The Zoho Recruit Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Zoho Recruit in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Zoho Recruit
The Insider’s Guide
Per-recruiter ATS and recruitment CRM with a free one-job plan
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among hiring and applicant tracking tools, read from Zoho Recruit’s own pages.
Made by Zoho Corporation · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Zoho Recruit’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Zoho Recruit’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 12 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade
Zoho Recruit is an applicant tracking system and candidate CRM from Zoho, used by in-house HR teams and by staffing agencies. It posts jobs to a careers site, 75+ job boards and social media, automates hiring steps with Blueprints and workflows, and gives hiring managers, clients, vendors and candidates portals of their own. Plans are priced per recruiter, with a free plan for one job.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Zoho Recruit, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No App Store rating on record, and Blueprints, portals and licence packs take some learning.
- 1
Best for low-cost hiring for teams already on Zoho
Zoho Recruit is a cheap, capable tracker for in-house teams and staffing agencies alike, with portals for hiring managers, clients and candidates.
- 2
Paid plans start at $25 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $25 per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
- 3
There is a free plan
Forever Free: 1 active job per recruiter license, with candidate and email management, interview scheduling and 8/5 support. No add-ons.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Job distribution
Publishes openings to a customizable careers site, 75+ free, paid and premium job boards, and social media.
- 6
ATS and candidate CRM
Tracks applicants through hiring pipelines and keeps a candidate relationship database for future roles.
- 7
Blueprints and workflows
Automates candidate emails, offer approvals and other steps with Blueprints, workflows and custom functions on Enterprise.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 12 of 14
That is against the other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Zoho Recruit 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.
Zoho Recruit at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $25 per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 15-day free trial of Enterprise features, no credit card required; it then drops to the free plan
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Zoho Corporation
- Category
- Hiring & Applicant Tracking
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for low-cost hiring for teams already on Zoho
Zoho Recruit is a cheap, capable tracker for in-house teams and staffing agencies alike, with portals for hiring managers, clients and candidates. There's a free plan for one job and a 15-day trial. Just watch the per-licence caps: 10 active jobs per recruiter on Standard.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | Standard is $25 a recruiter a month on yearly billing ($30 monthly), so a ten-person company with one recruiter pays $25 for 10 active jobs, a branded careers site and premium boards. That's in the cheaper quarter, but hiring managers need licences sold in packs of 10. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A free plan with 1 active job per recruiter licence, candidate and email management and interview scheduling. The branded careers site and premium boards start on Standard. The 15-day trial needs no card and drops you onto the free plan. |
| Features | B | Posting to a careers site, 75+ job boards and social media, a candidate CRM, Blueprints and workflows, portals for managers, clients and candidates, and AI matching. The whole job, though AI and automation need Enterprise. |
| Ease of use | C | No App Store rating on record, and Blueprints, portals and licence packs take some learning. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with 200+ integrations such as Google Meet, Teams, Slack, Mailchimp and TestGorilla. No desktop app. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Zoho Recruit is for
- Great if you already run other Zoho apps and want hiring to match
- Handy when you're a staffing agency that needs client and vendor portals
- Good for one-person HR teams on a tight budget
Who it is not for
- Tight if one recruiter handles more than 10 open jobs on Standard
- Pricey if every manager needs a login, as those licences come in packs of 10
- Skip it if you want AI matching on the cheaper plan, as that's Enterprise at $50
Good to know
Good for
- Small HR teams that want a free or low-cost ATS
- Staffing agencies that need client and vendor portals
- Teams hiring for several roles at once on a per-recruiter budget
Worth knowing
- Active jobs are capped per recruiter license: 1 on Free, 10 on Standard and 20 on Enterprise.
- Hiring manager and employee licenses are sold only in packs of 10, and video interviews are charged per job opening.
- AI candidate matching, automation, custom reports and Teams or Meet links need Enterprise.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$25
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Paid plans start at $25 per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
The branded careers site and premium boards start on Standard.
Free
$0
1 active job per recruiter license, candidate and email management and interview scheduling.
Standard
$25
per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
10 active jobs per recruiter license, sourcing, premium job boards, a branded careers site, referrals, assessments, reports and 50+ integrations.
Enterprise
$50
per recruiter / month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
20 active jobs per license, AI candidate matching, candidate and staffing portals, Blueprint, automation, custom reports, SMS and Teams/Meet.
The free plan
Forever Free: 1 active job per recruiter license, with candidate and email management, interview scheduling and 8/5 support. No add-ons.
Trying it first
15-day free trial of Enterprise features, no credit card required; it then drops to the free plan
Read from zoho.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save up to 16% with yearly billing
Zoho Recruit's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 16%: Standard is $25 per recruiter a month billed annually against $30 billed monthly.
Stated on zoho.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Per-recruiter ATS and recruitment CRM with a free one-job plan. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, workflow automation, reports, applicant tracking, job board posting, skills tests.
