The one-paragraph verdict
This comparison is almost always about timing: Workable is the right answer today, and Greenhouse is the right answer in 18 months when you hit 50–100 employees and your engineering org starts having opinions about the interview process. The price gap is $169/month (Workable Starter) vs $6,500+/year (Greenhouse Essential) — that gap is real and the right choice depends entirely on where you are in the growth curve, not which product is “better” in the abstract.
Real pricing side-by-side
| Workable | Greenhouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker (floor) | $169/mo (50 employees) | ~$6,500/yr |
| Realistic first-year | $4,800–$14,400 | $10,000–$30,000 |
| Pricing model | Per employee (tiered) | Per recruiter seat |
| Setup time | Same day | 4–6 weeks |
Feature scorecard
| Axis | Workable | Greenhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding speed ⓘ | Same day — operational in 2hrs | 4–6 weeks structured onboarding |
| Structured interviews ⓘ | ★★★ — functional scorecards | ★★★★★ — market-leading scorecards |
| Job board syndication ⓘ | 200+ boards native | 1,000+ boards |
| LinkedIn two-way sync ⓘ | Full integration | Full integration |
| HRIS integrations ⓘ | 300+ including BambooHR, Gusto | Major HRIS, narrower roster |
| Price floor ⓘ | $169/mo | ~$541/mo (annualised) |
| OFCCP compliance ⓘ | Basic present | Native and documented |
| API ⓘ | Solid — standard integrations | Harvest API — developer-grade |
Who wins each use case
Under-50-employee team buying their first ATS
Winner: Workable. You need structure, not sophistication. Workable gets you posting jobs and running structured pipelines the same day. Greenhouse’s 4–6 week onboarding and $6,500+ price floor are justified at 100 employees, not at 20.
50–200 employee tech company with an engineering org that has opinions
Winner: Greenhouse. Your VP Eng will dismiss Workable’s scorecards within the first month. If structured interviews, calibration sessions, and competency-level definition matter to your process — and they should at this scale — Greenhouse is the purchase you are eventually going to make anyway. Save the migration pain and start there.
HR generalist consolidating multiple tools
Winner: Workable. Workable’s 300+ integration roster covers more HRIS tools out of the box. If you are already using BambooHR, Gusto, or Rippling and want an ATS that connects without a systems integrator, Workable is the lower-friction choice.
Federal contractor with OFCCP requirements
Winner: Greenhouse. Greenhouse’s OFCCP documentation and compliance-specific implementation support is more mature than Workable’s. Federal contractors at 150+ employees with genuine Section 503 and VEVRAA requirements should start with Greenhouse.
When the per-employee pricing model matters here
Three pricing models dominate this market: per-recruiter-seat (Greenhouse, Lever, Workable), per-total-employee (Ashby, Workday), and per-req (SmartRecruiters, iCIMS). The same 11-person hiring team — 2 recruiters, 5 hiring-manager interviewers, 3 part-time sourcers, 1 agency partner — pays $4,800/year on Greenhouse Essential, $14,400/year on Lever with the sourcing module, and $30,000+/year on Ashby at 100 employees. That gap is not a rounding error. It is the pricing model.
Full breakdown: ATS pricing models explained →The upgrade decision: when to move from Workable to Greenhouse
The typical trigger is one of three:
- Your VP Eng escalates — “we’re losing finalists to slow feedback loops” or “the scorecard process is inconsistent across teams”
- You cross 100 employees — Greenhouse’s pricing advantage vs Workable becomes less significant; the structured-interview depth justifies the premium
- You are a federal contractor — OFCCP compliance requirements make Greenhouse’s native implementation the lower-risk path
When none of these are true, stay on Workable and save $5,000–$15,000/year.