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Recruitment · head to head

Karat vs Workable

Karat logo

Karat

Recruitment

Outsourced technical interviewing, engineers conduct your candidate interviews for you

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Workable logo

Workable

Recruitment

Recruitment and employee engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Workable has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Karat pricing is quote-only, so a buyer cannot model cost per hire against internal interviewer time without a sales conversation; Workable the Standard plan is $299 a month and still charges separately for texting at $89, video interviews at $109 and assessments at $59 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Karat covers Interview Engineers, Workable covers Job posting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Karat and Workable actually diverge.

Attributes where Karat and Workable differ
AttributeKaratWorkable
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Recruitment).

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 Karat

  • Interview Engineers
  • Structured scoring
  • High-volume screening
  • Interview intelligence
  • Scheduling integration

Only in Workable

  • Job posting
  • Applicant tracking
  • Candidate management
  • Onboarding
  • Employee engagement
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • Integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Karat

  • A company scaling engineering headcount quickly and unable to free up enough internal engineer time for first-round technical interviewsnot Workable
  • A hiring team wanting a consistent bar across interviewers when growth has diluted interview qualitynot Workable
  • A seasonal hiring push, such as a new-grad or intern cohort, that needs a large volume of structured interviews in a short windownot Workable
  • A company that has measured interviewer no-shows or inconsistent scoring as a source of candidate drop-offnot Workable

Workable

  • Posting jobs and tracking candidates through an applicant tracking systemnot Karat
  • Running structured interviews, assessments and offers in one placenot Karat

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Karat

  • Pricing is quote-only, so a buyer cannot model cost per hire against internal interviewer time without a sales conversation
  • Handing the interview itself to a contractor removes the one part of the process where candidates meet a real employee, which can weaken employer brand for roles where culture fit matters most
  • It solves interviewer capacity for technical screens but does not replace hiring manager or team-fit rounds, so it only removes part of the funnel
  • Quality depends on how well the client-provided rubric and questions are written; a poor rubric produces poor Karat interviews just as it would internally
  • Contracted interview volume can create pressure to keep using the service even after an internal hiring slowdown, since commitments are typically annual
  • Candidates sometimes react negatively on discovering the interviewer is not an employee of the company they applied to, which is a reputational risk not visible until candidates start talking about it publicly

Workable

  • The Standard plan is $299 a month and still charges separately for texting at $89, video interviews at $109 and assessments at $59 a month
  • Reaching a plan where those three are included means Premier at $599 a month
  • Unlimited active jobs is qualified by a fair usage limit rather than being an actual cap
  • AI features run on credits, and credits expire one year from purchase
  • Published plan prices cover 1 to 20 employees, so larger headcounts are quoted separately

Pricing, plan by plan

Karat

On request
  • Karat$undefined/year
    • Interview Engineer coverage
    • Structured technical interviews
    • Interview analytics and calibration

Workable

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic recruitment
    • Limited hires
    • Basic tracking
  • Plus$undefined/month
    • Advanced recruitment
    • Engagement tools
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Karat if

  • You need interview engineers.
  • You also want structured scoring.
Karat review

Choose Workable if

  • You need job posting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want applicant tracking.
Workable review

Questions people ask

Is Karat or Workable better?
Neither clearly leads. Karat starts at On request and Workable at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Karat or Workable?
Workable has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Karat and Free for Workable.
Does Karat or Workable run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Workable for free?
Yes. Workable has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Karat starts at On request.
What is Karat best used for?
Karat is most often used for a company scaling engineering headcount quickly and unable to free up enough internal engineer time for first-round technical interviews, a hiring team wanting a consistent bar across interviewers when growth has diluted interview quality, a seasonal hiring push, such as a new-grad or intern cohort, that needs a large volume of structured interviews in a short window, a company that has measured interviewer no-shows or inconsistent scoring as a source of candidate drop-off. Of those, a company scaling engineering headcount quickly and unable to free up enough internal engineer time for first-round technical interviews and a hiring team wanting a consistent bar across interviewers when growth has diluted interview quality are not what Workable is typically brought in for.
What can Karat do that Workable cannot?
Karat covers Interview Engineers, Structured scoring, High-volume screening, Interview intelligence. Workable covers Job posting, Applicant tracking, Candidate management, Onboarding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Karat: Do candidates know they are being interviewed by a contractor rather than an employee?

Karat discloses that Interview Engineers are trained third-party interviewers rather than employees of the hiring company, though disclosure practices are set by the client.

Workable: What does a Workable subscription cost and how is it billed?

Workable offers three pricing tiers: Standard at $299/month ($3,588/year with 20% discount), Premier at $599/month ($7,188/year), and Enterprise at $719/month ($8,628/year). Annual plans save 20% compared to monthly billing.

Source
Karat: Can Karat interview for languages or stacks outside mainstream web and backend engineering?

Coverage depends on the pool of Interview Engineers Karat maintains for a given stack; niche or highly specialised roles may have less coverage than common web and backend roles.

Workable: Does Workable offer a free trial?

Yes, Workable offers a 15-day free trial that requires no credit card.

Source
Karat: Is pricing per interview or per contracted block of volume?

Karat does not publish pricing; it is quoted per client based on expected interview volume and contract term.

Workable: What happens to AI credits if I don't use them before they expire?

AI credits are non-refundable and expire 1 year from purchase. If you purchase additional credits beyond the 3,000 included with your plan, unused credits will be forfeited after 12 months.

Source
Workable: Do I get support included with my Workable subscription?

Workable includes priority support for advanced features, and the pricing page mentions GDPR automation tools for compliance, though specific support response times are not detailed on the pricing page.

Source
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