§ The result
2 points separate softgarden and Recruit CRM.
softgarden holds a 2-point edge over Recruit CRM under rubric v1.0, 42 to 40, with both scored in the ATS-integrated cohort. softgarden leads 3 of the 7 criteria, including Article 11 Technical Documentation, while Recruit CRM leads 2, including FRIA Support, and 2 are level. Article 11 Technical Documentation is both the widest raw gap and the heaviest weighted swing — Recruit CRM 34, softgarden 42 — and at a 20% weight it carries 73% of the weighted advantage softgarden holds across the 3 criteria on that side of the table.
Vendor profile
Recruit CRM
Recruit CRM is an ATS and CRM for recruitment agencies and executive search firms, with AI resume parsing, AI sourcing from an 800M+ profile Global Database, and AI candidate matching that scores and ranks candidates 0–100 with explanations for each dimension.
Vendor profile
softgarden
softgarden is a German cloud applicant tracking system (multiposting, career sites, applicant management and onboarding) with optional AI features: AI-Assisted Applicant Matching, which highlights applicants who closely match a job's requirements, and a newer LLM-based Screening Assistant, which scores each applicant against screening criteria.
§ The record
Recruit CRM and softgarden are both filed under ATS-integrated AI. They record no secondary category in common.
Both are in scope of EU AI Act, NYC LL 144 and Colorado AI Act. Only softgarden is in scope of Illinois HB 3773.
| Record | Recruit CRM | softgarden |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | Low | Mid |
| Headquarters | US | DE |
| Founded | Not recorded | 2001 |
§ What decides it
The criteria that move the gap, heaviest swing first.
20% weight · 54% of the movement so far
Article 11 Technical Documentation
Recruit CRM 34 · softgarden 42
1.6 weighted points to softgarden
15% weight · 74% of the movement so far
FRIA Support
Recruit CRM 34 · softgarden 30
0.6 weighted points to Recruit CRM
18% weight · 86% of the movement so far
Bias Audit Transparency
Recruit CRM 20 · softgarden 22
0.4 weighted points to softgarden
12% weight · 95% of the movement so far
Post-Market Monitoring
Recruit CRM 42 · softgarden 44
0.2 weighted points to softgarden
8% weight · 100% of the movement so far
Customer Documentation
Recruit CRM 60 · softgarden 58
0.2 weighted points to Recruit CRM
Weighted delta is the raw difference times the criterion weight, so the 5 figures above sum to -1.4 — the difference between the two totals before either is rounded. Shares are of 3.0 points of movement counted without direction. The table below rounds each side to a whole number first, so its Δ raw total reads -2 beside that -1.4.
§ Category-by-category
Raw score per criterion, with weighted delta.
Δ is Recruit CRM minus softgarden.
| Category | Weight | Recruit CRM | softgarden | Δ raw | Δ weighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 34 | 42 | -8 | -1.6 |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 20 | 22 | -2 | -0.4 |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 34 | 30 | +4 | +0.6 |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 54 | 54 | - | - |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 58 | 58 | - | - |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 42 | 44 | -2 | -0.2 |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 60 | 58 | +2 | +0.2 |
| Total | 100% | 40 (F) | 42 (F) | -2 | -1.4 |
§ Evidence
Cited sources and documented absences, criterion by criterion.
An absence is a finding, not a blank: the reviewer looked for a named artefact and recorded that it is not located. Where a source sits is a fact about hosting only.
| Criterion | Weight | Recruit CRM | softgarden | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | ||
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 5 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domainSources on a separate domain | 6 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 6 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 7 | 0 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 6 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 5 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 1 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 4 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| All criteria | 100% | 30 | 5 | Sources on the vendor's own domainSources on a separate domain | 31 | 5 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
Recruit CRM has 35 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 30 with a source URL, 5 documented absences; softgarden has 36 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 31 with a source URL, 5 documented absences; some documentation or audit rows for Recruit CRM sit on a domain separate from the vendor's own site.
Provenance
The scores above are documented by 71 evidence rows on file for these two vendors: 35 for Recruit CRM, across 2 distinct source domains, and 36 for softgarden, across 3 distinct source domains.
- Rubric
- v1.0
- Recruit CRM last reviewed
- September 25, 2026 · HireAIScore editorial team
- softgarden last reviewed
- September 25, 2026 · HireAIScore editorial team
HireAIScore scores are editorial research, not legal advice, and no vendor pays for placement, scoring or removal — see the methodology, conflicts policy and terms.
§ Where next