Head to head

Greenhouse vs SmartRecruiters

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

Greenhouse

Sales-quoted

Structured hiring ATS for mid-market and tech, with scorecards, interview kits and a large marketplace. Quote-based, with MCP in open beta.

Where Greenhouse fits

  • Mid-market and tech talent teams
  • Companies that want shared scorecards
  • Desks that live on the integration marketplace
  • Teams attaching agents via MCP

Global enterprise talent acquisition suite with a job-board marketplace and CRM. The published entry is $14,995, with no billing period stated and everything above it quoted.

Where SmartRecruiters fits

  • Global in-house talent teams
  • Teams that buy job-board marketplace access with the ATS
  • Enterprises running hiring programmes across countries
  • Buyers comparing enterprise suites

At a glance

DetailGreenhouseSmartRecruiters
Starting priceSales-quoted$14,995
Free tier–No–No
MCP server✓Yes–No
Public API✓Yes✓Yes
Listed underATSATS, CRM, Recruitment marketing
Capterra4.5 from 765 reviews4.2 from 151 reviews

Where they pull apart

Greenhouse

Stands out: Structured hiring plus marketplace depth, with a hosted MCP now in open beta.

Watch out: No published price, and the MCP is open beta rather than generally available.

Not the right fit for

  • Agencies that need a staffing CRM
  • Small teams that need a cheap tracker

SmartRecruiters

Stands out: A marketplace of job boards plus CRM inside one enterprise suite.

Watch out: Five figures is the floor, the vendor does not say what period $14,995 covers, and SAP now owns the company, so licensing may shift.

Not the right fit for

  • Small businesses that need a three-figure monthly price
  • Agencies that want a staffing CRM

Pros and cons

Greenhouse

  • Structured hiring and shared scorecards
  • Large integration marketplace
  • Hosted MCP in open beta
  • No public price
  • Heavier than small-business trackers
  • MCP still labelled open beta

SmartRecruiters

  • Published entry price, unusual at this level
  • Job-board marketplace inside the suite
  • Public API
  • No MCP
  • Five-figure floor
  • Higher tiers are quote-only

What each one costs

Greenhouse

Sales-quoted

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

Checked 7 Sep 2026

SmartRecruiters

$14,995

The Essential plan starts at $14,995; the vendor's pricing page does not state the billing period. Professional, High Volume and Complete are quoted on request. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 20 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Greenhouse or SmartRecruiters for free?
Neither carries a free tier on our listing.
Does Greenhouse or SmartRecruiters have an MCP server?
Greenhouse ships a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

Not the pair you wanted?

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 7 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?