What is Gem used for in recruiting?

Gem brings together the entire recruiting process, from identifying top candidates and automating interview reminders to extending an offer with e-signatures and forecasting future hiring needs with predictive analytics. Gem also offers talent marketing tools like career sites and online events to attract top candidates and build a strong employer brand.

Gem is not a traditional CRM (customer relationship management) software. It includes candidate relationship management tools as part of its recruiting platform. The Gem Recruiting CRM, which houses all past and present candidate information, helps users nurture and engage talent through enriched contact data, qualified past candidate discovery, and detailed resume and experience details.

Gem is not free but offers a free trial for its sourcing and CRM capabilities—the applicant tracking system is not included. Gem's prices are based on the size of your organization, and you can purchase recruiter licenses for sourcing, candidate management, or full-cycle workflow on a per-user basis. There is also a discounted program for early-stage startups.

Yes, Gem is easy to use, according to verified user reviews. It earned 4.7 out of 5 for ease of use and 4.6 stars for functionality. Users mention the software's seamless setup, intuitive design, easy integrations, and more. A 4.7 rating for customer service also means extra support is available to help users troubleshoot when necessary.

Updated May 27, 2025 at 5:24 AM

Gem 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

Written by Emilie Audubert

Content Analyst

Edited by Caroline Rousseau

Senior Editor

Wondering if Gem is right for your organization?

Our Recruiting Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less.

On this page

Our Summary
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
Key Sentiments
User Reviews
Frequently Asked Questions

Our Summary

Gem

4.7

(123)

Pros:

Automation of outreach
Integration with ATS

Cons:

Feature limitations
Data accuracy

Pricing

Starting at $135.00 per month

What is Gem:

Gem is a unified talent acquisition platform with applicant tracking, sourcing, scheduling, and analytics tools. It offers AI-enhanced workflows, multichannel candidate search, scorecards, self-scheduling, industry benchmarks, career sites, and 80+ integrations to manage the entire recruiting process.

Why we like Gem:

Gem appears on Software Advice’s FrontRunners list for top recruiting software, earning an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 —as well as high rating for ease of use and customer support. Users particularly appreciate its email templates, reporting and analytics capabilities, and talent acquisition features.

Who should use Gem:

Gem has tailored solutions for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. It serves many industries but highlights specific use cases for the tech, financial services, manufacturing, and recruiting sectors. Half of reviewers come from larger companies with 5,000 to 10,000 employees.

Gem Screenshots

Gem Overview

Gem is the only AI-first all-in-one recruiting platform. Save time, money, and the headaches of juggling multiple tools. Gem brings together your ATS, CRM, sourcing, scheduling, and analytics — plus 800M+ profiles to source from — with AI built into every workflow. Use Gem as your all-in-one recruiting platform or enhance your existing ATS with integrated products for CRM, sourcing, scheduling, analytics, career sites, events, and more. Over 1,200 companies – from startups to industry leaders like Airbnb, Wayfair, Cintas, Carmax, Doordash, and Zillow – trust Gem to hire wit...

Gem Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $135.00 per month

Free Trial

Free Version

Startups

$135.00

flat rate, per month

Plan includes:

ATS
CRM
Sourcing & outreach automation
AI Sourcing: 500 credits per month
Scheduling
Analytics

Growth

Pricing available upon request

Plan includes:

SSO, SOC 2 type II reporting,
Unlimited AI Sourcing

Enterprise

Pricing available upon request

Plan includes:

ATS connector

Confused about pricing? We've got you covered.

Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates.

