Rippling vs. SmartSearch ATS

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Rippling
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Rippling HR is a human resources platform for managing employee records, onboarding, benefits, time and attendance, compliance, and other core people operations in one system. It serves as the HR layer of the broader Rippling platform, giving companies a central place to manage the employee lifecycle while connecting HR data to payroll, IT, and finance workflows when needed.
$8
starting price per user, per month
SmartSearch ATS
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
SmartSearch is an enterprise-grade native recruitment platform that unifies applicant tracking, CRM, onboarding, and reporting. Purpose-built for staffing and talent acquisition teams, it automates workflows, improves visibility, and reduces reliance on disconnected recruiting tools.N/A
Pricing
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Editions & Modules
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Considered Both Products
Rippling
Chose Rippling
Rippling is hands down the best in the competition. ADP can be slow and laggy while Rippling makes it seamless. It was almost impossible to find time off and paystubs at times with ADP and Rippling made it so easy for me and my other employees to stay on top of everything.
Chose Rippling
Rippling is miles ahead in intuitive, modern design. Maas360 feels outdated and makes connecting devices and tracking them a puzzle to be put together. Rippling makes assigning simple and easy.
Chose Rippling
It blows it out of the water. ADP is one of the worst product with the worst support I have ever encountered. The switch to Rippling is one of the best moved I have made.
Chose Rippling
Some features have been helpful but for the most part the features are comparable from the employee perspective. For the finance and operations teams I know the Rippling has been easier to manage from a customer support and service angle, in terms of more complicated payroll …
Chose Rippling
Compared very well, I don't see any differences.
Chose Rippling
BambooHR was a great system as well. Looking toward the future Rippling offered more that we use currently and will use in the future. We are not looking to change systems in a few years. We are looking forward to growing with Rippling.
Chose Rippling
Gusto is very user friendly but lacks some of the "extra" features like review cycles and applicant tracking.
Chose Rippling
Rippling has a better UX design. This is significant because poor UX makes a huge difference to employees who are trying to complete HR or Hiring processes. Rippling PEO has been seemless and the onboarding team were excellent.
Chose Rippling
I'm sorry I wasn't involved in the decision-making process for switching to Rippling so I don't know what other HRIS software they looked at. Apologies.
Chose Rippling
Rippling had better pricing, more integration capabilities (360s where Paylocity only had 180s), and better access to customer service. It's been an absolute blast to use Rippling, it's got very good flow to it. It easy to find what you need organically or through the chat bot. …
Chose Rippling
I am not the one who actually changed from Clockify; I am just a Rippling user. But what I can tell you is that I used Clociky for almost a year, and it's the best. Rippling has more features, and those actually impact how the job is done and our daily production.
Chose Rippling
It helps keep all the systems centralized and unifies processes into a single tech stack. This is very helpful for small HR teams, especially remote ones that might need assistance with different laws and regulations from different states or countries. It also helps to have a …
Chose Rippling
I think Gusto is easier to use as a platform in terms of how to navigate it, however, I think it is more limited in terms of functionality and is also more expensive overall which is why I chose Rippling to try.
Chose Rippling
I like Rippling better than just works. The UX/UI is friendlier for employees of all backgrounds and it's easier to manager from the backend. As a manager, I prefer Rippling as well to help support my team through the website. It made it easier and had more features than …
Chose Rippling
Rippling was chosen because the price was more reasonable than other companies, and it had features that we needed. It is the perfect system for our business. Althought it could have more functions, it has all the functionality that our company needs.
Chose Rippling
It's way easier to navigate, things are in much cleaner spots. I used to get pretty lost on the workday interface, but I feel Rippling has everything that's important and in the areas you want them to be as a user. It also includes pay, whereas in the past we used MyPay as a …
Chose Rippling
Rippling is much more straightforward and easier to navigate than Workday, in my opinion. The layout feels more intuitive, and it’s easier to find what you need without having to click through multiple menus or search extensively. Tasks like onboarding, benefits selection, and …
Chose Rippling
Rippling was miles above Bamboo, UKG, and ADP. I think that they're very comparable to Paycom. Rippling was, by far, the most tech-driven HRIS we tested which was why it was ultimately chosen in favor of other options.
