Loxo vs Spott in 2026
Discover the ideal ATS/CRM solution for your business as we compare the top contenders for you in our head-to-head series
Recruitment today moves faster than most ATS systems were designed for. A single workflow now spans LinkedIn, WhatsApp, email, calls, voice notes, AI tools, job boards, and spreadsheets, often all within the same hour.
Loxo has grown quickly in response to this shift. With 13,200+ teams, 125,000+ users, $115M in funding, and a 1.2 billion+ candidate database, it's one of the stronger iterations of the traditional ATS model.
But the modern recruiter's reality tells a different story. Recruiters still jump between 6 to 12 tools a day, send 80+ messages, and lose 30 to 40% of their time to manual updates and disconnected workflows. That's 8 to 10 hours of admin every week that could be spent making placements.
Most ATS platforms haven't caught up. They store data well, but fail to keep it updated or connected to how recruiters actually work.
"Recruiters no longer struggle because they lack tools. They struggle because their tools don't talk to each other."
And this is where Loxo and Spott take fundamentally different approaches.
Traditional vs AI-Native Platform
Most modern ATS platforms, including Loxo, were built years before multi-channel communication and AI became central to recruitment. Features have been added on top, but the underlying architecture stayed the same.
Loxo's approach: Loxo positions itself as a "Talent Intelligence Platform" that combines ATS, CRM, a sourcing database of 1.2 billion profiles, outreach, and contact enrichment. Founded in 2012 in Austin, Texas, Loxo's main USP is replacing LinkedIn Recruiter with their own people database. It uses AI to accelerate tasks like search and engagement, but the platform is still centered on recruiters working inside the ATS and keeping activity up to date manually.
Spott's approach: Spott is an AI-native platform where communication, context, and data stay aligned in real time. Instead of just recording activity, Spott uses that context to update records, drive workflows, and help teams act faster with less manual effort. Built from day one around AI, not retrofitted.
That difference affects everything: data freshness, how quickly teams move, matching quality, and how much manual work remains in the daily workflow.
At-a-Glance Comparison
Sourcing Accuracy & Data Quality
Loxo markets a 1.2 billion+ profile database as a LinkedIn alternative built into your ATS. The pitch is compelling, but the reality is different. When you apply meaningful filters (career data, contact info, recent activity), usable records drop significantly. Profile updates lag months behind LinkedIn, and recruiters still maintain LinkedIn Recruiter licenses alongside Loxo to verify a candidate's current status.
The database works best as a supplementary scan, not a primary sourcing tool. Much of the data is outdated or incomplete, and refresh cycles are slow.
Spott takes a different approach. Rather than replacing LinkedIn with a static database, Spott keeps your own database living and accurate. Profiles refresh automatically through enrichment, conversations, LinkedIn activity, and continuous parsing. Every interaction (a WhatsApp message, a call note, a LinkedIn reply) feeds back into the candidate record.
The result: agencies build a high-quality, always-current talent pool with almost no manual effort. Your data gets better the more you use the platform.
Bottom line: Loxo gives you access to a massive database. Spott makes sure the data you actually work with stays fresh and reliable.
Search & Matching Quality
Loxo's search is primarily keyword- and title-based, with limited semantic interpretation layered on top. To get accurate results, recruiters need to manually group 10 to 15 job title aliases (developer, software engineer, backend dev, etc.). Results depend heavily on these predefined groupings and manual data consistency, which can lead to irrelevant matches and require Boolean filters to narrow things down.
Spott's search and matching are semantic by default. The AI understands how skills, roles, and seniority relate without predefined aliases. Search for "Python developer" and Spott surfaces candidates with TensorFlow, Django, and data engineering backgrounds because it understands contextual relationships. Recruiters use natural-language queries while the AI continuously enriches and normalizes data across the entire database.
Bottom line: Loxo requires manual setup to make search work well. Spott understands context out of the box.
Multi-Channel Communication
Loxo offers mass campaigns via email and SMS with dynamic personalization. LinkedIn automation is limited to manual task reminders, not true automation. Users report failed email automations and workflows that break mid-sequence, requiring manual intervention that undermines the entire point of automation. Replies to past email threads aren't supported in-platform. There's no unified inbox, so channels remain siloed.
Spott provides a unified inbox for WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and email. Every conversation auto-links to the right candidate or contact record. Automated summaries, follow-ups, and contextual outreach reduce manual monitoring. Two-way sync means nothing gets lost between channels.
