Greenhouse vs IBM Kenexa comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Greenhouse and IBM are both solutions in the Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software category. Greenhouse is ranked #4, while IBM is ranked #6. Greenhouse holds a 2.3% mindshare in ATRS, compared to IBM’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Greenhouse users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Greenhouse

Read 3 Greenhouse reviews

1,358 Views
1,358 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Kenexa

Read 30 IBM Kenexa reviews

4,620 Views
1,294 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Greenhouse

IBM Kenexa

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Greenhouse and IBM Kenexa based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Greenhouse vs. IBM Kenexa Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Greenhouse vs. IBM Kenexa

September 2026

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Helped 917,433 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Greenhouse

Ranking in Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Kenexa

Ranking in Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (12th), Talent Management (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software category, the mindshare of Greenhouse is 2.3%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 2.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Greenhouse	2.3%
IBM Kenexa	2.3%
Other	95.4%

Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software

Featured Reviews

CharlesDunn

Recruiter at Emerge

An affordable and easy-to-use product that is really intuitive and is one of the most stable applicant tracking systems

The product is easy to use. It's really intuitive. The things are laid out well. The search function seems to be better than other products. When I search for a name, some of the applicant tracking systems struggle to find the name, and I have to keep spelling out the entire name. Greenhouse has a better search function than other products and finds candidates quicker. I haven’t had issues with bugs. I have noticed other products freezing up or acting weird for some reason. However, Greenhouse is a solid solution. It has a really nice layout that tells us about upcoming events.

Read full review

Karan Grover

Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Suitable for larger-scale companies aiming to streamline and automate their processes digitally

The deployment of the solution took between six to eight months. When we introduced BrassRing at my company, we encountered several challenges. First, moving data from our old system to BrassRing was tough because it needed reformatting. Second, connecting BrassRing with our HR data was tricky due to manual processes for roles and departments. Third, setting up the workflow in BrassRing was complex. Fourth, configuring user access and approval levels was a detailed task. We also had to manage the change process, including running both old and new systems in parallel, communicating changes, and training users. Lastly, monitoring and reporting were needed to ensure data accuracy and proper system usage once everything was in place. We had a team of six to eight people managing the project from our side during the BrassRing deployment. I'm not sure about the size of the BrassRing team, and we also had our own technical team, which had three to four members. The solution required maintenance, particularly from my side as the administrator. Maintenance responsibilities were divided into two parts: some tasks we, as end-users, could control, while others were the responsibility of the BrassRing team. Payment-related tasks were a regular part of our responsibilities. I wasn't the only person maintaining the solution. There were three power users from Infosys, each responsible for a specific geography. My counterpart managed it in the US, and I, along with my colleague in India, managed it for other geographies.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution is pretty solid and stable, and I have had more issues with other ATSs than I ever did with Greenhouse."

"I think the ease of use is one of the most valuable features."

"It provides very good flexibility to create filters. Therefore, I can look at candidates' progress across different stages. I can also follow candidates to get updates about where they are in the cycle."

"Greenhouse has a better search function than other products and finds candidates quicker."

"The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."

"Without this solution, we would have more administrative functions and would need to hire more HR employees."

"The streamlined, simplicity approach of Kenexa makes it simple for me to navigate."

"Great value and flexibility in an ATS, mainly through the automation and the configuration through Workbench you can do to manipulate the candidate experience to really be something that candidates like and allows them to apply to your site easily and put them in a pipeline for recruiters to access and move through a process and get somebody hired."

"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand, whether it is joining documents, employment screening, or your employment history, and it's easy enough to upload, find, and retrieve whatever you are looking for."

"The ability now to be able to take data, load it yourself, ask the business questions and get the answers on your own process with the business just made it a lot faster, and the cognitive solution gives us some insights for us to think about."

"From everything I’ve seen and heard, I would think Kenxea is probably one of the top three, if not the best, in the business that they do and the things that we use them for."

"It allowed for truly global listing for all open positions."

More IBM Kenexa pros

Cons

"Probably the biggest issue with Greenhouse is that the scheduling portion isn't very strong or smart."

"The biggest thing for me was that Greenhouse sucked a lot of time when we were trying to schedule, whereas Lever made it very fast and easy."

"If we have to schedule multiple interviews in Greenhouse, we will have to schedule them individually."

"There are dashboards that I can see, but for pending things that I have to look at, it should provide alerts."

"There are dashboards that I can see, but for pending things that I have to look at, it should provide alerts. For example, if there are 10 new people who are added to the job that I'm involved with, it should provide me with a chart or notification so that I am prompted to look at it. Currently, I have to go and look at the dashboard. There should be a little bit of intelligence to prompt action."

"IBM Kenexa has a lot of room for improvement. The solution is not advancing anymore in terms of the user experience and in the workflows."

"We have about 50 requests for enhancements in the system right now."

"The user interface could do with an overhaul."

"The reporting tool is helpful, but it is not the easiest to train on or is not as understandable for other HR pros. Their Workbench site, which is the administrator site that you use to update your website, is not user-friendly. When updates are required, it is not that easy to manage because Workbench is not user friendly. It required more work from the admins. They have Workbench training, which actually was very unhelpful. It took eight hours to complete, and it was not very helpful. Their customer service when it comes specifically to their Workbench site is not helpful."