Our Analysis of Gem's Pricing Plans

Gem offers a range of pricing plans designed to accommodate businesses of various sizes and recruitment needs. We've dug into the details of each plan to help you determine which one aligns best with your talent acquisition goals. To align with varying business sizes and growth phases, Gem offers pricing from an initial, smaller company-focused option to a more comprehensive Enterprise Plan for large organizations. In this article, we'll wal...

k you through the key features, benefits, and limitations of each plan, empowering you to make a well-informed decision for your recruitment strategy. **Startups plan** The Startups plan is Gem’s dedicated pricing tier for small businesses with up to 100 full-time employees (FTEs), excluding staffing, recruiting, venture capital, or private equity firms. It includes full access to Gem’s core features—ATS, CRM, sourcing and outreach tools, scheduling, analytics, AI sourcing, and a free year of Metaview Pro—at a base rate of $270 per month (billed annually) or $300 per month (billed monthly). Eligible startups can take advantage of the Gem Startup Program, which includes 6 months free, followed by 50% off for the first paid year—bringing the cost down to $135 per month when billed annually. This gives early-stage companies with 100 or fewer employees a low-risk way to implement Gem while conserving budget during growth phases. Businesses with fewer than 30 employees can try Gem for free. **Pros:** - **Startup-friendly pricing:** Six months free plus a 50% discount on the first year offers meaningful savings for qualifying early-stage companies. - **All-in-one solution:** Combines ATS, CRM, sourcing, scheduling, and AI tools into a single platform for efficient hiring workflows. - **Full feature access:** Despite the reduced price, startups receive access to Gem's core recruitment functionality. **Cons:** - **Eligibility required:** Only companies with 100 or fewer employees that aren’t staffing or investment firms qualify for the Startup Program. - **Annual commitment required:** The pricing structure requires a yearly payment term, which may be challenging for startups with uncertain cash flow. - **Size limitation:** Once your company exceeds 100 FTE, you'll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan. **Growth plan** Gem's Growth plan targets midsize companies with 101 to 1,000 employees that need more robust recruitment capabilities. This plan is positioned as a comprehensive solution that consolidates multiple recruitment tools into a single platform, streamlining the talent acquisition process. Unlike the Startup Program, the Growth Plan features custom pricing that requires contacting Gem's sales team for a personalized quote based on your specific needs and company size. **Pros:** - **Tool consolidation:** The Growth plan allows companies to replace multiple point solutions with Gem's integrated platform, potentially reducing overall technology costs. - **Scalable solution:** Designed specifically for growing companies, this plan accommodates the increasing complexity of recruitment needs. - **Customizable pricing:** The custom pricing model means you only pay for what your organization actually needs. **Cons:** - **Pricing uncertainty:** Without transparent pricing, budgeting and financial planning become more challenging. - **Sales process required:** The requirement to engage with sales representatives adds time to the procurement process. **Enterprise plan** For large organizations with over 1,000 FTE, Gem offers the Enterprise plan. This top-tier option provides the flexibility to start with essential products and expand as needed, accommodating the complex recruitment requirements of major corporations. It also targets businesses with an existing ATS, but that requires elevated functionality. Like the Growth plan, Enterprise pricing is customized through Gem's sales team, allowing for tailored solutions that align with specific organizational needs and recruitment volumes. **Pros:** - **Modular approach:** The ability to start with necessary products and add more over time provides implementation flexibility. - **Enterprise-grade features:** This plan likely includes advanced security, compliance, and administrative controls suited for large organizations. - **Dedicated support:** Enterprise customers typically receive priority customer service and implementation assistance. **Cons:** - **Higher investment:** Enterprise solutions invariably come with premium pricing reflecting their advanced capabilities. - **Complex implementation:** Larger organizations face more significant challenges in rolling out new recruitment technology.

Compare Pricing

Compare pricing across our most frequently recommended Recruiting products.

Software options

Starting price*

User rating

BambooHR

$10.00 per month

4.58(3097 reviews)

417

recommendations

isolved Talent Acquisition

$99.00 per month

4.63(381 reviews)

267

recommendations

Eddy

$8.00 per month

4.63(48 reviews)

162

recommendations

Workable

$299.00 per month

4.41(658 reviews)

110

recommendations

ApplicantStack

$29.00 per month

4.39(1555 reviews)

recommendations

*Defined as the price above any available free plan

Gem Features

Drawn from insights across 123 verified reviews, we've outlined Gem's best and worst rated features and how they stack up against the average rating.

