Greenhouse is the enterprise standard for structured hiring - deep analytics, custom permission roles, and approval workflows, sold on a quoted annual contract. Dover is a free, easy-to-use ATS built for startups. Here’s the full breakdown of what each costs, where each is stronger, and how to tell which one makes sense for you.
Key takeaways
- Dover's ATS has a free plan with unlimited jobs and users. Dover's Premium plan is $199/mo with no contracts - turn it on when you want more features.
- Greenhouse doesn't publish prices. Core, Plus, and Pro are quoted per company, based on hiring volume and organizational complexity, on an annual contract.
- Expect an implementation project, not a signup. A demo, a sales cycle, and configuration come before your first job goes live.
- Greenhouse is the strongest ATS here on governance. Custom permission roles, automated user management, and role-based and dynamic approvals are the core of the product.
- Greenhouse leads on analytics. Greenhouse Analytics is self-serve reporting inside the ATS. Dover gives you standard hiring reports, not a report builder.
- Greenhouse posts to 1,000+ job boards against Dover's 100+. If distribution breadth is your deciding factor, that's Greenhouse's point.
- The higher tiers are where the enterprise features live. Fraud detection is Plus and up; resume anonymization and the developer sandbox are Pro only.
Pricing
Dover's ATS is available for free with unlimited seats and jobs. Dover's Premium plan is no-contract and flexible - so when you need premium features, you can turn it on, and turn it off when you don't need the features or aren't currently hiring. Greenhouse publishes no prices at all: Core, Plus, and Pro are quoted per company based on your hiring volume, organizational complexity, and the features you need.
Because Greenhouse quotes rather than publishes, the only honest figure is "ask for a demo". Third-party buyer data puts typical Core contracts in the low five figures a year and enterprise Pro contracts well above that, plus a one-off implementation fee - but those are reported numbers, not Greenhouse's. Dover has a free plan, with the Premium plan available when you want additional features during a hiring push - no contracts, monthly pricing.
Dover
$0-$199
per month - free plan, or Premium with no contract
Free - unlimited users and jobs
- Candidate tracking and CRM
- 100+ job boards
- Gmail, Outlook, Slack integrations
- Careers page and candidate portal
- Reporting and analytics
- Sourcing
- Custom email, scorecards, and interview plans
Premium - $199/mo, everything free, plus
- AI Applicant Scoring
- AI Notetaker
- Advanced scheduling
- Post Basic Jobs to LinkedIn
- Bulk actions for emails and stage updates
- Candidate offer management
- Onboarding and premium support
Source: dover.com/pricing · verified August 2026
Greenhouse
Not public
quoted per company, annual contract
Core - bring structure to hiring
- Candidate tracking and CRM
- Structured interviewing and scorecards
- 1,000+ job boards
- Greenhouse AI
- Greenhouse Analytics reporting
- Custom permission roles and approvals
Plus - optimize your operation
- Automation and advanced configuration
- Deeper reporting
- Fraud detection
Pro - manage hiring complexity
- Enterprise governance and security
- Advanced analytics
- Resume anonymization
- Developer sandbox and full API access
Greenhouse states that pricing is customized based on plan, hiring volume, organizational complexity, and the features you need. There is no published price, no free plan, and no self-serve signup - you request a demo. Implementation is typically a separate one-off fee.
Source: greenhouse.com/pricing · verified August 2026
Features
Both products cover the ATS fundamentals - pipelines, job posting, scheduling, candidate records, and a CRM. Greenhouse then adds the governance layer that large hiring organizations run on: approval chains, custom permission roles, audit-grade analytics. The differences come down to whether you need that layer, and what you're willing to commit to for it.
| Feature |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and getting started | ||
| Price | Free, or $199/mo Premium with no contract | Not published - quoted per company |
| Free plan | Free forever, unlimited jobs and users | None |
| Time to first job post | Minutes, self-serve signup | Demo, sales cycle, then implementation |
| Commitment | Month to month, cancel any time | Annual contract, plus an implementation fee |
| Core ATS | ||
| Applicant tracking | Full pipeline, unlimited jobs and users | Full pipeline |
| Candidate CRM | Included | Included |
| Structured interviewing and scorecards | Included free, fully customizable | Included - it's the product's core opinion |
| Interview scheduling | Scheduling links free, advanced scheduling in Premium | Included, built for complex loops |
| Permissions and approvals | ||
| Permission model | Company- and job-level permissions. Use defaults or build custom permission sets | Custom permission roles with automated user management |
| Approval workflows | No approval workflows. Set permissions for users | Role-based and dynamic approvals across job and interview workflows |
| Sourcing and job boards | ||
| Job boards | 100+ job boards, you choose where to post | 1,000+ job boards |
| Sourcing | Free, included on the free plan | Included in paid plans |
| AI, reporting, and data | ||
| AI applicant scoring | Included in Premium | Greenhouse AI across all plans |
| AI notetaker | Included in Premium | Not a named plan feature |
| Reporting | Standard hiring reports and analytics | Greenhouse Analytics self-serve reporting, deeper on Plus and Pro |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise controls | ||
| Fraud detection | Not offered | Plus and Pro |
| Resume anonymization | Not offered | Pro only |
| Developer sandbox | Not offered | Pro only |
Greenhouse leads on reporting depth, approvals and permissions, job board reach, and enterprise governance. Dover leads on cost, speed to start, and no commitment. Neither list is a knock on the other product - Greenhouse is the category standard for companies hiring at scale, and that's exactly what makes it heavy for a ten-person team. Approvals are the clearest example: role-based and dynamic sign-off is what a large organization needs for control and audit, and what slows a small team down when someone just needs to open a role.
