Giig Alternative for 3-to-10 Seat UK Agencies: Free CRM, Paid AI
Giig is a UK recruiting CRM built for small agencies, with a free plan for one user and paid tiers that add team, advanced and AI features. For a 3-to-10 seat agency the fair comparison is Giig AI, at about $65 per user a month, against Shortlists at $120. Giig has a lower per-user price, while Shortlists includes a different set of tools around business development, call capture and client collaboration.
Key takeaways
-
Giig's core CRM is free and unlimited on records, but the free plan covers one user. A 3-to-10 seat agency pays for every seat from its second recruiter. (Source: Giig UK pricing page, checked 30 September 2026.)
-
Giig's full AI set, including matching, email drafting and market research, sits on the Giig AI tier at about $65 per user a month on annual billing, excluding VAT.
-
Giig is the cheaper tool, at roughly half the Shortlists price of $120 per user a month.
-
Shortlists includes BD Radar, a call notetaker and a client portal in that price. None of the three appears on Giig's pricing page.
-
If you have prepaid a Giig year, Shortlists costs $40 per user a month until that term ends.
Giig and Shortlists are both built around small recruitment agencies
Most recruiting systems are sold to agencies of every size and offer a small-agency plan on software designed for larger firms. Giig is different. Its own strapline describes it as the AI-powered recruitment CRM built for small agencies, and its plans are named around start-ups and small teams. (Source: Giig website, checked 30 September 2026.) Shortlists is built only for 3-to-10 seat UK agencies. So this is not a comparison between a small tool and an enterprise one. It is two products aimed at the same reader, with different pricing models.
Giig has earned its following. It holds 4.9 out of 5 from 376 reviews on Trustpilot, and reviewers most often praise how quickly support replies and how easy the system is to learn. (Source: Trustpilot, checked 30 September 2026.) Many founders mention starting their agency on the free plan. None of what follows is an argument that Giig is a weak product.
How Giig's model works: A free core CRM and AI on the paid tiers
Giig publishes its prices, which makes the comparison straightforward. Its UK page lists them in pounds sterling on annual billing, excluding VAT, converted here to US dollars.
| Giig plan | Price per user a month | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0, one user only | Unlimited records, email integration, pipelines, perm and temp workflows, a careers page |
| Giig Starter | About $17 | Team members, CSV import, CV parsing and AI summaries (50 credits each) |
| Giig Plus | About $50 | Chrome extension, advanced reporting, custom fields, bulk email, unlimited AI summaries |
| Giig AI | About $65 | Everything in Plus, with AI matching, email and job description drafting, market research and note search |
Monthly billing costs more. Giig's homepage quotes a five-seat Giig Plus figure that works out at about $60 per seat on monthly billing, against about $50 annually, which matches the saving of up to 17% Giig advertises for paying yearly.
What changes as a Giig user adds more people and features
The free plan is a strong option for a founder working alone. Once a second recruiter joins, the agency moves onto one of Giig's paid tiers, so a 3-to-10 seat team should compare the paid plan that matches its actual requirements. The second limit is where the AI sits. Starter and Plus include AI summaries, but matching, drafting and market research are on Giig AI, so that is the tier to price if AI is why you are looking.
The free plan is also leaner on team tools than the paid ones. Adding team members, CSV import and CV parsing starts at Starter, while the Chrome extension, custom fields, bulk email and advanced reporting start at Plus. (Source: Giig UK pricing page, checked 30 September 2026.) For a small team moving off spreadsheets, those are usually the features that matter first, so a growing desk is likely to need Plus at the least.
| Team size | Giig AI, per month | Shortlists, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 3 seats | About $195 | $360 |
| 5 seats | About $325 | $600 |
| 10 seats | About $650 | $1,200 |
Giig costs a little over half as much at every size. If your desk needs a well-made CRM with AI help on matching and writing, and nothing beyond that, Giig is the better-value choice. The comparison only shifts once you count what each price covers.
