How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- This list is recruiting CRM software for staffing and search firms, not corporate applicant tracking systems. If you hire for your own company, you want a different category.
- Bullhorn remains the industry standard for staffing firms that live on placements; everyone else on this list is either cheaper, simpler, or stronger at sourcing.
- The only published per-user prices here: Loxo (from $149/user/month) and Manatal (from $15/user/month). Everything else is quote-based, so budget a sales cycle.
- Loxo and Manatal bundle sourcing databases and outreach into the CRM; Bullhorn, Vincere and PCRecruiter expect you to bring your own sourcing stack.
- TE Recruit (the former Big Biller) is the simplest entry point for small agencies, with a free trial and straightforward per-user pricing.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Bullhorn | Staffing firms that live on placements | See website (quote-based) | No (demo available) |
 Vincere | Agencies wanting ATS, CRM and back-office in one | See website (quote-based) | No (demo available) |
 Loxo | Agencies wanting sourcing, CRM and outreach in one platform | $149/user/month (Core, billed annually) | No (demo available) |
 PCRecruiter | Veteran agencies wanting a deeply customizable database | See website (quote-based) | No (demo available) |
 Tracker | Search firms wanting ATS plus marketing automation | See website (quote-based) | No (demo available) |
 TE Recruit | Small agencies wanting simple per-user pricing | See website (quote-based) | Free trial |
 Crelate | Executive search and direct-placement firms | See website (quote-based) | Free trial (per reviewers) |
 Manatal | Small agencies and solo recruiters on a budget | $15/user/month (Professional, billed annually) | Free trial (14 days) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best recruiter software
Most "best recruiting software" lists mix two different products: the ATS a company uses to hire its own employees, and the recruiting CRM a staffing agency uses to run its business. They are not interchangeable. A staffing firm needs candidate pipelines and client (employer) pipelines in one system, placement tracking, commission logic, and sourcing workflows. A corporate ATS needs requisition approvals and interview scheduling. This list covers the first product only: recruiting CRM software built for agencies, search firms and staffing businesses.
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planNo (demo available)
Bullhorn earned its position the hard way: it is what most staffing firms already run. The platform combines ATS and CRM with the operational layer agencies actually bill on: job orders, submissions, placements, onboarding, and pay-and-bill. That depth is why it survives evaluations against cheaper tools. When your recruiters, your clients' VMS integrations and your back office all assume Bullhorn, switching costs are real.
The price of that position is opacity and weight. There are no published prices, implementations can be heavy, and smaller agencies often find they are paying for scale they do not have. If you are a staffing firm with real volume and complex pay-and-bill needs, Bullhorn is still the safest choice. If you are a ten-person agency, the tools below will feel faster and cheaper.
What we like- The staffing industry's default platform, so candidates, clients and integrations assume it
- Deep placement, onboarding and pay-and-bill workflows purpose-built for staffing
- Massive marketplace of add-ons and a large talent pool of recruiters who already know it
Watch out for- Quote-only pricing with an enterprise sales process
- The interface feels dated in places and customization often needs professional services
#2
Vincere
Best for: Agencies wanting ATS, CRM and back-office in one
Visit vincere.io
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planNo (demo available)
Vincere's pitch is the single system: sourcing, candidate management, client management and the financial back office (timesheets, invoicing, contractor pay-and-bill) without stitching vendors together. For agencies that currently run a CRM plus a separate finance tool, that consolidation is the whole argument. The reporting layer is genuinely strong, with placement, fee and consultant-performance views that owners actually open.
The catch is that breadth demands verification. Back-office features like pay-and-bill carry regional specifics, and Vincere's strength varies by market, so a demo with your own workflows matters more here than with simpler tools. Pricing is quote-based. Agencies choosing between Vincere and Bullhorn are usually choosing between a modern all-in-one and the industry default.
What we like- Front-office (ATS/CRM) plus back-office (invoicing, timesheets, pay-and-bill) in one system
- Strong analytics and business-development pipeline views
- Modern interface next to older incumbents
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing with no public tiers
- Back-office depth varies by region, so verify payroll and compliance coverage for your market
#3
Loxo
Best for: Agencies wanting sourcing, CRM and outreach in one platform
Visit loxo.co
Starting price$149/user/month (Core, billed annually)
Free planNo (demo available)
Loxo rebuilt itself as an AI-native talent intelligence platform: ATS plus recruiting CRM plus a sourcing database of hundreds of millions of profiles plus outreach automation, with AI agents working across all of it. For agencies, the practical effect is fewer logins: the same seat that manages the pipeline can source candidates and run outreach sequences without exporting to another tool. The vendor publishes its pricing, which is rare in this category: Core starts at $149 per user per month and Professional at $199, both billed annually.
That transparency comes with a premium price tag. Loxo costs multiples of Manatal or TE Recruit per seat, so the math only works if it replaces two or three other subscriptions. It also sells annual plans paid up front, which is a commitment for a small agency. Demo it against your current sourcing spend, not just your current CRM spend.
