Best Open Source & Free Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) for Businesses

Summary: An open-source ATS is a one stop solution for businesses that are looking for flexibility and scalability to meet hiring requirements. With open-source software, organizations can save money and have more control over its features and functionality. Read more about the benefits and features of open-source ATS software below.

Recruitment is an integral HR function, who’s impact affects business processes. A good recruit can help a company achieve great heights while a bad recruit can cause a company to take two steps back. For HR, recruitment entails a lot of research, constant communication & follow-ups, to find the ideal candidate who can join the company’s workforce.

To help HR teams employ the best people in their organisation, there’s applicant tracking software– an application that digitally manages the recruitment process. It’s a software that helps recruiters collect, store & access resumes, manage candidate information, track candidate movement through the recruitment process & communicate with candidates. The software simplifies the recruitment process by automating redundant tasks and provides a unified dashboard to manage the entire hiring process.

If you’re a small company that cannot invest in a paid applicant tracking software, worry not. To help readers like you, we’ve compiled.

List of Best Free and Open-Source Applicant Tracking Software

1. Freshteam
2. SmartStart
3. OpenCATS
4. JobScore
5. iKrut
6. Fitzii
7. Jobsoid
8. Zoho Recruit
9. CandidATS

• Freshteam

Freshteam is an free applicant tracking system which helps companies streamline the recruitment process & effectively engage with candidates. Freshteam is free for companies with less than 50 employees and comes with basic features. It provides a platform which streamlines the hiring workflow and allows employees to manage candidates using a single platform. You can use it to post up to 3 jobs on to your website, integrate your career inbox with the software and, manage referrals from employees, using Freshteam.

The free version doesn’t allow resume parsing, which is the process of extracting important data from resumes and storing it for further analysis.

Important Features of Freshteam

• Manage up to 3 job postings at a time
• Define hiring teams & parameters
• Templates for job description
• Email integration with your career mailbox
• Mobile app for iOS & Android devices

• SmartStart

SmartStart, developed by SmartRecruiters, is a free applicant tracking software for companies with less than 250 employees. Using SmartStart, organisations can identify & engage with top talent, post up to 10 jobs on Google, Indeed, LinkedIn etc & build a career website. HR teams can use it to provide a great candidate experience by creating one-click jobs, self-tracking options on career website & email communication channel.

SmartStart is a best applicant tracking system as it offers a lot through their free package. Upon installation, there are product guides, email support & help centre access provided for easy support.

Because it’s free ATS Software, there are a few key features missing. You can’t post on as many job platforms as its paid version, doesn’t provide API integration with other software & doesn’t include an analytics dashboard. To opt for such features, you’ll have to invest in their paid versions.

Important Features of SmartStart

• Multi-platform job posting
• Transparent progress tracking
• Customizable interview scorecards
• Collaborative response and review sharing
• Scheduling management tools

• OpenCATS

OpenCATS is a free open source applicant tracking system software solution that is easily customisable for individual need. It can be installed on any Windows or Linux server and can integrates with popular CMS solutions such as WordPress & Joomla. OpenCATS has an active community where users can find help & support from developers as well as, get access to best usage guides.

Since OpenCATS is open source, users can customise the software to include extensions, addon features and integrate it with existing business solutions. With OpenCATS, users can import resumes from their own career website & from job search platforms, store documents, filter candidates and, communicate with talent using email. Language support can be added using third-party tools. Since it’s open source, users should be familiar with coding or have someone on their team to do so. Otherwise, installation & integration might be a little difficult.

Important Features of OpenCATS

• Import talent information from job portals
• Generate reports for analysis
• Resume database to maintain a talent pool
• Export & import data from third-party platforms
• Scalable & easily customisable

• JobScore

JobScore’s free plan allows users to post & manage only one job posting. However, it supports applications from unlimited candidates, stores them on the dashboard and allows you to tag & filter them easily. Users also have the option of purchasing credits on the dashboard, which lets them view resumes from the JobScore CV database.

With the free plan, users can also view candidate details individually, and observe their position in the applicant tracking cycle. The data stored here can be exported to other business software, so it’s easy for you to migrate information to your HRMS & payroll solutions once a candidate is hired & onboarded.

