Permanent and retained search firms build relationships with candidates and clients over a longer cycle than a single job application. Compare systems by following a confidential search from client intake and role brief through sourcing, shortlist feedback, offer and placement. Recruiting CRM/ATS records should preserve context without exposing one client’s confidential information to another.
Permanent and retained search firms build relationships with candidates and clients over a longer cycle than a single job application. Compare systems by following a confidential search from client intake and role brief through sourcing, shortlist feedback, offer and placement. Recruiting CRM/ATS records should preserve context without exposing one client’s confidential information to another.
The cost case · Recruiting agencies, executive search & RPO
What the software costs—and where your margin can improve.
Start with the bill and one costly workflow. The comparison is straightforward: recurring software costs you can actually remove, minus the hosting, AI, integrations and upkeep a replacement needs. Time saved is a separate gain, and only becomes margin when the business can use it.
Current software · researched prices
$420/ month
$5,040 a year in this worked example
3-person boutique executive search firm that wants its job board on its own domain and works split placements
TE Recruit Professional, 3 seats at $95/user/mo annual - Professional is required ONLY to put a custom domain on the careers page$285/mo
TE Network split-placement membership, per agency, annual billing$135/mo
A source-priced scenario, not a claim about your invoice. Check required modules, usage fees and your negotiated terms.
A focused tool · under your control
Pay for the parts this workflow needs.
One time: map the rules, build, test edge cases, move only the data needed and train the people who use it.
Each month: affordable hosting, coding-AI usage, any database or integrations, backups and maintenance. Price these for the actual application; a $0 or low hosting tier is not the total cost.
You control: the code repository, domain, data and service accounts. Someone on your side owns updates, access, recovery and support.
MarginVendor costs removed − the replacement’s full monthly operating cost.
Admin timeFirst target: Search project governance. Open a retained assignment and record a changed brief; verify who can see the old and revised scope.
Business valueDurable, documented margin can strengthen a business; buyers still assess risk and whether someone else can run the workflow.
The exact replacement cost depends on scope and usage. Bring your invoice and one frustrating task; we’ll map what can stay, what could be owned and the costs to verify.
What a safe switch means for recruiting agencies, executive search & rpo
Build the client and project workspace, then approvals, tasks and a client portal. Define specialist record and retention requirements before including them.
These terms appear in the same research category. Check your specific workflow before treating products as interchangeable.
recruiting agency software
executive search CRM and ATS
recruitment firm candidate relationship software
retained search project management system
recruiting agency
executive search
headhunter
retained search
contingency recruiting
RPO
talent acquisition firm
search firm
boutique recruiting
A shortlist to investigate
Compare by the job you need done
Fit notes are our assessment of the linked vendor descriptions, not hands-on product reviews. Feature sources checked Oct 2, 2026; pricing records below retain their own dates.
A recruiting company comparing sales CRM and ATS across candidate and client workflows.
Bullhorn describes recruitment CRM and applicant tracking designed for staffing and recruiting firms.
Before choosing
Ask whether retained-search stages, confidential search controls, reporting and contract or placement operations are supported by the specific edition.
Run a confidential retained search from brief to placement
Use this synthetic example as a repeatable acceptance test. It is not a claim that any named vendor has been tested.
Create two fictional client companies and open a confidential retained search with signed terms and milestones.
Add candidate records with source, consent and relationship history; associate one candidate with both searches.
Submit a shortlist, record client feedback and advance a candidate to offer without exposing rejected-candidate notes.
Close the placement, issue a milestone invoice and reconcile fee forecast and guarantee-period reminders.
Plan a controlled data move
Import client accounts and contacts, candidate profiles and resumes, interaction history, consent and confidentiality flags, active searches, target lists, interview feedback, offer and placement records, fee milestones, user roles and retention rules. Test duplicate merging and restricted search access using real roles before moving sensitive candidate data.
Where a first build could stop
Recruiting software organizes information and workflow; it does not validate employment decisions, candidate qualifications, nondiscrimination or privacy compliance. Human reviewers remain responsible for fair selection, lawful processing, confidentiality and accurate communications.
Workflow documentation checked Oct 2, 2026. Pricing tables elsewhere on this page retain their own capture dates. The demo scripts and migration guidance are our proposed evaluation method, not hands-on vendor reviews.
Loxo recruiting CRM ↗ Vendor description of recruiting CRM, ATS and search firm use cases.
Bullhorn ATS and CRM ↗ Vendor overview of recruiting client and candidate relationship workflows.
What does the software cost?
For recruiting agencies, executive search & rpo, our worked example runs $420 a month, which is $5,040 a year. A website-related price point in the research is $48 a month; check whether it is a plan rate or a separate fee. 5 of 13 vendors have quote-only pricing in our research.
See the worked example: 3-person boutique executive search firm that wants its job board on its own domain and works split placements
Seats are most of it: TE Recruit is $95 per user on Standard and $115 on Professional, and TE Network, the split-placement membership, is $150 a month per agency on monthly billing. Across the market the meter is per recruiter, from Manatal at $19 to Recruiterflow at $149 and Bullhorn Core at $165, and several vendors gate the candidate portal behind a higher tier.
What to keep
Keep the ATS. Parsed resumes, deduplicated contacts, email sync and years of placement history are the real product, and they're hard to replace.
What to verify
Ask providers to demonstrate this workflow using your edge cases. Check which plan includes each step, what costs extra and how your records can be exported.
13 vendors sell to recruiting agencies, executive search & rpo
Researched vendor prices
Vendor
Plans (per month)
Website
Checked
Top Echelon / TE RecruitCharges by per user per month + a separate per-agency network membership
Prices are what each vendor publishes on its own pricing page, on the date shown. "Quote only" means the vendor doesn't publish prices. "Not verified" means we couldn't read a price off the vendor's own page, so we don't print one.
Questions owners ask
Is recruiting software the same as staffing software?
Some vendors serve both, but temp staffing commonly needs pay/bill, timesheets and onboarding, while executive search emphasizes relationship history and confidential project delivery. Confirm the product edition.
What should an executive search firm test in a demo?
Use two confidential searches with an overlapping candidate, client shortlist feedback, a staged fee and a placement. Verify access control, export and reporting at each step.
How much does recruiting agency software cost?
Published per-user prices run from $19 a month (Manatal Professional) to $165 (Bullhorn Core), with Recruiterflow at $149 and TE Recruit at $95 to $115. Workable prices by your own headcount instead, starting at $299 a month.
Does Top Echelon include a careers page?
Yes, but TE Recruit Standard at $95 per user doesn't allow a custom domain. A careers page on your own domain requires Professional at $115 per user, and that price applies to every recruiter's seat every month.
How much does Top Echelon's split placement network cost?
TE Network is $150 a month per agency on monthly billing, with a $350 one-time startup fee that's waived on annual billing.
Could software for recruiting agencies, executive search & rpo work on your terms?
Bring one workflow or software bill to a free 30-minute conversation. We’ll map what a coding AI and affordable hosting might cover, and what ownership would require.