// Recruitment Technology, Software Comparisons

10 Best Applicant Tracking Systems for 2025 | Top ATS Software Ranked

Today’s agency recruiters are under more pressure than ever to move fast, stay organised, and deliver top-tier candidates to their clients. Without the best applicant tracking system (ATS) powering their efforts, it’s impossible to keep up, especially if you still rely on spreadsheets and physical notes.

The best ATS can help recruiters centralise their data, automate routine tasks, streamline communication, and shorten their time-to-hire. All while providing both candidates and clients with an exceptional experience. It’s all about empowering your recruitment agency to focus on building relationships instead of ticking administrative boxes.

Whether you’re scaling your agency or fine-tuning your pipeline for greater efficiency, choosing the best ATS systems for your needs will directly impact your team’s performance. Let’s walk through the top applicant tracking systems for 2025, each hand-picked for its recruiter-first user interface, innovative features, and ability to deliver real value in high-paced recruitment.

Top applicant tracking systems (ATS) for 2025

1. Atlas – the Recruitment Platform
2. Vincere
3. JobAdder
4. RecruitCRM
5. Recruiterflow
6. Ezekia
7. Clockwork Recruiting
8. Bullhorn
9. Loxo
10. Firefish

1. Atlas – the Recruitment Platform

Atlas – the Recruitment Platform is the best applicant tracking system built for the artificial intelligence era. It features an intuitive, purpose-built design with no clutter or excess functionality. With AI natively integrated into the core of every feature, Atlas allows agency recruiters to minimise admin and maximise focus on their placements. It does this with smart AI agents that learn from your recruitment database 24/7, ensuring no piece of information is ever lost or forgotten. 

Atlas’s powerful business development campaigns empower recruiters to source candidates, build real relationships, and land high-value placements through data-driven decisions. With an expanding lineup of features and integrations, as well as a user-friendly interface, Atlas is an all-in-one solution built for tomorrow’s agency recruiters looking to downscale their tech stack and upscale the quality of their services.

What are the key features of Atlas – the Recruitment Platform?

• End-to-end admin-free recruitment
• Automation with AI agents
• Candidate filtering with keywords
• AI-powered note taker
• Candidate sourcing with BD outreach campaigns
• Calendar with meeting scheduling
• Candidate deal valuing
• To-do lists powered by an AI task agent
• Kanban-style pipeline management
• Customisable executive search reports
• Chrome browser extension with record enrichment
• Analytics
• Integrations

Best for: agency recruitment, executive search, teams looking for AI automation

Not a great fit for: seasonal recruitment, in-house recruitment

Pricing: Free trial available, book a demo for your pricing.

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2. Vincere

Vincere is a recruitment platform made to serve as a front-to-back office system for staffing agencies. It features applicant tracking and operational tools, such as time management and invoicing, all in one system. Vincere also includes candidate search features, email and calendar sync functionality, and detailed analytics dashboards. 

The variety of its features ensures that recruiters looking for a comprehensive solution with ATS and CRM functionality have everything they need in one place. While it offers a broad set of features, it may not be ideal for small-scale recruitment. When looking for the best ATS systems for 2025, Vincere will appeal to large-scale agencies. For those looking for more straightforward solutions with a lower barrier to entry, other ATS solutions may prove more useful.

What are the key features of Vincere?

• Candidate and client data management
• Recruitment pipeline automation
• Candidate search and discovery
• Built-in team communication
• Payroll and contractor management
• Customisable job posting
• Email and calendar sync
• Analytics
• Integrations

Best for: Enterprise-scale and distributed agencies, seasonal recruitment

Not a great fit for: Solo recruiters, small-scale recruitment agencies

Pricing: No free trial available, contact the vendor for pricing details.

3. JobAdder

JobAdder is a cloud-based ATS designed to simplify recruitment workflows for staffing agencies. It offers tools for job posting, candidate tracking, communication, and client portal access. JobAdder also includes a mobile app, allowing recruiters to keep tabs on their hiring pipeline on the go, along with built-in reporting tools. 

Its interface is user-friendly; however, its customisation options are somewhat limited due to a mobile-first design approach. When considering the best recruitment software for your agency, JobAdder may prove to be a simple solution that checks all your elementary boxes. It’s best suited to firms looking for ease of use over deep configurability or advanced automations.

