Crelate vs Top Echelon (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Top Echelon grades higher than Crelate: 2.4 against 2.2 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 features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Crelate
Applicant tracking and recruiting CRM for staffing and search firms
Top Echelon
ATS and recruiting CRM for recruiting agencies and staffing firms
Which one is for you
Pick Crelate if
- Fits if you run a small search firm and want ATS and CRM in one
- Works for agencies that want a mobile app as well as the web
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are bigger than 2 users, as Essentials stops there with 20k contacts
- Pricey if you send email campaigns or texts, as they cost extra
- Watch out: Business Plus has no published price
- Watch out: the page does not say if the $119 Business price is annual or monthly
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
| 2.2GPACrelateFair | 2.4GPATop EchelonFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$85 a user a month annual on Essentials and $119 on Business, against a category middle of $85 and a dearer quarter from $149. | 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 trial is offered, but its length and whether a card is needed are not stated. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of TE Recruit with no card needed. |
| Features | CATS, CRM, job portal, AI assistant and API. Email campaigns, texting and eSignature carry extra fees, and webhooks are not shown on Business. | 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. Recruiting software with portals and workflows to configure. | 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, iPhone and Android, with Indeed, Dice, Zapier, Outlook and Gmail links. No 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 | ATS and CRM for staffing and search firms | 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: Crelate and Top Echelon. How we grade
Price against what you get
Crelate starts at $85 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 $6 a month lower. Of the other hiring and applicant tracking tools on the chart, 4 score higher than Crelate 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
- Top Echelon also covers workflow automation and reports.
At a glance
| Crelate | Top Echelon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $85 per user / month, billed annually | $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial offered; its length is not stated on the pricing page. | 30-day free trial of TE Recruit, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Crelate, Inc. | Top Echelon |
| Price read from | crelate.com | topechelon.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Crelate
- Essentials covers up to 2 users and 20k contacts, and is bought through sales.
- Email campaigns, text messaging, eSignature and contact enrichment carry an additional fee, per the plan table.
- Business Plus has no published price, and webhooks are not shown on the Business plan.
- The page does not say whether the $119 Business price is the annual or the monthly rate.
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
Crelate
- Applicant tracking and CRM
- One system holds candidates, client contacts and placements, with full-text and Boolean search and resume parsing.
- Job portal and job distribution
- A branded job portal with custom application forms. The comparison table lists free job board distribution at 50 postings per user.
- Client and team portals
- Clients and hiring managers get a portal to review candidates. User limits per portal differ by plan, from 10 to 100 users.
- AI assistants
- An AI Assistant is on Business, with Discover Agent for finding talent, Insights Agent and Data Quality Agents listed as options.
- Mobile recruiting
- The plan table lists mobile recruiting on iOS and Android on every plan.
- API and webhooks
- The plan table lists API access at 60 requests per minute on Business and 120 on higher plans; webhooks are not shown on Business.
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
Crelate
Essentials$85
per user / month, billed annually
Applicant tracking, recruiting CRM, job portal and resume parsing for up to 2 users and 20k contacts. Contact sales to buy.
Business$119
per user / month, annual or monthly
Adds the AI Assistant, client and team portals, reports and analytics, email connections and technical support.
Business PlusCustom
Adds advanced AI Assistant, premium client portals, automation and sequences, full API and more storage. Billed annually.
PlatformCustom
Usage-based pricing on a user or site license, quoted by sales.
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
Crelate
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, Crelate or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Crelate starts at $85 per user / month, billed annually, 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, Crelate or Top Echelon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Crelate nor Top Echelon has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Crelate and Top Echelon run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Crelate lists iOS and Android apps and 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.