Softwr

Recruitment · head to head

Bullhorn vs Checkr

Bullhorn logo

Bullhorn

Recruitment

Applicant tracking and CRM for staffing and recruitment agencies, including contract placement, timesheets and pay-bill

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Checkr logo

Checkr

Recruitment

Background check platform priced per report, with third-party court fees passed through separately

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bullhorn pricing is per user on annual contracts with minimum seat counts, so agencies with seasonal consultants pay for licences that sit idle for months.; Checkr advertised per-report prices exclude court and database access fees, so the real cost per candidate varies by jurisdiction and is higher than the sticker in many counties
  • They diverge on capability: Bullhorn covers Recruitment CRM, Checkr covers Package pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bullhorn and Checkr actually diverge.

Attributes where Bullhorn and Checkr differ
AttributeBullhornCheckr
Pricing modelquotePer report, plus pass-through court and database fees
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Recruitment).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bullhorn

  • Recruitment CRM
  • Applicant tracking
  • Pay and bill
  • Bullhorn Automation
  • Analytics
  • Onboarding
  • Executive search
  • Salesforce edition

Only in Checkr

  • Package pricing
  • API and dashboard
  • Adjudication tools
  • Continuous checks
  • Candidate portal

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bullhorn

  • A contract staffing agency that needs worked hours to become both a worker payment and a client invoice against one placement recordnot Checkr
  • A recruitment firm where consultants sell to clients and manage candidates in the same working daynot Checkr
  • An agency consolidating several acquired offices onto one system of recordnot Checkr
  • An executive search practice needing assignment-based workflow rather than requisition-based trackingnot Checkr

Checkr

  • A company running high-volume hourly or gig hiring that needs API-driven checks integrated into an existing ATSnot Bullhorn
  • A startup or mid-size employer wanting self-service ordering through a dashboard without a dedicated screening account managernot Bullhorn
  • An employer that needs continuous rescreening for driving-related roles rather than a one-time check at hirenot Bullhorn
  • A company budgeting screening costs that needs to model court fee variance across the states it hires innot Bullhorn

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bullhorn

  • Pricing is per user on annual contracts with minimum seat counts, so agencies with seasonal consultants pay for licences that sit idle for months.
  • The product estate has been assembled through a decade of acquisitions, which leaves overlapping modules, inconsistent interfaces and more than one supported way to do the same task.
  • Implementation and data migration are multi-month projects requiring paid services, and agencies moving from another system routinely underestimate the effort of cleaning candidate and client records first.
  • The interface is dated relative to newer recruitment tools, and consultants coming from consumer-grade software need real training rather than picking it up unaided.
  • It is built for agency economics and is a poor fit for corporate in-house hiring, where the client and margin concepts are meaningless and the licence cost buys capability that will never be used.

Checkr

  • Advertised per-report prices exclude court and database access fees, so the real cost per candidate varies by jurisdiction and is higher than the sticker in many counties
  • Turnaround time depends on how fast individual courts process requests, which Checkr does not control and which can stretch well past the advertised average in rural or backlogged counties
  • Add-on checks such as MVR, drug screening and education verification are priced separately, so a full pre-employment package can cost significantly more than the base package price suggests
  • Enterprise-scale volume requires a custom Enterprise contract rather than the published per-report rates, so large employers cannot rely on the public pricing page to budget
  • Compliance obligations under the FCRA and state ban-the-box laws remain the employer's responsibility even though Checkr provides tooling, so legal review is still needed rather than assumed away by the platform
  • Candidate disputes and re-adjudication can add days to a hiring timeline, which matters for roles filled under time pressure

Pricing, plan by plan

Bullhorn

On request
  • Bullhorn ATS and CRM$undefined/year
    • Priced per user per month on an annual contract
    • Minimum user counts apply
    • Implementation and data migration quoted separately

Checkr

On request
  • Basic$29.99/report
    • SSN trace
    • Sex offender registry
    • Global watchlist
  • Essential$59.99/report
    • Everything in Basic
    • Identity verification
    • Unlimited county criminal search
  • Complete$94.99/report
    • Everything in Essential
    • Unlimited state criminal search
    • Federal criminal search

Which should you pick?

Choose Bullhorn if

  • You need recruitment crm.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want applicant tracking.
Bullhorn review

Choose Checkr if

  • You need package pricing.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want api and dashboard.
Checkr review

Questions people ask

Is Bullhorn or Checkr better?
Neither clearly leads. Bullhorn starts at On request and Checkr at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bullhorn or Checkr?
Bullhorn starts at On request and Checkr at On request.
Does Bullhorn or Checkr run on more platforms?
Bullhorn runs on Web, iOS, Android. Checkr runs on Web, API.
What is Bullhorn best used for?
Bullhorn is most often used for a contract staffing agency that needs worked hours to become both a worker payment and a client invoice against one placement record, a recruitment firm where consultants sell to clients and manage candidates in the same working day, an agency consolidating several acquired offices onto one system of record, an executive search practice needing assignment-based workflow rather than requisition-based tracking. Of those, a contract staffing agency that needs worked hours to become both a worker payment and a client invoice against one placement record and a recruitment firm where consultants sell to clients and manage candidates in the same working day are not what Checkr is typically brought in for.
What can Bullhorn do that Checkr cannot?
Bullhorn covers Recruitment CRM, Applicant tracking, Pay and bill, Bullhorn Automation. Checkr covers Package pricing, API and dashboard, Adjudication tools, Continuous checks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bullhorn: Is Bullhorn suitable for in-house corporate recruiting?

No. It is built around client relationships, margins and placements. Corporate teams should buy a requisition-based ATS instead.

Checkr: Does the per-report price include court fees?

No. Checkr states that standard third-party court and database access fees are passed through at cost on top of the package price, and these vary by jurisdiction.

Bullhorn: Who owns Bullhorn?

Insight Partners has held a majority stake since 2012, and the company has grown substantially through acquisition since then.

Checkr: Can Checkr be used without an ATS integration?

Yes, checks can be ordered manually through the Checkr dashboard as well as programmatically through the API.

Bullhorn: Does it handle temporary worker payroll?

It captures time, calculates pay and bill rates and produces payroll and invoicing outputs. Actual payroll processing is done by a payroll provider it exports to.

Checkr: Is pricing different for enterprise volume?

Yes, high-volume employers negotiate an Enterprise contract rather than paying the published per-report rates.

Bullhorn: What does implementation involve?

Data migration, workflow configuration and training, typically several months for an established agency, with services charged on top of the licence.

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