Manatal vs. Recruitee: The Best ATS for Small Business in 2025? (Honest Review)

Choosing hiring software feels like dating. Everyone looks great on the landing page, but once you commit, you start noticing the bad habits. If you are hunting for the best ATS for small business in 2025, you have likely narrowed it down to the two heavyweights: Manatal and Recruitee.

I didn't just read their brochures. I created accounts, uploaded dummy resumes, built career pages, and tried to break their "one-click" apply features.

Here is the reality: One is a powerhouse for AI sourcing (Manatal), and the other is a masterpiece of collaborative workflow (Recruitee). Choosing the wrong one could cost you thousands in hidden fees and lost productivity.

Before you spend a dime, remember that software costs are only one part of the equation. You should check our True Cost of Employee Calculator to see how software overhead factors into your total hiring budget.

At a Glance: The Verdict for Busy HR Managers

If you don't have time to read the deep dive, here is the executive summary.

Why Small Businesses Need a Different Breed of ATS

In 2025, the gap between "Enterprise" software and "Small Business" software has vanished in terms of power, but widened in terms of complexity.

If you are a team of 5 to 50 people, you do not need Workday or Taleo. Those tools are built for compliance officers, not humans. Small businesses need speed. You need an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that:

• Parses resumes instantly: You don't have time to data-entry PDFs.
• Posts to multiple boards: LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor with one click.
• Requires zero training: Your hiring manager in Marketing should be able to figure it out without a manual.

Deep Dive: Manatal

The AI Powerhouse

Manatal markets itself heavily on AI, and honestly, it lives up to the hype. When I uploaded a batch of 50 generic resumes, Manatal's engine immediately started scanning the text against my job description.

It assigns a match score percentage to every candidate. Is it perfect? No. But it successfully flagged the three candidates who had "Python" and "Project Management" experience, saving me from reading the other 47 irrelevant CVs.

Social Media Enrichment

This is Manatal's "killer feature." When you add a candidate, the system scours the web for their LinkedIn, GitHub, and Twitter profiles. It enriches their profile automatically. For a small business without a dedicated sourcer, this is like having a private investigator on staff.

The Downside?

The User Interface (UI) is functional, but it feels a bit "data-heavy." It looks like a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. If you love spreadsheets and data, you will love it. If you want something that looks like Instagram, you might struggle.

Deep Dive: Recruitee

The Collaborative Artist

Recruitee feels less like a database and more like Trello. Their hallmark feature is the "Kanban Board" view of your hiring pipeline. You drag candidates from "Applied" to "Interviewing" to "Hired."

Why I liked it: The "@mention" feature. I could tag a hiring manager in a comment on a candidate's profile, and they could reply via email without even logging into the system. This reduces friction significantly.

The Careers Site Builder

If you care about your employer brand, Recruitee wins here. Their careers site editor is a true WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) builder. I built a professional-looking "Work With Us" page with a video background and employee testimonials in about 25 minutes. Manatal's builder felt rigid by comparison.

Feature Head-to-Head

1. Pricing Structures

This is the biggest differentiator.

• Manatal charges per user. If you have 1 recruiter and 20 open jobs, Manatal is incredibly cheap (roughly $15-$35/month).
• Recruitee charges per job slot. If you have 10 recruiters but only 2 active job openings, Recruitee is a steal. But if you are a startup trying to fill 15 roles at once, the "job slot" pricing can get expensive very quickly.

2. AI & Automation

"Manatal's AI feels like a proactive assistant, whereas Recruitee's automation feels like a set of rules you have to program yourself."

Manatal uses AI to recommend candidates from your existing database for new jobs. If you rejected someone for a Sales role six months ago, Manatal might pop up and say, "Hey, this person is actually a 95% match for your new Customer Support role." That is retention of value.

3. Mobile App

I tested both on an iPhone 14. Recruitee's app is smoother. It allowed me to review resumes and leave feedback while waiting for coffee. Manatal's app is functional but felt like a mobile wrapper around their web site.

The Deal Breakers

Here are the things the sales reps won't tell you on the demo call:

Manatal's Deal Breaker:

Reporting customization is limited on the lower tiers. If your CEO wants a very specific pie chart about "Time to Hire per Department," you might need to export to Excel to build it yourself.

Recruitee's Deal Breaker:

The "Job Slot" limit is hard. If you pay for 5 slots, you cannot have a 6th job draft open. You have to archive a job to open a new one. This juggling act can be frustrating during a growth sprint.

Integration: It's Not Just About the ATS

An ATS is just one part of your stack. In 2025, you need to know how these tools talk to your payroll and HRIS. Both tools integrate well with Zapier, which is essential.

However, before you even post the job, you need to understand the financial impact of the hire. Using tools like our True Cost of Employee Calculator helps you budget for the software license costs plus the new employee's overhead.

Final Verdict: Which one is for you?

Choose Manatal if:

• You are a Recruitment Agency or a Headhunter.
• You have a small team of recruiters but a high volume of roles.
• You rely heavily on sourcing candidates (hunting them down) rather than just waiting for applicants.
• You want AI to do the heavy lifting on screening.

Choose Recruitee if:

• You are an Internal HR Team at a company.
• You care deeply about Employer Branding and want a beautiful careers page.
• You need to involve hiring managers (non-HR people) in the interview process easily.
• You prefer a visual, Trello-style workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Manatal difficult to set up?

No. Manatal is cloud-based. You can be up and running in one day. However, learning to interpret the AI match scores takes a little practice to trust.

Does Recruitee post to free job boards?

Yes, Recruitee (and Manatal) both offer "multiposting" to free boards like Indeed (organic), Glassdoor, and LinkedIn (limited free slots). They also offer discounted credits for premium slots.

Can I switch from Excel to these tools easily?

Absolutely. Both have a "Bulk Import" feature. You format your Excel sheet, map the columns (Name, Email, Phone), and upload. Manatal is particularly good at parsing resumes that are attached to those Excel rows.

Still stuck? Sometimes the best way to decide is to look at the numbers. Don't forget to calculate your Cost of Turnover to see how much a bad hiring process is actually costing you.