Bullhorn vs Top Echelon (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Top Echelon grades higher than Bullhorn: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Top Echelon grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bullhorn
ATS, CRM and AI recruiting software for staffing agencies
Top Echelon
ATS and recruiting CRM for recruiting agencies and staffing firms
Which one is for you
Pick Bullhorn if
- Fits if you run a staffing agency and want ATS and client tracking together
- Works for agencies that want a marketplace of partner apps
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you hire for your own company, as it is built for agencies
- Skip it if you want to try it first, as every plan is sold by quote
- Pricey if you want the CRM or AI, as they start at Pro with no price shown
- Watch out: the page does not say if the per-user prices are monthly or annual
Pick Top Echelon if
- Fits if you're an independent recruiter placing candidates with clients
- Works for recruiters moving off Big Biller, which is what this used to be called
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're hiring your own staff, as it's built for agencies
- Skip it if you need the per-seat price up front, as the page doesn't say
- Pricey if you join TE Network too, at $135 a month on yearly billing on top, or $150 plus a $350 fee
- Watch out: data enrichment is $29 a month for 100 credits, then $0.50 each, and texting may cost extra
- Tight if you want AI, sequences or the API, as they start on Professional at $95 a month
How we grade them
| 1.8GPABullhornWeak | 2.4GPATop EchelonFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$99 a user on Starter and $165 on Core, against a category middle of $85 and a dearer quarter from $149. The page does not say whether that is monthly or annual. | CGraded against the agency tools it's listed beside. Standard is $79 a month on yearly billing ($95 monthly), but the page doesn't say if that's per user or per agency, so a ten-person agency pays $79 or many times that. Data enrichment is $29 a month more. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial. Every plan says Get a quote. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of TE Recruit with no card needed. |
| Features | CATS, client management, a 300+ app marketplace and AI on higher plans. The recruitment CRM and AI search only start at Pro, so Starter and Core have gaps. | BCandidates, client companies, job orders and placements in one system, with resume parsing, hotlists, a careers page and one-click job posting, plus sequences and automations on Professional. The whole agency job, with enrichment as a paid extra. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. An agency platform that needs setting up with workflows and custom fields. | CNo App Store rating on record, and you'll set up pipelines, a careers page and job board links before it earns its keep. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with a 300+ partner marketplace and LinkedIn and Salesforce links. | BWeb and a browser extension, with Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Dice, ZoomInfo, Checkr and RingCentral linked, and an API on Professional. No phone or desktop app on record. |
| Best for | ATS and CRM for staffing agencies | small recruiting agencies and solo recruiters |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bullhorn and Top Echelon. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bullhorn starts at $99 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Top Echelon starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7.
Top Echelon scores higher and starts $20 a month lower. Of the other hiring and applicant tracking tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Bullhorn for less, and none scores higher than Top Echelon for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Bullhorn | Top Echelon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $99 per user / month (billing basis not stated) | $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of TE Recruit, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bullhorn | Top Echelon |
| Price read from | bullhorn.com | topechelon.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bullhorn
- Every plan has a Get a quote button, and the page does not say whether the per-user prices are billed monthly or annually.
- AI search and match, the recruitment CRM and Amplify Chat start at the Pro plan, which has no listed price.
- It is built for agencies, not for in-house teams hiring for their own company.
- Larger-agency plans, AI and Automation products and Middle Office are quote-only.
Top Echelon
- Built for recruiting agencies placing candidates with clients, not for a company hiring its own staff.
- The pricing page does not say whether prices are per user or per agency; contact Top Echelon to confirm the seat count.
- Data Enrichment costs $29 per agency a month for 100 credits, then $0.50 each; texting and job board posting may need extra subscriptions.
- TE Network is a separate membership: $150 per agency a month with a $350 startup fee, or $135 a month billed annually with the fee waived.
Key features
Bullhorn
- ATS and client management
- The entry plan covers applicant tracking, resume parsing, client management and a career portal for job postings.
- Amplify AI
- Amplify is the vendor's recruiting AI: search and match, a staffing LLM chat, data enrichment, resume formatting and call transcription.
- Digital workers
- Amplify Digital Workers are sold as automation for tasks such as screening, matching and building candidate submission packets.
- Automation
- A visual workflow builder, task-based automations and data-health automations run inside the ATS.
- Back office
- Bullhorn One and the Middle Office product handle timesheets, invoicing, pay and bill automation for staffing firms.
- VMS connections
- VMS Automation links to 110+ vendor management systems to import and update job records.
Top Echelon
- ATS and client CRM in one
- Tracks candidates, client companies, job orders, communications and placements together, with hotlists of people, companies or jobs.
- Resume parsing and search
- Parses resumes and job descriptions, with full-text and advanced search on Standard and natural-language search on Professional.
- One-click job posting
- Posts openings to several job boards and a custom careers page at once, with boards such as Indeed, ZipRecruiter and Dice linked.
- Sequences and automations
- Professional adds email sequences, automated workflows, inbound email sync and Smart-TE AI for repetitive recruiting steps.
- Data enrichment
- A paid add-on that adds missing emails, phone numbers and work history to records, with 100 credits a month for $29 and more at $0.50 each.
- TE Network split placements
- A separate membership for recruiters based in the US and Canada to share candidates and job orders with each other and split placements.
Plans
Bullhorn
Starter$99
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Applicant tracking, resume parsing, client management and a job posting career portal. Sold through a quote.
Core$165
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Adds a 300+ partner app marketplace, custom fields and workflows, and LinkedIn integrations. Sold through a quote.
ProCustom
Adds recruitment CRM, AI search and match, Amplify Chat, data enrichment and process automation.
MaxCustom
Adds Amplify agentic workflows: screening, matching, outreach, a website chatbot and interview scheduling.
Front Office GrowthCustom
For larger agencies: applicant tracking, CRM, AI assistant, custom workflows and analytics.
Bullhorn OneCustom
Front-to-back plan adding timesheet management, invoicing and billing, and pay and bill automation.
Top Echelon
Standard$79
per month, billed annually ($95 monthly); seat basis not stated
Resume and job parsing, pipelines, hotlists, a careers page, browser extension, job board links, 5,000 emails a month and 10 GB of storage.
Professional$95
per month, billed annually ($115 monthly); seat basis not stated
Adds Smart-TE AI, automations, email sequences, inbound email sync, custom application forms and domain, API access, 10,000 emails and 100 GB.
Ways to pay less
Bullhorn
No public discounts listed.
Top Echelon
- Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
TE Recruit Standard is $79 a month billed annually against $95 billed monthly, and Professional $95 against $115.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bullhorn or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Bullhorn starts at $99 per user / month (billing basis not stated), and Top Echelon starts at $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Bullhorn or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Bullhorn nor Top Echelon has a free plan. Top Echelon has a free trial.
Which platforms do Bullhorn and Top Echelon run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Top Echelon lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.