Compare/Head to head

Airtable vs Zoho Recruit

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Airtable

$20/user/mo Free tier 14 day free trial

A no-code database that many small agencies and in-house teams turn into their own candidate tracker or client CRM, using Airtable's applicant tracking templates. The Free plan covers 1,000 records per base, Team is $20 a user a month billed yearly ($24 monthly), and there is a 14-day Team trial. It is general purpose, so you build the recruiting workflow yourself.

Where Airtable fits

  • Small agencies and solo recruiters who want a custom candidate tracker without ATS pricing
  • In-house teams tracking a handful of roles alongside other operations work
  • Recruiting ops teams building client portals, scorecards or intake forms
  • Teams that want their AI assistant to read and update hiring data over MCP

Zoho Recruit

$25/user/mo Free tier 15 day free trial

ATS for teams already inside Zoho. Free tier, with paid plans from around $25/user/mo on annual billing.

Where Zoho Recruit fits

  • Companies already paying for Zoho
  • Small in-house talent teams
  • Small agencies that want a free tier
  • Teams that need parsing and job boards without enterprise pricing

At a glance

DetailAirtableZoho Recruit
Starting price$20/user/mo$25/user/mo
Free tier✓Yes✓Yes
Free trial14 day free trial15 day free trial
MCP server✓Yes✓Yes
Public API✓Yes✓Yes
Listed underWorkflow automation, CRMATS, CRM
Capterra4.6 from 2,247 reviews4.5 from 1,282 reviews

Where they pull apart

Airtable

Stands out: You design the tracker around your own desk: linked tables for candidates, jobs and clients, kanban and calendar views, forms that feed applications straight in, and automations on top. The Fall 2026 release made Omni, its built-in AI agent, available on every plan, and its official MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT read and update your bases.

Watch out: It is not an ATS: there is no built-in job board posting, resume parsing or candidate email sequencing, so those come from other tools. Record caps (1,000 per base on Free, 50,000 on Team) fill up fast with a candidate database, and pricing is per editor.

Not the right fit for

  • Agencies that need resume parsing, job posting and compliance reporting built in
  • Teams with candidate databases in the hundreds of thousands
  • Recruiters who want a ready-made workflow with no setup

Zoho Recruit

Stands out: Zoho CRM sync plus a genuine free tier at a low per-user price.

Watch out: Employee licences are sold in separate packs, so the recruiter seat is not the whole bill.

Not the right fit for

  • Enterprises outside the Zoho estate

Pros and cons

Airtable

  • Builds a candidate tracker or client CRM shaped to your own process
  • Free plan, 14-day Team trial and published per-user prices
  • Official MCP server and Omni AI agent on every plan
  • Not a full ATS: no resume parsing, job posting or sequencing
  • Record limits per base fill quickly with candidate data
  • Paid per editor, which adds up for larger teams

Zoho Recruit

  • Genuine free tier
  • Low annual per-user price
  • Zoho CRM sync for companies already in-suite
  • Employee licences sold separately
  • Weaker fit outside the Zoho estate

What each one costs

Airtable

$20/user/mo

The Free plan covers 1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors and 100 automation runs a month. Team is $20 a user a month billed yearly or $24 monthly, with 50,000 records per base. Business is $45 a user a month billed yearly or $54 monthly, with 125,000 records per base. Enterprise Scale is quoted. Paid plans charge for each person who can edit, and a new workspace gets a 14-day Team trial. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 10 Nov 2026

Zoho Recruit

$25/user/mo

Free plan for 1 active job and 1 recruiter license. Standard is $25 per user a month billed annually, or $30 billed monthly, with 10 active jobs per recruiter license. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Common questions

Is Airtable cheaper than Zoho Recruit?
Airtable starts lower, at $20/user/mo against $25/user/mo for Zoho Recruit. That is the entry plan on each side, so the real number depends on seats and the tier you land on.
Can you try Airtable or Zoho Recruit for free?
Airtable and Zoho Recruit carry a free tier on our listing. Airtable offers a 14 day free trial. Zoho Recruit offers a 15 day free trial.
Does Airtable or Zoho Recruit have an MCP server?
Airtable and Zoho Recruit ship a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 10 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?