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Reviewed
Recruiting software can help to streamline the recruitment process, from candidate sourcing and engagement to selection and hiring. Top solutions also make it easy to manage paperwork electronically and produce reports to optimize the hiring process. But finding the best solution for your unique needs can be difficult. We’ve broken down best recruiting software to help you make the right choice for your business.
The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content to guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.
We considered the leading providers and narrowed the list down to 24. We then scrutinized them across 42 metrics. Our ratings consider factors, such as pricing transparency, candidate sourcing, employee self-sufficiency, applicant tracking, compatibility with third-party integrations and access to customer support. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Pricing | Free trial | Commitment | LEARN MORE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manatal |  |
4.9 |  |
From $15 per month per user (on an annual basis) | 14 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | On Mantal's Website | |
| Workable |  |
4.9 | |
From $149 per month | 15 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | On Workable's Website | |
| Ceipal |  |
4.8 | |
From $24 per user per month with a five-user minimum | 14 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| JazzHR |  |
4.6 |  |
From $75 per month, paid annually | 21 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| Zoho Recruit |  |
4.5 | |
From $25 per month per recruiter | 15 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| Recruit CRM |  |
4.5 | |
From $85 per month | Unlimited | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | On Recruit CRM's Website | |
| Jobvite |  |
4.4 | |
Custom | Not offered | Varies | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| HiringThing |  |
4.4 |  |
From $69 per month | 14 days | Monthly and annual plans | View More | ||
| iCIMS |  |
4.4 | |
$85/month per user for basic two-year contract | No | Not disclosed | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| Breezy HR |  |
4.3 | |
Free; $157 per month (on an annual basis) | 14 days | Monthly and annual plans | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review |
Recruitment software helps hiring teams manage and optimize the entire hiring process to improve hire quality, reduce administrative work, improve collaboration among decision makers and reduce the time it takes to fill a role.
The best recruiting software makes it easy to find, evaluate and select high-quality job applicants to interview. Features you should expect in recruiting software include job posting on multiple career sites, résumé screening and candidate evaluation and tracking tools.
There are several different activities involved in the recruiting and hiring process from sourcing to matching to interviewing, so it’s not surprising that a variety of solutions are available to address those activities. Some recruiting software providers include multiple types of recruiting tools in their platforms. Other providers specialize in specific actions, such as job placement or candidate screening.
Here are some of the most popular types of recruiting software available today:
For best results, hiring managers need access to a large pool of qualified applicants. Job placement software automatically posts job advertisements on multiple recruiting sites and job boards. There are hundreds of recruiting sites, the most popular being Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Monster, SimplyHired, CareerBuilder and Google for Jobs.
Similar to a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, a candidate relationship management solution—or Recruitment CRM—helps recruiters stay in touch with current and potential job candidates.
It does this by providing a contact database that tracks interactions, ideally across multiple outlets like text, email or social media. Recruiting agencies and large organizations that hire in large volumes reap the most benefit from using recruitment CRMs.
Nowadays, more hiring managers and recruiters are conducting job interviews via video. Video interviewing is sometimes a built-in feature within recruiting software or can be conducted through a third-party integration with Zoom or another video app. VidCruiter and Spark Hire are software providers that specialize in video interviewing.
Some recruiting software solutions, like Spark Hire and Hireflix, support one-way video interviewing where a candidate records themselves answering question prompts. The benefit of one-way video interviews is that a candidate’s responses can be shared with other stakeholders that wouldn’t have otherwise been able to make it to a live interview.
Applicant tracking software (ATS)—also referred to as an applicant tracking system—is a type of recruitment software that helps recruiters manage the entire hiring pipeline, from job posting to employee onboarding.
ATS platforms include hiring team collaboration tools, messaging and interview scheduling tools, résumé parsing, reference checks and preemployment testing tools. Zoho Recruit and Breezy HR offer excellent ATS solutions.
Employers use preemployment testing software to assess a candidate’s skills or measure how well applicants’ values fit with the company’s values. Standardized or customized tests can evaluate candidates on several attributes, including technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, cognitive abilities, software competency, emotional intelligence and dominant personality traits.
Whether you’re looking to get started with recruiting software for the first time or are switching to a new solution, here are our top tips for choosing a recruiting software that’s best for you:
The features you’ll need in your recruiting software will depend on your specific needs. Companies with modest hiring programs typically only require basic features, such as job posting and candidate tracking. Enterprise-level organizations and recruiting agencies with more sophisticated recruitment needs require a wider variety of features—like automated sourcing and candidate matching—to handle the recruitment process from job requisition through onboarding.
Here are popular features you can expect to see in the best recruiting software:
The best recruiting software can be even more effective through third-party software integrations. For example, you may want your recruiting software to integrate with your current email, calendar, video meetings or project management tools. When selecting recruiting software, be sure to double-check whether it integrates seamlessly with the software you already use.
Recruiting software costs range from $0 to $719 per month, though solutions that are incorporated into human resources management and human capital management platforms can easily cost thousands. The amount you’ll pay varies by the provider you choose, job posting volume, number of users and the length of time you want your jobs posted.
