10 Best Recruiting CRM Software Shortlist
With numerous recruiting candidate relationship management (CRM) software on the market, choosing the right one for you can be tricky. You want software to help you source top-quality candidates, the ability to sort and segment candidates for future roles, and tools to create tailored marketing campaigns and outbound communications to keep them engaged along the way. In this post, I'll help you simplify the selection process to make your choice easy. I'll share my insights on the top recruiting CRM software based on my personal recruiting experience dealing with hundreds of candidates.
What is Recruiting CRM Software?
Recruiting CRM software is a suite of tools to recruit candidates and manage interactions with them through the recruiting and hiring process. They're used by recruiting firms and in-house recruiters to segment candidates based on skills and experience in order to nurture them for specific roles in the future. You can use them to identify top-ranking candidates and leverage automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to keep candidates engaged.
Recruiting CRM software offers tremendous value for team-based recruiting by automating time-consuming candidate communications and recording all interactions in one place, so any recruiter can pick up the conversation where it left off easily. They also help teams build a positive employer brand where candidate queries are answered promptly with personalized messages that stay on point.
Overviews of the 10 Best Recruiting CRM Software
Here you’ll find brief descriptions of each recruitment CRM that made it into my top 10 list. I’ve highlighted each tool’s best use case and noteworthy features, and included a screenshot for each to preview their user interface.
Plus, there are 18 additional bonus options below if you’d like a few more choices to consider.
Manatal
Best recruiting CRM for organizing and analyzing recruiting efforts for multiple clients
Manatal’s all-in-one recruitment CRM & ATS simplifies the recruitment process through job portal integrations, easy-to-manage talent pipelines, and AI-driven candidate recommendations. Their Chrome extension for LinkedIn makes it quick and easy to parse public information and add it to candidate profiles. From there, you can organize all your candidate applications into kanban-style boards for each position, and advance candidates to the next stage using their drag-and-drop pipeline feature.
Manatal’s recruitment CRM has specific features that are purpose-built for recruitment and staffing agencies. This includes tools to manage relationships with different clients you’re recruiting for, and reports that let you track placements and revenue generated per client as well.
To give you ultimate oversight of your team’s productivity, you can link revenues directly to jobs and clients, allowing you to measure your return on investment (ROI) for your team’s efforts on a per-client basis. As well, you can also grant clients access to a customizable external view of your Manatal system, making it easier to interact with them and keep them informed.
Manatal integrates with Office 365, Microsoft Outlook, LinkedIn, Gmail, Facebook, WhatsApp, Mailchimp, Zapier, and other platforms. They also have an open API to support additional custom integrations, plus a full-feature app for mobile recruiting.
Tracker
Best combined CRM + ATS tool with advanced automation and candidate engagement
Tracker’s combined ATS, CRM, and automation software includes a wide range of useful functions to help hiring teams stay organized and efficient, at scale.
Specific time-saving features within their CRM tool include: customizable templates for emails, letters, texts; personalized bulk email capabilities for up to 20,000 simultaneous emails; workflow automation tools for common tasks (think follow-ups, assigning tasks to your co-workers based on status changes, etc.); and dedicated extensions for LinkedIn, Outlook and Gmail.
Tracker also helps teams stay on track through their activity management and task board features, which are unlimited and completely customizable, including the ability to drag-and-drop items, check them off once complete, or assign them to fellow team members.
Competing against CRM giants like Salesforce and HubSpot, Tracker’s CRM also includes several advanced features to increase productivity even further. Not only does their CRM system track and link all types of candidate interactions into candidate profiles, they also allow you to set up your communications in advance—when you have time—and use their “send later” feature to roll them out whenever you’re ready.
On top of that, they have a voice-to-text feature where you can narrate your directions to Tracker without needing to type a thing. As well, their advanced Telephony features enable 2-way text communications with candidates (including text templates), plus their click-to-call ability followed by automatic call logging with call recording playback.
Tracker integrates with Gmail, LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Outlook, as well as with other communication tools, social media platforms and popular job boards. They also have a full-feature mobile app for Android and iOS devices too.
TalentReef
Best recruiting CRM software for sourcing high-volumes of candidates for hourly positions
TalentReef's cloud-based talent management software is designed to streamline all elements of the hiring process. It includes a comprehensive set of tools for attracting, hiring, and onboarding new candidates, with a particular focus on helping teams manage high-volume hiring for hourly roles.
