Comparison
The best AI sourcing tools for recruitment agencies
Eleven AI candidate sourcing tools compared on match evidence, work email, built-in ATS, free trial and price. Kretsia shows the evidence behind every match and finds work emails in one click. Competitor facts were read on each vendor's own page on 12 October 2026.
Written by Armin Barimani, co-founder of Kretsia
Compared on 12 October 2026. Last updated
What is the best AI sourcing tool for a recruitment agency?
For most agencies, Kretsia. Describe the role in plain language and an AI judge checks each person against every requirement, marking it met, partial or missing with the evidence from their profile, so you can show a client why each person is on the shortlist. One click on Find email returns a work email, and the ATS, talent pool, career site and interview scheduling are in the same tool. Kretsia scored 84.12 on PeopleSearchBench in our June 2026 run, ahead of the published scores for Lessie, Juicebox and Exa.
The other ten: Juicebox and Pin are self-serve with free plans; Loxo and Leonar combine an agency ATS with sourcing; SeekOut, hireEZ, Gem and Eightfold AI are built for enterprise talent teams; LinkedIn Recruiter covers LinkedIn members; Lessie is a general people search engine.
AI sourcing tools at a glance
Facts come from each vendor's own pages, read on 12 October 2026. Kretsia's 84.12 is our own PeopleSearchBench Recruiting run; the Juicebox score is published in the benchmark's repository. Lessie and Eightfold AI are described below and left out of the table. Prices are in the sections below.
| Tool | Best for | Match evidence and benchmark | Work email | ATS and scheduling | Free trial | EU company / GDPR note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kretsia | Recruitment agencies that want evidence behind each match, with ATS and interview scheduling in the same tool | Every requirement met, partial or missing, with a quote from the profile. PeopleSearchBench 84.12 (June 2026) | Find email: one click on any sourced person. If none is found, it offers to reach out on LinkedIn | Built in: pipeline, talent pool, career site and interview scheduling | 14 days, no card needed | Swedish company (Gothenburg). DPA for every customer. App and matching in Swedish and English |
| Juicebox | Teams that want self-serve plans and a free tier | PeopleSearchBench 65.73 (published in the benchmark repository) | Yes. Credits: 500 a month on Starter, 1,500 per seat on Growth | Integrates with your ATS (Business plan) | Free plan ($0), not a trial | US company (San Francisco). EU representative and DPA; no EU hosting stated |
| Pin | Staffing agencies and independent recruiters, per Pin | No published score | Yes. Email 1 credit; charged only when found | CRM; integrates with your ATS | Free plan | US company. Hosted in the US. SOC 2 Type II |
| Loxo | Agencies that want ATS, CRM and sourcing in one system | No published score | Yes. Credit-based: Professional includes 2,500 credits per user a month | Built-in ATS and CRM | 7 days, no card, full Professional platform | US company. States GDPR and SOC 2 compliance; SCCs for transfers |
| Leonar | Agencies that want an ATS, CRM and sourcing, hosted in the EU | No published score | Yes. Emails on demand, via credits | Built-in ATS and CRM | 7 days | French company (Paris). Hosted in France, per its privacy policy |
| SeekOut | Enterprise and mid-market recruiting teams | No published score | Yes. Core includes 500 contact credits a month | Integrates with your ATS | 14 days, Sourcing Core | US company. Lists GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, DPA supported |
| hireEZ | Enterprise talent acquisition teams | No published score | Yes | Talent CRM; integrates with your ATS | 7 days, solo tier | US company (Mountain View). EU-US Data Privacy Framework, SCCs, DPO |
| Gem | In-house teams. Has a page for recruiting firms | No published score | Yes. Email-finding on the standard seat | Built-in ATS and CRM | None mentioned | US company. DPA offered. Hosting region not stated |
| LinkedIn Recruiter | Teams sourcing LinkedIn members | No published score | InMail is the route; no email export on its page | Integrates with your ATS | None mentioned | Owned by Microsoft. GDPR not covered on its page |
1. Kretsia: best for recruitment agencies that want a ranked shortlist with the reason each person fits
Kretsia is an AI candidate sourcing tool with applicant tracking and interview scheduling in the same product. It searches public professional profiles worldwide, in English or Swedish, and is made by Kretsia AB in Gothenburg, Sweden.
How a search works
- Plain-language brief. Describe the role in your own words or paste the full job ad.
- Check before you spend. Kretsia turns the brief into editable must-have and nice-to-have requirements and estimates how many people match. Nothing counts against your plan until you run the search.
- A reason on every match. An AI judge checks each person against every requirement and marks it met, partial or missing, with a quote from the profile that backs it.
- Find email. On any sourced person, one click finds their work email. If none is found, Kretsia offers to reach out on LinkedIn. Emails found are reused across your organisation.
