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Most buyers should pick Workable.
Choose Workable if you want published pricing and recruiting plus HR in one platform: its plans start at $299/month for companies with 1–20 employees. Choose Lever if ATS and recruiting CRM are the priority and you can request a custom quote; its pricing is not published. Neither product lists a free plan. Workable is easier to budget from the available pricing, while Lever’s cost and add-on prices need confirmation from its sales team.
01Side by side
| Workable | Lever | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $299/month | Custom quote; price not published |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Best for | Recruiting plus HR for 1–20 employees | Hiring teams needing ATS and recruiting CRM |
| Core strength | AI sourcing, screening, and HR tools | ATS, recruiting CRM, and hiring analytics |
| Ease-of-use review score | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration options listed | MCP, REST API, and webhooks | Integration details not published |
| Team and seat costs | $299/month plans cover 1–20 employees | Custom quote; seat costs not published |
| Support | 6.5/10 review score; Standard includes priority support | 5/10 review score; support details not published |
Workable Choose Workable if
- Choose Workable if you need recruiting and HR together.
- Choose Workable if you want published starting prices.
- Choose Workable if MCP, REST API, or webhooks matter.
Lever Choose Lever if
- Choose Lever if ATS and recruiting CRM are your focus.
- Choose Lever if you want to nurture passive candidates in a CRM.
- Choose Lever if you’re prepared to request custom pricing.
02Pricing compared
Workable has the clearer price: the pricing page lists Standard at $299 per month for companies with 1–20 employees. Premier is $599 per month and Enterprise is $719 per month. There is no free plan; Workable lists a 15-day free trial. Standard add-ons include Texting+ for $89 per month, Video interviews+ for $109, Assessments+ for $59 and Performance & Engagement+ for $39. AI credit bundles cost extra, starting at $600 for 5,000 credits.
Lever does not publish monthly or annual prices. Its Core Platform is available by custom quote and includes ATS, CRM, analytics, AI capabilities and unlimited AI interview transcripts and summaries. Candidate Insights, AI Screening by VONQ and Onboarding are listed as add-ons, with prices not published. Neither product lists a free plan, and Lever’s trial availability is not published.
03Features and depth
Workable covers recruiting and some post-hire HR work in the same platform. Its recruiting features include candidate sourcing across 400M+ profiles, outreach, screening against up to 14 job criteria, applicant tracking and distribution to 200+ job boards and social platforms. The HR tools include onboarding, performance, time off, attendance, employee records and payroll reporting. Workable also lists an MCP, REST API and webhooks for integrations and workflows.
Lever is more specifically positioned around hiring: it combines an ATS with a recruiting CRM for building talent pipelines, nurturing passive candidates and re-engaging past applicants. Its listed features include hiring automation, scheduling and follow-ups, AI candidate insights, fraud-signal screening and hiring analytics. That makes the product descriptions point to different priorities: Workable spans recruiting and HR, while Lever emphasizes candidate relationships and hiring. Lever’s Core Platform includes unlimited AI interview transcripts and summaries, but several add-ons have no published prices.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The available information does not establish which product is faster to learn or easier to administer. Workable combines recruiting and HR tools, so teams considering it should check whether they need the post-hire features as well as the ATS. Lever’s ATS and CRM focus may suit teams organizing candidate pipelines, but its custom-quote sales process adds a step before buyers can compare costs.
Our review scores give Workable 7 for ease of use and Lever 6. Those scores suggest a modest edge for Workable, not proof of a shorter setup or training period. Ask both vendors to show the workflows your team will use and confirm what implementation or support is included.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Workable or Lever?
Workable has published starting prices: Standard is $299 per month for companies with 1–20 employees. Lever’s price is available by custom quote, so we can’t compare its cost directly. Ask Lever for a quote that includes the Core Platform and any add-ons you need.
Does Workable or Lever offer a free plan or trial?
Neither product lists a free plan in the published pricing information. Workable lists a 15-day free trial. Lever’s trial availability is not published, so confirm it with the vendor before planning an evaluation.
Does Lever include a recruiting CRM?
Yes. Lever is described as an ATS and recruiting CRM, with tools to build talent pipelines, nurture passive candidates and re-engage past applicants. Its Core Platform is available by custom quote; the published pricing information does not publish a separate CRM price.
Can Workable handle HR after hiring?
Yes. Workable’s listed HR features include onboarding, performance, time off, attendance, employee records and payroll reporting. Its plans start at $299 per month for companies with 1–20 employees, according to the published pricing information.