How do Bullhorn and Manatal pricing compare?

Manatal publishes its pricing: $15 per user per month on Professional (annual), $35 on Enterprise and $55 on Enterprise Plus, with AI recommendations included and a 14-day free trial. Bullhorn is quote-only with no free trial, estimated between roughly $99 and $315 per user per month, and reviewers note that most features cost extra. Manatal is a fraction of the cost and transparent to buy; Bullhorn starts with a sales call.

Which one is better for a large staffing firm?

Bullhorn. It is the enterprise standard, with a deep client CRM, business-development pipeline, the largest integration marketplace in recruiting, enterprise governance and proven scale across offices. Manatal is built for small and mid-size teams and does not target enterprise multi-entity governance, so a large staffing group usually lands on Bullhorn despite its cost.

Do Bullhorn and Manatal offer AI?

Both do, delivered differently. Bullhorn adds AI through paid add-ons and Marketplace partners (Bullhorn Copilot and Automation for candidate search, matching, writing and workflows) rather than in the base product. Manatal includes AI candidate recommendations, scoring and resume parsing on every tier from $15. Neither runs multichannel outbound sequences with automatic pipeline advancement.

Is Manatal a real alternative to Bullhorn?

For a small or mid agency, yes: Manatal covers the ATS, a client CRM, AI recommendations and sourcing at a fraction of Bullhorn's price, and is live in a day. For a large, multi-office firm that needs a deep client CRM, enterprise governance and the biggest marketplace, Bullhorn's depth is hard to replace with Manatal's lighter, SMB-focused toolkit.

How hard is it to migrate between Bullhorn and Manatal?

Both support CSV import and export for candidates, contacts and notes, and Manatal offers onboarding help. Moving off Bullhorn is usually the bigger project given its depth of custom fields, workflows and integrations. Neither has a native connector to the other, so plan for field mapping and, for large datasets, a phased migration.

Bullhorn vs Manatal: the enterprise standard meets a $15 AI ATS

Feature by feature: pricing and value, automation and AI, client CRM, and scale. Where each platform pulls ahead for a recruitment agency in 2026, and where both leave a gap.

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TL;DR

Positioning

Bullhorn fits large staffing and recruiting firms that need enterprise scale, a deep client CRM and the biggest integration marketplace, and can absorb a premium, sales-only price. Manatal fits small and mid-size teams that want an all-in-one AI ATS and CRM that is cheap, transparent to buy and quick to adopt, with AI recommendations included.

Why it matters

Manatal publishes pricing from $15 per user per month with AI candidate recommendations included and a free trial, while Bullhorn is quote-only with no free trial and a reputation that almost every feature costs extra. Bullhorn answers with enterprise scale, a robust client CRM and business-development pipeline, and the largest integration ecosystem in recruiting.

The catch

Where both stop: neither runs a true multichannel outbound sequence across email, LinkedIn and messaging, and neither reads a candidate reply to advance the pipeline on its own.

At a glance

Criterion	Bullhorn	Manatal	Edge
Pricing & value	Quote-only, add-ons stack	From $15, AI included, free trial	Manatal
Automation & AI	Broad AI via add-ons and partners	AI recommendations included at entry	Even
CRM & business development	Robust CRM, deals, BD pipeline	CRM present, lighter sales depth	Bullhorn
Scale & ecosystem	Enterprise scale, marketplace, governance	SMB focus, lighter governance	Bullhorn

Detailed technical comparison

Cross-analysis of tools: Sourcing, Data, and Pricing.

Comparison table: Bullhorn and Manatal (ATS & CRM features)
Key features		Bullhorn	Manatal
Sourcing
	1-click company import Import of companies with automatic data enrichment Import of companies with automatic data enrichment
	1-click profile import via Chrome extension A browser extension that adds a candidate to your ATS in one click, with their profile data A browser extension that adds a candidate to your ATS in one click, with their profile data
	Professional Network Sync Import your professional network, with profile enrichment Import your professional network, with profile enrichment
	External sourcing results import Import a sourcing project's pipeline, keeping its stages and metadata Import a sourcing project's pipeline, keeping its stages and metadata	LinkedIn Recruiter Project import supported via LinkedIn Recruiter System Connect only
	External leads list import Import and sync prospect lists built outside the ATS Import and sync prospect lists built outside the ATS	Sales Navigator list import available only via RSC or partners	Sources do not mention any native import for Sales Navigator lists beyond general Chrome extension sourcing
	Legal data synchronization during imports Syncs company registration and legal identifiers (via Pappers or similar sources) during LinkedIn imports to maintain compliant, up-to-date client data Syncs company registration and legal identifiers (via Pappers or similar sources) during LinkedIn imports to maintain compliant, up-to-date client data
	Email finder / contact discovery Find verified email addresses for profiles on LinkedIn or other sites, allowing you to contact them directly Find verified email addresses for profiles on LinkedIn or other sites, allowing you to contact them directly	Email discovery available via SourceBreaker and partners, not native	The Find Contact Details feature retrieves verified emails and phone numbers from a large external database but is sold as a separate add-on with monthly credits, not included by default in all plans
	Automatic data completion Automatically finds and adds missing data to profiles, such as a candidate's new job title, company logo, or company industry Automatically finds and adds missing data to profiles, such as a candidate's new job title, company logo, or company industry	Data enrichment available through Marketplace partners such as ZoomInfo or D&B
AI & Automation
Outreach
ATS
CRM
Analytics
Integrations
Collaboration & UX
Data Security
Market proof
Support
Pricing

