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A candidate you spoke to last month is perfect for a role that just came in. But her details are in one spreadsheet, the client’s notes are in your inbox, and the fee you agreed on is in a contract somewhere. Finding the best ATS for recruitment agencies comes down to one thing: putting candidates, clients, and placements in one place so nothing slips.
That’s where agency recruiting is different from hiring for your own company. You’re selling to clients and recruiting for them at the same time. Most applicant tracking systems only handle the second half.
So I compared five tools built for agencies and staffing firms — Recruit CRM, Loxo, Bullhorn, Manatal, and JobAdder — by going through their pricing pages, plan limits, and feature lists. The question: which one gives a small agency of 1 to 20 recruiters the most agency-specific features for a price that makes sense?
Why small agencies outgrow spreadsheets and basic ATS tools
Most small agencies start with a spreadsheet, a LinkedIn account, and a shared inbox. It works until the desk gets busy. A few problems show up again and again:
- Candidates and clients live in different places. The candidate list is in one tool, the client contacts are in another, and nobody can see which client has seen which CV.
- Every job order gets lost in the noise. With ten open roles, it’s hard to tell who’s been submitted, who’s interviewing, and who’s waiting on feedback.
- Fees and invoices are tracked by hand. Placements get logged in a spreadsheet, and invoices get built from scratch in a separate app.
- Sourcing means copy and paste. Recruiters find a great profile on LinkedIn, then type the details into the database one field at a time.
An in-house ATS fixes some of this. But it’s built for one employer posting its own jobs, not for an agency juggling many clients. If you hire for your own team, my guide to the best applicant tracking system for small business is a better place to start. This article is for agencies.
How I compared these tools
I focused on five things that decide whether an agency ATS still makes sense a few months in.
1. Client and business development tools
An agency needs a CRM side: companies, contacts, notes, and a pipeline of deals you’re trying to win. I looked at whether each tool tracks clients properly or just stores a company name.
2. Pipelines per job order
Every job order should have its own pipeline, so you can see each candidate’s stage for that role at a glance. I checked how flexible the pipelines are and which plan unlocks more than one.
3. Placements, invoicing, and back office
Once a candidate starts, you need to record the placement, the fee, and ideally the invoice. Some tools handle this. Others leave it to your accounting app.
4. Sourcing from LinkedIn and the web
A Chrome extension that pulls a profile into your database with one click saves a lot of typing. I checked which tools include one and on which plan.
5. What a small agency will actually pay
All five tools charge per user. I looked at entry prices, but also at what a three-recruiter agency would pay once it has the features it actually needs, and whether the price is published at all.
Recruitment agency ATS tools compared
Here’s a quick overview. Prices are per user per month, billed annually, based on published rates at the time of writing, unless noted. Monthly billing usually costs more. Always check the official pricing pages before you buy.
| Tool | Starting paid price | Free trial | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit CRM | $95/user (Pro) | Yes | Small agencies that want ATS, CRM, and invoicing in one |
| Loxo | $149/user (Core) | 7 days | Agencies that source heavily |
| Bullhorn | $99/user (Starter) | No | Agencies planning to scale into staffing |
| Manatal | $15/user (Professional) | 14 days | Lean agencies on a tight budget |
| JobAdder | Quote only | Demo only | Agencies that prefer a guided setup |
Now let’s look at each one more closely.
Recruit CRM
Recruit CRM is an applicant tracking system and recruitment CRM built specifically for recruitment agencies, staffing firms, and executive search teams. Candidates, contacts, companies, jobs, and deals all live in one database and link to each other.
Recruit CRM’s own pricing page wasn’t something I could load directly, so the numbers below come from several third-party summaries that cite it and agree with each other. At the time of writing, Pro is $95 per user per month billed annually ($109 monthly). It includes the ATS and CRM, the Chrome sourcing extension, AI resume parsing, an integrated mailbox, deal pipelines, and reporting. Business is $135 per user per month billed annually ($159 monthly). It adds automated email sequences, multiple hiring pipelines, resume formatting, custom roles, and open API access. Enterprise is $215 per user per month billed annually ($259 monthly) and bundles extras like workflow automation, advanced analytics, job multiposting, and data enrichment. On Pro and Business, those extras are paid add-ons.
