Agencies that look beyond Bullhorn tend to hit one of two walls: a price that is only public for the two smallest plans, or a suite so wide that a small desk pays for parts it never opens. The alternatives below range from lean recruiting CRMs with posted rates to payroll-linked staffing platforms.
Short answer: Where a category has smaller vendors worth recommending, they occupy the first three places and the big brands come below them. For Bullhorn users, the top three picks from our staffing agency software ranking are Recruiterflow, Crelate and Recruit CRM. Pick Recruiterflow if you want one readable price and are ready to run your own import. Every one of the 11 products below comes from Best Staffing Agency Software in 2026, with a note on how it departs from Bullhorn.
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Pricing: Per user per month, published for two plans; others quoted; demo, no trial
Established in: United States
Built for: Mid-size and large agencies needing a deep partner ecosystem
Not for: Small desks wanting a trial or a posted all-in price
01
Why buyers look past Bullhorn
01
Only the two smallest plans carry a price
Bullhorn's pricing page shows Starter at $99 and Core at $165 per user per month. Pro and Max, the plans that add Amplify AI, say "talk to us", as do the larger-agency tiers and every add-on. An agency that needs the AI features cannot compare a total before a sales conversation.
02
The suite is split into many separately quoted pieces
The page lists Front Office Growth and Enterprise, Bullhorn One for timesheets and billing, Amplify add-ons, four Recruitment Cloud editions and Middle Office, Onboarding, Messaging and Analytics. Each is a quote. Working out which combination covers your desk, and what it costs together, takes time that smaller agencies rarely have.
03
Automation and marketplace apps come on top of the seat price
Custom workflows and the 300+ partner marketplace start at Core, and process automation arrives with Pro. Recruitment Automation and VMS Automation are listed as separate add-ons. The seat rate therefore tells only part of the story once an agency wants its processes automated.
a large temp operation needs front and back office in one audited system
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
Recruiterflow
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Recruiterflow posts a single plan at $149 per user per month, with unlimited jobs, candidates, contacts and companies, and quotes a separate AIRA plan that adds its agents. Importing a spreadsheet costs nothing; a white-glove migration is charged by data volume and typically takes six to eight weeks. There is a demo to book, and the page mentions no trial.
Switch from Bullhorn if you want one readable price and are ready to run your own import.
Crelate lists Essentials at $85 and Business at $119 per user per month, with Business Plus and Platform quoted. Essentials is limited to two users and 20k contacts, and the API allows 60 requests a minute on Business. A free trial starts without talking to sales. It covers the recruiting CRM and ATS side only.
Switch from Bullhorn if a small desk wants to test with its own data before anyone calls.
Recruit CRM sells Pro at $95, Business at $135 and Enterprise at $215 per user per month, with a 30-day trial on the first two. Timesheets and contractor billing are in every plan but draw 100 credits per active contractor monthly from an account-wide pool. Only Enterprise lists a named account manager, so the cheaper plans work without one.
Switch from Bullhorn if contract placements need timesheets and invoices without a second product.
Manatal's annual rates are $15 for Professional, $35 for Enterprise and $55 for Enterprise Plus per user per month, with a 14-day trial and no card. Professional stops at 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates per account and has no workflow automation. Open API access and SSO sit on Enterprise Plus. Timesheets and billing are absent from the page.
Switch from Bullhorn if cost per seat decides it and the desk stays under the job cap.
Loxo's Core plan starts at $149 per user per month on annual billing, shown as a new-customer offer. Professional is quoted and includes 2,500 AI credits per seat monthly, which pool across the team; boosts raise that to 5,000 or 12,500. A seven-day trial opens Professional features without a card.
Switch from Bullhorn if you want AI agents for sourcing and are willing to budget for credits.
Firefish sells Core for permanent teams, Scale adding contract work and Enterprise adding temporary workflow, with prices released through a quote form in pounds. Add-on modules start from £150 each, and Time Capture, described as digital timesheets syncing with payroll, is among them. A demo is the entry point for every tier.
Switch from Bullhorn if you run permanent and contract desks and prefer sterling quotes.
JobAdder lists Recruiter Lite, Essential, Pro and Business, each behind a request-pricing form, with annual contracts and a demo that is described as no commitment. Open API access appears on Essential and Business, and a sandbox on Pro. The vendor says job ads reach 130+ boards. Our category notes record SEEK as its parent company.
Switch from Bullhorn if multiposting to many boards matters more than owning the vendor relationship.
Zoho Recruit meters by active jobs: one on the free edition, then 100 on Standard, 250 on Professional and 750 on Enterprise, with a 15-day trial of the top tier. The pricing page we read shows no amounts. Client portals appear in the Enterprise list. It sits inside the wider Zoho family of apps.
Switch from Bullhorn if you already run on Zoho and want job-count tiers rather than seat prices.
Ceipal lists four products on its home page: an ATS with a built-in vendor management system, Ceipal AI, Procurewise VMS and a workforce management tool. No prices or trial appear; a self-guided tour and a demo are offered. The shape fits agencies that serve end clients through vendor programmes more than a plain placement desk.
Switch from Bullhorn if vendor-managed accounts are a large part of your revenue.
