The verdict in three sentences
A market ATS (Bullhorn, Recruitee, TeamTailor) manages the candidate pipeline for 50 to 150 EUR per user per month, but often separates recruitment, assignment management and billing. A custom platform (35,000 to 80,000 EUR) unifies sourcing, assignment tracking, time and billing, with native candidate GDPR compliance. The gain shows on two axes: -30% sourcing time and better assignment conversion thanks to a single pipeline.
Market ATS vs custom platform
| Criterion | Market ATS | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Cost (per user/month) | 50 to 150 EUR | internalised licence |
| Initial cost | 1,500 to 8,000 EUR | 35,000 to 80,000 EUR |
| Assignment management | often absent | integrated |
| Time tracking & billing | third-party module | native |
| Candidate GDPR | configurable | by design (auto purge) |
| Time to deploy | 2 to 6 weeks | 4 to 8 months |
| Year-1 cost (10 users) | 8,000 to 26,000 EUR | 40,000 to 90,000 EUR |
For a firm under 8 consultants with a pure recruitment need, the ATS is enough. Once assignments, time and billing come in, custom avoids stacking tools.
Custom quote modules
| Module | Scope | 2026 range (EUR ex. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate pipeline (ATS) | sourcing, scoring, interviews | 10,000 to 22,000 EUR |
| Assignment management | staffing, milestones, margins | 8,000 to 18,000 EUR |
| Time tracking | timesheets, rebilling | 6,000 to 14,000 EUR |
| Billing & fees | fixed, day-rate, success fee | 6,000 to 14,000 EUR |
| Candidate GDPR compliance | consent, purge, exports | 3,000 to 8,000 EUR |
| Leadership reporting | placement rate, revenue/consultant | 4,000 to 10,000 EUR |
Mini case study
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Ines runs a recruitment firm of 10 consultants in Lille, average billed day-rate 620 EUR. Each consultant spends about 12 hours/week on manual sourcing. She invests 62,000 EUR in a custom platform. A 30% cut in sourcing time frees ~3.6 hours/week/consultant, about 36 hours/week across the team, redeployed to billable placement. At a loaded cost of 45 EUR/hour, that is a potential ~75,000 EUR/year of reallocated capacity. Even converting only a third into extra revenue, the platform pays back in year one.
FAQ
Isn't a market ATS enough? For pure recruitment with few users, yes. Custom becomes relevant when you must link candidates, assignments, time and billing without juggling tools.
How is candidate data GDPR handled? Through automatic purging after the retention period, fine-grained consent management and on-demand exports, built in from the start.
Can we connect job boards and LinkedIn? Yes: job-board multiposting, profile import and LinkedIn connectors are common integrations.
How long to go live? Expect 4 to 8 months depending on modules; we can ship the candidate pipeline first, then add assignments and billing.
What maintenance budget? About 15 to 20% of the development cost per year, covering enhancements and job-board connector upkeep.
Let's scope your project. Share your consultant count, your job boards and the scope (ATS, assignments, billing), and we will price the platform. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
