AI-powered sourcing tools are everywhere now, and SeekOut and hireEZ (formerly Hiretual) are two of the biggest names. Both claim to find candidates you'd never find manually. Both use AI to surface hidden talent. And both cost thousands of dollars annually.

So which one should you actually buy? Let's skip the marketing BS and talk about what these tools actually do.

What These Tools Are Supposed to Do

Both SeekOut and hireEZ are candidate sourcing platforms that aggregate data from multiple sources—LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Overflow, Twitter, personal websites, patents, publications—and use AI to find candidates who match your criteria.

The pitch is simple: instead of just searching LinkedIn, these tools search everywhere and use machine learning to identify qualified candidates you'd never find manually.

Where SeekOut Wins

Diversity-focused search. SeekOut has invested heavily in diversity recruiting features. They can identify candidates from underrepresented groups, HBCUs, women in tech communities, veteran networks, etc. If diversity hiring is a priority, SeekOut's filters are more sophisticated.

Talent mapping capabilities. If you need to understand competitor hiring patterns, team structures, or market landscapes, SeekOut has better tools for this. You can visualize entire teams, track movement between companies, and identify hiring trends.

Data accuracy. Multiple users report that SeekOut's contact information is more frequently accurate and up-to-date compared to hireEZ. Finding candidates doesn't help if you can't reach them.

Enterprise features. SeekOut seems built for large enterprises with complex needs—team collaboration, compliance features, advanced analytics. If you're at a Fortune 500 company, SeekOut's infrastructure will fit better.

Customer support. User reviews consistently praise SeekOut's support team as responsive and helpful. When you're paying premium prices, good support matters.

Where hireEZ Wins

Price. hireEZ is typically cheaper than SeekOut—sometimes significantly so. If budget is tight but you still want AI sourcing, hireEZ gives you solid functionality for less money.

Ease of use. hireEZ's interface is more intuitive and has a gentler learning curve. SeekOut can feel overwhelming with all its features. If you want something you can start using effectively without weeks of training, hireEZ is simpler.

Chrome extension. hireEZ has a really good browser extension that lets you capture candidate profiles with one click as you browse the web. It integrates seamlessly into your normal workflow.

Outreach automation. hireEZ has better built-in email sequencing and outreach automation. You can set up drip campaigns directly in the platform. SeekOut focuses more on finding candidates; hireEZ helps you engage them.

Startup-friendly. hireEZ feels built for fast-moving startups and smaller recruiting teams. The workflow is more streamlined and less enterprise-y.

What They Both Get Wrong

Let's be honest about the limitations:

AI is oversold. Both platforms tout AI-powered matching, but in practice, you're still doing Boolean searches with fancier filters. The "AI" doesn't magically find perfect candidates—it finds people who match your search criteria, just like any search tool.

Data staleness is real. Both platforms scrape public data, which means contact information and job titles are often outdated. Expect 20-30% of the contact info to bounce or be wrong.

They're not cheap. Neither platform publishes pricing publicly (red flag), but expect $5K-12K+ per seat annually depending on features and company size. That's real money for small firms.

Learning curve exists. Despite hireEZ being "easier," both tools require significant time investment to use effectively. The advanced search features are powerful but complex.

Who Should Use Which Tool

Choose SeekOut if you:

• Work at an enterprise company with budget for premium tools
• Have specific diversity hiring goals and need sophisticated filters
• Do talent mapping and competitive intelligence work
• Value data accuracy and customer support over price
• Need advanced compliance and team collaboration features

Choose hireEZ if you:

• Work at a startup or mid-size company watching costs
• Want something you can start using productively within days, not weeks
• Need outreach automation built into your sourcing tool
• Prefer a streamlined interface over comprehensive features
• Are a solo recruiter or small team, not a large enterprise department

The Alternatives Worth Considering

Before committing to either:

LinkedIn Recruiter - If you're mostly sourcing on LinkedIn anyway, maybe just pay for better LinkedIn access instead of adding another tool.

Juicebox (formerly PeopleGPT) - Newer AI sourcing tool that's getting good reviews and might be cheaper.

Recruiterflow or Bullhorn - If you're an agency, these ATS+CRM platforms include sourcing features that might be sufficient without adding a separate tool.

Manual sourcing + Boolean skills - Controversial take, but if you're good at Boolean search and X-ray searching, you might not need a $10K tool. Time-consuming? Yes. Possible? Also yes.

The Real Question

Here's what you should actually be asking: Do I have enough hard-to-fill roles to justify spending $5-12K per year on sourcing software?

If you're filling 30+ specialized technical roles per year where passive sourcing is critical, either tool will probably pay for itself. If you're doing lower-volume hiring or your roles attract applicants organically, you're paying for capability you don't need.

The Bottom Line

SeekOut is the more comprehensive, enterprise-focused tool with better data and diversity features. hireEZ is the more affordable, user-friendly option with better outreach automation.

Neither is perfect. Both have real value for the right use case. And both are expensive enough that you need to be damn sure you'll use them consistently before you buy.

My advice: Get demos of both (and their competitors), test them with your actual searches, and do the ROI math with your specific hiring volume and role difficulty. Don't buy based on features lists—buy based on which tool will actually make you more productive at finding hard-to-source candidates.

And if you're not sure you need either one? You probably don't. Master the free tools first before investing in premium software. The best sourcing tool is the one you'll actually use, not the one with the most features.