· apps · recruit · hiring · ats-alternative

Free ATS Software: An Applicant Tracking System Without the Enterprise Price Tag

Enterprise ATS tools charge $500+/month. Here's the recruiting app we use instead — job postings, candidate pipelines, and interview scheduling, all free.

Hiring shouldn’t require an enterprise contract.

The ATS pricing wall

Applicant tracking systems are essential for growing teams. But the pricing is built for enterprises:

  • Greenhouse: starts around $6,000/year
  • Lever: similar range, “contact sales” pricing
  • Workday Recruiting: enterprise contracts only
  • BambooHR ATS: $99/month + per-employee fees

Even “affordable” options like JazzHR ($75/month) or Breezy ($189/month) add up fast for a startup hiring 5 people a year.

You end up with a spreadsheet. Or Trello boards pretending to be an ATS. Or paying enterprise prices for features you won’t use.

We needed an ATS that was actually free — not “free trial” or “free for 1 job.”

What free ATS software should actually do

Most “free ATS” tools are either limited demos or basic job boards. Real applicant tracking needs:

  1. Job postings — create, publish, manage multiple open roles
  2. Candidate pipeline — visual stages (Applied → Screen → Interview → Offer)
  3. Candidate profiles — resume storage, notes, interview history
  4. Interview scheduling — calendar integration, no email ping-pong
  5. Team collaboration — scorecards, feedback, hiring decisions together

That’s what Recruit in the Vault delivers.

The switch: what gato Recruit does differently

Jobs with real structure

Create a job posting with:

  • Title, department, location
  • Employment type (full-time, contract, internship)
  • Description, requirements, responsibilities
  • Salary range (optional, for transparency)
  • Skills and experience level
  • Hiring deadline (syncs to Calendar)

Not a text blob. Structured data that helps you filter and compare.

Pipelines that work like pipelines

Drag candidates between stages:

  • Applied — new submissions
  • Screening — reviewing resume and fit
  • Interview — scheduled or in progress
  • Offer — extending or negotiating
  • Hired / Rejected — final outcomes

Customize stages per job. See the funnel at a glance. Know where every candidate stands.

Candidate profiles with history

Each candidate has:

  • Contact info (email, phone, LinkedIn)
  • Resume and attachments
  • Activity timeline (when applied, when moved, when interviewed)
  • Notes from the team
  • Scorecards from interviews

Click a candidate, see everything. No hunting through emails.

Scheduling without the ping-pong

Click “Schedule Interview” on a candidate. Pick a time from your calendar. The event creates with:

  • Candidate name and contact
  • Job title
  • Link back to the candidate profile
  • Interviewer(s) invited

No “what times work for you?” back-and-forth. Calendar integration handles it.

Talent pool for future roles

Great candidate, wrong timing? Add them to the talent pool. When a matching role opens, they’re already in the system with context.

A real workflow: hiring a designer

Here’s how our team uses gato Recruit:

  1. Create job — “Senior Product Designer” with requirements and salary range
  2. Share posting — link on LinkedIn, company site, design communities
  3. Applications arrive — candidates land in “Applied” stage
  4. Screen — review portfolios, drag promising candidates to “Screening”
  5. Schedule interviews — click to schedule; Calendar event created
  6. Conduct interviews — add scorecard after each conversation
  7. Make decision — drag to “Offer”; team sees the move
  8. Extend offer — candidate accepts; drag to “Hired”; job marked filled

One tool for the whole process. No $500/month contract.

What you keep from enterprise ATS

  • Job posting management
  • Candidate pipeline visualization
  • Resume and attachment storage
  • Interview scheduling
  • Team scorecards and feedback

We didn’t build a watered-down ATS. We built the features hiring teams actually use — without the enterprise gatekeeping.

Try it

Open the Recruit app — no signup, no trial period. Create a job, add a candidate, drag through the pipeline. See how it feels when hiring tools don’t require a sales call.

Because Recruit lives in the Vault, your hiring process connects to:

  • CRM — candidate becomes contact when hired
  • Kanban — onboarding tasks auto-created
  • Calendar — interviews scheduled and tracked
  • Doc — offer letters and onboarding docs

One platform, hiring included.