Recruitment · head to head
Factorial vs Gem
Gem
Recruitment
Recruiting CRM and AI sourcing tool that layers onto an existing ATS or replaces it
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Factorial has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Factorial no published tier names or feature-based pricing breakdown; Gem pricing outside the small-startup tier is entirely custom and not published, so mid-size and enterprise buyers cannot benchmark cost before a sales call
- They diverge on capability: Factorial covers HR Management, Gem covers AI sourcing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Factorial and Gem actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 Factorial
- HR Management
- Time Off
- Time Tracking
- Documents
- Payroll
- Performance
- Recruiting
- Shift Management
Only in Gem
- AI sourcing
- Outreach sequences
- ATS sync or replace
- Analytics
- Talent rediscovery
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Factorial
- Managing employee records, onboarding and offboardingnot Gem
- Tracking time off, attendance and shiftsnot Gem
- Running recruitment and performance reviews alongside HR datanot Gem
Gem
- A talent acquisition team that wants sourcing, outreach and pipeline analytics without replacing an existing ATS such as Greenhouse or Workdaynot Factorial
- An early-stage startup under 30 employees that qualifies for Gem's startup discount programme and wants sourcing tooling from day onenot Factorial
- A company evaluating whether to consolidate its recruiting stack by moving off a separate ATS entirely onto Gem All-in-Onenot Factorial
- A recruiting team that wants to resurface past applicants already in their data before opening a new external sourcing campaignnot Factorial
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Factorial
- No published tier names or feature-based pricing breakdown
- Pricing customization requires sales consultation
Gem
- Pricing outside the small-startup tier is entirely custom and not published, so mid-size and enterprise buyers cannot benchmark cost before a sales call
- Choosing Gem All-in-One as an ATS replacement is a much larger migration decision than adding a sourcing layer, and the sales process does not surface that distinction clearly upfront
- Seat types (standard versus AI-powered) gate which features a given recruiter can use, so a team can under-provision seats and lose access to sourcing features they assumed were included
- The startup discount programme has eligibility cutoffs by employee count and age of company, so growing past 30 employees or beyond early stage removes the cheaper pricing path
- Outreach effectiveness depends on email deliverability and candidate response rates that Gem does not control, so ROI varies by how saturated a company's target talent pool already is with recruiter outreach
- Switching from Gem back to a standalone ATS after adopting All-in-One means re-migrating hiring pipeline data a second time, which is a cost most buyers do not model at signup
Pricing, plan by plan
Factorial
Free- FreeFree
- Basic HR
- Time Off
- Documents
- Business$5/month
- All Free features
- Payroll
- Performance
Gem
On request- Startup (1-10 FTE)$130/month
- AI sourcing and CRM
- Analytics
- Scheduling
- Gem + Your ATS / All-in-One$undefined/year
- Custom pricing by FTE count and seat type
Which should you pick?
Choose Factorial if
- You need hr management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want time off.
Choose Gem if
- You need ai sourcing.
- You work on Web, Chrome Extension.
- You also want outreach sequences.
Questions people ask
- Is Factorial or Gem better?
- Neither clearly leads. Factorial starts at Free and Gem at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Factorial or Gem?
- Factorial has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Factorial and On request for Gem.
- Does Factorial or Gem run on more platforms?
- Factorial runs on Web, Ios, Android. Gem runs on Web, Chrome Extension.
- Can I use Factorial for free?
- Yes. Factorial has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gem starts at On request.
- What is Factorial best used for?
- Factorial is most often used for managing employee records, onboarding and offboarding, tracking time off, attendance and shifts, running recruitment and performance reviews alongside hr data. Of those, managing employee records, onboarding and offboarding and tracking time off, attendance and shifts are not what Gem is typically brought in for.
- What can Factorial do that Gem cannot?
- Factorial covers HR Management, Time Off, Time Tracking, Documents. Gem covers AI sourcing, Outreach sequences, ATS sync or replace, Analytics.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Factorial: What is Factorial's starting price?
Factorial starts at $8 per month per user. The company offers modular pricing where customers select features across categories including time management, talent management, finance management, and IT management.
SourceGem: Do we need to replace our ATS to use Gem?
No, Gem can run alongside an existing ATS purely for sourcing and CRM; Gem All-in-One is a separate option that includes its own ATS.
Factorial: Can I customize my Factorial plan?
Yes. Factorial offers customizable plans for all businesses and budgets. A specialist will design a plan based on specific business needs. All plans include the Factorial Core platform with employee directory, onboarding/offboarding, payslip distribution, legal e-signature, and custom notifications.
SourceGem: Is there a published price for larger teams?
Only the 1-10 employee startup tier has a public price; larger teams are quoted based on FTE count and seat mix.
Gem: What is the difference between a standard and AI-powered seat?
Standard seats cover core sourcing, email-finding and ATS sync; AI-powered seats add sourcing agents, application review and fraud detection.
Related pages
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- Gem vs Ashby
- Gem vs SmartRecruiters
- Gem vs Breezy HR
- Gem vs JazzHR
- Gem vs Deel
- Gem vs Teamtailor
- Gem vs Jobvite
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- Gem vs Workable
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- Gem vs Glassdoor
- Gem vs Indeed
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