For agency work, the useful part is how the records connect. According to Recruit CRM, its Chrome extension pulls candidate profiles from LinkedIn and other sites straight into your database. Deal pipelines track the clients you’re trying to win, and the platform includes timesheet and invoice management. There’s also two-way email and calendar sync, so client conversations end up next to the right record. There’s a free trial, and listings say no credit card is needed.
What stands out: It covers the full agency loop — sourcing, client management, job pipelines, placements, and invoicing — in one tool, at a published price. For a small agency that wants to stop jumping between a spreadsheet, a CRM, and an invoicing app, that’s a big deal.
The catch: It isn’t the cheapest option. At $95 a seat, it costs much more than Manatal. And according to pricing breakdowns, Pro limits you to one hiring pipeline and one email sequence, so many growing agencies will end up on Business. Workflow automation and job multiposting cost extra unless you’re on Enterprise. Some reviewers also mention a learning curve, mostly because there’s so much you can customize.
Loxo
Loxo is a recruiting platform that combines an ATS and CRM with a large sourcing database and AI tools. It leans toward agencies and executive search firms that spend a lot of time finding and reaching out to candidates.
According to Loxo’s own pricing breakdown, Core is $149 per user per month and includes the full ATS and recruiting CRM, natural-language AI search, unlimited jobs, candidates, and companies, email and calendar sync, and a Chrome extension. Professional is $199 per user per month and adds Loxo Source, its talent database, along with contact information, AI agents, API access, and 2,500 sourcing credits per seat each month. Enterprise is a custom annual agreement. Both published plans are billed annually and paid up front, and there’s a 7-day free trial with full Professional access.
What stands out: If sourcing is the bottleneck, Loxo does more of it inside the platform than anything else here. Finding a candidate, getting their contact details, and adding them to a pipeline can happen in one place.
The catch: It’s the priciest published option in this list, and annual prepayment means a bigger upfront bill for a small agency. You also need Professional to get the sourcing database, which is the main reason to choose Loxo. And a 7-day trial is short for testing a full agency workflow. Some third-party listings still show an older plan structure with a free tier, so confirm the current plans on Loxo’s site.
Bullhorn
Bullhorn is one of the best-known names in staffing software. It’s widely used by mid-size and large staffing firms, and it has a separate small-agency line with published prices.
According to Bullhorn’s small-agency pricing page, Starter is $99 per user per month and includes applicant tracking, resume parsing, client management, job posting with a career portal, and support. Core is $165 per user per month and adds an app marketplace with 300+ partners, custom fields and workflows, LinkedIn integrations, and an email sidebar. Pro and Max are quote-only and add the recruitment CRM, AI search and matching, automation, and analytics. Bullhorn says implementation is free with no setup fees. The page doesn’t spell out contract terms.
What stands out: It’s a safe choice if you plan to grow into a larger staffing operation. The marketplace and integrations are huge, and many recruiters have used Bullhorn at a previous job.
The catch: Bullhorn leans enterprise. The features many agencies think of as core — the full recruitment CRM, automation, and AI matching — sit on the quote-only Pro plan. There’s no free trial, so you’ll be relying on a demo. Third-party pricing guides also report that add-ons and renewal increases can push the total up over time, so get the full multi-year cost in writing.
Manatal
Manatal is an AI-focused ATS with very low per-user pricing. It serves in-house teams too, but it includes a recruitment CRM on every plan, which makes it a real option for agencies.
According to Manatal’s pricing page, Professional is $15 per user per month billed annually ($19 monthly), with up to 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates. Enterprise is $35 billed annually ($39 monthly) and removes those limits and adds workflow automation. Enterprise Plus is $55 billed annually ($59 monthly) and adds an open API, single sign-on, custom permissions, and an advanced report builder. Every plan includes the recruitment CRM, and there’s a 14-day free trial with no card required. A Chrome extension handles sourcing from social and professional sites.
What stands out: It’s by far the cheapest way here to get an ATS and a client CRM together. For a solo recruiter or a two-person desk, that price is hard to ignore.
