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10 Best Recruiting Agency Software of 2023 for Recruitment Firms

Best Recruiting Agency Software Shortlist

After examining multiple solutions, here are the tools that made my top 10 list for recruiting agency software:

  1. 1. Manatal — Best for social media recruitment
  2. 2. TalentReef — Best for sourcing candidates for hourly positions
  3. 3. Unnanu Hire — Best for AI-powered candidate scoring in bulk
  4. 4. Crelate — Best for novice recruiting specialists
  5. 5. TargetRecruit — Best for branded career pages
  6. 6. Bullhorn — Best for organized candidate databases
  7. 7. Arya — Best for diversity hiring
  8. 8. JobAdder — Best for task tracking and workload optimization
  9. 9. Gem — Best for talent engagement
  10. 10. Mindscope — Best for mobile-first candidate experiences

Read this review to discover the best recruiting agency software you can use today. My review includes short descriptions of each solution’s most important features, and an explanation of why I added them to my list. I’ve also included a screenshot of their interface, and a comparison chart so you can identify the right solution for your organization and its clients. 

What is Recruiting Agency Software?

Recruiting agency software solutions enable you to automate all the steps involved in the recruiting process – from job posting to resume parsing, background screening, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, candidate nurturing, and reporting. They’re designed to make the process faster and more efficient, allowing you to fill multiple positions in a short amount of time while also offering a great candidate experience.

Overviews of the 10 Best Recruiting Agency Software

Here’s my assessment of the best recruiting agency software available today, along with descriptions of their key features and why they made my list.

1

Manatal

Best for social media recruitment

Manatal is an award-winning recruitment and applicant tracking software solution that connects with thousands of popular and niche job posting channels from paid and unpaid sources. Their software is used in over 90 countries and includes sophisticated features like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Why I picked Manatal: Manatal offers advanced social media recruitment tools like a Chrome extension for importing LinkedIn profiles and simple job post social sharing directly from your career page to platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Line. Their user interface is also simple to follow, meaning little to no training is required for you to get up and running with their system fast.

Manatal Standout Features & Integrations:

Standout features for Manatal include their intelligent candidate sourcing and AI-powered recommendations. These features work in tandem to help you sift through your stacks of candidate data, with the system automatically picking out candidates who check the most boxes. To make this feature the most effective, you can use customizable fields and search criteria for the AI engine to use in its algorithm, giving more weight to whatever factors you deem most important for each role, be it specific skills, work experience, academic background, or any other requirements.

Integrations are available with Facebook, Gmail, G Suite, Line, LinkedIn, Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, Wechat, and WhatsApp. Zapier integration and API access are available on their custom plan subscription.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.9 169

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month

Pros

  • Candidate sourcing tool draws from 2,500+ job platforms
  • Includes task tracking and team collaboration tools
  • You can create customizable career landing pages with embedded application forms

Cons

  • SMS recruitment features only available in their top-level plan
  • Annual billing only
2

TalentReef

Best for sourcing candidates for hourly positions

TalentReef is a comprehensive talent management software that's designed to streamline the hiring process. It's packed with features to help businesses find, hire, and manage hourly workers, making it particularly useful for sourcing talent for businesses in the service industry, such as restaurants and retail stores.

Why I picked TalentReef: I included TalentReef in this list because of their time-saving automations. Since professional recruiters are always short on time and long on things to do, even a simple automation that allows candidates to self-schedule their interviews can make a big impact. By allowing candidates to pick a time that works for them, you'll reduce the likelihood of no-shows or last-minute cancellations, and eliminate the need for back-and-forth phone tag to find a time that works.

I also really like their Talent Community feature, which simplifies the process of sourcing candidates for different locations, different corporate brands, or multiple active clients.

TalentReef Standout Features & Integrations:

There are several standout features that help TalentReef users provide a positive candidate experience. These include their conversational AI chatbot, a text-to-apply feature, two-way texting abilities, and social recruiting tools. Recruiters can also save a lot of time by using their campaign communication features to create templated email and SMS communications for candidate interactions, allowing them to stay in touch with high volumes of candidates at scale.

