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SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting vs SmartRecruiters comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SmartRecruiters
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

ManujGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at Orane Consulting Pvt Ltd
AI recruiting workflows have accelerated hiring cycles and provide deeper analytics insights
There is no complexity in deploying SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. Over a period of time, we understand the nuances and are comfortable with everything. Employee Central to SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting integration is still a weak area that needs improvement. We are now able to integrate with LLM models outside SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. With AI, we can provide all those touchpoints as AI integrations in reports and dashboards. Vanilla reports and dashboards are not user-friendly and not beneficial. However, when we integrate with Employee Central and the outside world, integrating these data sets with AI, people are able to realize those values.
Anudeep Kamuni - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Lead - TA ops & Analytics | Strategy Growth & Leadership at a recreational facilities/services company with 10,001+ employees
Efficiently automates tasks but lacks certain features in terms of usability
There are a couple of areas of improvement. SmartRecruiter lacks certain features in terms of usability. For instance, we cannot move candidate profiles, interview feedback, notes, and activities related to one candidate when transitioning from one job to another. We have to manually copy and paste everything for that specific candidate. This is a significant drawback. Additionally, the filters are not accurate. The results are inaccurate when filtering multiple criteria, such as country and hiring manager. This level of inaccuracy is unexpected for an application, especially for smaller organizations. It should have been corrected easily. Moreover, the CRM module lacks video reporting capabilities. These are some the biggest improvement I would like to see.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"In terms of processes, we are able to provide ROI measurement showing that what used to take 30 days for an open position now takes 50% or 70% of that time with AI features and outside world social media integrations, video integrations, and other tools."
"SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting is valuable for recruitment; it is web-based, which is not amazing, but it does the work and is handling all our requirements."
"SmartRecruiters is a candidate management system or ATS system that we use for recruitment purposes."
"The all-encompassing ability to manage the process cohesively out of the SmartRecruiter system was valuable."
"With just a click of a button, we can manage the process. Even generating offer letters and obtaining electronic signatures through DocSign are integrated into this application."
"SmartRecruiters' ease of use, experience, and data compliance with GDPR were the main reasons for switching to this."
"If you're a pretty massive company, this is the one that you would want to look into because it has so much functionality built in."
"I used the free version, which I found valuable."
"What I really like about SmartRecruiters is communication and collaboration between candidates and internal clients or managers."
"The all-encompassing ability to manage the process cohesively out of the SmartRecruiter system was valuable."
 

Cons

"There are a lot of components that need to be configured, and it requires BTP to integrate to the ECC. SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting is quite complex. It is not straightforward to use."
"Employee Central to SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting integration is still a weak area that needs improvement."
"There were limitations with the system that we would have liked, but the company in Germany really dictated that, so we couldn't do everything in the system we would have liked to."
"Some features are not as straightforward or user friendly to implement."
"Sometimes, there is this language or communication barrier in terms of what the applicants mentioned. SmartRecruiters sometimes has trouble understanding certain types of keywords or has certain types of language, translation, or grammar issues."
"The solution needs to work on a single sign-on."
"Around 2015 and into '17, I worked at a federal contractor. I had to switch to a different applicant system as I didn't know if SmartRecruiters was OFCCP compliant, which is something that, as a US-based federal contractor, you have to ensure. They should work to appeal to the contractor industry and get the product OFCCP compliant."
"One thing that has been a bit of a struggle is getting tech support. It is a little more difficult to get support from SmartRecruiters. They want you to have your own in-house person to help you with any issues, whereas with both Lever and Greenhouse, you can just click a button at the bottom of the screen and chat with someone almost instantly."
"The first pain point for us is when we're scheduling interviews with candidates."
"The solution's reporting feature could be improved because it is not very strong."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I wasn't involved in its acquisition, but I would assume that SmartRecruiters is pretty pricey."
"They are pretty competitive. As the product matures, it has much more functionality and different pricing models. It can relatively cost a lot more if you want to use additional features, but, in general, it is competitive in the industry. We work on a yearly license agreement based on the company size. There are the support costs, which are a part of the additional cost based on the percentage of the licensing fee. So, it has a license plus support cost. Then, of course, there are other add-on options that we can purchase and procure whenever we want to based on certain negotiated arrangements."
"SmartRecruiters is an expensive solution."
"I haven't been so involved with pricing, so I don't have all details, but I know that we are paying per head when it comes to different countries. There is an additional fee for new features that they release. If it is something that we would like to use, we need to pay some extra for it."
"Back in 2018, when I engaged with their sales, they wanted to charge around $10,000 for an annual subscription. Depending on your organization, that either could or couldn't be expensive. I personally think it's a fair price. However, I engaged them and negotiated a lower price with them. I think I got closer to $6,000. It came with a commitment of three years."
"There were implementation costs in the first year to get everything set up and running, and then they have various modules on top, which are optional and available at an extra charge."
"SmartRecruiters is much better than its competitors. Considering the type of features and services it provides, it is probably one of the best solutions in the market. Others may offer a similar price, but their services won't be that good or the user-friendliness won't be that great. The licensing works based on how many users are there in a company. If you are using other functionalities, like CRM and HRS, the price increases."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting?
There is no complexity in deploying SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. Over a period of time, we understand the nuances and are comfortable with everything. Employee Central to SAP SuccessFactors Recru...
What is your primary use case for SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting?
I have been working with SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting for the last five years. In my current profession, I have overall experience of 30 years. We are a consulting firm that keeps doing projects. ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Atlassian, Aol, IBM, Napa, Skechers
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting vs. SmartRecruiters and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.