How do Crelate and Manatal pricing compare?

Both publish their pricing. Manatal is $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. Crelate is $85 on Essentials and $119 on Business, with Business Plus and Enterprise on custom quotes, plus a free trial. Manatal is a fraction of the cost with AI built in; Crelate's price buys configurability and a deeper CRM.

Which one is better for a staffing agency?

Crelate. It was built for staffing operations, with deep configurability, contractor and temp placement handling, job-order and placement reporting, and compliance reporting. Manatal is built for small and mid-size teams with lighter contractor and compliance depth, so a contract-staffing desk usually fits Crelate better.

Which one has stronger AI?

Manatal includes AI candidate recommendations, scoring, profile analysis and resume parsing on every tier from $15. Crelate offers keyword scoring, resume summaries and an AI Assistant on Business, with heavier agent features on custom tiers. Manatal includes more AI at the entry price; neither runs multichannel outbound sequences with automatic pipeline advancement.

How do their client CRM features compare?

Crelate runs a robust client CRM with accounts, custom interaction types, a BD pipeline and client portals. Manatal includes a client CRM with a portal and pipeline, but its accounts and sales functions are lighter, with more limited deal tracking. A client-heavy desk fits Crelate; a small agency is well served by Manatal.

Is Manatal a real alternative to Crelate?

For a small or mid-size team, yes: Manatal covers the ATS, a client CRM, AI recommendations and bulk sourcing at a fraction of Crelate's price, and is live in a day. For a staffing desk that needs deep configurability, contractor handling and a strong CRM, Crelate's depth is hard to replace with Manatal's lighter, SMB-focused toolkit.

How hard is it to migrate between Crelate and Manatal?

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

Crelate vs Manatal: deep configuration at $85, or an AI ATS at $15

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

Or meet the third option built for recruiters: Jarvi.

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TL;DR

Positioning

Crelate fits staffing and recruiting firms that want a deeply configurable ATS and CRM built around placements, contractors and compliance, with a strong client CRM. Manatal fits small and mid-size teams that want a cheap, all-in-one AI ATS with candidate recommendations and sourcing included, and a clean interface that is quick to adopt.

Why it matters

Manatal publishes pricing from $15 per user per month with AI candidate recommendations and bulk LinkedIn import included, while Crelate publishes from $85 to $119 with deep workflow configuration, contractor handling and a deeper client CRM. The split is clear: Crelate is the configurable staffing system of record, Manatal is the affordable AI ATS.

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	Crelate	Manatal	Edge
Pricing & value	From $85, AI on higher tiers	From $15, AI recommendations included	Manatal
Configurability & staffing fit	Deep config, contractors, compliance	Clean, opinionated, SMB-sized	Crelate
Sourcing & AI	Extension capture, lighter AI	Bulk LinkedIn import, AI recommendations	Manatal
Client CRM & staffing depth	Robust CRM, custom interactions	CRM present, lighter sales depth	Crelate

Detailed technical comparison

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

Comparison table: Crelate and Manatal (ATS & CRM features)
Key features		Crelate	Manatal
Sourcing
	1-click company import Import of companies with automatic data enrichment Import of companies with automatic data enrichment	Not found in product and not documented
	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	Imports name, headline, and limited info; cannot capture full profile data
	Professional Network Sync Import your professional network, with profile enrichment Import your professional network, with profile enrichment	Not found in product and not documented
	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	Not found in product and not documented
	External leads list import Import and sync prospect lists built outside the ATS Import and sync prospect lists built outside the ATS	Not found in product and not documented	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	Not found in product and not documented
	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	Not found in product and not documented	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	Can auto-fill from resumes only; no external enrichment or AI completion
AI & Automation
Outreach
ATS
CRM
Analytics
Integrations
Collaboration & UX
Data Security
Market proof
Support
Pricing

Manatal is $15 with AI included, Crelate starts at $85

CrelateManatalEdge: Manatal

Two things decide who each tool is for: how much it costs and what comes included. Both publish their pricing, so the comparison is about the entry point and what you get for it.

Crelate

Crelate publishes its pricing: $85 per user per month on Essentials and $119 on Business, with Business Plus and Enterprise on custom quotes, plus a free trial. The entry point is accessible for a staffing desk, but the fuller AI and automation live on the higher, custom-priced tiers, so the $85 buys the ATS and CRM more than the AI layer.

Manatal

Manatal publishes $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 every tier rather than sold as add-ons. For a small or mid team, the cost of ownership is a fraction of Crelate's, with the AI built in from the entry price.

Verdict. For a team that wants the lowest price with AI recommendations included, Manatal is far cheaper. Crelate's higher entry point buys configurability and a deeper CRM, with its own AI on higher tiers.

Crelate configures deeply around staffing, Manatal keeps it simple

CrelateManatalEdge: Crelate

How far a tool bends to your process, and whether it handles staffing back-office work, decides how long it stays your system of record. Crelate and Manatal sit at different depths.

