Greenhouse Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 3 Free
Greenhouse alternatives: Frappe HR, OrangeHRM, Odoo, Rippling and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•Payroll, HR & Hiring
Verdict:Leave Greenhouse when you hire at a modest volume and do not need its structured interview process, or when the quote-only price is more than your team can justify. Greenhouse lists no numeric prices and no free plan, so the comparison turns on what you give up. The free route is open source: Frappe HR and OrangeHRM cost nothing to self-host, but their hiring features are simpler and you run the server. Odoo's One App Free plan on Odoo Online includes unlimited users, and its recruitment sits inside a larger ERP suite. For a company that also needs payroll, Rippling bundles HR, payroll and hiring at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee. BambooHR's Core plan is $10 per employee a month, a plain HR record system whose applicant tracking is lighter than a recruiting tool. Keep Greenhouse for a high-volume hiring process with structured scorecards; choose a free suite if hiring is one task among many.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frappe HR | Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) | Web, Self-hosted | Small companies that want HR and hiring in one free system | Docs only |
| OrangeHRM | Free (Starter edition is free and open source) | Web, Self-hosted | Companies that want free core HR records | Docs only |
| Odoo | Free (One App Free plan on Odoo Online, unlimited users) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Businesses wanting ERP and hiring in one system | Docs only |
| Rippling | Paid from $8 per employee/month, plus a monthly base fee | Web | Companies combining payroll and HR | Docs only |
| BambooHR | Paid from $10 per employee/month (Core) | Web | Small and mid-size HR teams | Docs only |
| Workable | Paid from $299 per month (Standard, monthly billing; $3,588 per year on annual) | Web browser | Recruiting & ATS | Docs only |
| Ashby | Paid from $400 per month (All-In-One Foundations, up to 100 employees; 10% off for annual commitment) | Web browser | Recruiting & ATS | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want free open-source HR and hiring with self-hosting (Frappe HR is the pick)
- You want free core HR records without a hiring pipeline (OrangeHRM is the pick)
- You want hiring inside a wider business suite (Odoo is the pick)
- You want payroll and hiring bundled in one system (Rippling is the pick)
- You want employee records with light applicant tracking (BambooHR is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Greenhouse features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Greenhouse today: See pricing page (Greenhouse pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Greenhouse alternatives
Greenhouse publishes no prices: cost is customized to your hiring needs and quoted by a Greenhouse expert. Core covers sourcing and CRM, structured interviews, scheduling and reporting; texting, sourcing automation and the Business Intelligence Connector start at Plus, and the audit log and developer sandbox at Pro. The page mentions no free plan, so a small team cannot compare costs without a sales conversation.
Frappe HR
Compared with Greenhouse: Free to self-host under an open-source licence, and Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 a month. It is a general HR suite rather than a hiring-first tool, so you give up Greenhouse's structured interview scorecards for zero licence fees.
Price: Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) (Frappe HR pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 9k GitHub stars · latest release v16.52.0 (Oct 22, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Small companies that want HR and hiring in one free system.
Worth knowing: Covers payroll (salary structures, income tax slabs, payroll runs), leave and attendance. Check that payroll and tax rules fit your country before relying on it.
OrangeHRM
Compared with Greenhouse: Starter edition is free and open source. It covers employee records and leave, with no hiring pipeline as polished as Greenhouse's, so it trades hiring depth for a free base.
Price: Free (Starter edition is free and open source) (OrangeHRM pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 1.2k GitHub stars · latest release v5.9 (Jun 28, 2026) · last commit Jun 28, 2026
Best for: Companies that want free core HR records.
Worth knowing: Advanced is priced per employee per month by quote, with a 30-day free trial.
Odoo
Compared with Greenhouse: One App Free plan on Odoo Online includes unlimited users, and the software is open source. Its recruitment is one app in a larger ERP, so you gain a wider business suite but lose Greenhouse's dedicated hiring focus.
Price: Free (One App Free plan on Odoo Online, unlimited users) (Odoo pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. LGPL-3.0 (Community edition) (open source).
Project activity: 55.4k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Best for: Businesses wanting ERP and hiring in one system.
Rippling
Compared with Greenhouse: Priced at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee, with no free plan. It bundles payroll and HR with hiring, so it costs more per head than a free self-hosted tool but gives one system for all employee data.
Price: Paid from $8 per employee/month, plus a monthly base fee (Rippling pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Companies combining payroll and HR.
Worth knowing: Global Payroll and Global Contractors are quote-based. A startup program gives eligible US VC-backed startups six months free access.
BambooHR
Compared with Greenhouse: Core is $10 per employee a month with no free plan. It is an HR system for employee records, and its applicant tracking is lighter than Greenhouse's dedicated recruiting pipeline.
Price: Paid from $10 per employee/month (Core) (BambooHR pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Small and mid-size HR teams.
Other popular options (paid)
Workable
Compared with Greenhouse: Standard is $299 per month, or $3,588 per year, with unlimited active jobs under fair use; texting, video interviews and assessments cost extra. Greenhouse publishes no numeric prices, so Workable shows its cost up front.
Price: Paid from $299 per month (Standard, monthly billing; $3,588 per year on annual) (Workable pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Ashby
Compared with Greenhouse: Foundations, for up to 100 employees, starts at $400 per month with 10% off for annual commitments; larger plans are quote only. Greenhouse lists no numeric prices, so Ashby at least shows an entry price.
Price: Paid from $400 per month (All-In-One Foundations, up to 100 employees; 10% off for annual commitment) (Ashby pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- You want free open-source HR and hiring with self-hosting: Frappe HR
- You want free core HR records without a hiring pipeline: OrangeHRM
- You want hiring inside a wider business suite: Odoo
- You want payroll and hiring bundled in one system: Rippling
- You want employee records with light applicant tracking: BambooHR
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Frappe HR, OrangeHRM, Odoo, Rippling, BambooHR: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Greenhouse. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: Greenhouse, Frappe HR, OrangeHRM, Odoo, Rippling, BambooHR, Workable, Ashby. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.