Handshake vs Yello (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Handshake grades higher than Yello: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Handshake grades higher on the free plan. Yello grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Handshake
Early-career hiring network with free job posting
Free plan · from $450/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Handshake if
- Fits if you hire interns and new graduates and post a few jobs a year
- Works for employers that want school and event connections
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to hire experienced staff, since the pool is early-career
- Tight if you message candidates, since Basic allows 10 a month
- Pricey if you want Pro, at $450 a month with no billing basis stated
- Watch out: promoted jobs are an add-on from $34 a day
- Watch out: ATS and XML integrations, school search and premium support are Enterprise only
Pick Yello if
- Fits if you recruit at universities and run career fairs and events
- Works for government employers, since there's a FedRAMP-authorized edition
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you hire experienced staff, because it's built for campus and early talent
- Not for you if you want a price: the site points to a demo request
- Watch out: the vendor says it won't double a renewal price, but the numbers aren't shown
- Tight if you want a trial, as none is listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHandshakeFair | 1.6GPAYelloWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPro is $450 a month, above the dearest tenth of hiring tools, and promoted jobs cost extra from $34 a day. Basic is free. | CNo price is published, so we can't set it against the $74 to $149 a month this category charges. That leaves it at C. |
| Free plan and trial | BBasic gives unlimited job posts, 10 messages a month and a company presence, and an occasional hirer could live on it. | FNo free plan and no trial is listed; the site routes you to a demo. A demo request isn't a trial. |
| Features | CEarly-career talent pool, messaging, matches, promoted jobs, events and analytics. 50+ filters and ATS integration are Enterprise only. | CCampus planning, events, sourcing, scheduling and post-offer engagement. It does campus hiring fully, but that's a smaller job than general hiring. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You set up a company profile and post roles. | CNo store rating on record, and the listing shows events and campus programs to set up. That puts it at C. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web service, with integrations only on the Enterprise plan. | CWeb product whose one listed connection is WayUp. No desktop or phone app on record, so C. |
| Best for | posting jobs to early-career candidates | campus and early-talent recruiting |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Handshake and Yello. How we grade
Where they differ
- Handshake also covers job board posting.
- Yello also covers auto-scheduling and workflow automation.
In commonWebAI featuresReportsApplicant tracking
At a glance
| Handshake | Yello | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $450 per month | Not published |
| Free plan | Basic: free job posting, 10 candidate messages a month and a simple company presence. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Handshake | Yello |
| Price read from | joinhandshake.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Handshake
- Basic allows only 10 candidate messages a month.
- Pro's page does not say whether $450 a month is billed monthly or annually.
- ATS and XML integrations, school search and premium support are Enterprise-only.
- Promoted jobs are an extra cost on Basic and Pro, starting at $34 a day.
Yello
- No prices are published; the site points to a demo request.
- It is built for campus recruiting and not for general mid-career hiring.
- The vendor says it will not double a renewal price and will commit to annual price changes by contract.
Key features
Handshake
- Early-career talent pool
- Jobs reach a network the vendor puts at 30 million job seekers, including alumni, master's and PhD students, through 1,600+ university partners.
- Candidate messaging
- Message candidates from the dashboard: 10 a month on Basic, 200 on Pro and a custom volume on Enterprise.
- Talent matches and filters
- Pro shows up to 100 matches per job and filters by school year, major, GPA, skills and location. Enterprise unlocks 50+ filters.
- Promoted jobs
- A paid boost for visibility. Basic and Pro buy it as an add-on from $34 a day, and Enterprise includes custom promotion.
- Events and school connections
- Enterprise adds custom school lists, career fair and event promotion across schools, and messaging to attendees before and after.
- Analytics
- Campaign analytics on Pro, and full-funnel dashboard reports on how the hiring team is performing on Enterprise.
Yello
- Campus Recruiting Agent
- An AI agent that takes on event building, candidate sourcing and interview scheduling so recruiters spend time on candidate conversations.
- Campus planning
- Analytics on recruiting results by school, used to decide which campuses to target against hiring goals.
- Sourcing
- Access to WayUp's database of student and early-career candidates for outreach.
- Campus events
- Tools for promoting and running career fairs and other events, including evaluating candidates on the spot.
- Post-offer engagement
- Keeps incoming hires engaged from pre-boarding onward; the vendor says customers see 27% better conversion and 50% fewer reneges on average.
Plans
Handshake
Basic$0
Unlimited job posting, 10 messages a month and a simple company presence. Promoted jobs from $34 a day as an add-on.
Pro$450
per month
200 messages a month, AI applicant tools, team collaboration, automation and 3 promoted-job days a month that roll over.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited messaging, 50+ filters, ATS integration, event support and funnel analytics. Annual plan, sold through sales.
Yello
Pricing could not be confirmed. See yello.co.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Handshake or Yello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Handshake starts at $450 per month, and Yello has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Handshake or Yello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Handshake has a free plan. Yello does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.