Chose Rippling
Rippling is way more advanced than Deel, I use that in past, especially UI and UX is way better, and overall product is really giant as compared to Deel, support is amazing, the mobile app is really amazing, the documents managements make it even better. So Rippling is much …
SmartSearch ATS
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I did not choose to purchase this software.

If you are someone who wants to go back and forth with the rep and customize a tool and reports that match your business then you will like this tool.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
We have looked at multiple alternatives over the years at both Gates and our collective experiences prior to joining Gates. In our opinion, SmartSearch is the right choice for our business today. We have been able to scale it globally and conduct all of our major requirements …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
We really have not used any other products. We started with SmartSearch a very long time ago when the ATS business was in it's infancy and have never seen a demo or a recommendation that has convinced us to move elsewhere.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch is far, far, far better than our experience with any other system. It may not be as "pretty" but the technology and service blow away the competition.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
We initially selected SmartSearch because it was more affordable than other options. Now, because we have invested so much in getting the reports and work flows to work, it is difficult to leave for another product. And yet, because SmartSearch is old and does not have all …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
Functionally, SmartSearch is not on the same page as ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter as a platform is much more geared toward helping applicants and is essentially a glorified resume database. SmartSearch offers so much more in terms of features and abilities, that would not really …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I used the other products at other companies. I was not the decision maker in using SmartSearch. SmartSearch is great for customization and for keeping other vested parties in the loop.
Chose SmartSearch ATS

I have used many ATS. Some clients needed me to help them select their ATS. SmartSearch ATS (in my mind) kills many of the newer upstarts because they are a confident, mature ATS that focuses on the needs of their clients and provides unparalleled support.. Some ATS are …

Chose SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch did more of what we needed it to do and did it better than any other product at an affordable price with excellent scalability. The staff is easy to work with and it wasn't a hard push to buy their product. It's web-based and has a pretty decent mobile application …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch is by far the easiest and most effective ATS that I have used. It is extremely user friendly and integrates well with other products to eliminate duplicate efforts.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
Monster is used for people who you know are definitely in the market for a new job. SmartSearch is used to administer and maintain a database of members.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
We have looked at other ATS products such as BrassRing, Position Management, SilkRoad, and Taleo.
We moved off of SmartSearch ATS since we outgrew the system capabilities and needed to implement robust reporting and a manager portal.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch was already in place before I started. Compared to other programs I have worked with, it is much nicer. It is streamlined, easy to use, good user interface, compatible with Outlook, has the ability to export and much more!
Chose SmartSearch ATS
Taleo, UltiPro, Oracle, - smart search is user friendly and has great tools for searching candidates.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
The only other like system that I have used was PipelineDeals, and that was more for sales, versus recruiting. So my answer can't be applicable to this question.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I have used Pointwing, Ultra-Staff, and SmartSearch. Of the 3 SmartSearch was the fastest and the smoothest to use. It was more customizable and caused less issues when used. While I am not familiar enough with the reporting end of things, I would say that may be where it may …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I love Adobe Echosign for what it is designed to do - secure signatures electronically. It's very convenient to be in one state and be able to do business nationally by getting documents and contracts signed electronically. It's so much faster than faxing or scanning used to …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I would rate iCims as #1, Newton #2, and Smart Search #3
Chose SmartSearch ATS
It is day & night when compared to other available products. However I would say sales support and customer service were significant in our decision making process.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I have not used any other similar products.
Chose SmartSearch ATS
i think they are very different systems and i would say i like smartsearch better. i did not select the system, the company was already utilizing it when i started. The other company I used ss at already had it in place as well but I believed used more aspects of it then my …
Chose SmartSearch ATS
I have not used other or similar products.
