Choose the scope first: a recruiting front office, or a system that also runs timesheets, payroll and billing. Then compare the plan that includes your daily work, since an entry price may exclude sequences or branded CVs. Longlist publishes this comparison and sells one of the products. Pricing, commitments and feature tiers were checked October 16, 2026; this is a comparison of published terms, not a performance benchmark.
Front office, back office, or both
This is the decision that splits the list. If your agency pays temps weekly, works VMS requisitions or needs timesheets approved by clients, the system that holds the job order should probably also hold the timesheet. Bullhorn One, Vincere Pro and Tracker Enterprise do that; specialist staffing platforms such as Avionté, Ceipal and JobDiva go further. We cover them in our guide to the best staffing agency software.
If a provider already handles contractor pay, check which back-office functions you still need before buying a suite. A front-office platform plus a separate timesheet tool is usually cheaper and quicker to roll out.
Shortlist by agency type
“Entry price” is the lowest published per-user monthly price; vendors marked “Quote” don’t publish one.
Scroll the table to see all columns →
| Platform | Best for | Entry price (per user/month) | Terms | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longlist (our pick) | Perm and search front office: BD, sequences, parsing and CV packs on the entry plan | $47 annual / $59 monthly | Month to month or annual | 14 days, no card |
| Bullhorn | Staffing firms needing VMS feeds, marketplace and back office | $99 (Starter) | Billing term not published | No, demos only |
| JobAdder | Agencies wanting temp management and a large partner marketplace | Quote | Not published | None listed |
| Vincere | UK agencies wanting timesheets, Right to Work and Pay & Bill | £95 (Core, 2–7 users) | 30-day rolling (Startup, Core) | None listed |
| Recruit CRM | Small agencies that want invoicing and portals in one tool | $95 annual / $109 monthly (Pro) | Monthly or annual | 30 days |
| Recruiterflow | Teams that want a client portal and multichannel sequences | $149 (Platform) | Monthly or annual, same price | None listed, demos |
| Loxo | Sourcing-heavy search firms that want built-in people data | $149 (Core) | Annual, paid up front | 7 days of Professional |
| Crelate | US firms that share shortlists through client portals | $85 (Essentials, up to 2 users) | Essentials annual; Business monthly or annual | Yes, length not stated |
| Zoho Recruit | Cost-led agencies already on Zoho | $25 annual / $30 monthly (Standard) | Monthly or annual | 15 days, plus a free plan |
| Manatal | Budget teams with fewer than 15 open jobs | $15 annual / $19 monthly (Professional) | Monthly or annual | 14 days, no card |
| Firefish | UK agencies wanting temp, website and marketing modules | Quote | Set in your agreement | No, demos only |
| Tracker | Agencies wanting invoicing and payroll in the CRM | $79 (Launch, up to 5) | Monthly, 6-month minimum | None found |
| Atlas | Executive search firms that want AI call and meeting capture | $125 annual / $150 monthly (Basic) | 12-month commitment on every plan | 14 days |
Side by side: the features that move you up a tier
Check which tier includes the workflows your consultants use every day: sequences, a BD pipeline and branded CVs. Longlist includes all three on its entry plan, at the lowest published seat price of any platform here that does.
