Cobalt vs Greenhouse: which to choose in 2026?
Greenhouse is one of the most recognized corporate tech recruiting ATS platforms (over 8,000 clients including Stripe, Shopify, Airbnb). But is it suitable for European scale-ups, staffing firms and recruitment agencies in 2026? Here's the data-driven comparison with Cobalt, the European AI-first alternative.
Comparison TL;DR
| Criterion | Cobalt | Greenhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | France, 2025 | US, 2012 |
| Price /user/month | €31-129 (EUR transparent) | $6,500-22,000+/year (custom quote) |
| End-to-end native AI | ✅ | ❌ (Greenhouse AI add-on) |
| Semantic search | ✅ native | ⚠️ limited |
| Autonomous AI agent | ✅ Balt | ❌ |
| Auto competency dossiers | ✅ | ❌ |
| AI meeting transcription | ✅ | ❌ |
| Boondmanager integration | ✅ native | ❌ |
| European hosting | ✅ native | ⚠️ paid |
| Native GDPR | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| French support | ✅ real-time < 2h | ❌ English only |
| Commitment | Monthly | Annual |
Pricing for a 25-user scale-up over 3 years
| Platform | Year 1 | Years 2+3 | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cobalt Pro | €23,700 | €47,400 | €71,100 |
| Greenhouse Advanced (est.) | ~$15,000+impl | ~$30,000 | ~$45,000 (~€42,000) |
| Greenhouse Expert (est.) | ~$25,000+impl | ~$50,000 | ~$75,000 (~€70,000) |
For scale-ups and EU staffing firms, Cobalt offers end-to-end native AI, mandatory Boondmanager integration, real-time French support, and 60-80% savings over 3 years compared to Greenhouse Expert.