Features
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
10% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
13% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Pay calculation9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
13% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
12% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.50 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
8.8
Ratings
9% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
18% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Report builder8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.4
Ratings
17% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
New hire portal9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
11% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
17% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Performance plans9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
9.1
Ratings
15% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Rippling
8.9
Ratings
13% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
3.4
Ratings
80% below category average
Job Requisition Management9.00 Ratings3.00 Ratings
Company Website Posting9.00 Ratings3.00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media9.10 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.80 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.80 Ratings3.00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts9.00 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Customized Application Form00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Resume Management00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Candidate Search00 Ratings3.00 Ratings
Collaboration00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Email Templates00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
User Permissions00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Breezy HR
Breezy HR
Score 7.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Breezy HR
Breezy HR
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(0 ratings)
3.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.9
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RipplingSmartSearch ATS
Likelihood to Recommend
It has a favourites section for commonly used functions. This is perfect for logging in pre-sift and managing my timekeeping. It is easy to view my payslip. It is well-documented and accurate, and it also provides me with an accurate timeline for when to expect my pay to clear. Overall, very easy to use and great interface.
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If you have a recruiting organization that needs flexibility and a wide range of options to address an ever changing landscape than this is your system. It does not try to pigeon-hole recruiters into a single recruiting model. It allows you to customize how your organization does things but also allows you to control where you need to control. We have been using SmartSearch for more than 24 years. We started out on one of the first versions because we liked the company and the direction they were taking. SmartSearch has not always been the tool with the flashiest features.... but it has always had some of the best features. They have always been of the cutting edge of the next technology and have the tools and features that make SmartSearch a complete solution. We have not seen anything else out in the marketplace that has encouraged us to change.
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Pros
  • It is really easy to navigate, I barely needed instruction on how to do things in it as it is very intuitive.
  • Ease of workflow mapping, it was easy to have emails auto-generated to our staff regarding their eLearn content or compliance requirements.
  • Onboarding was made much easier with the workflows, auto emails sent at different points in the onboarding process, ensuring everything gets done to prepare the company to accept the new hire and to inform the new hire of what to expect.
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  • Customization - the team at SmartSearch always tries to find a solution that works for our company specifically.
  • Customer Care - the team actually cares and is concerned about the well-being of our business. They help us solve issues as if they worked for us and this feeling is felt at every level of the organization beginning with their President.
  • Technology - I have used multiple ATSs and demoed many, many more. SmartSearch has superior technology for staffing firm; the technology that helps us recruit and fill jobs faster.
  • Listening - the team at SmartSearch actually listens to us and our concerns whether it's regarding a feature for an upgrade or simply solving an issue we are facing.
  • Common Sense - there have been many times in our relationship when we have asked about a feature and we hear "that makes sense, we will make that change for all of our customers"...listening is rare and they do it well.
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Cons
  • Rippling could improve their payment days. Currently they make employee payments around the 15th and 30th of the month, but it varies slightly with every month. It would make more sense to do this payment on every other Friday or every other Monday.
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  • There's some room for improvement with candidate status. If you change a status, you have to refresh your screen for that to appear. It's a minor thing.
  • It would be nice to hide certain bits of information on the web posting, but keep that information in the requisition for our records, ie, salary range, etc.
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Likelihood to Renew
I've been fully impressed with the tool so far in my 6 months of being a daily user. It's rare to run into an issue that can't be solved. Customer service is quick to respond and are usually very helpful. The price is great for the upgrade we got from our past tool. We hit our ROI within the first month.
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While I do not have experience with SmartSearch's competitors, I would renew my use of SmartSearch simply based on the up-front costs of implementing the program. It would be better to continue with a program that is sufficiently meeting my needs than it would be to incur the same up-front costs to implement something else.
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Usability
Very intuitive, user-friendly, and modern interface that doesn't make you cringe when you have to access it for anything. The admin navigation is easier compared to our previous system, and doesn't feel like a maze of complicated jargon. On the user side, the benefits enrollment process was a breeze, and felt so much more informative and efficient. Accessing the benefits post-enrollment is also very straightforward.
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There are so many facets of SmartSearch, that to know everything about it is nearly impossible. While it is mainly straight forward, there is a lot. After using the program for a while, you become pretty comfortable with the basics and can start adding some of the other features.
