What users are saying about
49 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.8 out of 100
Based on 49 reviews and ratings
39 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.1 out of 100
Based on 39 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- CATS Applicant Tracking System ranks higher in 1 feature set: Recruiting / ATS
Recruiting / ATS

8.1
CATS ATS
81%

3.4
SmartSearch ATS
34%
CATS Applicant Tracking System ranks higher in 13/15 features
CATS Applicant Tracking System ranks higher in 13/15 features
Job Requisition Management

9.5
95%
17 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Company Website Posting

9.5
95%
17 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Publish to Social Media

8.5
85%
17 Ratings

1.1
11%
13 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting

10.0
100%
17 Ratings

1.1
11%
17 Ratings
Customized Application Form

9.5
95%
18 Ratings

8.9
89%
16 Ratings
Resume Management

8.0
80%
19 Ratings

1.2
12%
17 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention

4.5
45%
18 Ratings

9.9
99%
16 Ratings
Candidate Search

6.0
60%
19 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Applicant Tracking

7.5
75%
19 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Collaboration

8.5
85%
12 Ratings

1.1
11%
15 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation

8.5
85%
15 Ratings

1.1
11%
14 Ratings
Email Templates

9.5
95%
19 Ratings

1.2
12%
16 Ratings
User Permissions

8.5
85%
17 Ratings

1.1
11%
16 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts

9.5
95%
17 Ratings

4.8
48%
13 Ratings
Reporting

4.5
45%
18 Ratings

7.9
79%
16 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- CATS Applicant Tracking System is rated higher in 3 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Implementation Rating
- SmartSearch ATS is rated higher in 3 areas: Usability, Availability, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend

8.0
CATS ATS
80%
28 Ratings

6.0
SmartSearch ATS
60%
31 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

8.4
CATS ATS
84%
10 Ratings

3.0
SmartSearch ATS
30%
18 Ratings
Usability

2.7
CATS ATS
27%
1 Rating

8.1
SmartSearch ATS
81%
10 Ratings
Availability

9.1
CATS ATS
91%
4 Ratings

10.0
SmartSearch ATS
100%
4 Ratings
Performance

5.9
CATS ATS
59%
4 Ratings

SmartSearch ATS
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

4.5
CATS ATS
45%
2 Ratings

7.4
SmartSearch ATS
74%
11 Ratings
Implementation Rating

9.1
CATS ATS
91%
2 Ratings

6.0
SmartSearch ATS
60%
7 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
CATS ATS
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.

Verified User
Partner in Other
Staffing & Recruiting Company, 1-10 employeesSmartSearch ATS
I think our environment has stretched SmS and their capabilities (positively) but we have grown together and developed an enormously capable system together that is now very well integrated into our business. For doing applicant tracking, requisition management and offer management that has really been strong. I think we can partner together and build some better analytics and reporting capabilities that would be better suited for our business.
Vice President Human Resources, Global Operations
Gates CorporationIndustrial Automation, 10,001+ employees
Pros
CATS ATS
- 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
Talent Management Lead
Market TrackMarket Research, 501-1000 employees
SmartSearch ATS
- The search functions are outstanding. It is the reason we originally went with SmartSearch many years ago. The ability to do very simple or complex searches gives the recruiting staff great flexibility in how they look for and narrow down candidates.
- The hire and onboarding traks allow us to create very specific processes we want our staff to follow to insure a consistent and repeatable result. I can create traks that can be very general or traks that literally provide emails and reminders to all of the players (recruiters, managers, candidates, etc...) every step of the way. This is particularly helpful where we have customers who have extremely stringent contractual guidelines that must be followed.
- Support. Their customer support is second to none. We always joke that they are our favorite vendor to deal with.... Anytime we have an issue or question. They are there to walk us through it. The training is on target and the staff has always been friendly and more than eager to help make us successful with the tool.
Vice President
L. J. Gonzer AssociatesStaffing & Recruiting, 51-200 employees
Cons
CATS ATS
- 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.

Verified User
Executive in Other
Staffing and Recruiting Company, 1-10 employeesSmartSearch ATS
- SmartSearch has a steep learning curve if you want to extensively use the features like automated tasks and the report writer
- Technical support is spotty and sometimes very frustrating, they don't respond for weeks at a time.
- SmartSearch user interface is old and has far less ability to customize the interface than other tracking systems
- SmartSearch has virtually no ability to connect directly with other software and allows now other software to connect in - so no Microsoft Flow, no Zapier, no mail parser, etc. and since Smart Search capabilities are limited, not being able to integrate it with other platforms easily is unfortunate.

