Bullhorn vs Manatal

Bullhorn and Manatal both serve staffing/recruiting agencies with an ATS and CRM, but they sit at opposite ends of company maturity and pricing transparency:…

Best for Bullhorn: Best for established staffing agencies needing payroll/worker payment processing (Middle Office), 300+ marketplace integrations, and a platform used by 80% of the world's largest staffing firms — worth the quote-only sales process for that scale.

Best for Manatal: Best for smaller or growing agencies that want transparent starting pricing ($15/user/month), a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and an AI Interviewer for automated video interviews as a paid add-on.

At a Glance

	Bullhorn	Manatal
Primary category	Recruitment	Recruitment
Rating	Not documented	Not documented
Pricing model	Subscription (custom quote)	Subscription (SaaS, per-user)
Starting price	Custom pricing (quote-based)	$15/user/month (Professional plan, billed annually)
Free plan	Not documented	Not documented
Free trial	Not documented	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Team collaboration	Not documented	Not documented
AI features	Yes	Yes
Public API	Yes	Not documented

Key Differences

Pricing transparency

Bullhorn: Bullhorn publishes no pricing; its pricing page directs prospects to contact sales.

Manatal: Manatal publishes annual-billing prices: $15/user/month (Professional), $35/user/month (Enterprise), $55/user/month (Enterprise Plus), with monthly billing at $19/$39/$59.

Published pricing lets smaller agencies self-serve a budget decision without a sales cycle.

Payroll for staffing

Bullhorn: Bullhorn's Middle Office module explicitly handles payroll and worker payment processing.

Manatal: Manatal's feature list does not include payroll or worker payment processing.

Staffing agencies (as opposed to typical in-house recruiting teams) often need to pay contractors/temps directly, which requires payroll functionality.

Company maturity and scale

Bullhorn: Bullhorn was founded in 2000, is headquartered in Boston, and states it serves 10,000+ customers globally, used by 80% of the world's largest staffing firms.

Manatal: Manatal's founding year and headquarters are not disclosed in the facts provided.

A longer, disclosed track record and larger customer base can matter for risk-averse enterprise procurement.

AI-powered video interviewing

Bullhorn: Bullhorn's Amplify AI suite includes Chat, Digital Workers, and Search & Match AI — no automated video interviewing feature is documented.

Manatal: Manatal's AI Interviewer conducts automated video interviews 24/7 for unlimited candidates, available as a paid add-on across all plans.

Automated video interviewing can help high-volume screening, particularly for agencies filling many similar roles at once.

Free trial availability

Bullhorn: Bullhorn does not list a free trial; pricing requires contacting sales directly.

Manatal: Manatal offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

A no-commitment trial lowers the barrier to hands-on evaluation before purchase.

Feature-by-Feature

Core ATS/CRM

Feature	Bullhorn	Manatal
Applicant tracking system	Available	Available
Recruitment CRM	Available	Available
Kanban-style pipeline board	Not documented	Available
Recruitment workflow automation	Available	Available

AI Features

Feature	Bullhorn	Manatal
AI search/match	Available	Available
Automated AI video interviewing	Not documented	Available
AI-driven candidate profile enrichment	Not documented	Available
'Digital Workers' automation agents	Available	Not documented

Pricing, Payroll & Access

Feature	Bullhorn	Manatal
Published starting price	Unavailable	Available
Free trial	Unavailable	Available
Payroll / worker payment processing	Available	Unavailable
Job board sourcing reach	Not documented	Available

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Bullhorn

No individual plan breakdown documented yet.

Manatal

Professional — $15/user/month (annual) Monthly or annual

Enterprise — $35/user/month (annual) Monthly or annual

Enterprise Plus — $55/user/month (annual) Monthly or annual

Custom — Custom Annual

Pros & Cons

Bullhorn

Pros

Purpose-built specifically for staffing-industry workflows
Deep integration marketplace with 300+ partners
Used by 10,000+ firms globally, proven at scale
Combines sales CRM and recruiting ATS in one system
Strong mobile access for field recruiters

Cons

Pricing is not public or self-serve, requiring a sales conversation
Reported per-user costs are relatively high versus generic ATS tools
Can be complex to configure for very small agencies
Feature set may be more than solo recruiters or micro-agencies need

Manatal

Pros

Affordable pricing compared to enterprise ATS platforms like Bullhorn
Fast setup and easy-to-learn interface for new users
Strong LinkedIn-based candidate sourcing tools
AI candidate scoring included across plans rather than sold separately
Scales reasonably from solo recruiters to small and mid-sized agencies

Cons

Lacks the deep back-office and VMS integrations larger staffing agencies need
Reporting is less robust than more mature platforms like Greenhouse
Lower tiers cap the number of active jobs and stored candidates
Mobile app experience is less developed than the web platform
Less suited to complex contract staffing workflows

Use Cases

Choose Bullhorn: Best for established staffing agencies needing payroll/worker payment processing (Middle Office), 300+ marketplace integrations, and a platform used by 80% of the world's largest staffing firms — worth the quote-only sales process for that scale.

Choose Manatal: Best for smaller or growing agencies that want transparent starting pricing ($15/user/month), a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and an AI Interviewer for automated video interviews as a paid add-on.

Need both: A large staffing firm running Bullhorn for enterprise ATS/CRM/payroll at the parent level might still see smaller subsidiary teams or newly acquired agencies running on Manatal until they're migrated onto the parent platform, given the cost and complexity gap between the two.

Bullhorn

Staffing agency operations — Manage candidates, job orders, placements, and client relationships in one system.
Executive search — Track business development and client relationships alongside candidate pipelines.
Multinational staffing organizations — Use marketplace integrations for VMS, onboarding, and background checks across regions.

Manatal

Boutique recruitment agencies — Small permanent-placement agencies needing an affordable ATS and CRM without enterprise overhead.
In-house talent acquisition — Corporate HR teams managing their own hiring pipeline without a dedicated enterprise ATS budget.
Bullhorn alternative for cost-conscious agencies — Agencies switching from spreadsheets or seeking a lower-cost alternative to enterprise ATS platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Bullhorn or Manatal?

Manatal publishes starting prices from $15/user/month (Professional, annual billing). Bullhorn doesn't publish pricing at all and requires contacting sales.

Does Bullhorn handle payroll for staffing agencies?

Yes — Bullhorn's Middle Office module handles payroll and worker payment processing. This isn't a documented Manatal feature.

Does Manatal offer a free trial?

Yes, a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Bullhorn does not list a free trial.

What is Manatal's AI Interviewer?

It conducts automated video interviews 24/7 for unlimited candidates, available as a paid add-on across Manatal's plans.

How long has each company been in business?

Bullhorn was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Boston, with 10,000+ customers globally. Manatal's founding year and headquarters are not disclosed in the facts available.

Read the full Bullhorn review · Read the full Manatal review

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