Softwr

Recruitment · head to head

Pilot vs SeekOut

Pilot logo

Pilot

Recruitment

Bookkeeping, CFO, and tax for startups

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SeekOut logo

SeekOut

Recruitment

AI candidate search across a claimed billion-plus profile database, with a published self-serve price

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pilot the Essentials bookkeeping plan at $99 per month covers up to $100,000 in monthly expenses, and is cash-basis only using bank and credit card data; SeekOut the self-serve Recruit Core tier caps monthly contacts at 500 and exports at 1,000, which an active recruiter can exhaust well before the month ends
  • They diverge on capability: Pilot covers Bookkeeping, SeekOut covers Candidate database search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pilot and SeekOut actually diverge.

Attributes where Pilot and SeekOut differ
AttributePilotSeekOut
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month, self-serve entry tier then per seat by quote
PlatformsWebWeb, Chrome Extension
Founded2017Unknown

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 Pilot

  • Bookkeeping
  • CFO services
  • Tax preparation
  • R&D tax credits
  • Financial reporting
  • QuickBooks
  • Stripe
  • Brex

Only in SeekOut

  • Candidate database search
  • Outreach sequencing
  • Talent rediscovery
  • Market intelligence
  • SeekOut Spot

What people use each for

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

Pilot

  • Small business bookkeeping and accountingnot SeekOut
  • Tax preparation and filingnot SeekOut
  • CFO consulting for startupsnot SeekOut
  • Payroll and HR administrationnot SeekOut

SeekOut

  • An individual recruiter or small agency wanting to start sourcing immediately on a card without a sales callnot Pilot
  • A talent acquisition team that has outgrown a self-serve seat cap and needs ATS-integrated sourcing across the teamnot Pilot
  • An employer benchmarking compensation and talent pool size for a hard-to-fill role before opening a searchnot Pilot
  • A company wanting to try an AI-assisted sourcing service billed per role, as an alternative to paying a recruiting agency percentage feenot Pilot

Where each one falls short

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

Pilot

  • The Essentials bookkeeping plan at $99 per month covers up to $100,000 in monthly expenses, and is cash-basis only using bank and credit card data
  • A dedicated US-based bookkeeper, accrual-basis books and phone support require the Core plan, which is contact sales and billed annually
  • Core caps bill management at 10 vendor bills per month
  • Keeping an existing QuickBooks account with historical data requires the Custom plan
  • Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll administration and CFO advisory are Custom plan only
  • Monthly reports arrive on the 10th business day on Core and the 6th business day only on Custom
  • Tax filing is sold separately, starting at $1,000 per year for single member LLCs and $2,000 per year for partnerships and S-Corps, billed annually
  • The tax service must be purchased together with Pilot Bookkeeping
  • Partnership and S-Corp tax filing includes up to 25 1099-NEC filings

SeekOut

  • The self-serve Recruit Core tier caps monthly contacts at 500 and exports at 1,000, which an active recruiter can exhaust well before the month ends
  • Moving from Recruit Core to team-level plans reverts to custom quoting, so the published entry price does not scale predictably as a team grows
  • Candidate data is aggregated from public and licensed sources, so contact accuracy and freshness vary by role type and can lag for less public roles
  • ATS integration and market intelligence, the features larger teams actually need, sit behind the quoted tiers rather than the published price
  • SeekOut Spot's per-role pricing model still requires a sales conversation to size, despite being marketed as a lower-cost alternative to agencies
  • A large claimed database size does not guarantee coverage in every geography or niche technical skill, and buyers cannot verify coverage for their specific roles before purchase

Pricing, plan by plan

Pilot

On request
  • Bookkeeping Essentials$99/month
    • Up to $100,000 in monthly expenses
    • AI-powered transaction categorization
    • Monthly closing
  • Bookkeeping CoreFree
    • Dedicated US-based bookkeeper
    • Cash or accrual-basis bookkeeping
    • Bill management for up to 10 vendor bills monthly
  • Tax Single Member LLC$1000/year
    • Federal and state income tax filing
    • Schedule C reporting
  • Tax Partnerships & S-Corps$2000/year
    • Federal and state filings
    • Up to 25 1099-NEC filings

SeekOut

On request
  • Recruit Core$149/month
    • Unlimited searches
    • 500 monthly contacts
    • 1,000 exports/month
  • Recruit Sourcing / Full Funnel$undefined/year
    • ATS integration
    • Talent rediscovery
    • Market intelligence

Which should you pick?

Choose Pilot if

  • You need bookkeeping.
  • You also want cfo services.
Pilot review

Choose SeekOut if

  • You need candidate database search.
  • You work on Web, Chrome Extension.
  • You also want outreach sequencing.
SeekOut review

Questions people ask

Is Pilot or SeekOut better?
Neither clearly leads. Pilot starts at On request and SeekOut at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pilot or SeekOut?
Pilot starts at On request and SeekOut at On request.
Does Pilot or SeekOut run on more platforms?
Pilot runs on Web. SeekOut runs on Web, Chrome Extension.
What is Pilot best used for?
Pilot is most often used for small business bookkeeping and accounting, tax preparation and filing, cfo consulting for startups, payroll and hr administration. Of those, small business bookkeeping and accounting and tax preparation and filing are not what SeekOut is typically brought in for.
What can Pilot do that SeekOut cannot?
Pilot covers Bookkeeping, CFO services, Tax preparation, R&D tax credits. SeekOut covers Candidate database search, Outreach sequencing, Talent rediscovery, Market intelligence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pilot: What is the starting price for Pilot bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping Essentials starts at $99/month and includes up to $100,000 in monthly expenses with AI-powered categorization. Bookkeeping Core pricing starts at $0/month (billed annually) with a dedicated US-based bookkeeper.

Source
SeekOut: Is there a genuinely self-serve price?

Yes, Recruit Core is $149/month billed annually or $179/month billed monthly, purchasable without a sales call, with a 14-day free trial.

Pilot: What tax services does Pilot offer?

Pilot offers tax filing starting at $1,000/year for Single Member LLCs, $2,000/year for Partnerships & S-Corps, and $2,450/year for C-Corps, each including federal and state filings.

Source
SeekOut: What happens when I hit the monthly contact limit?

Recruit Core caps at 500 monthly contacts and 1,000 exports; exceeding that requires upgrading to a quoted team tier.

Pilot: How much do Pilot CFO services cost?

CFO Basic starts at $1,750/month (billed annually) with monthly consultation; CFO Essentials at $3,150/month (billed annually) with bi-weekly calls; CFO Custom at $5,250/month (billed annually) with weekly calls and strategic planning.

Source
SeekOut: Is SeekOut Spot the same product as Recruit?

No, Spot is a separate AI-assisted, human-reviewed sourcing service billed per role or per contractor rather than a seat-based search tool.

Share

Related pages

More on Pilot

More on SeekOut

Keep looking

Other head to heads