CATS vs Top Echelon (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CATS and Top Echelon share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CATS
Applicant tracking and recruiting CRM with a single per-user plan
Top Echelon
ATS and recruiting CRM for recruiting agencies and staffing firms
Which one is for you
Pick CATS if
- Fits if you are a small recruiting agency that wants candidates and clients in one tool
- Works for recruiters who source from LinkedIn with a browser extension
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have several recruiters, at $89 per user a month with the billing basis not shown
- Watch out: moving data from an old system costs $500 on an annual plan or $1,000 on a monthly one
- Watch out: SMS texting is listed for the US and Canada only
- Skip it if you want a free plan; after the 30-day trial it is paid only
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
| 2.4GPACATSFair | 2.4GPATop EchelonFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$89 per user a month against a $95 middle price for hiring tools, inside the middle of the range. The page does not say which billing period it assumes. | 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 | CA free 30-day trial and no free plan. The page we read does not say whether a card is needed. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of TE Recruit with no card needed. |
| Features | BCustom workflows, candidate and client CRM, a sourcing extension, careers pages, scheduling, texting and reporting. No gap in the core job shows on the listing. | 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 store rating on record. Workflows, careers pages and posting integrations need building before use. | 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 and a browser extension, with LinkedIn, Monster, CareerBuilder and WordPress. No phone or desktop app. | 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 | an ATS for small recruiting 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: CATS and Top Echelon. How we grade
Price against what you get
CATS starts at $89 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Top Echelon starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Top Echelon starts $10 a month lower. Of the other hiring and applicant tracking tools on the chart, none scores higher than CATS 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
- CATS also covers sales pipeline.
At a glance
| CATS | Top Echelon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $89 per user / month (billing period not stated) | $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free 30-day trial | 30-day free trial of TE Recruit, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Top Echelon Software, LLC | Top Echelon |
| Price read from | catsone.com | topechelon.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CATS
- The pricing page shows one per-user price and does not say whether it assumes monthly or annual billing.
- Data migration from an old system is a separate charge: $500 on an annual plan or $1,000 on a monthly one, per the migration page.
- SMS texting is listed for the US and Canada only.
- The terms of service name Top Echelon Software, LLC as the provider.
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
CATS
- Custom workflows
- Build the hiring pipeline stages your team uses, with multiple workflows for different teams or job types and automation triggered by status changes.
- Candidate and client CRM
- Keeps contacts, clients and candidates in one database with mass edit, a duplicate checker and custom fields.
- Sourcing extension
- Chrome and Firefox extensions parse candidate data from sites such as LinkedIn, Monster and CareerBuilder into the database.
- Careers pages and posting
- A customizable careers page or an embeddable jobs widget, multiple career portals and auto-publishing of jobs.
- Scheduling and texting
- A meeting scheduler for candidates and clients, 2-way calendar and email sync, and SMS texting in the US and Canada.
- Screening and reporting
- Knockout questions, scorecards, dashboards and reports, plus an API and webhooks for connecting other tools.
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
CATS
Pro$89
per user / month (billing basis not shown)
Careers page or jobs widget, workflow, meeting scheduler, SMS texting, calendar and email sync. Shown beside a crossed-out $110.
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
CATS
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, CATS or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CATS starts at $89 per user / month (billing period 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, CATS or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither CATS nor Top Echelon has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.