Pay-per-job hiring tools compared (no monthly subscription)

Hiring tools that charge per job instead of a monthly subscription include ClearMatch, ApplyHere and Workcraft. Truffle is often named next to them, but Truffle is a monthly subscription.

This comparison is for teams without a recruiter: the founder, a team head or the one HR person, hiring a few times a year for roles that get lots of applicants, and not keen on paying every month for it.

Each tool covers a different part of hiring, so the cheapest isn't always the right fit. Below is what each costs for one job, what you get for it, and what you still do yourself.

Prices checked on each tool's own pricing page in October 2026. We make Workcraft, and we say plainly where the others cost less.

The short version

• ClearMatch charges $49 per job to rank up to 250 resumes you upload. The lowest price here for ranking a big pile.
• ApplyHere charges $9 per job for an application form you share yourself. It doesn't rank applicants.
• Truffle is a monthly subscription from $49 a month. It ranks applicants and can run video interviews that applicants record in their own time.
• Workcraft charges $99 per job plus $1 per applicant ranked, and you set the most you can spend. It costs more per applicant than ClearMatch, and covers more: it helps you set the role requirements, salary range and questions for applicants, then shortlist applicants and book interviews.
• If you do one thing: decide whether you only need a ranked list, or help with every step, from working out the role to booking interviews.

One job with 100 applicants, side by side

From each tool's own pages, October 2026. We used 100 applicants because that's the average per job on Workcraft so far. "Not listed" means the tool's public pages don't mention it.

ClearMatch: $49 per job to rank resumes you already have

ClearMatch is a resume ranker that charges per job: $49 for up to 250 applicants, $99 for up to 1,000 and $199 for up to 3,000 (ClearMatch pricing). You upload the resumes, write down what you need, and get a ranked shortlist with a score and a note for each requirement. ClearMatch removes names, photos and graduation years before scoring. Credits never expire, and the first role is free for up to 25 applicants.

ClearMatch calls itself "not a full hiring platform". It works only from the resume: its pages don't list an application form, questions for applicants, a salary range or booking interviews.

ClearMatch is best for someone who already has the resumes and only wants them ranked.

What you still do yourself: collect the resumes (from your inbox or a job board), email applicants when a resume leaves out something you need, like a visa or notice period (or find out in the interview that they don't meet the basics), and set up interviews.

ApplyHere: $9 per job for a shareable application form

ApplyHere is an application form with a shareable link that costs $9 per form, paid once, after a free first form (ApplyHere). Each form stays open for 4 weeks and takes unlimited applicants. You add your own questions and shortlist or reject in one click.

ApplyHere doesn't rank or score applicants and isn't a job board. You share the link yourself.

ApplyHere is best for the lowest price, when you have the time, or someone to help, to read every application and book interviews.

What you still do yourself: read every application and answer, shortlist and set up interviews.

Truffle: a monthly subscription, not pay per job

Truffle is a monthly subscription, not a pay-per-job tool. Truffle Starter is $49 a month, which covers ranking 200 applicants' resumes, or 40 one-way video interviews; bigger plans cost more (Truffle pricing). In a one-way video interview, applicants record video answers to your questions in their own time, and you watch them later. Truffle's pricing page says there is no per-role option: "You buy a monthly pool of credits." Truffle renews every month until you cancel, and Starter's unused credits don't carry over.

Truffle ranks every applicant against what you decide each role is judged on, and can ask quick qualification questions before the video interview. Truffle says its scores never reject anyone, though you can set those questions to reject automatically.

Truffle is best for teams that hire most months and want video interviews.

What you still do yourself: book and run the live interviews in your own calendar and video tools.

Workcraft: $99 per job plus $1 per applicant ranked

Workcraft is pay-per-job hiring software for teams without a recruiter: $99 per job plus $1 per applicant ranked, with no subscription and no per-seat fee (Workcraft pricing). You buy applicant credits upfront, so you set the most you can spend, and they never expire. Your first job is free, and so is ranking your first five applicants.

