Recruiting CRM vs ATS: what each tracks and why agencies need both

What an ATS does in recruiting

A recruiting CRM and an applicant tracking system (ATS) cover the two sides of agency work: the ATS tracks candidates through your open jobs, and the CRM tracks the client companies, contacts and deals that bring those jobs in. Bullhorn's own page separates them the same way, with the ATS for candidates and placements and the CRM for sales activity and leads.

An ATS records candidates, the jobs they are considered for and where each one stands. Recruit CRM says its ATS side tracks applicants, parses resumes, manages pipelines, schedules interviews and submits candidates to clients. A hiring pipeline is the ordered set of stages a candidate moves through for a job. Pro prints 1 hiring pipeline, and Business and Enterprise print 100. What is Recruit CRM lists the rest of its features.

What a recruiting CRM does

A recruiting CRM records client companies, the contacts inside them and the deals your desk is pursuing. Bullhorn defines it as the tool for managing relationships with clients and prospects. Recruit CRM tracks companies, contacts and deal pipelines on every plan, with custom deal stages, and each stage can carry a percentage for a weighted view of potential revenue.

The CRM side also covers the client's view of your work. Client submissions with feedback are on every plan, and clients can review candidates and give feedback without a Recruit CRM login.

Recruitment CRM vs a general sales CRM

A deal pipeline on its own follows a sale from lead to signed client. A recruitment CRM keeps that pipeline next to the jobs and candidates a signed client brings in.

ATS and CRM in one system

Recruit CRM sells the ATS and the client CRM as one system, with hiring pipelines, companies, contacts and deal pipelines on every plan from Pro at $95 per user per month, billed annually, as read on October 27, 2026. Business includes everything in Pro plus additions, at $135 per user per month billed annually. Best CRM for recruitment agencies sets it beside its rivals.

Bullhorn's pricing page lists a recruitment CRM sales pipeline from its Pro tier, by quote. Starter at $99 and Core at $165, both per user per month and billed monthly, come before it. Recruit CRM vs Bullhorn has the plan-by-plan table.

Which to buy first

Buy both halves in one system, then pick the plan by how many kinds of search you run. Pro prints 1 hiring pipeline, 15 custom fields, 1 mailbox connection per user and 1 sequence. Business prints 100, 100, 2 and 1,000. Pro is $109 per user per month billed monthly, and Business is $159 on that basis.

Take a freelance recruiter working alone on permanent tech placements. A client pipeline and a candidate pipeline are both in Pro. Pro's yearly cost for one seat is $1,140 on annual billing, paid up front for the year. Pro prints one sequence at most, so a recruiter who wants several email sequences running at once should price Business, at $1,620 a year on annual billing.

Someone who only fills their own company's vacancies needs the ATS half alone. An agency that sells to client companies needs the CRM half too. Recruit CRM's 30-day free trial can end early at a usage cap, so work both halves side by side before it ends.