What we like- Published pricing (Core from $149, Professional from $199 per user/month) in a category where nobody publishes
- Sourcing database, outreach automation and CRM in one login
- AI search and agents included rather than bolted on
Watch out for- Premium pricing next to Manatal or TE Recruit
- Annual contracts paid up front, so the commitment is real
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planNo (demo available)
PCRecruiter is the veteran's tool: a recruiting CRM and ATS that has been refined for staffing workflows for decades, with a database you can shape to match how your agency actually works rather than the other way around. Standout mechanics include full-text resume searching that does not require keyword tagging, a browser plugin for capturing candidate data from the web, and an open API with a long list of job board and sourcing integrations.
Commercially it is old-school: pricing through sales, with basic accounts historically quoted around $85 per user per month on multi-year contracts, plus setup and training fees. Agencies that value a database they fully control tend to stay for years; agencies that want a modern interface tend to bounce off the demo. Know which one you are before you start the sales conversation.
What we like- Extremely configurable database that adapts to unusual agency workflows
- Full-text resume search without keyword tagging
- Long track record with staffing firms of all sizes, including enterprise
Watch out for- Pricing runs through sales with multi-year contracts typical
- The interface looks and feels older than cloud-native competitors
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planNo (demo available)
Tracker (TrackerRMS) sits in the recruiting-CRM-plus-marketing-automation niche. Beyond the standard candidate and client pipelines, it bakes in the business-development machinery agencies need: email marketing, campaign automation and BD pipeline views, so the same system that tracks placements also drives the outreach that creates the next placement. That makes it a natural fit for search firms and agencies where consultants own both delivery and business development.
It is a quote-based sale with demos rather than trials, which is standard for this tier. The honest comparison is against Bullhorn for firms that want stronger built-in marketing, and against Loxo for firms that want sourcing depth instead. Pick the axis your agency is weakest on.
What we like- Recruitment CRM with built-in sales and marketing automation for business development
- Strong in the UK and US search-firm market
- Configurable pipelines for both candidates and clients
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing
- Smaller ecosystem than Bullhorn, so niche integrations may need custom work
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planFree trial
TE Recruit is the current name for Big Biller: Top Echelon sunsetted the Big Biller brand and relaunched the product as TE Recruit, keeping the focus on small and growing agencies. It covers the essentials (candidate tracking, client management, job orders, resume parsing, email integration) without the enterprise weight, and it connects to Top Echelon's TE Network, a split-placement network where agencies share candidates and job orders.
For a small agency, the appeal is proportion: you get an ATS and CRM sized to your business, with a free trial to prove it fits, instead of an enterprise platform you will never fully use. The trade is ceiling: firms with complex back-office or high-volume temp staffing will outgrow it. Start here if you are small; plan to re-evaluate when headcount or placement volume doubles.
What we like- Straightforward ATS plus CRM that small agencies can run without an admin
- Optional access to the TE Network split-placement marketplace
- Free trial lets you test with real data
Watch out for- Less depth than Bullhorn or Vincere for complex pay-and-bill operations
- Pricing details require talking to the vendor
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planFree trial (per reviewers)
Crelate targets the search and direct-placement end of the agency market: firms running retained or contingency search that need deep candidate relationship management, not high-volume temp staffing workflows. The platform combines ATS and CRM with customizable pipelines, Boolean search, automated screening and grading, and client-facing portals on higher tiers. Reviewers consistently praise the customer support and the flexibility of the data model.
Pricing is semi-transparent: lower tiers are published per user per month, while the tiers carrying the advanced AI, automation and API features are quote-based. That means the price of the product as marketed is the price you have to ask for. Map the features you actually need to tiers before the demo, or you will evaluate the wrong product.
What we like- ATS plus recruiting CRM tuned for search and direct-placement workflows
- Strong customization of pipelines, fields and automations
- Modern interface with solid reporting
Watch out for- Published pricing is limited to lower tiers with the rest quote-based
- Some advanced features (AI assistant, client portals, full API) sit on higher tiers
Starting price$15/user/month (Professional, billed annually)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Manatal is the price disruptor: a recruiting CRM and ATS with published pricing from $15 per user per month (Professional) to $35 (Enterprise) and $55 (Enterprise Plus) on annual billing, each with a 14-day free trial. For that money you get AI-powered candidate matching, resume parsing, a candidate sourcing database, client and vendor portals, and integrations with the usual job boards. It is explicitly built for recruitment agencies as well as corporate teams.
The honest boundary is operational depth. Manatal covers sourcing through placement well, but agencies with complex temp staffing, pay-and-bill or multi-entity back-office needs will find Bullhorn or Vincere more complete. For a small agency or solo recruiter whose alternative is spreadsheets, Manatal is the easiest yes on this list: start the trial, connect a job board, and see if the AI matching earns its keep.
