Best Recruitment Software in New Zealand (2026)

Hiring great people is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business, but it can also be one of the toughest. Finding top talent in New Zealand is a real challenge for ambitious business owners. You’re not just competing for skills; you’re up against budget constraints, time pressure and the high expectations of today’s candidates.

Trying to manage it all with spreadsheets and overflowing inboxes is a recipe for frustration. It’s slow, messy and you risk losing great people to faster-moving competitors. Choosing the right recruitment software shouldn’t add to the stress. You need a tool that works for you, not against you, helping you find and hire the right people, faster.

In this guide, we’ll cut through the noise, breaking down the top recruitment software platforms to help you make the best choice for your Kiwi business.

What is recruitment software?

Recruitment software is a tool designed to streamline and automate your hiring process. It’s for business leaders who know that building a great team is their number one priority and want to move beyond clunky, manual methods.

This software solves a huge problem by turning a chaotic, admin-heavy process into a smooth, efficient and professional operation. It helps you post job ads to multiple boards at once, manage all your candidates in one central place and collaborate with your team on hiring decisions. The best recruitment software doesn’t just track applicants; it helps you build a strong employer brand and create a positive experience for every candidate, whether they get the job or not.

Best New Zealand recruitment software platforms compared

We analysed the top options on the market to find the best recruitment software for New Zealand small businesses. Our review focused on ease of use, candidate management features, automation capabilities and overall impact on the hiring process.

Feature	Employment Hero	JobAdder	Scout	MyRecruitment+	Occupop	Manatal
Millions of free candidates, included	✓	✘	✘	✘	✘	✓
Recruitment Agent: AI Interviews	✓	✓	✓	✘	✘	✓
Applicant Ranking & Instant Shortlisting	✓	✓	✓	✓	✘	✓
Integrated Onboarding & Contracts	✓	✓	✓	✓	✘	✓
Integrated Payroll	✓	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘
Employer of Record for Overseas Hiring	✓	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘
Integrated Salary Benchmarking	✓	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘
Collaboration Tools	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Job Ad Generator	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Post to Multiple Job Boards	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Employment Hero

Employment Hero is more than just recruitment software; it’s a complete Employment Operating System, built to make managing people easier so you can focus on growth. The built-in recruitment software is included with HR, payroll, Applicant Tracking System and engagement tools, creating a single, powerful system for the entire employee lifecycle.

This integrated approach means you can manage everything from posting a job ad to running payroll, all in one place. For Kiwi SMEs, it offers a powerful set of tools that are both easy to implement and a joy to use.

Pros of Employment Hero for recruitment

• All-in-one solution: The journey from candidate to team member is seamless. Manage your talent pipeline, send digital employment contracts and onboard new hires without ever switching platforms. From HR software to payroll solutions, our Employment Operating System handles everything employment.
• Discover SmartMatch: SmartMatch is Employment Hero’s unique and revolutionary hiring tool, using AI and real-time HR data to foresee your business’s talent requirements. It reviews 1.7 million candidates to connect you with a shortlist of top candidates who have been specifically matched to the roles in your business.
• Post to multiple job boards: Reach more candidates with less effort. Post your job ad to boards with a single click.
• AI-powered efficiency: Save hours of admin with AI-assisted job descriptions. Our tools help you craft compelling ads in moments, so you can spend more time connecting with candidates.
• Designed for growth: Whether you’re hiring one person or building a whole new team, our platform scales with you. You won’t need to chop and change systems as your business expands.
• Employer of Record: Whether you’re looking to hire globally in the future, or already building out your team, Employment Hero can scale with you. Our Employer of Record solution allows you to hire and manage talent from over 150 countries.

Cons of Employment Hero for recruitment

• Comprehensive features: For a business that only hires very infrequently, the breadth of the all-in-one platform might feel extensive at first.

Scout

Scout is a New Zealand-based recruitment platform that aims to simplify the hiring process for local businesses. It combines elements of a job board with applicant tracking functionality.

• Description: Scout allows you to post jobs on their platform and manage the candidates who apply. It provides tools for screening, shortlisting and communicating with applicants throughout the process.
• Pros: The platform is laser-focused on core recruitment, making it straightforward to use.
• Cons: It’s not a comprehensive ATS and lacks the advanced workflow automation and integration capabilities of other platforms. It primarily manages candidates who apply through their specific job board.

MyRecruitment+

MyRecruitment+ is a comprehensive talent acquisition platform that offers a wide range of modules covering everything from recruitment to onboarding.

• Description: The platform provides a powerful suite of tools including multi-channel job posting, candidate screening, interview scheduling and analytics. It is highly configurable to suit different hiring processes.
• Pros: The feature set is extensive, with many options for businesses who are frequently hiring. Its modular nature allows you to add features as you grow.
• Cons: The sheer number of features and configuration options can be overwhelming for a small business. It is a specialist talent acquisition tool, so core HR and payroll are not included.

Occupop

Occupop is recruitment software designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses. It focuses on making it easy to attract and hire talent without the complexity of enterprise-level systems.

• Description: Occupop helps you post jobs to over 20 job boards with one click, build a branded careers page and manage candidates in a simple, visual pipeline. It also leverages AI to help screen candidates.
• Pros: It’s user-friendly and designed with the needs of SMEs in mind. The AI-powered shortlisting can be a potential time-saver for busy business owners.
• Cons: It is a standalone recruitment tool. This means you will have to manually transfer new hire data into your HR and payroll systems, creating extra admin work.

Manatal

Manatal is a cloud-based recruitment software that uses AI to enhance the entire hiring process. It’s aimed at HR teams and recruitment agencies of all sizes.

• Description: The platform offers everything from job posting and candidate sourcing to AI-powered recommendations and social media enrichment of candidate profiles. It also includes CRM features for managing client relationships.
• Pros: The AI features help to automate sourcing and screening to find the best candidates faster. It’s an affordable solution with a modern interface.
• Cons: The feature set is heavily focused on recruitment agency workflows, which may not be a perfect fit for an in-house HR team. It does not include native HR or payroll functionality.

How to choose the right recruitment software

Start by mapping out your current hiring process and identifying the biggest bottlenecks. Are you spending too much time posting ads? Is your inbox a mess of CVs? Are you struggling to keep track of who has been interviewed?

Focus on what will make the biggest impact. Core functions like posting to multiple job boards, talent matching, a central candidate database and easy collaboration tools are often the most valuable. Look for a solution that provides a great candidate experience, because every interaction reflects on your brand.

The best recruitment system is one that connects seamlessly with your other employment tools. Think beyond just finding the candidate. True value comes from software that creates a smooth journey from applicant to happy, productive team member, all within one system.

Final thoughts

Don’t let a clunky, manual hiring process slow down your growth. Choose a platform that automates the admin, helps you find the best talent and builds a professional employer brand from the very first click. And if you want top candidates without having to even search, consider Employment Hero.

Employment Hero is on a mission to make employment easier and more valuable for everyone, with its comprehensive recruitment software and revolutionary tool SmartMatch. Ready to see how we can transform your recruitment? Learn more about our all-in-one HR and payroll platform today.