Their integrated recruiting CRM (candidate relationship management) database can easily accommodate a large amount of candidate data that comes hand-in-hand with high-volume hiring. Their CRM software is designed to track active and passive candidates, with the ability to filter through candidates at a broad or granular level to find the best talent for bulk positions. You can also track additional details for each candidate, such as their career preferences, level of interest, communication preferences, and other relevant details.
Using TalentReef, you can communicate directly with candidates using configurable templates for email and SMS (text) communications, including two-way texting right from within their platform. They also have a conversational AI chatbot to help you automate back-and-forth communications that don't require human oversight, while providing prompt replies to your candidate questions to keep them actively engaged.
Integrations are available with payroll systems, candidate assessment tools, background check providers, and learning management systems, though individual platforms are not specified.
Thryv
Best with invoicing, digital signatures, and candidate portals
Thryv is a one-stop-shop operations platform for small businesses. It offers a CRM as well as external portals, communication tools, and invoicing capabilities. It's functional as a recruiting CRM because of its robust and versatile feature set.
You can use this platform to hire employees as well as contractors and freelancers. By creating portals, you provide a space where candidates can schedule interviews, share files, and sign contracts. Digital signatures and invoicing are included, making it easy to keep contracts connected with candidate profiles and ensure payments are made on time.
A centralized inbox keeps all communications in one place. Team chat is also available to facilitate internal communications around the hiring process and related to candidate's status. Meanwhile, candidate profiles have complete records of their history with your business, providing context and important details.
The software integrates with popular workplace tools like QuickBooks, Zoom, Mailchimp, Clover, Typeform, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram Messenger, among others.
Pricing is available upon request.
ClearCompany
Best recruiting CRM software for posting to multiple job boards in minutes
ClearCompany provides a complete CRM recruiting software suite for recruiting talent. It makes it easy to manage the hiring process from sourcing to onboarding and keep in contact with potential candidates even after they don't get hired, and build relationships over time. It helps simplify and track interactions with applicants, schedule interviews, and store applicant data so you can make better hiring decisions.
ClearCompany’s recruiting management system (RMS) allows you to find, evaluate and track talent from any device quickly and easily. It features intuitive search filters that simplify narrowing down potential candidates and comprehensive candidate profiles that provide an overview of each individual’s skills, experience, and availability.
The software’s ATS makes it easy for recruiters to keep track of every candidate throughout the hiring process. This system automates many aspects of the recruitment process, including scheduling interviews, sending automated emails to candidates, tracking progress through stages, giving feedback on resumes or applications, and providing data-driven insights into performance metrics such as the time-to-hire rate or diversity statistics.
ClearCompany makes collaboration between recruiters, hiring managers, and other stakeholders easy by allowing everyone to comment on resumes and track real-time progress. This ensures that every step of the recruitment process is transparent and consistent across all departments, so everyone is always on the same page.
The software’s onboarding platform lets employers quickly get new hires up to speed by providing them with all the necessary information about their roles before day one. This includes access to training materials, detailed job descriptions, introductions to colleagues, and setting up employee accounts in various systems such as HRIS or payroll applications.
And if you want to track progress, it includes a powerful analytics component that provides detailed insights into trends in hiring and engagement over time.
ClearCompany’s ATS integrates seamlessly with over 100 tools, including Accurate, Bamboo HR, Absorb, Ceridian, Checkr, ETS, HireRight, Okta, and People Facts.
Freshsales
Best for AI-driven candidate scoring
Freshsales is a CRM software designed to assist businesses in identifying and engaging with high-potential leads through AI-driven lead scoring. Its capabilities in providing predictive deal insights and automating workflows cater to the needs of HR, marketing, and support teams, positioning it as a suitable option for companies aiming to efficiently prioritize customer interactions and accelerate recruitment processes.
I selected Freshsales for the 'recruiting CRM' because of its robust AI capabilities that enhance lead scoring and recruiment insights. It differentiates itself with features like AI-powered contact scoring and predictive deal insights, which are crucial for identifying and prioritizing potential candidates efficiently. I believe Freshsales is best suited for AI-driven lead scoring as it leverages artificial intelligence to not only score leads effectively but also to offer smart recommendations.
