Bullhorn alternatives for small and mid-size staffing agencies.
Bullhorn is the most widely known ATS and CRM for staffing agencies, with products that stretch from recruiting to onboarding and the middle office. Here is a fair look at it, why some agencies look elsewhere, and the options worth a demo.
Last reviewed 2026-11-13 · We name when Bullhorn is the better choice
In short
The main Bullhorn alternatives for staffing agencies are Crelate and JobAdder for recruiting-led firms, Avionté for light industrial and temp staffing with a back office, and Zoho Recruit for budget-conscious teams. Agencies usually look because of per-user costs as they grow, a learning curve, or add-ons for the middle office. Agenbord Build for staffing agencies is a concept for the timesheet-to-invoice back office, delivered as a custom build.
What Bullhorn does well.
- Built for agencies: candidate and client CRM, job orders, submittals, placements and pipeline reporting in one system.
- A broad product family covering onboarding, middle office, messaging, analytics and automation.
- Published starting prices for small agencies: Bullhorn Starter at $99 and Bullhorn Core at $165 per user per month, per its pricing page, with implementation included on those plans.
- A large marketplace of integrations for job boards, background checks, VMS and payroll.
- Widely used, so many experienced recruiters already know it.
Common reasons buyers compare alternatives.
Per-user costs grow with the desk count
Bullhorn's pricing page lists Starter and Core per user per month; Pro, Max and the larger-agency editions are quote-based, and AI, onboarding and middle-office products are sold separately. On G2, some reviewers describe it as costly for small teams.
A learning curve and a busy interface
Some G2 reviewers report a steep learning curve and an interface that feels clunky, with onboarding that takes time for new recruiters.
Add-ons and implementation costs
Some reviewers on Capterra cite inflexible pricing and costly implementation once add-ons are included, while others find the entry plans cost-effective.
Bullhorn alternatives worth a look.
| Option | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crelate | Recruiting and executive search firms that want ATS and CRM with strong pipeline views | A recruiting-focused ATS and CRM; check its back-office and payroll integrations against how you pay temps. |
| JobAdder | Small and mid-size agencies that want a modern, easy-to-adopt ATS and CRM | Focused on the recruiter workflow; middle-office needs such as payroll usually require integrations. |
| Avionté | Light industrial and commercial staffing firms that need front and back office together | Covers time and expense, payroll and invoicing for temp staffing alongside recruiting; its back office is also sold on its own. Quote-based. |
| Zoho Recruit | Small agencies on a tight budget, especially if they already use Zoho apps | Publishes per-user pricing on its own site; less staffing-specific depth than dedicated agency platforms. |
| Agenbord Build for Staffing AgenciesConcept | Agencies whose ATS works but whose timesheets, pay, bill rates and invoices live in spreadsheets | Concept, delivered as a custom build that reuses our ERP engine's payroll and billing. Not a shipping product, and not an ATS. |
Questions to ask any vendor.
- 01What is the per-user price for each user type, and which features need a higher tier or add-on?
- 02What is the contract term, renewal increase policy and notice period?
- 03How are timesheets captured and approved - by worker, by client supervisor, or both?
- 04How are pay rates, bill rates, overtime and markups set per placement, and who can change them?
- 05Does it produce client invoices and payroll exports directly from approved time?
- 06Which VMS, job board and background-check integrations are included, and which cost extra?
- 07How do we export candidates, contacts, placements and documents if we leave?
- 08Does its texting feature record TCPA consent for candidates and contacts?
How a switch usually runs.
01Clean and deduplicate candidate data
Merge duplicate candidates and contacts, archive stale records, and agree on status values before export. A cleaner database is the main win of a move.
02Move active placements with their rates
For every active placement, carry over the worker, client, pay rate, bill rate, start date and approver, and check a sample against last week's invoices.
03Run one payroll and billing week in parallel
Process a full week of timesheets in both systems and compare gross pay and invoice totals before switching.
04Switch recruiters last
Recruiters move once candidate data and integrations are verified, with saved searches and templates rebuilt in advance.
Bullhorn alternatives: common questions.
What is the best Bullhorn alternative for a small staffing agency?
For recruiting-led agencies, Crelate and JobAdder are common shortlist picks. For light industrial and temp staffing that needs payroll and billing, Avionté is built for that model. Budget-focused teams often look at Zoho Recruit.
How much does Bullhorn cost?
Bullhorn's own pricing page lists Starter at $99 and Core at $165 per user per month for small agencies. Pro, Max and the larger-agency editions are quote-based, and add-on products are priced separately.
Do we need a new ATS or a better back office?
If recruiters are productive but payroll and invoicing take days of spreadsheet work each week, the problem is the back office. A timesheet-to-invoice system connected to your ATS can fix that without retraining recruiters.
Is Agenbord Build for staffing a Bullhorn replacement?
No. It is a concept for the back office - timesheets, pay and bill rates, payroll exports and invoicing - designed to connect to your ATS through its API. It does not replace candidate sourcing or the recruiter CRM.
Is the staffing edition available today?
No. It is a concept delivered as a custom build on our ERP engine, which already runs attendance, daily-wage payroll and billing in production. U.S. payroll tax and staffing-specific rules would be built for the first agencies as design partners.
Sources
- Bullhorn - Pricing
- G2 - Bullhorn reviews
- Capterra - Bullhorn ATS & CRM reviews
- Crelate
- Avionté - Payroll and billing
- Zoho Recruit - Pricing
Regulatory notes are plain-English summaries, not legal advice.
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Agenbord is not affiliated with the vendors named here. Pricing and features change - check each vendor's site before deciding.