Integrations are available with payroll systems, candidate assessment tools, background check providers, and learning management systems, though individual platforms are not specified.

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Well-suited for filling hourly roles in bulk
  • Offers branded email communications
  • Includes mobile-friendly features

Cons

  • No free trial available
  • Pricing details are not transparent
3

Unnanu Hire

Best for AI-powered candidate scoring in bulk

Unnanu Hire is an advanced hiring platform that uses artificial intelligence and automation to optimize the recruiting process. Due to its ability to manage large volumes of candidate data and quickly rank candidate applications in bulk, it's a great tool for recruiting agencies who are dealing with high-volume hiring. Using Unnanu Hire, you can manage job postings, track applicants, and even conduct video interviews.

Why I picked Unnanu Hire: I included Unnanu Hire in this list because I really like its AI-powered candidate-matching capabilities. By leveraging AI algorithms, Unnanu Hire accurately analyzes job requirements and candidate profiles to find the best match for each position. Unnanu Hire also has a pre-populated talent database sourced from around the web, giving you quick and easy access to hundreds of vetted candidates (part of the Pro plan and above).

Unnanu Hire Standout Features & Integrations:

One of the standout features of Unnanu Hire is its video interviewing capability. Instead of having to schedule and conduct interviews in person or via a separate video conferencing tool, you can do it all within Unnanu Hire. This makes the whole process more efficient and provides a better candidate experience on the receiving end too.

Another feature that I really appreciate is the applicant tracking system. It's super easy to see where each applicant is in the hiring process, and you can even set up automated emails to keep candidates updated. It's a great way to keep everything organized and ensure no one falls through the cracks.

Integrations are not currently listed on their site.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 2

Free plan available

From $99/2 users/month

Pros

  • Free plan includes unlimited job postings
  • Supports mass emails and other bulk actions
  • Includes a pre-populated talent database

Cons

  • AI evaluations costs extra
  • Limited customer support on lower plans
4

Crelate

Best for novice recruiting specialists

Crelate is a recruiting agency software that allows you to source, track, and manage your candidates. The solution offers a straightforward user interface that’s easy to grasp for inexperienced users. 

Why I picked Crelate: I selected Crelate for my top 10 list due to its clean user interface. The software is well structured, so you can find the functionality you need without wasting time. In addition, the recruiting platform offers a click-and-drag functionality, allowing you to select and move multiple candidates through the recruitment process easily. 

The platform’s search feature is specific and you can rely on it to find candidate lists or individual candidates within a list. Crelate is easy to use, which is why I picked it as the best solution for beginners. 

Crelate Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include resume parsing and automated candidate profile creation. Crelate pulls the information from your candidate’s resumes and uses it to create detailed profiles, complete with each job seeker’s social media information. 

Integrations include communication and analytics tools, and ATS solutions, such as ZoomInfo, hireEZ, CareerBuilder, Seekout, Glassdoor, Monster, JobInventory, Dice, CareerJet, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Outlook. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 202

Free demo available

From $99/user/month (billed annually)

Pros

  • Great support department
  • Automation features help you capture candidate data
  • Drag-and-drop visual editor

Cons

  • Limited number of email templates
  • You can’t customize the required fields for job applications
5

TargetRecruit

Best for branded career pages

TargetRecruit is a recruiting agency solution that enables you to source, screen, interview, and hire candidates in a straightforward interface. The solution helps you build customizable career pages that match your client’s official website’s look and feel. 

Why I picked TargetRecruit: I selected TargetRecruit because it makes it easy to create complex career pages. The software offers a variety of templates to start with, but you can also build your own career page from scratch. The career pages allow your candidates to search your open positions by title, skills, or location. They can create and update profiles, submit resumes, activate notifications so they receive alerts when you open a job that matches their profile, and complete onboarding and compliance docs. 