"The speed to share top candidates with clients is crazy. It makes the whole process feel effortless." - Savanna, McIlwain Solutions
Bottom line: Loxo automates outreach but breaks down across channels. Spott unifies everything in one inbox with full context.
Candidate & Client Presentation
Loxo provides a basic client portal, but visibility is limited. Clients see only final results without progress visibility or lifecycle tracking. Users frequently report that resumes lose formatting, branded reports look like LinkedIn profiles with a watermark, and output is unprofessional. Most agencies end up falling back to manual email updates.
Spott was purpose-built for candidate presentation. The AI summarizes CVs, calls, and job descriptions to create polished Word/PPT reports in your own branded template, in seconds. One-click pipeline updates replace manual formatting. Agencies using Spott have generated 1,000+ professional candidate reports using transcripts, CVs, and job descriptions automatically.
Bottom line: Loxo's client delivery tools are basic and poorly formatted. Spott generates professional, branded presentations automatically.
Business Development & Reporting
Loxo lacks vacancy scraping, speculative campaigns, and automated client decks. Reporting is basic and doesn't capture key multi-channel activity like LinkedIn message insights or WhatsApp engagement data.
Spott is designed for outbound business development. Built-in vacancy scraping surfaces new opportunities early. Candidate-driven speculative campaigns let agencies proactively pitch talent to clients. Automated client briefs and presentations save hours. Unified reporting across all channels gives leadership clear performance metrics, not just email open rates.
Bottom line: Loxo stops at the ATS. Spott helps you win new business too.
Customer Support & Vendor Experience
Loxo's support has declined as the company has scaled. Users report difficulty reaching a human because support is chatbot-first. Sales promises diminish post-purchase. Agencies that decide to leave report hostile transitions with no data migration assistance. Annual contracts are common, and users frequently discover committed terms they weren't expecting.
Spott offers direct, personal human support with fast resolution times. Slack-based support gives teams a direct line to the product team. Monthly flexibility means no lock-in. Migration is handled in 4 weeks with near-zero data loss. Go-live timelines are measured in days, not months.
"Spott claimed the top spot" among 200+ tested ATS solutions - Guillaume Lepercq, FreelanceRepublik
Bottom line: Loxo's support quality has dropped with scale. Spott gives you direct access to the team that builds the product.
Pricing
Loxo offers a free ATS tier to attract small agencies, then scales to $109/month (Starter) and $229/month (Professional), with Enterprise pricing on request. Annual contracts are standard. Users report rapid and unexpected price increases. We've heard reports of costs reaching £216/user/month for freelancers. What starts affordable can become expensive quickly.
Spott is $159 per recruiter per month. Migration, AI matching, auto-notes, candidate report generation, and all core AI features are included. No add-on traps, no surprise indexations. One price, everything included.
Bottom line: Loxo's free tier is attractive at first, but costs escalate fast. Spott's pricing is transparent and predictable from day one.
European Data Compliance
This is an area the draft often overlooks, but it matters for any agency handling European candidate data.
Loxo is US-centric. Data hosting, compliance infrastructure, and product development all center on the American market. For European agencies, this creates real GDPR exposure.
Spott is EU-hosted, ISO 27001 certified, and built GDPR-first. EU data residency is available by default, not as a premium add-on. For agencies in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, and broader Europe, this isn't a nice-to-have. It's a requirement.
Bottom line: If you handle European candidate data, Spott's compliance infrastructure is built for you. Loxo's isn't.
Switching Patterns
Recruitment teams choose Loxo for many good reasons: the sourcing database is compelling, the free tier lowers the barrier, and the UI is clean enough to get started quickly.
Over time, whether a team is small or growing, the need for better context, fewer tools, and less manual admin becomes more noticeable.
When agencies switch to Spott, the feedback tends to sound similar:
- "We finally see everything in one place."
- "Matching feels more accurate because it learns from our real conversations."
- "We're getting 30% more done with the same team, and it's only now we see how much manual work we used to do."
"The precision of the AI matching stood out immediately." - Kristof Stevens, United Consulting
It's not about the size of the agency. It's about how much efficiency and clarity you want in your daily workflow.
Where Loxo Is Still a Good Choice
Loxo isn't a bad platform. It's a strong choice if:
- You want a built-in sourcing database with 1.2 billion profiles and contact info as a LinkedIn alternative baked into your ATS.
- You're a US-based agency that values strong American market penetration and brand recognition.
- You want a free entry point. Loxo's free ATS/CRM plan lets small firms get started without any commitment.
