Bullhorn Review
ATS and CRM built for staffing and recruiting agencies
Is this your product? Claim this page · Request a change
Looking for a Bullhorn alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Bullhorn?
Bullhorn is an ATS and CRM built specifically for staffing and recruiting agencies rather than in-house talent teams. It combines candidate tracking, client relationship management, and job order workflows in one system, with a large marketplace of third-party add-ons for background checks, texting, VMS connections, and more.
The entry-level plans (Starter, Core) cover the basics of tracking candidates and jobs. Most agencies end up on Pro or one of the quote-only Recruitment Cloud editions to get the CRM, AI matching, and automation features that make Bullhorn worth the switch from a generic ATS. Bullhorn also sells separate Middle Office products for timesheets, invoicing, and onboarding, which many agencies bolt on once they're already locked into the core platform.
Bullhorn screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Staffing and recruiting agencies that place candidates with client companies, not internal hiring teams
- ✓ Agencies that need timesheet, invoicing, and onboarding workflows in the same system as their ATS
- ✓ Firms big enough to negotiate pricing directly and justify a multi-week implementation
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ In-house talent teams hiring for their own company (Bullhorn is agency-focused; look at Ashby, Greenhouse, or Lever instead)
- ✗ Small agencies that want to see full pricing before talking to a salesperson
- ✗ Teams that need to add or drop seats quickly, since license counts are typically locked for the contract term
Pros
- + Deep staffing-specific workflow: job orders, submittals, and client billing live alongside candidate tracking
- + Large marketplace of pre-built integrations (350+) for background checks, texting, job boards, and VMS systems
- + Automation and AI matching (Amplify) can cut manual screening time once configured
Cons
- – Most of the pricing that matters, Pro and every Recruitment Cloud edition, is hidden behind a quote
- – Reviewers on Capterra consistently flag renewal price increases of around 20%
- – Implementation and customization fees add thousands of dollars on top of the per-seat price
- – No free trial or free plan to test the product before committing
Bullhorn pricing
What you pay for
Bullhorn publishes starting prices for its two entry plans but hides the plan most agencies actually buy behind a quote. You pay per user per month, and the jump from the cheapest plan to the one with real CRM and automation features is steep and undisclosed until you talk to sales.
At about $99/month to start, it is one of the cheaper options in ATS & Recruiting Software.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $99/seat/mo | Applicant tracking · Resume parsing · Client management · Job posting with career portal · Live support |
| Core | $165/seat/mo | Everything in Starter · 350+ app marketplace · Custom fields and workflows · LinkedIn integration · Email sidebar |
| Pro | Custom | Everything in Core · Recruitment CRM · AI assistant · Automation · Real-time analytics · Dedicated account manager |
Starter and Core prices are per user per month, listed monthly on the vendor site with no visible annual discount. Pro, the plan Bullhorn calls its most popular, is quote-only, as are the separate AI/Amplify automation add-ons, Middle Office products, and the Recruitment Cloud editions (ATS, Front Office, Workforce, 360). No free trial or free plan is listed. Third-party estimates put a fully loaded 5-person agency deployment at roughly $18,000-$21,000 in year one after implementation and training fees.
Pricing verified July 7, 2026 · source
How Bullhorn's pricing compares
Bullhorn next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullhorn | $99/seat/mo | tiered | No | Partly public |
| Ashby | $400/mo | tiered | No | Partly public |
| Greenhouse | Custom / quote | quote-only | No | Not disclosed |
| Lever | Custom / quote | quote-only | No | Not disclosed |
| Workable | $299/employee/mo | tiered | Trial (15 days, no credit card required, full Standard plan feature set) | Public |
| Recruitee | Custom / quote | quote-only | Trial (Free trial available, no card required, length not stated) | Not disclosed |
Is Bullhorn still actively developed?
Last significant update: June 2026. The June 2026 release (BH R2026.6) upgraded the underlying AI model behind Amplify Screener for better candidate responses and recruiter summaries, and extended natural-language list building to Leads records.
Top Bullhorn alternatives
Bullhorn FAQ
How much does Bullhorn cost?+
The cheapest plan, Starter, is $99 per user per month. Core is $165 per user per month. The Pro plan, which most agencies actually use for CRM and automation features, is quote-only.
Does Bullhorn have a free trial or free plan?+
No. Bullhorn's pricing page lists no free tier and no free trial for any plan.
Is Bullhorn built for internal hiring teams or staffing agencies?+
Staffing and recruiting agencies. It's built around placing candidates with client companies and billing for that work, not around a single company's internal hiring pipeline.
Does Bullhorn's price go up at renewal?+
Multiple Capterra reviewers report renewal increases of around 20%, and Bullhorn's own Value for Money score on Capterra (3.7/5) is its lowest-rated category, behind Overall (4.0), Ease of Use (4.1), Customer Service (4.0), and Features (3.9).