Besides career portals, TargetRecruit also offers great automation features. The software allows you to create fully-automated workflows that rely on custom triggers to keep your candidates engaged. You can build and edit your workflows without writing a single line of code, using simple if-this-than-that logic or a visual drag-and-drop builder. 

TargetRecruit Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include Boolean search, advanced filters, mass candidate-facing actions, and in-depth reporting. I’m also a fan of TargetRecruit’s reporting features. The platform enables all your users to create custom reports and dashboards using only the data accessible with their permission levels, and they can also export reports to clients via email. 

Integrations include CRMs, accounting and invoicing tools, and job posting solutions, such as QuickBooks, PayChex, ADP, ZoomInfo, Quip, DocuSign, Salesforce, CloudCall, Relias, and DataTrim.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 207

Free demo available

From $175/user/month

Pros

  • Great reporting features
  • Flexible, customizable solution
  • Multiple add-ons available

Cons

  • May be less effective outside North America
  • Advanced features may feel overwhelming
6

Bullhorn

Best for organized candidate databases

Bullhorn is a cloud-based recruiting agency platform that enables you to keep your candidate records organized so you can find your client’s next great hire in your own database.  

Why I picked Bullhorn: I picked Bullhorn because it enables you to organize your database using a combination of lists, notes, and files. The solution lets you customize your candidate columns to uncover previous job seekers who might be good fits for new job openings so you can reach out and re-engage passive candidates in your recruitment funnel. 

Bullhorn allows you to share your job postings on multiple job boards or social media. The software’s parsing technology extracts all the valuable information from your candidates’ resumes and stores candidate profiles in your database so you can find qualified candidates in future searches. 

Bullhorn Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include recruitment automation and personalization. Bullhorn allows you to create custom recruitment flows using omnichannel communication. This enables you to attract candidates on social media, engage them via SMS, and nurture them through emails – creating candidate journeys that offer great experiences. 

Integrations include applicant tracking systems (ATS), communication tools, background checkers, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, such as Accurate Background, ADP, Checkr, First Advantage, hireEZ, Indeed, Arya, SkillCheck, LinkedIn, and Sterling.  

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.1 574

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Robust reporting and analytics capabilities
  • Great for omnichannel communication
  • Allows you to build multi-step custom flows

Cons

  • Large number of features can feel overwhelming
  • User interface can feel clunky when performing large searches
7

Arya

Best for diversity hiring

Arya is a recruiting agency platform that helps you find diverse candidates so you can meet your client’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. The software enables you to reduce your team’s unconscious bias so you can assess candidates on skills and experience alone. 

Why I picked Arya: Arya made my list thanks to its ability to consolidate the diverse candidates in your talent pool in a list. This helps you identify diverse talent without having to rely on dedicated diversity job boards. 

Arya automatically hides candidate information during the sourcing phase so your team can evaluate job seekers exclusively on their skills and experience. The platform also offers diversity hiring reports so you can measure your progress and present them to clients. 

Arya Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include advanced search filters, job posting, talent engagement, and AI search and match. I’m a fan of Arya’s AI search and match feature. Arya’s AI analyzes 300+ candidate attributes to find individuals who match your job description and would make a good addition to your team. 

Integrations include applicant tracking software, job boards, and CRMs, such as ADP, Greenhouse, Jobvite, SmartRecruiters, Oracle, Workable, JobDiva, Workday, Monster, and Cornerstone. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
3.8 10

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Simple onboarding
  • Powerful AI sourcing tool
  • Helpful support staff

Cons

  • Limited workflow customization options
  • Platform can feel clunky when performing advanced searches
8

JobAdder

Best for task tracking and workload optimization

JobAdder is a recruiting agency platform that enables you to track applicants through your recruiting funnels. The solution gives you an overview of your recruiting efforts, allowing you to identify potential bottlenecks in your workflows. 

Why I picked JobAdder: JobAdder made my list thanks to its applicant tracking features. The platform shows hiring managers the status of each candidate in real-time, allowing them to understand how the hiring process is going at a glance. Team members can rate candidates and leave comments for one another in candidate profiles, ensuring that only the best candidates move deeper into the funnel. 