Most recruiting software providers offer month-to-month and annual pricing plans. You’ll typically save 10% or more by entering a yearly contract.
You don’t necessarily have to go with a monthly or yearly plan; a few other pricing models are available. For example, LinkedIn has a recruiting option based on a pay-per-click basis; you set a custom budget and only pay when someone clicks on your posts. SimplyHired charges on a pay-per-contact basis where you post unlimited jobs for free and only pay a fee when you want to contact an applicant.
Before investing in a recruiting solution, take advantage of free trials so you fully understand what each software brings to the table. You may find lower-priced software fits your needs just as well or even better than higher-priced options.
The best way to keep costs down for recruiting software is to understand your options in light of your recruiting needs. There’s no need to commit to a long-term contract for short-term recruiting needs. It’s also unwise to go with a short-term contract if your recruiting needs are ongoing or growing. Most importantly, choose a solution that’s in your budget and has the most or all of your “must-have” features.
The differences in recruiting needs for small and large businesses are considerable. Small organizations who don’t have the staff for hiring or the budget for recruiting software turn to staffing agencies. Otherwise they use a simple software solution or recruit independently, using social media, for example.
As a company grows in locations and head count, it’ll need a scalable solution to help a business owner or a small hiring team handle the hiring influx. Automations and an applicant tracking system will become must-have features.
Larger organizations require far more robust recruiting software with features that help streamline the process of managing multiple job candidates for multiple positions. Large employers and large recruiting agencies will want to ensure the following features are included in the recruiting software they select:
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Employee engagement
To determine the best recruiting software for small businesses, we researched the leading providers in the space and narrowed our analysis to 24 companies. We reviewed them across six primary categories for a total of 42 different metrics. We then weighted those metrics to favor features that matter most to small businesses—only the 10 best made our list of best recruiting software.
Here are the metrics we used to evaluate the top recruiting software.
Our research team looked at whether a free plan was available and the total costs for monthly and annual paid plans. We also considered the length and availability of free trials, which is vital so that the recruiting software can be thoroughly vetted before making a purchase.
Robust candidate sourcing features are essential in recruiting software. The best recruiting platforms integrate seamlessly with third-party job boards, allowing job postings to be syndicated across dozens to hundreds of job boards. Top-notch software also crawls résumés for keywords and automatically sends job postings to potential candidates.
We considered whether the recruiting platform contains scheduling tools to connect recruiters with candidates, email and SMS templates available for effortless communication and anonymous candidate screening capabilities. We also looked for other popular candidate sourcing features, including the ability to push job postings to social media and embed postings on the company’s website.
Applicant tracking is a vital component of recruiting software. We considered whether each software provider offered an ATS and related features, such as background check capabilities, job requisition management, onboarding features and built-in tools that assist with interview questions and documentation of feedback on candidates.
While we ensured every provider on this list scored high for essential features, we also looked for advanced features. We considered the availability and quality of a mobile app, reporting and analytics capabilities, skill assessment tools, document management features and platform customization.
Recruiting software can be complicated, which means users typically require access to timely and helpful customer service and support. We considered types of support offered, service hours and how support is delivered—e.g., phone, chat, email and online knowledge center. We also looked at customer reviews to evaluate each provider’s reputation for support quality and responsiveness.
The expert review team at Forbes has decades of experience evaluating business tools and software. Tapping into that immense experience, our team considered standout features, value for the money, software popularity and ease of use when scoring all the recruiting software platforms evaluated in this review.
The best recruiting platform for your organization depends on your specific needs. For example, Forbes Advisor considers Manatal the best overall, HiringThing the best private-label ATS and Breezy HR best for fast-growing companies.
PCRecruiter offers both an excellent CRM and ATS, making it our favorite CRM for recruiting. Other popular recruiting CRMs include Recruit CRM and Bullhorn.
As with résumé databases, there is no “best” place to list a job. The best platform comes down to the one that fits your budget and has an ample supply of users who are looking for the job you want to place. However, there are a number of leading job boards, such as Indeed, LinkedIn and Google Jobs. Learn more about the best places to post a job listing.
Recruiting software simplifies hiring by helping you find highly qualified candidates faster and more easily. For optimal results, choose software that offers automated job posting to multiple job boards and websites, candidate management and interview scheduling. Also, it’s helpful if the recruiting software you select integrates with your existing email, calendar and meeting software.
Recruiting software costs typically range from $25 to $719 per month, but larger organizations with high-volume recruiting needs may pay into the thousands. While most recruiting software is priced monthly or annually, some providers offer per-job-posted pricing models.
A recruiting pipeline ensures you have access to the talent you require for future hiring needs. To build your pipeline, you can actively seek candidates and evaluate them using recruiting software, such as Breezy HR or JazzHR. Candidates who don’t qualify for the open jobs but still show potential can be added to your pipeline for future contact. You can add to your recruiting pipeline by using a CRM to track unsolicited job applications.