Gem's score

Category average

Gem's Best Rated Features

Collaboration Tools

4.79

3.92 category average

Email Templates

4.75

4.15 category average

Talent Acquisition

4.69

4.20 category average

Gem's Worst Rated Features

Resume Database

3.76

4.01 category average

Boolean Search

3.90

3.43 category average

Resume Search

3.90

4.08 category average

Popular features found in Recruiting
Assessment Management
Background Screening
Communication Management
Job Posting
Job Requisition
Onboarding
Resume Parsing
Resume Search
Self Service Portal
More features of Gem
Activity Dashboard
Activity Tracking
Alerts/Notifications
Applicant Tracking
Application Management
Boolean Search
Campaign Analytics
Campaign Management
Candidate Management
Candidate Profiles
Candidate Sourcing
Candidate Tracking
Collaboration Tools
CRM
Customizable Branding
Customizable Reports
Data Import/Export
Demand Forecasting
Email Management
Email Marketing
Email Templates
Employee Referral Management
Interview Management
Interview Scheduling
Job Management
Multi-Channel Marketing
Process/Workflow Automation
Recruiting Firms
Recruitment Management
Referral Management
Reminders
Reporting/Analytics
Reporting & Statistics
Resume Database
SMS Messaging
Social Media Integration
Social Recruiting
Talent Acquisition
Task Management
Third-Party Integrations
Workflow Management

Gem Integrations

Based on 123 verified reviews, we've identified products most frequently integrated with Gem.

Greenhouse

Integration rated 4.7 from 30 reviews

Ashia T

Executive Sourcing Strategist

Used for less than a year

Reviewed April 2022

"The product is extremely easy to use and integrates seamlessly with Greenhouse."

Lever

Integration rated 4.5 from 12 reviews

Serguei Zaychenko

Senior Corporate Recruiter

Used for 1-2 years

Reviewed January 2023

"We do a lot of direct candidate sourcing and need the candidates to be uploaded to Lever to manage them."

LinkedIn Jobs

Integration rated 5.0 from 6 reviews

Calendly

Integration rated 4.8 from 6 reviews

LinkedIn for Business

Integration rated 5.0 from 4 reviews

Gmail

Integration rated 4.7 from 3 reviews

Workday HCM

Integration rated 2.7 from 3 reviews

hireEZ

Integration rated 3.5 from 2 reviews

See all 57 integrations

Gem Key Sentiments

We analyzed 123 verified reviews for Gem to find out what actual users really think.

Most Positive Sentiments

Recruiting efficiency

73% Positive

12% Neutral

15% Negative

Users find Gem's recruiting efficiency features beneficial, particularly the analytics dashboard and diversity recruiting capabilities. They appreciate the user-friendly interface and the ability to build customized dashboards to track recruiting efforts. Additionally, users highlight the ease of onboarding and the intuitive nature of the product, which enhances their overall recruitment process.

Email sequencing

63% Positive

33% Neutral

3% Negative

Users value Gem’s email sequencing features, particularly the automation of drip campaigns and scheduled sequences. They find the setup and tracking process intuitive and time-saving, and they appreciate the performance data provided, which helps them refine their outreach strategies.

Least Positive Sentiments

Email messaging

47% Positive

44% Neutral

9% Negative

Users appreciate Gem's email messaging features, particularly the automation of follow-up emails and the ability to find contact information. They find the contact information finder and email scraping capabilities very useful for streamlining their recruiting processes. Additionally, users value the InMail scheduling and the ease of logging LinkedIn reach outs directly through Gem.

Candidate management

53% Positive

29% Neutral

18% Negative

Users find Gem's candidate management features helpful for sharing projects with teammates and automating outreach. They appreciate the robust search functionality and the ease of organizing and tracking candidates. However, users face limitations with external sharing, issues with removing hired candidates from searches, and occasional problems with boolean search results.

Gem User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.7

Ratings Breakdown

76%

22%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.7

Value for money

4.6

Customer support

4.7

Functionality

4.6

Mathieu L.

