Custom ATS for a Recruitment Agency: Cost in London (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A tech recruitment agency of 15 consultants paying 1,800 EUR a month in licences while ignoring its database of 60,000 candidates pays twice: in subscriptions and in missed placements. A custom ATS costs between 40,000 and 85,000 EUR excl. VAT in Paris (comparable builds in London run around 35,000 to 75,000 GBP), ships in 4 months and costs roughly the same as an off-the-shelf tool over 5 years. The difference lies in semantic search across the existing database, which turns dormant profiles into billed placements.

Off-the-shelf licences versus custom: 5-year cost

Off-the-shelf ATS vendors bill per user, from 80 to 150 EUR per consultant per month, with paid add-ons for sourcing, AI or API access. Annual price rises run around 5%. Custom software flips the model: an upfront investment, then fixed maintenance regardless of headcount.

2026 order of magnitude: 40,000 EUR for a core ATS (candidates, jobs, pipeline, GDPR, multiposting), up to 85,000 EUR with advanced semantic search, a LinkedIn browser extension, a client portal and billing reports.

Semantic search, LinkedIn and GDPR

Semantic search understands that a "Go developer with Kubernetes" is close to a "cloud native backend engineer", even with no shared keyword. Combined with automatic CV parsing, it surfaces known candidates before paying for new sourcing. LinkedIn integration runs through a browser extension that creates the record in one click, and multiposting publishes jobs on Welcome to the Jungle, Indeed, APEC or niche job boards.

On GDPR, the French regulator CNIL recommends keeping candidate data for 2 years after the last contact. The ATS must send a consent renewal request, then anonymise or delete automatically.

4-month plan

Month 1: mapping the process, from first client call to invoice, and migrating the 60,000 records with deduplication. Month 2: candidates, jobs, pipeline and search. Month 3: LinkedIn extension, multiposting and GDPR purge. Month 4: client portal, reporting and training. A 3-week pilot with 3 consultants limits adoption risk.

Mini case study

Julien, partner at a tech recruitment agency in Paris, has 15 consultants. Average fees are 20% of a 60,000 EUR annual salary, so 12,000 EUR per placement. He invests 68,000 EUR excl. VAT in a custom ATS.

• +1.5 placements per consultant per year from the database: 22 placements, so 264,000 EUR in extra fees.
• Licences removed: 21,600 EUR a year against 9,000 EUR maintenance, so 12,600 EUR saved.
• Lower sourcing spend: 12,000 EUR a year.

Even counting only a third of the extra placements, the project pays back in under 9 months.

FAQ

How much does a custom ATS cost in 2026?

Between 40,000 and 85,000 EUR excl. VAT in Paris depending on search, integrations and the client portal. Maintenance runs 8,000 to 12,000 EUR a year.

Is custom more expensive than an off-the-shelf ATS?

Over 5 years and 15 users, both land around 105,000 to 122,000 EUR. Custom becomes clearly cheaper as the team grows, since there is no per-user cost.

How long can candidate data be kept?

The CNIL recommends 2 years after the last contact. The ATS sends a renewal request 30 days before, then anonymises automatically if there is no reply.

Can we migrate data from our current ATS?

Yes, via CSV or API export, with deduplication and CV linking. For 60,000 records, migration takes about 3 weeks.

Is LinkedIn integration allowed?

A browser extension that imports a profile the consultant is viewing is the standard use. Mass scraping is excluded, as it breaches LinkedIn's terms.

Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of consultants, database size and current licences, and we will price an ATS between 40,000 and 85,000 EUR with a 4-month plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.