Top Echelon
ATS and recruiting CRM for recruiting agencies and staffing firms
Top Echelon report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for small recruiting agencies and solo recruiters
Top Echelon's TE Recruit is a tracker and client CRM for recruiting agencies, keeping candidates, clients, job orders and placements together. There's a 30-day trial with no card. Just know the page never says whether its $79 a month is per recruiter or per agency.
Who Top Echelon is for
- Great if you're an independent recruiter placing candidates with clients
- Handy when you're moving off Big Biller, which is what this used to be called
- Good for US and Canadian recruiters who want to split placements on TE Network
Who Top Echelon is not for
- 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
Why Top Echelon 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 moneyGraded 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.
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of TE Recruit with no card needed. That's longer than most trials in this category.
- BFeaturesCandidates, 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.
- CEase of useNo App Store rating on record, and you'll set up pipelines, a careers page and job board links before it earns its keep.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Top Echelon's own pages on 18 October 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/top-echelon#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/top-echelon.svg" alt="Top Echelon: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Top Echelon stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
Top Echelon's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 9 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on features (B, above 1 of 14) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $79 a month, against a middle price of $89.17 for the category: 3 of the 9 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 15 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Top Echelon’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 14, level with 9
- CFree plan and trialAbove 6 of 14, level with 7
- BFeaturesAbove 1 of 14, level with 13
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 14, level with 13
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 14, level with 14
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 10 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 Top Echelon, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Top Echelon 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 costs $948 a year.
What you could make
- Applicant tracking 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.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Top Echelon’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 Top Echelon?
Top Echelon makes TE Recruit, formerly Big Biller, an applicant tracker and client CRM for recruiting agencies, executive search and small staffing firms rather than for a company's own hiring. It keeps candidates, client companies, job orders and placements in one system, and Top Echelon also runs TE Network, a split-placement network where member recruiters share candidates and jobs.
Top Echelon is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly). See every plan
Good for
- Independent recruiters and small recruiting agencies
- Executive search firms that track clients and job orders
- Agencies moving off Big Biller or another agency ATS
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Top Echelon pricing
- Starts at
- $79 per month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of TE Recruit, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $79per 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 | $95per 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. |
Read from topechelon.com on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Top Echelon before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountLower price with annual billing
TE Recruit Standard is $79 a month billed annually against $95 billed monthly, and Professional $95 against $115.
Stated on topechelon.com
Works with
- Indeed
- ZipRecruiter
- Dice
- ZoomInfo
- Checkr
- RingCentral
- SparkHire
- SourceWhale
Top Echelon alternatives
- Top Echelon vs Recruit CRM
Free trial · from $95/mo
- Top Echelon vs Manatal
Free trial · from $15/mo
- Top Echelon vs Zoho Recruit
Free plan · from $25/mo
- Top Echelon vs JazzHR
From $1,000/yr
Common questions
Is Top Echelon free?
No, Top Echelon is a paid product, but you can try it first. 30-day free trial of TE Recruit, no credit card required.
How much does Top Echelon cost?
Top Echelon lists 2 plans. Standard: $79 per month, billed annually ($95 monthly); seat basis not stated. Professional: $95 per month, billed annually ($115 monthly); seat basis not stated. Prices were read from topechelon.com on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does Top Echelon work on?
Top Echelon is available on Web. It also has a browser extension.
Does Top Echelon offer any discounts?
Top Echelon publicly lists the following: Lower price with annual billing.
Does Top Echelon have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Top Echelon is listed for Web.
Does Top Echelon have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Top Echelon is listed for Web.
Is Top Echelon open source?
Top Echelon is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does Top Echelon integrate with?
Top Echelon's listing names Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Dice, ZoomInfo, Checkr, RingCentral, SparkHire and SourceWhale. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Top Echelon?
Top Echelon is made by Top Echelon. It dates from 1988.
What are the alternatives to Top Echelon?
The closest alternatives to Top Echelon in our directory are Recruit CRM, Manatal, Zoho Recruit and JazzHR. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Top Echelon.
How does Top Echelon compare with other hiring and applicant tracking tools?
Top Echelon's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 9 of the 14 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 2. It stands best on features (B, above 1 of 14) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Is Top Echelon good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Top Echelon C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $79 a month, against a middle price of $89.17 for the category: 3 of the 9 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.
Could I make my own version of Top Echelon?
To replace Top Echelon 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 costs $948 a year. What you could not make: 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. AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026.