Technology · head to head
Greenhouse vs Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Technology
Microsoft's email and calendar client, in the middle of a transition from the classic Windows application to a web-based replacement.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Outlook has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Greenhouse core plan lacks talent discovery and contact lookups; Microsoft Outlook microsoft is replacing the classic Win32 client with the new web-based Outlook, and the new one runs only web add-ins, not COM add-ins, so any line-of-business integration for CRM, dictation, document management or telephony must be rewritten or the desktop stays on classic until its support window closes.
- They diverge on capability: Greenhouse covers Applicant tracking, Microsoft Outlook covers Exchange calendar integration.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Greenhouse and Microsoft Outlook actually diverge.
| Attribute | Greenhouse | Microsoft Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | quote | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android, Api | Web |
| Founded | 2012 | Unknown |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Greenhouse
- Applicant tracking
- Interview scheduling
- Scorecard system
- Job board posting
- Candidate CRM
- Reporting & analytics
- Offer management
- EEO compliance
Only in Microsoft Outlook
- Exchange calendar integration
- Delegate access
- Shared mailboxes
- Rules and Quick Steps
- Retention, hold and eDiscovery
- Sensitivity labels and encryption
- Add-in platform
- Offline cached mode
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Greenhouse
- Enterprise hiring and recruiting automationnot Microsoft Outlook
- Multi-location and multi-team talent acquisitionnot Microsoft Outlook
- Structured interview process managementnot Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
- Organisations on Exchange Online or Exchange Server where free/busy scheduling and room booking across everyone is a daily requirementnot Greenhouse
- Executive assistants managing someone else's calendar and mailbox through delegate access, which no IMAP client supports properlynot Greenhouse
- Regulated environments that need retention policies, legal hold and eDiscovery applied to mail centrally rather than per usernot Greenhouse
- Teams handling shared inboxes such as support or accounts, where permissions and tracking matter more than the mail client itselfnot Greenhouse
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Greenhouse
- Core plan lacks talent discovery and contact lookups
- Core plan lacks email automation and applicant texting
- Plus plan lacks resume anonymisation and application limits
- Plus plan lacks audit logging and developer tools
- Pricing customised by hiring volume and company size, not published
- Only Pro tier offers audit logs and developer sandbox
Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft is replacing the classic Win32 client with the new web-based Outlook, and the new one runs only web add-ins, not COM add-ins, so any line-of-business integration for CRM, dictation, document management or telephony must be rewritten or the desktop stays on classic until its support window closes.
- The new client's handling of non-Microsoft accounts synchronises mail through Microsoft's cloud rather than connecting from the machine to the provider, which several organisations' data residency and handling policies do not allow, and it is not an optional behaviour.
- PST and OST files are a single-file, corruptible and effectively unshareable store, and the new client's reduced PST support means years of personal archives sitting in those files need an explicit migration plan rather than carrying forward.
- Large mailboxes turn software problems into administration ones: search index rebuilds, OST files of tens of gigabytes and the mailbox quotas of whichever plan was bought, and the usual fix is archiving policy rather than anything a user can do.
- Against IMAP or Gmail you lose most of what justifies it, including free/busy lookup, room booking, delegate access, and retention and compliance policies, because those are Exchange server features rather than client features.
- The five or six products sharing the Outlook name have materially different feature sets, so internal documentation, training and support procedures must be written per platform and a user moving between desktop, web and mobile finds the same task done differently in each.
Pricing, plan by plan
Greenhouse
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Greenhouse review.
Microsoft Outlook
Free- Outlook (Free)Free
- 15 GB mailbox storage
- 5 GB cloud storage
- Web and mobile Office app access
- Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99/month
- 100 GB mailbox storage
- 100 GB cloud storage
- Ad-free experience
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/month
- 1 TB cloud storage
- Desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote)
- Copilot with high usage limits
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/month
- 1-6 users
- Up to 6 TB total cloud storage (1 TB per person)
- Same apps and features as Personal
Which should you pick?
Choose Greenhouse if
- You need applicant tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want interview scheduling.
Choose Microsoft Outlook if
- You need exchange calendar integration.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want delegate access.
Questions people ask
- Is Greenhouse or Microsoft Outlook better?
- Neither clearly leads. Greenhouse starts at On request and Microsoft Outlook at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Greenhouse or Microsoft Outlook?
- Microsoft Outlook has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Greenhouse and Free for Microsoft Outlook.
- Does Greenhouse or Microsoft Outlook run on more platforms?
- Greenhouse runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Microsoft Outlook runs on Web.
- Can I use Microsoft Outlook for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Outlook has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Greenhouse starts at On request.
- What is Greenhouse best used for?
- Greenhouse is most often used for enterprise hiring and recruiting automation, multi-location and multi-team talent acquisition, structured interview process management. Of those, enterprise hiring and recruiting automation and multi-location and multi-team talent acquisition are not what Microsoft Outlook is typically brought in for.
