Neither vendor publishes prices. Greenhouse sells three plans, Core, Plus, and Pro, and says price depends on your plan, hiring volume and organizational complexity, and features. Lever, part of Employ Inc., says its pricing scales with team size and hiring needs, and that every plan includes its ATS and recruiting CRM together, with paid add-ons for Candidate Insights, AI screening, and onboarding. In our conversations, Lever mostly came up as the system teams were leaving, usually for Greenhouse or Ashby.
Greenhouse vs Lever at a glance
| Greenhouse | Lever | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Core, Plus, Pro | Not named publicly. Every plan includes the ATS, CRM, reporting and analytics, and key integrations. |
| Published price | None. Every plan says "Get a demo." | None. Quotes on request. |
| What drives price | Plan, hiring volume and organizational complexity, and features | Team size and hiring needs |
| Recruiting CRM | Sourcing and CRM included in Core | "ATS & CRM in one," with sourcing and nurture built in |
| AI features named | AI Notetaker (Core), AI-powered report filters (Plus), Talent Matching | Unlimited AI interview transcripts and summaries, AI screening and matching, AI fraud signals |
| Paid add-ons named | None priced publicly. Texting, the BI Connector, and Sourcing Automation start at Plus. | Candidate Insights, AI Screening by VONQ, Onboarding |
| Integrations | 450+ pre-built, plus an open API | No count on its pricing or home page. Lists HRIS, sourcing, assessment, background check, and productivity integrations. |
| Company | Greenhouse | Part of Employ Inc. |
How Greenhouse pricing works
Greenhouse doesn't list prices. Its pricing page says pricing "is customized based on your company's hiring needs" and names three inputs: your plan, your hiring volume and organizational complexity, and the features your workflows need. Core includes sourcing and CRM, structured interview kits and scorecards, an AI notetaker, scheduling, reporting, and SSO. Plus adds AI report filters, a BI connector, sourcing automation, texting, and fraud detection. Pro adds unlimited CRM events, enterprise data configuration and security, an audit log, and a developer sandbox.
How Lever pricing works
Lever doesn't list prices either. Its pricing page says pricing "scales based on your team size and hiring needs," with quotes on request. Every plan includes the core ATS, the recruiting CRM, reporting and analytics, and key integrations, and Lever lists unlimited AI interview transcripts and summaries in its core platform. Three add-ons are named without prices: Candidate Insights, which brings skills, assessment, and reference data into candidate profiles; AI Screening by VONQ, for agent-based pre-screening on your career site; and Onboarding.
What buyers tell us
We talk with recruiting teams who are buying, renewing, or leaving these tools. Each point below is a pattern we heard from several teams, not a one-off story, written in our words. Vendor facts elsewhere on this page come from public sources.
- Lever usually comes up as the system teams are leaving. Most of the Lever customers we heard from had moved or were moving, mostly to Greenhouse or Ashby. Those choosing Ashby were often replacing other point tools at the same time.
- The move to Greenhouse is a real project. Teams described it as a heavy lift. Budget admin time for interview plans, scorecards, and permissions.
- Former Lever users missed candidate self-booking links. Lever's Easy Book links let candidates pick an interview time from a link. Two teams that moved to Greenhouse found the replacement more limited. Current Lever users told us the links work well for one-on-one screens but not for panels. If you rely on them, test the new system with your real settings before you switch.
- Greenhouse keeps its strengths, and its complaints. Buyers credit Greenhouse for structured hiring and integrations, and describe a slower product pace than newer tools.
How to choose between Greenhouse and Lever
- You want structured interviewing and the biggest integration catalog. Greenhouse publishes 450+ pre-built integrations and puts interview kits and scorecards in its Core plan. Check that each tool you use is covered.
- Your team lives in the CRM. Lever bundles its CRM into every plan, and Greenhouse includes sourcing and CRM in Core. Ask both to show your real nurture workflow, not a demo campaign.
- You're on Lever and your renewal is coming up. Start four to five months out if you might switch, and price Ashby too if you're also replacing other tools. Our renewal checklist covers the contract side.
- AI features matter to you. Lever lists unlimited AI transcripts and summaries in its core platform. Greenhouse includes an AI notetaker in Core. Ask which features are live today and how each is priced.
Questions to ask both vendors in the demo
- What exactly is our price based on, and what happens if our headcount or hiring volume changes mid-term?
- Which features you showed today are in the plan you're quoting, and which are paid add-ons?
- What comes over cleanly from our current ATS, including candidates, notes, scorecards, and history, and what doesn't?
- How does candidate self-scheduling work for one-on-one screens and for panels? Show it with our settings.
- For each of our integrations, who built it, and what syncs in each direction?
- Can we talk to a customer our size who switched in the last year?
More questions, grouped by topic, are in our ATS demo question list.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lever cheaper than Greenhouse?
Public information can't settle it. Neither publishes prices. Greenhouse says price depends on plan, hiring volume and organizational complexity, and features, and Lever says pricing scales with team size and hiring needs. Compare line-item quotes for the same scenario.
Who owns Lever?
Lever is part of Employ Inc. Lever's site lists Employ in its navigation and footer.
Does Lever include a CRM?
Yes. Lever says every plan includes its core ATS and its candidate relationship management, along with reporting, analytics, and key integrations.
How hard is it to switch from Lever to Greenhouse?
Teams we talked with described it as a heavy lift. Plan for admin time on interview plans and scorecards, test anything you rely on, such as self-scheduling links, and start four to five months before your Lever renewal.
Sources
- Greenhouse pricing, checked October 24, 2026.
- Greenhouse integrations, checked October 24, 2026.
- Lever pricing, checked October 24, 2026.
- Lever home page, checked October 24, 2026.
- Lever Help Center, Creating and Using Easy Book Links, checked October 24, 2026.
- Evidenced, Scheduling with Lever Easy Book links, checked October 24, 2026.
Vendors change plans and prices often. If something here is out of date, tell us at team@backchannelguides.com and we'll fix it.