Verified reviewer

Information Technology and Services

5001-10000 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2025

A great tool, a lot of potential to be a real gem

The tool can definitely be improved to improve the sourcer/recruiter experience but I'm glad GEM is part of our sourcing workflow!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I particularly like the collaboration possibilities in GEM. I'm heavily relying on shared projects with my teammates and finding a good workflow is easy with GEM.

Cons:

I wish GEM (1) could improve the filtering options in projects because filtering isn't the smoothest experience I've had so far and the tool has the potential for more and (2) could give us more freedom in building our own dashboards. There are many widgets available (which is great) but it makes it hard to quickly build the dashboards we want - we have to play around with the tool before, in order to find the best variables.

Reasons for switching to Gem

The previous tool wasn't necessarily adopted by the internal users.

Ryan R.

Verified reviewer

Financial Services

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2022

Great Recruiting & Sourcing Tool!

Overall, Gem is a great tool for any company's recruiting stack. It's got a ton of features, great integrations, and they're backed by top tier VCs!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I like that Gem has a strong database of email addresses that they verify, their reporting and analytics is very useful for identifying bottlenecks in the recruiting & sourcing process, reviewing top of funnel metrics for the team, and measuring template effectiveness when reaching out to candidates.

Cons:

I believe the user interface is a bit clunky and could honestly use a design make-over.

Reasons for choosing Gem

Gem was just an all around better solution - had more capabilities and their email database was definitely more accurate! Gem's pricing was also aligned with what I was able to spend at an earlier stage start-up.

Reasons for switching to Gem

Resource.io was purchased by Gem, so I was moved over due to the acquisition.

Billie C.

Verified reviewer

Marketing and Advertising

2-10 employees

Used weekly for free trial

Review source

Reviewed August 2024

Easy to use, however better platforms exist

Used to use and adopt to however lacks important features other softwares provides

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

It’s easy to use and provides valuable analytics on candidates

Cons:

You can’t download the candidate list which is frustrating and it is lacking other features

Ryan S.

Verified reviewer

Computer Software

5001-10000 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed April 2023

I love Gem!

Gem has definitely made me a better recruiter and made my job easier.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

Pros:

Having reminders for InMails and getting emails sent automatically through gem is a GAME CHANGER. I am not the most organized person, so in the past I would have candidates fall through the cracks if I missed messaging them for 2nd, 3rd, 4th touch points. Now I get reminders or have it done automatically.

Cons:

I cannot think of any cons of using Gem so far. I use it daily for candidate messaging and management, I have enjoyed it a ton.

Reasons for switching to Gem

Eightfold kind of sucked for us, it wasn't intuitive, the resume search was clunky and messaging with Eightfold wasn't as easy as it is with Gem.

Verified

Reviewer

Computer Software

51-200 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2023

GEM has evolved and is getting better

its an ok product now, it used to be a game changer but it's not innovating enough

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

It's way to manage new outbound candidates/prospects that you sourced to fit your openings.

Cons:

It's getting to the point of asking..what else can GEM Do? Beyond managing / CRM / outbound....

Reasons for choosing Gem

the ability to import candidates from linkedin to GEM and ability to track campaign was really key

Verified

Reviewer

Staffing and Recruiting

11-50 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months

Review source

Reviewed September 2022

GEM it is

Gem is really good for recruitment and obtaining data for better outreach, especially in Recruitment and HR roles.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

This platform is really good especially in sourcing as it has automatic sequencing that will send follow-up emails which is time-saving. You could also integrate other software tools for seamless transfer of data.

Cons:

interface as it's a little confusing but when you get the hang of it then you get comfortable

Reasons for choosing Gem

Gem is referred to us by one of the Manager success which gives us better reach rate

Rebecca A.

Verified reviewer

Computer Software

5001-10000 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed April 2023

Gem is an essential recruiting tool.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

It's really easy to use! Gem's integrations make leveraging data from event so easy. In the past, where other platforms don't encourage collaboration, Gem does.Gem is perfect for large teams with wide candidate pool in order to retain and share talent, which is super important in this new and competitive landscape.

Cons:

Limited licenses can make the data analytics a bit manual when it comes to reviewing large sheets of data. My assumption is that this is to push you to get a pro license.

