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CareerPlug vs. CATS Applicant Tracking System vs. Cornerstone Galaxy

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    CareerPlug

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ACareerPlug is a software company that helps companies across the U.S. and Canada to attract and hire the right people. Their hiring software works for non-HR people so every owner, operator, and hiring manager can make the right hires for their team. Headquartered in Austin, CareerPlug provides a playbook on How to Hire, making it easier to access best practices, and automating the process so users can focus on making the right hire.N/A

    CATS ATS

    Score3.2 out of 10
    N/ACATS is a web-based recruiting software. Users can manage the entire recruiting process including custom job applications, posting jobs, resume parsing, custom recruitment workflows, and generating customized reports. Pricing is tiered per user, per month.

    $69

    per month

    Cornerstone Galaxy

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ACornerstone Galaxy is a cloud-based application for talent management. Cornerstone offers suites for recruiting, training, performance monitoring and planning, learning, and HR data management. It is scaled for enterprises.N/A
    Pricing
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Annual Pro Plan
    $69
    per user, per month
    Monthly Pro Plan
    $99
    per user, per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Free Trial
    YesYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeRequired
    Additional Details—Please visit the CATS pricing page to compare plans and features—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Considered Multiple Products
    CareerPlug
    No answer on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answer on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Would buy again
    65 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    54 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    70 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    84%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    72%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    Features
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    8.1
    7 Ratings
    2% above category average
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    8.2
    19 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    5.8
    67 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Job Requisition Management8.57 Ratings9.517 Ratings7.045 Ratings
    Company Website Posting7.97 Ratings9.517 Ratings8.041 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media7.37 Ratings8.617 Ratings9.038 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting8.57 Ratings10.017 Ratings9.038 Ratings
    Customized Application Form7.97 Ratings9.518 Ratings8.040 Ratings
    Candidate Search8.27 Ratings6.219 Ratings6.041 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking8.27 Ratings7.619 Ratings6.041 Ratings
    Collaboration8.26 Ratings8.612 Ratings4.036 Ratings
    Email Templates8.27 Ratings9.519 Ratings4.560 Ratings
    User Permissions7.97 Ratings8.517 Ratings3.061 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts8.27 Ratings9.517 Ratings3.556 Ratings
    Reporting8.27 Ratings4.718 Ratings3.564 Ratings
    Resume Management00 Ratings8.119 Ratings5.043 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings4.618 Ratings5.040 Ratings
    Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings8.615 Ratings5.038 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    -
    Ratings
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    6.5
    134 Ratings
    11% below category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings00 Ratings7.569 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings00 Ratings5.7116 Ratings
    Compliance tracking and reporting00 Ratings00 Ratings6.3127 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    -
    Ratings
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    8.4
    115 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.596 Ratings
    Subordinate goal setting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.099 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0107 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings00 Ratings8.595 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings9.0110 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    -
    Ratings
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    8.5
    122 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings00 Ratings8.594 Ratings
    Plan weighting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.581 Ratings
    Manager note taking00 Ratings00 Ratings9.070 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings00 Ratings9.082 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings9.097 Ratings
    Rater nomination workflow00 Ratings00 Ratings8.064 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings00 Ratings8.094 Ratings
    Workflow restrictions00 Ratings00 Ratings9.086 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings00 Ratings9.083 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3116 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    -
    Ratings
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    6.5
    58 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings00 Ratings6.049 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings00 Ratings5.049 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings00 Ratings8.052 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings00 Ratings7.049 Ratings
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of CareerPlug and CATS Applicant Tracking System and Cornerstone Galaxy
    Feature
    CareerPlug
    -
    Ratings
    CATS Applicant Tracking System
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    7.4
    191 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Course authoring00 Ratings00 Ratings7.7141 Ratings
    Course catalog or library00 Ratings00 Ratings7.4189 Ratings
    Player/Portal00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0176 Ratings
    Learning content00 Ratings00 Ratings7.2151 Ratings
    Mobile friendly00 Ratings00 Ratings6.5138 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings00 Ratings6.0172 Ratings
    Assignments00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0185 Ratings
    Compliance management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.8166 Ratings
    Learning administration00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0188 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings00 Ratings7.6187 Ratings
    Social learning00 Ratings00 Ratings6.7119 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Small Businesses
    Crelate
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Crelate
    Score9.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    CareerSiteBuilder
    Score10 out of 10
    CareerSiteBuilder
    Score10 out of 10
    SumTotal (legacy)
    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    JobDiva
    Score8 out of 10
    JobDiva
    Score8 out of 10
    PeopleFluent
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (7 ratings)
    8.1
    (28 ratings)
    8.1
    (262 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (10 ratings)
    9.9
    (37 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.7
    (1 ratings)
    6.6
    (46 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.9
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    6.4
