Simplehire vs Ribbon: pay per screen or a monthly plan

We make Simplehire, so read this as one vendor's comparison. Ribbon suits teams that want a monthly plan covering AI voice and video interviews, outreach and sourcing, with interview results written back into an ATS such as Bullhorn. Simplehire suits recruiters and agencies who want to pay per screen with no contract, and who need a record of what happened during the interview before a candidate goes to a client.

Everything we say about Ribbon comes from Ribbon's own website, checked on 19 October 2026 and linked in the sources below. Prices change, so check Ribbon's pricing page before you decide.

How do Simplehire and Ribbon compare?

What does each cost at your volume?

List prices for one month. Simplehire Basic includes the 25 free screens; Ribbon uses the plan that covers the volume.

On list prices, Simplehire Basic costs less than the Ribbon plan that covers each of these volumes, though at 1,000 a month the gap is $49. Adaptive is the closer match to Ribbon's interviewer, since both ask follow-up questions, and it costs less up to about 330 screens a month. Above that, Ribbon's plans cost less, and they include video, outreach and ATS sync. Simplehire offers volume pricing through sales; the table uses list prices.

The table leaves out two things. A monthly plan costs its full price in a quiet month, and Ribbon's Growth, Business and Scale plans cap seats and active roles, which matters for an agency with many recruiters or open reqs.

When is Ribbon the better choice?

We'd point you to Ribbon if any of these describe your desk:

• Your recruiters live in Bullhorn. Ribbon's Bullhorn page says it can send the interview invite automatically when a candidate applies or reaches a screening stage, then write a note to the candidate record with a recording link, summary, transcript and scores. Recruiters review the first screen without opening another tool.
• You want video interviews as well as voice. Ribbon lists both on every plan.
• You want outreach and sourcing in the same contract. Every Ribbon plan lists SMS, email and WhatsApp outreach, AI sourcing and talent rediscovery.
• You run steady, high volume. At 1,000 interviews a month, the Scale plan billed annually works out to about $2 an interview with video, outreach and ATS sync included.
• You want the answers themselves reviewed. Ribbon's Integrity Monitor analyzes response patterns for answers that look scripted, coached or AI-generated. Simplehire doesn't judge answers for AI use.

Ribbon's staffing page also says it passed a New York City Local Law 144 bias audit, and links to the audit.

When is Simplehire the better choice?

Simplehire fits better when the risk you're managing is the wrong person, or a helper, in the interview. That is a regular problem in remote IT and contractor placements (see how to spot a proxy interview).

• Proctoring is included at every price. Each interview runs in enforced full-screen, and leaving it, switching tabs, losing focus and pasting text are recorded with timestamps. Interview audio is recorded and alerts come with screenshots.
• You can add stronger checks per role. The desktop proctoring app has candidates close risky applications such as remote-desktop tools before supported Windows and Mac interviews. The recruiter can require a paired second device that gives a side-camera view of the candidate and their desk. The ID check can be set to Off, Optional or Required.
• Depth follows the role. Basic covers high-volume first screens. Adaptive adds follow-up questions for technical and client-submission roles. Advanced is for senior or client-critical roles and has an optional coding round, scored separately.
• Volume moves with your clients. You pay for the screens you run, there's no contract, and 25 Basic screens a month are free.

The report opens with a verdict, then skills demonstrated, strengths and areas to probe. Every alert goes to a person for review, and a recruiter makes every hiring decision.

Where we fall short: Simplehire doesn't integrate with Bullhorn or any other ATS today, it doesn't dial candidates' phones, and it doesn't run video interviews. If ATS sync is a must for your desk, Ribbon is the better fit.

How do you test both?

Ribbon's free trial runs 7 days, so get your reqs ready before you start it.

1. Pick four or five live reqs: a couple of high-volume roles and a couple of technical ones you submit to clients.
2. Set up the same roles in both tools, with the same required skills. In Simplehire, use Basic for the volume roles and Adaptive for the technical ones.
3. Split each req's applicants between the tools, alternating, so no candidate interviews twice.
4. For each candidate, track how long the recruiter took to reach a submit-or-not decision, whether they were submitted, and what the client said.
5. Note every integrity alert or flag, and whether it changed a decision.
6. Price both at your real monthly volume, including your quiet months, using the table above.

If you want more options, our roundup of AI screening tools for staffing agencies covers nine tools, and you can see Simplehire pricing or start free.