Recruitment software in Australia, compared

On This Page

1. What each costs
2. SEEK
3. Labour hire: timesheets, awards and payroll
4. Where candidates’ data is stored
5. If you leave
6. Side by side
7. Which should you shortlist?
8. My view
9. Questions I get asked

Search "recruitment software Australia" and page one is mostly software companies ranking themselves first. They rarely tell you three things a small Australian agency needs before a demo: what it costs in Australian dollars, whether it posts properly to SEEK, and where your candidates' data is stored. I've put those side by side for the systems small agencies most often look at, from each vendor's own pages. I don't sell any of them and none of them pays me.

Prices, plans and partner lists were read from the vendors' and SEEK's pages on 12 October 2026. They change often, so check before you sign.

What each costs

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

None of these prices include your SEEK ad spend, which SEEK bills separately, or SEEK's Premium Talent Search, multiposting tools, website add-ons, payroll software or setup.

Three years, by team size

Pick a plan with a published Australian price and set your number of recruiters.

For three recruiters, that's about A$7,960 on Zoho Recruit Professional, A$15,012 on Recruit CRM Pro and A$17,820 on Bullhorn Core over three years. Remember Zoho's price includes GST and the others may not, and that a cheaper plan can lack the SEEK features or timesheets you need.

SEEK

For most Australian agencies, posting to SEEK from the ATS is the feature that matters most. SEEK's own site lists 106 integrated partners for Australia. SEEK doesn't call any of them "certified", so check what each integration actually does:

• Job Posting: post and manage SEEK ads from your system.
• Optimised Apply: candidates apply on SEEK and the application lands in your system.
• Apply with SEEK: candidates apply on your careers page with their SEEK profile pre-filled.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Your SEEK ads still follow SEEK's rules for agencies: on-supplied ads branded properly, no links out to your own site or apply form in the ad, and genuine current roles. My guide to what a recruitment agency website needs covers those, and how jobs get from your ATS onto your own site.

One change worth knowing: from 31 March 2026, Indeed stopped showing jobs from simple XML feeds for free where the ATS has an Indeed integration. If your ATS integrates with Indeed, Indeed says "you must use that integration to post jobs."

Labour hire: timesheets, awards and payroll

If you place temps or labour hire workers you pay yourself, the ATS is only half the system. You also need timesheets, award and pay rate rules, payroll with Single Touch Payroll, and invoicing. The options:

• Built in: Recruit CRM has timesheets on every plan, using credits per active contractor. Vincere's Core plan includes temp and contract management with timesheets, and its Pro plan adds pay and bill.
• Australian back office: Access FastTrack360, from the same group as Vincere, charges by payroll hour ("less than 4c per payroll hour") with a three-user minimum. Entire OnHire is built for on-hire agencies, priced per active user or per shift booked.
• A payroll partner: Astute Payroll handles timesheets, awards, STP payroll and invoicing, and connects to JobAdder, Bullhorn, Xero and MYOB. Price on request.

Labour hire also brings licensing in some states, which affects your website and ads. That's covered in the recruitment agency website guide.

Where candidates' data is stored

Most recruitment agencies should assume the Privacy Act applies to them whatever their size, because the small business exemption doesn't cover businesses that trade in personal information. Your ATS holds a lot of it. Only two vendors say they store Australian customers' data in Australia: Vincere ("Your data is hosted in Sydney") and Zoho, which has an Australian data centre region. JobAdder runs on AWS but doesn't name an Australian region on its trust page; Bullhorn, Recruit CRM and Loxo don't state one.

An overseas-hosted ATS is common and lawful. The privacy regulator's guidance says storing data with an overseas cloud provider can count as a "use" rather than a "disclosure" if your contract limits the provider to storage and you keep control: you can access, export and delete it. Either way, you stay responsible. So: know which country it's in, have a contract that lets you get your data out, and say so in your privacy policy. If a client or tender requires Australian hosting, that narrows the list.

And if something goes wrong, a suspected data breach has to be assessed within 30 days, and serious ones reported to the people affected and the regulator. Ask your vendor how fast it would tell you.

If you leave

JobAdder's trust page is the clearest on this: it deletes your account data 90 days after termination, and "You can request a backup of the data prior to that deletion occurring." I couldn't find equivalent terms on the others' public pages. Ask every vendor, in writing, what format you get your candidates, clients and placements in, and how long you have to ask.

Side by side

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Which should you shortlist?

Six questions. I'll list what each answer points to, rather than crown one winner.

My view

For a small permanent-placement agency that lives on SEEK, I'd shortlist JobAdder and Zoho Recruit for the SEEK integration, and add Bullhorn or Recruit CRM if you want to compare a published price. If you pay temps, the back office decides it: look at the Access pairing of Vincere and FastTrack360, Entire OnHire, or an ATS plus Astute. Whatever you pick, get the contract length, the data export and the hosting country in writing before you sign.

And when jobs leave your ATS, make sure they land somewhere good on your own website. That's covered in what a recruitment agency website needs.

Questions I get asked

What is the best software for recruitment agencies in Australia?

It depends on whether you place temps, how much you use SEEK and whether data must stay in Australia. JobAdder, Bullhorn, Vincere, Recruit CRM and Zoho Recruit are the common shortlist.

How much does recruitment software cost?

Published Australian prices run from about A$37 to A$395 per user a month, depending on the system and plan. JobAdder and Vincere don't publish Australian prices.

Which ATS integrates with SEEK?

SEEK lists 106 integrated partners for Australia, including JobAdder, Zoho Recruit, Bullhorn, Recruit CRM and Loxo. Vincere posts to SEEK through idibu.

Is there free recruitment software?

Zoho Recruit has a free plan. Most agency systems offer a trial rather than a free tier.

Does my ATS need to store data in Australia?

Not by law, but you stay responsible for candidates' data wherever it's stored. Vincere and Zoho Recruit say they host in Australia; ask others in writing.