What are the key features of JobAdder?

• Candidate tracking and filtering
• Email, SMS, and voice-to-text messaging
• Candidate and client portals
• Candidate pipeline shortlists
• Automations
• E-signatures
• Mobile app
• Analytics
• Browser extension
• Integrations

Best for: Small to mid-size agencies, mobile-first recruiters

Not a great fit for: Enterprise-scale agencies, agencies requiring deep customisation

Pricing: No free trial available, contact the vendor for pricing details.

4. RecruitCRM

RecruitCRM is a platform aimed at recruitment agencies looking to centralise their operations in a single system. It includes core ATS features like resume parsing, pipeline management, and a browser extension. Users can also access their reports, automate email outreach, and manage client invoicing directly from RecruitCRM. 

With around-the-clock support, the platform is suited to smaller teams looking for the best applicant tracking system with a more hands-on approach. While it covers a wide range of functions, RecruitCRM may be less suited for larger firms with complex requirements and advanced integration needs. The platform nonetheless stands out as a practical option for teams looking for usability and straightforward implementation without much customisation.

What are the key features of RecruitCRM?

• Custom roles and teams
• Resume parsing
• Candidate matching
• Email templates and sequencing
• Phone calling and recording
• Deal pipelines
• Job posting
• Search reports
• Browser extension
• Third-party integrations (via Zapier, Integrately, etc.)

Best for: Small to mid-size agencies, teams looking for basic automation 

Not a great fit for: Enterprise-scale agencies, teams looking for native integrations

Pricing: Free trial available, pricing starts at £42 per user/month.

5. Recruiterflow

Recruiterflow is a modern platform designed with agency recruiters in mind. It offers AI-powered resume parsing, email outreach automation, visual pipelines, and a browser extension for recruiters looking to centralise how they manage their workflows. 

Its interface is made to accommodate users who are looking to streamline time-consuming tasks, such as daily outreach and follow-ups. While its ease of use and automation are great for smaller-sized agencies, those in need of more niche workflow customisation or enterprise-level features may be left wanting. For recruiters evaluating the best recruitment software for their agency, Recruiterflow is a clean, automation-friendly solution.

What are the key features of Recruiterflow?

• Candidate resume parsing
• Candidate matching with AI
• Email outreach automation
• Kanban-style pipeline management
• Mobile-responsive design
• Browser extension
• Analytics
• Integrations
• Open API

Best for: Small to mid-size agencies, teams looking for data visualisation features

Not a great fit for: Enterprise-scale agencies, executive search

Pricing: Free trial available, pricing starts at £75 per user/month.

6. Ezekia

Ezekia is an applicant tracking system built for executive search and retained recruitment. It includes features such as candidate and client portals, resume parsing, task management, as well as email and calendar integration. Ezekia also supports billing and compliance tracking, making it a good solution for agencies focused on international recruitment. Its workflow management tools allow recruiters to run relationship-driven campaigns. 

However, this ATS may be less suited to high-volume recruitment where simplicity is the key to success due to its sheer complexity. For agencies looking for the best applicant tracking system for retained and executive recruitment, Ezekia provides a secure, compliant environment that aligns with high-touch client expectations and data management requirements.

What are the key features of Ezekia?

• Resume and interview management
• Query builder for custom search refinement
• Candidate and client portal
• Task and activity management
• Billing and invoicing support
• Candidate reports
• Job board posting
• Browser extension
• Reports
• Integrations

Best for: Mid-size agencies, executive search

Not a great fit for: Small recruitment agencies, teams looking for advanced sourcing and automation tools

Pricing: Free trial available, pricing starts at £120 per user/month.

7. Clockwork Recruiting

Clockwork Recruiting is a specialised recruitment platform built specifically for executive search firms. It combines applicant tracking, collaborative hiring, and certain CRM features into a structured system. This allows recruiters to adopt a more holistic approach to their hiring efforts, ensuring that they have a branded client portal, candidate scorecards, advanced search tracking, and reports available in one place. 

Clockwork Recruiting’s workflow is focused on client-facing visibility, making it a great ATS for retained search firms as well. However, the tool may not be an ideal choice for contingent or volume-based recruitment where flexibility is more important than structure. As part of any shortlist for the best applicant tracking system, Clockwork Recruiting is worth considering for agencies that prioritise recruitment process consistency and healthy client engagement.

