Best Free Applicant Tracking Systems for Small Business (2026)

Last updated: October 18, 2026. Vendor terms were read on each vendor's own page on that date and can change. We make Harmny, which is one of the tools below.

Which free ATS fits a small business at a glance?

Prices as of October 2026, in the currency each vendor shows. Where a vendor hides a price we say so; it is a custom quote.

What should a small business look for in a free ATS?

• Active job limit. One open role at a time suits an occasional hire. It does not suit parallel hiring.
• Who can log in. Interviewers need access to leave feedback. A one-user plan means forwarding emails.
• Candidate history. Some plans limit how far back you can see applicants.
• What happens after the hire. If the person becomes an employee, does the tool hand them over, or do you re-type them into another system?
• Where jobs get posted. A careers page is not the same as posting to job boards.

Which are the best free applicant tracking systems for small business?

1. Harmny Recruiting

We make Harmny, so weigh this entry accordingly. Recruiting is a module on every plan, including Free, with no separate fee. It covers hire requests with approval, a careers page, screening questions, a board and list pipeline, interview scheduling and scorecards, email templates, and offers with e-signature. An accepted offer converts into an employee invitation.

• Best for: Small teams that want hiring, onboarding and reviews in one system.
• Free plan: Included on the Free plan: up to 10 users, 5 GB storage.
• Paid plans: Starter $8 and Growth $16 per user per month ($6.40 and $12.80 billed annually).
• Limits: Free plan caps the team at 10 users and uploads at 2 MB per file. AI CV screening needs the Growth plan. No posting to job boards.
• Watch out for: Harmny does not post to LinkedIn, Indeed or other job boards, and its automation rules are a fixed set, not a builder. On the Growth plan a recruiter can ask AI to read one CV against a job; a person decides. The Free plan counts people with a Harmny login (employees and hiring managers), not candidates. Our plan settings set no cap on the number of jobs or candidates.
• Source: harmny.ai/pricing, as of October 2026.

2. Breezy HR

The free plan includes a branded career site, distribution to 50+ job boards, resume parsing, GDPR tools and multi-language support. Paid plans add unlimited positions, automations, scorecards and more.

• Best for: A business hiring for one role at a time that wants free job board distribution.
• Free plan: Bootstrap plan, free forever: one active job or pool, unlimited users.
• Paid plans: Startup $157 per month billed annually ($189 monthly); Growth $273 ($329); Business $439 ($529).
• Limits: One active job at a time. Unlimited access only to candidates added in the last 30 days on the free plan.
• Watch out for: The single active job is the real limit: a second opening means closing or archiving the first, or paying. The page does not label annual versus monthly prices, so the order shown here is our reading of the billing toggle.
• Source: breezy.hr/pricing, as of October 2026.

3. Zoho Recruit

Zoho lists candidate management, email management and interview scheduling on Free. A branded careers site, employee referrals and a hiring pipeline start on the paid Standard plan.

• Best for: Teams that already use Zoho apps and need a basic candidate database.
• Free plan: Free plan: 1 active job per recruiter license, after a 15-day trial.
• Paid plans: Standard (10 active jobs per recruiter license) and Enterprise (20); prices were not shown on the page we read, see its pricing calculator.
• Limits: One active job. The free plan includes candidate management, email management and interview scheduling. Add-ons are not supported on Free.
• Watch out for: The page states no candidate limit, so check this with Zoho before you rely on it. The free plan has business-hours support only (8/5).
• Source: zoho.com/recruit/pricing.html, as of October 2026.

4. Flowxtra

The free plan includes a career page, Google job listings, CV parsing, GDPR and CCPA support and a Kanban board. Pricing is per plan, not per user.

• Best for: A very small business that needs a careers page and a simple board.
• Free plan: Free plan at 0 EUR: 3 job postings, 1 user, 250 MB storage.
• Paid plans: Starter 39 EUR, Growth 99 EUR, Pro 199 EUR per month; 20% off yearly.
• Limits: One user and 250 MB of storage on Free. Hiring stages, custom fields and roles start on Starter.
• Watch out for: A single user means one person runs hiring; there is no seat for a second interviewer on Free.
• Source: flowxtra.com/pricing, as of October 2026.

5. Odoo Recruitment

Odoo says the first app is always free with unlimited users, and Recruitment can be that app. It sits in a wider suite, so it suits teams that may adopt other Odoo modules.