    (37 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (10 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.1
    (114 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (4 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    CareerPlugCATS ATSCornerstone Galaxy
    Likelihood to Recommend
    CareerPlug
    If you're looking to hire but don't want to have it be an all consuming portion of your job, CareerPlug is great! The automation behind it has been so helpful to us
    Read full review
    CATS Software
    It has a great parsing feature and the extension is very helpful. Many ATS systems do not support parsing within LinkedIn...this one does. I was sad to see this option go when we finally transitioned. I would almost keep CATS just for the LinkedIn parsing if I knew I could easily get the information OUT of the system once it was there. A good API/webhook would be great, but sadly the API connections don't work well. Our firm also works with companies with multiple sites all across the US. There was never a way to "nest" a location with a parent company. Because of this, being able to research or report on a true client relationship was not possible. It was a very manual process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Cornerstone Galaxy is a good solution for larger companies that focus on training and want to offer a variety of options to their employees and departments. It is highly customizable. It does require a tech savvy team to set-up, and maintain. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it system. From an LMS perspective, it wouldn't be my top choice for employees who only need a mobile-friendly approach.
    Read full review
    Pros
    CareerPlug
    • Posting jobs to multiple job boards
    • Sending candidate communications through the interviewing/hiring process
    • Saving and managing job templates
    • Customizing the interview/hiring process
    • Providing reporting and data
    Read full review
    CATS Software
    • Simple to implement, SaaS based tool that needs no in-house IT support or resources
    • Customizable reports, labels, fields, applications
    • Affordable
    • No long term contract, month-to-month with ability to cancel anytime
    • Data backups are simple
    • Email directly from the candidate record with response coming into Outlook is easy to configure and creates record and updates status automatically
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • Ability to provide multiple customizable access roles from general end user to full system admin and anything in between
    • Powerful reporting system in the LMS to track a plethora of data points within the platform (user data, training information, transcript information)
    • Great options to customize the look and feel of your "home page" to best meet your company's needs and goals.
    • Ability to customize the transcript view for learners (i.e. when Completed training will move to their Archived transcript, what to do with Inactive training on transcripts)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    CareerPlug
    • CareerPlug should have a training manual.
    • There should be an easier way to add leaves and incentives
    • Interface should be more precise.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CATS Software
    • I would like to see either an integration with a robust reporting tool that would allow me to design my own custom reports with a data export or more built-in reporting options.
    • Mobile app is currently mostly just a look-up tool. I would like it to have the ability to do more - add tasks, update pipelines, etc.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • Sometimes finding the right answer to your support question can be a bit more difficult than it should be.
    • I would like to see more OSHA related courses.
    • At times, the administrative interface seems to need to be updated, but the tradeoff honestly might be the absolute rock-solid stability of the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    Our company has been using it and enjoying the benefits for a few years now. Its a perfect system for our end goal of finding the best candidate effectively and being able to track and write reports on our progress.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    As long as pricing stays reasonable, we will likely stay with Cornerstone for at least one more contract renewal. It would be a large task to migrate all of our content to a new system. However, the LMS landscape is diversifying with new startups that are showing some real innovation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    not recruiter friendly. workflow is not good
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Easy to use, easy to learn, lots of support during the learning process. There are a few parts of the system we don't use and I'm hesitant to begin using because other clients have said they're difficult and cumbersome (certifications) or outdated (libraries)
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    I haven't really had any major availability problems. The service is practically impeccable but it is true that at times, due to server and latency problems, the application has been slower. But these have been specific issues that have resolved themselves.
    Read full review
    Performance
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    I haven't seen many issues at all with load times. Sometimes learning assignments will take longer then expected but it is still reasonable. They have taken great effort over the last couple years to speed things up like reports and search results so I expect that effort to continue in the coming year.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    I've had mixed results with asking for support. Sometimes they gave a quick answer and sometimes my emails were never responded to. Some responses were a single word.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Its always important to have support when you are facing problems and when you are the main admin of the organization. Cornerstone Support is very supporting when you have not found the answer in the help guide. its very useful to have a team support to guide you.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    we use also to admin all our training in person events and sessions. Its easy to admin this kind of trainings and automatize some processes we have. Also de user experience and the integration with other systems helps to the employees to use more. All modules integrated oriented to develop people is the principal reason to have CSOD. The training administration is very complete and allows to automate many processes.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The online modules are pretty good. You can access them at any time, which we have done. You learn a lot in the beginning, but having the ability to retake short lessons when you are working on those items was very helpful.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    This is an incredibly easy system to implement. There is no hardware or software required, it's entirely SaaS based. Compared to other systems I've implemented, it's breathtaking. Customization can all be done directly in the tool, there is no need for any involvement of consultants and most of the information you cannot figure out intuitively is covered in the knowledge base
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The implementation was pretty difficult. We felt they (Cornerstone) didn’t properly allocate the resources to complete our implementation in the timetable we wanted.

