The short list
- Kepler — the AI-first CRM: ask AI Chat and it finds, ranks and updates, at one published price.
- Recruiterflow — an ATS and CRM built around multichannel outbound sequences.
- Loxo — an ATS and CRM wrapped around an external talent graph.
- Recruit CRM — an ATS and CRM with three published tiers.
- Tracker — an all-in-one system for staffing firms, UK and US.
- Bullhorn — a large staffing platform with add-on modules and a partner marketplace.
- Spott — an EU-weighted ATS and CRM with many separate AI features.
Why do agencies look for a Crelate alternative?
The reasons are on Crelate’s own pricing page and help centre. Five come up most.
- The AI tier is a quote. The AI Assistant starts on Business at USD 119. The Advanced AI Assistant, automation and sequences and the full API are only on Business Plus, priced “Custom, per user, paid annually”.
- Extra fees on every tier. Text messaging, email campaigns, eSignature and contact enrichment are marked “additional fee applies” in every column, Business Plus included.
- Migration is a paid package. It is scoped and priced by sales.
- Search is Boolean. Crelate’s search is a Boolean keyword query, and its own blog argues for keeping Boolean underneath. Agencies that want to ask a plain-English question across CVs, notes, emails and call transcripts look elsewhere.
- No notetaker or MCP server. Crelate does not have its own meeting notetaker, and it does not have an MCP server for outside AI tools yet.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | What it is | Matched plan price (annual basis) | AI included in that plan | Publishes pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kepler | AI-first recruitment CRM on one plan | USD 99 per user / month | Yes, AI Chat and every AI feature on every plan | Yes |
| Recruiterflow | ATS and CRM built on sequences | AIRA Plan: not published | Yes, the AIRA agents are only on this plan | Partly (Platform Plan) |
| Loxo | ATS and CRM around a talent graph | Professional: USD 199 per user / month | Yes, paid for in credits | Yes |
| Recruit CRM | ATS and CRM, three tiers | Business: USD 135 per user / month | Partly. Fifty AI matches, with add-ons for more. | Yes |
| Tracker | All-in-one staffing system | Professional: not published | Partly. TrackerAI access varies by plan. | Partly (Launch and Core, monthly) |
| Bullhorn | Staffing platform with add-on modules | Bullhorn Pro: not published | Yes, AI search and match and Amplify Chat, only on Pro | Partly (Starter and Core) |
| Spott | EU-weighted ATS and CRM | Pro: USD 199 per user / month | Yes, AI token spend included | Yes |
For reference, Crelate Business Plus is priced on request, and Business is USD 119 per user per month paid annually.
How we evaluated these alternatives
Every claim about another vendor comes from that vendor’s own pricing page, product page or help centre, read on the dates in the sources. The price shown is the tier that carries the AI, on an annual basis, and where a vendor does not publish a price, this post says so. Kepler publishes this post and is one of the seven.
The 7 best Crelate alternatives
1. Kepler
How it works. Kepler is an AI-first recruitment CRM. You ask AI Chat a question in plain English, and it searches the CVs, notes, email threads and call transcripts you already hold, then returns the people as a list you can act on. It creates and updates records once you approve.
Kepler scores every candidate from 0 to 100 against the job. The score is based on criteria taken from the job description, which you can edit, and each criterion shows the line from the CV, call or email behind it. Emails, calls and messages become updates you approve, and every field keeps its history with an undo.
What it does.
- A meeting notetaker for Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, and one inbox for email and WhatsApp.
- LinkedIn search that shows whether a person is already in your database and what has changed since you last spoke, and adds them if not.
- Contact enrichment for work and personal emails, mobile numbers and LinkedIn URLs.
- CV parsing and formatting, and a careers site on your own domain.
- Campaigns, automations, a client portal, a consent ledger, and an MCP server for outside AI tools.
Single sign-on is available on the Enterprise plan. For contract placements, Kepler records each placement’s fee, invoice status and payment status and connects to a pay-and-bill system through its API. Crelate offers Crelate Deliver as an optional back office.
Pricing. USD 99 per user per month billed annually (USD 1,188 per seat per year), or USD 129 monthly. Every feature is included, with unlimited records and storage and a done-for-you migration, free on every plan. AI Chat is included on every plan, monthly and annual, with no add-on or upgrade needed. Volume pricing is available from 50 seats.
See Kepler pricing and what Kepler does.
2. Recruiterflow
Recruiterflow is an ATS and CRM for boutique and mid-size agencies, built around outbound sequences. Its sequences combine email, call and SMS steps with branching logic, and its AIRA agents cover notetaking, matching and field updates. AIRA Source searches an external pool of profiles.