JobAdder’s Interview and Task dashboard enables you to keep your team members on track. The dashboard allows you to view upcoming tasks so you can optimize your calendar and your team’s workload. 

JobAdder Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include candidate records, search and match automation, record enrichment, and talent pools. Combined, these features allow you to source candidates in a short amount of time by performing lookalike searches with advanced filters. 

Integrations include communication, CRM, payroll, and ATS solutions, such as BambooHR, Calendly, Checkmate, Applyflow, Seek, Aircall, Deputy, Deel, QuickBooks, and HubSpot. 

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Great mobile app
  • Interview scorecards
  • Good customization options

Cons

  • Some functionalities may seem complicated to novice users
  • May lag when saving multiple candidate profiles at once
9

Gem

Best for talent engagement

Gem is a recruiting platform that helps you keep your talent pool engaged with branded messaging. The software creates a central location for all your communication so you can follow up on conversations and create automated outreach campaigns. 

Why I picked Gem: I picked Gem because it enables your talent team to build authentic relationships with candidates in your talent pool. The software pulls data from emails, candidate applications, interview feedback, and social media to create a clear view of all your interactions with job seekers. Gem’s Chrome extension allows you to view your relationship history with specific candidates when you browse social media or use your email solution, so you can quickly catch up on previous conversations and send follow-ups to continue your nurturing efforts. 

Gem also enables you to run branded recruitment marketing campaigns so you can attract future candidates by showcasing your company’s or your client’s values. You can create multi-step sequences to keep your best talent warm and reengage candidates when you promote new positions. 

Gem Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include talent sourcing, applicant tracking, candidate management, automation, and detailed reports. I like Gem’s statistics dashboard because it allows your talent team to check their metrics and see how effective they are. This helps them improve their day-to-day work tasks and their recruiting performance. 

Integrations include popular ATS solutions, and communication and collaboration tools, such as Ashby, JazzHR, ICiMS, Jobvite, Lever, Workday, SmartRecruiters, GMail, Calendly, Slack, and Microsoft Outlook.  

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Allows you to nurture candidates with multichannel customizable sequences
  • Helps you keep your candidate database organized with lists
  • Good variety of communication templates

Cons

  • Reports customization could be easier
  • Setting up dashboards can be time-consuming
10

Mindscope

Best for mobile-first candidate experiences

Mindscope is a recruiting agency software that enables you to create mobile-first candidate journeys. The software makes it easy for candidates to browse and apply for jobs directly from their mobile devices, and allows your team to manage their workflows using a mobile app. 

Why I picked Mindscope: I selected Mindscope because it helps you reach candidates on their favorite devices. The solution enables you to create custom workflows for mobile experiences, allowing you to reach out to up to 500 candidates at the same time via SMS, WhatsApp, or Viber.  

Mindscope also enables you to add SEO-friendly job boards to your website that are easy to navigate on mobile devices. Every job you post on the career site is automatically formatted to follow the structure Google Jobs recommends, making it more likely for it to show up in Google’s search results. 

Mindscope Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include pipeline management, a candidate CRM, job posting, resume parsing, and an advanced search. I also like Mindscope’s scheduling and task management features. These features enable you to link phone calls and interviews to your meetings, and allow you to invite external contacts to your events as well. 

Integrations include most popular job boards and CRMs, including Monster, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, Indeed, Microsoft Outlook, MailChimp, QuickBooks Online, ADP, and Daxtra. 

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Clean interface makes the tool easy to use
  • Great mobile app
  • Allows you to text messages in bulk

Cons

  • Creating multi-step workflows can be time-consuming
  • Limited number of phone service providers

The 10 Best Recruiting Agency Software Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top recruiting agency software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.