"We're really looking forward to some of their enhancements to their onboarding portal, specifically for recruiters and hiring managers."

"The downside of Kenexa is that they're constantly reinventing, so they have constant releases with new features and upgrades. The downside of that is that they do experience fairly regular issues with stability that they're not always as quick to respond to as we'd like them to."

"My rating is not higher because of the support, honestly; the global service center model."

"I think there is some administrative things that could be easier in terms of Workbench and streamlining that process; configuration of different things."

More IBM Kenexa cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is pretty affordable for startups and medium-level companies."

"The one thing I didn't like, and what caused me to move from Greenhouse, was that they wanted to bump us up almost 20% over what the previous cost was."

"Kenexa was fairly priced. However, in 2019, before I left my previous organization, they significantly increased their pricing. It can be affordable, but their pricing is going up. It is not just licensing; it is how many applicants you have in your system on the database side."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Construction Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	28

Comparisons

Bullhorn vs Greenhouse

Compared 16% of the time

Workable vs Greenhouse

Compared 12% of the time

Personio vs Greenhouse

Compared 9% of the time

Ashby vs Greenhouse

Compared 9% of the time

PeopleFluent Talent Acquisition vs Greenhouse

Compared 4% of the time

More Greenhouse Competitors

UKG vs IBM Kenexa

Compared 9% of the time

SAP SuccessFactors vs IBM Kenexa

Compared 6% of the time

SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals vs IBM Kenexa

Compared 5% of the time

Workday HCM vs IBM Kenexa

Compared 4% of the time

Saviom Enterprise Workforce Planning vs IBM Kenexa

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Kenexa Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Greenhouse

October 2026

Download Greenhouse product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Kenexa

October 2026

Download IBM Kenexa product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart

Overview

Greenhouse is an industry-focused hiring platform designed to streamline recruitment through a data-driven approach, enhancing both candidate experience and hiring efficiency.

Greenhouse offers a comprehensive recruitment platform aimed at transforming how businesses manage their talent acquisition. By leveraging advanced analytics and intuitive recruitment features, Greenhouse helps organizations maximize their hiring strategies. It supports seamless integration with existing HR systems and provides actionable insights into talent acquisition processes.

What are the key features of Greenhouse?

Candidate Experience: Provides tools to engage candidates effectively and ensure a smooth recruiting process.
Data-Driven Insights: Offers analytics to optimize hiring strategies and inform decision-making.
Collaborative Hiring: Encourages team collaboration with customizable scorecards and feedback tools.
Recruitment Automation: Automates repetitive tasks, allowing recruiters to focus on strategic activities.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Improved Hiring Efficiency: Accelerates the recruitment process by minimizing manual tasks.
Enhanced Candidate Engagement: Ensures positive interaction with potential hires, improving talent attraction.
Better Hiring Decisions: Leverages data analytics to provide deeper insights into candidate selection.
Seamless System Integration: Works with existing HR technologies, reducing the need for extensive IT modifications.

Greenhouse has seen particular success in industries like technology and finance, where rapid and efficient talent acquisition is essential. By utilizing Greenhouse, these sectors benefit from tailored recruitment analytics and scalable technology that adapt to their specific industry requirements, enhancing overall hiring practices.

Greenhouse

IBM Kenexa offers comprehensive talent management solutions designed for businesses to streamline and enhance hiring processes.

It is a robust platform facilitating talent acquisition and workforce management. With powerful analytics and recruitment tools, IBM Kenexa aids organizations in matching skilled professionals to job roles efficiently, optimizing recruitment strategies, and improving employee engagement.

What are the prominent features of IBM Kenexa?

Recruitment: Simplifies the hiring process with customized workflows and efficient applicant tracking.
Talent Management: Enhances workforce performance through strategic talent development programs.
Analytics: Provides in-depth data insights for better decision-making in hiring and employee management.
Onboarding: Streamlines new hire integration with comprehensive orientation and training tools.

What benefits and ROI can IBM Kenexa users expect?

Improved Hiring Efficiency: Reduces time-to-fill by automating and redefining recruitment workflows.
Enhanced Employee Engagement: Increases retention rates through targeted engagement initiatives.
Data-Driven Decisions: Empowers companies with actionable insights for strategic planning.
Cost Savings: Minimizes hiring costs by optimizing human resources functions.

IBM Kenexa finds applications in healthcare, finance, retail, and tech industries where effective recruitment and engagement are crucial for success. Businesses gain a competitive advantage by leveraging its comprehensive tools for attracting and retaining top talent in these sectors.

IBM

Sample Customers

Zenefits, Pinerest, Airbnb Inc., BrightRoll, Vimeo LLC, Evernote

Sweet Spot International (SSI), Leo Burnett Worldwide (LBW), Sika AG, Legacy Health, Apollo Group Inc., Regeneron, Transurban Group, National Health Service, New Zealand Police, Overland Footwear, Yealands, Johnson Controls, Allscripts, Kerry Foods, Masterpet, AMD, Balfour Beatty

Buyer's Guide

Greenhouse vs. IBM Kenexa

September 2026

Free Report: Greenhouse vs. IBM Kenexa

Find out what your peers are saying about Greenhouse vs. IBM Kenexa and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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