Gem is a paid recruiting platform built around AI sourcing, sold either as a layer on your existing ATS or as an all-in-one that replaces it, and priced against your headcount. Dover is a free ATS with sourcing included. Here’s what each costs as you grow, and where each is stronger.
Key takeaways
- Dover gives you an ATS and sourcing on one free tier. Unlimited jobs and users, with the Chrome extension and in-app sourcing included. Premium is $199/mo, no contract.
- Gem comes in two shapes. Gem + Your ATS layers sourcing, outreach, scheduling, and analytics onto the ATS you already run. Gem All-in-One includes its own ATS.
- Gem's price climbs with your headcount. $300/mo at 1-10 employees, $500/mo at 31-50, $900/mo at 76-100 - whether or not you're actively hiring.
- Above 100 employees Gem doesn't publish a price. Pricing keys off your FTE count and goes through sales, so there's no public number to plan against.
- Gem's sourcing is deeper than Dover's. AI sourcing agents, AI ranking, email-finding, and talent rediscovery go beyond what Dover's sourcing tools do.
- Dover's ATS covers the fundamentals for nothing. Pipelines, 100+ job boards, scheduling, scorecards, and a candidate CRM, at any team size, with no headcount bands.
Pricing
Dover is one product: a free ATS with sourcing built in, and a $199/mo premium tier you can turn on and off. Gem is two products, and both are priced against your company's FTE count - $300/mo at ten employees, rising to $900/mo at a hundred, with nothing published above that.
The difference compounds as you grow. Gem's bill tracks headcount rather than hiring, so a fifty-person company pays $500/mo whether it opens two roles that year or twenty, and a hundred-person company pays $900/mo. Dover is $0 or $199/mo at every size, and the premium tier is month-to-month, so a quiet quarter costs nothing.
Dover
$0-$199
per month at any headcount - ATS and sourcing together
Free - unlimited users and jobs
- Full ATS - pipelines, candidate tracking, and CRM
- Chrome sourcing extension and in-app sourcing
- 100+ job boards
- Interview scheduling links
- Custom interview plans, scorecards, and email templates
- Careers page and candidate portal
- Gmail, Outlook, Slack integrations
- Reporting and analytics
Premium - $199/mo, everything free, plus
- AI Applicant Scoring
- AI Notetaker
- Advanced scheduling
- Bulk actions for emails and stage updates
- Candidate offer management
- Data export
- Onboarding and premium support
Source: dover.com/pricing · verified August 2026
Gem
$300-$900+
per month, priced by your company's FTE count
Gem + Your ATS - keep your ATS, add the rest
- AI sourcing and AI candidate ranking
- Outreach sequences and email-finding
- Interview scheduling
- Recruiting analytics
- Fraud detection
- Connects to your existing ATS - no ATS of its own
Gem All-in-One - replaces the stack
- Built-in applicant tracking
- Talent sourcing and recruiting CRM
- Interview scheduling
- Recruiting analytics
- One platform and one bill
Gem prices against company FTE count, not hiring volume. Discounted startup rates are available: under 30 employees, Gem All-in-One is free for six months and then 50% off, and teams of 30-100 get reduced rates from the start. Above 100 employees no price is published - both Gem + Your ATS and Gem All-in-One are quoted by sales.
Source: gem.com/pricing · verified August 2026
Features
Dover and Gem both cover applicant tracking and sourcing, but they package it differently. Dover is a single product with both, free at the base tier. Gem asks you to pick: layer it onto the ATS you have, or let Gem All-in-One replace it. The rows below compare Dover against both shapes.
| Feature |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | Free, unlimited users and jobs | $300/mo at 1-10 employees |
| Price at 50 employees | Free, or $199/mo premium | $500/mo |
| Price at 100 employees | Free, or $199/mo premium | $900/mo |
| Above 100 employees | Same price - no headcount bands | Not published, quoted by sales |
| What the price scales with | Nothing - flat at any size | Company FTE count, whether or not you're hiring |
| Applicant tracking | ||
| ATS included | Yes, on the free tier | Gem All-in-One only - Gem + Your ATS has none |
| Pipelines and candidate tracking | Full pipeline, unlimited jobs and users | Full pipeline on Gem All-in-One |
| Candidate CRM | Included | Included, and the core of the product |
| Interview scheduling | Scheduling links free, advanced scheduling on premium | Included in both products |
| Job boards | 100+ job boards, you choose where to post | Job posting through Gem All-in-One |
| Works with an ATS you already have | Dover is the ATS - candidates import by CSV | Yes, that's what Gem + Your ATS is for |
| Sourcing and outreach | ||
| Cost of sourcing | Free on every tier | Part of the paid plan, at every FTE band |
| AI sourcing | No AI sourcing agents | AI sourcing agents and AI candidate ranking |
| Finding candidate emails | Free Chrome extension - emails and outreach in two clicks | Built-in email-finding |
| Talent rediscovery | Search candidates already in your Dover pipeline | AI agent that resurfaces past applicants |
| Reporting | ||
| Analytics | Standard hiring reports and analytics | Recruiting analytics and dashboards |
Gem is the stronger sourcing product - AI sourcing agents, AI ranking, email-finding, and talent rediscovery genuinely go past Dover's sourcing tools, and Gem All-in-One is a capable ATS. What you pay for that is a bill tied to your headcount rather than your hiring: $300/mo at ten people, $900/mo at a hundred, and an unpublished number above that. Dover covers the ATS and sourcing fundamentals for nothing and caps out at $199/mo, so the gap widens every time you hire.