Freshsales CRM incorporates AI-powered Contact Scoring, which leverages Freddy AI to evaluate customer engagement and prioritize leads effectively. The platform also offers Predictive Deal Insights, utilizing AI to forecast and recommend actions that could increase deal closure rates. The Unified CRM Suite within Freshsales integrates sales, marketing, and support to provide a comprehensive view of the customer journey, aiming to improve collaboration and customer relationship management.
Freshsales integrates with Freshdesk for customer support, Freshchat for messaging, Freshservice for IT service management, and Freshmarketer for marketing automation. It also connects with Google Calendar, MailChimp, Segment, Zapier, Office 365, Google Apps, Slack, Facebook, LinkedIn, Jotform, Typeform, Calendly, Email Parser by Zapier, and ClickFunnels Classic to facilitate various business processes.
Teamtailor
Best for managing candidate data and automating personalized communications
Teamtailor is a comprehensive recruitment management solution that helps you find, attract, nurture, and hire the right candidates for every open role. You can collect applicant data by crafting custom forms, or source candidates directly through social media. Once it's in the system, you can then filter through candidate data by location, salary, education, and years of experience to narrow down your pool.
In addition to managing your candidate database, you can also manage all communications through the platform. You can set up bulk communications and personalized follow-ups to keep everyone updated on where they stand in the hiring process. Message templates are included to help speed up your drafting, and triggers can be set for smart automated messages.
The software helps you track candidates through the process, schedule interviews, and manage referrals. You can also set up your entire employer branding ecosystem, with a customized careers page and landing pages.
Integrations include BambooHR, Checkr, JobMatch, LinkedIn, and Workday. Pricing is available upon request, and a free demo and 14-day free trial are available.
Recruiterflow
Best end-to-end recruiting CRM for staffing agencies wanting time-saving automations
Recruiterflow is an applicant tracking & recruiting CRM software for ambitious recruiting & staffing firms. What makes Recruiterflow different from other ATS and recruiting CRM products, is their recruiting automation, simplicity, and ease of use. Recruiterflow helps you manage your candidate and client pipeline with visual, drag-and-drop kanban style boards, and post jobs on different job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn.
With Recruiterflow's email sequences, it's easier than ever for recruiters to reach out to candidates and clients quickly. However, the crown jewel of their platform is their cutting-edge recruiting automation, which creates a positive candidate experience and is one of the most advanced automations in the industry.
Recruiterflow's platform is simple and easy to use, requiring almost no training. You can also review your recruiting strategy and performance at all times using their real-time reporting.
Recruiterflow integrates with popular job boards and Zapier. You can also build your own custom apps or set up additional software integrations using their open APIs.
NetSuite CRM
Best to connect with an ERP system
NetSuite CRM is a robust and feature-rich solution for contact management, whether that's for lead, customer, or applicant tracking purposes. It's one piece of the bigger puzzle of the SaaS platform, which also offers enterprise resource management (ERP), accounting, and human capital management (HCM) functionalities. This makes it a solid option for HR teams looking to consolidate their tech in one single system.
Especially for large businesses and enterprise organizations, this platform is built to be both scalable and customizable. It's well-suited to those looking for an all-in-one, bespoke solution for their HR tech stack. In addition to its comprehensive CRM functionalities (contact data management, profiles, histories, and more), it also offers analytics and reporting tools to help you analyze and improve upon your processes.
The software integrates with several other apps and tools, including Mailchimp, Box, Zendesk, Hubspot, Bill.com, Rippling, A2X, Handshake, DataServ, OnPlan, Bamboo HR, Twilio, Cleo Integration Cloud, and more.
Pricing starts from $999 per month, and a free demo is available.
Salesforce CRM
Best CRM software for its extended functionality through AppExchange
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that streamlines a company’s recruitment process, candidate tracking, and hiring process and improves the quality of candidates. It does this by automating HR tasks to reduce human error and speed up the processes involved. This solution is used by a wide range of companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
The CRM platform functions as an all-in-one software to meet the many needs a business can have, including prospect management, onboarding, and HR management. The cloud-based platform combines all client and candidate data in a single accessible dashboard powered by AI, automation, and personalization to customize the journey of suitable candidates. Salesforce empowers recruiters with a 360-degree view of both clients and candidates to offer value-added services to help move beyond the traditional sourcing approaches that many companies still use.
