# Applicant tracking systems: what fourteen AI models recommend, and why, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/talent/applicant-tracking-systems/guide

Fourteen AI models were asked for applicant tracking system six ways each, on behalf of a small, a mid-market and an enterprise B2B company: 252 answers, in which a judge labeled 53 products. Nine of them carry at least 10 labels and a first choice, and are ranked. This guide walks the top eight in the order the mid-market standing puts them, with what the models said for and against each, in their words. Greenhouse leads at 30% of first choices, and the standing is contested.

## At a glance

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenhouse | 30% | 9% | 57 |
| 2 | Workable | 16% | 5% | 42 |
| 3 | Breezy HR | 14% | 0% | 30 |
| 4 | Ashby | 11% | 2% | 41 |
| 5 | Zoho Recruit | 9% | 0% | 26 |
| 6 | Lever | 5% | 8% | 50 |
| 7 | 100Hires | 4% | 0% | 17 |
| 8 | Manatal | 4% | 7% | 14 |

## 1. Greenhouse

Greenhouse is #1 of 9 at 30% of first choices, 57 labels, negative rate 9%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #1 of 9 at 30%; enterprise #1 of 7 at 42%.

- For: "Greenhouse is the most cited leader for structured, process-heavy hiring with interview kits, scorecards and deep reporting built for mid-market and enterprise teams." (Muse Glimmer 30B, paraphrase prompt)
- For: "Best Overall for Most Mid-Market B2B Teams: Greenhouse – Excels in structured hiring, detailed reporting/analytics, and scalability." (Grok 4.20, direct prompt)
- Against: "Avoid expensive enterprise systems like Greenhouse or Lever unless you have the scale" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt)

## 2. Workable

Workable is #2 of 9 at 16% of first choices, 42 labels, negative rate 5%. By buyer: small business #3 of 7 at 14%; mid-market #2 of 9 at 16%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "For a 500-person company, Workable or Recruitee often hit the sweet spot of capability, transparency, and adoption." (Kimi K2, scale prompt)
- For: "Workable – Highly rated for its ease of use, strong candidate tracking, and excellent job distribution features." (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt)
- Against: "users report issues with the company's customer support, and its pricing model raises concerns about high costs" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt)
- Against: "Avoid Workday Recruiting and SmartRecruiters unless you have enterprise-level needs" (Kimi K2, direct prompt)

## 3. Breezy HR

Breezy HR is #3 of 9 at 14% of first choices, 30 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #1 of 7 at 32%; mid-market #3 of 9 at 14%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "If you hire only 1 role at a time and want to spend $0: Go with Breezy HR (for ease of use) or Zoho Recruit." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt)
- For: "Breezy HR stands out as the best applicant tracking system (ATS) for a company with a limited budget" (Grok 4.20, budget prompt)

## 4. Ashby

Ashby is #4 of 9 at 11% of first choices, 41 labels, negative rate 2%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #4 of 9 at 11%; enterprise #7 of 7 at 2%.

- For: "Ashby | Extremely fast, modern UI, built-in CRM & advanced analytics in one product. | High-growth tech/scaling companies that want deep data and speed." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt)
- For: "For most mid-market B2B companies, Ashby offers the best combination of modern capabilities, transparent pricing, and all-in-one functionality." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt)
- Against: "Ashby has a score of 7.7 and offers tiered plans, but its mobile apps and career site builder are not verified" (Llama 4 Maverick, comparative prompt)

## 5. Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is #5 of 9 at 9% of first choices, 26 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #4 of 7 at 14%; mid-market #5 of 9 at 9%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "Zoho is a top contender for tight budgets because it offers a robust Free plan for startups and small businesses" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt)

## 6. Lever

Lever is #6 of 9 at 5% of first choices, 50 labels, negative rate 8%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #6 of 9 at 5%; enterprise #5 of 7 at 4%.

- For: "Top Pick: Lever ... Choose Lever if you want the best balance of functionality, scalability, and modern features" (Kimi K2, paraphrase prompt)
- For: "Lever / Greenhouse: The gold standard for scaling tech companies. Highly customizable, great analytics" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, scale prompt)
- Against: "Avoid expensive enterprise systems like Greenhouse or Lever unless you have the scale" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt)
- Against: "Works adequately for tracking candidates (though some users find it lacking in reporting and sourcing)" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## 7. 100Hires

100Hires is #7 of 9 at 4% of first choices, 17 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #2 of 7 at 20%; mid-market #7 of 9 at 4%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "100Hires and Zoho Recruit are top choices due to their low cost and robust features" (Mistral Small, budget prompt)
- For: "🏆 Top Recommendation: 100Hires" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt)

## 8. Manatal

Manatal is #8 of 9 at 4% of first choices, 14 labels, negative rate 7%. By buyer: small business #6 of 7 at 5%; mid-market #8 of 9 at 4%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "The best applicant tracking system for a company with a limited budget is Manatal, which is available at $15 per user a month" (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt)
- Against: "May feel cumbersome for managing large candidate pools." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Questions the record answers

**Which applicant tracking system do AI models name first most often?** Greenhouse, in 30% of first choices for a mid-market B2B company in the November 2026 Edition, from 57 labels. The standing is contested: the models did not settle on one product.

**Does the answer change with the size of the company?** Small business: Breezy HR at 32%. Mid-market: Greenhouse at 30%. Enterprise: Greenhouse at 42%. Each standing is computed within its segment and never pooled.

**Which framing changes the answer?** The direct, paraphrase, budget and scale framings count toward share. The product named first differs by framing: direct Greenhouse; paraphrase Greenhouse; comparative Greenhouse; budget-constrained Breezy HR; scale-constrained Greenhouse; negative Greenhouse. The table above has the counts.

**How stable is one answer?** The repeat measurement is published with the next edition.

**Where do the answers come from?** Fourteen of the fourteen models return sources. Their 74 answers here cite 714 pages; the sites cited most are forbes.com, leadchangegroup.com, lever.co. The category page lists them all.

**Can a vendor pay to be on this list?** No. A product is on the record because a model named it. A vendor can claim its page, propose corrections to the vendor table and be told when its standing moves; it cannot change a label, a share or a rank, and the publisher's conflicts are disclosed on the method page.

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.