Disclosure first: Betterleap is one of the products on this page, and we wrote it. To keep it useful anyway, every claim about another vendor is quoted from that vendor's own website on the date under Sources, pricing appears only where the vendor publishes it, and we group products by the job they do instead of ranking nineteen unlike things against each other. "Healthcare staffing software" is sold to two different buyers, a staffing agency and a hospital's staffing office, for five different jobs, and no product does all five.
Five jobs, five categories
| Category | Who buys it | The job | Products on this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency platforms (ATS, CRM, credentialing, pay and bill) | Healthcare staffing agencies | Run the agency: candidates, clients, credentials, shifts, timesheets, invoices | Bullhorn, Ceipal, Avionté, LaborEdge, TargetRecruit |
| On-demand shift marketplaces | Facilities and hospitals | Fill a per diem shift with a credentialed clinician without an agency | ShiftKey, Nursa, Clipboard Health, IntelyCare, ShiftMed |
| Vendor management and internal flex platforms | Hospitals and health systems | Manage every agency, traveler and float pool in one place | ShiftWise Flex, Medefis, Prolucent, Aya Healthcare (LotusOne), Trusted Works |
| Scheduling, workforce and credentialing platforms | Hospitals, health systems, senior care | Schedule, credential and pay the staff you employ | QGenda, symplr, Smartlinx |
| Sourcing for permanent hires | Agencies and health systems | Find and contact licensed clinicians who are not applying | Betterleap |
Start with the job. An agency asking for "staffing software" needs the first category; a hospital that says the same words usually needs the second or third, and a recruiter who needs people for permanent roles rather than shifts needs the last.
Agency platforms: ATS, CRM, credentialing, pay and bill
These run a healthcare staffing agency end to end: the candidate database, client and job orders, credential tracking against Joint Commission requirements, shift scheduling, timesheets, invoicing and payroll. The healthcare editions differ from generic staffing ATSs in the credentialing and time-interpretation rules.
| Product | What it is (vendor's words) | Healthcare specifics | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullhorn | "The industry-leading ATS & CRM" with "dedicated workflows for travel nursing, locum tenens, allied health, and per diem" | "Trusted by 22 of the top 25 healthcare staffing agencies"; credentialing, shift scheduling, time and pay with "a robust time-interpretation rules engine" | Published for small agencies: Starter $99 per user per month, Core $165 per user per month; Pro, Max, Front Office and Bullhorn One by quote |
| Ceipal | "ONE user-friendly product with ATS+VMS+WF management" | Ceipal Healthcare for "locum tenens and travel nurses to per diem and allied workers"; automates "credential verification, interview scheduling, skills assessments, reminders about outstanding documents" | Not published |
| Avionté | "End-to-end staffing platform": ATS and CRM, payroll and billing, mobile talent app, business intelligence | Healthcare edition to "find and place the best supplemental healthcare providers, including travel nurses, allied staff, and locum tenens"; "expedited credentialing" | Not published |
| LaborEdge (Nexus) | "One platform that offers Healthcare ATS / VMS / Mobile Functionality"; "We refuse to be a generic ATS/ CRM" | Healthcare only; "Automated Credentialing based on assignment to Simplified Joint Commission audits"; a candidate app to "View schedules, confirm shifts, easily upload of credentials" | "All-inclusive fee per employee per month, including daily pay"; the figure is not published |
| TargetRecruit | "Enterprise Software for Staffing and Recruiting Firms" built on Salesforce; "has been acquired by Bullhorn" | Vertical solutions "optimized for healthcare, professional, and commercial staffing" | Not published |
Bullhorn
The largest of the group: "More than 10,000 companies rely on Bullhorn to power their staffing processes", with "a marketplace of 300+ pre-integrated technology partners". Its healthcare page promises you need not "choose between a niche tool and a powerful platform", and its credentialing case study (Ingenovis) reports "low 90s for NPS score for credentialing". The 2026 line-up adds Amplify, "our recruitment AI", and "Amplify Digital Workers that execute the repetitive work autonomously"; Bullhorn One extends the front office to "Timesheet management", "Invoicing and billing" and "Pay and bill automation". Bullhorn is the only agency platform on this page with a published price, and only for its two smallest tiers.
Ceipal
Ceipal Healthcare is sold as the answer to "Too Many Systems. Choose ONE.": ATS with "Automated sourcing and AI-Matching and Ranking", a vendor management system, "Ceipal Engage" for candidate communications, and analytics, with "Document management: Credentialing and licenses, regulations, cost sheet, scheduling, time sheets". It serves both "Healthcare Staffing Agencies" and "Hospitals & Healthcare Facilities".
Avionté
Avionté's healthcare recruiting software adds "integrated video interviewing", credentialing "integrations with Adobe Sign, background screening, and credential management" and a mobile app that "enables healthcare providers to review job details, pay information, and manage their schedules in real-time" (the former WorkN app, "now Avionté Mobile") on top of its ATS, CRM, payroll and billing platform.