    For example, we worked on Workday and SSO integrations - work that we had specifically contracted for in advance. When we were ready to work on that project, they didn’t have the people ready to help us, so it took a lot longer than necessary. That was my biggest pain point.

    The implementation approach we went with was a self-led implementation. We would speak to the implementation manager once per week, and self-trained. We met with implementation manager to discuss issues, review things that we’d learned for 1 hour. We found that wasn’t enough. Other things would come up outside that one hour window that we couldn’t get answers to. We didn’t have anyone to ask about those things and we had to wait to ask during our weekly meeting.

    The advantage of the self-led implementation approach was that it was really inexpensive – significantly less than the implementation cost for the other systems that we looked at. I also liked that we could pace ourselves. There were however big roadblocks. We would have to make sure the right resources were available. We had an implementation/project manager with a lot of experience and felt that the person was knowledgeable but missed on a few things.

    In hindsight, I would still go with the self-led implementation, but knowing what I know now, I would ask for the integration person to be available more. I would work that into the contract. With single sign-on, we needed deep linking to build direct links through a Single Sign-On tool, e.g. when someone gets an email, it directs them to training. But it has to go through SSO to get them to the correct link. Deep linking wasn’t turned on in our system and they had to activate it. We encountered little things like that – sequencing pre-requisites which were problematic. We tried to troubleshoot ourselves.

    I recommend you consider contracting for some extra implementation hours and determine when they are going to be available. Work it into the contract that you have the ability to call tech support during implementation. In addition to weekly implementation meetings, they have technical webexes – 4 every week, but 2 didn’t apply to us – one as we were using SSO. The challenge is they were not always relevant – we had specific questions that didn’t fall into those categories
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    CareerPlug
    CareerPlug is cost efficient as compared to the other HR software. its easy to use and it can handle a lot more then other referred software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CATS Software
    We used to use Sendouts (prior to it being acquired by Bullhorn) - and it wasn't browser based like CATS so instead of being able to access it from a home computer, laptop, mobile phone, etc. you could only use it on the computer with the software uploaded - which is a hindrance. It also wasn't as customizable as CATS. We picked CATS because it the price was right, it was browser-based, had email-integration, and integrates with social media and job posting services to share your jobs
    with the public.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The user experience is a lot better than using SumTotal as an admin CSOD makes working easy. Without having workarounds. Reporting is a lot better than both platforms. Reporting in CSOD is complex however easy to manage and create when you understand the data points collected
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    It is important to be familiar with the terms and annual increases in licenses and other aspects of the contract. I recommend analyzing this from the beginning and the permanence is relevant because Cornerstone updates its modules and brings out new features that may allow you to leave a module to acquire another
    Read full review
    Scalability
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    It's a great product with some pieces that are set but many things that can be customized as needed for individual needs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    CareerPlug
    No answers on this topic
    CATS Software
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    As I have said before, I have no doubt that the services of the Cornerstone sales people were very good. In particular, our salesperson spent a lot of time in contact with us to make the process go smoothly. Perhaps being a large company in some cases the times were slowed down but it is something normal to take into account.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    CareerPlug
    • Increased quality candidates by 100%
    • Reduced monthly recruiting cost by 75%
    Read full review
    CATS Software
    • We went from Excel spreadsheets to using CATS so honestly anything would be an improvement. But CATS has saved tremendous time on an on-going basis in terms of managing the career portal automatically.
    • Being able to log email conversations with the click of a button from Outlook right into CATS has been a time-saver and also has helped numerous times in providing better follow-through to candidates and providing better tracking of candidate interactions and what they have previously said (or not).
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • We are in the process of trying to increase employee engagement through content expansion. We are in the early stages of this.
    • The Edge Import Tool, in conjunction with Reporting 2.0, has done a great job of helping to automate/semi-automate tasks for huge time savings.
    • Maintaining compliance. Achieved through dynamic/automated groups, assignments, communication, and reporting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    CareerPlug Screenshots

    Screenshot of Additional Job SharingScreenshot of DashboardScreenshot of Job DistributionScreenshot of Job IndexScreenshot of Job PostingScreenshot of Text Messaging

    CATS ATS Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily view candidates, without leaving the job order, using the candidate preview. Even quickly communicate with candidate via SMS without leaving your current screen.Screenshot of Candidate ProfileScreenshot of Add filters to quickly search and narrow down your candidate database.Product screenshot

    Cornerstone Galaxy Screenshots

    Screenshot of A personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee dataScreenshot of With Cornerstone Learning, go beyond compliance and training - truly develop an engaged and collaborative workforce.Screenshot of Cornerstone Recruiting takes care of all talent acquisition needs and provides candidates with an amazing experience.Screenshot of With Cornerstone Performance, benchmark your people's performance, align them with your strategy, and provide feedback that matters.Screenshot of Cornerstone HR offers a personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee data.Screenshot of With Content Anytime, quickly deliver hundreds of eLearning courses covering key soft-skills such as communication, time management, leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence.