The best CRM for a small recruitment agency is the one your whole team actually uses: candidates, clients and jobs in one place, set up in an afternoon, with no 12-month contract. For most agencies of 1 to 20 people that means a recruitment CRM and ATS in one, priced per user, month to month.
Full disclosure before we start: we build Giig, so yes, we’re on this list. I’ve tried to be fair to everyone else on it, and I’ll tell you where they’re a better fit than us.
A small agency needs a CRM that keeps candidates, clients, jobs and every conversation in one place, without needing an operations team to run it. That’s it. Everything else is a bonus.
When there are 1, 5 or 15 of you, you don’t have someone whose job is “the CRM”. So the system has to:
If you’re still on spreadsheets, any of the CRMs below will be an upgrade. The question is which one fits a team your size.
Most recruitment CRMs were built for big agencies, so small teams end up paying for complexity they never use. There’s nothing wrong with enterprise software. It’s just not built for you.
The usual complaints we hear from agency owners switching over:
More on this: affordable recruitment software.
Here are the six recruitment CRMs small agencies most often compare, and who each one suits best.
| CRM | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Giig | Agencies of 1 to 20 wanting CRM, ATS and AI in one, month to month | Free plan for 1 user; paid plans from £14.99 per user/month |
| Bullhorn | Larger agencies with complex workflows | Very powerful, longer setup |
| Loxo | Sourcing-heavy and executive search teams | Strong on sourcing and outreach |
| Recruit CRM | Agencies that want lots of configuration | More setup to get the most from it |
| Zoho Recruit | Businesses already using Zoho | Not purely recruitment-focused |
| Manatal | Teams wanting an affordable ATS with AI scoring | Free trial rather than a free plan |
Giig is an AI recruitment CRM and ATS built for independent recruiters and small agencies, with a free plan and no contracts on paid plans. We built it because we were sick of watching small agencies get pushed onto systems designed for 500-seat businesses.
What you get:
Pricing: Free Forever £0 (1 user), Starter £14.99, Plus £45 and AI £59 per user/month +VAT. No contract, cancel anytime. Full details are on the pricing page.
Hiring Claude into your agency. On Giig AI you can connect Claude to your CRM and ask it things in plain English, like “find every Java developer in London with fintech experience I’ve spoken to in the last two years”, or “review this job spec and find people already in my database who could fit”. You choose what each user’s Claude can read and write. AI won’t replace good recruiters, but recruiters using it well will run rings round the ones who don’t.
Where it’s not the best fit: if you’re a large agency with complex global workflows, back-office payroll and a dedicated systems team, an enterprise platform like Bullhorn or Vincere will probably suit you better.
Worth a read next: best free ATS for recruitment agencies and how Giig’s free ATS stays free.
Bullhorn is one of the biggest names in recruitment software and a solid choice for larger agencies with complex requirements. It offers advanced CRM and ATS features, reporting, custom workflows and a huge integration marketplace.
For a small agency it can be more than you need. Think about implementation time, training, contract length and total cost before you commit. We’ve done a full side-by-side in Giig vs Bullhorn. Weighing up Firefish too? Here are the Firefish alternatives for small agencies.
Loxo calls itself a talent intelligence platform, combining CRM, ATS, sourcing, outreach and automation. It’s popular with executive search and sourcing-heavy agencies.
If you’ll use the sourcing data every day, it’s worth a look. If you won’t, you’re paying for a lot of horsepower sat in the garage. More detail in Giig vs Loxo.
Recruit CRM is recruitment-specific software with ATS, CRM, automation and LinkedIn integration. It suits agencies that want lots of features and like configuring things.
More configuration usually means more setup, so make sure the extras are things you’ll use. See Giig vs Recruit CRM.
Zoho Recruit covers candidate management, job posting, CV parsing and reporting, and makes sense if your business already runs on other Zoho products.
It isn’t purely built for agency recruitment, so expect some setup to make it work the way you recruit.
Manatal is a modern ATS with CRM features and AI candidate recommendations, at a price that’s friendly to small teams. It offers a free trial rather than a free plan.
As with any system, check the workflows match how your agency actually works before you move your data in.
Match the CRM to the size and type of agency you are today, with room to grow into. Here’s the honest version:
| Your agency | CRM to look at first |
|---|---|
| Solo recruiter just starting | Giig (free plan) |
| Small agency, 2 to 20 people | Giig |
| Small agency that wants AI built into the CRM | Giig AI |
| Large or enterprise agency | Bullhorn |
| Executive search, heavy sourcing | Loxo |
| Lots of custom configuration | Recruit CRM or Zoho Recruit |
Comparing specific tools? JobAdder alternatives, Manatal alternatives, Manatal vs Recruit CRM vs Giig and Zoho Recruit pricing vs Giig go into more detail.
Choose by the problem you’re solving, how quickly your team can start, and whether you can leave if it doesn’t work out. Four questions to ask every vendor:
Moving from an old system? Giig imports your data by CSV, or can restore a full database backup as a paid service. Email support@giighire.com for a price.
Worth a read next: connecting your email to your CRM.
For most agencies of 1 to 20 people, the best CRM is a combined recruitment CRM and ATS that’s quick to set up and sold month to month. Giig is built for exactly that. Larger agencies with complex workflows often prefer Bullhorn, and sourcing-heavy teams like Loxo.
Yes, but you shouldn’t need two systems. The CRM side manages clients, contacts and business development. The ATS side manages candidates, CVs and jobs. Most modern recruitment platforms, Giig included, combine both in one database.
Yes. Giig has a Free Forever plan for one user with unlimited candidates, CVs, jobs and clients, email integration, pipelines and a careers page. There’s no trial period and you don’t need a credit card. You add team members on Starter and above.
It ranges from free to well over £100 per user a month, and annual contracts are common. Giig’s paid plans are £14.99, £45 and £59 per user/month +VAT, billed monthly with no contract, so a three-person agency on Plus pays £135 a month.
Yes, if it saves real time rather than adding gimmicks. Connecting an AI assistant like Claude to your CRM lets you search your database, prep for calls and review pipelines in plain English. On Giig that’s the Giig AI plan, and you control what Claude can read and write.
Usually, yes. Giig takes CSV imports on Starter and above, and can do a full database restoration from an SQL or .bak backup as a paid service. Your data stays yours, and exporting it is free.
The best CRM for your small agency isn’t the one with the longest feature list. It’s the one that helps you make more placements, that the whole team logs into every day, and that doesn’t lock you in.
If that sounds like what you’re after, start on Giig for free. No credit card, no sales call, and if it’s not for you, you can leave with your data.