Pricing. The AIRA agents are only on the AIRA Plan, priced “Let’s chat custom pricing” (13 Sep 2026). The Platform Plan is USD 119 per user per month billed annually or USD 149 monthly, without the agents. White-glove migration is priced by data volume and typically takes six to eight weeks.
Read Kepler vs Recruiterflow or the Recruiterflow review.
3. Loxo
Loxo calls itself a talent intelligence platform: an ATS and CRM wrapped around Loxo’s own graph of professionals. It adds an agentic workforce that longlists, shortlists and reaches out, a sales CRM with deals, and outreach across email, SMS, calls and meetings.
Pricing. Loxo Source, the agentic workforce, Loxo AI Chat and API access are only on Professional, USD 199 per user per month billed annually and paid up front, with 2,500 pooled credits per seat per month (13 Sep 2026). Core, at USD 149, does not include them.
Read Kepler vs Loxo or the Loxo review.
4. Recruit CRM
Recruit CRM is an ATS and CRM for small and mid-size agencies, priced per seat in three published tiers. It includes bulk SMS, calling with recording, job multiposting, contact enrichment and mobile apps.
Pricing. Business is USD 135 per user per month billed annually or USD 159 monthly (13 Sep 2026). The fifty-match AI allowance and open API access start on Business. Pro is USD 95 annual with two AI matches. Pro and Business charge extra for add-ons such as LinkedIn messaging (USD 12 per user per month) and Advanced Analytics (USD 25). Only Enterprise, at USD 215 annual, includes them. Done-for-you migration is priced by data volume.
Read Kepler vs Recruit CRM or the Recruit CRM review.
5. Tracker
Tracker (TrackerRMS) is an all-in-one system for staffing and recruiting firms in the UK and US, sold in four plans. TrackerAI writes job descriptions, summaries and outreach and ranks résumés. Tracker does not have a chat assistant across your records yet.
Pricing. The Sequencer, AutoAction, Watchdogs and the REST API are only on Professional, priced “Contact Sales” (13 Sep 2026). TrackerAI access varies by plan. Core is USD 99 and Launch USD 79 per user per month, billed monthly with a six-month minimum.
Read Kepler vs Tracker or the Tracker review.
6. Bullhorn
Bullhorn is a staffing and recruitment platform for staffing firms and large agencies, with add-on modules including Bullhorn One, Amplify digital workers for AI, and a Marketplace of pre-integrated partners.
Pricing. AI search and match, Amplify Chat and AI call transcription are only on Bullhorn Pro, which is priced on request (13 Sep 2026). Starter is USD 99 and Core USD 165 per user per month, without Pro’s AI. Prices exclude VAT.
Read Kepler vs Bullhorn or the Bullhorn review.
7. Spott
Spott is an AI-native ATS and CRM, EU-weighted. It ships many separate AI features, such as CV comparison, enrichment, matching, inbound triage and call mining, with an MCP server for work in ChatGPT or Claude.
Pricing. Automations, sequences, the marketing suite and data enrichment are only on Pro, USD 199 per user per month billed annually or USD 249 monthly (13 Sep 2026). Core is USD 139 annual. AI token spend is included, and enrichment credits cost extra.
Read Kepler vs Spott or the Spott review.
Which Crelate alternative should you choose?
Start from the questions that separate these seven, and check each vendor’s own pages for the answers.
- Do you want to ask, or to search? In Kepler you ask AI Chat and it finds, ranks and updates for you. Ask each vendor whether its AI reads your notes, emails and call transcripts, and whether it can act on the answer.
- Where do your placements come from? If from people you already know, ask how each product searches your own data. If from an external pool, ask what the pool is and whether contact data is paid for in credits.
- Is the price of the plan you need published? Kepler, Loxo, Recruit CRM and Spott publish an annual price for their AI plan. Recruiterflow’s AIRA Plan, Bullhorn Pro, Tracker Professional and Crelate Business Plus are priced on request.
- What is charged on top? Ask about texting, campaigns, enrichment credits, add-on packs and the migration.
Where Kepler fits. Kepler is built for boutique and mid-size agencies whose database is their main asset and who would rather ask than write Boolean strings. It is USD 99 per user per month, with AI Chat, the API, contact enrichment and the migration in one price rather than spread across tiers and fees.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kepler a good Crelate alternative?
Yes, if you want a simple, modern CRM with the AI included. In Kepler you ask AI Chat in plain English and it searches your CVs, notes, emails and call transcripts, ranks candidates for a job and updates records after you approve. It is one plan at USD 99 per user per month billed annually, with contact enrichment and a free migration included. If you want a platform built from named modules across four tiers, with AI agents that search an external pool of profiles, Crelate is built for that.