LaborEdge
Nexus, "powered by LaborEdge", is the healthcare-only option: NexusATS for agencies, NexusVMS "connecting hospitals, agencies, and facilities directly", and a candidate app with "Apply/Respond/Accept". It leads with compliance ("Impress the Joint Commission & Mitigate Liability") and a single per-employee fee that includes daily pay for workers.
TargetRecruit
A Salesforce-native front, middle and back office for staffing firms with healthcare as one of three vertical editions, now part of Bullhorn ("TargetRecruit has been acquired by Bullhorn"); its AI agents are "powered by Agentforce". Shortlist it if your agency already runs on Salesforce.
On-demand shift marketplaces
These replace the phone call to an agency: a facility posts a shift, credentialed local clinicians claim it in an app, and the platform handles credentials, scheduling and payment. They cover shifts, not permanent hires, and most publish how they charge even when they do not publish a rate.
| Product | Scale (vendor's figure) | Model | Roles and settings | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShiftKey | "10,000+ facilities"; "140,000+ experienced, licensed independent professionals"; "Over 76 million hours scheduled"; "more than 430 markets" | Marketplace of independent professionals who bid on shifts; "We're not a healthcare staffing agency" | CNAs, RNs, LPNs, LVNs, RTs, PTs; senior care and hospitals; OnShift scheduling is "a ShiftKey brand" | "Rates on ShiftKey for independent professionals are always set. There are no hidden fees, surge pricing or middlemen"; no price list |
| Nursa | "Trusted by 4,500+ Facilities, 31 states"; "over 250,000 verified shifts" | Per diem marketplace of independent contractors; "you only pay when shifts are completed" | RN, LPN, CNA and more; post-acute and acute care | Two published options: "Set your own rates" or "SmartRates" that "adjust automatically to market demand"; "no hire-away fees" |
| Clipboard Health | Not published | "Post your shifts same day or ahead of time"; "If your worker cancels, we automatically find you another" | Nurse, LPN and LVN, CNA, RT, SLP, PT and PTA; long-term care, hospitals, home health and hospice, dental | "Each role type is pre-assigned a standard hourly rate"; "Hourly rates vary by location", quoted by sales |
| IntelyCare | "99% of shifts earning a 5/5 facility rating" | "Full-service talent partner": W-2 IntelyPros for per diem, plus "longer-term engagements" | Nursing professionals; post-acute and senior care | Not published |
| ShiftMed | "1.2M+ Shifts filled every year"; "100+ Hospital & health system brands"; "3,000+ Locations powered" | Internal pools first, then "credentialed local W-2 clinicians"; "The Industry's First Guaranteed Savings Model" | Hospitals and health systems | Not published |
ShiftKey is the largest marketplace by its own numbers and the most explicit about what it is not: "a marketplace that gives you direct access to local, credentialed independent clinicians", with "no minimums or long-term commitments"; its SAMI product and the OnShift scheduler extend it into schedule automation for senior care. Nursa publishes the clearest commercial model: "approve the shift price before you post", pay per completed shift, and hire a clinician you met on the platform "at no cost to your facility"; it claims facilities "fill 3 times as many open per diem shifts" than on their own. Clipboard Health runs the same post-and-match loop with a replacement guarantee and a per-role standard rate. IntelyCare is the exception in the group, a staffing partner with "Full credentialing service" and "Dedicated success teams in your market" rather than a self-serve marketplace (see IntelyCare alternatives). ShiftMed positions itself as a workforce platform for hospitals that "activate marketplace capacity only once internal capacity is exhausted", reports "8.8K clinicians converted to permanent hires at no cost" and integrates with the EHR, scheduling, HRIS and payroll systems already in place, "No rip-and-replace".
Vendor management and internal flex platforms for health systems
A vendor management system (VMS) is where a hospital posts its contingent needs, receives submissions from many agencies and tracks every traveler's credentials, bill rate and spend. The newer "flexible workforce" platforms add an internal resource pool so the health system fills gaps with its own float and per diem staff before paying agency rates.
| Product | What it is (vendor's words) | Named outcomes | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShiftWise Flex | "Advanced workforce technology platform" managing "permanent, per diem, float and contingent staff, in one technology for enterprise visibility" | A Pennsylvania health system: "76% drop in average RN travelers on assignment", "19.5% reduction in average bill rates" | Not published |
| Medefis | "The WorkWise Open Talent Marketplace": "direct, on-demand access to a national network of vetted staffing suppliers"; "vendor-neutral" | "Get set up within 24 hours"; "real-time status of every candidate's credentials" | "All at no cost to the facility" |
| Prolucent | "Flexible Workforce Platform (VMS + IRP)": "Full or self service, Vendor neutral"; unifies "permanent, temporary, and internal" talent | Dartmouth Health and Northwell Health named; "never competes with you for clinicians" | Not published |
| Aya Healthcare (LotusOne) | "The most features of any VMS, all from one login"; Shifts app for open shifts; CoreHire for permanent hiring with "unlimited job postings" | Springfield Memorial: "error rate dropped 72% and fulfillment increased by 38% with the Shifts app" | Not published |
| Trusted Works | "Intelligent staffing and scheduling for hospitals & health systems": forecast, schedule, extend, fill, learn; integrates with UKG, ShiftWizard and symplr | Mercy, Deaconess Health System, Southern Illinois Healthcare named | Not published |
Two of these belong to staffing companies: ShiftWise is AMN Healthcare's platform and LotusOne is Aya Healthcare's, which is why Prolucent and Medefis lead with "vendor neutral". Medefis is the only one with a published commercial model (free to the facility; suppliers pay). Trusted Works sits closest to scheduling software: its product runs "12 weeks of decisions", from a demand forecast by unit, shift and skill to opening traveler requisitions "from the same model".
