Round-up
Best Freshteam alternatives (2026): what to switch to
Freshworks is retiring Freshteam (renewals stopped 7 March 2026), so teams need a new home for applicant tracking and onboarding. For the ATS core, Breezy HR and Manatal are the tested picks; for the payroll and light-HR side, Gusto. Match the replacement to the part of Freshteam you used, and don't rush a mid-hiring-cycle switch.
The best Freshteam alternatives, ranked
Freshworks is retiring Freshteam, its applicant-tracking and light-HR product, so teams on it need a new home before it shuts down. The best replacement depends on which half of Freshteam you actually used. For the applicant-tracking core, Breezy HR is the closest like-for-like and the one I’d try first: a free plan, a visual pipeline a non-recruiter can run, and one-click posting to 50+ job boards (see plans). Manatal is the pick if you want AI candidate sourcing on top of tracking. If you also relied on Freshteam’s onboarding and light HR, pair an ATS with a people-ops tool: for US teams, Gusto covers payroll and onboarding well.
This round-up leads with the three tools I’ve tested hands-on (Breezy and Manatal 9/10, Gusto 8/10, each in its own scored review), then names the honest shortlist I haven’t finished testing yet, flagged clearly with no invented scores.
Job seeker who got here because a Freshteam-based ATS screened you? This guide is for the teams migrating off it, not the candidates going through it. What these systems do with your CV is covered in the glossary entry on what an ATS is.
Why Freshteam is going away
Freshworks is consolidating its non-IT products into Freshservice for Business Teams and retiring Freshteam as a standalone product. It stopped selling Freshteam on its own back in 2022 but kept renewing existing subscriptions; in early 2026 it told customers it would stop renewals from 7 March 2026. Existing customers keep access until the end of their term, and those whose contracts expire before that date can take a final one-year renewal that extends use to around April 2027 (People Matters). After that, the product is retired.
So you don’t have to move tomorrow, but you do need a plan before your renewal date. The rest of this page is that plan, recommended from tools I’ve actually run rather than from the shutdown hype.
How I chose these
I only hand out a score after testing a tool with my own account and my own money, so this list splits cleanly in two. Breezy HR, Manatal, Gusto and now Tellent I’ve reviewed hands-on, and each carries a real tested verdict. The rest, Zoho Recruit and JazzHR, are honest candidates I haven’t finished testing, so they appear with no score and a “review in progress” note rather than a number I can’t stand behind. Affiliate links are disclosed above this content and never change where a tool ranks.
Pick by what part of Freshteam you’re replacing
Freshteam was, at heart, a recruiting tool that grew some HR features, so most teams are really replacing its ATS, sometimes with its onboarding and light HR alongside.
The applicant-tracking core → Breezy HR or Manatal
Breezy HR is the best like-for-like. Freshteam’s signature was a visual, drag-and-drop hiring pipeline, and that’s exactly Breezy’s core: a Kanban board a non-technical team can run on day one, a genuinely free plan to start, and automatic distribution of each role to 50+ free job boards. For a team that mostly used Freshteam to move candidates through stages, it’s the smallest adjustment. Here’s the pipeline from the real role I ran through it, the same stage-by-stage board Freshteam users will recognise:
Tested (Jul 2026): 9/10. The free Bootstrap plan runs one active position with unlimited users; the first paid tier, Startup, is $189/mo flat ($157 billed annually) with unlimited positions. The catch: AI scoring and the API are paid extras. Full detail in the Breezy HR review. → See Breezy HR
Manatal is the upgrade if you want sourcing intelligence. It pairs applicant tracking with AI candidate recommendations and a built-in recruitment CRM, at an SMB price, so it suits a team that wants Freshteam’s tracking plus help finding candidates.
Tested (Jul 2026): 9/10. From $19/user/mo ($15 billed annually) on Professional. Strong, transparent AI scoring; the catch is that automation and the API are gated to the upper plans. Full detail in the Manatal review. → See Manatal
Also worth a look: Tellent for collaborative hiring (tested 8/10 since), plus two not yet tested by me (see the shortlist below): Zoho Recruit on a budget, and JazzHR for plain, cheap tracking.
The onboarding and light-HR side → Gusto (US teams)
Freshteam also handled onboarding checklists and basic HR records. If that half mattered to you and your team is US-based, Gusto covers it, and adds the payroll Freshteam never did.
Tested (Jul 2026): 8/10. Full-service payroll on its three employee plans, strong employee self-onboarding, and transparent pricing from $49/mo + $6/person (Simple). US-only for employee payroll; support and add-on-gated HR features are the weak spots. Full detail in the Gusto review.
For non-US teams, or teams that want a dedicated HRIS to replace Freshteam’s people records, BambooHR and Personio (EU/GDPR-focused) are the usual candidates. I haven’t reviewed either yet, so I won’t score them here. If you do go the BambooHR route, keep the exit mapped too: the tested picks are in the BambooHR alternatives round-up.
