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Top Echelon

Top Echelon review

Recruiting software built the way agencies actually work. Track every job order and candidate in TE Recruit, then reach beyond your own database through the TE Network split-placement community.

Top Echelon costs from $79/mo · 2 plans · prices checked Oct 12, 2026

By Ciroapp Editorial Team · Updated Sep 16, 2026
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At a glance

Quick overview for Top Echelon: rating, pricing summary, key features, and highlights.
Pricing verified Oct 12, 2026

Ciroapp score

3.6/ 5

Top Echelon pairs TE Recruit, an ATS and CRM built for staffing agencies, with TE Network, a split-placement community that can rescue stalled searches. It stands out for fee-based recruiting, though unpublished pricing and the fee-sharing model won't suit everyone. Overall, it's a strong pick for independent recruiters and agencies, and a poor fit for corporate in-house teams.

Pros

  • Pros:Combines an agency-focused ATS with an active split-placement network — a pairing most ATS vendors don't offer.
  • Pros:Built specifically for third-party recruiters and staffing firms, so the data model reflects clients, fees, and submittals rather than corporate requisitions.
  • Pros:TE Network lets recruiters monetize candidates they can't place themselves by matching them against other members' job orders.

Cons

  • Cons:Split placements require sharing the placement fee, and network results depend on whether active partners exist in your niche.
  • Cons:Pricing beyond the entry level isn't fully published; larger teams typically need to request a quote from the vendor.
  • Cons:The platform is oriented to agency recruiting — in-house talent teams get little value from the network and may find the workflows mismatched.
Best for
  • Independent direct-hire and executive search recruiters who manage multiple client searches and want pipeline tracking plus peer sourcing in one place.
  • Small to mid-size staffing agencies where several recruiters need to work from a shared candidate and client database.
  • Firms in competitive niches such as IT, healthcare, or finance, where split partnerships can unlock roles their own database can't fill.
This section is a summary. Detailed sections about features, use cases, pricing, and reviews follow below.

What is Top Echelon?

Top Echelon is a recruiting platform with two connected halves: TE Recruit, an applicant tracking system built for recruiters and staffing agencies, and TE Network, a community where recruiting professionals collaborate on split placements. The premise is that agency work doesn't stop at your own database — when a search stalls, another recruiter may already know the right candidate. This review covers what the platform does, where it fits best, and who should probably look elsewhere.

Top Echelon's core product, TE Recruit, is a cloud-based ATS and recruiting CRM for managing job orders, candidate pipelines, client records, and team activity. Its second component, TE Network, is a membership network where recruiters share candidates and job orders and split the placement fee when a deal closes. The two run as a unified platform, so network activity and internal tracking live in the same system.

Calling it merely an applicant tracking system undersells the network half, which is what genuinely differentiates it from generic ATS tools.

Should you choose Top Echelon?

Quick buyer guidance before you compare plans or click through.

Choose it if

  • Independent direct-hire and executive search recruiters who manage multiple client searches and want pipeline tracking plus peer sourcing in one place.
  • Small to mid-size staffing agencies where several recruiters need to work from a shared candidate and client database.
  • Firms in competitive niches such as IT, healthcare, or finance, where split partnerships can unlock roles their own database can't fill.

Skip it if

  • In-house corporate HR and talent acquisition teams that hire employees directly rather than working on placement fees.
  • Organizations seeking a full HR suite with onboarding, payroll, or HRIS functionality — Top Echelon is recruiting-specific.
  • Agencies unwilling to share fees or collaborate with outside recruiters, who would leave the network portion of the platform unused.

Next steps before buying

  1. 1Create an account on topechelon.com using the free trial or free plan, and confirm the tier you're testing includes the features your workflow depends on.
  2. 2Import your existing candidates, clients, and open job orders, then configure pipeline stages to mirror how your team actually works.
  3. 3Run at least one live search end to end in TE Recruit — intake, sourcing, submission, interview tracking — before deciding on a paid plan.
  4. 4If splits appeal to you, complete your TE Network member profile and list your first available candidate or job order to gauge partner response in your niche.

Top Echelon Key Features

✨ Applicant tracking and pipeline management

TE Recruit is organized around job orders and the candidates attached to them. Each search moves through defined stages — sourcing, submission, client interviews, offer — so recruiters can see at a glance where every candidate stands. Notes and activity history stay attached to each record, which means a teammate can pick up a search without reconstructing weeks of email threads.

✨ Recruiting CRM and candidate database

Beyond active pipelines, the platform functions as a searchable database of candidates, clients, and contacts with full interaction logs. When a new requisition resembles past work, recruiters can resurface previously vetted candidates instead of starting from scratch. For agencies, that accumulated database is often the single most valuable asset the software holds.

