it should be.
Good platforms seamlessly integrate talent pipelines and business strategies. Integration ensures hiring managers are able to easily meet business goals by filling skill gaps. Robust integrations also enable strategic decisions instead of stakeholders working independently.
Strong candidate relationship management features
Candidate relationship management streamlines the candidate experience.
CRM also functions outside recruitment windows, helping you maintain a healthy talent pool. It’s necessary to engage the best applicants and attract talent to apply.
Lever provides some CRM features but is not a global leader. Alternatives go further, making it much easier to nurture long-lasting relationships.
Top tip:
What you need out of candidate management features probably looks different from what another company needs. So, really take time to figure out what those needs are. These days, we can bet on the fact that any company needs help improving the candidate experience, though, so look for Lever alternatives that make it easier to boost your employer brand through features like automated candidate feedback and gamified assessments.
Customizable workflows and automation
Finally, recruiting platforms need strong customization options. Users should be in control of how they design the hiring process, collect data, and assess candidates.
Lever offers some customization but has a reputation for being inflexible and limited. Automation is relatively weak, and it seems many hiring managers struggle to personalize the process.
A good solution reduces your workload, enables customization, and helps you communicate with candidates.
Top 10 Lever alternatives
With these pain points in mind, let’s start exploring some of our favorite Lever alternatives. The list below features Lever’s closest competitors, and many offer better functionality in certain areas. It’s not a league table, though. Instead, use the list to compare features, pricing, and feedback.
1. Greenhouse
Greenhouse offers “all-together” hiring, from sourcing candidates to onboarding. Features include AI-powered CV cleaning, keyword-based talent filtering, and customized recruitment dashboards. The system ensures fair, data-driven hiring—ideal for meeting DEI targets and reducing bias.
👍 Best for…
Companies interested in prioritizing diversity and ensuring objective hiring decisions.
🧲 Key Features
Customized dashboards to monitor hiring processes and KPIs
Over 450 in-built APIs
Post ads to over 1,000 job boards
Automated candidate feedback and user-friendly forms
AI-driven CV screening
Skill-based competency scorecards. No algorithm-based scoring.
Keyword-based applicant searches
💰 Pricing
Greenhouse offers three price tiers that vary according to company size:
Essential: Limited number of recruitment campaigns and customized reports.
Advanced: Includes x10 more campaign events, report customization, and many add-ons.
Expert: Unlimited campaigns/events. Includes take-home skills tests and interview tools.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“Greenhouse is…exceptionally designed to make it easy for recruiters to do their day-to-day job and make the most of the effort.” [Associate Director Of Human Resource]
“Greenhouse is our end-to-end applicant tracking system, [helping] us hire and onboard employees and manage employee hiring records effectively.” [Source]
2. Workable
Workable is an applicant tracking system built around AI and automation. The platform streamlines and speeds up hiring, providing wide coverage of popular job boards. Workable’s ATS also integrates with the brand’s HR tools, providing a full-cycle recruiting solution.
👍 Best for…
Hiring quickly and efficiently integrating new employees into existing HR processes.
🧲 Key Features
Advertise to over 200 job boards
People Search analyzes over 400 million profiles to target passive candidates
Code-free careers pages
AI-driven candidate screening and recommendations
Mobile application tools improve the candidate experience
💰 Pricing
Starter: $189/month. Limited to two active roles. No video interviews or assessments. Just core recruitment tools.
Standard: $313/month. Unlimited roles. Tools like video interviews are available at extra cost. Limited to English language.
Premier: $628/month. It supports five native languages, includes video interviews, texting, and assessments, and integrates with payroll processes.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“Workable…[helps] us organize and streamline the hiring process. It ensures we don’t lose any candidates in the pipeline and helps us respond appropriately to all.” [Source]
“Workable’s got the muscle for recruiting, giving you all the sourcing and teamwork options without a hassle.” [Source]
3. Toggl Hire
Toggl Hire is a full-cycle hiring platform built with tools that help you create a smooth candidate experience. The skills-first approach helps hiring teams to match skills and roles in their talent acquisition strategy.
👍 Best for…
Companies that need rapid hiring improvements without complex roll-outs or confusing pricing.
🧲 Key Features
Thousands of skills tests developed by industry experts
Video interviews and homework assignments to filter candidates
Customized talent pipelines via a simple but powerful ATS
Insightful skills test feedback for all candidates
Talent pool management featuring pre-qualified candidates
Analytics to guide testing and sourcing
💰 Pricing
Free trial: Introduces the ATS and covers up to five candidates.