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Which ATS fits
Which software makes sense for your company and budget?
These two aren't really competing for the same buyer. Greenhouse is the enterprise standard and prices like it; Dover is free hiring software for startups. The question is which side of that line your company is on right now.
Dover fits
Companies that want flexible hiring software
- Free - the ATS is free, with premium features available when you want them
- Easy to get started - self-serve signup and your first job posted in minutes, no implementation
- No commitment - month to month, and Premium you can switch on and off as your hiring changes
- Easy to use - hiring managers and interviewers can pick it up without training
- Standard reporting - the hiring metrics most teams act on, without a report builder to learn
- Simple permissions - company- and job-level, with defaults that work on day one
You want to build a custom hiring process without the cost or the implementation.
Greenhouse fits
Companies hiring at scale with governance requirements
- A recruiting software budget - a quoted annual contract, typically five figures, plus implementation
- Implementation up front - a demo and a configuration project before your first job goes live
- An annual commitment - contracts are annual, and the plan tier is chosen at signing
- Someone to run hiring - a recruiting ops owner to configure roles, workflows, and approvals
- Self-serve analytics - Greenhouse Analytics, so leaders can answer their own questions from the data
- Layered governance - custom permission roles and role-based approvals, for control and audit at scale
You need control, auditability, and analytics depth, and you have the budget for it.
Why teams pick Dover
Dover's ATS is fantastic! It offers everything other ATS's offer but with a more appealing interface.
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 has been one of the best user experiences in terms of intuitive navigation through the dashboards and display of information. And the support team has been the best I have ever experienced anywhere.
Dover made it super easy to manage all of our recruiting activities and allowed us to find our first engineers effortlessly. Having all of our recruiting functions taken care of in one platform was incredibly helpful and made it a breeze. Dover integrated seamlessly with Slack and made it effortless to get stared. I can’t say enough good things.
Dover's ATS has given us more time back to spend in the lab and the tools we need to build our team
Other Greenhouse alternatives
If neither fits, these are the platforms teams most often shortlist alongside Greenhouse.
FAQ
How much does Greenhouse cost?
Greenhouse doesn't publish prices. Its pricing page says cost is customized per company based on which plan you choose (Core, Plus, or Pro), your hiring volume, your organizational complexity, and the features you need - so you have to request a demo for a quote. Third-party buyer data reports Core contracts in the low five figures a year and enterprise Pro contracts well above that, plus a one-off implementation fee, but those figures come from buyers rather than from Greenhouse.
Does Greenhouse have a free plan or a free trial?
No. There's no free plan and no self-serve signup - the path in is a demo with a Greenhouse expert. If you need an ATS that's free, Dover's free plan includes candidate tracking and CRM, 100+ job boards, custom interview plans, scorecards, reporting, and sourcing, with unlimited jobs and users.
What's the difference between Greenhouse Core, Plus, and Pro?
Core covers the essentials - structured hiring, scorecards, candidate experience. Plus adds automation, advanced configuration, deeper reporting, and fraud detection. Pro adds enterprise-grade governance, security, advanced analytics, resume anonymization, and a developer sandbox with full API access, for complex global hiring operations.
Is Dover a good Greenhouse alternative for a startup?
For most startups, yes. Greenhouse's value is in governance and analytics depth that pays off across hundreds of hires and many stakeholders. A ten-person company gets the pipeline, scorecards, job distribution, and reporting it actually uses from Dover's free plan, with no implementation project and no annual contract.
Does Dover have custom reporting like Greenhouse Analytics?
Not today. Dover gives you standard hiring reports and analytics covering your pipeline and funnel. Greenhouse Analytics is self-serve reporting inside the ATS, so recruiters and leaders can build and filter their own views. If that's a requirement, it's a genuine reason to pay for Greenhouse.
How do permissions and approvals compare?
Dover has two levels - company permissions and job permissions - and you either use the defaults or create custom permission sets. Greenhouse has custom permission roles, automated user management, and role-based and dynamic approvals on job and interview workflows. That gives large organizations finer control and an audit trail, and it takes real configuration before a team can start working.
What are Greenhouse's pros and cons?
Pros: the category standard for structured hiring, self-serve analytics, custom permission roles and approval workflows, 1,000+ job boards, enterprise security and governance, and a deep integration ecosystem. Cons: no published pricing, no free plan or trial, an annual contract plus implementation fee, a sales cycle before you can start, and more configuration than a small team needs.
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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.