- One system after the shortlist. Save people to a talent pool or add them to a job, where the application is scored against it. Candidates book interviews in their own time zone, with Google or Outlook calendars.
The benchmark result
On PeopleSearchBench Recruiting, Kretsia scored 84.12 overall in our run on 25 June 2026: 30 queries, mean of three scoring runs, 13.3 of 15 results qualified on average. Published scores in the benchmark repository are Lessie 68.23, Juicebox 65.73 and Exa 64.67. See the benchmark page.
Trial and data
14-day free trial, no card needed. Plans are on the pricing page.
Kretsia AB is a company in Gothenburg, Sweden, and every customer can sign a data processing agreement. The app and the matching work in Swedish and English. Our privacy policy lists the safeguards for any transfer outside the EU.
The other ten AI sourcing tools
Prices are from each vendor's own page on 12 October 2026.
2. Juicebox (PeopleGPT)
What it is. A people search tool, known for its PeopleGPT search. Best for teams that want to try self-serve first. Sourcing: it claims 800 million profiles. Its published PeopleSearchBench score is 65.73. Kretsia scored 84.12 (benchmark details).
Trial and price. A free plan at $0. Starter is $99 and Growth $179 per seat a month billed yearly, or $119 and $199 billed monthly; Business is custom and annual (juicebox.ai/pricing). See our Juicebox alternatives page.
3. Pin
What it is. A sourcing and CRM product. Best for agencies and independent recruiters, by its own description. An email costs 1 credit, charged only when found; credits do not roll over.
Trial and price. A free plan, with limits that differ across its pages. Solo $99 a month, annual only. Professional $135 billed annually or $179 monthly per user (pin.com/pricing). Hosted in the US.
4. Loxo
What it is. A US ATS, CRM and sourcing product whose pricing page addresses recruiting firms. Best for agencies that want one system of record. Sourcing: Loxo Source, with "850M+ professionals" by its own claim. Its contact finder is paid in credits.
Trial and price. 7 days of the full Professional platform, no card. Core starts at $149 per user a month, billed annually. Professional shows "Book a demo" on its card and "included in $199" elsewhere, so confirm with Loxo (loxo.co/pricing).
5. Leonar
What it is. An ATS and CRM for recruiting agencies, based in Paris. Best for European agencies that want sourcing inside their ATS. Emails come through credits.
Trial and price. 7 days. Per user a month, excluding tax: EUR 119 billed annually or EUR 159 monthly (leonar.app). Its privacy policy, updated 1 October 2026, says data is hosted in France.
6. SeekOut
What it is. A recruiting platform from Bellevue, Washington. Best for enterprise and mid-market teams. Core includes 500 contact credits a month. See our SeekOut alternatives page.
Trial and price. 14 days, Sourcing Core only. Core is $149 a month paid annually or $179 monthly, with three seats; higher plans are custom and annual (seekout.com/pricing; currency not stated).
7. hireEZ
What it is. A US sourcing and engagement platform with a talent CRM, described as "end-to-end agentic recruiting for enterprise teams". Best for enterprise talent acquisition. Sourcing: it claims over 1 billion profiles.
Trial and price. 7 days on the solo tier. Solo recruiters "start at $494/mo"; enterprise pricing is configured per customer (hireez.com/pricing; currency not stated). See our hireEZ alternatives page.
8. Gem
What it is. An "AI-first recruiting platform" with a built-in ATS and CRM. Best for in-house teams, though it has a page for recruiting firms. Sourcing: it claims 800M+ profiles.
Trial and price. No trial is mentioned. Standard pricing is not public and is "based on your company's FTE count" (gem.com/pricing). Third-party estimate: Vendr shows a median of $13,000 a year (February 2026).
9. LinkedIn Recruiter
What it is. LinkedIn's own recruiting product, with a Lite version for individuals and small teams. Best for teams whose candidates are on LinkedIn: "more than 1 billion members", members only. InMail is the route to reach them.
Trial and price. No trial is mentioned. Pricing "depends on company size, number of Recruiter seats, and more" (LinkedIn). Third-party estimate: Dover lists Lite at $170 a month for one seat (5 August 2026).
10. Lessie
What it is. A general people search engine from Singapore; recruiting is one use case. Best for teams that search beyond recruiting. LessieAI wrote PeopleSearchBench, which lists Lessie at 68.23 on Recruiting. Credits reset monthly: 2 per matching person and 3 to reveal an email.
Trial and price. No trial is stated. Per month: Basic $99 ($84 annual), Pro $299 ($254), Max $699 ($594); per-seat basis not stated (lessie.ai/pricing).
11. Eightfold AI
What it is. An "agentic talent intelligence platform" for large enterprises. Best for enterprise talent teams. Its page describes no agency offer. Security: SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 42001 and FedRAMP Moderate.