• Best for: Teams that want one business app (and its dependencies) and may add more later.
• Free plan: Your first app is free with unlimited users, including hosting and support.
• Paid plans: Not captured; the page we read does not state what extra apps cost.
• Limits: Free covers one app. If you also need other Odoo apps, those are priced separately.
• Watch out for: Choosing Recruitment as your free app means the rest of the suite is paid. Compare the cost of a second app before committing.
• Source: odoo.com/app/recruitment and odoo.com/pricing, as of October 2026.

6. OpenCATS

OpenCATS describes itself as a free, community-maintained applicant tracking system and recruiting CRM.

• Best for: A technical team happy to host and maintain its own software.
• Free plan: Free and open source; you host it yourself.
• Paid plans: None listed.
• Limits: No vendor-imposed job or user limits are stated; you provide the server, backups and security. The site does not name the licence.
• Watch out for: Self-hosting is a real cost in time. There is no hosted service listed on the page we read.
• Source: opencats.org, as of October 2026.

7. Manatal

Included here because its entry price is low, not because it is free.

• Best for: Small teams that can pay a modest per-user price after a trial.
• Free plan: No free plan; 14-day free trial, no credit card.
• Paid plans: Professional $15 per user per month billed annually (up to 15 jobs, 10,000 candidates); Enterprise $35; Enterprise Plus $55.
• Limits: Professional is capped at 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates per account.
• Watch out for: The page shows a second, higher price set that we read as monthly billing. Free and premium job board posting are not available during the trial.
• Source: manatal.com/pricing, as of October 2026.

8. Homerun

Included as a paid option for comparison.

• Best for: Small businesses that want a polished careers page and can pay.
• Free plan: No free plan; 15-day free trial, no credit card.
• Paid plans: Light 99 EUR, Basic 179 EUR, Plus 289 EUR per month (89, 159 and 249 EUR billed annually), excluding VAT.
• Limits: Job slots limit how many roles run at once: 3, 6 and 10 on those plans.
• Watch out for: The page shows two sets of plan names and limits that disagree, so confirm the plan before buying.
• Source: homerun.co/pricing, as of October 2026.

9. JazzHR

Included because it is often compared with free tools. It is not free.

• Best for: Growing companies that will pay a flat annual fee for a mature ATS.
• Free plan: No free plan and no free trial mentioned.
• Paid plans: Hero $1,000 per year; Plus $3,480 per year; Pro $5,508 per year; monthly prices hidden.
• Limits: Hero starts at 3 job postings per month, subject to eligibility. Plus allows up to 200 active jobs.
• Watch out for: Standard pricing excludes staffing and recruiting agencies and, at JazzHR's discretion, some larger organisations.
• Source: jazzhr.com/pricing, as of October 2026.

10. Workable

Included as the paid benchmark for what a full ATS costs.

• Best for: Teams that want a full-featured paid ATS and will not need a free plan.
• Free plan: No free plan; 15-day trial, no credit card.
• Paid plans: Standard $299 per month ($3,588 per year) for 1 to 20 employees; Premier $599; Enterprise $719.
• Limits: Texting, video interviews and assessments are paid add-ons on Standard. Active jobs unlimited, subject to fair usage.
• Watch out for: Prices depend on your employee count band; the figures above are for 1 to 20 employees.
• Source: workable.com/pricing, as of October 2026.

What does Harmny Recruiting include on the Free plan, exactly?

Recruiting is available on every Harmny plan, including Free. The Free plan is limited to 10 users, 5 GB of storage and a 2 MB file size per upload. It does not include AI CV screening, which needs the Growth plan. Hire requests, the careers page, screening questions, the pipeline, interviews and scorecards, email templates, offers with e-signature and conversion of an accepted offer into an employee invitation are all part of the module. See the full Recruiting page and the pricing page.

How do you choose between them?

• Hiring one role now and then: Breezy HR or Zoho Recruit are built around a single active job on free.
• Hiring and managing the same small team: Harmny keeps the candidate, the new employee, onboarding and reviews in one system, which matters once you pass the first few hires.
• Technical team, no budget: OpenCATS costs nothing but your time.
• Hiring heavily and can pay: Workable, JazzHR, Manatal and Homerun are paid products; start with their trials.