Scroll the table to see all columns →
| Platform | Multi-step email sequences | BD / deal pipeline | Branded CVs for clients | Calling and SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longlist | Growth (entry) | Growth (entry) | Growth (entry) | Plus, built in |
| Bullhorn | Max | Pro | Pro (AI formatting) | Front Office Enterprise |
| JobAdder | Beta | Lite | Templates; Allsorter partner | SMS native, calling via partners |
| Vincere | Not listed on pricing page | Core (BD module) | Core | Not listed |
| Recruit CRM | One on Pro, 1,000 from Business | All plans | Business, uses credits | All plans, uses credits |
| Recruiterflow | Platform | Platform | Platform | Platform |
| Loxo | Professional | None listed | Yes | Yes, plan not stated |
| Crelate | Business Plus | Business Plus | Business | Texting extra fee; calls via RingCentral |
| Zoho Recruit | Mass email only | Not listed | Standard | Professional |
| Manatal | Mass email only | CRM lead tracking | Yes | SMS only |
| Firefish | Yes, plan not stated | Yes | CV Formatter | SMS add-on; VOIP listed |
| Tracker | Professional | All plans | Core | SMS built in; calls via partners |
| Atlas | Yes | Yes (opportunities Kanban) | AI search reports | Via integrations |
The 13 platforms, one by one
The cards use vendor-published details checked in October 2026. Prices are USD per user per month unless the vendor prices in GBP. “Watch for” items are not dealbreakers; they are the questions to settle in the demo.
Longlist
Learn more →- Best for
- Perm, contract and search desks needing a recruiting front office
- Pricing
- From $47/user/month
Growth ($47 per user/month billed annually, or $59 monthly) includes the client CRM, BD board, candidate database and ATS. Email sequences, CV parsing, branded CV packs, a careers page and the Chrome extension are included. Plus adds calling, SMS and WhatsApp.
Check the fit: Longlist records placement fees and bill/pay rates but does not run payroll. Confirm the data-transfer method to any timesheet or payroll provider. Enterprise identity, brand separation and export controls need validation against your requirements.
Bullhorn
Website ↗- Best for
- Staffing firms that need VMS feeds, a marketplace and back office
- Pricing
- $99 Starter, $165 Core; Pro and Max quoted
Bullhorn is built for staffing firms that need breadth. It lists 110+ VMS integrations and 300+ marketplace partners from Core, and Bullhorn One extends the ATS into pay and bill. Parsing and a career portal are included from Starter.
Watch for: the sales pipeline and AI resume formatting start on the quote-only Pro tier, and multi-step outreach is on Max. Bullhorn doesn’t publish whether its prices are billed monthly or annually, and it offers demos rather than a free trial. A full data backup comes as a SQL Server file, and mid-contract backups are chargeable. Read the Bullhorn vs Longlist comparison for sources.
JobAdder
Website ↗- Best for
- Agencies that want temp management and a large partner marketplace
- Pricing
- Quote-based (Lite 1–5 users, Essential 6–20, Pro 21+)
JobAdder sells by team size rather than by feature list. Lite already includes a BD pipeline, job posting and temp and contractor management, and a Hiring Manager Portal is available as an add-on. Timesheets and payroll come through integrations.
Watch for: every plan is quoted, and you move to a new tier at the sixth user. The Email Sequencer is in beta, calling runs through marketplace apps, and data is deleted 90 days after you cancel. No free trial is listed. See JobAdder vs Longlist.
Vincere
Website ↗- Best for
- UK agencies wanting CRM, timesheets and Right to Work from one vendor
- Pricing
- £95 per user (Core, 2–7 users); Startup and Pro quoted
Vincere, now part of The Access Group, publishes a Core price for teams of two to seven on 30-day rolling terms. Core adds AI matching, a meeting assistant that transcribes calls, AI-formatted candidate presentations, a BD module, DBS and Right to Work onboarding, temp and contract management and a branded website. Pro adds built-in Pay & Bill and a client portal.
Watch for: no dialler or SMS on the pricing page, multiposting through Broadbean or idibu, and a full export with CV files requires a chargeable Professional Services request. Pro terms are unpublished. See Vincere vs Longlist.
Recruit CRM
Website ↗- Best for
- Small agencies that want invoicing and portals in the same tool
- Pricing
- $95 annual / $109 monthly Pro; Business $135 annual / $159 monthly
Recruit CRM covers a lot of ground: deal pipelines, a hiring manager portal and invoicing on all plans, US and UK numbers for calling and texting, and AI sourcing across external profiles. The 30-day trial on Pro and Business is the longest in this list.
