Best Recruiting Vendors

Small business recruiting requires coordinating multiple systems—applicant tracking, job posting, background checks, interview scheduling, and candidate assessments. Most growing companies need 3-5 different vendors to build an effective hiring infrastructure, but not all recruiting software is designed for businesses without dedicated talent acquisition teams.

We’ve evaluated dozens of recruiting vendors across eight categories and shortlisted the providers best suited for small to mid-sized businesses. Our selection criteria focused on ease of implementation, transparent pricing, quality of support, and whether the platform assumes you’re working with limited HR resources.

Disclosure: HR Launcher Lab earns a commission on some purchases made through links on this page. We only recommend providers based on their value to small businesses, not affiliate compensation. You won’t pay more using our links, and our editorial assessments remain independent.

What This Guide Covers

This page organizes recruiting vendors by function, not by vendor size or marketing budget. You’ll find recommendations for:

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) (candidate pipeline management and hiring workflows)
• Job Boards (job posting and candidate sourcing platforms)
• Background Check Services (employment verification and criminal screening)
• Pre-Employment Assessments (skills testing and cultural fit evaluation)
• Interviewing Tools (video interviews, scheduling, and AI transcription)
• Staffing Agencies (temporary, contract-to-hire, and executive search)
• Freelancer Platforms (project-based and contract talent)
• Employer of Record (EOR) (international hiring and global compliance)

Each category includes 3-9 vetted providers with clear guidance on company size fit, use cases, and what makes each vendor stand out. Some solutions, like EOR services and PEOs, handle multiple recruiting areas by acting as your legal employer. Others, like ATS platforms and assessment tools, give you the infrastructure to manage recruiting in-house.

How to Use This Guide

Start by identifying which recruiting categories apply to your business based on hiring volume, locations, and whether you hire internationally. Most small businesses with consistent hiring needs will need an ATS, access to job boards, and background check services—plus interviewing tools or assessments if they have structured evaluation processes. Companies hiring across borders should evaluate EOR providers and global recruitment platforms.

The vendors below are organized by category, with specific employee count ranges and use case descriptions to help you narrow your options quickly.

• BambooHR: Recommended for small to mid-sized businesses (20-250 employees) wanting user-friendly core HR with integrated recruiting—no complexity required.
• Workable: Best for small to mid-sized companies (20-500 employees) with active, high-volume hiring needs requiring strong sourcing and end-to-end recruitment capabilities.
• Greenhouse: Top choice for mid-sized to large companies (100-1000+ employees) experiencing rapid growth and needing advanced analytics, structured interview kits, and collaborative hiring workflows.
• Lever: Great fit for scaling businesses (50-500 employees) that want to combine ATS features with built-in CRM for candidate relationship management and pipeline nurturing.
• JazzHR: Best for small teams and startups (5-100 employees) that need affordable, straightforward recruiting software with essential ATS features and flexible pricing.
• BreezyHR: Recommended for lean startups (5-50 employees) that appreciate intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, video interviewing, and customizable pipelines without steep learning curves.
• SmartRecruiters: Good fit for businesses (50-1000+ employees) that prioritize collaborative hiring, candidate experience features, and assessment tool integrations.
• Zoho Recruit: Best for budget-conscious startups and staffing agencies managing high application volumes with resume parsing, job board integrations, and customizable workflows.

Learn how to choose the right ATS for your business →

• LinkedIn: Best for professional roles, mid-to-senior level positions, and passive candidate sourcing through the world’s largest professional network (1 billion+ members).
• Indeed: Recommended for high-volume hiring across all industries and experience levels—the largest general job board with 350+ million monthly visitors.
• ZipRecruiter: Great for small businesses wanting simplified multi-board posting with AI-powered candidate matching and one-click distribution to 100+ sites.
• Dice: Top choice for tech companies hiring software engineers, data scientists, and IT professionals—specialized tech talent marketplace.
• AngelList: Best for startups and early-stage companies recruiting tech talent who value equity compensation, mission-driven work, and startup culture.
• FlexJobs: Recommended for companies hiring remote workers and flexible positions—vetted remote job board trusted by distributed teams.
• Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent): Ideal for scaling tech startups (10-200 employees) recruiting engineers, product managers, and early employees with equity packages.
• Ladders: Good fit for companies hiring $100K+ executive and senior leadership positions requiring experienced professionals.

Explore top job boards for scaling businesses →

• Checkr: Best for high-volume hiring with fast turnaround times, integrations with 100+ ATS platforms, and modern candidate-friendly experience.
• GoodHire: Recommended for small to mid-sized businesses (5-500 employees) wanting affordable, compliant background checks with transparent pricing and easy online ordering.
• HireRight: Top choice for mid-sized to enterprise companies (100-5000+ employees) requiring comprehensive screening programs, global capabilities, and compliance expertise.
• Sterling: Great for regulated industries (healthcare, finance, education) needing specialized screening packages, ongoing monitoring, and detailed compliance reporting.
• Accurate Background: Good fit for companies (50-1000 employees) prioritizing fast results, strong customer service, and seamless integrations with major HRIS and ATS platforms.