The catch: The 15-job cap on Professional is tight for an agency, since every client role counts. Many agencies will need Enterprise, which is still affordable. Manatal also has client records and pipelines, but comparisons I found say it doesn’t generate invoices or timesheets natively. You may still need a separate invoicing tool.
JobAdder
JobAdder is a recruitment platform built for agencies, with plans sized by team. It’s especially popular in Australia and the UK and also serves agencies in North America.
JobAdder doesn’t publish prices. Its pricing page lists Lite for 1 to 5 users, aimed at new and boutique agencies, with job board posting, candidate management, temp and contractor management, and a report library. Essential covers 6 to 20 users and adds multiple workflows, e-signatures, automations, dashboards, a business development lead feed, and API access. Pro is for 21+ users. Every plan goes through a quote. There’s a Chrome extension for importing candidate details, and you can book a demo, but I didn’t find a self-serve free trial.
What stands out: The plans map neatly to agency size, and Lite is aimed squarely at small and boutique agencies. Temp and contractor management on the entry plan is useful if you place contractors as well as permanent hires.
The catch: With no published pricing, you can’t compare costs without a sales call. The plan is tied to your team size, too. Hire your sixth recruiter, and the whole account moves to Essential, so ask what that jump costs before you sign.
What a 3-recruiter agency would pay
Let’s make the pricing concrete. Here’s a rough monthly cost for a 3-recruiter agency, billed annually, based on published rates at the time of writing:
| Tool and plan | Client CRM + invoicing? | Rough monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Manatal Professional | CRM yes, no native invoicing, 15-job cap | $45 |
| Manatal Enterprise | CRM yes, no native invoicing | $105 |
| Recruit CRM Pro | Yes (one hiring pipeline) | $285 |
| Bullhorn Starter | Client management, no full CRM | $297 |
| Recruit CRM Business | Yes, multiple pipelines | $405 |
| Loxo Core | CRM yes, no sourcing database | $447 (paid yearly) |
| Bullhorn Core | Client management, no full CRM | $495 |
| JobAdder Lite | Quote only | Ask for a quote |
A few things jump out:
- Manatal is the budget pick by a wide margin. If you mainly need a clean candidate database with basic client records, it’s hard to beat on price.
- Recruit CRM is the most affordable all-in-one agency setup here. It costs more than Manatal, but it adds invoicing, timesheets, deal pipelines, and sourcing that ties back to clients and jobs. That’s the work agencies otherwise do across three tools.
- Bullhorn Starter is priced close to Recruit CRM Pro, but the full recruitment CRM sits on Bullhorn’s quote-only Pro plan.
- Loxo makes sense if sourcing is your main job. You’re paying for the database and AI search, and you pay for the year up front.
Monthly billing costs more on most of these tools. If you’re not sure your team will stick with a new system, starting monthly and switching to annual later can be the safer move.
Signs your agency needs a dedicated ATS
Plenty of agencies run on spreadsheets for a while. Here are some signs it’s time for a proper tool:
- You can’t answer “Has this client seen this candidate?” in under a minute. That’s a classic sign that candidates and clients live in different places.
- You’re working more than five or six job orders at once. Beyond that, per-job pipelines stop being a nice-to-have.
- Placements and fees live in a spreadsheet. If someone forgets to update it, you find out when an invoice goes out late.
- Your recruiters retype LinkedIn profiles. A Chrome extension can save a lot of that time.
- A recruiter leaving would take your client history with them. If notes live in personal inboxes, the agency doesn’t really own its relationships.
If two or more of these sound familiar, any of the five tools above will be a step up.
What to set up first
A new ATS can feel like a big project. It doesn’t have to be. Start small:
- Import your candidates and clients. Most tools accept CSV or Excel imports. Clean up duplicates first, so you don’t carry the mess over.
- Build one pipeline template. Something like Sourced → Submitted → Interview → Offer → Placed. Use it for every job order before you customize.
- Install the Chrome extension. Have every recruiter save their next five LinkedIn profiles through it instead of by hand.