Tool Free Option Price
1
Manatal

Best for social media recruitment

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month Visit Website
2
TalentReef

Best for sourcing candidates for hourly positions

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
3
Unnanu Hire

Best for AI-powered candidate scoring in bulk

Free plan available

From $99/2 users/month Visit Website
4
Crelate

Best for novice recruiting specialists

Free demo available

From $99/user/month (billed annually) Visit Website
5
TargetRecruit

Best for branded career pages

Free demo available

From $175/user/month Visit Website
6
Bullhorn

Best for organized candidate databases

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
7
Arya

Best for diversity hiring

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
8
JobAdder

Best for task tracking and workload optimization

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
9
Gem

Best for talent engagement

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
10
Mindscope

Best for mobile-first candidate experiences

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website

Other Options

Here are some other solutions I assessed while doing my research. They didn’t make it into my top 10 list, but they’re still worth checking out:

  1. Top Echelon

    Best for pipeline management

  2. Vincere

    Best for AI candidate matching

  3. hireEZ

    Best for candidate sourcing using AI

  4. Zoho Recruit

    Best for candidate sourcing

  5. Recruiterflow

    Best for custom hiring pipelines

  6. Fountain

    Best for hiring hourly workers

  7. CATS

    Best for small staffing agencies

  8. CEIPAL

    Best for advanced candidate ranking

  9. Recruit CRM

    Best for resume parsing

  10. PCRecruiter

    Best for job management

Selection Criteria for Recruiting Agency Software

Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best recruiting agency software for this article:

Core Functionalities

Recruiting agency software solutions should enable you to source, screen, interview, and hire candidates. They should offer the following functionalities:

  • Automation: The tool should enable you to automate some, if not all, of the steps involved in the recruiting process, so you can fill a large number of positions in a short amount of time.
  • Applicant tracking: You should be able to track the progress of each candidate you present to your clients so you can calculate your time-to-fill metrics and get paid for your performance. 

Key Features

Even though recruiting agency platforms offer a variety of features, the following are essential: 

  • Job posting: The solution should enable you to post jobs in multiple places so you have a better chance of reaching your target audience. 
  • Candidate sourcing: The tool should help you attract candidates from multiple sources, such as social media, job boards, career sites, and so on. 
  • Communication management: Being able to control your communications from a central location enables you to follow up on discussions and nurture candidates with ease. 

Usability

Despite the fact that they offer a lot of features, I selected only tools that are easy to use for this list. Your team members should be able to source, screen, interview, and recommend candidates to clients without encountering any roadblocks. However, you should keep in mind that some of the advanced features these tools offer may have steeper learning curves.

Software Integrations

I picked tools that offer native integrations with applicant tracking systems, communication tools, CRMs, and background-checking solutions so you can include them in your app ecosystem.

Advanced Search Filters 

One of the common problems staffing agencies face is finding qualified individuals for clients who operate in high-demand industries, such as healthcare or IT. I chose staffing solutions that offer advanced search filters so you can identify the right candidates without wasting time. 

Reporting and Analytics

Recruiting agencies have to be aware of their metrics at all times. That’s why I selected recruiting tools that enable you to create detailed reports, so you can present your results to your clients. 

People Also Ask

Curious to learn more about recruiting agency software? Here are some answers to common questions on this topic:

Other Software Reviews for Professional Recruiters

If you’re interested in improving your recruiting efforts, you may want to check out these other reviews from People Managing People experts:

Final Thoughts 

Recruiting agency software can help you fill your client’s open positions in record time. They offer a wealth of features for you and your team, while also providing a great customer experience for candidates who enter your pipelines. 

And offering a great candidate experience is the key to success in today’s job market. As Liz Corey, CHRO at Velosio, said: A positive candidate experience can lead to better quality of hires. If the recruitment process is efficient, informative and respectful, candidates are more likely to accept job offers. Additionally, if it’s easy for candidates to apply, you will receive more and better quality applicants. You don’t want to lose out on a qualified candidate because you made it difficult to apply. You want to attract the best candidates for the position and reduce the risk of turnover.”  

Subscribe to the People Managing People newsletter if you want to receive advice on how to improve your recruiting efforts directly in your inbox. 

By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.