Crelate

Crelate is built for staffing operations, with deep configurability of fields, workflows and layouts, native handling of contractors and temp placements, job-order and placement reporting, and compliance reporting (including EEO for US firms). A firm can tune it to its exact process and keep it as the system of record for years, at the cost of a heavier setup than a lighter tool.

Manatal

Manatal is built for small and mid-size teams, with customizable pipelines and fields but a more opinionated, streamlined design than Crelate. It handles perm and light agency placement rather than deep contract-staffing operations, with lighter contractor, timesheet and compliance handling. That focus is why it is quick to adopt and live in a day.

Verdict. Crelate wins for a staffing desk that needs configurable workflows, contractor handling and compliance reporting. Manatal fits a team that wants a clean, simple setup without the depth or the setup time.

Manatal sources in bulk and recommends candidates, Crelate captures the basics

CrelateManatalEdge: Manatal

Sourcing decides how much a recruiter retypes, and the AI layer decides how much matching the platform does for them. Manatal builds more of both into the entry price.

Crelate

Crelate's Chrome extension captures core profile fields and parses resumes, but pulls limited detail and has no native email finder or built-in candidate database. Its AI is keyword-based scoring and resume summaries, with an AI Assistant on Business and heavier agent features on custom tiers. For a firm working from inbound, referrals and its own base, that is enough; for heavy outbound sourcing it is lighter.

Manatal

Manatal sources through a Chrome extension with bulk LinkedIn import, including from Recruiter and Sales Navigator lists, and includes AI candidate recommendations, scoring, profile analysis and resume parsing on every tier, plus a career-page builder. Contact discovery is lighter than a dedicated email finder, but the AI matching and bulk sourcing are built in from $15.

Verdict. Manatal builds bulk LinkedIn import and AI recommendations into the entry price, so a sourcing-active team does less by hand. Crelate captures the basics with lighter, higher-tier AI. Neither offers a native email finder.

Crelate runs a deeper client CRM, Manatal keeps the sales side light

CrelateManatalEdge: Crelate

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

Crelate

Crelate runs a robust client CRM with accounts, custom interaction types, a business-development pipeline, client portals and nurturing for talent pools, built for a staffing desk that manages a real client relationship over years. Quote and deal tracking is lighter than a dedicated sales CRM, but the account and interaction depth is a core reason firms keep it.

Manatal

Manatal includes a client CRM with a portal and a pipeline, but its accounts and sales functions are lighter than Crelate's: client CRM depth and deal tracking are more limited, and it has no assignment rules for large teams. It covers a small agency that tracks clients alongside candidates, but a client-heavy desk will feel the ceiling.

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

Pricing at a glance

per user / month, annual billing

	Crelate	Manatal
Entry	$85 EssentialsATS, CRM, up to 2 users	$15 Professional15 jobs, 10,000 candidates
Growth	$119 BusinessAI Assistant, analytics, portals	$35 Enterpriseunlimited, automations, CRM
Advanced	Custom Business Plusadvanced AI, automation, full API	$55 Enterprise PlusSSO, open API, priority support
Top	Custom Enterpriseagents, ISO / SOC2, priority support	—
AI included	Advanced AI and agents on custom-priced tiers	AI candidate recommendations and scoring on all tiers

Which fits which team?

Neither tool wins outright. The right pick comes down to whether you need configurable staffing depth and a strong CRM, or a cheap, AI-included ATS that is quick to adopt.

Choose Crelate if:

You run a staffing or recruiting desk with contract and temp placements
You want deep configurability of fields, workflows and layouts
You need a robust client CRM and compliance reporting
You are fine with the AI layer sitting on higher tiers
You want a system of record you can keep for years

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 bulk LinkedIn import and a career-page builder
You value a clean, simple interface and fast onboarding
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 Crelate and Manatal leave open

Crelate keeps its AI on higher tiers and outreach around email and phone; Manatal keeps its automation light and outreach to email and text. Neither runs multichannel sequences that read a candidate's reply and move the pipeline on their own.

Vs Crelate. Against Crelate, Jarvi puts its AI and outbound in the base product rather than on custom tiers: an interview and call notetaker, candidate scoring, and sequences across email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS.

Vs Manatal. Against Manatal, Jarvi goes past email-and-text 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 Crelate

Crelate was founded in 2012 by Aaron Elder, previously the lead application architect on Microsoft Dynamics CRM and, before that, founder of a consultancy sold to Avanade in 2010. It is his fourth product. The company is US-based (Eagle, Idaho, after early years in the Seattle area) and focuses on the US staffing and recruiting market. Crelate raised a $1.2M seed, then a $5.3M Series A led by Five Elms Capital in 2019, and announced a further strategic growth investment from Five Elms in March 2022, for around $11.5M raised in total. It holds 4.5 on Capterra (about 440 reviews) and 4.4 on G2 (about 210 reviews), and reports serving more than 25,000 recruiting professionals. Its distinctive strength is deep configurability for US staffing workflows.

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: Crelate vs Manatal

This comparison guide analyzes the critical differences between Crelate 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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Crelate analyzed on December 3, 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.