Greenhouse vs Workable (2026): Pricing, Features, and Which One to Choose

Short answer: Workable is usually the better choice for small and mid-size companies: it publishes its prices (from $149/month), sets up fast, and posts to hundreds of job boards out of the box. Greenhouse is the better choice for larger or fast-scaling companies that want rigorous structured hiring, deep reporting, and approval workflows — and can pay for it (typically $9,000–$14,000 in year one for an SME, more for bigger teams). If your real problem is reading hundreds of CVs, neither is built for that — an AI screener sits alongside either one.

Greenhouse and Workable are two of the most common applicant tracking systems (ATS) that growing companies shortlist. They both manage job posts, candidates, pipelines, and interview feedback. But they're built for different buyers, priced in completely different ways, and they fail in different places.

Here's a straight comparison based on what each vendor publishes and what buyers report, plus which one fits which team.

Greenhouse vs Workable at a glance

Pricing transparency: Workable publishes its prices. Greenhouse is quote-only.

Pricing model: Workable prices by company headcount. Greenhouse effectively prices by seat — every recruiter, hiring manager, and interviewer who needs access.

Starting cost: Workable Starter is $149/month on annual billing (up to 50 employees). Greenhouse Essential typically starts around $5,000–$6,500 per year.

Typical year-one cost for an SME: about $5,800 on Workable Standard with common add-ons; about $9,000–$14,000 on Greenhouse once seats are added.

Free trial: Workable offers a 15-day trial on Starter and Standard. Greenhouse runs through a sales demo.

Best for: Workable — SMEs that want a complete ATS quickly. Greenhouse — larger or scaling companies running structured hiring programs.

Pricing: Greenhouse vs Workable

Workable pricing

Workable sells four public options. Pay-as-you-go is $99 per open role. Starter is $149/month on annual billing, capped at 50 employees and two active jobs. Standard starts at $299/month and adds unlimited jobs, AI sourcing, structured interview kits, and scorecards. Premier is $599/month and bundles the premium tools. Prices climb as your headcount grows.

The catch is the add-ons. On Standard, Video Interviews ($99–109/month) and SMS Texting ($79–89/month) are extra, which takes a typical Standard setup to about $477/month — roughly $5,800 for year one. Our full breakdown is in Workable pricing 2026.

Greenhouse pricing

Greenhouse sells Essential, Advanced, and Expert, all custom-quoted. Essential usually starts around $5,000–$6,500 per year for teams under 100 employees. Advanced typically runs $9,000–$15,000 per year once more than ten people need seats, and Expert starts around $20,000.

The catch is seats. A 50-person company with two recruiters often needs 15+ seats once hiring managers and interviewers are included, which is how year one lands at $9,000–$14,000. Full details are in Greenhouse pricing 2026.

Which is cheaper?

For almost every company under a few hundred employees, Workable is cheaper — often by several thousand dollars a year. The gap narrows if you stack Workable add-ons or move to Premier, and at enterprise scale both become negotiated contracts.

Features: where each one is stronger

Where Greenhouse wins

Structured hiring. Greenhouse is built around interview plans, scorecards, and consistent evaluation. If you want every interviewer following the same process, it's the stronger tool.

Reporting and DEI. Deeper hiring analytics and DEI dashboards (on higher tiers) make it popular with companies that report on hiring to leadership or boards.

Approvals and permissions. Offer and job approval chains and granular permissions suit larger organisations with more stakeholders.

Integrations ecosystem. Greenhouse has a large marketplace of integrations, which matters when you run many HR tools.

Where Workable wins

Speed to value. Most teams can post a job the same day. Greenhouse implementations tend to take longer because there's more to configure.

Job distribution. One-click posting to 200+ free job boards is built in, which is great for companies hiring across many roles and regions.

Sourcing. Standard and above include AI sourcing across Workable's large candidate database.

Transparent pricing. You can budget without a sales call, and the Starter and pay-as-you-go options suit occasional hiring.

HRIS connections. Native integrations with tools like BambooHR, Rippling, ADP, and Gusto cover the common SME stack.

AI and resume screening

Both tools have added AI features, mostly around sourcing, matching, and writing assistance. Neither is primarily an AI resume screener: when a job gets 300 applications, someone still has to decide which 15 are worth a call.

That's the gap tools like HireBest fill. You paste the job description, upload the CVs, and every candidate gets a 0–100 score with written reasoning tied to your requirements. It works next to either ATS — see HireBest vs Greenhouse and HireBest vs Workable for how the pieces fit.

Which should you choose?

Choose Workable if: you're under roughly 200 employees, want to be live this week, hire across several departments or countries, and want predictable, published pricing.

Choose Greenhouse if: you're scaling fast or already large, need a rigorous structured interview process across many interviewers, report on hiring metrics and DEI, and have budget for a five-figure contract.

Choose neither (yet) if: you hire fewer than five roles a year, or your real bottleneck is screening CVs rather than managing a pipeline. A lightweight process plus an AI resume screener is often enough until hiring volume grows.

Frequently asked questions

Is Workable cheaper than Greenhouse?

Yes, for most small and mid-size companies. Workable publishes plans from $149/month, and a typical Standard setup costs about $5,800 in year one. Greenhouse usually costs $9,000–$14,000 in year one for a similar team once seats are added.

Is Greenhouse better than Workable?

Greenhouse is better for structured hiring, reporting, and complex approvals at larger companies. Workable is better for fast setup, job-board distribution, and transparent pricing at smaller companies. "Better" depends on your size and process.

Can I switch from Workable to Greenhouse later?

Yes. Many companies start on Workable and move to Greenhouse as their hiring process grows more structured. Plan the data migration (candidates, notes, and scorecards) before your renewal date.

Does Greenhouse or Workable have AI resume screening?

Both have AI features, but neither is built mainly to score and explain every CV against a job description. Teams with high applicant volume often add a dedicated AI screener like HireBest alongside their ATS.

What's a good alternative to both Greenhouse and Workable?

If you need a full ATS, Lever is the other common option — see HireBest vs Lever. If you mainly need to shortlist candidates fast, an AI resume screener like HireBest costs far less than either ATS and works alongside the tools you already have.