Basic: $20/month or $240/year. Covers up to 20 candidates. Adds talent pool management and analytics.
Premium: $75/month or $900/year for up to 45 candidates, but clients can buy additional capacity.
Business: $469/month or $5,628/year. No candidate limits. Everything is customizable, including email templates, URL redirects, and automated communication.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“[Toggl Hire] helps us filter candidates and reduce the amount of CVs that we read. It is the first stage in our pipeline and with the reporting feature we could tune our questions to be very effective.” [Source]
“Very user-friendly! You can use your own pictures to customize the tests, and there are a lot of premade questions to choose from. Great team members help you out whenever needed!” [Source]
4. BambooHR
BambooHR is an ATS that uses automation to help hiring managers zero in on top talent. As part of a broader HR solution, the ATS integrates with payroll, training, and benefit management tools. It can help you ensure seamless candidate experiences from application to onboarding.
👍 Best for…
Adding a lightweight ATS to existing HR functionality without causing disruption.
🧲 Key Features
Collaboration tools to bring every stakeholder into the hiring team
E-signatures and letter templates to simplify job offers
The Bamboo Mobile App to post jobs on the move
Analytics tracking KPIs like time-to-hire
Post job ads across all relevant channels with a couple of clicks
💰 Pricing
Free trial: Customers can try BambooHR for seven days without paying a cent.
Core: Billed on a per-employee and per-month basis, it includes HR features and full access to the BambooHR ATS. It covers 5 job openings at once.
Pro: Access extras, like employee community management and performance management. Covers 25 job openings.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“BambooHR has been extremely helpful in streamlining and standardizing our onboarding process and ensuring all employee information is received and documented.” [Source]
“The best part about BambooHR is the ease of use as a new HR professional in a solo HR department. Everything is in one place, works together, and makes it super-easy for employees and myself to use.” [Source]
5. Jobvite
Jobvite stands out with robust CRM capabilities and an easy-to-use interface. Promising to “streamline talent across the entire cycle,” Jobvite can help hiring teams save time with smart automation and efficiency-boosting analytics.
👍 Best for…
Hiring managers with CRM needs, especially in niche sectors where talent is scarce.
🧲 Key Features
Evolve Talent Acquisition Suite, which includes several automation options
Source & CRM tool to find and engage candidates, leveraging AI to understand every job seeker
Real-time talent acquisition analytics
Tools to manage the employee referral process
Job Broadcast to reach boards, media, and partner organizations
💰 Pricing
Jobvite unfortunately doesn’t advertise its prices online, but a free demo is available on request.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“The interface and platform are easy to use. Electronic onboarding has saved our company time and resources. We have been able to onboard more.” [Source]
“[Jobvite] has integrated multiple features for multiple roles to provide a complete lifecycle from job posting to onboarding with email notifications and updates at every step. [Source]
6. Breezy HR
Targeted at entry-level users, Breezy HR is a simple ATS with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. While touted for its simplicity, it does come with advanced features, including automated job posts and communication, resume parsing, and candidate matching.
👍 Best for…
Combining recruitment tasks under a simple applicant tracking system.
🧲 Key Features
Candidate Match to score applicants
Automated job posting, interview scheduling, and candidate feedback
Drag and drop talent pipelines with individual candidate profiles
Integrations with collaboration tools
Analytics and reporting tailored to GDPR compliance
💰 Pricing
Bootstrap: Free of charge with basic features
Startup: $157/month
Growth: $273/month
Business: $439/month
💬 Why Customers Love It
“The setup was so simple it made the transition to an ATS easy and digestible to co-workers who had never used it before. I was able to get the system almost in complete working order within a matter of days.” [Source]
“I love having the team scorecard options to easily rate applicants as a group and help remove the bias from hiring practices.” [Source]
7. SmartRecruiters
SmartRecruiters is an easy-to-understand ATS that delivers “hiring without boundaries.” The complete ATS has many customization options, can help you identify the best job boards for each role, and uses Smart CRM to build employer brands.
👍 Best for…
Creating buzz among passive candidates and getting your message out there. Best-suited to rapid, high-volume recruiting.
