Head to head

Appcast vs Circa

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

Appcast

Sales-quoted

Programmatic job-ad buying on a pay-per-applicant model. Pricing is sales-quoted; media spend sits on top of the platform.

Where Appcast fits

  • High-volume TA teams spending serious job-ad budget
  • Companies already in Greenhouse or iCIMS that want programmatic inside the ATS
  • Recruitment-marketing leads who want PPA instead of CPC
  • Employers that need coverage across many job boards from one buyer

Circa

Sales-quoted

Circa is still sold as Mitratech Circa for OFCCP-style job distribution, ESDS posting, veteran outreach documentation, and diversity recruiting. Pricing is sales-quoted. Mitratech has owned Circa since 2023.

Where Circa fits

  • Federal contractors that still need ESDS posting and outreach files
  • HR compliance teams documenting veteran and disability recruiting efforts
  • Employers that want Circa because it already sits in a Mitratech stack
  • TA ops that need audit-ready job-distribution logs, not a new ATS

At a glance

DetailAppcastCirca
Starting priceSales-quotedSales-quoted
Free tier–No–No
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No–No
Listed underRecruitment marketingHR compliance, Job boards, Recruitment marketing
Capterra4.4 from 31 reviews4.4 from 29 reviews

Where they pull apart

Appcast

Stands out: It buys sponsored jobs across a large publisher network and bills against delivered applicants, then feeds those applicants back into the ATS, which is why high-volume desks use it instead of clicking Boost on each board.

Watch out: You are buying media plus software. Campaign budgets are the real cost; a Greenhouse in-ATS campaign has been documented with a $200 minimum. The platform fee is sales-quoted. If the career site convert rate is weak, you will still pay for applicants who bounce.

Not the right fit for

  • Desks posting a handful of professional-hire jobs a month
  • Buyers who need a public self-serve rate card

Circa

Stands out: It automates state ESDS job-bank postings and documents good-faith outreach across a claimed 15,000-plus community organizations. Dashboards track applicant flow and outreach for audit files.

Watch out: US OFCCP affirmative-action rules were rolled back in 2026, so the compliance pitch has changed even though the product is still on the price list. There is no self-serve rate card. Ignore Capterra's $600/mo starting price.

Not the right fit for

  • Companies that only need a cheap job board with no compliance archive
  • Buyers who need a published monthly price before a sales call

Pros and cons

Appcast

  • Pay-per-applicant optimization rather than raw clicks
  • Named ATS partnerships including Greenhouse and iCIMS
  • Broad publisher network for high-volume reqs
  • Sales-quoted platform plus media spend
  • Overkill for low-volume professional hiring
  • No published rate card, so every budget starts with a sales call

Circa

  • ESDS posting and outreach documentation in one Mitratech product
  • Capterra 4.4 from 29 reviews on Mitratech Circa
  • ATS-adjacent rather than a rip-and-replace ATS
  • The vendor does not publish a price on circaworks.com
  • OFCCP mandate rollback in 2026 weakens the original buying reason for some US employers
  • Diversity job distribution still competes with broader programmatic networks

What each one costs

Appcast

Sales-quoted

Sales-quoted. Contact the vendor for current terms. No public starting price on the vendor site as of the verification date.

Checked 12 Sep 2026

Circa

Sales-quoted

Circa is sold through Mitratech sales. There is no public seat or monthly table on circaworks.com. The product covers ESDS job-bank posting, outreach documentation, diversity distribution, and audit-ready reporting. Capterra starting prices are not vendor rates. Ask Mitratech for a quote. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Appcast or Circa for free?
Neither carries a free tier on our listing.

Not the pair you wanted?

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 12 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?