Hilancer vs Manatal: Per-Seat ATS or a Free Plan?

Manatal is one of the best-known generalist ATS platforms and shows up on almost every "best ATS" list. Hilancer competes in one part of that space: the independent recruiter and the small firm, especially in the Spanish-speaking market. Both use artificial intelligence and both are affordably priced, so the choice comes down to details: each plan's limits, the billing model and the experience candidates receive. This is an honest comparison, using the prices published on both official sites (checked in October 2026).

What Manatal Offers

Manatal is a global ATS + CRM aimed at recruitment teams and agencies, with one clear strength: sourcing and AI profile enrichment. Data enrichment, candidate recommendations and an AI copilot come with every plan, and the entry plan already includes a career page, LinkedIn sourcing and a Chrome extension. It charges per user and offers a 14-day trial with no card required.

Manatal Pricing in 2026, Plan by Plan

Prices published on Manatal's official site, checked in October 2026. They may change: confirm them on its pricing page before deciding.

Hiring managers (the client-side or hiring-team users) are unlimited on every plan and don't count as seats. Manatal's AI interviewer is a paid add-on on any plan.

What Hilancer Offers

Hilancer is a fully web-based ATS + recruitment CRM built for independent recruiters and small firms. It includes a visual pipeline with customizable stages, screening with automatic knockout, per-candidate notes, a Chrome extension to import LinkedIn profiles and bulk CV import. Its AI layer is aimed at daily work: CV parsing, a per-position compatibility summary, semantic search across your base, pipeline recommendations and job description drafting. On Pro it also connects to Claude, so you can add notes, schedule interviews or ask about your searches in a chat.

Its differentiator is candidate experience: automatic email feedback at every stage, a panel where candidates see their status, a branded public job portal with a drop-your-CV page, an automatic NPS survey and WhatsApp interview notifications on team plans.

The plans: Lite is free forever, with one active process at a time, unlimited candidates and 30 AI credits per month. Pro costs US$15 per month (currently 30% off at US$9.99), with unlimited processes, unlimited AI credits and the Claude integration, and comes with a 14-day free trial. Teams, for agencies, is quoted on request.

Comparison Table

Pricing: Similar Number, Different Model

The entry number is almost identical — US$15 — but the model is not. At Manatal those 15 dollars are per user, per month, with 15 active jobs and 10,000 candidates as the ceiling; unlocking automation or the candidate portal means moving up to the 35 or 55 dollar per-user plans. At Hilancer, Pro costs the same as Manatal's entry plan (currently 9.99 with the discount), with unlimited processes and unlimited AI credits. Lite, the free plan, covers one process at a time: enough to try it on a real search or for someone who recruits occasionally.

Here is Manatal's yearly cost by team size, billed annually:

At list price, a recruiter working solo pays US$150 a year for Hilancer Pro on the annual plan (two months free over the US$15 monthly price). Watch the 15-job limit on Manatal's Professional plan: if you run more searches at once, the plan you need is Enterprise, which is US$420 a year for one person. For teams, Hilancer Teams is quoted on request, so the comparison is best made with a concrete proposal in hand.

AI: Filling the Base vs Managing the Process

Both platforms use AI with different focuses. Manatal's shines at the top of the base: it enriches profiles with public information, recommends candidates and assists with a copilot. Hilancer's concentrates on the process: it reads the CV on import or application, generates a summary with a compatibility score against each specific position, lets you search your base by concept (not exact words) and drafts job descriptions. If your bottleneck is finding profiles, Manatal's approach will serve you; if it is processing and prioritizing the ones already arriving, Hilancer's will.

Claude and ChatGPT: Which Plan Includes Them

Both products connect to general-purpose AI assistants, but at very different points on their price lists. Manatal includes its ChatGPT, Claude and LLM integration on Enterprise Plus, its US$55 per user per month plan. Hilancer includes it on Pro: you connect your account to Claude and ask it in the chat to add a note, schedule an interview or tell you how your searches are going. If you want to work that way without paying for the top plan, the gap is large. What Claude can and can't do is covered in our Claude guide for recruiters.

Candidate Experience: Where Hilancer Stands Out

At Manatal, the candidate portal is a feature of the most expensive plan (Enterprise Plus). At Hilancer, candidate experience is the center of the product and comes with the free plan: every stage change triggers an automatic email (rejections are always communicated), candidates have a panel showing their real status without messaging you, they receive an NPS survey when the process closes, and your openings live on a branded public portal that also receives spontaneous CVs. For an independent recruiter, whose reputation is their main commercial asset, that layer is worth more than any internal feature.

Where Manatal Is Better

There are things Manatal does better today, and they are worth saying:

• Sourcing and enrichment. If your work depends on going out to find profiles and completing them with public information, its AI is built for exactly that from the entry plan.
• Client-side users. Unlimited, free hiring managers suit an agency that wants clients giving feedback inside the system. In Hilancer, clients see candidates and progress through a link but don't work inside the platform.
• Automation and integrations. Automated workflows on Enterprise; open API, SSO, Zapier and n8n on Enterprise Plus. Hilancer has no public API or Zapier.
• Scale and maturity. It's a global product with years on the market, designed for large teams with permission structures.

When Manatal Is the Better Fit

• You are an agency or in-house team with several users and a per-seat budget.
• Your operation depends on intensive sourcing and profile enrichment.
• You need automation, an API or SSO today.

When Hilancer Is the Better Fit

• You work solo or with a small firm and costs matter: Pro costs the same as Manatal's entry plan, with no process limit.
• Your brand in front of candidates is your main asset: automatic feedback, NPS and your own portal from the free plan.
• You want to work with Claude without paying for the top plan.
• You recruit in Spanish and want a tool built for that market.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Manatal cost?

Billed annually, Professional costs US$15 per user per month, Enterprise US$35 and Enterprise Plus US$55. Billed monthly, they are US$19, 39 and 59. There is also a Custom plan on demand. Prices checked on the official site in October 2026.

Does Manatal have a free plan?

No. It offers a 14-day trial with no card required. Hilancer does have a free-forever plan, Lite, with one active process at a time, unlimited candidates and 30 AI credits per month.

What does Manatal Enterprise Plus include?

On top of Enterprise it adds advanced reporting, an open API, SSO, custom permissions, a candidate portal, Zapier and n8n integration, and ChatGPT and Claude integration. It costs US$55 per user per month billed annually.

Which one suits a freelance recruiter?

If you work solo, candidate experience is your calling card and you don't need an API or advanced automation, Hilancer gives you more for the same entry price. If your work is mostly intensive sourcing and paying per seat is fine, Manatal is well built for that.

Can I move my candidates from another ATS to Hilancer?

Yes. Hilancer imports candidates from a CSV file and from CVs in bulk, and the AI reads each CV on import to fill in the profile.

Which One Should You Choose?

Both are good products and both can be tried for free. The best decision is the usual one: run a real process through each for a few days and measure which fits the way you work — and your real budget (counting seats, not just the list price).

Still comparing? Check out Hilancer vs Jarvi, Hilancer vs Kruiters or our guide to choosing an ATS as a freelance recruiter.