Rippling Alternative

Treegarden: the Rippling Alternative When You Just Need ATS + HR, Not a Payroll Suite

Rippling bundles ATS, HR, payroll, IT, and benefits into one platform - and charges you for all of it. If you already have payroll covered and just need powerful recruiting plus HR management, you're paying for modules you'll never use.

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Join 500+ companies that chose Treegarden
Common frustrations

Why teams leave Rippling

Modular pricing that adds up quickly
Rippling's base platform starts at $8/employee/month, but ATS, HR Cloud, payroll, and benefits are each separate add-ons. For a 100-person company wanting ATS + HR + payroll, you can easily spend $2,500-4,000/month. If you already have payroll, you're forced to either duplicate it or pay for modules you don't need.
Overkill if you just need ATS + HR
Rippling is built for companies consolidating their entire workforce stack - payroll, benefits, IT device management, and HR. If you already have payroll sorted and just need recruiting and HR management, Rippling's complexity becomes overhead, not value. Configuration takes longer and the learning curve steepens for features you'll never touch.
Minimum contracts and lock-in
Rippling typically requires annual contracts with early termination fees. If you realize the platform isn't the right fit after a few months, you're stuck paying for the remainder of your contract. This lock-in model is frustrating for growing companies whose needs change rapidly and who want the flexibility to adapt their tooling.
Feature comparison

Treegarden vs Rippling - side by side

Feature Treegarden Rippling
Pricing model Flat from $299 Per-employee + add-ons
ATS included Every plan Paid add-on
HR module included Every plan Paid add-on
Payroll required Not required Core product
Unlimited users All plans Per-employee
Kanban pipeline Drag & drop Yes
AI candidate scoring Built-in Limited
Multi-posting job boards 15+ boards Fewer integrations
Setup time 1-2 weeks 4-12 weeks
Employee onboarding Included Yes (add-on)
Minimum contract 12-month agreement Annual required
IT device management Not needed Add-on
Why Treegarden

What you get when you switch

ATS + HR in one flat price, no bundling
Get a complete ATS and HR module for $299/$499/$899/month equivalent - no payroll add-on required, no per-employee fees, no surprise invoices. You pay one price and get everything you need for recruiting and employee management without subsidizing modules you don't use.
Purpose-built for recruiting teams
Treegarden is a recruiting-first platform, not a payroll suite with an ATS bolted on. Every feature is designed around the hiring workflow - visual Kanban pipelines, AI candidate scoring, multi-board job posting, structured scorecards, and automated candidate nurturing sequences.
Predictable annual pricing
Treegarden offers clear, predictable annual agreements with 12 or 24-month terms. No surprise price increases mid-contract, no hidden fees, and dedicated support throughout your agreement. We believe in earning your renewal through consistent value - not locking you in with fine print.
Hassle-free migration

Switching takes 2 weeks, not 6 months

Our migration team handles the recruiting and HR data transfer. Your payroll stays where it is - we only move what matters for hiring and employee management.

1
Data export
We extract candidates, employees, and HR records from Rippling
2
Configure
We set up your pipelines, HR workflows, and integrations
3
Import & verify
All data imported, validated, and ready for your team
4
Go live
Team training, parallel run, and full cutover in 2 weeks
What customers say

Teams that made the switch

"We were paying Rippling $3,200/mo for 100 employees and only using the ATS and HR modules. We already had Gusto for payroll. Switching to Treegarden at $499/mo equivalent saved us over $30K annually without losing any recruiting capability."
James Morrison
COO, Software company (100 employees)
"Rippling's ATS felt like an afterthought - it was clearly a payroll company first. Treegarden's recruiting tools are on another level: the Kanban board, the AI scoring, the job board integrations. It's what we actually needed."
Rachel Kim
Head of Talent, Marketing agency (75 employees)
Simple pricing

Flat-rate plans, unlimited users

Every plan includes the full ATS + HR module. No payroll bundling, no per-employee fees, transparent annual pricing.

Startup
$299 /mo equiv.
For growing teams starting to formalize hiring
  • Unlimited users
  • Full ATS pipeline
  • HR module included
  • Job board integrations
  • Email templates
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Growth
$499 /mo equiv.
For teams scaling their hiring operations
  • Everything in Startup
  • AI candidate scoring
  • Advanced analytics
  • Custom career page
  • Priority support
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Scale
$899 /mo equiv.
For organizations with complex hiring needs
  • Everything in Growth
  • API access
  • Dedicated account manager
  • Custom integrations
  • SLA guarantee
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Questions

Frequently asked questions

Rippling is a comprehensive workforce management platform that bundles payroll, benefits, IT device management, and HR together, with ATS available as an add-on module. Treegarden is a focused ATS plus HR platform built specifically for recruiting teams and HR departments that need hiring and employee management without the overhead of a full payroll suite. The key differences are pricing structure, complexity, and focus. Rippling's modular approach means you pay a base per-employee fee plus add-ons for each module. Treegarden charges a flat $299, $499, or $899/month equivalent with unlimited users and both ATS and HR included in every plan.
No, we do not offer a hands-on demo. Instead, we provide hands-on personalized demos where our team walks you through the entire platform using your actual recruiting workflow. This approach is far more valuable than a self-guided trial because you get to see exactly how Treegarden handles your specific use cases - from job posting and candidate pipeline management to interview scheduling and employee onboarding. During the demo, we configure the system to match your hiring stages, show you integrations with your existing job boards and calendar tools, and answer every question in real time.
Absolutely. Treegarden is designed to complement your existing payroll system, not replace it. Many of our customers use Treegarden for ATS and HR management while keeping their current payroll provider - whether that is ADP, Gusto, Paychex, or a local provider. Treegarden handles the entire recruiting lifecycle from job posting through offer acceptance, then seamlessly transitions new hires into the HR module for onboarding, document management, and employee record keeping. When it comes time to run payroll, you simply export the relevant employee data to your payroll system.
Migrating from Rippling to Treegarden typically takes about two weeks. Our migration team handles the recruiting and HR data transfer end to end - we import your candidate database, active job postings, hiring pipeline configurations, employee records, and document libraries. We configure Treegarden to match your existing workflows including pipeline stages, email templates, approval chains, and job board integrations. During the transition, we run both systems in parallel so no candidate or employee data is lost. Note that payroll data stays with your payroll provider - Treegarden focuses specifically on the ATS and HR functions that you are migrating.
Treegarden offers 12-month and 24-month agreement options with clear, predictable pricing. Unlike Rippling, which often bundles modules and can charge early termination fees, Treegarden provides transparent flat-rate plans with no hidden fees and no surprise price increases mid-contract. We believe in earning your renewal through consistent value and dedicated support throughout your agreement.

Ready to stop paying for modules you don't use?

See how Treegarden delivers ATS + HR through annual plans with monthly instalments available - without the payroll bundle.

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