Softwr

Recruitment · head to head

Bullhorn vs iCIMS

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
iCIMS logo

iCIMS

Recruitment

Talent cloud for transformative hiring

From
$14500/year
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.; iCIMS difficult customer support requiring escalation for resolution
  • They diverge on capability: Bullhorn covers Recruitment CRM, iCIMS covers Applicant Tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bullhorn and iCIMS actually diverge.

Attributes where Bullhorn and iCIMS differ
AttributeBullhorniCIMS
Starting priceOn request$14500/year
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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
  • Onboarding
  • Executive search
  • Salesforce edition

Only in iCIMS

  • Applicant Tracking
  • CRM
  • Career Sites
  • Text Recruiting
  • Video Interviewing
  • AI Matching
  • LinkedIn
  • Indeed

Both cover

  • Analytics

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 iCIMS
  • A recruitment firm where consultants sell to clients and manage candidates in the same working daynot iCIMS
  • An agency consolidating several acquired offices onto one system of recordnot iCIMS
  • An executive search practice needing assignment-based workflow rather than requisition-based trackingnot iCIMS

iCIMS

  • Enterprise applicant tracking with configurable hiring workflowsnot Bullhorn
  • High volume hiring in retail, hospitality and healthcarenot Bullhorn
  • Candidate relationship management and automated campaignsnot Bullhorn
  • Career site and employer branding managementnot Bullhorn
  • Employee onboarding after offer acceptancenot 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.

iCIMS

  • Difficult customer support requiring escalation for resolution
  • Complex and dated user interface compared to modern cloud recruiting tools
  • CRM, ATS, and Text engagement systems do not sync well and require separate logins
  • Custom reporting is difficult to create without IT expertise

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

iCIMS

$14500/year

No published plan breakdown. See the iCIMS review.

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 iCIMS if

  • You need applicant tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want crm.
iCIMS review

Questions people ask

Is Bullhorn or iCIMS better?
Neither clearly leads. Bullhorn starts at On request and iCIMS at $14500/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bullhorn or iCIMS?
Bullhorn starts at On request and iCIMS at $14500/year.
Does Bullhorn or iCIMS run on more platforms?
Bullhorn runs on Web, iOS, Android. iCIMS runs on Web, Ios, Android.
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 iCIMS is typically brought in for.
What can Bullhorn do that iCIMS cannot?
Bullhorn covers Recruitment CRM, Applicant tracking, Pay and bill, Bullhorn Automation. iCIMS covers Applicant Tracking, CRM, Career Sites, Text Recruiting. Both handle Analytics.

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.

iCIMS: How much does iCIMS cost?

iCIMS pricing varies from $14,500 to $635,000 annually depending on organization size and modules. Mid-market companies typically pay $15,000-$35,000 annually, with larger enterprises exceeding $100,000 plus implementation fees.

Source
Bullhorn: Who owns Bullhorn?

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

iCIMS: What companies use iCIMS?

iCIMS serves more than 4,400 companies across 200 countries, including a quarter of Fortune 500 companies, particularly in retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance sectors.

Source
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.

iCIMS: Does iCIMS integrate with other HR systems?

Yes, iCIMS connects with more than 800 partner technologies including job boards, background check services, HR systems, and social platforms.

Source
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.

iCIMS: How long does iCIMS implementation take?

iCIMS implementation is typically lengthy and complex, with setup time varying based on workflow complexity, integrations, and organizational requirements. The process requires professional services and can involve extended ramp-up periods for configuration and training.

Source
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