The best Manatal alternative depends on which side of hiring you work on. In-house teams need an applicant tracking system built around careers pages and interview scorecards, while recruitment agencies need client records, placements and candidate sourcing. Pick your side first, then run one live vacancy through two trials before you move your candidate data.
Manatal is AI recruitment software for HR teams, recruitment agencies and headhunters alike. That breadth is handy, right up until you outgrow it, because the tools that replace it nearly always pick a side. Some are built for employers hiring their own staff. Others are built for agencies placing candidates with clients.
The nine options below are in no particular order. Read the next section before the list, because it'll halve your shortlist in about a minute.
Agency recruiters and in-house hiring teams need different tools
An in-house hiring tool is built around your own vacancies. It's strong on careers pages, job posting, interview scheduling and scorecards, so hiring managers can review candidates fairly and quickly. It doesn't need to know about clients, because there aren't any, and that's fine.
An agency tool is built around two sets of people: candidates and the clients you place them with. It needs client records, job orders, placements, candidate sourcing and outreach. A careers page matters much less than a fast way to find and contact the right person.
Plenty of tools say they serve both, and some do a fair job of it. That's not the problem. But when you compare features without picking a side first, you end up weighing interview scorecards against client billing records, which helps nobody. Decide which job you do every day, then compare tools within that group.
Nine recruiting tools, one line apiece
Alphabetical order.
Ashby
Best for: In-house talent teams wanting their applicant tracking, analytics, interview scheduling and candidate CRM consolidated in one platform (vendor claim).
Bullhorn
Best for: Staffing and recruitment agencies wanting an ATS and recruiting CRM built for agency work, from a vendor that says it powers many agencies.
Crelate
Best for: Recruitment firms that want their recruitment CRM, applicant tracking and staffing software on one platform, with AI features.
Greenhouse
Best for: Employers hiring in-house who want more than an ATS, in what the vendor calls a complete hiring ecosystem for employers and job seekers.
Join
Best for: Small and midsize businesses that want to post jobs to many job boards at once and manage every application in one pipeline.
Lever
Best for: In-house recruiters who nurture candidates over months, with ATS and CRM capabilities combined in one product, per the vendor.
Loxo
Best for: Recruiting firms that are scaling and want their tech stack in one workflow, which the vendor describes as talent intelligence with an agentic workforce.
Recruiterflow
Best for: Executive search firms and recruiting agencies wanting an AI-native ATS and CRM with sequencing, data enrichment and automation built in.
Teamtailor
Best for: Employers who care about employer branding and want their careers site and applicant tracking in one place, with AI features.
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Sorted by buyer: agencies, in-house teams and smaller firms
For agencies. Bullhorn is an ATS and recruiting CRM built for staffing and recruitment agencies. Crelate brings recruitment CRM, applicant tracking and staffing software together. Loxo is aimed at recruiting firms that are scaling. Recruiterflow is built for executive search and staffing agencies, with sequencing and enrichment inside the ATS.
For in-house teams. Greenhouse calls itself a complete hiring ecosystem, not only an ATS. Lever combines ATS and CRM so recruiters can nurture candidates over time. Ashby brings ATS, analytics, scheduling and CRM into one platform. Teamtailor leads with employer branding, so your careers site and ATS live together.
For smaller businesses. If you hire a handful of people a year and mostly need jobs posted widely, the SMB tool in the table below posts to many job boards and keeps applications in one pipeline.
Recruiting software at a glance
| Tool | Built for | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Ashby | All-in-one recruiting software | ATS, analytics, scheduling and CRM together |
| Bullhorn | Agency ATS and CRM | Staffing and recruitment agencies at scale |
| Crelate | Recruitment CRM and ATS | Agencies wanting CRM, ATS and staffing tools together |
| Greenhouse | In-house hiring platform | Employers wanting a full hiring ecosystem |
| Join | SMB ATS | Small businesses posting jobs to many boards |
| Lever | ATS plus CRM | Nurturing talent relationships over time |
| Loxo | AI recruiting platform for firms | Growing recruiting firms consolidating their tools |
| Recruiterflow | Agency ATS and CRM | Executive search and staffing agencies |
| Teamtailor | ATS with careers site | Employer branding and a careers site |
My advice for recruiters leaving Manatal
Answer the agency or in-house question honestly, even if you do a little of both. Go with the side that brings in most of your work. Agency recruiters should shortlist from the agency group; in-house teams from the employer group; very small businesses can start with the simpler option.
Then think about your candidate data. You'll want to bring CVs, notes and history across, and how you store candidate data is covered by data protection rules that vary by country, so check your regulator's guidance. My lists of recruitment agency software and applicant tracking systems for employers go further on each side.
Put one real vacancy through two trials
Demos use tidy sample data, so they always look good. A real vacancy shows you where the friction is. Pick one role you're hiring for now and run it through two shortlisted tools side by side.
- How long did it take to post the job, or to set up the client and job order?
- Could hiring managers or clients review candidates without training?
- How easy was it to find, contact and move candidates between stages?
- What came out when you exported the candidates at the end?
Score both tools on those four questions. You'll find the choice usually makes itself.
Do you make recruiting software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an ATS and a recruitment CRM?
An ATS tracks applicants through your hiring stages. A recruitment CRM manages relationships with candidates, and for agencies with clients, over a longer period. Many tools now combine both.
Do recruitment agencies need different software from in-house teams?
Usually, yes. Agencies need client records, job orders and placements. In-house teams need careers pages, interview scheduling and scorecards for their own hiring managers.
Can I move candidate data to a new ATS?
Most tools import candidates from spreadsheet files, and some can bring CVs and notes too. Test with a small batch first, and check what your current tool lets you export.
How long should I trial recruiting software?
Long enough to take one real vacancy from posting to shortlist. That shows you far more than a demo with sample candidates.
Who's responsible for candidate data protection?
The business holding the data is. The rules vary by country, so check your data protection regulator's guidance on how long you can keep candidate records.