Trial and price. No trial. The page says "Request demo" and shows no price (eightfold.ai).
How to choose an AI sourcing tool as an agency
- Ask for the evidence behind each match. A score does not tell a client why someone was proposed. Test whether the tool shows which requirements are met or missing, with a line from the profile. Kretsia does this on every match.
- Write the brief the way you talk. Paste a real job ad or describe the role in a sentence. Good AI sourcing turns that into requirements you can edit, without Boolean strings.
- Decide how you will get a work email. Kretsia's Find email works on any sourced person in one click. Juicebox, Pin, Loxo, Leonar and SeekOut sell contact data in credits; LinkedIn Recruiter uses InMail.
- Count the tools you would still need. Search, work email and the ATS are separate jobs. Kretsia, Loxo, Leonar and Gem cover all three; Juicebox, Pin, SeekOut and hireEZ connect to the ATS you have.
- Price it for your team, not for one seat. Prices are per seat (Juicebox, Pin, Loxo, Leonar), a set price for a small plan (SeekOut Core) or custom quotes (Gem, Eightfold AI, LinkedIn Recruiter). Ask each vendor for the total for your number of recruiters.
- Check where it searches and where data goes. Run a live search in each market you cover, and ask for the DPA. Kretsia (Sweden) and Leonar (France) are EU companies.
Free trials are 14 days at Kretsia and SeekOut, and 7 at Loxo, Leonar and hireEZ; Juicebox and Pin have free plans. Run the same three real briefs in each tool and compare what you would send to a client.
How this comparison was made
We picked the tools that AI assistants and search results name most often when an agency asks for an AI sourcing tool, as checked on 20 October 2026. We read each vendor's own pricing, homepage and GDPR pages on 12 October 2026. Vendor claims, such as profile counts, are worded as claims, and third-party figures from Vendr and Dover are labeled as estimates. Benchmark scores are from PeopleSearchBench: our own June 2026 run for Kretsia, and the benchmark repository for the others. Kretsia is our product. Nobody paid to be included.
If something is out of date, tell us.
FAQ
Questions about AI sourcing tools.
Kretsia is our pick for agencies. It gives a ranked shortlist where each requirement is marked met, partial or missing, with a quote from the profile, so you can show a client why each person was proposed. Find email returns a work email in one click, and the ATS and interview scheduling are in the same tool. It scored 84.12 on PeopleSearchBench in our June 2026 run, ahead of Lessie, Juicebox and Exa.
Kretsia does it on every match: an AI judge checks the person against each requirement in your brief and marks it met, partial or missing, with the line from their profile that backs it. When you compare tools, ask each one for a sample shortlist in the trial and check whether it shows that evidence per requirement, in a form you could forward to a client.
AI candidate sourcing means finding people for a role by describing it in plain language instead of writing Boolean strings. The tool turns the brief into requirements, searches professional profiles, including people who are not applying anywhere, and ranks who fits best. Good tools also explain each match and find a way to contact the person, such as a work email.
Kretsia and SeekOut offer 14-day free trials; Kretsia needs no card. Loxo, Leonar and hireEZ offer 7 days. Juicebox and Pin have free plans rather than trials. Gem, LinkedIn Recruiter and Eightfold AI mention no trial on their pages. These are the vendors' own terms as read on 12 October 2026.
On the vendors' own pages on 12 October 2026: Juicebox Starter $99 per seat a month billed yearly, Pin Solo $99 a month, SeekOut Core $149 a month paid annually, Loxo Core from $149 per user a month, Leonar EUR 119 per user a month billed annually, and hireEZ from $494 a month for solo recruiters. Gem, LinkedIn Recruiter and Eightfold AI quote on request. Kretsia starts with a 14-day free trial.
LinkedIn Recruiter reaches LinkedIn members through InMail, and its price depends on company size and seats. Kretsia searches public professional profiles worldwide, explains each match and finds work emails in one click, with an ATS included and a 14-day free trial. Juicebox and Pin are self-serve with free plans, and Loxo and Leonar add sourcing to an agency ATS.
Kretsia AB is registered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and every customer can sign a data processing agreement; the app and the matching work in Swedish and English. Leonar is based in Paris and says its data is hosted in France. Juicebox, Pin, Loxo, SeekOut, hireEZ and Gem are US companies, and Lessie is based in Singapore.
No. Fetcher still appears on older lists, but Juicebox acquired Fetcher's assets, and Fetcher's own FAQ gave 16 October 2026 as the date its platform retires (the announcement). If you used Fetcher, the tools on this page are the ones to compare.
Try Kretsia on
a real search.
Describe a role, check the search before it runs, and see why each person fits. 14-day free trial, no card needed.