Verified User
Executive in Corporate
Staffing & Recruiting Company, 201-500 employeesPricing Details
CATS ATS
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
$69 per month
CATS ATS Editions & Modules
Edition
Monthly Pro Plan | $991 |
---|---|
Annual Pro Plan | $691 |
- per user, per month
Additional Pricing Details
Please visit the CATS pricing page to compare plans and featuresSmartSearch ATS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—SmartSearch ATS Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Likelihood to Renew
CATS ATS
CATS ATS 8.4
Based on 10 answers
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.
RPO Specialist
TriStarr StaffingStaffing and Recruiting, 11-50 employees
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 3.0
Based on 18 answers
I believe over the past 30 or so pages (or so it seems), you have every reason for my business to continue as a SmartSearch ATS client and user. The support is off the charts great the few times I need them (generally not even once per year). My business has been a client since 2004. That should say it all.
Contract Recruiter/Consultant/Trainer
GCommerceSolutions.comHuman Resources, 1-10 employees
Usability
CATS ATS
CATS ATS 2.7
Based on 1 answer
not recruiter friendly. workflow is not good

Verified User
Employee in Human Resources
Human Resources Company, 1-10 employeesSmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 8.1
Based on 10 answers
There are so many facets of SmartSearch, that to know everything about it is nearly impossible. While it is mainly straight forward, there is a lot. After using the program for a while, you become pretty comfortable with the basics and can start adding some of the other features.
Recruiting Administrator
BelcanHuman Resources, 10,001+ employees
Reliability and Availability
CATS ATS
CATS ATS 9.1
Based on 4 answers
No answer on this topic is available.
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 10.0
Based on 4 answers
My license for SmartSearch goes back to 2004. It has always been available for me - don't remember a single time it was not available in all of those years.
Contract Recruiter/Consultant/Trainer
GCommerceSolutions.comHuman Resources, 1-10 employees
Support Rating
CATS ATS
CATS ATS 4.5
Based on 2 answers
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.
Managing Director
The Six Second ResumeDefense & Space, 51-200 employees
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 7.4
Based on 11 answers
Once you get the 1 person on the phone they are very knowledgeable and tend to solve the problem. The issue is there are not enough resources to handle all the clients. Their primary clients are "recruiting firms" and I think that is where most of the their support resources go
Sr HRIS Analyst
EOG ResourcesOil & Energy, 1001-5000 employees
Implementation Rating
CATS ATS
CATS ATS 9.1
Based on 2 answers
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
Talent Management Lead
Market TrackMarket Research, 501-1000 employees
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 6.0
Based on 7 answers
Using the basic functions of SmartSearch is an easy implementation. But consider carefully what your organization needs to really drive placements. Because we only did a basic implementation first, we were caught off guard when later trying to implement more functions and realizing that the capabilities were limited or were difficult to learn and implement and realizing that tech support was not going to be consistent.

Verified User
Executive in Corporate
Staffing & Recruiting Company, 201-500 employeesAlternatives Considered
CATS ATS
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.
with the public.
Recruiter
automationtechiesStaffing and Recruiting, 11-50 employees
SmartSearch ATS
Functionally, SmartSearch is not on the same page as ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter as a platform is much more geared toward helping applicants and is essentially a glorified resume database. SmartSearch offers so much more in terms of features and abilities, that would not really be appropriate to try and compare the two. Similarly, the overall use of SmartSearch is an apples and oranges comparison to LinkedIn Talent. LinkedIn is great for sourcing and attracting talent, but in terms of tracking candidates all the way through a hiring process and tracking a heavy volume of job orders across a variety of states and locations, the two just don't really compare.

Verified User
Manager in Engineering
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesReturn on Investment
CATS ATS
- 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).
Staffing Manager
KBACE TechnologiesInformation Technology and Services, 201-500 employees
SmartSearch ATS
- That's easy - they have helped us grown and make more money. The core element of their technology (e.g. the ability to search for, identify and contact candidates is excellent).
- They are a business partner and do their very best to help us succeed.
President
TalentZökStaffing & Recruiting, 51-200 employees