Which application system is best for $100K+ jobs? We rated 10 of them.

Nobody likes filling out job applications. We accept it as a necessary evil — like exercise. But some systems are more popular than others — especially for people looking for $100K+ jobs.

We decided it was high time someone figured out a way to measure the exclusivity of applicant tracking systems (ATSs) and declare winners and losers. So, after many months of planning, we’re proud to present our first annual Golden Gatekeepers Awards.

Our research uncovered big winners, even bigger losers, a few surprises, and seismic changes in market share. Think of the ratings below as an insider look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in the high-end, recruiting-application sphere—backed by proprietary data (ours).

Two companies, in particular, rose to the top of our charts time and again: New York City-based Greenhouse and San Francisco-based Lever — both founded in 2012 and both with modern, cloud-first software. On the flip side, two other firms scored as consistent losers across several categories: SmartRecruiters and UltiPro. Which we will get to.

Best of show

Let’s focus first on Greenhouse; they took top honors for having the most $100K+ job employers, and came in second place when we looked at who has the most $100K applications and most interesting $100K jobs. That’s a meaningful trifecta. The company also saw sizable growth in the market; it showed the biggest improvement in the share of applies at 4.7% (see our comparative charts below). Young, hungry companies seem to gravitate to Greenhouse — or to Lever.

If you’re looking for the most interesting $100K jobs (which attract the most applicants per job), Bay Area-based Lever should be on your radar; jobs hosted by the company attract twice the attention of jobs on the average ATS. They also took the #2 spot for “Most $100K Employers” and showed the biggest improvement in the share of employers of all the ATSs (5.4% uptick followed by Greenhouse at 4.4%, while the others all saw a decline in the share of employers).

Weak performers

At the bottom of the barrel: SmartRecruiters showed the fewest $100K+ jobs and fewest $100K+ applications,” and came in second to last when we looked at the number of $100K+ employers and interesting $100K+ jobs. The company did not reply to our email for comment. 

The other conspicuous loser in our analysis is UltiPro. Let’s just say that if you are looking for an ATS with the most $100K+ jobs, most $100K+ applications, and/or most $100K+ jobs per client, then this would not be a good match.

On the fence

Before we dive into each specific category, we have to note that Workday straddled two worlds: at times it registered as the best ATS and yet it’s also the one that’s losing the most market share. Specifically, Workday nailed the top spot with the “Most $100K Jobs” and the “Most $100K+ Applications” — followed by Greenhouse, iCIMS, and Taleo/Oracle. And Workday performed well as the #3 ATS in the “Most $100K Employers” and “Most $100K Jobs per Client” categories. But it saw the biggest drop in the market share of jobs (-3.1) and in the share of applies (-4.9).

The complete list of companies and categories

Here’s the list of the 10 most popular ATSs in the hiring of $100K jobs — and thus, the ones that we examined: Workday, iCIMS, Taleo/Oracle, Greenhouse, Lever, Jobvite, ADP, UltiPro, SmartRecruiters and Brassring (which apparently is no longer being marketed and sold).

For each, we examined how the system fared across multiple categories including:

• Who has the most jobs?
• Most employers?
• Most applies?
• Most interesting jobs?
• Most jobs per client?
• Biggest improvement in share of jobs?
• Biggest improvement in share of employers?
• Biggest improvement in share of applies?

Most $100K+ jobs

If you’re looking for a high-end professional job in the US, then Workday, iCIMS, and Taleo/Oracle are the ATSs you’re most likely to encounter. These three large and established systems have been the favored choice of American companies for more than a decade, so it’s no surprise to see them come out on top of the total $100K+ job listings category.

Which systems have the fewest $100K jobs? That would be ADP, UltiPro, and SmartRecruiters.

Most $100K+ employers

Greenhouse, Lever, and Workday are the ATSs favored by the largest number of $100K+ employers in the US. New companies and growing companies are disproportionately choosing Greenhouse and Lever, aiding their leap in the rankings.

Brassring — no longer being marketed or sold — sunk to the #10 (dead last) spot, followed closely by SmartRecruiters.

Most $100K+ applies

The ATSs most frequently used for applying to high-end professional jobs are Workday, Greenhouse, and iCIMS. Looking at actual applications, we found Workday had lost 5 points of market share and Greenhouse gained a similar amount since 2019, but Workday still took the top spot in “Most $100K Applications.” ADP, UltiPro, and SmartRecruiters rounded out the bottom of the barrel.

Most interesting $100K+ jobs

The ATSs with the most interesting jobs — those which attract more applicants per job than any other ATS — include Lever (by a large margin), Greenhouse, UltiPro, and Jobvite.

Lever is popular among small tech startups and fast-growing companies, so perhaps it’s no surprise to see them at the top of the list. UltiPro, which struggled with market share in every category, is the surprise entrant on the “Most Interesting $100K Jobs” list, coming in third.

Brassring and SmartRecruiters scored the least interesting jobs and Taleo/Oracle, for the first and only time, found itself no longer in a top 5 spot.

Most $100K+ jobs per client

The ATSs with the largest clients, on average, are Brassring, Taleo/Oracle, and Workday. Because BrassRing is no longer in the market, smaller customers are defecting, while large legacy customers take a few years to move off the platform. Last spot goes to Lever, not a total surprise given its popularity at young and small tech startups.

Biggest improvement in the share of jobs

Taleo took the top spot with a 3.6% growth in the share of jobs, with Greenhouse and Lever following a few points behind at 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.

Biggest improvement in the share of employers

Lever was #1 with a 5.4% uptick in the share of employers. Greenhouse was next at 4.4%, while the others all saw a decline in the share of employers.

Biggest improvement in share of applies

Greenhouse, Lever, and Taleo showed the strongest growth in the share of applications. The largest share losses were experienced by Workday, ranking worst or 2nd worst in all three categories.

About our methodology

We used Q1 data as a representative time sample in recruiting because it represents a peak in annual activity. Due to the impact of COVID on last years’ numbers, we’re comparing 2021 numbers to 2019 results.

Now check out our Readers’ Picks

We didn’t just leave it to the data; we also reached out to our readers to find out how much they knew about ATSs and which ones they liked and disliked (or even detested). Finally, we also conducted interviews with the CEOs of some of the biggest ATS companies around; check out our conversations in our “Secrets of the ATS” series.