Compare/Head to head

Handshake vs Yello

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

Starting price

Handshake

$450/mo Free tier

University recruiting and early-career talent, with a free tier for employers.

Where Handshake fits

University recruiting teams
Early-career programmes at large employers
Talent teams filling intern and graduate roles
Campus teams already working in Handshake

Yello

Contact for pricing

Campus and early-talent CRM for events, sourcing, and interview scheduling. Pricing is sales-quoted.

Where Yello fits

Enterprise campus recruiting programs
Early-talent teams that live on career fairs and events
Companies that need event-to-interview scheduling next to the ATS
TA orgs already on Lever, Workday, iCIMS, or LinkedIn Recruiter

At a glance

Detail	Handshake	Yello
Starting price	$450/mo	Contact for pricing
Free tier	✓Yes	–No
MCP server	–No	–No
Public API	–No	–No
Listed under	Job boards	Recruitment marketing, Scheduling
Capterra	Not enough reviews	3.8 from 18 reviews

Where they pull apart

Handshake

Stands out: The campus network students already use, so the pipeline is there before you are.

Watch out: It is a supply channel, not a tracker, and it is weak for senior hiring.

Not the right fit for

Senior professional hiring only
Agencies buying contact data

Yello

Stands out: It is purpose-built for campus: event capture, school planning, on-the-spot scheduling, and a campus AI agent for admin work, which general-purpose Workday recruiting still does not replace for university desks.

Watch out: This is a quote-only early-talent platform, not a general ATS. If you do not run a campus or event program, you will pay for a workflow your recruiters will not open. The AI agent is a product pillar on the vendor site; it is not a self-serve add-on with a public price.

Not the right fit for

Teams with no campus or event hiring
SMBs that need a self-serve scheduler
Buyers who need a public seat price

Pros and cons

Handshake

The default campus network
Early-career focus is the product
Free tier to start on

Not an ATS
Weak for senior hiring
Pro is $450 a month; Enterprise is quoted

Yello

Purpose-built campus planning, events, and scheduling
LinkedIn Recruiter CRM Connect and Lever integrations
AI agent aimed at event and scheduling admin, not a generic chatbot

Sales-quoted, no public seat price
Wrong tool if you do not run campus or events
Not an ATS of record

What each one costs

Handshake

$450/mo

Basic is free for posting jobs, with 10 messages a month; promoted jobs are an add-on starting from $34 a day. Pro is $450 per month with 200 messages a month, AI applicant tools, multi-user collaboration and 3 promoted-job days a month. Enterprise is priced through sales on an annual plan. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Yello

Contact for pricing

Confirm current pricing on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Common questions

Can you try Handshake or Yello for free?

Handshake carries a free tier on our listing.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 4 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?