This comparison is written for UK hiring managers, HR leads, and operations buyers at companies with 10–200 employees who are shortlisting an ATS in 2026. The central question is whether Eploy's comprehensive talent acquisition platform — built for organisations that can absorb implementation effort and configuration complexity — is the right choice, or whether a leaner, price-transparent tool like Treegarden better serves the needs of a small or mid-sized team. Both platforms are UK-compliant, but they are designed for very different operating contexts, and choosing the wrong one can cost your team months of unnecessary admin.
About Treegarden and Eploy
Eploy has been building recruitment software since 1998, making it one of the longest-established ATS vendors in the UK market. Originally founded as e-Recruit Solutions, the platform rebranded as Eploy and has grown into what it describes as a "complete talent acquisition platform" for modern in-house recruitment teams. Eploy serves organisations from around 200 employees upward, with particular strength in UK universities, professional associations, charities, and public-sector bodies. Its platform covers the full recruitment lifecycle: job requisition and approval, talent pooling and candidate relationship management (CRM), recruitment marketing and multi-posting, applicant tracking, candidate assessment, video interviewing, job offers, onboarding with electronic signatures, and a recruitment analytics and dashboards suite. Eploy also includes an email and SMS marketing module for employer brand campaigns. A named customer success manager and a formal implementation programme are standard parts of the Eploy engagement model.
Treegarden is an EMEA-built ATS and HR platform serving UK SMBs from 10 to 200 employees. It is designed to combine an applicant tracking system with an optional HR module — covering leave management, document storage, and performance workflows — in a single product. Treegarden's Edera AI feature provides ethical candidate screening and ranking built to align with the EU AI Act, and the platform supports UK-GDPR, Right-to-Work, and IR35 compliance natively. Unlike Eploy, Treegarden publishes its pricing in GBP with no setup fee and offers a free trial. Go-live is typically 1–3 working days. The platform is targeted at teams that want to move fast without a dedicated implementation project manager.
Treegarden vs Eploy: Feature comparison
The table below compares both platforms across the feature areas that UK SMB buyers most commonly evaluate. Feature information for Eploy is drawn from the Eploy product page at eploy.com and from verified user reviews on Capterra and G2. Feature information for Treegarden reflects the current product as of June 2026. Where Eploy genuinely leads, that is noted directly.
| Feature area | Treegarden | Eploy |
|---|---|---|
| ATS candidate pipeline | Visual Kanban pipeline; unlimited stages; bulk actions; Edera AI ranking | Configurable multi-stage pipeline; highly customisable workflow builder praised by enterprise reviewers |
| Job board / multi-posting | Direct posting to Indeed, Reed, Totaljobs, LinkedIn, and 50+ boards | Multi-posting to major UK and global job boards; recruitment marketing module included |
| Interview scheduling | Integrated calendar scheduling; candidate self-booking links; panel coordination | Automated interview scheduling with communication templates; well-reviewed for structured interview experience |
| Candidate communication | Email and SMS templates; bulk messaging; automated stage-trigger emails | Full email and SMS marketing suite; employer brand campaign capability beyond basic transactional emails |
| HR module (leave, docs, performance) | Integrated — leave management, document storage, performance reviews, onboarding workflows | Onboarding with e-signatures included; full HRIS requires integration with a separate HR system |
| Reporting and analytics | Standard hiring dashboards; time-to-hire, source effectiveness, pipeline conversion | Comprehensive recruitment analytics and dashboards; note: advanced reporting has a learning curve per user reviews |
| AI features | Edera AI — candidate ranking, screening question generation, interview question suggestions, EU AI Act aligned | No prominently marketed AI screening feature as of mid-2026; strong on configurable rule-based workflows |
| Integrations | Zapier, Slack, HRIS connectors, background check providers, UK payroll tools | Broad integration ecosystem; notable gap flagged in reviews: limited native Google Calendar/Workspace integration |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly rate in GBP; no per-user fee; no setup fee; free trial available; public pricing page | Custom quote-based pricing; no public list price; implementation fee applies; request-a-demo required |
| Best-fit company size | 10–200 employees; SMBs and scale-ups wanting a fast, low-admin ATS | 200–2,000+ employees; organisations with dedicated in-house recruitment teams and complex workflows |
Pricing: Treegarden vs Eploy
Pricing is one of the clearest differentiators between these two platforms, and it directly determines whether a small or mid-sized UK business can evaluate and budget for the tool without involving a procurement cycle.
Treegarden pricing is publicly listed in GBP on the Treegarden pricing page. Plans start at £49 per month with no setup fee, no per-user charge for recruiters, and no feature gates on core ATS functionality. A free trial is available without a sales call. This makes it straightforward for a finance director or operations lead at a 20-person company to confirm fit and budget in a single afternoon.
Eploy pricing is not publicly listed. The Eploy website directs all prospective buyers to request a demo or contact sales for a quote (confirmed as of June 2026 at eploy.com/pricing). Third-party sources including ITQlick and GetApp report indicative price ranges, with estimates varying significantly depending on company size and modules selected: some sources cite figures starting around $695–$862 per month, while others report per-user pricing in the range of $75–$150 per user per month. Implementation costs reported across third-party sources range from approximately $1,000–$5,000 for small organisations to $5,000–$20,000 for medium-sized businesses and higher for large enterprises. These figures are third-party estimates and should not be treated as Eploy list prices. Buyers should request a formal quote directly from Eploy to confirm current pricing for their specific requirements.