- Log one placement end to end. Record the fee, the start date, and the invoice, so you know the back-office side works before you rely on it.
- Agree on one rule. For example: every client call gets logged against the company record. Simple habits beat complex setups.
Features you can skip at first
Pricing pages for recruitment software are full of extras that small agencies don’t need yet:
- Advanced analytics add-ons. Basic reports on placements and pipeline stages are enough until you have a few recruiters to compare.
- Single sign-on and custom permissions. Important for larger firms, but rarely needed with a handful of users.
- Big data enrichment and sourcing credit bundles. Useful later, but test how much your team actually uses them before you pay for more.
- A separate sales CRM. A good recruitment CRM tracks clients and business development already. If you’re also weighing general sales tools, my roundup of the best affordable CRM for small business covers that side.
What you shouldn’t skip: client and contact records linked to candidates, a pipeline for every job order, and a reliable way to track placements and fees.
Which recruitment agency ATS is right for you?
1. Small agencies that want everything in one place
This is where Recruit CRM shines, and it’s my top pick for most agencies with 1 to 20 recruiters. It links candidates, clients, jobs, deals, and placements, includes a Chrome sourcing extension and invoicing, and publishes its prices. Start with a free trial on Pro, and move to Business once you need more pipelines or automated email sequences.
2. Solo recruiters and lean desks
If budget is the deciding factor and you work a small number of roles, Manatal gives you an ATS and a client CRM for a fraction of the price. Plan on Enterprise if you’ll have more than 15 open jobs. If you’d rather talk through a setup with a sales team and you place contractors, JobAdder Lite is worth a demo.
3. Sourcing-heavy or fast-growing agencies
If finding candidates is the hardest part of your job, Loxo Professional puts a sourcing database and AI search inside your ATS. If you expect to grow into a large staffing operation with back-office needs, Bullhorn is the established name. Just be ready for quote-only pricing on its fuller plans.
A few tips before you start a trial
- Use a real job order. Load one live role, its client, and a dozen real candidates instead of sample data.
- Test the Chrome extension on LinkedIn. Check that the profile lands in the right place and links to the right job.
- Run a placement through to the invoice. If invoicing matters to you, make sure it works the way your accountant needs.
- Price the plan you’ll grow into. Look at the plan with the pipelines, automation, and limits you’ll need in six months, not just the starting price.
The bottom line
For a small recruitment agency, the best ATS isn’t the one with the longest feature list. It’s the one your recruiters actually keep up to date, where a candidate, a client, and a fee can all be found in seconds.
If budget comes first, Manatal is a solid choice. If sourcing is everything, Loxo fits. But if you want to run the whole agency loop — sourcing, clients, job orders, placements, and invoices — from one tool at a published price, Recruit CRM was the strongest all-round option I found for small agencies.
Want to see if it fits your desk? Recruit CRM offers a free trial, and listings say no credit card is required. Load one real job order and one real client, and you’ll know quickly whether it’s right for your agency.
FAQ
What is the best ATS for recruitment agencies?
It depends on your size and budget. For small agencies that want candidates, clients, job pipelines, and invoicing in one tool, Recruit CRM is a strong fit. Manatal is the budget option, Loxo suits sourcing-heavy teams, and Bullhorn is built for agencies growing into large staffing firms.
What’s the difference between an ATS and a recruitment CRM?
An ATS tracks candidates through the hiring process for each job. A recruitment CRM tracks relationships: candidates you might place later, and the client companies and contacts you sell to. Agencies need both, which is why tools like Recruit CRM, Loxo, and Manatal combine them.
How much does recruitment agency software cost?
At the time of writing, published prices range from about $15 per user per month for Manatal Professional to $199 per user per month for Loxo Professional, billed annually. Recruit CRM starts at $95 per user per month billed annually. Some tools, like JobAdder, only share prices through a quote.
Is Recruit CRM good for small agencies?
Yes, it’s built for recruitment agencies and staffing firms, including small ones. It combines an ATS, a client CRM, a Chrome sourcing extension, and invoicing. The main trade-off is price: it costs more per seat than budget tools like Manatal, and some features sit on higher plans or paid add-ons.
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