Which ATS is easier to pass - Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby?

Ashby tends to be more lenient on strict keyword scoring because it is used primarily by startups that rely more on human review at early stages. Greenhouse has the most sophisticated automated filtering, especially at enterprise companies using it at high volume. Lever falls in between. All three are autofill-compatible with Pilotply.

How do I know which ATS a company uses?

Check the URL when you click Apply. Greenhouse jobs have URLs containing greenhouse.io or boards.greenhouse.io. Lever uses lever.co or jobs.lever.co. Ashby uses ashbyhq.com or jobs.ashbyhq.com. You can also look at the form design - each ATS has a distinctive interface that experienced applicants recognize instantly.

ATS Deep DiveMay 2026 · 8 min read

Greenhouse vs Lever vs Ashby: Which ATS Is Easiest for Job Seekers?

If you are applying to tech jobs, you are going to face one of these three ATS systems. Each scores, filters, and processes applications differently. Here's what to do differently on each one.

How to identify which ATS a company uses

Before you apply, check the URL when you click "Apply" on a job posting. Each ATS has a distinctive domain:

Greenhouseboards.greenhouse.io/company or greenhouse.io

Leverjobs.lever.co/company

Ashbyjobs.ashbyhq.com/company

Workdaycompany.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Greenhouse

High difficulty

~25% of tech companies · ✓ Fully supported by Pilotply

Known users

Airbnb, Dropbox, HubSpot, Duolingo, Figma

What this means for your application

Most rigorous keyword scoring. Greenhouse's algorithm prioritizes exact-match skills and required qualifications. Missing a required skill listed in the JD significantly lowers your score.

Platform-specific tips

Use the exact skill names from the JD, not synonyms. "React.js" ≠ "React" in some Greenhouse configurations.

Fill every optional field in the application form. Greenhouse scores form completeness.

Answer all knockout questions carefully. Wrong answers can auto-reject before anyone reads your resume.

Upload a clean .docx. Greenhouse's parser handles Word documents most reliably.

Lever

Medium difficulty

~15% of tech companies · ✓ Fully supported by Pilotply

Known users

Netflix, Reddit, Shopify, Stripe (historically), Robinhood

What this means for your application

Lever weights candidate relationship signals more than pure keyword scoring. Referrals and internal talent network connections carry more weight on Lever than on Greenhouse. Keyword scoring is present but less aggressive.

Platform-specific tips

Referrals carry more weight on Lever than on other platforms. If you know someone at the company, use it.

Lever applications often include free-text cover letter fields that are actually read. Use them.

Resume parsing on Lever is solid for both .docx and .pdf.

LinkedIn profile links matter more on Lever. The recruiter view shows your LinkedIn profile alongside your application.

Ashby

Low-Medium difficulty

Fast-growing, dominant in Series A–C startups · ✓ Fully supported by Pilotply

Known users

Retool, Ramp, Linear, Notion, Vercel, Loom

What this means for your application

Ashby is the ATS of choice for high-growth startups that move fast. Screening is often faster (48–72 hour response windows common). Human reviewers tend to have more weight relative to automated scoring because Ashby teams are typically smaller and do more hands-on review.

Platform-specific tips

Ashby companies tend to be engineering-led. Technical depth in your resume matters more than soft skill keywords.

Application forms on Ashby are minimal by design. The resume carries most of the weight.

Ashby has fast scheduling built in. Respond to any communication the same day.

Ashby companies often run async and written-first. A good cover letter signals you can communicate that way.

What Is Universal Across All Three ATS

Despite their differences, Greenhouse, Lever, and Ashby share the same fundamental requirements for a resume that passes screening:

Single-column layout

No tables, columns, or text boxes. Plain linear sections that any parser can read left-to-right.

Standard section headers

"Work Experience" not "My Journey." "Skills" not "Technical Toolkit." ATS systems match on exact header names.

Exact keyword match

Use the specific words from the job description. If they say "TypeScript," write "TypeScript", not "TS" or "JavaScript (TypeScript)."

Standard file format

.docx is safest across all three. Clean .pdf works. Avoid .pages, .odt, or image-based PDFs.

Quantified achievements

Numbers survive ATS parsing and impress human reviewers. "Reduced load time by 40%" beats "improved performance."

ATS match score ≥ 75%

Check before submitting. All three systems score your resume against the JD. 75%+ is the pass threshold for most configurations.

Auto-Fill Greenhouse, Lever & Ashby in One Click

Pilotply detects which ATS you are on and auto-fills the form from your profile. Works on all three, plus Workday and LinkedIn.

Install Pilotply Free

Chrome extension · Free 50 applications/month

FAQs

Does my resume get rejected automatically if my score is low?

It depends on the company's configuration and application volume. At high-volume companies using Greenhouse (500+ applications per role), automated filtering below 60% is common. At smaller Ashby companies with 30–50 applicants per role, a human recruiter typically reviews every application regardless of score.

Can I apply to the same company through different channels to avoid ATS?

Not effectively. Greenhouse, Lever, and Ashby all deduplicate applications by email. If you apply through the company's careers page and through LinkedIn Easy Apply, both applications merge into one record. Focus on making one strong application rather than submitting multiple times.

Does Pilotply auto-fill work differently on each platform?

Pilotply detects which ATS you are on and uses platform-specific form mapping. One click populates all fields, but the underlying field detection is different for each platform.

Check Your Score Before Applying

Know your ATS match score for any Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby job before you hit submit.

Check My ATS Score Free See Autofill in Action

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