TempWorks combines ATS, cloud CRM and a payroll and billing area covering payroll processing, tax management, time management and ACA administration. Payroll funding comes through Lone Oak Payroll. TempWorks Beyond is its mobile ATS. Prices are given on contact with sales, and a demo can be requested.
Switch from Bullhorn if you pay temporary workers weekly and want that engine beside the CRM.
Avionté pairs its CRM and ATS with payroll and billing, and its home page cites 4.6M W2s and $15B in payroll processed each year. It holds SOC 2 Type II and has served staffing for over 20 years. No prices are shown; a demo request is the way in. Moving away later means taking pay history with you.
Switch from Bullhorn if a large temp operation needs front and back office in one audited system.
Bullhorn remains the stronger pick when an agency needs the widest reach: its products page names ATS and CRM, Search & Match, Automation, Reporting, Middle Office and Onboarding, a marketplace of over 300 integrated partners, an open API and 1.3 million workers paid monthly through Middle Office in North America. Larger agencies can add timesheets, invoicing and pay and bill automation with Bullhorn One, and small agencies get free implementation on Starter, Core and Pro. If the AI add-ons and marketplace are in daily use, replacing them piece by piece will rarely be cheaper.
05
What moving off Bullhorn involves
01
Inventory the modules and add-ons you actually pay for
Write down your plan, the marketplace apps connected, the automations running and any Middle Office or Onboarding use. Each needs a home in the new tool, and a connector nobody touches is a candidate for removal rather than rebuilding.
02
Export candidates, contacts, job history and placements
Ask Bullhorn how records, notes, files and placement history leave the system, and in which format. Check that the target tool can take them, and whether its import is free or sold as a service.
03
Run a parallel desk before switching everyone
Move one team first, with a few weeks of live jobs and billing runs, before the whole agency changes. Keep Bullhorn running until the first invoices and payroll cycles from the new tool reconcile.
06
Questions about replacing Bullhorn
7 answers
What is the best alternative to Bullhorn for staffing agency software?
Recruiterflow leads our list of Bullhorn alternatives for smaller agencies, with a published $149 per user per month plan and unlimited jobs, candidates, contacts and companies.
Crelate, Recruit CRM and Manatal follow, each with posted per-user prices. Agencies that need payroll in the same system should look at TempWorks and Avionté.
Which Bullhorn alternative has a free trial?
Crelate offers a free trial without talking to sales, Recruit CRM gives 30 days on Pro and Business, Manatal gives 14 days without a card, Loxo gives seven days and Zoho Recruit gives 15 days. Bullhorn's pricing page offers only a demo.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Bullhorn at $99 and $165 per user?
Manatal charges $15 to $55 per user per month on annual billing, Recruit CRM $95 to $215 and Crelate $85 to $119. Features differ widely: Manatal's cheapest plan is capped at 15 jobs, so compare the caps next to the seat rate.
Which alternative to Bullhorn includes payroll and billing?
TempWorks and Avionté both put payroll and billing in the same platform as the CRM and ATS.
Recruit CRM covers timesheets and contractor billing inside its plans using credits, and Firefish sells Time Capture as an add-on. Bullhorn itself needs Bullhorn One or Middle Office for that.
What replaces Bullhorn for a small agency of five recruiters?
Recruiterflow, Crelate, Recruit CRM and Manatal publish rates, so a five-seat bill can be worked out before a call. Note Crelate's Essentials plan stops at two users, so five seats means Business at $119 each.
Does Bullhorn have an alternative with AI search and matching?
Loxo includes AI search in Core and agents in Professional, metered in credits. Recruiterflow sells AI agents on its quoted AIRA plan, and Firefish lists Search & Match and AI & Automation. Bullhorn offers its own Amplify features from the Pro plan.
Can I move my data out of Bullhorn?
Bullhorn has an open API and a partner marketplace, which helps extraction. The pricing page does not describe an export process, so ask for one in writing.
Recruiterflow's white-glove migration is paid by data volume and takes six to eight weeks, while its spreadsheet import is free.
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Sources
Checked 2 November 2026
Bullhorn pricing: Starter $99 and Core $165 per user per month, Pro and Max quoted, larger-agency tiers, Bullhorn One, Recruitment Cloud, add-ons, free implementation, demo only.
Bullhorn products: Product list, 300+ marketplace partners, open API, 1.3 million workers paid monthly on Middle Office in North America.
Recruiterflow pricing: $149 per user per month, unlimited records, AIRA plan quoted, free CSV import, paid migration of 6 to 8 weeks, demo.
Crelate pricing: Essentials $85 (2 users, 20k contacts), Business $119, API limits, free trial.
Recruit CRM pricing: Pro $95, Business $135, Enterprise $215, pooled credits, 30-day trial, timesheets at 100 credits per contractor.
Manatal pricing: $15, $35 and $55 annual rates, caps of 15 jobs and 10,000 candidates, automation tiers, 14-day trial.
Loxo pricing: Core from $149 annual, Professional quoted with 2,500 credits per seat, boosts, 7-day trial.
Firefish pricing: Core, Scale, Enterprise tiers, add-ons from £150, Time Capture, demo.
JobAdder pricing: Recruiter Lite, Essential, Pro, Business, request-pricing form, annual contracts, API and sandbox access, 130+ job boards.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Checked and edited by Sebastiaan Smits, last on 2 November 2026. The editorial process explains the method.