Scheduling, workforce and credentialing platforms
These manage the staff a hospital already employs. They appear in staffing-software evaluations because the schedule is where an open shift becomes a staffing order, and because credentialing lives next door.
- QGenda: "the only provider to unify credentialing, scheduling, on-call, time and attendance, and capacity management on a single platform", "healthcare-only", for "physicians, nurses, and staff", with provider credentialing "up to 50% faster". Pricing not published.
- symplr: "Healthcare workforce management solutions to support staff engagement, improve care team coordination, and help contain labor costs", including "Time and Attendance Staffing and Scheduling" and "symplr Contingent Talent Management", and claims "9/10 hospitals and health systems use symplr's award-winning solutions". Pricing not published.
- Smartlinx: "the complete workforce solution for senior care" (scheduling, time and attendance, payroll, PBJ reporting, vendor management), "3500+ facilities" and "300,000+ caregivers" on the software, plus an ATS for agencies it calls "the only healthcare-grade ATS". Pricing not published.
Sourcing for permanent hires: Betterleap
Every category above moves people who are already in a database, on a marketplace or on a schedule. When the clinician you need is employed somewhere else and not applying, the job is sourcing, and that is what Betterleap does. A recruiter describes the role in plain language ("bilingual pediatric nurses with NICU experience near Denver"); the agent searches 35M+ verified healthcare professionals, checks licensing data from 25+ state board partnerships, writes a personalized multi-step sequence, sends it from the recruiter's mailbox, follows up automatically and tracks opens and replies. 500K+ emails go out a month. Through 25+ ATS integrations it re-engages past applicants after refreshing their contact data. It does not run shifts, credentials, timesheets or a VMS. Customers include Beebe Healthcare (91% contact match rate), Community Health Network (35% increase in sourcing efficiency) and FOX Rehabilitation (20% of new hires sourced through Betterleap). Pricing: not published; quoted after a demo. Agencies pair it with a Bullhorn-class ATS; health systems pair it with their ATS and a VMS. See also sourcing tools for travel nurse staffing agencies.
Which healthcare staffing software publishes pricing
- A price list: Bullhorn only, and only for Starter ($99 per user per month) and Core ($165 per user per month); every other Bullhorn tier is "Get a quote".
- A published model without a rate: Nursa (pay per completed shift, your rate or SmartRates), Clipboard Health (a standard hourly rate per role, varying by location), ShiftKey (set rates, "no hidden fees, surge pricing or middlemen"), LaborEdge (one fee per employee per month), Medefis (no cost to the facility).
- Not published: Ceipal, Avionté, TargetRecruit, IntelyCare, ShiftMed, ShiftWise Flex, Prolucent, Aya Healthcare, Trusted Works, QGenda, symplr, Smartlinx and Betterleap.
How to choose
- Name the buyer and the job first. An agency needs an ATS with credentialing and pay and bill; a hospital filling tonight's shift needs a marketplace; a health system with twelve agencies needs a VMS; a team with a permanent requisition needs sourcing. Products that claim two jobs (Ceipal's ATS plus VMS, ShiftMed's internal pool plus marketplace, Aya's VMS plus CoreHire) are worth a second look only if you have both jobs.
- Ask who else the vendor works for. ShiftWise and LotusOne are owned by staffing companies; Prolucent and Medefis sell neutrality; ShiftKey and Nursa supply independent contractors, IntelyCare and ShiftMed W-2 clinicians. Each answer changes your cost, your compliance exposure and who owns the relationship with the clinician.
- Check credentialing against your auditor, not the demo. Every agency platform names the Joint Commission; ask to see the expiring-credential workflow and the audit export.
- Pricing. Where a vendor publishes a model but not a rate, get the rate for your roles and markets in writing before comparing.
- Integration. Marketplaces and flex platforms write into your scheduling and payroll systems (ShiftMed names EHR, WFM, HRIS and payroll; Trusted Works names UKG, ShiftWizard and symplr); sourcing tools write into your ATS. Confirm the exact systems, in both directions.
If the job is finding licensed clinicians for permanent roles, see Betterleap run on one of your open roles.
Sources
- Bullhorn, bullhorn.com/healthcare and bullhorn.com/pricing; Ceipal, ceipal.com/healthcare-staffing-software; Avionté, avionte.com/healthcare; LaborEdge, laboredge.com; TargetRecruit, targetrecruit.com; ShiftKey, shiftkey.com/facilities and shiftkey.com/facilities/hospitals; Nursa, nursa.com/facility/pricing and nursa.com/facility/platform; