SmartRecruiters Expert Review, Pricing, Alternatives - 2024

Written by
Phil Strazzulla
HR Tech Expert, Harvard MBA, Software Enthusiast
November 13, 2024
Contributing Experts
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SmartRecruiters

4.2 (781)
SmartRecruiters
SmartRecruiters

Introduction

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SmartRecruiters Versus the Competition

SmartRecruiters' enterprise-grade talent acquisition suite goes beyond applicant tracking; it's got solutions for candidate sourcing, assessment, and engagement, as well as native collaboration and AI tools.

If you're ready to get a SmartRecruiters demo, we suggest getting in touch for a look at the product and quote. Otherwise, read on!

Ratings

4.2

Ease of Use

Best For

Key Differentiator

Price

Custom Pricing

Free Trial

Yes

PROS

  • SmartRecruiters has a built-in candidate assessment and skill testing module that allows you to predict cultural fit, future performance and retention, without needing to integrate third-party solutions. 
  • SmartRecruiters provides features for offer management. You can create offer letter templates, share them with successful applicants, and collect their e-signatures from any device using SmartRecruiters’ DocuSign integration.
  • Speaking of integrations, SmartRecruiters has pre-built integrations with over 500 HR solutions and job boards. You can also ask SmartRecruiters’ team to build additional integrations for you if it doesn’t integrate with products in your tech stack.

CONS

  • SmartRecruiters’ pricing isn’t transparent. Interested users have to go through the sales team to receive a quote. Users are also not able to create trial accounts on their own. 
  • Users have reported a steep learning curve and that the UI takes time to get used to. Some users have also reported that the system can be slow and glitches at times.
  • The reporting feature doesn’t always retrieve data accurately. Some users have also complained that report customizations and KPI tracking capabilities are limited.
  • Candidate filtering is quite limited. As it stands, only basic options such as degree, location, gender etc are provided.

SmartRecruiters Alternatives:

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a feature-rich ATS best suited for midsize and large teams. In addition to advanced scheduling, workflow customization, and numerous seamless HRIS integrations, the platform also includes a well-liked onboarding feature.
Popularity Score
4.5 / 5
User Score
4.4 / 5
Product Score
4.6 / 5
Visit Website

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a feature-rich ATS best suited for midsize and large teams. In addition to advanced scheduling, workflow customization, and numerous seamless HRIS integrations, the platform also includes a well-liked onboarding feature.
Popularity Score
4.5 / 5
User Score
4.4 / 5
Product Score
4.6 / 5
Learn More

BambooHR

We love how this ATS operates within Bamboo’s larger HR Suite. We found seamless workflows between the applicant tracking software and other core HR features. The simplicity makes for ease of use, and helps ensure compliance.
Popularity Score
4.5 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.4 / 5
Visit Website

BambooHR

We love how this ATS operates within Bamboo’s larger HR Suite. We found seamless workflows between the applicant tracking software and other core HR features. The simplicity makes for ease of use, and helps ensure compliance.
Popularity Score
4.5 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.4 / 5
Learn More

Pinpoint

A lot of applicant tracking systems don’t deliver on their claim to be user-focused, but Pinpoint does. With a sophisticated, sleek look and an intuitive interface, they clearly know great software is a mix of form and function.
Popularity Score
4.6 / 5
User Score
4.4 / 5
Product Score
4.5 / 5
Visit Website

Pinpoint

A lot of applicant tracking systems don’t deliver on their claim to be user-focused, but Pinpoint does. With a sophisticated, sleek look and an intuitive interface, they clearly know great software is a mix of form and function.
Popularity Score
4.6 / 5
User Score
4.4 / 5
Product Score
4.5 / 5
Learn More

VidCruiter

VidCruiter is known chiefly for video interviews, but the platform also offers a solid ATS solution and Quick Apply, a hit feature with both TA teams and candidates.
Popularity Score
4.1 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.2 / 5
Visit Website

VidCruiter

VidCruiter is known chiefly for video interviews, but the platform also offers a solid ATS solution and Quick Apply, a hit feature with both TA teams and candidates.
Popularity Score
4.1 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.2 / 5
Learn More

Workable

Workable is a robust and scalable recruiting solution. Its AI-powered sourcing tool integrates nicely with its ATS software and other products and can provide over 400 million candidate records.
Popularity Score
4.1 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.5 / 5
Visit Website

Workable

Workable is a robust and scalable recruiting solution. Its AI-powered sourcing tool integrates nicely with its ATS software and other products and can provide over 400 million candidate records.
Popularity Score
4.1 / 5
User Score
4.5 / 5
Product Score
4.5 / 5
Learn More

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SmartRecruiters Review

SmartRecruiters is a talent acquisition software that helps medium and large-sized companies attract, engage and hire suitable candidates. It features a drag-and-drop career site builder so you can quickly create career pages that showcase your employer brand and list available positions, a built-in CRM that helps you continuously engage candidates, and targeted ads so you can reach specific talent. Like most applicant tracking systems, SmartRecruiters also allows you to post jobs to multiple job boards and build an internal talent pool of promising candidates.

After candidates apply for your positions, SmartRecruiters lets you track the status of their applications from a single dashboard. This dashboard lets you see which candidates have been interviewed, hired, rejected etc. You can also screen candidates through customizable forms, and evaluate their cultural fitness, competence, and more through SmartRecruiters’ built-in assessments and skills tests.

We like that SmartRecruiters has an AI-powered talent matching feature that automatically searches your talent pool, screens promising candidates and recommends the best candidates for your open positions. Another thing we like about the platform is that it allows you to create offer letter templates and share them with successful applicants. Do note however that SmartRecruiters doesn’t have document signing features built-in, but you can still collect candidate e-signatures by integrating SmartRecruiters with third-party solutions like DocuSign.

What users think of SmartRecruiters

Reviewer's Rating
10/10

I implemented and used SmartRecruiters daily for over one year. We used SmartRecruiters for ATS, CRM, sourcing, talent pipeline development, marketing and campaigns for pipeline development, data and reporting, and onboarding.

The sourcing features were exceptional, and the ability to connect existing sourcing tools was easy. The interview kits and star rankings were most helpful in creating unbiased feedback for candidate interviews.

We were able to bring together recruitment and HR in an HRSS environment, making onboarding a smooth and easy experience for our new hires.

What do you like about this tool?

Ease of use; usability and collaboration across teams are simple. Personalized workflows and integration with our existing systems (e.g., LinkedIn Recruiter, calendar sync for scheduling, DocuSign, HRIS).

The reporting features are solid; we were able to align SmartRecruiters metrics with the Board of Directors’ preferred reporting formats easily.

Why did your organization buy this tool, and how long have you used it for?

We didn't have an ATS and selected SmartRecruiters to streamline our hiring process, improve collaboration among hiring teams and HR, and enhance the candidate experience. Before implementing the platform, we faced challenges with poor communication, inefficient workflows, and a lack of centralized reporting on recruitment metrics.

SmartRecruiters provided a user-friendly interface, automation capabilities, and seamless integration with other HR tools, allowing us to scale our hiring efforts effectively and improve the candidate experience.

The platform’s ability to customize workflows (including HR/onboarding), source candidates more quickly, manage talent pools, and gather collaborative candidate feedback has significantly improved our efficiency.

I have personally used SmartRecruiters for three years and value its features for sourcing top talent, tracking applicants, and maintaining a smooth recruitment process from start to finish.

What do you dislike about this tool?

The self-scheduling tool for candidates was glitchy. The notifications section is noisy; it needs cleanup or filter options. The reporting features could be more robust and customizable.

How is this tool different than their competitors?

SmartRecruiters is more focused on AI and automation, global hiring, and the SmartRecruiters Marketplace (integrated vendors). Its AI features are forward-looking but should never replace the human aspect of recruitment.

Their automation is ahead of the curve. I appreciate SmartRecruiters' ability to incorporate recruitment laws from across the world, making it a strong platform for global hiring. The Marketplace is useful, incorporating over 300 vendors into the platform.

What Instructions should people think about when buying this type of tool?

If you are hiring on a global scale, SmartRecruiters is a great platform for international recruitment. If you're looking for an end-to-end solution, SmartRecruiters works well for HRSS environments and streamlining recruiting and onboarding. It is best suited for mid to large companies, not for small businesses or start-ups unless you plan to scale quickly.

How has this tool changed or evolved over time to meet users needs?

I appreciate that the platform is consistently evolving and seems to take user feedback into account. I wish they would address smaller issues (e.g., self-scheduling, notifications) before focusing heavily on AI features.

What specific type of user or organization is this tool very good for?

SmartRecruiters is a good fit for mid to large-sized companies. It offers the functionality needed for organizations planning to scale or hire globally.

What specific type of user or organization would this tool not be a good fit for?

SmartRecruiters is not ideal for start-ups or small businesses unless there are plans for rapid scaling.

Reviewer's Rating
6/10

We used SmartRecruiters every day. The key workflows are as follows,

1) Managing pipeline (reviewing applications, etc.)

2) Interview scheduling (self-scheduling and automatically booking recruiters’ and candidates’ calendars)

3) Candidate scorecards (create forms to put the evaluations of the interviewers more standard, however, that slows down the process and Hiring Managers are late with leaving feedback)

4) Simple data analysis, customized (for example: which sourcing platforms lead to the quickest hiring for some jobs)

5) Job posting and advertising are not really used every day and depend on the hiring needs.

What do you like about this tool?
  • Integration with Office 365 gives an opportunity to connect to Outlook Calendar, which is useful for quickly scheduling the interviews.
  • You can see upcoming interviews on your ATS home page! Quite neat.
  • It is quite easy to build the hiring team of other recruiters and hiring managers that will be involved in the recruitment.
Why did your organization buy this tool, and how long have you used it for?

For many years my organization has been using another ATS. However, it has been significantly increasing the price every year. The new goal was to reduce yearly subscriptions by at least 30%. The main benefit that attracted my organization was the possibility to integrate a lot of other business software with ATS. More precisely, having the option to generate a unique link that candidates can use to self-schedule interview time slots, connected with MS Teams link for that call, plus automatically booking Recruiters' Outlook calendars and making it visible on SmartRecruiters candidates' profiles.

At first glance, it seemed that SmartRecruiters offered more features for less price. Unfortunately, the data migration we performed later added a lot to the price.

What do you dislike about this tool?

The price of data migration from other ATS is tremendously high (some scripts had to be written by internal software engineers). It also might take a few months and be incomplete.

To post the job you need to fill in two separate fields: the name of the brand and the name of the company, plus it’s a must to enter the address of the workplace. This I find sometimes inconvenient, especially if a company has many brands, and the position has responsibilities for more than one brand, plus if there are multiple locations for that position.

How is this tool different than their competitors?
  • It is less user-friendly than Recruitee, for example.
  • However, SmartRecruiters automatically generates useful data analytics and visualization.
What Instructions should people think about when buying this type of tool?

Will you need to migrate a lot of data from previous ATS? (better not)

Will you need the package that allows many jobs to be posted at the same time (100+?) (in that case, yes)

How has this tool changed or evolved over time to meet users needs?

Creating jobs was relatively slow and had many steps; it was simplified after some time.

What specific type of user or organization is this tool very good for?

It might be better for startups than for corporations.

What specific type of user or organization would this tool not be a good fit for?

If the organization doesn’t have a team of backend software engineers who will support data migration, or hires a lot, SmartRecruiters isn’t a good option.

Reviewer's Rating
9/10

As a recruiter in my organization, I rely on SmartRecruiters to handle the complete recruitment process from beginning to end. One of the key features of SmartRecruiters is the ability to post job openings on various job boards in a matter of a few clicks. Once the job gets posted, I can manage the entire hiring process from within the platform, including scheduling and conducting phone interviews, reviewing resumes and applications, and moving candidates through different stages. of the hiring process such as scheduling in-person interviews.

As the hiring process progresses, SmartRecruiters provides a dashboard view that allows me to track the status of each candidate, from initial application through to hiring. When a candidate has been selected for a position, SmartRecruiters also make it easy to generate and send offer letters directly from the platform.

Overall, SmartRecruiters has proven to be an invaluable tool for managing the recruitment process efficiently, keeping track of candidate information, and ensuring that the hiring process is smooth and streamlined.

What do you like about this tool?

I like SmartRecruiters as it offers a comprehensive and integrated platform for recruitment needs, which helps in streaming the hiring process. The user interface is intuitive and straightforward, allowing users to quickly navigate and access different functionalities.

One of the key benefits is its ability to connect with leading national job portals, which widens the pool of potential candidates and increases the chances of finding the right fit for a position.

Moreover, the platform offers a centralized candidate database, allowing recruiters like me to easily manage and maintain candidate information throughout the hiring process. The lifecycle management feature makes it easier to track a candidate's progress from the initial application to hiring, reducing the risk of overlooking any important steps.

Another amazing feature of this tool is its ability to draft and present offers within the platforms, making it more convenient to manage the hiring process from start to finish.

Overall in my opinion, SmartRecruiters offers a user-friendly, efficient, and integrated recruitment solution that can benefit both recruiters and candidates.

Why did your organization buy this tool, and how long have you used it for?

Our organization used SmartRecruiters to make the hiring process easier and better. SmartRecruiters is an HRIS that helps our organization post multiple job openings, keep a track of people who have applied to those jobs and keep a track of the whole hiring process.

With the help of this tool, HR managers and recruiters were able to save time and effort by posting job openings in many job portals at one time without having to go to different portals and post jobs one by one.

The tool also helps the HR team move candidates through different stages of the hiring process, so they can see who is the most qualified for the open job positions and make good decisions. The tool can also show different reports about the hiring process, like how many people have applied, so the organization can see how to make it better.

Our organization has been using this tool for almost one year and being used by different people in the organization, like managers, HR heads, recruiters, and senior management without any hassle.

What do you dislike about this tool?

SmartRecruiters doesn't allow integration with many applications, and their support team is not very responsive and is unwilling to make changes. They seem content with their current clients, as many big companies are already using their product and their support team is not willing to work on the new changes requested by the users.

How is this tool different than their competitors?

SmartRecruiters stands out from other recruitment software by providing a platform that is easy to use and can be linked with both big and small job portals. It also offers a database that makes it easy to keep track of potential hires. With these features, SmartRecruiters can help recruiters save time and resources, making the hiring process more efficient. SmartRecruiters' ability to connect with various job portals and organize candidate data sets it apart from other recruitment software.

What Instructions should people think about when buying this type of tool?
  • Before buying recruitment software like SmartRecruiters, there are some important things to consider.
  • Firstly, think about how many people will use the tool and which industry they work in. This affects which features will be most helpful.
  • Secondly, check whether your team is skilled enough to use the tool, as some tools are harder to learn than others.
  • Finally, think about how long you will need the tool. SmartRecruiters offers discounts for yearly models, so that might be worth considering.
  • By keeping these things in mind, you can choose the right recruitment software for your needs.
How has this tool changed or evolved over time to meet users needs?

SmartRecruiters has improved over time to meet the needs of their users. They have done this by adding new job portals, especially local job portals that are popular in different countries. They have also made their platform more affordable by offering discounts with yearly plans. Finally, they are working on integrating new applications into their platform, which will make it more versatile. By doing all this, SmartRecruiters is able to better meet the changing needs of its users.

What specific type of user or organization is this tool very good for?

SmartRecruiters is good for IT and Software companies, or any company where employees use technology for sourcing and recruitment process.

What specific type of user or organization would this tool not be a good fit for?

SmartRecruiters should not be used for organizations where employees do not use technology for the recruitment process like Warehouse and Distribution companies.

Reviewer's Rating
10/10

SmartRecruiters is an essential tool in my recruitment process. It covers all aspects of the hiring process, from posting job openings to screening resumes, conducting phone interviews, and presenting job offers to candidates. SmartRecruiters also helps me keep track of all candidate data, including rejected applicants and past applications. This allows me to have a comprehensive view of all my recruitment efforts and ensures that no important information is lost.

What do you like about this tool?

I have a positive opinion of SmartRecruiters as I find it easy to use and its interface straightforward. I like its ability to store and manage candidate data, as well as its integration with tools for organizing interviews and generating reports for my manager. These features make SmartRecruiters an effective and convenient tool in the recruitment process.

Why did your organization buy this tool, and how long have you used it for?

My organization bought SmartRecruiters 2 years ago to help solve the issue of managing applicant data and to streamline the recruitment process. With SmartRecruiters, they can keep track of all past applications, allow hiring managers to screen, reject, and make job offers in one place, and easily schedule interviews through integration with Google Calendar.

What do you dislike about this tool?

Firstly, I find it challenging to integrate other applications like Checkr, etc. with SmartRecruiters. Secondly, there are a very limited number of job portals that can be linked with SmartRecruiters. There are many small to big job portals that are still not available on their platform.

How is this tool different than their competitors?

SmartRecruiters distinguishes itself from other competitors by offering a user-friendly interface, constantly adding new features, and integrating well with daily tools like Zoom and Calendly. This makes it easier for users to manage candidate data and extend job offers, all within a single platform.

What Instructions should people think about when buying this type of tool?

People should consider the following factors when buying a recruitment tool like SmartRecruiters: ease of use, the size of their organization, the desired job portals, and pricing. These are key elements that can impact the effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment process, and it's important to consider these factors before making a decision.

How has this tool changed or evolved over time to meet users needs?

SmartRecruiters has made significant improvements over time. They have expanded the number of job portals available every month, improved their support team's response time, and have shown a commitment to addressing user feedback. These advancements have helped make SmartRecruiters a more effective and efficient tool for managing recruitment efforts.

What specific type of user or organization is this tool very good for?

SmartRecruiters is well-suited for organizations that utilize technology in their hiring process, experience high volumes of monthly hiring, and are seeking a comprehensive HR information system rather than just an applicant tracking system. With its user-friendly interface, ability to integrate with other tools, and robust features for managing candidate data, SmartRecruiters can provide a seamless and streamlined recruitment experience for these types of organizations.

What specific type of user or organization would this tool not be a good fit for?

SmartRecruiters may not be the best option for industries like construction or labor-oriented fields where paper-based applications are still widely used. These industries may not have the infrastructure or technology in place to fully utilize the features and benefits of SmartRecruiters, making it a less suitable solution for their recruitment needs.

Who shouldn't buy SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters isn’t the right fit for small businesses with infrequent hiring needs.

SmartRecruiters Customers

SmartRecruiters is used by thousands of companies, including Ikea, Visa, LinkedIn, Equinox, and Skechers.

SmartRecruiters: Excellent ATS for Enterprise
visit SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters Key Features

  • Career site: SmartRecruiters allows you to create custom-branded career pages via its drag-and-drop enabled builder. You can also enable job alerts for candidates, use the job widget to quickly add jobs, and launch an employee portal for your current employees to see available jobs within your organization that they can apply to. 
  • Candidate sourcing: Cast a wide net with SmartRecuriters’ CRM and recruitment campaigns, reach specific talent with targeted ads, post jobs to multiple job boards, and build an internal talent pool of promising candidates. 
  • Applicant tracking: After candidates apply for your positions, SmartRecruiters lets you track the status of their application from a single dashboard. This dashboard lets you see which candidates have been interviewed, hired, rejected etc.
  • Candidate screening: Customize job application forms, and evaluate candidates thoroughly with fully-integrated assessments and skills tests that predict cultural fit, future performance and retention, without third-party integrations. The platform also has pre-integrated background and reference checks. 
  • Offer management: Create offer letter templates, share them with successful applicants, and collect their e-signatures from any device using SmartRecruiters’ DocuSign integration. 

SmartRecruiters also has features for: 

  • Recruitment marketing
  • Candidate experience management
  • Collaborative hiring
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Mobile access (Android and iOS)

SmartRecruiters Key Integrations

SmartRecruiters has over 570 pre-built integrations with several job boards and HR solutions, some of which Indeed, Gem, Talent.com, CodeSignal, VidCruiter, Checkr, Bob, and more. They also have an open API allowing users to plug in several custom solutions.

SmartRecruiters Pricing

The pricing of SmartRecruiters' plans isn't disclosed upfront. Contact a sales rep to get a custom quote.

SmartRecruiters is Best For

SmartRecruiters is best suited for medium and large sized companies.

How has SmartRecruiters Changed Over Time?

SmartRecruiters Implementation

SmartRecruiters has a team of in-house experts that conduct in-depth consultations and aid new users with product implementation. They also offer customized training and workshops to onboard users quickly.

SmartRecruiters Customer Success

SmartRecruiters has a knowledge base, product tutorials, ebooks, and whitepapers that are accessible 24/7. They also offer admin certification and support services on-demand.

About SmartRecruiters

Our simple goal is to make hiring easy. To help businesses get the talent they need to succeed. And to help people find a job they love. Everyone is incredibly frustrated by how hard it is to find amazing talent. We share that frustration. Recruiting is a fragmented, opaque process undermined by outdated technology that turns off candidates and hiring managers. Now, imagine a world where it’s easy to find great candidates, it’s easy for people to show interest in jobs, it’s easy for hiring teams to collaborate, and your recruiting vendors are just a click away.

Besides the HQ, they also have offices Washington, Poland, Germany, UK, France

Company HQ

San Francisco, California

Number of Employees

600+

Year Founded

2010

Amount Raised

SmartRecruiters has raised a total of $225M over 6 funding rounds.

FAQ

SmartRecruiters Alternatives

Greenhouse

Best for collaborative hiring at midsized to large teams

Popularity score
4.4 / 5
user score
4.4 / 5
Product score
4.6 / 5
BambooHR

ATS software nested in HRIS, best for mid-sized businesses

Popularity score
4.5 / 5
user score
4.5 / 5
Product score
4.4 / 5
Pinpoint

Best for in-house TAs with strong user-centric mentality

Popularity score
4.7 / 5
user score
4.4 / 5
Product score
4.5 / 5
VidCruiter

Video interview platform with applicant tracking capabilities

Popularity score
4.5 / 5
user score
4.5 / 5
Product score
4.2 / 5
Workable

Scalable ATS with native AI-powered talent sourcing tool

Popularity score
4.5 / 5
user score
4.5 / 5
Product score
4.5 / 5
Trakstar Hire

Mid-market ATS software with robust offer management tool

Popularity score
4.5 / 5
user score
4.3 / 5
Product score
4.1 / 5
Spark Hire

Best for SMBs seeking video interview features besides ATS

Popularity score
4.6 / 5
user score
4.8 / 5
Product score
4.8 / 5
AvaHR

Well-designed applicant tracking system for mid-market orgs

Popularity score
/ 5
user score
4.6 / 5
Product score
4.1 / 5
ClearCompany

Highly flexible ATS system for midsized and large teams

Popularity score
4.4 / 5
user score
4.5 / 5
Product score
4.3 / 5
Manatal

Affordable ATS, works both for corporates and agencies

Popularity score
4.4 / 5
user score
4.7 / 5
Product score
4.2 / 5

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