What's the difference between Greenhouse and Sage HR?

Greenhouse is Structured hiring platform (ATS) for mid-market and enterprise, valued $2.7B private. Positioned as the alternative to Lever and Ashby for teams that want interview scorecards and hiring-team collaboration built in. Distinctive for its structured hiring methodology (Talent Wall, kickoff meetings). Pricing is opaque — quote-only, typically $6K-$50K+/year based on employee count. Popular with tech companies scaling from Series B upward, while Sage HR is Sage HR (formerly CakeHR) is Sage's cloud HR platform for SMBs. Core HR ~$5.50/employee/mo; add-on modules (Leave, Performance, Timesheets, Shift Scheduling, Recruitment, Expenses) priced separately per employee. 30-day free trial. UK-headquartered. On price, sage HR is cheaper on the entry tier at $5.5/mo vs $542/mo for Greenhouse. They also bill differently: Greenhouse is per usage and Sage HR is per seat, so the headline prices only match once you plug in your own volume.

Which costs less, Greenhouse or Sage HR?

Sage HR is cheaper on the entry tier at $5.5/mo vs $542/mo for Greenhouse.

Is Greenhouse or Sage HR priced per seat or per usage?

Greenhouse bills on usage — Employees + open reqs on top of a paid plan starting at $542/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered. Sage HR bills on a fixed plan from $5.5/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.

Are Greenhouse and Sage HR built for the same industries?

Greenhouse focuses on recruiting. Sage HR is positioned as general-purpose, with no specific industry named in its own copy. If your industry appears in both descriptions, either fits — the pricing model becomes the deciding factor.

Does Greenhouse have a free plan?

Greenhouse's free-plan availability isn't confirmed — check the pricing page for the latest.

Does Sage HR have a free plan?

Sage HR's free-plan availability isn't confirmed — check the pricing page for the latest.

How does Greenhouse pricing compare to Sage HR for enterprise use?

Both Greenhouse and Sage HR offer enterprise pricing on request, typically with custom quotes based on seats, usage, and support.

When were these prices last verified?

One or more prices are currently under review.

Greenhouse vs Sage HR — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)

TL;DR

Greenhouse starts at $542/mo. Sage HR starts at $5.5/mo. Sage HR is $536.5/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Greenhouse.

Pricing under review

See price history: Greenhouse · Sage HR

How pricing works

These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.

Greenhouse (Per Usage) — Greenhouse bills on usage — Employees + open reqs on top of a paid plan starting at $542/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
Sage HR (Per Seat) — Sage HR bills on a fixed plan from $5.5/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.

Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.

Greenhouse

HR & People

Starts at

$542/mo

Structured hiring platform (ATS) for mid-market and enterprise, valued $2.7B private. Positioned as the alternative to Lever and Ashby for teams that want interview scorecards and hiring-team collaboration built in. Distinctive for its structured hiring methodology (Talent Wall, kickoff meetings). Pricing is opaque — quote-only, typically $6K-$50K+/year based on employee count. Popular with tech companies scaling from Series B upward.

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Sage HR

HR & People

Starts at

$5.5/mo

Sage HR (formerly CakeHR) is Sage's cloud HR platform for SMBs. Core HR ~$5.50/employee/mo; add-on modules (Leave, Performance, Timesheets, Shift Scheduling, Recruitment, Expenses) priced separately per employee. 30-day free trial. UK-headquartered.

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All plans compared

Tier role	Plan	Greenhouse monthly	Greenhouse annual	Sage HR monthly	Sage HR annual
Entry paid	Core (formerly Essential) / + Expenses	$542	$542	$1.5	$1.5
Mid tier 1	Plus (formerly Advanced) / + Performance	$750	$750	$3	$3
Mid tier 2	— / + Shift Scheduling	—	—	$3	$3
Mid tier 3	— / + Timesheets	—	—	$3	$3
Mid tier 4	— / Core HR + Leave Management	—	—	$5.5	$5.5
Mid tier 5	— / + HR Advice Essentials	—	—	$100	$100
Pro / power	Pro (formerly Expert) / + Recruitment	$1250	$1250	$200	$200
Enterprise	Enterprise / —	Custom	Custom	—	—

Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.

What each is best for

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is worth it if… growth-stage companies (50-1,000+ employees) that need structured hiring workflows with interview kits, scorecards, and analytics — the ATS default for structured hiring. Custom-quoted by employee count and tier (Essential / Advanced / Expert).

Sage HR

Sage HR is worth it if… Sage HR is ideal for UK/EU small-to-mid businesses (5-200 employees) that want modular HR without US-heavy pricing tiers.

Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Greenhouse is per usage, Sage HR is per seat.

Choose Greenhouse over Sage HR if…

Choose Greenhouse if…

You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $542/mo).
You match the profile Greenhouse is built for: growth-stage companies (50-1,000+ employees) that need structured hiring workflows with interview kits, scorecards, and analytics — the ATS default for structured hiring.
You're building for recruiting.

Choose Sage HR if…

You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $5.5/mo).
You match the profile Sage HR is built for: ideal for UK/EU small-to-mid businesses (5-200 employees) that want modular HR without US-heavy pricing tiers.
You need a general-purpose hr & people option rather than a vertical-specific one.

At a glance

	Greenhouse	Sage HR
Free plan	No	No
Entry price	$542/mo	$5.5/mo
Enterprise available	Yes	Yes
Pricing model	Per Usage	Per Seat
Verification	Pricing under review	Pricing under review
Full pricing	View full pricing	View full pricing