How much does Crelate cost?
As of 13 Sep 2026, Crelate publishes three of its four tiers. Essentials is USD 85 per user per month paid annually, for up to two users. Business is USD 119 paid annually or USD 149 monthly, with the AI Assistant and client portals. Business Plus, the only tier with the Advanced AI Assistant, sequences and the full API, is “Custom, per user, paid annually”. Texting, campaigns, eSignature and enrichment cost extra on every tier, and migration is a separate paid package.
Which Crelate alternative is the cheapest?
On the plan that carries the AI, Kepler at USD 99 per user per month billed annually is the lowest published figure on this list. Recruit CRM Business follows at USD 135, then Loxo Professional and Spott Pro at USD 199. Recruiterflow’s AIRA Plan, Bullhorn Pro and Tracker Professional are priced on request.
Which Crelate alternatives search in plain English rather than Boolean?
Kepler understands meaning as well as keywords and searches candidates, CVs, notes, emails and call transcripts. Loxo AI Chat, only on the Professional plan, answers questions over your records plus its talent graph. Recruiterflow’s Ask AIRA reads résumés, notes, emails and call logs. Crelate’s search is a Boolean query, with a model writing the query from a plain-language prompt.
Can you migrate from Crelate to Kepler?
Yes, free on every Kepler plan. You send an export from Crelate plus any loose CVs and spreadsheets. Kepler maps and cleans the data, rebuilds custom fields and shows you fifty of your own records before the full load. Activity, stages and history come across, and you can export the whole workspace at any time with no exit fee.
Sources
Every claim about another vendor on this page comes from that vendor's own public material. Where a vendor does not publish something — pricing is the usual one — this post says so rather than estimating.
- Crelate — pricing Essentials USD 85 annual (2 users); Business USD 119 annual / USD 149 monthly with the AI Assistant and client portals; Business Plus “Custom, per user, paid annually” with the Advanced AI Assistant, automation and sequences and full API; “additional fee applies” on texting, campaigns, eSignature and enrichment in every column. The site navigation lists “MCP Server (Coming Soon)”. No meeting notetaker listed.
- Crelate — Co-Pilot AI The named AI capabilities. No meeting recording or notetaker listed.
- Crelate — ATS data migration Standard and Advanced migration packages scoped and priced by a sales contact.
- Crelate — Deliver Crelate Deliver as an optional back office.
- Crelate help centre — Crelate Search Logic Keyword scoring of Boolean search.
- Crelate — Boolean vs semantic search, redux Crelate’s argument for keeping Boolean underneath.
- Recruiterflow — pricing AIRA Plan “Let’s chat custom pricing”; Platform Plan USD 119 annual / USD 149 monthly; migration FAQ.
- Recruiterflow home page Sequences; AIRA agents; AIRA Source; Ask AIRA.
- Loxo — Pricing Professional from USD 199 and Core from USD 149 per user / month billed annually and paid up front; Loxo Source, the agentic workforce, Loxo AI Chat and API on Professional; 2,500 pooled credits per Professional seat.
- Recruit CRM — pricing Pro USD 95 / Business USD 135 / Enterprise USD 215 annual; add-on prices; matching allowances; paid migration.
- Recruit CRM — features Bulk texting, calling, multiposting, enrichment, mobile apps.
- Tracker — Plans & Pricing Professional “Contact Sales”, the first plan with the Sequencer, AutoAction, Watchdogs and REST API; Core USD 99 and Launch USD 79 per user / month billed monthly; six-month minimum.
- TrackerAI The TrackerAI feature list; access “varies by tier”; EVA, the conversational assistant across records, marked “currently in beta”.
- Bullhorn — staffing software pricing for small agencies Starter USD 99 and Core USD 165 per user / month; Pro quote-only with AI search and match, Amplify Chat and call transcription; prices exclude VAT.
- Bullhorn Marketplace The Marketplace of pre-integrated technology partners.
- Spott pricing Core USD 139 annual / USD 169 monthly; Pro USD 199 annual / USD 249 monthly with automations, sequences, marketing suite and data enrichment; AI tokens included, enrichment credits extra.
- Spott product documentation The separate AI features and the MCP server.
- Kepler pricing USD 99 per user per month billed annually (USD 1,188 per seat per year) or USD 129 monthly, a single plan, unlimited records, free migration on every plan, additional AI capacity on request.
Kepler is a recruitment CRM and this post is published by Kepler, so read it as an interested party's account. We have tried to describe Crelate as its own team would recognise it, and every factual claim is sourced above. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.