Reasons for switching to Gem

Eightfold did not have key integrations we needed like Splash. Also it was not as intuitive, hard to use, and didn't allow you to easily see into other projects. Most of all this tool was not GDPR compliant.

Roberta B.

Verified reviewer

Staffing and Recruiting

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed April 2022

Glad that I signed up

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Amazing tool to classify and organize data. Pivot to send mass emails

Cons:

I wish they had a live customer service, however, they do answer very fast

Reasons for switching to Gem

I didn't have good training, could understand the platform , also Gem chrome extension is a life saver

Chris M.

Verified reviewer

Computer Software

51-200 employees

Used weekly for less than 2 years

Reviewed June 2020

Gem is the choice tool for your sourcing needs

Overall we are very happy with Gem has our primary sourcing and outreach platform. We are also happy with the support from the team who are quick to respond to any issues as well as being open to feedback and product enhancements.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Gem is a very intuitive product and may not have the bells and whistles of some of the other sourcing tools in the market, but what it can do - it does really well. The ability to customize drip campaigns and A/B test your sourcing outreach is the primary reason that we chose Gem, coupled with the ability to send on behalf of leaders across your organization also enables you to be more successful in your outreach. What's more, Gem can accurately identify and source direct email contacts for prospects to allow you to connect with candidates easily.

Cons:

As with any data sources, the email lookup is not always going to be 100% accurate.

Reasons for choosing Gem

On recommendation from peers as well as the intuitiveness of the product compared to Entelo.

Reasons for switching to Gem

I wanted a more robust sourcing tool and better data reporting capabilities.

Cynthia B.

Verified reviewer

Staffing and Recruiting

11-50 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2025

Easy to use for recruiters, powerful collaboration and reporting for teams

Gem is a great tool both for day-to-day recruiting productivity and for leadership visibility. It saves time, improves collaboration, and provides strong insights, but the cost and ATS limitations should be considered depending on your stack.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Gem is extremely easy to use. Setting up sequences is quick and practical, and the wide range of placeholders makes it easy to personalize outreach at scale. I really value the ability to add notes and tags to candidates, which makes team collaboration smooth and transparent. From a recruiter’s perspective, it feels almost like an ATS — the filters are very detailed, and you can scrape/search efficiently when looking for specific profiles. Another big plus is being able to reuse your own database and talent pools over time, which reduces reliance on external sourcing tools. From a team lead perspective, the reporting dashboards make it easy to track pipeline health and recruiter performance, which is very valuable for scaling teams.

Cons:

It is on the expensive side, especially since you still need another tool for actual sourcing. Nowadays, many sourcing platforms also include emailing capabilities, which makes Gem feel like an additional investment. The ATS integrations also feel somewhat limited at times and require extra checks.

Showing 1 - 10 of 123 Reviews

See All Reviews

Gem FAQs

What is Gem used for in recruiting?
Gem brings together the entire recruiting process, from identifying top candidates and automating interview reminders to extending an offer with e-signatures and forecasting future hiring needs with predictive analytics. Gem also offers talent marketing tools like career sites and online events to attract top candidates and build a strong employer brand.
Is Gem a CRM?
Gem is not a traditional CRM (customer relationship management) software. It includes candidate relationship management tools as part of its recruiting platform. The Gem Recruiting CRM, which houses all past and present candidate information, helps users nurture and engage talent through enriched contact data, qualified past candidate discovery, and detailed resume and experience details.
Is Gem free to use?
Gem is not free but offers a free trial for its sourcing and CRM capabilities—the applicant tracking system is not included. Gem's prices are based on the size of your organization, and you can purchase recruiter licenses for sourcing, candidate management, or full-cycle workflow on a per-user basis. There is also a discounted program for early-stage startups.
Is Gem easy to use?
Yes, Gem is easy to use, according to verified user reviews. It earned 4.7 out of 5 for ease of use and 4.6 stars for functionality. Users mention the software's seamless setup, intuitive design, easy integrations, and more. A 4.7 rating for customer service also means extra support is available to help users troubleshoot when necessary.