Alternative forCrelate
A 7% rise, written into the contract
Recruitly has no escalator clause, no auto-renewal to escape and no additional fee on the things you use every day. $25 per user.
Their $119 seat, at the contractual minimum
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
7.3 “annual innovation price enhancement … the greater of: (i) 7%; or (ii) the percentage increase in the prevailing US Client Price Index”
7% is the floor, not the number. Renews for twelve months unless you give thirty days’ notice.
Clause quoted from crelate.com/terms-of-service, 9 August 2026.
Five rows, five additional fees
These are not fine print we went looking for. The phrase is printed beside each one on Crelate’s own pricing comparison, on all three tiers — including Enterprise.
All four, on every plan, at one price
Texting and WhatsApp
Two-way messaging on the candidate record, including WhatsApp, without a connector subscription underneath it.
Read moreEmail campaigns and sequences
Campaigns, drip sequences and templates run over the same database that holds your pipeline, on every plan.
Read moreE-signature
Terms of business and placement paperwork signed inside the record, with the signed copy stored against it.
Read moreContact enrichment
Find email and find phone on the contact itself, saved to the record rather than metered as a separate product.
Read moreWhere Crelate is genuinely strong
Few mid-market agency systems cover the whole lifecycle without a third-party back office bolted to the side. Crelate does.
Recruit for the ATS and business-development CRM, Hire for onboarding including federal and state tax forms and WOTC, Deliver for timesheets and pay-and-bill. If you are a US staffing firm running high-volume contract placement and you want that in one vendor, that is a real answer and we would rather you weighed it properly than took our word for anything.
Recruitly vs Crelate
The difference shows up at renewal, not at signature.
| Published price | $25/user — free plan available | $85-149/user |
| Contractual annual increase | None | At least 7%, or CPI if higher |
| Auto-renewal | No — monthly | 12 months, 30 days' notice to stop |
| Refunds | Cancel any time | Non-refundable, no pro rata credit |
| Text messaging | Included | Additional fee applies |
| Email campaigns | Included | Additional fee applies |
| E-signature | Included | Additional fee applies |
| Contact enrichment | Included | Additional fee applies |
| Single sign-on | Included | Enterprise only |
| Zapier | Included | Enterprise only |
| Job distribution | 50+ boards | 50 free job board distributions |
| Automation and sequences | Every plan | Business Plus and above |
Source: crelate.com/pricing and crelate.com/terms-of-service, 9 August 2026. Enterprise pricing is not published, so none is quoted. Full feature comparison
Questions before you move
Does Crelate really raise the price every year?
Their Terms of Service section 7.3 describes an annual innovation price enhancement of the greater of 7% or the increase in the US Consumer Price Index. So 7% is the floor rather than the number. Section 7.1 renews the agreement for successive twelve-month periods unless either party gives thirty days' written notice before expiry, and section 6.1(a) states fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable with no pro rata credit. None of that is hidden — it is published, and we would encourage you to read those sections yourself before renewal rather than after.
What carries an additional fee?
Five things, and the phrase “(additional fee applies)” is printed against each of them on Crelate's own pricing comparison, on all three tiers including Enterprise: Email Campaigns, Crelate Text Messaging, the RingCentral Text Connector, Crelate eSignature and Native Contact Data Enrichment. The RingCentral connector also sits on top of a RingCentral subscription you hold separately. All four equivalents are included in Recruitly on every plan.
How much does Crelate cost?
Their pricing page publishes Essentials at $85 per user per month paid annually, capped at two users and 20,000 contacts, and Business at $119 per user annually or $149 month-to-month. Enterprise pricing is not published. Ours is $25 per user per month with a free plan, and there is no clause committing you to an increase at renewal.
Is there anything Crelate does better?
Breadth, genuinely. Crelate is one of the few mid-market agency systems that covers the full lifecycle natively rather than bolting on a third-party back office — Recruit for the ATS and business-development CRM, Hire for onboarding including federal and state tax forms and WOTC, and Deliver for timesheets and pay-and-bill. If you are a US staffing firm running high-volume contract placement and you need that back office in one vendor, Crelate is a serious answer and worth weighing properly.
What happens to my data?
With us it is exportable in full, at any time, at no charge, including attachments. Whatever you are moving from, request the export while the account is still live rather than after you give notice — that ordering saves more migrations than any other single piece of advice.
How long does the move take?
A migration specialist runs two stages: sample export on day 1, plan and quote signed off on day 5, 100 records per module validated by you on day 12, and the full load with a second sign-off on day 14. Both systems then run in parallel while your team works normally, with a final export on the Friday, the delta over the weekend and go-live on the Monday. Given the thirty-day notice clause, start the conversation about a month earlier than feels necessary.
The price you agreed should be the price you pay.
Best Value & Best Ease of Use · Capterra 2026