CATS review (2026): is it worth $89 a month per user?
Applicant tracking and recruiting CRM with a single per-user plan
Black Friday: is there a CATS sale?
CATS report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for an ATS for small recruiting agencies
CATS is an ATS and candidate CRM for recruiters, at $89 per user a month with a 30-day trial. Data migration is an extra charge, texting is US and Canada only, and the page doesn't say what billing term the price assumes.
Who CATS is for
- 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
Who CATS is not for
- 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
Why CATS gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for money$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.
- CFree plan and trialA free 30-day trial and no free plan. The page we read does not say whether a card is needed.
- BFeaturesCustom workflows, candidate and client CRM, a sourcing extension, careers pages, scheduling, texting and reporting. No gap in the core job shows on the listing.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. Workflows, careers pages and posting integrations need building before use.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb and a browser extension, with LinkedIn, Monster, CareerBuilder and WordPress. No phone or desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from CATS's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/cats-ats#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/cats-ats.svg" alt="CATS: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where CATS stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
CATS's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 88 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 8.
It stands best on features (B, above 75 of 101) and worst on ease of use (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $89 a month for each person, against a middle price of $99 for the category: 19 of the 42 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. CATS’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 12 of 101, level with 78
- CFree plan and trialAbove 73 of 101, level with 23
- BFeaturesAbove 75 of 101, level with 26
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 101, level with 99
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 101, level with 62
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 43 hiring and applicant tracking tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep CATS, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace CATS you would be making jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.4 is higher than 88 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade. It costs $1,068 a year.
What you could make
- Applicant tracking, sales pipeline and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. CATS’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is CATS?
CATS is an applicant tracking system aimed at small hiring teams and professional recruiters. It combines a candidate and client database, customizable workflows, a careers page and job posting, and a recruiting browser extension. The pricing page lists one plan, billed per user, with a free 30-day trial.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
CATS pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, CATS is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $89 per user / month (billing period not stated).
- Starts at
- $89 per user / month (billing period not stated)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Free 30-day trial
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $89per 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. |
Read from catsone.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with CATS before you buy.
Works with
CATS alternatives
- CATS vs Top Echelon
Free trial · from $79/mo
- CATS vs Recruit CRM
Free trial · from $95/mo
- CATS vs JazzHR
From $1,000/yr
- CATS vs Bullhorn
From $99/mo
- CATS vs Crelate
Free trial · from $85/mo
Common questions
Does CATS have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. CATS is listed for Web.
Does CATS have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. CATS is listed for Web.
Is CATS open source?
CATS is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does CATS have an API?
Yes. CATS offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.