At a glance: Freshteam alternatives compared
The table is the decision surface. Prices are the real figures I was billed on a dated test where I’ve reviewed the tool; untested tools show no price and no score on purpose.
| Tool | Replaces which part of Freshteam | Free plan / trial | Tested price | My status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breezy HR | Visual ATS (closest like-for-like) | Free plan | $189/mo flat ($157 annual) | Tested 9/10 |
| Manatal | ATS + AI sourcing + CRM | Trial | $19/user/mo ($15 annual) | Tested 9/10 |
| Gusto | Onboarding + light HR + payroll (US) | — | $49/mo +$6/person | Tested 8/10 |
| Tellent | ATS for collaborative hiring | 18-day trial | demo-gated | Tested 8/10 |
| Zoho Recruit | Budget ATS | Free tier | tested figure pending | Review in progress |
| JazzHR | No-frills budget ATS | Trial | tested figure pending | Review in progress |
Still on my list to test
These are credible Freshteam alternatives I haven’t put through a real hiring workflow yet, so they carry no score. I’ll link each to a full review as it’s tested.
- Tellent (formerly Recruitee) — a collaborative-hiring ATS built around shared scorecards and pipelines, strong on GDPR. Pricing is demo-gated. Now tested at 8/10 in the Tellent review.
- Zoho Recruit — a budget ATS with a dedicated staffing edition and a free tier, strongest if you already live in the Zoho suite.
- JazzHR — plain, affordable applicant tracking pitched at bootstrapped teams, lighter on sourcing than the picks above; its published 2026 prices and posting caps are in the JazzHR cost and alternatives round-up.
How to migrate off Freshteam
The switch itself is straightforward if you plan around your renewal date rather than your hiring calendar.
- Time it to your renewal. Decide before 7 March 2026 whether to take the final one-year renewal (which buys you to around April 2027) or move sooner. Either way, avoid cutting over in the middle of an active hiring push.
- Export your data first. Pull your candidate and employee records out of Freshteam while you still have access. Confirm the export formats in Freshteam’s own documentation, and expect attachments and email history not to transfer cleanly. The import side can be painless when the tool is built for it: one technical recruiter on Manatal reported “it was a breeze to migrate our existing candidate database” (Capterra) — but confirm that for your shortlist rather than assuming it.
- Map features before you pick. List what you actually used, such as job posting, the pipeline, interview scheduling, and onboarding checklists, then check each against your shortlist so you know what you regain and what you lose.
- Run both in parallel for one cycle. Keep Freshteam read-only while the new ATS goes live, and run one full hiring cycle through the new tool before you switch off the old one. Reconnect your job boards and careers page on the new system as you go.
Which alternative should you choose?
If you mainly tracked applicants in Freshteam, Breezy HR is the smallest, safest jump, and Manatal is the move if you also want AI sourcing. If you leaned on the onboarding and HR side and your team is US-based, add Gusto for payroll and onboarding. Match the tool to the half of Freshteam you used, migrate before your renewal lapses, and you’ll come out of the shutdown with a system that fits better than the one you’re leaving.
For where hiring and onboarding sit in a wider automated stack, see what HR processes you can automate, or the full best ATS software shortlist for in-house teams.
FAQ
Why is Freshworks shutting down Freshteam?
Freshworks is consolidating its non-IT products into Freshservice for Business Teams and retiring Freshteam, its standalone ATS and light-HR product. It stopped selling Freshteam as a standalone in 2022, and in January 2026 told customers it would stop renewals from 7 March 2026. Freshworks framed the change as having no material business impact.
When does Freshteam actually end?
Freshworks stops renewing Freshteam subscriptions from 7 March 2026. Existing customers keep access until the end of their current term, and contracts expiring before that date can take a final one-year renewal, extending use to around April 2027. After that, the product is retired. Check the notice in your own Freshteam account for your exact dates.
What's the closest like-for-like Freshteam alternative?
For Freshteam's visual, drag-and-drop applicant tracking, Breezy HR is the closest match and the one I'd try first: a free plan, a Kanban pipeline a non-recruiter can run, and one-click posting to 50+ job boards. If you want AI candidate sourcing on top of tracking, Manatal is the better fit.
Should I replace Freshteam with one tool or two?
It depends what you used. If you mainly used Freshteam to track applicants, one ATS (Breezy or Manatal) is enough. If you also leaned on its onboarding and light-HR features, pair an ATS with an HR or payroll tool: for US teams, Gusto covers payroll and onboarding. Best-of-breed usually beats a single all-in-one for a small team.
Can I migrate my Freshteam data before it shuts down?
Export your candidate and employee records from Freshteam before your term ends, and plan a window of a week or two to move them into the new system. Keep Freshteam read-only through one full hiring cycle while the new ATS goes live, so nothing falls through the gap. Confirm the exact export formats in Freshteam's own docs, as attachments and email history don't always transfer cleanly.