What are the key features of Clockwork Recruiting?

• Executive search pipeline management
• Candidate scoring and ranking
• Email outreach management
• Notes and email templates
• Customisable reports
• Client portal
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) metrics
• Mobile app
• Browser extension
• Analytics

Best for: Executive search agencies, teams looking for collaborative tools

Not a great fit for: Seasonal and contingent recruitment, teams looking for lightweight, intuitive tools 

Pricing: No free trial available, pricing starts at £130 per user/month. 

8. Bullhorn

Bullhorn is an established, legacy recruitment ATS built for large-scale staffing agencies. It includes a robust set of features for candidate management, email and calendar integrations, workflow automation, and mobile access. Bullhorn supports high-volume recruitment and is commonly used by agencies operating across multiple verticals or geographies. Its marketplace also offers a series of useful integrations which rely on third-party connectors. 

This makes Bullhorn challenging to manage for smaller teams with specialised workflows. When assessing the best applicant tracking system for 2025, Bullhorn is considered by agencies looking for scalability and enterprise-grade functionality. Unfortunately, it does require significant configuration and onboarding investment before you’re fully ready to go live when compared to other ATS solutions on our list.

What are the key features of Bullhorn?

• Candidate relationship management
• Candidate resume parsing
• Lead and opportunity tracking
• Workflow automations
• Email and calendar sync
• Mobile-first interface
• Invoicing
• Analytics
• Integrations
• Open API

Best for: Mid-sized agencies, distributed recruitment teams

Not a great fit for: Solo and small recruitment agencies, teams looking for lightweight, intuitive tools 

Pricing: No free trial available, pricing starts at £75 per user/month.

9. Loxo

Loxo is a talent intelligence platform featuring ATS and CRM capabilities in one sourcing system. This includes AI-powered candidate matching and resume parsing, as well as multi-channel outreach tools and pipeline automation. Loxo also features a browser extension that allows recruiters to enrich candidate records without relying on other HR tools. 

Its features are well-suited to small and mid-sized agencies looking to manage their recruitment workflows more conveniently. While Loxo supports a variety of hiring needs, it may be less suited for enterprise-level agencies and those looking for highly customisable workflows. Agencies evaluating the best applicant tracking system for their hiring teams may find Loxo a strong contender if their focus lies in outbound recruiting.

What are the key features of Loxo?

• Candidate resume parsing
• Business development tools
• Outreach campaigns
• Customisable pipelines
• Job board posting
• Client portal
• Client report generator
• Analytics
• Browser extension with record enrichment
• Integrations

Best for: Small to mid-sized agencies, teams focused on outbound sourcing

Not a great fit for: Enterprise-scale agencies, temp staffing firms

Pricing: Free trial available, pricing starts at £80 per user/month.

10. Firefish

Firefish is a recruitment platform that supports permanent, contract, and temporary hiring workflows. It offers features such as candidate matching, job listings multiposting, interview scheduling, as well as email management. Firefish also includes candidate portals and tools for managing contracts and invoices. What sets it apart is its emphasis on marketing-led recruitment. 

Firefish comes packed with SEO tools and branded job boards, allowing recruiters to publish job openings and for hiring managers to engage candidates through multiple touchpoints. While it covers various types of recruitment, it may not be a great choice for large-scale agencies. Those looking for the best applicant tracking system with built-in recruitment marketing features, Firefish is a good choice. It presents a structured option tailored to small and mid-sized hiring teams.

What are the key features of Firefish?

• Candidate matching with AI
• Candidate portal with direct application
• Collaborative client portal
• Candidate search filters
• Recruitment marketing tools
• Bulk outreach management
• Interview and contract management
• Browser extension
• Analytics
• Integrations

Best for: Small to mid-sized agencies, recruiters with mixed hiring models (perm, temp, contract)

Not a great fit for: Enterprise-scale agencies, outbound-first recruiters

Pricing: No free trial available, pricing starts at £60 per user/month.

What is an applicant tracking system (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that helps recruiters manage their complete hiring process in one centralised platform. The best applicant tracking systems allow recruiters to source candidates, track applications, schedule interviews, and create search reports with minimal admin. 

