Small and mid-sized teams that want to post widely, let an AI agent source and screen, and keep onboarding and HR records in the same system should lean to Workable, which also has a free trial. Teams that run structured interviews with scorecards and want a tiered path toward governance and developer features should lean to Greenhouse.
Picture the day after a new hire signs. With one of these tools, the same system carries on into onboarding, time off, performance and employee records. With the other, the job is done once the offer's accepted, and you'll need separate HR software from there.
That single difference changes who each one is for, and it's the thing most hiring software comparisons leave out. So that's where I'll start, before getting into job boards, AI and how you get access.
What happens after the offer is signed
Workable has repositioned itself as a talent management platform built for what it calls an agentic world. The applicant tracking system is now the base layer, with an AI agent working on top of it to source and screen candidates for you. Then, unlike its rival here, it keeps going after the hire, into onboarding, performance, time off and employee records.
The other tool is heading in a different direction. Rather than spreading into HR, it's building a two-sided hiring ecosystem, with a jobseeker product (MyGreenhouse, plus a Dream Job feature) feeding candidates to the employer side. Its talent CRM and analytics sit on the ATS side, and the focus stays on getting the hire right rather than what comes next.
So if you're a smaller business without separate HR software, the all-in-one route could save you running two systems. If you already have an HRIS you're happy with, that extra scope matters much less, and the comparison shifts back to hiring alone. My guide to the best HRIS software for small teams is worth a look if you're weighing that part separately.
Three questions to settle first
- Do you want HR after the hire in the same system? If yes, the all-in-one option is the only one of the two that covers onboarding and employee records.
- Where do your candidates come from? If job boards drive most of your applicants, wide posting matters. If you'd like a jobseeker network feeding you, the ecosystem option leans that way.
- How structured are your interviews? Teams that already use interview kits and scorecards will feel at home with the structured-hiring tool. Looser processes may find it a lot to adopt.
The two compared, area by area
| Topic | Workable | Greenhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Hiring plus onboarding, performance, time off and employee records | Recruiting and hiring, with a talent CRM and analytics |
| AI approach | A native agent that sources passive candidates, screens applicants and builds a shortlist | Voice AI interviewing, a Notetaker and AI agents across the ATS |
| Job distribution | Posts to 200+ job boards in 100+ countries; Indeed Platinum and LinkedIn Preferred Partner | Sourcing leans on its own jobseeker network |
| Getting access | Free trial or a demo | Core, Plus and Pro tiers, each through a demo |
| Trial | 15-day free trial, no credit card required (vendor states) | Demo only; no free trial stated |
| Who it targets | Companies of any size wanting fast set-up and little training | Employers scaling structured hiring; Pro aimed at multiple regions and business units |
| Candidate-side product | Job posting and apply tools only | A jobseeker side alongside the employer tools |
Getting candidates in the door
The all-in-one tool's answer to sourcing is reach. It posts to more than 200 job boards across more than 100 countries, and it's an Indeed Platinum and LinkedIn Preferred Partner. On top of that, its site says the AI agent can search a pool of 400M+ profiles to find passive candidates and build a shortlist inside the ATS.
The structured-hiring tool leans on its own network instead. When a role opens, it surfaces jobseekers from its candidate side, and you've got a CRM with prospect pools for the people you build relationships with. If you hire in volume through job boards, the wider posting is a real plus. If you'd rather be matched with people who are already on a hiring platform, the network is the draw.
Two different bets on AI
Both lean hard on AI, but they point it at different jobs. The all-in-one tool uses its agent at the top of the funnel: finding people, screening every applicant and handing you a shortlist. That's for teams who are drowning in applications or don't have time to search.
The structured-hiring tool puts AI into the interview itself. Voice AI runs a structured first conversation with candidates, and a Notetaker maps what's said to your scorecard questions, so interviewers aren't scribbling notes while trying to listen. It's a good fit for teams that already care about consistent, comparable interviews.
Whichever way you lean, don't take either AI on trust. Run the screening or the first-round interview against a real open role and check whether the shortlist matches what your best recruiter would've picked.
Trying before you commit
This is where the two differ most for a small business. One offers a 15-day free trial with no credit card required, so you can set up a job and see the workflow yourself. The other routes every plan, Core, Plus and Pro, through a demo, with no free trial stated. If you like to click around before talking to sales, that's a big point in the first tool's favour. If you'd rather a guided walkthrough tied to a named tier, the demo route is fine.
Plain advice: who should pick which
Pick Workable if you're a small to mid-sized team that wants to start with a free trial, post widely across job boards, let an AI agent do the first sourcing and screening, and carry the same system into onboarding and HR. Pick Greenhouse if your hiring runs on structured interview kits and scorecards, you want AI inside the interview rather than only before it, and you'd like a tiered path toward governance and developer features as you grow. If you're still undecided, the roundup of alternatives to the all-in-one option covers other tools that mix hiring with HR.
Also worth a look
These five turn up on the same shortlists. Each description is based on how the vendor presents itself.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Breezy HR
Best for: Growing teams after hiring and performance together: career sites, job ads, candidate management and offers, plus Breezy Perform for reviews, goals and 1:1s.
Tellent Recruitee
Best for: Collaborative hiring on a customisable ATS, with sourcing, offers, reporting, WhatsApp hiring and agency recruitment management built in.
SmartRecruiters
Best for: Mid-size and enterprise hiring from job distribution and CRM through to offers and onboarding, with the Winston AI assistant and a version for SAP SuccessFactors users.
Ashby
Best for: One platform for ATS, CRM, sourcing, scheduling and analytics; it says AI is embedded in every layer, and its analytics can sit on top of another ATS.
JazzHR
Best for: Straightforward applicant tracking for small businesses, from job posting to offer letters, pitched as simpler than enterprise ATS platforms.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Workable have a free trial?
Yes. It states a 15-day free trial with no credit card required. Its rival here routes every plan through a demo, with no free trial stated.
Can Workable handle onboarding and HR records?
Yes. It covers onboarding, performance, time off and employee records after the hire, which the structured-hiring tool doesn't describe.
Which one posts jobs to more boards?
The all-in-one tool posts to 200+ job boards in 100+ countries and is an Indeed Platinum and LinkedIn Preferred Partner. The other leans on its own jobseeker network for sourcing.
What are the plan tiers on the structured-hiring side?
There are three named tiers, Core, Plus and Pro, each reached through a demo. Pro is aimed at employers working across multiple regions and business units.
Which AI features matter most for a small team?
If finding and screening applicants eats your time, the sourcing and screening agent is the bigger help. If interviews are the bottleneck, Voice AI first conversations and the scorecard Notetaker are the ones to look at.
