Softwr

LMS · head to head

Degreed vs SmartRecruiters

Degreed logo

Degreed

LMS

Learning experience platform that indexes skills and third-party content rather than hosting courses

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartRecruiters logo

SmartRecruiters

Recruitment

Talent acquisition suite for hiring success

From
$14995/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Degreed pricing is entirely quote-based with no public rate card, and third parties report annual floors around 25,000 USD and licence minimums as high as 150 seats, so a mid-sized organisation frequently cannot buy it at any sensible price.; SmartRecruiters no native video interviewing tool; requires third-party solution
  • They diverge on capability: Degreed covers Content aggregation, SmartRecruiters covers Applicant Tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Degreed and SmartRecruiters actually diverge.

Attributes where Degreed and SmartRecruiters differ
AttributeDegreedSmartRecruiters
Starting priceOn request$14995/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryLMSRecruitment
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Degreed

  • Content aggregation
  • Skills framework
  • Pathways and plans
  • Skill gap analytics
  • Career mobility
  • Learning records
  • Academies
  • Integrations with content providers

Only in SmartRecruiters

  • Applicant Tracking
  • CRM
  • Recruiting Marketing
  • AI Matching
  • Onboarding
  • Analytics
  • Marketplace
  • LinkedIn

What people use each for

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

Degreed

  • A large enterprise that already spends heavily on Coursera and LinkedIn Learning and cannot tell which of it is used or usefulnot SmartRecruiters
  • An organisation planning a workforce transition and needing a defensible view of which skills exist internally before it hires externallynot SmartRecruiters
  • A company running compliance training in an LMS that wants a separate, voluntary development experience employees actually choose to opennot SmartRecruiters
  • A group building internal mobility, matching people to open roles and stretch projects on evidenced skills rather than job titlesnot SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters

  • Reducing time-to-hire from 23 days to 9 daysnot Degreed
  • Scaling high-volume hiring with 50% increase in velocitynot Degreed
  • Engaging candidates with conversational AI chatbotsnot Degreed
  • Automating interview scheduling reducing administrative work by 97%not Degreed
  • Screening candidates with AI talent matching enginenot Degreed

Where each one falls short

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

Degreed

  • Pricing is entirely quote-based with no public rate card, and third parties report annual floors around 25,000 USD and licence minimums as high as 150 seats, so a mid-sized organisation frequently cannot buy it at any sensible price.
  • Degreed is a layer, not a replacement: you keep paying for the learning management system that runs compliance training and for the content subscriptions it indexes, so the licence is a third line on top of two you already have.
  • The skills data leans heavily on employee self-assessment, and self-rated skill is a weak signal; if managers do not validate ratings consistently the workforce capability picture that justified the purchase is not reliable enough to make hiring or redeployment decisions on.
  • Adoption is voluntary in most deployments, so unless the organisation ties learning to something consequential, usage decays after the launch campaign and the platform becomes an expensive search box.
  • Integrations with content providers vary in depth: some surface full metadata and completion write-back while others index only titles, so the unified record of learning the business case assumed can be patchy in exactly the sources employees use most.

SmartRecruiters

  • No native video interviewing tool; requires third-party solution
  • Reporting tools lack advanced customization; creating custom reports is difficult
  • Mobile app functionality is limited compared to desktop version
  • Integration with external HR systems can be unreliable with synchronization problems
  • Limited customization options to capture position-specific information
  • Subscription fees locked during contract term even if company headcount decreases

Pricing, plan by plan

Degreed

On request
  • Degreed for Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Content aggregation across internal and third-party sources
    • Skills framework and gap analytics
    • Pathways, plans and academies
  • Degreed Free (individual)Free
    • Personal learning profile
    • Track learning from any source
    • For individuals rather than organisations

SmartRecruiters

$14995/year
  • Essential$14995/year
    • ATS functionality
    • CRM features
    • Onboarding
  • Professional$null/year
    • All Essential features
    • AI-powered Hiring Agent
    • AI Talent Matching Engine
  • High Volume$null/year
    • All Professional features
    • AI-powered Candidate Screening
    • Conversational AI Chat
  • Complete$null/year
    • Full suite with Advanced Analytics
    • Advanced Sandbox
    • Custom in-app guidance

Which should you pick?

Choose Degreed if

  • You need content aggregation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want skills framework.
Degreed review

Choose SmartRecruiters if

  • You need applicant tracking.
  • You also want crm.
SmartRecruiters review

Questions people ask

Is Degreed or SmartRecruiters better?
Neither clearly leads. Degreed starts at On request and SmartRecruiters at $14995/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Degreed or SmartRecruiters?
Degreed starts at On request and SmartRecruiters at $14995/year.
Does Degreed or SmartRecruiters run on more platforms?
Degreed runs on Web, iOS, Android. SmartRecruiters runs on Web.
What is Degreed best used for?
Degreed is most often used for a large enterprise that already spends heavily on coursera and linkedin learning and cannot tell which of it is used or useful, an organisation planning a workforce transition and needing a defensible view of which skills exist internally before it hires externally, a company running compliance training in an lms that wants a separate, voluntary development experience employees actually choose to open, a group building internal mobility, matching people to open roles and stretch projects on evidenced skills rather than job titles. Of those, a large enterprise that already spends heavily on coursera and linkedin learning and cannot tell which of it is used or useful and an organisation planning a workforce transition and needing a defensible view of which skills exist internally before it hires externally are not what SmartRecruiters is typically brought in for.
What can Degreed do that SmartRecruiters cannot?
Degreed covers Content aggregation, Skills framework, Pathways and plans, Skill gap analytics. SmartRecruiters covers Applicant Tracking, CRM, Recruiting Marketing, AI Matching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Degreed: Does Degreed replace our LMS?

No. It is a discovery and skills layer over content. Compliance training, assignment and certification records generally stay in the LMS, and you pay for both.

SmartRecruiters: Does SmartRecruiters have a free tier?

No. As of 2026, SmartRecruiters discontinued the free SmartStart tier. The platform requires a demo and evaluation call; entry-level Essential tier pricing starts around $15,000 per year.

Source
Degreed: What does Degreed cost?

It is quote-only. Third-party reports put annual floors around 25,000 USD with licence minimums that can reach 150 seats.

SmartRecruiters: How does SmartRecruiters billing work?

SmartRecruiters charges by total company headcount, not by recruiter seats. Subscription fees cannot decrease during a contract term even if headcount shrinks mid-contract.

Source
Degreed: Is the skills data trustworthy?

Only as far as your validation process is. It is built on self-assessment plus peer endorsement, so without manager validation it should not drive redeployment decisions.

SmartRecruiters: What integrations does SmartRecruiters support?

SmartRecruiters integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and offers a Slack marketplace integration for sending interview notifications and scheduling updates directly to channels.

Source
Degreed: Can individuals use it free?

Yes, Degreed offers a free personal profile for tracking your own learning, separate from the enterprise product.

SmartRecruiters: What are SmartRecruiters' core features?

SmartRecruiters offers end-to-end recruiting including Winston AI talent matching, job distribution, career site builder, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, analytics, and onboarding tools.

Share

Related pages

More on Degreed

More on SmartRecruiters

Keep looking

Other head to heads