Top ATS solutions are designed to support every stage of the recruitment process. This is especially important for agency recruiters, as it ensures they can structure their workflows, keep candidate data organised, and achieve faster, more accurate placements.

The best applicant tracking system goes beyond even that, offering intelligent automation features like resume parsing, keyword-based search, pipeline management, and valuable integrations. With the top applicant tracking systems, recruiters can minimise administrative work and provide clients with top candidates faster and with greater confidence. It all adds up to an efficient hiring process with highly successful recruitment campaigns.

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What to look for in an applicant tracking system?

AI agents

AI agents are intelligent assistants that automate repetitive tasks. As part of recruitment software, they can handle candidate sourcing, resume screening, follow-ups, and even interview scheduling for agency recruiters. AI agents are always-on teammates that reduce time-to-fill and improve your consistency across the recruitment process. The best applicant tracking system in 2025 leverages AI as a native productivity engine that supports recruiters in making smart, data-driven hiring decisions.

AI note taker

AI note takers automatically capture key details from your calls, interviews, or intake meetings. This saves time and ensures no critical information is lost. AI note-taking features allow recruiters to stay fully present during their conversations without worrying about taking notes by hand. When looking for the best applicant tracking system for your agency, look for AI note takers that directly sync your candidate profiles with the latest meeting notes.

Deal valuing and pipeline management

Deal valuing features in an ATS helps recruiters prioritise roles based on potential revenue, client urgency, or likelihood of placement. This supports better pipeline management and smarter resource allocation for a recruitment agency. The top ATS solutions also ensure recruiters always have a clear overview of their pipelines so they can focus on the roles that impact their agency’s bottom line the most.

Business development (BD) outreach campaigns

BD outreach campaign features allow recruiters to manage client prospecting with the same efficiency as their candidate sourcing. Ideally, the best applicant tracking system should support you equally on both fronts. Business development features like email outreach templates, automated follow-ups, and candidate/client segmentation ensure steady, consistent communication for all your campaigns.

This ensures recruiters can build relationships at scale without relying on third-party integrations or disjointed ATS features. The best ATS will double as your sales enablement platform, giving you a competitive edge in candidate relationship management with just a few clicks.

Executive search reports

Executive search reports ensure recruiters can deliver polished, client-ready updates on candidate pipelines, outreach activity, and overall search progress. These reports help build trust with clients by keeping them informed and engaged throughout the hiring process.

The best applicant tracking systems offer customisable search report tools that streamline communication and allow recruiters to spend more time talking to candidates instead of writing reports on their own. This means less downtime and more time spent sourcing best candidates, all while the hiring managers are in the loop about your latest recruitment efforts.

Analytics

Analytics features in your ATS empower you with performance tracking across every stage of the recruitment lifecycle. The right applicant tracking system dashboard will turn your raw data into actionable insights. This ensures you can identify bottlenecks, optimise your workflow, and conduct revenue forecasts with greater confidence.

The top ATS will provide you with flexible, easy-to-use analytics that support strategic decision-making. Whether you report to clients, coach fresh hires or scale your operations, recruitment analytics is not just a numbers game. It’s about making fast, smart business decisions.

Browser extension

An ATS browser extension provides you with access to your ATS from whichever tab you’re currently using. This is especially useful for managing outreach campaigns and passing candidate information into your database.

With the best applicant tracking system, you’ll not only sync candidate profiles into your ATS but also enrich their profiles with email and phone numbers pulled from the web. This dramatically speeds up your sourcing, reduces manual admin, and helps you build high-quality pipelines faster. All without additional tools or switching browser tabs ever again.

Integrations

Integrations reduce workflow friction, eliminate duplicate data entry, and keep everything in sync across your tech stack. From phone and messaging systems to productivity tools, the best ATS will allow you to connect with your existing tools without effort.

Integrations let you work smarter, not harder, by syncing your conversations, automating tedious admin, and ensuring your candidate info is clean and up to date. In 2025, a flexible, integration-rich ATS isn’t just a bonus. It’s a competitive requirement for agencies aiming to scale and deliver a connected, end-to-end experience to candidates and clients alike.

What types of ATS integrations are there?