Manatal is $15 and published, Bullhorn is quote-only and adds up

BullhornManatalEdge: Manatal

Two things decide who each tool is for: how much it costs and how transparent the buy is. The gap here is wide, and it shapes everything else.

Bullhorn

Bullhorn is quote-only: pricing is not published, every plan goes through a sales call, and there is no free trial. Estimates land roughly between $99 and $315 per user per month, and reviewers online repeat that almost every feature costs extra, with value for money its lowest-rated category. The total climbs as a firm switches on the add-ons and Marketplace apps that unlock automation and AI.

Manatal

Manatal publishes its pricing: $15 per user per month on Professional (annual), $35 on Enterprise and $55 on Enterprise Plus, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. AI candidate recommendations and scoring are included on all tiers rather than sold as add-ons. For a small or mid agency, the cost of ownership is a fraction of Bullhorn's, with no line-item surprises.

Verdict. For a team that wants to see the price, include AI in the base plan and start this week, Manatal is far cheaper and simpler to buy. Bullhorn's cost is justified only when enterprise scale and depth are the point.

Both bring AI, Bullhorn assembles it from add-ons and Manatal includes it

BullhornManatalEdge: Even

The AI layer splits into capturing what happened and acting on it. Bullhorn and Manatal both invest here, but the delivery and the price of getting it differ sharply.

Bullhorn

Bullhorn's AI breadth comes through paid add-ons and Marketplace partners rather than one included layer: Bullhorn Copilot and Automation add candidate search and matching, writing assistants and trigger-based workflows, and partners fill the rest. The catalogue is wide, but much of it is not native to the base product, and the cost grows with each module a firm switches on.

Manatal

Manatal includes AI candidate recommendations and scoring, profile analysis and AI resume parsing on every tier, plus semantic search and a job-ad assistant. The automation builder is lighter than Bullhorn's, and there is no AI call or meeting notetaker, but the AI you get is built in from $15 rather than assembled from partners.

Verdict. Bullhorn has the broader AI and automation catalogue, assembled from add-ons; Manatal gives a solid built-in AI layer at entry price. Pick on whether you want breadth-by-modules or included simplicity. Neither advances the pipeline on a candidate reply.

Bullhorn runs a deep client CRM, Manatal keeps the sales side light

BullhornManatalEdge: Bullhorn

Agencies sell to clients as much as they recruit, so the CRM side matters: accounts, a business-development pipeline, deal tracking and client portals. Both tools have a CRM, with a clear difference in depth.

Bullhorn

Bullhorn runs a robust client CRM with accounts, a business-development pipeline, deal and quote tracking, client portals and custom interaction types, built for firms that manage a real sales motion alongside recruiting. For a staffing group that tracks revenue, opportunities and client activity in detail, the CRM depth is a core reason to choose it.

Manatal

Manatal includes a client CRM with a portal and pipeline, but its sales functions are lighter than a dedicated CRM: quote and deal tracking and custom interaction types are more limited than Bullhorn's. It covers a small agency that tracks clients alongside candidates, but a heavy business-development operation will feel the ceiling.

Verdict. For a firm whose desk is as much sales as recruiting, Bullhorn's deeper client CRM and BD pipeline lead. Manatal covers the client side well enough for a small agency, at a fraction of the price.

Bullhorn scales across offices with the biggest marketplace, Manatal stays SMB-sized

BullhornManatalEdge: Bullhorn

How far a platform scales, and what it plugs into, decides whether a growing firm keeps it for years. Bullhorn and Manatal aim at different ends of that range.

Bullhorn

Bullhorn is the enterprise standard: it scales to large, multi-office firms, ships audit logs and enterprise governance, supports multi-brand setups, and offers the largest integration Marketplace in the category with a full public API and webhooks. That is why big staffing groups standardize on it, at the cost of a heavier interface and a longer rollout.