Should Salesforce prove to lack certain features that a particular company needs for its hiring process, it is possible to look for a specialized solution through Salesforce AppExchange. Several applicant tracking systems are available in the AppExchange that can be used to extend Salesforce’s native Customer 360 feature. Having the choice to simply stick with Salesforce’s functionalities or augment it using solutions built on Salesforce allows companies to have a flexible tool to continue using the platform instead of subscribing to a different software altogether.
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The 10 Best Recruiting CRM Software: Pricing Comparison Chart
This comparison chart summarizes basic details about my top recruiting CRM software selections. View pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to find the best software for your budget and business needs.
Tool | Trial Info | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manatal Best recruiting CRM for organizing and analyzing recruiting efforts for multiple clients | 14-day free trial | From $15/user/month | Website |
2 | Tracker Best combined CRM + ATS tool with advanced automation and candidate engagement | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
3 | TalentReef Best recruiting CRM software for sourcing high-volumes of candidates for hourly positions | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
4 | Thryv Best with invoicing, digital signatures, and candidate portals | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
5 | ClearCompany Best recruiting CRM software for posting to multiple job boards in minutes | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
6 | Freshsales Best for AI-driven candidate scoring | 21-day free trial | From $15/user/month | Website |
7 | Teamtailor Best for managing candidate data and automating personalized communications | 14-day free trial + free demo | Pricing upon request | Website |
8 | Recruiterflow Best end-to-end recruiting CRM for staffing agencies wanting time-saving automations | 14-day free trial + free demo | From $99/user/month | Website |
9 | NetSuite CRM Best to connect with an ERP system | Free demo | $999/month | Website |
10 | Salesforce CRM Best CRM software for its extended functionality through AppExchange | 14-day free trial | From $25/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best recruiting CRM software list:
- Trakstar
Best for end-to-end employee lifecycle management
- PCRecruiter
Best recruiting CRM software for detailed candidate profiles & recruitment analytics
- Zoho Recruit
Best recruiting CRM system for advanced recruitment automation tools
- Act!
Best recruiting CRM for its offline and mobile access
- SmartRecruiters
Best CRM system with recruitment marketing tools & special features for recruiting events
- Cornerstone OnDemand
Best recruitment platform for internal candidate management, upward mobility and succession planning
- Jobvite
Best all-in-one talent acquisition software to boost candidate engagement through video interviewing
- Bullhorn
Best recruiting CRM with a robust LinkedIn integration for improved candidate sourcing
- Eightfold AI
Best recruiting CRM for leveraging an AI-generated candidate selection processes
- JobAdder
Best recruitment CRM + ATS with a useful competition-tracking tool
- Gem
Best recruiting CRM software for targeted email campaigns and outreach analytics
- Recruit CRM
Best recruiting CRM software for agencies wanting detailed team productivity reports
- Fetcher
Best recruitment CRM for automated email campaigns, diversity sourcing tools, and advanced metrics
- JazzHR
Best recruiting CRM for standardizing your outreach to all qualified candidates
- iSmartRecruit
Best engagement-focused CRM software for managing candidates, clients, freelancers, vendors, and leads
- Crelate
Best recruiting CRM for integrated communication tools & automations suitable for high-volume recruiting
- Workable
Best recruiting CRM software for detailed interview scorecards
- CEIPAL
Best CRM + ATS platform for SMS (text) recruiting & DEI-focused talent acquisition
Selection Criteria for Recruiting CRM Software
I'm happy to explain my methodology in case you're wondering what criteria I used to prepare this top 10 list. To start things off, I created a long list of the most popular recruitment solutions on the market today. I then dug into each one to confirm that it possessed CRM capabilities, as well as other tools to address the entire recruiting process.
With a shorter list of recruiting tools in place, I then used my selection criteria below to compare each system in a standardized way. In addition, I drew on my previous experience assisting with recruiting to pinpoint the features that add the most value when dealing with large volumes of candidates.
Here's a summary of the main features I assessed to create this list:
Core Functionalities
Each time I dive into creating a new top 10 list, I always determine the core features I want to see first. That way I can make sure nothing critical is missing. As I set about evaluating and comparing many recruiting CRM systems, here are the core features I initially verified for each system to make it into my shortlist list:
- Basic tools to manage large volumes of candidate data effectively
- Career page integrations that simplify the application process for candidates
- The ability to store templates for key items like job postings, job descriptions, and many different types of emails (introductory, interview scheduling, reference check requests, etc.)