Phone and messaging integrations

Effective communication is the backbone of successful recruiting. Phone and messaging integrations with apps like WhatsApp, Ringover, and RingCentral allow recruiters to manage calls directly from their ATS. This ensures every candidate’s touchpoint is logged and easily accessible from the applicant tracking system database. 

These integrations centralise your communication history, minimise confusion, and enable faster response times, in addition to providing transparency across your entire recruitment agency. The best applicant tracking system will seamlessly integrate with your preferred dialers and SMS tools, making candidate outreach a streamlined and trackable part of your workflow.

Email integrations

Email remains a critical channel for agency recruiters. Which is why robust email integrations with tools like Gmail and Outlook are a must. They allow recruiters to more easily coordinate interviews and maintain steady communication with clients and candidates. 

ATS integrations ensure each email is synced with the recruitment database and tied to the relevant campaign. This eliminates copy/paste back and forth and helps all relevant stakeholders stay aligned. With the best applicant tracking system for your recruitment agency, you can automate email tracking, create campaign templates, and even seamlessly schedule interviews. All while saving time and remaining consistent throughout.

Video interview integrations

In a hybrid recruitment landscape, video interviews have become a standard part of candidate screening. Integrating video platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet directly with your ATS allows you to sync all your calls with candidate profiles without juggling multiple tools. 

By centralising all your candidate interactions, powered by automated interview scheduling, it’s also easier to pull up records and meeting transcripts. By also relying on the best applicant tracking system tailored to your needs, you can seamlessly transcribe video calls and focus on the outcomes of your interviews, not tiresome manual data entry.

Productivity integrations

For recruiters juggling sourcing, outreach, and admin, productivity tools are an essential part of their tech stack. Integrating your applicant tracking system with Google Workspace or by using your ATS’s browser extension, you can significantly streamline your workflow. 

By acting as a central recruitment hub, the best ATS will sync all your candidate data from the productivity tools, reducing info duplication and saving precious time. Whether you’re focused on touchpoints, campaign automation, or collaboration across your recruitment agency, you won’t lose valuable context or momentum with the right productivity tools.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) for choosing the best ATS

How to use ATS as a recruiter?

• Centralise your client and candidate data in one organised system
• Automate repetitive tasks like sourcing, follow-ups, and scheduling
• Track deal values and pipeline progress in real time
• Create customisable, client-ready reports in minutes
• Easily collaborate with recruiters and share internal updates

What is the best software for a recruitment agency?

The best software for a recruitment agency is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that serves as an all-in-one platform for managing the entire hiring workflow. From sourcing and outreach to interview coordination and client reporting, the best ATS will centralise every stage of the hiring process. 

It eliminates the need for fragmented tools and manual admin, creating a single source of truth for your hiring team. For agencies, this means faster placements, better collaboration, and a consistent candidate and client experience from start to finish.

Which ATS is ideal for my needs?

To understand which applicant tracking system is the best one for your specific hiring process, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want to use AI agents and automations to reduce manual tasks?
• Do I want smooth BD outreach and deal tracking?
• Does the ATS I’m looking at integrate with my preferred tools?
• Do I want to create executive search reports in minutes instead of hours?
• Does the ATS come with an intuitive browser extension?
• Do I want access to AI-powered, explorable interview transcripts?
• Can I import my existing recruitment database into the ATS I’m looking at?
• Can the ATS easily scale alongside my recruitment agency?
• Do I want a reliable support team to help me do my best recruitment work?
• Can I try the ATS for free before making my decision?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, Atlas has you covered. Try it now >>

Start recruiting with the best applicant tracking system in 2025

Choosing the best applicant tracking system to centralise your entire recruitment process isn’t a quick decision—it’s a strategic one. With so many tools offering useful features, understanding which one truly matters to your workflow is a must. 

From AI-powered automation to client-ready reporting, BD outreach, and integrations, the right ATS should streamline your operations, provide you with automated workflows, and empower your recruiters to deliver results at scale. The best next step?

Tell us what kind of applicant tracking software you’re looking for and learn how Atlas aligns with your specific needs. Not every tool is fit for all, and our team is standing by to walk you through how Atlas can save hours of your time every day by cutting your admin in half. Then, you’ll be ready to tackle the rest of 2025 on a strong note with a purpose-built end-to-end solution powering your agency.