The whole job, though AI and automation need Enterprise.
- Job distribution
- Publishes openings to a customizable careers site, 75+ free, paid and premium job boards, and social media.
- ATS and candidate CRM
- Tracks applicants through hiring pipelines and keeps a candidate relationship database for future roles.
- Blueprints and workflows
- Automates candidate emails, offer approvals and other steps with Blueprints, workflows and custom functions on Enterprise.
- Portals
- Separate portals for hiring managers, clients, vendors and candidates; the vendor portal and employee licenses are paid add-ons.
- AI help
- AI drafts job descriptions, emails and assessments and, on Enterprise, matches candidates to openings.
- 200+ integrations
- Connects out of the box with over 200 apps, such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Mailchimp and TestGorilla.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Mailchimp
- TestGorilla
Zoho Recruit is made by Zoho Corporation.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
12/14
Other hiring and applicant tracking tools it is graded above
Zoho Recruit's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 12 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 13 of 14) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $25 a month, against a middle price of $89.17 for the category: 1 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 15 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Zoho Recruit’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 13 of 14
- CFree plan and trialAbove 6 of 14
- BFeaturesAbove 1 of 14
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 14
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 14
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 10 hiring and applicant tracking tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Recruit is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Zoho Recruit 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 is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 12 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade. It costs $300 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.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A library of tested questions with scores to compare candidates by.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Zoho Recruit’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.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Manatal, Recruit CRM, Breezy HR, Workable and Zoho People
The 5 tools Zoho Recruit is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.8GPA
Manatal
Free trial · from $15/mo
Low-cost per-user ATS and recruitment CRM with AI candidate matching.
- Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Manatal does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Zoho Recruit lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Manatal lists a browser extension.
- 2.2GPA
Recruit CRM
Free trial · from $95/mo
ATS and client CRM for recruitment agencies, with AI agents.
- Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Recruit CRM does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Recruit CRM lists a browser extension.
- Zoho Recruit also covers reports and skills tests.
- 2.6GPA
Breezy HR
Free plan · from $157/mo
Flat-priced applicant tracking with a free one-job plan.
- Zoho Recruit also covers skills tests.
- 2.2GPA
Workable
Free trial · from $299/mo
Applicant tracking and HR software priced by company size.
- Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Workable does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Workable lists a browser extension.
- Zoho Recruit also covers workflow automation and reports.
- 2.4GPA
Zoho People
Free plan · from $3/mo
Low-cost HR records, attendance, shifts and reviews from Zoho.
- Zoho Recruit also covers workflow automation, applicant tracking, job board posting and skills tests.
- Zoho People also covers shift scheduling, time clock, employee records and time off.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Zoho Recruit free?
Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Forever Free: 1 active job per recruiter license, with candidate and email management, interview scheduling and 8/5 support.
How much does Zoho Recruit cost?
Zoho Recruit lists 3 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Zoho Recruit work on?
Zoho Recruit is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Zoho Recruit offer any discounts?
Zoho Recruit publicly lists the following: Save up to 16% with yearly billing.
Does Zoho Recruit have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Zoho Recruit is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Zoho Recruit have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Zoho Recruit is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Zoho Recruit open source?
Zoho Recruit is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does Zoho Recruit integrate with?
Zoho Recruit's listing names Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Mailchimp and TestGorilla.
Does Zoho Recruit have a free trial?
Yes. 15-day free trial of Enterprise features, no credit card required; it then drops to the free plan.
Who makes Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Recruit is made by Zoho Corporation.
What are the alternatives to Zoho Recruit?
The closest alternatives to Zoho Recruit in our directory are Manatal, Recruit CRM, Breezy HR, Workable and Zoho People.
How does Zoho Recruit compare with other hiring and applicant tracking tools?
Zoho Recruit's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 12 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 1.
Is Zoho Recruit good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Zoho Recruit B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $25 a month, against a middle price of $89.17 for the category: 1 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Zoho Recruit?
To replace Zoho Recruit you would be making jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Zoho Recruit’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Zoho's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Zoho Corporation. Prices change, so check zoho.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,068
Tools graded, in 57 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,068
tools graded
57
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Zoho Recruit, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/zoho-recruit
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Zoho Recruit: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-recruit
Know someone choosing between hiring and applicant tracking tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-recruit/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded hiring and applicant tracking tools after Zoho Recruit, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Hiring & Applicant Tracking Insider's GuideEvery one of the 15 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, compared
- Manatal Insider's GuideLow-cost per-user ATS and recruitment CRM with AI candidate matching2.8 GPA
- Breezy HR Insider's GuideFlat-priced applicant tracking with a free one-job plan2.6 GPA
- Homerun Insider's GuideApplicant tracking and simple HR for small teams, priced in euros2.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Zoho Recruit’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Zoho Recruit is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Zoho Corporation. Prices and plans change: check zoho.com before you buy.