Watch for: credits. Texting, numbers, multiposting, enrichment, AI sourcing, resume formatting and contractor timesheets draw on a monthly credit allowance. Pro includes one email sequence, CV formatting needs Business, and the careers page builder is included only on Enterprise. See Recruit CRM vs Longlist.
Recruiterflow
Website ↗- Best for
- Teams that share live dashboards with clients
- Pricing
- $149 Platform; AIRA quoted
Recruiterflow’s Platform plan includes sequences with email, call, text and LinkedIn steps, a BD pipeline, formatted resumes that can hide contact details, a client portal with live dashboards and job feeds to Indeed, Glassdoor and SimplyHired. The price is the same on monthly and annual billing.
Watch for: the phone and email finder and the AI agents (notetaker, matching) are on the quote-based AIRA plan. Assisted migration is priced by volume. There is no trial listed, only demos. See Recruiterflow vs Longlist.
Loxo
Website ↗- Best for
- Sourcing-heavy search firms that want built-in people data
- Pricing
- $149 Core (annual); Professional quoted
Loxo’s pitch is data: Loxo Source, an 850M+ profile graph, plus credit-metered AI sourcing agents on the Professional plan. It also has power calling, SMS, branded resumes and a hiring manager portal, and offers a 7-day trial of Professional without a card.
Watch for: every plan is annual and paid up front. Multi-channel sequences are listed on Professional, and the pricing page lists no deal pipeline. Reviewers report automatic annual price rises. See Loxo vs Longlist.
Crelate
Website ↗- Best for
- US firms that share shortlists through client portals
- Pricing
- $85 Essentials; Business $119; Business Plus custom
Crelate has a Resume Toolbox with branded headers and contact redaction from Business, branded client portals, 50 free job distributions per user and the Discover agent for searching external profiles. Crelate Hire handles US onboarding forms, priced per hire.
Watch for: Essentials is annual and capped at two users and 20,000 contacts. Email sequences and BD workflows start on Business Plus, which is quoted and annual. Texting is an extra fee. See Crelate vs Longlist.
Zoho Recruit
Website ↗- Best for
- Cost-led agencies already running Zoho apps
- Pricing
- $25 annual / $30 monthly Standard; Professional $50 annual / $60 monthly
Zoho Recruit’s staffing edition is cheap per seat, connects to the rest of Zoho and has a genuinely free plan for one recruiter. Paid plans include formatted resumes, job board posting with a Broadbean integration, and a 15-day trial followed by a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Watch for: limits by tier. Parsing is capped at 250 a day on Standard and 500 on Professional, SMS starts on Professional, and the client portal is Enterprise-only ($75 annual / $90 monthly). Email is mass email and autoresponders rather than sequences that stop on reply, and there is no deal pipeline on the staffing features page. See Zoho Recruit vs Longlist.
Manatal
Website ↗- Best for
- Budget-led teams working fewer than 15 jobs at once
- Pricing
- $15 annual / $19 monthly Professional; Enterprise $35 annual / $39 monthly
Manatal is the cheapest paid option here, with AI candidate enrichment from social profiles on every plan, automated CV formatting and branding, a recruitment CRM with lead tracking, and a 14-day trial with no card.
Watch for: Professional stops at 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates. Workflow automations start on Enterprise, there is texting but no dialer listed, and the Terms of Service include one free data export a year. See Manatal vs Longlist.
Firefish
Website ↗- Best for
- UK agencies running temp shifts alongside perm and contract
- Pricing
- Quote-based (GBP); add-on modules From £150
Firefish quotes each agency on size, workflows and modules. It has a CV Formatter, sequences for candidates and contacts, lead and pipeline management, and strong marketing reporting. Temp workflow sits on Enterprise.
Watch for: websites, the multiposter, 2-way SMS, the hiring manager portal and time capture are add-on modules. There is no trial, and discounted rates can bind you to a minimum term and licence count. See Firefish vs Longlist.
