Dover made waves by offering a free ATS powered by AI. Their proposition is simple: automated candidate sourcing, outreach sequences, and ATS functionality without a price tag. For bootstrapped startups and early-stage companies, that sounds ideal.
But "free" comes with trade-offs. Dover's business model relies on upselling paid sourcing and outreach features. The free ATS is functional but basic compared to paid alternatives. And as teams grow, they often need features (branded career pages, team collaboration, structured pipelines) that Dover's free tier doesn't prioritize.
TL;DR: For affordable full-featured ATS, JuggleHire delivers at $19-99/month with AI, career pages, and team collaboration. For AI sourcing that rivals Dover, Workable offers 400M+ profiles. For the best free option, Breezy HR has a more complete free tier.
#Why Look for a Dover Alternative?
#1. Free Tier Is Basic
Dover's free ATS handles the essentials but lacks branded career pages, deep team collaboration, and the polished pipeline experience of paid tools.
#2. Upsell-Driven Model
Dover's free ATS exists to funnel you into paid sourcing services. Teams wanting a standalone ATS without sales pressure may prefer transparent paid platforms.
#3. Limited Career Site
Dover doesn't offer the branded career page builders that JuggleHire, Recruitee, or Pinpoint provide. Employer branding matters for attracting quality candidates.
#4. Startup Focus
Dover primarily targets tech startups. Companies in other industries or at larger scale find better-suited options elsewhere.
#5. AI Outreach May Not Fit
Dover's AI sends automated outreach to passive candidates. Some teams prefer inbound-focused strategies (career pages, job boards) over cold outreach.
#10 Best Dover Alternatives (2026)
#1. JuggleHire - Best Affordable Full-Featured ATS
JuggleHire provides what Dover's free tier lacks: a polished ATS with AI features, branded career pages, and deep team collaboration at transparent pricing.
| Feature | Dover | JuggleHire |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (basic ATS) | $19-99/month |
| AI Features | AI outreach (paid) | AI descriptions, matching, summaries |
| Career Page | No | Branded career page |
| Pipeline | Basic | Drag-and-drop with custom stages |
| Team Collaboration | Basic | Notes, ratings, permissions |
| Email Templates | Basic | Gmail integration + templates |
| Team Members | Limited | Unlimited on all plans |
Try JuggleHire Free for 14 Days
#2. Workable - Best AI Sourcing Alternative
Workable's AI Recruiter with 400M+ profiles offers sourcing capability comparable to Dover's paid features, bundled with a complete ATS.
| Feature | Dover | Workable |
|---|---|---|
| AI Sourcing | Paid add-on | AI Recruiter (400M+) |
| Job Boards | Limited | 200+ |
| Video | No | Built-in |
| Pricing | Free (ATS) + paid sourcing | $149-599/month |
Best For: Companies (20-200 employees) wanting AI sourcing with complete ATS.
#3. Breezy HR - Best Free Alternative
Breezy HR offers a more complete free tier than Dover, with visual Kanban pipeline, video introductions, and SMS recruiting.
| Feature | Dover | Breezy HR |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Basic ATS | 1 job, full pipeline |
| Pipeline | Basic | Kanban (excellent) |
| Video | No | Built-in intros |
| SMS | No | Yes |
Best For: Teams wanting the best free ATS experience.
#4. Lever - Best CRM + ATS for Startups
Lever's CRM-first approach builds talent pipelines that are especially valuable for startups with limited employer brand recognition.
Pricing: ~$3,000-10,000/year. Best For: Funded startups (50-500 employees).
#5. Greenhouse - Best for Scaling Startups
Greenhouse is where startups go when they get serious about structured hiring, especially post-Series B.
Pricing: ~$6,500+/year. Best For: Scaling startups (100+ employees).
#6. Ashby - Best for Data-Driven Startups
Ashby appeals to the same tech-forward startups Dover targets but with deeper analytics.
Pricing: ~$400+/month. Best For: Data-driven tech companies (50-500 employees).
#7. Manatal - Best Budget AI
Manatal delivers AI matching at the lowest price with social enrichment from LinkedIn and GitHub.
Pricing: $15-55/user/month. Best For: Budget-conscious teams.
#8. JazzHR - Best for US Growing Companies
JazzHR offers unlimited jobs and US compliance at predictable pricing.
Pricing: $75-299/month. Best For: US companies (20-100 employees).
#9. Recruitee - Best for European Startups
Recruitee provides GDPR-compliant collaborative ATS for European startup teams.
Pricing: €199-349/month. Best For: European startups.
#10. 100Hires - Best Simple Free ATS
100Hires offers another free ATS option with job board posting and basic pipeline management.
Pricing: Free-$69/month. Best For: Very small teams needing basics.
#Frequently Asked Questions
#Is Dover really free?
Dover's ATS is free for basic usage. But the AI sourcing and outreach features that make Dover compelling are paid add-ons. For a complete ATS experience without upselling, JuggleHire at $19-99/month offers more features upfront.
#What's better than Dover's free ATS?
JuggleHire at $19/month adds AI features, branded career pages, and unlimited team members. Breezy HR offers a more visual free tier.
#Conclusion
Dover's free ATS is a smart entry point. But "free" has limitations, and most teams quickly need more.
For affordable complete ATS, JuggleHire at $19-99/month with AI.
For the best free option, Breezy HR with visual pipeline.
For AI sourcing, Workable with 400M+ profiles.
Ready to upgrade? Try JuggleHire free for 14 days.
#Related Resources
Tagged with:
Zakir Hossen
Zakir, founder of JuggleHire - a Google Forms alternative for hiring. Bootstrapped entrepreneur and software engineer with 10+ years coding experience from BD.
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