Handshake review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Early-career hiring network with free job posting
Black Friday: is there a Handshake sale?
Handshake report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for posting jobs to early-career candidates
Handshake lets employers post jobs free to its early-career network, with 10 candidate messages a month, and Pro is $450 a month. It targets students and recent graduates, and ATS integrations are Enterprise only.
Who Handshake is for
- Fits if you hire interns and new graduates and post a few jobs a year
- Works for employers that want school and event connections
Who Handshake is not for
- 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
Why Handshake gets a 2.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyPro is $450 a month, above the dearest tenth of hiring tools, and promoted jobs cost extra from $34 a day. Basic is free.
- BFree plan and trialBasic gives unlimited job posts, 10 messages a month and a company presence, and an occasional hirer could live on it.
- CFeaturesEarly-career talent pool, messaging, matches, promoted jobs, events and analytics. 50+ filters and ATS integration are Enterprise only.
- CEase of useNo rating on record. You set up a company profile and post roles.
- CPlatforms and integrationsA web service, with integrations only on the Enterprise plan.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Handshake's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/handshake#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/handshake.svg" alt="Handshake: 2.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Handshake stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
Handshake's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 54 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 21.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 97 of 101) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $450 a month, against a middle price of $99 for the category: 39 of the 42 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 33 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Handshake’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 101, level with 11
- BFree plan and trialAbove 97 of 101, level with 4
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 101, level with 71
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 101, level with 99
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 101, level with 38
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 43 hiring and applicant tracking tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Handshake, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Handshake you would be making jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $5,400 a year.
What you could make
- Applicant tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Handshake’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Handshake?
Handshake is a career network that connects employers with students, recent graduates and alumni through university partnerships. Employers can post jobs for free, message candidates from a dashboard and pay for promoted jobs, a Pro plan or a sales-led Enterprise plan. The employer side includes campus events, applicant management and analytics.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Handshake pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Handshake has a free plan, and paid plans start at $450 per month.
- Starts at
- $450 per month
- Free plan
- Basic: free job posting, 10 candidate messages a month and a simple company presence.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $450per month | 200 messages a month, AI applicant tools, team collaboration, automation and 3 promoted-job days a month that roll over. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited messaging, 50+ filters, ATS integration, event support and funnel analytics. Annual plan, sold through sales. |
Read from joinhandshake.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Handshake before you buy.
Handshake alternatives
- Handshake vs Wellfound
Free plan · from $135/mo
- Handshake vs Indeed
Free plan
- Handshake vs Monster
From $8
- Handshake vs Betterteam
Free trial · from $39/mo
Common questions
Does Handshake have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Handshake is listed for Web.
Does Handshake have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Handshake is listed for Web.
Is Handshake open source?
Handshake is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.