🧲 Key Features
Applicant tracking, including standardized interview procedures
SmartJobs to locate ads efficiently
SmartDistribute to analyze job ad performance
Career sites
Automated CRM to nurture talent pools
💰 Pricing
Prices rise with the number of employees but are not listed on the website. SmartRecruit includes basic SmartRecruiters functionality. Customers must add other apps like SmartDistribute or SmartCRM to access more advanced features.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“The program has an attractive and seamless layout. It is easy for teams to access and manage recruitment duties because of its user-friendly design.” [Source]
“From creating job postings to managing applications, every step feels effortless and effective. Users can easily customize their recruitment workflow to suit their specific needs.” [Source]
8. Recruitee
This cloud-based Dutch ATS seamlessly integrates sourcing, candidate management, and analytics. Customizable templates add flexibility, while its candidate profiles make comparing applicants easier.
👍 Best for…
Streamlining recruitment with templates and automation.
🧲 Key Features
Employer career sites
AI-powered referral platform to mobilize employee networks
Smart interview scheduler
Customized recruitment reports
Over 120 app integrations
Fair Evaluations to cut bias
E-signatures ensure compliant job offers
💰 Pricing
Demo: Introduces basic features for a short period of time
Start: $199/month basic package
Grow: $249/month enhances analytics, scheduling, and automation
Optimize: Prices vary for the premium package, but this plan adds AP support, SSO, and tools to help reduce bias
💬 Why Customers Love It
“With Recruitee we have been able to manage data, analytics, and provide reports. Since the moment we started using this system, things got better.” [Source]
“The product covered all the basic features that we needed to manage our processes and it came at a price that was very easy to justify to management.” [Source]
9. JazzHR
JazzHR streamlines recruitment for small businesses. Users can automate manual tasks like posting ads or scheduling interviews, freeing time to spend on finding the ideal candidate.
👍 Best for…
Small and medium-sized enterprises with outdated recruitment systems.
🧲 Key Features
Single-click job posting to multiple channels
Candidate profiles to assess capabilities
Automated candidate engagement tools
Collaboration to bring together the entire hiring team
Structured interview guides
Analytics for efficiency and compliance
💰 Pricing
Hero: $75/month (with annual package)
Plus: $269/month
Pro: $420/month
💬 Why Customers Love It
“A really great tool for keeping you organized if you’re a company that has a lot of applicants coming in. Easy to automate your entire recruiting process.” [Source]
“I love that JazzHR is scalable depending on a client’s needs. A small, tiny company can have an entry-level ATS and 3 aggregated job postings for a low monthly rate.” [Source]
10. Zoho Recruit
Zoho’s “one-stop recruitment solution” blends CRM and ATS functions to boost engagement and improve the candidate experience. The platform reduces the need for multiple recruitment tools by combining sourcing, tracking, and hiring.
👍 Best for…
Recruiting globally and sourcing temporary employees.
🧲 Key Features
Supports many languages, from Bulgarian to Vietnamese
Client portal and resume processing
Post once, publish ads anywhere
Clean pipeline interface for every role
Combines screening, skills, and interview assessments
AI behavioral assessment tools and candidate matching
💰 Pricing
Forever Free: Full functionality for 15 days. After that, a one-job limit applies
Standard: $25/month for 100 active jobs
Professional: $50/month for 250 active jobs
Enterprise: $75/month for 750 active jobs.
💬 Why Customers Love It
“Almost everything can be customized from the beginning, which makes the tool really flexible.” [Source]
“Zoho Recruit was invaluable for managing a large number of applicants, streamlining the hiring process, and automating email communications.” [Source]
What makes Toggl Hire the best Lever alternative
The talent acquisition leaders above rival Lever hire in some key areas. Any of them could meet your hiring goals, but Toggl Hire offers features Lever and other competitors lack. Standout features include:
Access to thousands of expertly crafted skills tests. Toggl’s tests dig deep to help hiring teams identify elite talent. Create custom assessments for each talent pipeline and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing hires have the skills to succeed.
Seamless candidate experience from sourcing to starting work. Create an application processes that engage candidates at every stage. When assigning skills tests to candidates, for example, they’ll receive automatic feedback from us about how they did (of course, you can go in later and tweak the results according to your internal grading standards).
Screen candidates without seeing a resume. Toggl Hire’s skills tests give you essential background on pre-qualified candidates. Discover their real abilities and save time by going beyond paper credentials.
Add in top-tier ATS and CRM features and customer service that always gets to the heart of queries, and the result is a recruitment platform that refines what makes Lever great—but offers talent leaders so much more.
Discover what Toggl Hire brings to the table. Sign up for a free account and put our recruitment software to the test.
Elizabeth is an experienced entrepreneur, writer, and content marketer. She has nine years of experience helping grow businesses, including two of her own, and shares Toggl's mission of challenging traditional beliefs about what building a successful business looks like.
