Recruitment software pricing in India: what it actually costs (2026)
What Indian companies pay for recruitment software, how per-employee and per-user pricing differ, and why the headline price is rarely the final bill.
Last updated 29 August 2026. Competitor pricing and plan limits are re-verified against each vendor’s own pages.
Which pricing model are you actually being sold?
This is the question that determines your bill three years from now, and it is easy to miss when comparing monthly prices.
- Per employee per month: you pay for every person in the company, whether or not they ever open the tool. BambooHR uses this model. The bill grows as you grow, even in a year when you hire nobody.
- Per recruiter or per user per month: you pay for seats that touch hiring. Zoho Recruit and Manatal use this. The bill grows when you add people to the hiring process, which discourages involving hiring managers.
- Per active job slot: you pay for how many roles are open at once. JazzHR and, in practice, Workable use this. The bill grows exactly when hiring is busiest.
- Free: ofper charges on none of these axes.
What do the main options cost?
Published prices only. Where a vendor does not publish a price, that is stated rather than estimated, and every figure was checked against the vendor's own page on 29 August 2026.
| Product | Model | Entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ofper | None | Free | Yes, unlimited jobs and users |
| Zoho Recruit | Per recruiter/month | Free tier, then paid per recruiter | Yes, 1 active job |
| Manatal | Per user/month | $15/user/month billed annually | No, 14-day trial |
| Breezy HR | Flat per company/month | $157/month billed annually | Yes, 1 active job |
| BambooHR | Per employee/month | From $250/month under 25 employees | No |
| Workable | Per employee headcount band | From $299/month billed annually | No, 15-day trial |
| JazzHR | Per active job slot | $1,000/year | No |
Why is the headline price rarely the final bill?
Across these products, the pattern is consistent: the advertised price buys the applicant tracking system, and the things teams assume are included are sold separately.
- Add-ons: texting, video interviews and assessments are separately priced on Workable, and offers with eSignatures are an add-on on JazzHR's two cheaper plans.
- Metered AI: Breezy HR bills its AI features as credits from $30 per 100,000 on top of the subscription.
- Overage: BambooHR sells additional job openings in blocks of 10, 20 or 30 at a price visible only inside the product.
- Gated integrations: Manatal reserves API access and single sign-on for its $55-per-user Enterprise Plus tier.
- Third-party costs: background checks and assessments are usually billed by the provider per candidate, not by the ATS.
Should Indian companies buy an HRMS instead?
Often, yes, and it is worth being honest about that. Most Indian HR software is sold as a suite covering payroll, attendance, leave and statutory compliance, with hiring included. If payroll is the pressing problem, a suite is the right purchase and a standalone ATS will not solve it.
The reverse is also true. If payroll is already handled and hiring is the part running on spreadsheets, replacing a working payroll system to fix hiring is an expensive way to solve the wrong problem.
ofper is a recruiting tool only. It has no payroll, attendance, leave or statutory compliance, and it is designed to sit alongside whatever you already use for those.
Questions, answered straight
How much does recruitment software cost in India?
It depends on the pricing model rather than the vendor. International applicant tracking systems commonly start between $150 and $300 a month, and Indian HR suites are typically priced per employee per month. ofper is free with no per-user or per-job charge.
Is there free recruitment software in India?
Yes. ofper is free with unlimited jobs, candidates and team members. Zoho Recruit and Breezy HR both offer free plans limited to one active job opening.
Do these vendors publish prices in rupees?
Generally no. Workable, BambooHR, Breezy HR, JazzHR and Manatal publish in US dollars, so the rupee cost moves with the exchange rate and may attract GST depending on your registration. ofper is free, so there is nothing to convert.
What is the cheapest applicant tracking system?
ofper is free, which makes it the cheapest by definition. Among paid options with published prices, Manatal's Professional plan at $15 per user per month billed annually is the lowest entry point, though it caps at 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates.