Best ATS for Independent Recruiters

The best ATS for independent recruiters, ranked

1. 1

   Curriculo ATS

   Best for independent and fractional recruiters who want every client role and candidate in one place, with no per-seat fees.

   Best for independent and fractional recruiters who want every client role and candidate in one place, with no seat fees. Starter free forever; Pro $50/mo early-bird (50% off $100); Enterprise custom; no per-seat fees.

   Working alone, admin eats the hours you'd rather spend on calls. Curriculo scores every candidate 0 to 100 against the job and writes a summary of the fit, so you know who to call first and why. Connect your Gmail or Microsoft 365 inbox and applications that land there become candidates. Anything that doesn't match a job waits in Review needed instead of getting lost.

   Pros

   • Starter is free forever: unlimited jobs and team members, 1,000 ranked candidates, no credit card.
   • No per-seat fees on any plan, so adding a second recruiter or a client's hiring manager doesn't add a per-seat fee.
   • Agents for Email, Calendar, Daily briefing and Resume screening.
   • MCP is included in every plan. With your Google or Microsoft calendar connected, your AI assistant can schedule the interview through Curriculo MCP: it creates the event, sends the invites and adds the Meet or Teams link.
   • Reads resumes in 200+ languages. Set up in about 15 minutes.

   Cons

   • It's an ATS, not a recruiting CRM. If you want client contacts and relationship tracking in the same tool, Crelate or Loxo fits better.
   • Ranked candidates are capped by plan: 1,000 on Starter, 10,000 on Pro.
   • Pro's $50/mo is an early-bird price (50% off $100), so the regular price is $100/mo.
   • Interview scheduling through MCP needs a connected Google or Microsoft calendar.

   Price Starter free forever; Pro $50/mo early-bird (50% off $100); Enterprise custom; no per-seat fees.

2. 2

   Manatal

   Best for solo recruiters who want agency-oriented features at a low per-user price.

   Best for solo recruiters who want agency-oriented features at a low per-user price. Professional $15/user/month billed annually; Enterprise $35/user/month billed annually.

   Pros

   • Built for recruitment agencies as well as HR teams.
   • AI candidate recommendations and public-profile details on the candidate record.

   Cons

   • The published rates are billed annually, so you pay for the year up front.
   • Each person you add raises the bill.

   Price Professional $15/user/month billed annually; Enterprise $35/user/month billed annually.

3. 3

   Crelate

   Best for independent recruiters with an active client book who want a recruiting CRM more than an ATS alone.

   Best for independent recruiters with an active client book who want a recruiting CRM, not just an ATS. Essentials $85/user/month paid annually; Business $119/user/month.

   Pros

   • Built for recruiting and staffing firms, with clients, contacts and candidates in one system.
   • Prices are published, so you can budget before a sales call.

   Cons

   • More CRM than you need if you fill one role at a time.

   Price Essentials $85/user/month paid annually; Business $119/user/month.

4. 4

   Breezy HR

   Best for recruiters filling one role at a time who want a free visual pipeline.

   Best for recruiters filling one role at a time who want a free visual pipeline. Bootstrap free (1 active position); Startup $157/mo billed annually ($189/mo monthly).

   Pros

   • Bootstrap is free for 1 active position.
   • Drag-and-drop stages that are quick to learn.
   • Paid plans are flat monthly prices, not per-user rates.

   Cons

   • Its plans center on in-house hiring teams, not recruiters working for clients.

   Price Bootstrap free (1 active position); Startup $157/mo billed annually ($189/mo monthly).

5. 5

   Zoho Recruit

   Best for independent recruiters who already run their business on Zoho apps.

   Best for independent recruiters who already run their business on Zoho apps. Corporate HR edition: Forever Free (1 active job); Standard $25/recruiter/month billed annually; Enterprise $50/recruiter/month billed annually.

   Pros

   • Forever Free covers 1 active job.
   • Comes in a staffing agency edition as well as the Corporate HR edition, so there's a version built around client work.
   • Highly customizable workflows, and it connects to other Zoho apps.

   Cons

   • Prices here are for the Corporate HR edition. Check Zoho's staffing agency prices before you budget.
   • Pricing is per recruiter, and configuration takes longer than lighter tools.

   Price Corporate HR edition: Forever Free (1 active job); Standard $25/recruiter/month billed annually ($30 monthly); Enterprise $50/recruiter/month billed annually ($60 monthly).

6. 6

   Loxo

   Best for established recruiters who want people data and outreach inside the ATS.

   Best for established recruiters who want people data and outreach inside the ATS. Core starts at $149 per user/month billed annually; Professional and Enterprise custom.

   Pros

   • Pairs an ATS and CRM with talent intelligence: people data and outreach in the same product.
   • Fewer tools to stitch together if your desk runs on outbound search.
   • Skip if solo and starting out. With no candidate database yet, that's a lot to pay before your first placement.
7. 7

   Recruitee

   Best for fractional recruiters embedded long term with one in-house team.

   Best for fractional recruiters embedded long term with one in-house team. Quote only.

   Pros

   • Collaborative hiring tools for in-house teams, including a careers site editor.
   • Quote only. Pricing is tiered by plan and employee count, with a minimum 1-year commitment.
8. 8

   Workable

   Best for fractional recruiters whose client wants an in-house ATS to keep after the engagement.

   Best for fractional recruiters whose client wants an in-house ATS to keep after the engagement. Standard $299/month for 1-20 employees ($3,588/year).

   Pros

   • Long track record, with job board posting, a careers page and mobile apps in one product.
   • $299/month, or $3,588 a year, is a lot for one recruiter's own desk.