How Giig and Shortlists differ on AI, business development and client tools
Shortlists is one plan at $120 per user a month, month to month with 30 days notice. There is no free tier, but there are no higher tiers either, so the AI a small desk actually uses is there from the first seat. Three inclusions are not on Giig's pricing page, and each is something a small agency would otherwise add as a separate tool, which is where running costs quietly build up, as we set out in the cost of adding separate tools.
The first is BD Radar. Giig includes a business development (BD) pipeline for tracking companies you have already identified. BD Radar is built for the step before that: It scans every day for funding rounds, senior hires and leavers and ranks the companies worth calling, so you can get to the hiring manager before the job is posted.
The second is a call notetaker. It joins calls on Zoom, Teams, Google Meet or phone and writes what was agreed to the candidate record, whereas Giig's AI note search finds notes that already exist. There is more on how the AI interview notetaker works. The third is a branded client portal, so clients follow shortlist progress on a live link. Contact enrichment, with 40 credits per user a month, is included too.
Giig and Shortlists compared on price, AI, business development and contract terms
| What matters at 3-to-10 seats | Giig | Shortlists |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free for one user, then four published tiers | One published plan, $120 per user a month |
| AI matching and drafting | Giig AI tier, about $65 | Included |
| Call notetaker | Not listed | Included |
| Business development | Pipeline for companies you have identified | BD Radar daily signal scanning |
| Client portal | Not listed | Included |
| Contract terms | Monthly or annual billing | Month to month, 30 days notice |
| Temp and contract workflows | Included, even on the free plan | Not supported |
Which agencies are likely to fit Giig or Shortlists
Giig is likely to suit founders working alone, agencies with temp recruitment requirements, or teams where keeping software costs low is the main priority. Giig also builds a careers page and recruitment website into the product, which Shortlists does not. In each of those cases, staying is the sensible call rather than a compromise.
Shortlists becomes more relevant when a permanent recruitment agency has three or more recruiters and wants repeatable business development, less call admin and more client visibility. At that point the extra cost per seat buys back time on the two jobs that decide billing. The full inclusions are on the Shortlists pricing page, and if you are weighing other options too, our other comparisons cover the rest of the field.
If you decide to move, Giig lets you export candidate and client lists on every plan, including the free one. Shortlists handles free data migration and run by the Shortlists team. If you have paid for a Giig year up front, Shortlists costs $40 per user a month until that term ends. We respect the craft, so the software takes the admin and your recruiters keep the judgement that wins placements.
Frequently asked questions
Is Giig actually free?
The core CRM is free, for one user. Giig Free Forever includes unlimited candidates, jobs and clients, but a second recruiter moves the agency onto a paid tier, and the full AI set is on the Giig AI tier at about $65 per user a month.
What AI features does Giig charge extra for?
AI matching, email and job description drafting, market research and AI note search sit on the Giig AI tier. Starter and Plus include AI summaries only. (Source: Giig UK pricing page, checked 30 September 2026.)
How do Giig and Shortlists differ for a small UK recruitment agency?
Giig is likely to suit solo recruiters, temp desks and teams where keeping software costs low is the main priority. Shortlists is designed for 3-to-10 seat permanent recruitment agencies that want AI, business development signals, call capture and client collaboration in the same platform.
When does it make sense to move off Giig's free plan?
A second recruiter moves the agency onto a paid tier. From that point, compare the Giig plan that matches the team's actual requirements with other options, rather than comparing them with Giig's free solo plan.
Is Shortlists cheaper than Giig?
No. Giig AI costs about $65 per user a month against $120 for Shortlists. The difference buys BD Radar, a call notetaker and a client portal, so the useful comparison is against Giig plus those tools.
Can I move from Giig to Shortlists without paying for both?
Yes. If you are part-way through a paid-up Giig year, Shortlists costs $40 per user a month until it ends. There is more on how the bridge rate works when you plan the timing.
Start on Shortlists when your agency has outgrown the free plan
Shortlists is built for 3-to-10 seat UK agencies doing permanent recruiting, and used by 55+ of them. Try it on your own records, or book a demo to see BD Radar working on your niche.
- Try it free for 14-days and see how your records sit in it before you commit to anything.
- Book a Demo and we will map the migration around your existing term.