Compare/Head to head
Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.
Starting price
$400/mo
All-in-one ATS plus analytics for growth teams. Foundations starts at $400/month for up to 100 employees, with 10% off annual.
Where Ashby fits
$5,000/yr
Elly is an AI-native ATS and recruiting service from New York that pairs AI interviews, AI sourcing and scorecard automation with optional recruiter-run searches. The self-serve Platform plan is $5,000/yr, and a Full Search costs 10% of first-year salary per hire. It suits early-stage companies whose founders still run hiring.
Where Elly fits
| Detail | Ashby | Elly |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $400/mo | $5,000/yr |
| Free tier | –No | –No |
| MCP server | ✓Yes | –No |
| Public API | ✓Yes | –No |
| Listed under | ATS, CRM | ATS, AI interviewing, AI screening, AI sourcing |
| Capterra | 4.4 from 15 reviews | Not enough reviews |
Ashby
Stands out: Scheduling, CRM, reporting and analytics in one ATS, with a hosted MCP.
Watch out: The $400/month floor is real, and the higher tiers go back to a sales conversation.
Not the right fit for
Elly
Stands out: The same account works as software or as a managed search, and everything learned during a Full Search stays in the platform afterward. Its AI candidate matching has been audited for bias by Warden AI on more than 13,000 interview samples, with results published. The AI Interviewer asks real-time follow-up questions instead of recording one-way answers.
Watch out: The company's messaging has moved toward recruiter-led searches since a September 2026 launch, so buyers who only want software should confirm the product roadmap. No free trial or free plan is listed on the pricing page. Integrations are described only as connections to your ATS, with no named partners.
Not the right fit for
Ashby
Elly
Ashby
$400/mo
Foundations is $400 a month for companies with up to 100 employees, billed monthly, with 10% off for an annual commitment. Plus (101 to 1,000 employees) and Enterprise are custom-priced. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 19 Sep 2026
Elly
$5,000/yr
Elly sells three options. Platform costs $5,000/yr and covers AI application review and scoring plus the AI Interviewer for teams that run hiring in-house. Candidates costs $10,000 for one batch of sourced, screened and scorecarded candidates, with no subscription. Full Search costs 10% of first-year salary per hire, paid when the hire starts, with a minimum fee that applies on salaries under $80,000 and an optional 90-day replacement guarantee for an extra 4% of salary. No free trial is listed. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 28 Sep 2026
Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 19 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?