- Your team prefers structured, traditional workflows over deeper AI automation, and is comfortable using LinkedIn alongside the ATS for sourcing accuracy.
Where Spott Wins
- You want a single AI-native platform that unifies sourcing, CRM, outreach, reporting, and multi-channel communication, replacing fragmented tools.
- You need always-fresh data with auto-updating profiles, enrichment, and context captured from every conversation across channels.
- Client delivery matters. Automated, branded candidate presentations in your own Word/PPT template set you apart from competitors sending generic reports.
- You care about European compliance. EU hosting, ISO 27001, and GDPR-first architecture are non-negotiable for your operations.
- You want transparent pricing without surprise escalations, annual lock-ins, or add-on traps.
- Support should be human and fast. Direct access to the product team, not a chatbot queue.
What are the best Loxo alternatives?
The best alternative depends on your priorities. For AI-native recruitment with unified multi-channel communication, Spott is the strongest option. For back-office depth, Bullhorn can offer more temp/flex infrastructure. We've published in-depth comparisons for Bullhorn, Vincere, RecruiterFlow, and others.
Bottom Line
The gap between traditional ATS platforms and what recruiters actually need is growing every quarter. Loxo has built a solid platform, but its architecture, pricing trajectory, and support model are showing strain.
Spott was built for the way recruiters work today: across channels, with context, at speed. AI-native from day one, not retrofitted onto a decade-old foundation.
Ready to see the difference? Book a demo and we'll show you how your team can make more placements with less manual work.
Frequently Asked
Loxo is a solid platform if you value a built-in sourcing database and want a free entry point. However, agencies should be aware of rapid pricing increases, declining support quality, and limited AI beyond sourcing. For firms that need unified multi-channel communication, accurate AI matching, and professional client delivery, Spott offers more depth.
The biggest friction points are: search results that require manual alias configuration to be useful, outreach automations that fail mid-sequence, a client portal that most clients don't use, and customer support that has declined as the company has scaled. Formatting of candidate reports and exports is also a consistent complaint.
Loxo pricing starts at $109 per month for the Starter plan and $229 per month for the Professional plan, with Enterprise pricing available on request. All plans require annual contracts, which users have found inflexible and sometimes surprising when renewal terms kick in. Compared to alternatives like Spott that offer AI-native search, context capture, and a 4-week migration path, agencies should weigh whether Loxo's sourcing database alone justifies the annual commitment.
The best alternative depends on your priorities. For AI-native recruitment with unified multi-channel communication, Spott is the strongest option. For budget-focused teams, Recruit CRM offers lower pricing. For back-office depth, Bullhorn has more temp/flex infrastructure. For exec search specifics, Ezekia is purpose-built.
Loxo is a traditional ATS with a large sourcing database bolted on. Spott is an AI-native ATS/CRM where AI is embedded in the data model from day one. The core difference shows in data freshness (Spott auto-updates profiles, Loxo requires manual maintenance), search quality (semantic vs keyword-based), multi-channel communication (unified inbox vs siloed channels), and client delivery (AI-generated branded reports vs basic portal).
Loxo positions its 1.2 billion profile database as a LinkedIn Recruiter replacement. In practice, most agencies still maintain their LinkedIn Recruiter license alongside Loxo because Loxo's profile data lags months behind LinkedIn and lacks the real-time accuracy recruiters need for active outreach.
Loxo is US-centric in both its data hosting and product development. For European agencies handling candidate data under GDPR, this creates compliance exposure. Spott is EU-hosted, ISO 27001 certified, and built GDPR-first, with data residency in Europe available by default.
Spott typically completes full migrations in 4 weeks with near-zero data loss. The process includes data import, field mapping, and hands-on onboarding support from the Spott team. Loxo users who switch report that go-live timelines are measured in days, not months.
Loxo includes some AI features, but its matching relies heavily on keyword search and manual title aliasing. Recruiters need to group 10 to 15 job title variations manually for accurate results. Spott uses semantic matching that understands contextual relationships between skills, roles, and seniority without manual configuration.
Among modern recruitment platforms, Spott stands out as AI-native, meaning AI is embedded in the data model rather than added as an afterthought. This shows in features like auto-updating candidate profiles, semantic search without manual aliasing, AI-generated candidate reports, and call transcription with context capture. Loxo, Bullhorn, and other platforms have added AI features, but these are typically bolt-on layers on older architectures.
Outp(l)ace everyone.
You can’t win tomorrow’s placements
with yesterday’s tools.