Tracker
Website ↗- Best for
- Agencies that want invoicing, timesheets and payroll on the CRM record
- Pricing
- $79 Launch (up to 5); Core $99
Tracker reaches further into the back office than most CRMs: invoicing from Core, timesheets on Professional and full payroll and shift management on Enterprise. It also posts to 1,000+ job boards (board subscriptions extra) and has a client portal from Core.
Watch for: every plan carries a six-month minimum term. Multichannel sequences start on Professional, which is quoted. Self-serve direct import costs $250 per file. See Tracker vs Longlist.
Atlas
Website ↗- Best for
- Executive search firms that want every call and meeting captured
- Pricing
- $125 annual / $150 monthly Basic; Premium $165 annual / $200 monthly
Atlas is built around AI capture: a meeting note taker, call recording in its mobile app, and Magic Search across notes, calls and emails that shows the evidence for each match. It also has sequences, an opportunities Kanban and AI-drafted executive search reports. Trials run 14 days.
Watch for: every plan carries a 12-month commitment, including monthly billing. Calling and SMS run through integrations such as RingCentral, Ringover or Aircall. See Atlas vs Longlist.
How to choose, by agency size and type
Solo founder or two desks. You need a client list, a candidate database, sequences and CV packs more than you need reporting. Monthly terms matter, because your headcount plan is a guess. Avoid annual prepayment and six-month minimums until you know the tool fits. If cash is tight, read our guide to free recruiting software for what a free plan can and can’t carry.
Three to ten desks, mostly perm. Now the manager needs to see activity by consultant, and duplicates start to hurt. Prioritize deduplication on CV upload, shared tasks, permissions and a reporting view that drills into the records behind each number.
Contract desks. Look for job types for contract and temp, bill and pay rates on the placement, and a way to plan redeployment before an assignment ends. Our contract recruitment software page shows what that looks like in Longlist.
Executive search. Search firms live on research lists, long candidate histories and polished shortlists. Longlist covers the full mandate on Growth: the opportunity you are pitching, the assignment, discreet sequences from your own inbox, a long relationship timeline and a branded CV pack for the shortlist. Atlas and Loxo add AI call capture and external people data, at a higher seat price and on annual commitments. Our retained search workflow guide lists what to test.
UK agencies. Ask about GDPR consent tracking, Right to Work checks, GBP fees and VAT on the subscription. Longlist records fees in GBP, tracks consent with auto-expiry and bills month to month in USD. Vincere and Firefish are UK-built alternatives worth a demo. See recruitment software for UK agencies.
US temp staffing at volume. Start with the back office and work forward. The weekly pay run is what breaks if you choose wrong.
What to ask in every demo
Bring a real brief, a real CV and a real client contact. Vendors demo their best path; you want to see yours.
- Upload five CVs, including one duplicate of an existing candidate. What happens to the duplicate?
- Turn a hiring contact into a BD opportunity, then into a live job, without retyping anything.
- Build a three-step email sequence that stops when the candidate replies. Which plan includes it?
- Send a branded CV pack to a client and show where the email is logged.
- Record a placement with a fee, or with bill and pay rates for a contractor.
- Show the weekly activity report for one consultant, then click into the records behind a number.
- Show what is metered: parsing, texts, enrichment, AI, job posts. What does a typical month cost in credits?
- What is the minimum term, and what happens to the price at renewal?
- How do we export everything, including CV files, if we leave? Is that export charged?
- Who migrates our data in, what does it cost, and how long does it take?
Switching platforms without losing your history
Most agencies don’t change CRM because a new one is better; they change because the old one has become painful. Before you sign, find out exactly what your current vendor will export and in what format. Bullhorn sends a SQL Server file, JobAdder deletes data 90 days after cancellation, and Manatal includes one free export a year. Then follow our CRM migration checklist to test the import before your team moves.
Free migration, published pricing
Longlist migrates candidates, contacts, jobs and CV files from Bullhorn, CSV exports and bulk CV folders at no charge. Try it for 14 days without a card.