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Which ATS fits
Which ATS makes sense for your company and budget?
Both cover tracking and sourcing. The decision is usually about money and motion: whether outbound sourcing is how you win hires and you can carry a bill that grows with your headcount, or you want the fundamentals covered at a price that doesn't move.
Dover fits
Companies that want an ATS and sourcing for free
- Free, at any size - no headcount bands - the same price at ten people and at two hundred
- Published pricing - free or $199/mo premium, on the website, with no sales call to find out
- One product - the ATS and the sourcing tools are the same thing, not two purchases
- Free sourcing - the Chrome extension and in-app sourcing are included on the free tier
- Pay only when you need more - premium is month-to-month, so a quiet quarter costs nothing
- Fast to start - self-serve signup and your first job posted in minutes, no implementation
You want tracking and sourcing in one tool at a price that doesn't grow with you.
Gem fits
Companies whose hiring runs on outbound sourcing
- A budget that scales - $300/mo at ten employees, $900/mo at a hundred, quoted above that
- Quote-based at scale - a sales conversation once you pass the published FTE bands
- Two products to choose between - layer Gem onto your ATS, or move to Gem All-in-One and replace it
- Sourcing as the main event - AI sourcing and outreach built for recruiters running outbound full-time
- AI agents - AI ranking, email-finding, fraud detection, and talent rediscovery
- Recruiting analytics - dashboards built for a talent team reporting on funnel performance
Sourcing at volume is the job, and the budget grows with the company.
Why teams pick Dover
Dover's ATS is fantastic! It offers everything other ATS's offer but with a more appealing interface.
It's so incredibly easy to keep up in Slack and let Dover take care of moving candidates through the process.
That was another reason we liked Dover… we were able to get updates about interested candidates right in Slack. It kept things organized for us.
We use Dover to consolidate applications into one place, automate scheduling, and quickly filter candidates based on ideal characteristics. Hiring processes can be unorganized and frustrating, using Dover’s free ATS has been refreshing!
Dover kept us on track to make sure candidates were moving quickly through the pipeline, which was a huge weight off my back.
Other Gem alternatives
If neither fits, these are the platforms teams most often shortlist alongside Gem.
FAQ
How much does Gem cost?
Gem prices against your company's FTE count: $300/mo at 1-10 employees, $400/mo at 11-30, $500/mo at 31-50, $700/mo at 51-75, and $900/mo at 76-100. Above 100 employees Gem publishes no price - both Gem + Your ATS and Gem All-in-One are quoted by sales.
Why does Gem get more expensive as you grow?
Because the price is tied to headcount rather than hiring. Every FTE band you cross raises the bill whether or not you have roles open, so a fifty-person company pays $500/mo in a quiet year and a hundred-person company pays $900/mo. Dover is $0 or $199/mo at any size, which is why the gap widens as you hire.
What's the difference between Gem + Your ATS and Gem All-in-One?
Gem + Your ATS keeps your existing applicant tracking system and layers AI sourcing, outreach, scheduling, and analytics on top - no migration. Gem All-in-One replaces the stack and includes its own ATS, so sourcing, tracking, scheduling, and analytics all live in one platform on one bill. Both are priced by FTE count.
Does Gem have a free plan?
No. Gem's lowest published price is $300/mo for companies with 1-10 employees. Dover's ATS is free with unlimited jobs and users, and sourcing is included on that free tier.
Does Dover charge for sourcing?
No. The Chrome sourcing extension and in-app sourcing are both included on Dover's free ATS tier. With Gem, sourcing is the product you're paying for at every FTE band.
Is Gem's sourcing better than Dover's?
In depth, yes. Gem's AI sourcing agents, AI candidate ranking, email-finding, and talent rediscovery go beyond Dover's sourcing tools, and if outbound is how you fill most roles that depth is what you're buying. Dover's sourcing covers finding candidates and reaching out to them at no cost, inside the same system that tracks them.
Can I keep my current ATS and just add sourcing?
With Gem, yes - that's exactly what Gem + Your ATS does. Dover works the other way round: it is the ATS, and it's free, so teams usually move their tracking to Dover rather than layering it on. If you want to keep your current system, you can still source elsewhere and import candidates to Dover by CSV.
What are Gem's pros and cons for a startup?
Pros: strong AI sourcing and outreach, a real recruiting CRM, recruiting analytics, and a choice between keeping your ATS or replacing it. Cons: no free plan, a $300/mo floor, a price that rises with headcount rather than hiring volume, and no published pricing at all once you pass 100 employees.
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On accuracy: Pricing, plan tiers, and feature availability change often and without notice. Every figure here was checked against each vendor's public pricing and documentation in August 2026. Feature comparisons reflect generally available functionality, not beta or enterprise-only capability. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it.