Bullhorn Alternative for Small UK Agencies | Shortlists
Shortlists is the purpose-built Bullhorn alternative for 3-to-10 seat UK recruiting agencies: £52/user/month all-in (no AI add-on, no annual contract, no migration fee) vs £90-150+ for a typical Bullhorn setup. Built from the ground up for small UK agencies — not adapted down from enterprise.
If you're on Bullhorn and wondering whether it's still the right tool, you're not alone.
Most agencies that leave don't leave because Bullhorn is bad. They leave because Bullhorn was built for a 500-person staffing group — and running it in a 5-person agency means paying enterprise pricing for features you'll never use, locked into a 12-month contract you can't exit cleanly.
This page gives you the honest comparison. Where Bullhorn wins, we'll say so. Where Shortlists wins for small agencies, we'll show you the numbers.
Who this page is for
Shortlists is built for 3-to-10 seat UK recruiting agencies.
If you're running a 50-person operation and need Salesforce integration, global compliance infrastructure, and an enterprise support SLA — Bullhorn is a reasonable fit. It was designed for that scale.
If you're running a 3-10 seat niche agency, billing £400k-£3m, frustrated by a renewal price hike or an AI add-on you didn't ask for — read on.
Bullhorn vs. Shortlists — side-by-side
| Bullhorn | Shortlists | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | ~£90-120/user (standard) [*] | £52/user — all-in |
| AI included | £20-30/user add-on (Amplify) | ✅ Included at base price |
| Contract | 12-month annual minimum | Month-to-month. No lock-in. |
| Cancellation notice | 90 days | None |
| Migration fee | £1,500-£5,000 (typical) [*] | Free — Lasse runs every one |
| Migration time | 4-12 weeks | Overnight |
| BD signal monitoring | Not available | ✅ BD Radar — included |
| AI notetaker | Add-on (Amplify) | ✅ Included |
| ATS | ✅ | ✅ |
| Built for | 50-5,000 seat agencies | 3-10 seat UK agencies |
| UK data hosting | Available on enterprise plans | ✅ Standard |
[] Bullhorn pricing is not publicly listed. Figures based on user-reported data from agency founder conversations. Verify directly with Bullhorn.*
Where Bullhorn wins
It would be dishonest not to say it:
Bullhorn has a larger integrations ecosystem. If your agency runs Salesforce and needs a deep CRM-to-CRM integration, Bullhorn has it. Shortlists doesn't.
Bullhorn has more established enterprise compliance infrastructure. For 50-seat+ operations with dedicated compliance teams, that matters.
Bullhorn has been around longer. There's an active user community and a broad third-party partner network.
If any of those things are critical to your operation, Bullhorn may be the right call. This isn't a takedown — it's a qualification exercise.
Where Shortlists wins for 3-10 seat agencies
The all-in price. A 5-person agency on Bullhorn standard, plus Amplify, plus a notetaker, typically lands at £800-1,000/month. Shortlists for the same 5 seats: £260/month. The AI add-on, the notetaker, BD Radar — all in.
No annual contract. You stay because the product works — not because you're 9 months into a 12-month term and can't afford to leave. If Shortlists stops earning its place, you cancel. That's it.
BD Radar. No other recruiting CRM has a built-in signal layer that monitors funding rounds, VP hires, senior leavers, and adjacent-role volume in one place. For small agencies competing against bigger, better-resourced operations, finding roles 3 weeks before they're posted is the advantage that compounds.
Lasse runs every migration personally. Not a ticketing queue. Not an offshore onboarding team. Lasse — Shortlists' CTO — runs every migration. Overnight. Zero downtime. Free.
The migration question
The thing that keeps most agencies on a platform they've outgrown isn't the product — it's the migration fear.
"I've got 8,000 candidate records. What happens to them?"
They transfer. Every candidate record, client record, job history, and uploaded document comes across. Lasse audits your Bullhorn export before the migration starts to flag anything that needs attention. There are no surprises.
The typical timeline:
- You sign up for Shortlists
- Lasse schedules a 30-min audit call — reviews your current stack, confirms your data export is clean
- Migration runs overnight — outside your working hours
- You open Shortlists the next morning with your full data in place
Your Bullhorn contract runs in parallel until it expires. You're not paying for two platforms simultaneously — the Switch Bridge pricing covers your overlap period.
What agencies say after switching
"We switched from Bullhorn after 5 years. Shortlists does in one screen what took us 6 clicks. The AI client updates save us 4 hours a week." — Agency founder, 4-person team, switched from Bullhorn
"Shortlists replaced Metaview + Loxo + Google Docs. My clients now think I have a team of 10." — Solo recruiter, switched from Loxo
"For the first time, a platform feels like it works with me, not against me." — Solo recruiter, switched from Firefish
Book a migration call
Lasse runs a free 30-minute migration audit. No sales pitch — he'll look at your current stack, show you the product, and give you a migration plan.
If it's not the right fit, he'll tell you.
Or see the full pricing breakdown first: Shortlists pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to migrate from Bullhorn to Shortlists?
Overnight. Lasse — Shortlists' CTO — runs every migration personally. Once you've signed and provided your Bullhorn data export, migration is typically complete within 24 hours, outside working hours. No downtime.
Will I lose my candidate data when switching?
No. Your candidate records, client records, job history, and uploaded documents all transfer. Lasse audits your export before migration starts so there are no surprises on the other side.
Can I switch from Bullhorn mid-contract?
Yes. You can run Shortlists in parallel during your remaining Bullhorn contract. Shortlists is month-to-month from day one — you start using it immediately and wind down Bullhorn when your contract expires.
What does the migration actually cost?
Nothing. Free CTO-led migration is standard. Bullhorn typically charges £1,500-£5,000 for data migration assistance [user-reported — verify]. Shortlists charges zero.
Is Shortlists UK GDPR compliant?
Yes. UK/EU hosted. Full GDPR compliance. If you have specific data residency requirements, Lasse covers this on the migration call.
What is the best Bullhorn alternative for a small UK recruitment agency?
For 3-to-10 seat UK recruiting agencies, Shortlists is the purpose-built alternative — CRM, ATS, AI notetaker, and BD signal monitoring at £52/user/month, month-to-month, with free overnight migration. Unlike Bullhorn, it wasn't built for enterprise and adapted down. It was built for agencies your size from the start.