What we like- Lowest published per-seat price in this set ($15 to $55 per user/month)
- AI candidate recommendations, enrichment and sourcing database access included
- 14-day free trial with no sales call required
Watch out for- Less staffing-specific depth (pay-and-bill, temp workflows) than Bullhorn or Vincere
- Built for smaller teams, so enterprise governance is thinner
How we chose
We started with the searches staffing owners actually run: recruiter software, recruiting CRM software, staffing agency software and recruitment CRM. We excluded corporate applicant tracking systems (a separate category covering a different buyer) and kept only tools built for agencies, search firms and staffing businesses: candidate plus client pipelines, placement tracking and sourcing workflows. For each tool we verified the current product name and vendor site (one product here was recently rebranded), checked pricing against the vendor's own pages, and compared sourcing depth, CRM capability and contract terms. Where prices were not published by the vendor we wrote "See website".
Recruiting CRM is not an ATS: the distinction that decides the shortlist
The confusion costs agencies real money. A corporate ATS (the category covering tools like Greenhouse or Workable) is built for an employer hiring its own staff: requisitions, approval chains, interview kits, offer letters. A recruiting CRM is built for an agency selling hiring as a service: two pipelines (candidates and clients), business development, placement and fee tracking, and often pay-and-bill. Buying an ATS for agency work leaves you without client management; buying a recruiting CRM for corporate hiring leaves you without requisition workflows.
The practical test: does the tool treat employers as clients with pipelines, revenue and activity history? Bullhorn, Vincere, Loxo, PCRecruiter, Tracker, TE Recruit, Crelate and Manatal all do. If your shortlist includes a tool that only tracks candidates against your own open roles, it belongs in the ATS category, not here. A second test is sourcing: agency tools either bundle a candidate database (Loxo, Manatal) or integrate deeply with sourcing tools (Bullhorn, PCRecruiter); corporate ATS tools treat sourcing as someone else's problem.
The contract questions agencies forget to ask
Recruiting CRM contracts bite in four places. First, term length: Loxo sells annual plans paid up front; PCRecruiter has historically used multi-year contracts; others vary. Ask what happens to your data if you do not renew. Second, data portability: your candidate database is the agency's crown jewel. Confirm you can export full candidate records, notes, documents and activity history in a usable format, and what it costs. Third, per-seat minimums: some vendors price for teams and get expensive for two or three users; Manatal and TE Recruit are friendlier to tiny teams. Fourth, the sourcing database: where it is bundled (Loxo, Manatal), check credit limits, refresh rates and whether contact data costs extra.
One more: the split network question. TE Recruit's TE Network gives small agencies access to shared placements, which can be genuine revenue. Ask how the fee splits work and who owns the client relationship before you count it as a benefit. And wherever pricing is quote-based (Bullhorn, Vincere, Tracker, PCRecruiter, Crelate's upper tiers), get the renewal terms in writing: first-year discounts that evaporate in year two are the oldest trick in enterprise software.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between recruiter software and an ATS?
Recruiter software (recruiting CRM) is built for staffing agencies and search firms: it manages candidate pipelines and client (employer) pipelines together, with placement tracking, fee management and business development. An ATS is built for employers hiring their own staff, with requisitions and interview workflows. They serve different buyers.
How much does recruiting CRM software cost?
From $15 per user per month (Manatal, billed annually) to quote-based enterprise pricing (Bullhorn, Vincere). Loxo publishes $149 to $199 per user per month. Most vendors in this category do not publish prices, so expect a sales conversation and ask for renewal terms in writing.
Which recruiter software is best for a small staffing agency?
Manatal (from $15/user/month with a 14-day trial) and TE Recruit (simple, with a free trial) are the easiest starting points for small agencies. Loxo fits if you also want to replace your sourcing tools. Bullhorn and Vincere make sense once placement volume or back-office complexity justifies them.
Do I need a separate tool for candidate sourcing?
It depends on the CRM. Loxo and Manatal bundle sourcing databases and outreach into the platform. Bullhorn, Vincere, PCRecruiter, Tracker, TE Recruit and Crelate expect you to bring sourcing tools (job boards, LinkedIn, data providers) and integrate them. Add your sourcing spend to the CRM price before comparing.
Can I migrate my candidate database from another system?
Yes, and every vendor on this list offers migration help or tooling, because switching costs are the main reason agencies stay put. The critical question is export, not import: confirm you can get full records, notes, documents and history out in a usable format if you ever leave.
Is Bullhorn worth it for a small agency?
Usually not at first. Bullhorn's strength is scale: complex staffing operations, pay-and-bill, integrations and a workforce that already knows it. A small agency pays enterprise prices for capacity it does not use. Start with Manatal, TE Recruit or Loxo, and move to Bullhorn or Vincere when volume or complexity demands it.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.bullhorn.com/
- https://www.vincere.io/
- http://loxo.co/pricing
- https://pcrecruiter.com/
- https://www.tracker-rms.com/
- https://topechelon.com/product/te-recruit/
- https://www.crelate.com/
- https://www.manatal.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.