Manatal is the cheapest of the three paid tools and suits teams that want a simple, AI-assisted ATS. Recruit CRM has the biggest feature set and suits agencies happy to pay more and manage credits. Giig has the only free plan, prices in pounds and a read/write Claude connector on its AI plan, and suits UK agencies of 1 to 20 people who want something simple.
Full disclosure: I build Giig, so take my opinion on Giig with a pinch of salt. I’ve tried to be fair to the other two. Competitor prices were checked in October 2026 and change often, so check their pricing pages before you buy.
All three are recruitment CRMs and ATSs, but they’re priced and packaged very differently.
| Manatal | Recruit CRM | Giig | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small teams wanting a cheap, simple ATS | Agencies wanting lots of features and automation | UK agencies of 1–20 wanting simple and affordable |
| Price per user/month | $19, $39 or $59 monthly ($15, $35 or $55 annual) | About $109, $159 or $259 monthly ($95, $135 or $215 annual) | £0, £14.99, £45 or £59, no contract |
| Free plan | No, 14-day trial | No, 30-day trial | Yes, 1 user, unlimited candidates, jobs and clients |
| Entry plan limits | Professional: 15 open jobs, 10,000 candidates | Pro: 1 pipeline, 15 custom fields | Free: 3 pipelines, careers page for 3 jobs |
| Claude / MCP | API on Enterprise Plus | Read/write MCP on Business and above | Read/write Claude connector on Giig AI |
| Currency | US dollars | US dollars | Pounds |
Manatal prices from Pin and Atlas (summer 2026). Recruit CRM prices from its pricing page and G2 (October 2026). All exclude VAT.
Manatal is a cloud ATS and CRM known for being easy to use, with AI candidate recommendations on every plan.
Plans are Professional ($19 per user per month on monthly billing), Enterprise ($39) and Enterprise Plus ($59), with roughly 20% off for annual billing. Professional includes AI recommendations, CV parsing, a LinkedIn Chrome extension and posting to free job boards, but caps you at 15 open jobs and 10,000 candidates. Automations and advanced reports start on Enterprise, and API access on Enterprise Plus. There’s a 14-day free trial but no free plan.
The catch: the 15 open job limit on Professional is tight for a busy agency, so most will end up on Enterprise. Manatal also sells to in-house HR teams as well as agencies, so some features lean that way.
More options are in my list of the best Manatal alternatives.
Recruit CRM is a popular ATS and CRM built for recruitment agencies and exec search firms, with lots of features and very strong reviews.
Plans are Pro, Business and Enterprise at around $95, $135 and $215 per user per month on annual billing (about $109, $159 and $259 monthly). Each user gets monthly credits for things like AI sourcing, enrichment, the AI notetaker and multiposting, and some features like workflow automation are paid add-ons. Its read/write MCP connector works with Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Grok, from the Business plan up. There’s a 30-day free trial.
The catch: you’ll pay noticeably more per seat, and you’ll need to keep an eye on credits and add-ons. Here’s the full Giig vs Recruit CRM comparison.
Giig is a UK recruitment CRM and ATS for independent recruiters and agencies of 1 to 20 people.
Free Forever £0, Starter £14.99, Plus £45, Giig AI £59 per user per month +VAT, no contract, cancel anytime. See the pricing page.
Where Giig isn’t the best fit: if you want multi-step outreach sequences, WhatsApp or a mobile app, Recruit CRM does more. And if you need timesheets and invoicing, Giig doesn’t do back office.
For a three-person agency on monthly billing, Manatal Enterprise costs about $117 a month, Recruit CRM Business about $477, and Giig Plus £135 or Giig AI £177.
Manatal is cheapest if you don’t need Claude. Of the three, Giig is the cheapest way to get a read/write Claude connector. Recruit CRM costs the most but gives you the most features.
The right choice depends on your team size, budget and how much you want AI to do.
| Your agency | Look at first |
|---|---|
| Solo recruiter or brand new agency | Giig (free plan) |
| Small team on a tight budget, few open roles | Manatal |
| Team that lives in sequences and wants every feature | Recruit CRM |
| UK agency of 1–20 wanting Claude without a big bill | Giig AI |
| Contract desk needing timesheets and invoicing | Recruit CRM (Bill & Pay) |
Worth a read next: JobAdder alternatives.
It depends on your budget. Recruit CRM has more features, including sequences, an AI notetaker, a client portal and a read/write MCP connector, but costs several times more per seat. Manatal is cheaper and simpler, with AI recommendations on every plan, but its entry plan caps you at 15 open jobs. Small UK agencies should also look at Giig.
Manatal costs $19, $39 or $59 per user per month on monthly billing, or $15, $35 or $55 per user per month billed annually, across its Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus plans. There’s a 14-day free trial but no free plan. Prices are in US dollars and exclude VAT.
Recruit CRM costs around $95, $135 or $215 per user per month on annual billing for Pro, Business and Enterprise, or about $109, $159 and $259 on monthly billing. Each plan includes monthly credits, and some features are paid add-ons. There’s a 30-day free trial and no free plan.
Recruit CRM and Giig do. Recruit CRM has a read/write MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Grok on its Business plan and above. Giig has a read/write Claude connector on the Giig AI plan at £59 per user per month. Manatal offers API access on Enterprise Plus.
Giig is cheapest to start, with a free plan and Starter at £14.99 per user per month. Among paid plans, Manatal Professional at $19 per user is cheap, but limited to 15 open jobs. Recruit CRM is the most expensive of the three.
Yes. Export your data as CSV files and import them into Giig for free on any paid plan. If you want your full history, Giig can restore your database from an SQL or .bak backup file as a paid service. Email support@giighire.com for a quote.
All three are good tools; they just suit different agencies. Manatal is cheap and simple, Recruit CRM is feature-packed and pricier, and Giig is the free-to-start, pounds-not-dollars option with Claude on its AI plan.
If you’re a small UK agency, try Giig before you sign up for a trial clock somewhere else. Start on Giig for free. No credit card, no contract.