Manatal

Manatal is built for small and mid-size teams, with the integrations a growing agency needs and a clean, quick setup. It does not target enterprise multi-entity governance: lighter audit and permission depth, and multi-brand only with configuration. Its strength is being fast and simple for one team, not governing many offices.

Verdict. For a large or multi-brand staffing group, Bullhorn's scale, governance and marketplace are why it leads the segment. For a focused SMB agency, Manatal is enough and far cheaper to run.

Pricing at a glance

per user / month, quote only

	Bullhorn	Manatal
Entry	Custom Quote onlysales call, no free trial, add-ons priced separately	$15 Professional15 jobs, 10,000 candidates
Growth	—	$35 Enterpriseunlimited, automations, CRM
Advanced	—	$55 Enterprise PlusSSO, open API, priority support
AI included	AI via paid add-ons (Copilot, Automation) and Marketplace partners	AI candidate recommendations and scoring on all tiers

Which fits which team?

Neither tool wins outright. The right pick comes down to your size and budget, and whether you need enterprise depth or a cheap, fast, all-in-one AI ATS.

Choose Bullhorn if:

You run a large or multi-office staffing firm
You need a deep client CRM and business-development pipeline
You need the biggest integration marketplace and enterprise governance
You want a broad AI catalogue and can budget for add-ons
You can absorb quote-only pricing and a multi-week rollout

Choose Manatal if:

You run a small or mid-size team on a tight budget
You want published pricing from $15 with AI recommendations included
You want a free trial and to be live in a day
You value a clean, simple interface over enterprise depth
Your client CRM needs are light rather than a full sales operation

If neither profile fits cleanly, for example a team that wants exposed agentic AI, native multichannel sequences and EU data hosting at transparent pricing, it is worth widening the shortlist.

Jarvi: the third option that closes the gap Bullhorn and Manatal leave open

Bullhorn spreads its AI and channels across paid add-ons; Manatal keeps its automation light and email-first. Neither runs multichannel sequences that read a candidate's reply and move the pipeline on their own.

Vs Bullhorn. Against Bullhorn, Jarvi exposes its AI and outbound at transparent, published pricing with no add-on stacking or quote-only sales cycle: an interview and call notetaker, candidate scoring, and multichannel sequences.

Vs Manatal. Against Manatal, Jarvi goes past email-first outreach and light automation. Sequences run across five channels at once, and an AI copilot suggests the next best action for each candidate instead of leaving the follow-up cadence to the recruiter.

The Jarvi differentiator

The difference is AI reply detection with automatic pipeline movement. A candidate answers with interest, Jarvi stops the sequence and alerts the recruiter. They reply 'not now', Jarvi schedules a six-month recall. They decline, the record is archived cleanly with its notes. That capability, missing from both tools here, takes hours of manual follow-up off each recruiter every week.

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About Bullhorn

Bullhorn was co-founded in 1999 by Art Papas (still its CEO) in Boston and grew into the enterprise standard for staffing and recruitment software, used by large agencies worldwide. It has been private-equity owned since Vista Equity Partners acquired it in 2012, and Insight Partners bought out Vista's stake in 2017. Bullhorn centralizes candidate management, client CRM and placements at scale, and its Marketplace is the largest integration ecosystem in recruiting. It holds about 4.0 on G2 (well over 1,000 reviews) and 4.1 on Capterra, respected for depth and reliability, with pricing and value for money its most common criticism. Its distinctive strength is enterprise scale, governance and ecosystem.

About Manatal

Manatal was founded in 2019 in Bangkok by Jeremy Fichet and Yassine Bel Mamoun, and raised a $5.1M seed led by Surge, Sequoia's accelerator, in 2022. It is an affordable all-in-one ATS and CRM for small and mid-size agencies, with AI candidate recommendations and scoring, a Chrome extension for sourcing, and a career-page builder. Pricing is published from $15 per user per month on annual billing, with a 14-day free trial. It holds about 4.6 on Capterra and 4.4 on G2, with fast onboarding and value for money its most cited strengths, and serves more than 10,000 recruitment teams across 135+ countries. Its distinctive strength is an AI ATS at an entry-level price.

FAQ: Bullhorn vs Manatal

This comparison guide analyzes the critical differences between Bullhorn and Manatal: pricing policy, free trial, customer support quality, and sourcing power. Use this data to choose the best-fit ATS for your agency.

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Bullhorn analyzed on December 16, 2025 • Manatal analyzed on December 5, 2025 — If you have any updates or corrections to share, please help us keep this article accurate and up-to-date via the chat in the bottom right corner.