Compare background check vendors for your hiring needs →

• Criteria: Best for small to mid-sized businesses (20-500 employees) wanting science-backed cognitive, personality, and skills assessments with simple implementation.
• HireVue: Recommended for mid-sized to enterprise companies (500-10,000+ employees) conducting video interviews with AI-powered assessments and game-based evaluations.
• Wonderlic: Top choice for companies needing quick cognitive ability tests to predict job performance—widely used 12-minute assessment trusted for 80+ years.
• Predictive Index: Great for businesses (50-1000 employees) focusing on behavioral assessments, team dynamics, and cultural fit alongside technical skills.
• Plum: Good fit for companies prioritizing potential over credentials using talent assessments that reduce bias and predict performance in specific roles.
• Codility: Best for tech companies hiring software engineers—technical coding assessments with automated scoring and plagiarism detection.
• TestGorilla: Recommended for startups and SMBs (5-200 employees) wanting affordable multi-skill assessments (cognitive, language, software, personality) in one platform.

Explore pre-employment assessment tools for better hiring →

• Calendly: Best for small teams (5-50 employees) wanting simple, automated interview scheduling that syncs with calendars and eliminates back-and-forth emails.
• GoodTime: Recommended for mid-sized to enterprise recruiting teams (100-5000+ employees) conducting high-volume hiring with complex scheduling needs and team coordination.
• Spark Hire: Top choice for companies wanting one-way video interviews for initial screening alongside live video interviewing capabilities. *
• myInterview: Great for businesses (20-500 employees) conducting asynchronous video interviews with customizable questions and structured evaluation rubrics.
• Fireflies.ai: Recommended for hiring teams wanting AI-powered interview transcription, note-taking, and searchable conversation archives for better decision-making.
• Otter.ai: Good fit for small to mid-sized teams (10-100 employees) needing affordable real-time transcription and automated meeting summaries for interviews.

Compare interviewing tools for scaling businesses →

• Robert Half: Best for companies needing specialized temporary, contract-to-hire, or permanent placements in accounting, finance, administrative, legal, and creative fields.
• Kelly Services: Recommended for businesses (50-5000+ employees) requiring flexible staffing solutions across industries including office, technical, engineering, and education.
• Randstad: Top choice for companies seeking global staffing reach with temporary, permanent, and specialized talent across multiple industries and geographies.
• Adecco: Great for organizations needing comprehensive workforce solutions including temporary staffing, permanent placement, and talent development services worldwide.
• ManpowerGroup: Good fit for companies (100-10,000+ employees) requiring contingent workforce solutions, upskilling programs, and talent consulting alongside traditional staffing.
• Korn Ferry: Best for executive search and leadership hiring—retained search firm for C-suite, VP, and senior management roles requiring strategic recruitment.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Recommended for Fortune 500 and large enterprises needing premium executive search services and leadership consulting for transformational hires.

Find staffing agencies for your business growth →

• Upwork: Best for businesses hiring freelancers across all skill categories (tech, design, writing, marketing, admin)—largest general freelance marketplace with 12+ million freelancers.
• Fiverr: Recommended for small businesses and startups needing quick, project-based work at fixed prices—ideal for one-off tasks like logo design, copywriting, or video editing.
• Toptal: Top choice for companies requiring top 3% vetted freelance talent in software development, design, finance, and project management—premium quality with higher rates.
• Freelancer.com: Great for budget-conscious businesses wanting competitive bidding on projects with global freelancer access across 1,800+ categories.
• Guru: Good fit for companies (10-500 employees) seeking skilled professionals with WorkRooms for collaboration and SafePay escrow for secure payments.
• 99designs: Best for businesses needing graphic design work—specialized platform for logo design, branding, web design, and marketing materials through contests or 1-on-1 projects.

Discover freelance platforms to find expert professionals →

• Multiplier: Top choice for SMBs scaling quickly across 150+ countries needing fast onboarding, automated compliance workflows, and embedded HR support.
• Deel: Best for SMBs hiring 1-50 international employees across multiple countries with transparent pricing, self-service tools, and minimal HR infrastructure.
• Remote: Recommended for companies making their first international hires who prioritize flat-rate pricing, straightforward processes, and strong compliance infrastructure.
• Oyster: Great for startups and growing businesses (under 100 employees) that want simplified global hiring through an intuitive, modern platform without legal entity setup.
• Papaya Global: Good fit for growing companies (20-500 employees) wanting detailed reporting, multi-country payroll consolidation, and comprehensive workforce analytics.
• Globalization Partners: Best for businesses needing proven infrastructure, extensive country coverage, and hands-on guidance for complex international hiring scenarios.

Unlock global expansion with EOR solutions →

For companies needing comprehensive HR outsourcing alongside recruiting support, consider exploring PEO services. PEOs can handle payroll, benefits, and compliance while providing recruiting assistance—ideal for businesses under 200 employees wanting an all-in-one solution.

Companies with multi-state or international hiring should also review labor law compliance vendors to ensure posting requirements, harassment training, and employment documentation meet federal and state regulations.