Important Features of JobScore

• One-click job posting
• Post one job across portals
• Generate concise recruitment & talent engagement reports
• Receive manager feedback on resumes
• Trade unused candidate resumes for access to JobScore’s resume database

• iKrut

iKrut is a free applicant tracking software (not open source) that can be used as a SaaS product. iKrut’s free version allows users to post an unlimited number of vacancies across 20 known job boards. It can also be used to build a basic career website, populated with current openings & the ability to apply online.

You can use iKrut to perform bulk actions such as sending rejection mails to multiple candidates & its schedule management feature lets you create interview schedules, for easier talent management. The free version is suited to small companies as certain key features such as call logging, job blasters & metric tracking are missing and are useful for bigger companies with multiple talent acquisition teams.

Important Features of iKrut

• Post jobs to portals & social networks
• Basic candidate management tools
• Online interview scheduler
• Mass email rejection capability
• Mobile compatible application

• Fitzii

Fitzii’s free applicant tracking software provides users with a digital hiring manager. However, job postings made using Fitzii’s free tool, aren’t free and cost about $195 dollar/job posting. You can use Fitzii to consolidate applicant information and track their movement through the applicant cycle. The applicant tracking feature only support job applications received through free portals such as Indeed.com.

Important Features of Fitzii

• Applicant tracking dashboard
• Import applicants from free job portals
• Compare applicants from across job-portals
• Assess applicant status in hiring pipeline
• Report generation for analysis

Suggested Read: 8 Best Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in 2023 | Benefits of ATS

• Jobsoid

Jobsoid is a free applicant tracking software which gives companies the capability to post job vacancies across multiple channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Indeed, Twitter etc. You can integrate Jobsoid with your company website as well and, its free version allows one user and one job opening management at a time. However, the number of candidates applying for said job is unlimited, allowing you to access a wide talent pool.

Jobsoid is best suited to startups with a small employee-base and limited opening. Over time, as the company grows, they can expand to Jobsoid’s paid versions which come with more applicant management features and customisable options.

The software really shines on the social media front by allowing you to find & hire candidates from popular social networks like Facebook & Twitter. Social media is a relatively untapped hiring platform and Jobsoid can help you take advantage of it.

Important Features of Jobsoid

• Unlimited candidate management capability
• Social media integration
• Integrate with company website’s career page
• Scheduling feature for interviews
• Mobile apps for Android & iOS devices

• Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit comes with a free applicant tracking software for smaller companies & startups. Its free version can be used by one recruiter to post and manage 1 active job opening at a time.

Zoho Recruit can be integrated with Google apps and Zoho CRM, which creates a streamline hiring workflow and crafts a better candidate experience. These features & integrations make it easy for HRs to contact applicants, manage candidate information, schedule interviews & add notes against candidate profile.

Users also get custom built-in email templates, which can be used to add company logos and information to all outbound communication with candidates. While Zoho Recruit is a great applicant tracking system, it lacks some key features including the ability to bulk email.

Important Features of Zoho Recruit

• Comprehensive candidate management
• Centralised dashboard with integration capability
• Interview scheduling and note adding capability
• Career website builder tools
• In-built email templates for consistent communication

• CandidATS

CandidATS is a relatively new software on this list, designed to help companies manage the interview process effectively. It’s a free open source applicant tracking software, which companies can tweak to add customisations and plugins.

CandidATS aggregates multiple candidate information from different channels and consolidates them in a unified dashboard. It comes with a search function on the dashboard, which allows you to find candidates based on keywords and compile such information in one place. An added tag feature allows you to add tags to candidates for grouping and categorisation. Different categories based on skills, location, experience, etc., can be created and referred to for future job openings.

Important Features of CandidATS

• Open source software which lets you customise the software
• Boolean search capability
• Encryption of 256 bit to ensure data safety
• Interview scheduling
• Comprehensive candidate tracking and management

An applicant tracking software will make your recruitment process a lot easier & streamlined. By defining workflow, it allows your hiring team to identify suitable candidates faster and convert them to new hires effectively. Use any of the 9 free applicant tracking software from above and watch the positive impact it brings to your recruitment.