Ashby alternative and Ashby pricing for startups that need screened candidates
RecruitingBot is an Ashby alternative for startups and lean talent teams that need candidates found, screened and booked, not a full applicant tracking system. Ashby lists its Foundations plan at 400 USD a month for companies up to 100 employees. RecruitingBot Starter costs 299 USD monthly or 149 USD per month billed yearly, with prices published for every plan. Ashby wins when you want one system for tracking, scheduling, analytics and offers.
- GDPR built in
- Human approves every shortlist
- No hiring fees
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Why teams look for an Ashby alternative
Ashby is an all in one recruiting platform. Its site describes an applicant tracking system with sourcing, scheduling, analytics and AI features such as application review, fraud detection and talent rediscovery on one login. For a company that has outgrown spreadsheets, that is a serious product.
Buyers look elsewhere for two reasons. First, the price is a fixed platform fee. If your real pain is finding people and getting replies for two or three hard roles, you pay for a system of record you may not use fully. Second, only the startup plan shows a price. Companies above 100 employees get a quote based on size, usage and commitment.
RecruitingBot starts from the job post and a weighted rubric. It finds candidates, writes outreach from your own Gmail or Outlook mailbox, screens replies and skills tests, and books interviews after a person approves the shortlist. See how AI candidate screening scores against your criteria.
| Category | Sources | Screens | Outreach | Schedules | Shortlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing database | · | · | · | ||
| AI interviewer | · | · | · | ||
| Success fee service | |||||
| End to end AI recruiter |
Ashby pricing next to RecruitingBot pricing
Ashby lists All In One Foundations at 400 USD a month for companies up to 100 employees, with a 10 percent discount for an annual commitment. Plus (101 to 1,000 employees), Enterprise and the Analytics product are quote only. Single sign on is listed at 100 USD a month and extra candidate texting at 90 USD per 1,000 messages. Other add ons such as the AI notetaker and advanced scheduling show no price.
RecruitingBot prices are public. Check RecruitingBot pricing and plan limits against your active roles and mailboxes. There are no hiring fees and monthly billing is available.
| Option | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby Foundations | 400 USD, up to 100 employees | 10 percent off with annual commitment | ATS, sourcing, scheduling, reporting and AI credits. SSO and extra texting cost more |
| Ashby Plus and Enterprise | Quote only | Quote only | Priced on company size, usage and commitment |
| RecruitingBot Starter | 299 USD | 149 USD per month (1,788 USD a year) | 3 active roles, 1,500 candidates analyzed, 300 contact reveals, 600 outreach emails, 50 skills tests a month, 2 seats, 1 mailbox |
| RecruitingBot Growth | 599 USD | 299 USD per month (3,588 USD a year) | 8 active roles, 5,000 candidates analyzed, 800 reveals, 2,000 emails, 200 skills tests, 5 seats, 3 mailboxes, 3 client workspaces |
| RecruitingBot Agency | 999 USD | 499 USD per month (5,988 USD a year) | 20 active roles, 12,000 candidates analyzed, 2,000 reveals, 5,000 emails, 600 skills tests, 15 seats, 10 mailboxes, unlimited client workspaces, API and SSO |
Feature comparison across the hiring loop
The tools overlap on AI assisted sourcing and screening, then split. Ashby is the system of record. RecruitingBot is the worker that fills the top of the funnel and hands you a reviewed list.
| Stage | Ashby | RecruitingBot |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant tracking | Full ATS with pipelines, offers and permissions | Not an ATS. CSV import on every plan, Greenhouse, Lever and Workable import on Growth and Agency |
| Finding candidates | AI candidate search, outreach personalization, talent rediscovery | Sources new candidates against the role rubric |
| Outreach | Sequenced outreach with reply tracking | Outreach and follow ups from your own Gmail or Outlook mailbox |
| Screening | AI assisted application review and fraud detection, metered by AI credits | Knockout questions in reply, auto scored skills tests, weighted rubric scoring |
| Scheduling | AI auto scheduler, advanced scheduling as an add on | Books into Google or Microsoft 365 calendars |
| Reporting | Dashboards and analytics, advanced reporting on higher plans | Pipeline view per role and a shortlist with evidence for each score |
| Human review | Your team reviews in the ATS | A person approves every shortlist |
| Published price | Startup plan only | Every plan |
Who should stay with Ashby
Stay with Ashby, or choose it, when you need one system for tracking, interview plans, offers and reporting, and your team is willing to drive the sourcing itself. It also suits companies close to 100 employees that hire all year and want analytics.
RecruitingBot does not replace an ATS. It fits better when the bottleneck is the thin queue for salaried roles, the unanswered messages and the hours spent on first screens. Many teams run an ATS and RecruitingBot together and add the approved candidates to the ATS.
How to test both on one role
Pick one hard to fill role and give both vendors the same brief. Count the hours your team spends before a hiring manager sees three qualified candidates.
- Write the job post and a weighted rubric of the five must have requirements.
- Ask Ashby for a written quote that lists seats, AI credits, add ons and the contract term.
- Run the same role through RecruitingBot with your mailbox connected.
- Compare the shortlists, the evidence behind each score and the number of booked interviews.
- Count your own hours on each side before deciding.
Other options to compare
If you are weighing several tools, compare Gem pricing and alternatives, SeekOut pricing and search coverage and Juicebox pricing per seat, or read the full best AI recruiting software comparison.
Questions buyers ask
Anything else goes to support@recruitingbot.com or the help panel inside your dashboard.
How much does Ashby cost?
Ashby lists its All In One Foundations plan at 400 USD a month for companies up to 100 employees, with a 10 percent discount for annual commitments. Plus, Enterprise and Analytics are quote only. Add ons such as SSO at 100 USD a month cost extra.
What is the best Ashby alternative?
It depends on the bottleneck. RecruitingBot suits teams that need sourcing, outreach, written screening, skills tests and booked interviews at a published price. For a full applicant tracking system, compare Greenhouse, Lever or Workable instead.
Is Ashby an applicant tracking system?
Yes. Ashby combines an applicant tracking system with sourcing, scheduling, analytics and AI features on one platform. That is why it costs more than a sourcing and screening tool and why it is a different kind of purchase.
Can I use RecruitingBot with Ashby?
Yes, as a separate step. RecruitingBot imports candidate lists as CSV on every plan and connects to Greenhouse, Lever and Workable imports on Growth and Agency. It is not an ATS, so keep Ashby as the record and add approved candidates there by hand.
Is RecruitingBot cheaper than Ashby?
RecruitingBot Starter is 299 USD monthly or 149 USD per month billed yearly, against 400 USD a month for Ashby Foundations. They do different work, so compare the total cost of hiring a role with each rather than the subscription alone.
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