Lever
Rippling
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Contact sales | From $8/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | tech-companies, growing-companies, talent-teams, recruiters | mid-market-companies, tech-companies, fast-growing-startups, it-teams |
| Founded | 2012 | 2016 |
| Ats | ✓ | ✗ |
| Talent Crm | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nurture Campaigns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Interview Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Payroll | ✗ | ✓ |
| Benefits | ✗ | ✓ |
| Device Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| App Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Global Employment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spend Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Lever Pros
- Combined ATS + CRM
- Great candidate experience
- Nurture campaigns
- Clean UI
✗ Lever Cons
- Expensive
- Limited reporting
- Customization constraints
✓ Rippling Pros
- Unifies HR + IT + Finance in one platform
- Automatic device setup/wipe for onboarding/offboarding
- Global payroll in 50+ countries
- Extremely powerful workflow automation
✗ Rippling Cons
- Pricing is complex and modular
- Can be overkill for very small teams
- Implementation takes time for full platform
The Verdict
Lever is built for tech companies and growing companies, with a focus on ats and talent-crm. Rippling targets mid market companies and tech companies and leads with payroll and benefits.
Lever uses custom enterprise pricing, while Rippling starts at $8/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Feature-wise, Rippling offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Lever takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for tech companies — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.