The practical consequence of this difference is that SMBs evaluating both platforms face an asymmetric process: Treegarden can be trialled, costed, and approved in days, while an Eploy evaluation typically requires a discovery call, scoping discussion, and a formal proposal — a process that reviewers on Capterra and G2 note can extend to several weeks. For a company with fewer than 50 employees and a single recruiter, the procurement effort alone is a meaningful cost consideration.
When to choose Eploy vs Treegarden
Choose Eploy when: your organisation has a dedicated in-house recruitment team of two or more people, a hiring volume that justifies bespoke workflow configuration, and a budget that accommodates both licence fees and a formal implementation programme. Eploy is particularly well-suited to UK universities and higher education institutions (where UCAS integration and academic role workflows matter), UK charities and housing associations with regulated hiring processes, and public-sector bodies that require supplier accreditation and formal procurement. Eploy's CRM and talent pooling features are genuinely strong — if you are running proactive talent pipelines, nurturing passive candidates through email campaigns, and managing employer brand alongside active vacancies, Eploy's full talent acquisition platform is a better architectural fit than a standalone ATS. User reviews on Capterra consistently highlight Eploy's flexibility and configurability as its standout quality, and the named customer success manager model suits organisations that want a long-term vendor partnership rather than a self-serve tool.
Choose Treegarden when: you have fewer than 200 employees, a lean recruiting operation, and a primary need to move candidates through a structured pipeline quickly without building a complex system around it. Treegarden is the stronger choice if your buying criteria include: GBP pricing you can confirm without a sales call; a free trial before commitment; go-live in under a week; an integrated HR module so you are not buying a separate HRIS once you have filled the role; and an AI screening layer (Edera AI) that is EU AI Act-aligned for UK and European candidate data. Treegarden is also the better choice if your team lacks the internal bandwidth to manage a multi-week implementation project or if you need to be up and running ahead of an immediate hiring cycle.
How we evaluated Eploy and Treegarden
This comparison was prepared in June 2026 by the Treegarden product and HR operations team. We acknowledge upfront that this page is published by Treegarden, which creates an inherent perspective. We have attempted to apply consistent criteria and to note where Eploy genuinely leads.
Primary sources reviewed: the Eploy product page at eploy.com/product, the Eploy pricing page at eploy.com/pricing (which confirmed quote-based pricing as of June 2026), verified user reviews on Capterra at capterra.com/p/57830/Eploy/reviews, and user reviews on G2 at g2.com/products/eploy/reviews. Third-party pricing estimates were drawn from ITQlick (itqlick.com/eploy/pricing) as indicative figures only and labelled as such.
Evaluation criteria were prioritised based on the buyer profile this comparison is written for: UK companies with 10–200 employees, a single recruiter or small HR team, and a requirement to hire 5–50 roles per year. We weighted pricing transparency, time-to-value, UK compliance defaults, and integrated HR functionality more heavily than enterprise-grade configurability or bespoke workflow building — because those latter criteria matter less at this scale. Buyers above 200 employees with a dedicated TA function should weigh Eploy's strengths more heavily and may find the balance of this comparison tips differently for their needs.
Limitation: Treegarden did not conduct a paid or unpaid trial of Eploy's live product for this comparison. Feature claims about Eploy are based exclusively on public documentation and user-generated reviews as of June 2026. Eploy's product evolves; confirm current feature availability directly with Eploy before making a purchasing decision.
Frequently asked questions
What's the most important factor when choosing Treegarden vs Eploy in the UK?
Match to the top three UK-specific operational needs: UK-GDPR compliance, Right-to-Work workflow integration and your sector's regulatory checks (DBS for child-facing roles, NMC/GMC for clinical, IR35 for contractor-heavy hiring). Generic global ATS platforms often miss one of these and force manual workarounds.
Does Eploy publish its pricing publicly?
No. As of June 2026, Eploy does not list prices on its website — all prospective buyers are directed to request a demo or contact sales. Third-party sites report indicative figures but these are estimates, not confirmed list prices. Treegarden publishes GBP pricing on its pricing page with no sales call required.
Is Eploy suitable for a small UK company with under 50 employees?
Eploy is primarily positioned for organisations from around 200 employees upward. Its implementation process, quote-based pricing, and configuration depth are designed for organisations with dedicated in-house recruitment teams. A company under 50 employees would typically find that the implementation effort and cost do not match their hiring volume or internal capacity. Treegarden is designed specifically for this segment.
How long does it take to go live with Eploy vs Treegarden?
Eploy's implementation programme is formal and structured — user reviews and third-party sources indicate timelines of 4–8 weeks for a standard deployment, with larger or more complex configurations taking longer. Treegarden is designed for a 1–3 working day go-live with no implementation fee and no dedicated project required. If you have a live hiring need within the next two weeks, this difference is material.
What about Brexit implications for UK ATS data?
EU-to-UK data transfer relies on the UK adequacy decision (currently extended to 2027). For UK companies handling candidate data of EU residents, you must continue to comply with EU-GDPR; UK-GDPR is materially equivalent. Pick a vendor that supports both data residency regions. Both Eploy and Treegarden are UK-built or EMEA-built and are designed to handle UK-GDPR candidate data natively.
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Sources
- Eploy: The Complete Talent Acquisition Platform — eploy.com/product (reviewed June 2026)
- Eploy Reviews 2026 — Capterra — verified user reviews, capterra.com (reviewed June 2026)
- Eploy Reviews — G2 — verified user reviews, g2.com (reviewed June 2026)
- Eploy Pricing — ITQlick — third-party pricing estimates (indicative only), itqlick.com (reviewed June 2026)
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