- What can Greenhouse do that Microsoft Outlook cannot?
- Greenhouse covers Applicant tracking, Interview scheduling, Scorecard system, Job board posting. Microsoft Outlook covers Exchange calendar integration, Delegate access, Shared mailboxes, Rules and Quick Steps.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Greenhouse: How much does Greenhouse cost?
Greenhouse does not publish specific pricing. The company states that pricing is customized based on your hiring needs, hiring volume, organizational complexity, and required features.
SourceMicrosoft Outlook: What is the difference between classic Outlook and the new Outlook for Windows?
Classic is the long-standing Win32 application shipped with Microsoft 365 and Office LTSC. The new Outlook is a web-based client that replaced Windows Mail and Calendar. The most consequential difference is add-ins: the new client supports only web add-ins, not COM add-ins.
Greenhouse: What are the Greenhouse pricing tiers?
Greenhouse offers three plan levels: Core (basic hiring structure), Plus (multi-location optimization), and Pro (complex enterprise hiring). Exact pricing requires contacting Greenhouse for a custom quote.
SourceMicrosoft Outlook: How long will classic Outlook be supported?
Microsoft has stated support through at least 2029. That is a planning window rather than a reprieve, and organisations with COM add-in dependencies should be scoping the replacement work now.
Greenhouse: Do all Greenhouse tiers include the same features?
No. Core includes sourcing and scheduling, Plus adds automation and texting, and Pro adds enterprise data configuration and audit logs. All tiers can be customized.
SourceMicrosoft Outlook: Can I use Outlook with Gmail or another IMAP provider?
Yes, but with reduced capability. You lose free/busy lookup, room booking, delegate access and server-side compliance policies, because those come from Exchange rather than from the client.
Microsoft Outlook: Is Outlook free?
Outlook on the web and the mobile apps are free with a Microsoft account, and the new Outlook for Windows is included with Windows 11. The classic desktop application requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or an Office perpetual licence.
Microsoft Outlook: Will my COM add-ins work in the new Outlook?
No. The new client supports only the cross-platform web add-in model. Vendors must publish a web add-in, and where they have not, the choice is to stay on classic Outlook or replace the integration.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Outlook
Other head to heads
- Greenhouse vs Linear
- Greenhouse vs Asana
- Greenhouse vs ClickUp
- Greenhouse vs Figma
- Greenhouse vs Aha!
- Greenhouse vs Okta
- Greenhouse vs Eclipse
- Greenhouse vs Postgres
- Greenhouse vs Amplitude
- Greenhouse vs Mixpanel
- Greenhouse vs Pendo
- Greenhouse vs PostHog
- Greenhouse vs RescueTime
- Greenhouse vs Superhuman
- Greenhouse vs Vim
- Greenhouse vs Whimsical
- Greenhouse vs Apache Hadoop
- Greenhouse vs Apache Spark
- Greenhouse vs Safari
- Greenhouse vs Google Chrome
- Greenhouse vs Mozilla Firefox
- Greenhouse vs Thought Machine
- Greenhouse vs Sentry
- Greenhouse vs GitHub Desktop
- Greenhouse vs MongoDB
- Greenhouse vs Monday.com
- Greenhouse vs Maze
- Greenhouse vs PagerDuty
- Greenhouse vs PyCharm
- Greenhouse vs Sketch
- Greenhouse vs Sublime Text
- Microsoft Outlook vs Linear
- Microsoft Outlook vs Asana
- Microsoft Outlook vs ClickUp
- Microsoft Outlook vs Figma
- Microsoft Outlook vs Aha!
- Microsoft Outlook vs Okta
- Microsoft Outlook vs Eclipse
- Microsoft Outlook vs Postgres
- Microsoft Outlook vs Amplitude
- Microsoft Outlook vs Mixpanel
- Microsoft Outlook vs Pendo
- Microsoft Outlook vs PostHog
- Microsoft Outlook vs RescueTime
- Microsoft Outlook vs Superhuman
- Microsoft Outlook vs Vim
- Microsoft Outlook vs Whimsical
- Microsoft Outlook vs Apache Hadoop
- Microsoft Outlook vs Apache Spark
- Microsoft Outlook vs Safari
- Microsoft Outlook vs Google Chrome
- Microsoft Outlook vs Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Outlook vs Thought Machine
- Microsoft Outlook vs Sentry
- Microsoft Outlook vs GitHub Desktop
- Microsoft Outlook vs MongoDB
- Microsoft Outlook vs Monday.com
- Microsoft Outlook vs Maze
- Microsoft Outlook vs PagerDuty
- Microsoft Outlook vs PyCharm
- Microsoft Outlook vs Sketch
- Microsoft Outlook vs Sublime Text