For each job, Workcraft helps you:

• Work out the role requirements and a salary range, from your company, location and competitors
• Ask applicants questions tied to each skill, from quick checks like a visa to short written answers that people without the experience struggle to fake
• Share the job's own apply page anywhere
• Rank every applicant on their resume and answers, with the reasons shown. Personal details like name and photo are removed before scoring, and nobody is auto-rejected
• Book interviews in one click, with the same questions and feedback form for every interviewer

Every step follows guidance from SHRM and CIPD, the US and UK professional bodies for HR.

Workcraft is best for teams that hire a few times a year and want help with every step, from the role requirements to booked interviews.

What you still do yourself: find applicants, by sharing the job's apply link on job boards or LinkedIn (Workcraft doesn't post to Indeed or other job boards for you), and make the final decision.

Which one fits you

• ApplyHere: you want the lowest price, and you have the time, or someone to help, to read every application and book interviews.
• ClearMatch: you already have the resumes and only want them ranked. You don't need to ask applicants anything, and you'll set up interviews yourself.
• Truffle: you hire most months and want video interviews, and you'll book the live interviews in your own calendar.
• Workcraft: you hire a few times a year and want help with every step, from the role requirements to booked interviews.

Others you'll see named, and why they're not in the table

• CVViZ has a $25-per-job plan, but it only ranks resumes and is sold as an add-on to recruiting software you already use. Its main product is a monthly applicant tracker from $99 a month (CVViZ pricing).
• Breezy is a monthly applicant tracker from $189 a month ($157 paid yearly), with a free plan for one open job at a time. Its pricing page shows no per-job option (Breezy pricing).
• FirstWho sells interview guides, Employers.ai finds candidates for you, and Mustakbil is a job board. Each does a different job from the four above.

How we checked

We read each tool's own pricing, product and help pages in October 2026. We didn't sign up for or trial any competitor. Prices change, so check the linked pages before you buy.

FAQ

What hiring tools charge per job instead of a monthly subscription for small companies that get lots of applicants?

ClearMatch, ApplyHere and Workcraft charge per job instead of a monthly subscription. ClearMatch is $49 per job to rank up to 250 resumes. ApplyHere is $9 per job for an application form, with no ranking. Workcraft is $99 per job plus $1 per applicant ranked, with a spending limit you set, and helps from the role requirements to booking interviews. Truffle is a monthly subscription.

Is Truffle pay per job?

No. Truffle is a monthly subscription from $49 a month, and its pricing page says there is no per-role option. It renews every month until you cancel.

What is the cheapest pay-per-job hiring tool?

ApplyHere is the cheapest at $9 per job, but it doesn't rank applicants. For ranking, ClearMatch is the cheapest at $49 per job for up to 250 applicants.

Which pay-per-job hiring tools let you ask applicants questions?

Workcraft writes questions for applicants from your role requirements, including quick checks like a visa or driver's license (often called knockout questions), and scores the answers with the resume. ApplyHere lets you add your own questions, but the answers aren't scored. ClearMatch works only from resumes you upload. Truffle, a monthly subscription, can ask quick qualification questions before its video interview.

Why does Workcraft charge per applicant?

The $1 per applicant pays for reading each applicant's resume and answers, removing personal details and scoring them against your role requirements. Questions on the apply page put off people who apply without reading the ad, so fewer careless applications use up your credits. Everyone who does apply uses a credit, and because you buy credits upfront, you set the most you can spend.

Can I cap what I spend on Workcraft?

Yes. You choose how many applicant credits to buy, and when they run out nothing more is charged. There's no subscription and no per-seat fee.

Which pay-per-job hiring tools offer interview scheduling?

Workcraft books interviews in one click and gives every interviewer the same questions and feedback form. ClearMatch and ApplyHere don't list interview booking, and Truffle's live interviews happen in your own calendar.

Try Workcraft free

The Courtyard Playhouse in Dubai, which has no HR person, cut its time to hire from 90 days to 18 days with Workcraft (case study). Your first job is free, and so is ranking your first five applicants. No card needed.

Post a job free →

Read next

• Resume screening is the weakest hiring signal you have, why a resume on its own tells you less than you think.
• AI hiring doesn't have to be a black box, how we make Workcraft's scores ones a person can check.