# Ashby vs Lever for AI recruiting, compared on stages, agents and launches

URL: https://www.newsprint.com/compare/ashby-vs-lever/
Updated: 2026-10-28
First published: 2026-10-28

> On the map, Ashby and Lever both sit in applicant tracking systems [1][2]. Ashby describes itself as "What an ATS should be. The all-in-one recruiting platform that evolves at the speed of AI" [1], and Lever as "Every stage of hiring has its own hurdles. Lever clears them" [2]. Ashby is core in Report, where Lever is not [3][4].

## Ashby and Lever at a glance

|  | Ashby | Lever |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Category | Applicant tracking systems [1] | Applicant tracking systems [2] |
| Core stages | Source, Screen, Interview and Report [3] | Source, Screen and Interview [4] |
| AI capabilities sold | Named agents, AI interviews, AI analytics, Assistant, Fraud and identity, Screening and ranking, MCP and agent APIs, Interview notes, Rediscovery, Scheduling, AI sourcing [3] | AI analytics, Fraud and identity, Screening and ranking, Interview notes, Rediscovery [4] |
| Dated product launches since May 2025 | 4 [3] | 4 [4] |
| Agent or always-on launches | 1 [3] | 1 [4] |
| Latest launch | Ashby MCP Server in open beta (beta). June 29, 2026 [5] | Employ launches AI Screening Companion, first for Lever. Nov. 13, 2025 [6] |
| Scale | Tier 2, established. Ashby says customers grew from 2,400 to over 4,400 in the year to May 2026 and revenue grew over 100%; $50M Series D in July 2025. [3] | Tier 2, established. Owned by Employ Inc., which says its JazzHR, Lever and Jobvite suite is "trusted by more than 23,000 customers". [4] |
| Price on record | Published: All-In-One Foundations $400/month up to 100 employees; Plus and Enterprise priced by size and usage. AI credits included per plan power application review, fraud detection and talent rediscovery; AI Notetaker is a paid add-on. [3] | Not published; "Lever offers customized pricing based on your company size, hiring volume, feature needs". [4] |
| Site | https://www.ashbyhq.com/ | https://www.lever.co/ |

## What each sells

### Ashby

"What an ATS should be." Ashby sells an all-in-one recruiting platform (ATS, CRM, scheduling, analytics) to startups through enterprises, with "AI embedded in every layer." AI reviews applications against recruiter-set criteria, flags fraudulent applicants, records and summarizes interviews, rediscovers past candidates, and runs custom agents through Ashby Assistant. An AI Interviewer from the Talent Llama acquisition is in private beta. Ashby also sells Ashby Analytics on top of other ATSs. [3]

[Ashby profile](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/companies/ashby/)

### Lever

"Hiring That Doesn't Hijack Your Week." Lever is an applicant tracking system and candidate CRM owned by Employ Inc., sold to mid-market talent teams. Its AI is delivered as Employ "AI Companions": Talent Fit ranks applicants against job requirements with a written reason, the AI Interview Companion writes interview guides, transcripts and summaries and flags biased language, and the AI Screening Companion launched on Lever first. Lever also syncs LinkedIn Hiring Assistant evaluations and offers fraud signals. [4]

[Lever profile](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/companies/lever/)

## Recent launches side by side

The newest five dated product launches on the map for each company, newest first.

### Ashby

- **June 29, 2026.** Ashby MCP Server in open beta. "Today, we're launching the Ashby MCP Server in Open Beta, available on all Ashby plans," with user-level OAuth so outside AI tools see only what the user can see. Assistive, beta. [5]
- **May 7, 2026.** Ashby Assistant, Custom Agents and AI Talent Rediscovery. At Ashby One, Ashby launched Ashby Assistant, a chat interface that "can answer questions and take actions across your entire recruiting dataset," plus Custom Agents, Assistant in Slack and AI Talent Rediscovery, and previewed Scheduling Agents. Assistive, live. [7]
- **Sept. 25, 2025.** AI Notetaker in public beta. "AI Notetaker will automatically record, transcribe, and summarize your interviews," with drafts that cite source content and candidate consent at scheduling. Assistive, beta. [8]
- **Sept. 16, 2025.** Fraudulent candidate detection. Applicants are "automatically run through multiple fraud checks" on device, IP, email and phone signals, and reviewers see "An AI summary of the fraud signals detected." Always-on, live. [9]

### Lever

- **Nov. 13, 2025.** Employ launches AI Screening Companion, first for Lever. The AI Screening Companion "continuously matches candidates to open roles", flags top candidates at risk of dropping off and sends feedback to rejected candidates. Always-on, live. [6]
- **Oct. 21, 2025.** Lever gets a Talent Fit Dashboard and onboarding. Employ added the Talent Fit Dashboard in Lever to show how AI matching affects hiring metrics, onboarding in Lever, and an AI Interview Assistant that "delivers live insights with agentic AI". Assistive, live. [10]
- **July 29, 2025.** Lever adds AI interview transcripts and AI ROI insights. Employ's summer release brought AI Interview Transcripts & Summaries "directly in your Lever ATS" and AI-powered insights in the ROI dashboard. Assistive, live. [11]
- **June 26, 2025.** Lever ships AI Interview Companion and Talent Fit matching. AI Interview Companion writes interview guides and flags biased language; Talent Fit, "Lever's new AI-powered matching engine", ranks candidates against job requirements. Assistive, live. [12]