Key Features
In addition to the basic functionalities above, I also assessed the following key features to determine my final selections for the best recruitment CRM software:
- Talent pools: A roster of qualified candidates to draw from for future positions. This includes passive candidates who might not be actively looking for work, but who possess all the required skills for a particular job according to their candidate profile.
- Talent pipelines: Visualization tools that indicate where each candidate is within the recruiting process. It should cover all the typical recruitment phases: screening, interviews, skill assessment, background check, references, offer, etc.
- Workflow automations: Automations are the most valuable time-saving feature of recruiting CRMs. The best systems automate tedious tasks like interview scheduling, sending out reminders, prompting candidates for references, etc. Many systems also support automated nurture or drip campaigns to casually keep your connections in the loop for future opportunities.
- Reports, metrics, and analytics: Recruiting CRM systems fill up with data very fast. The best systems include built-in reports that show high-level productivity overviews and the success rates for individual recruiters in a staffing firm or recruiting agency.
- Collaborative hiring tools: Since recruiting CRMs are generally used the most by staffing firms or agencies, it’s important that they include solid tools for collaborative hiring. This includes the ability to leave notes for other team members in candidate profiles and tag them with @mentions. Also, they should be able to aggregate and track all communications within one central candidate profile. That way, all your team members are on the same page at all times.
Usability
I chose software that helps simplify and organize recruiting data into clearly organized visual pipelines and candidate profiles. I also assessed the structure of their features and menus, and how easy it is to make updates with one click. In my opinion, these are essential aspects of a user-friendly system.
User Interface
Even though a system's user interface (UI) does contribute significantly to their usability, I prefer to evaluate these characteristics separately. I selected systems with clean and colourful interfaces that make the software enjoyable to use for your human resources staff and candidates alike.
Mobile-Friendly Features
Mobile accessibility is important for both recruiters and candidates since 89% of job seekers use their mobile devices to search for open positions. It's even more important if you're sourcing candidates for an industry with mobile, field-based, or deskless workers. In that case, you'll want a recruiting CRM system that works on both Android and iOS devices to provide a better candidate experience. Key features I assessed include the ability to communicate directly with candidates via text messages (SMS), and the option to send mobile-friendly interview packets to candidates on the go.
Software Integrations
Integrations with other software systems will help you improve your overall productivity and work more efficiently. For recruitment CRM systems, key integrations include any other applicant tracking systems (ATS) or talent management tools you're already using. In addition, integrations with email communication programs, digital calendars, background-checking platforms, and e-signature software are a definite bonus too.
Pricing
While transparent pricing is always my preference, many recruiting CRM systems are priced according to the volume of job postings or system users. Therefore, it's important to request a quote that's tailored specifically to your unique business needs. This type of software is available under a monthly SaaS (software-as-a-service) agreement where you can expect to pay a per-user fee. The general price range you can expect for recruiting CRM software ranges between $15 - $85 per user, per month.
Recruiting CRM Software: FAQs
Do you have questions about what recruiting CRM software has to offer? These answers to frequently asked questions are a great place to start:
What is a recruiting CRM?
What does CRM stand for in recruiting software?
What is resume parsing?
What is recruitment marketing and how do you do it?
Other Recruiting Software Reviews
There are many different types of recruiting software out there. The great news for you is, I've already done all the sleuthing for you. Here's a collection of some other top 10 suggestions for different recruiting software sub-types. I'm sure you'll find something that piques your interest further:
- Best Recruiting Software
- Recruitment Software for Small Businesses
- Enterprise Recruitment Software for High Volume Hiring
- AI Recruiting Software for High-Volume Sourcing
- Diversity Recruiting Software for DEI Hiring
- Recruitment Automation Software
- Recruitment Marketing Software for Hiring
- Cloud Recruitment Software for Hiring Teams
- Recruiting Database Software for Hiring Teams
- Staffing Software for Recruiting & Staffing
Other Resources for Recruiting Top Talent
Not sure if recruiting CRM software is the right fit for you? Perhaps what you actually need is better candidate sourcing software, or a tried and true applicant tracking system?
To round out your whole talent acquisition approach, I recommend taking a look at these other popular resources too:
- Why and How to Create a Proper Talent Management Strategy
- How to Attract and Retain Top Talent Through the Employee Life Cycle
- 10 Key Recruiting Metrics to Focus On (And 12 Advanced)
- Recruitment Budgeting: Everything You Need to Know + Example
What's Next?
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