✨ TE Network split placements

TE Network connects member recruiters so each can trade what the other lacks: one posts a candidate who needs a home, another posts a job order that needs a candidate, and a resulting placement is split under agreed terms. Member profiles and track records add a reputation layer, which addresses the trust problem that usually blocks fee-sharing between recruiters who have never worked together.

✨ Team collaboration and productivity

The system is built for multiple recruiters working the same book of business. Shared pipelines, record ownership, and logged communication reduce duplicated outreach and lost context. Managers get visibility into team activity, which makes it easier to spot stalled searches and rebalance workloads before clients start asking questions.

✨ Reporting on activity and pipeline health

Reporting covers the metrics agency owners actually bill against: submittals, client interviews, and placements progressing through the pipeline. Reviewing these numbers regularly shows where searches stall — for example, roles dying at the submission stage — so process fixes can happen mid-search rather than after losing the client.

Use Cases

💡 Rescuing a stalled direct-hire search

When a recruiter's own database can't produce the right candidate, TE Network offers a second path: open the job order to other members and split the fee with whoever fills it. A shared fee is usually a better outcome than a dead requisition and a frustrated client.

💡 Consolidating a small agency onto one system

Agencies that run on spreadsheets and shared inboxes lose context with every handoff. Moving candidates, job orders, and client history into TE Recruit gives every recruiter the same view, and new hires ramp faster because the process lives in the tool itself.

💡 Turning an unplaced candidate bench into revenue

Most recruiters hold strong candidates they couldn't place at the time. Listing those candidates in TE Network lets other members match them against their own open job orders, converting a dormant list into potential fee income without additional sourcing cost.

💡 Managing client relationships across a team

When several recruiters serve the same client, the CRM record becomes shared memory — requirements, submittals, feedback, and conversations in one place. That continuity prevents the duplicate outreach and inconsistent messaging that quietly erode client trust.

Top Echelon pricing

From$79/mo

  • From the vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 12, 2026
  • 2 plans

Prices checked on Oct 12, 2026 from Top Echelon's pricing page

Top Echelon pricing page screenshotView pricing page screenshot
PlanBilled monthlyBilled annuallyIncludes
Standard
$79/mo
—
Professional
$95/mo
—

Price history

Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet.

Pricing types: Free plan, Free trial, Monthly subscription, Yearly subscription, One-time payment

Pricing notes

Top Echelon pricing: Plans from $0/month Billing options: Free plan, Free trial, Monthly subscription, Yearly subscription, One-time payment

Cost calculator

Estimate what Top Echelon costs for your team.

Billing
Per month
$79
Per year
$948

Standard states no user limit: shown as one price for the whole account. Check the price for 5 users with the vendor. Estimate based on published list prices, before taxes, add-ons and discounts.

How to pay less for Top Echelon

  • Cheaper tools in this category start at $11.25/mo.
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Why use Top Echelon?

Most ATS products are built for corporate HR: requisitions come in, employees go out, and nobody earns a fee. Top Echelon is designed around third-party placement work, where clients, fees, submittals, and speed determine revenue.

The built-in network addresses the industry's oldest bottleneck — a recruiter who can't fill a role — by providing peers to trade with instead of another job board to post on. For agencies, software that models how placements actually get made is a practical advantage rather than a cosmetic one.

Try it nowView pricing

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Top Echelon FAQ

How much does Top Echelon cost?

Top Echelon's cheapest paid plan, Standard, costs $79 per month. Paid plans range from $79 to $95 per month. Prices checked on Oct 12, 2026 from the vendor's pricing page.

Has Top Echelon's price changed recently?

No. We have not detected a price change since we started tracking on Oct 1, 2026.

What is the difference between TE Recruit and TE Network?

TE Recruit is the applicant tracking system and recruiting CRM where you manage your own job orders, candidates, and clients. TE Network is a community of recruiters who collaborate on placements — one member brings the job order, another supplies the candidate, and the fee is split. Top Echelon sells them as one unified platform, so internal tracking and network activity share the same system.

What is a split placement, and how does TE Network handle it?

A split placement is when two recruiters cooperate on the same hire: typically one holds the client relationship and job order while the other provides the candidate. When the placement closes, they divide the fee under terms agreed in advance. TE Network provides the marketplace, member profiles, and track-record visibility that make those partnerships workable.

Is Top Echelon a good fit for in-house corporate recruiters?

Generally no. The product is designed for fee-based placement work done by agencies and independent recruiters. An internal talent team doesn't earn placement fees, so the split network — a major part of the platform's value — goes unused, and ATS platforms built for corporate hiring are usually a better match.

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