## Hiring stages compared

Core means the product is built on that stage. Partial means the stage is there but secondary. Not found means the map did not find it on the company's own site.

| Stage | Ashby | Lever |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Core | Core |
| Screen | Core | Core |
| Interview | Core | Core |
| Hire | Partial | Partial |
| Report | Core | Partial |

Stage scores come from each company's row on the map [3][4].

## What this comparison does not cover

### We did not test either product

This page compares what each vendor says on its own pages and in dated announcements, as recorded on the map. We did not use or test Ashby or Lever.

### Prices are the map's price notes

The prices here are the map's price notes, from each vendor's own pages or, where marked, third-party estimates. Quotes, discounts and contract terms are not covered.

### Data read on Oct. 28, 2026

The newest source on this page was read on Oct. 28, 2026. Products and prices can change after that day.

## Questions people ask

### Which has an AI agent, Ashby or Lever?

Both. The map labels 1 agent or always-on launch from Ashby and 1 from Lever since May 2025 [3][4]. Ashby's latest is "Fraudulent candidate detection", dated Sept. 16, 2025 [9]. Lever's latest is "Employ launches AI Screening Companion, first for Lever", dated Nov. 13, 2025 [6].

### Which is bigger, Ashby or Lever?

The map puts both in scale tier 2, established. Ashby: Ashby says customers grew from 2,400 to over 4,400 in the year to May 2026 and revenue grew over 100%; $50M Series D in July 2025. [3] Lever: Owned by Employ Inc., which says its JazzHR, Lever and Jobvite suite is "trusted by more than 23,000 customers". [4]

### What do Ashby and Lever cost?

Ashby: Published: All-In-One Foundations $400/month up to 100 employees; Plus and Enterprise priced by size and usage. AI credits included per plan power application review, fraud detection and talent rediscovery; AI Notetaker is a paid add-on. [3] Lever: Not published; "Lever offers customized pricing based on your company size, hiring volume, feature needs". [4]

### Which covers Report as a core stage?

Ashby does [3]. The map scores Lever as partial there.

## Sources

1. [ashbyhq.com](https://www.ashbyhq.com/). ashbyhq.com. Read 2026-10-28.
2. [lever.co](https://www.lever.co/). lever.co. Read 2026-10-28.
3. [Ashby on the AI hiring software map](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/#co-ashby). Newsprint. Read 2026-10-28.
4. [Lever on the AI hiring software map](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/#co-lever). Newsprint. Read 2026-10-28.
5. [Ashby MCP Server in open beta](https://www.ashbyhq.com/product-updates/mcp). Vendor product update. Read 2026-10-28.
6. [Employ launches AI Screening Companion, first for Lever](https://www.employinc.com/news_item/employ-introduces-ai-screening-companion-to-help-recruiters-identify-best-fit-talent-faster-fairer-and-with-greater-transparency/). Vendor release (Employ). Read 2026-10-28.
7. [Ashby Assistant, Custom Agents and AI Talent Rediscovery](https://ashbyhq.com/blog/culture/ashby-one-2026-keynote). Vendor blog. Read 2026-10-28.
8. [AI Notetaker in public beta](https://www.ashbyhq.com/product-updates/ai-notetaker). Vendor product update. Read 2026-10-28.
9. [Fraudulent candidate detection](https://www.ashbyhq.com/product-updates/introducing-fraudulent-candidate-detection-and-management-to-help-you-focus-on-legitimate-candidates). Vendor product update. Read 2026-10-28.
10. [ROI dashboards arrive in Jobvite](https://www.employinc.com/news_item/responsible-ai-that-delivers-employ-sets-new-standard-for-trustworthy-transparent-hiring/). Vendor release (Employ). Read 2026-10-28.
11. [Jobvite gets automated onboarding in Employ AI release](https://www.employinc.com/news_item/smarter-hiring-starts-here-employs-new-ai-release-prioritizes-recruiter-efficiency-and-human-connection/). Vendor release (Employ). Read 2026-10-28.
12. [Lever ships AI Interview Companion and Talent Fit matching](https://www.lever.co/levers-ai-innovations-are-here/). Vendor blog. Read 2026-10-28.

## Related

- [Ashby AI recruiting features, agents and launches](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/companies/ashby/)
- [Lever AI recruiting features, agents and launches](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/companies/lever/)
- [Ashby alternatives for AI recruiting, compared on stages, agents and launches](https://www.newsprint.com/alternatives/ashby/)
- [The AI hiring software map](https://www.newsprint.com/research/hiring-software/)
- [All comparisons](https://www.newsprint.com/compare/)