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Reliability and Availability
I like that the availability in using Rippling at any given time is useful to me. Getting on the site freely when I need gives me security of knowing that I can be in control of viewing health insurance and hours information. I have yet to get any errors in using the Rippling app.
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My license for SmartSearch goes back to 2004. It has always been available for me - don't remember a single time it was not available in all of those years.
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Performance
Rippling's performance has been great, no errors or glitches yet so far. I am confident that Going from one page to the next and all its complexity usage does not lag or times out, it works effectively and efficiently. While using Rippling and other apps it does not tend to slow it down, works great. No complaints.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
The highlight of my customer support experience was my first interaction with them: I had a small issue with my birthdate, and it was fixed very quickly—on the same day. It's pretty incredible to have things like that sorted out in the same day, which is a rare thing to see lately.
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Once you get the 1 person on the phone they are very knowledgeable and tend to solve the problem. The issue is there are not enough resources to handle all the clients. Their primary clients are "recruiting firms" and I think that is where most of the their support resources go
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In-Person Training
The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
It's really easy to implement in comparison to other tools or applications. Different key points are easily configured and implemented as per need, having different configurations in systems. Implementation is something which binds the different parameters of an organization in a single row. Implementation of rippling is much easier, quicker, and error free than any other software. I recommend it strongly!
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Using the basic functions of SmartSearch is an easy implementation. But consider carefully what your organization needs to really drive placements. Because we only did a basic implementation first, we were caught off guard when later trying to implement more functions and realizing that the capabilities were limited or were difficult to learn and implement and realizing that tech support was not going to be consistent.
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Alternatives Considered
I am not the one who actually changed from Clockify; I am just a Rippling user. But what I can tell you is that I used Clociky for almost a year, and it's the best. Rippling has more features, and those actually impact how the job is done and our daily production.
Read full review
We have looked at multiple alternatives over the years at both Gates and our collective experiences prior to joining Gates. In our opinion, SmartSearch is the right choice for our business today. We have been able to scale it globally and conduct all of our major requirements for our applicant tracking system and that works for Gates. We also feel like we are an important partner to SmartSearch and they work with us and we feel like our feedback is important to them. I have worked with a number of ATS vendors prior to SmartSearch and pre-Gates. That is not a universal approach in this space and is a unique value prop from SmartSearch.
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Scalability
I can go on here and see all my hours and pto plus health benefits. I like to have the work handbook handy to refer to legal things. How to work my role within it's limits. Being able to put in my hours and view when they are approved is a huge benefit for me.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • As an individual contributor we have not used Rippling yet in terms of goal calculation and it would be nice to see where I'm at for my bonus payout
  • Many employees are very happy having Rippling compared to their other HR softwares at previous jobs which helps retention
  • Documentation that needs to be signed is much easier to track as opposed to tracking documentation through simple emails
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  • I am not involved in the budgeting or finance for recruiting software, so cannot speak directly to any numbers for ROI. However, SmartSearch personally saves me several hours a day in organizing candidates, thus saving my company substantial amounts in productivity.
  • The lacking ability to tag additional recruiters throughout the hire track process means whoever onboards the hire has to ensure that a "split" is marked when completing the NHS. Failure to do so can result in quite a lot of lost time from HR to get the mistake fixed.
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ScreenShots

Rippling Screenshots

Screenshot of the Rippling Dashboard: Employees' home for their payroll, benefits, documents, devices, expenses, and apps.Screenshot of Rippling Payroll: Runs payroll in 90 seconds. Pays employees and contractors around the world. Automatic tax filing.Screenshot of Rippling Benefits Administration: For the management of employees' Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits.Screenshot of Rippling Single Sign-On: Employees can access all of their SaaS apps in one click from their Rippling dashboard.Screenshot of Rippling’s Time & Attendance platform. This integrates with the rest of the product suite so that when employees clock in, their approved hours automatically synced with payroll and accounting systems.Screenshot of Rippling Mobile Device Management: To manage employees' computers and devices 100% remotely.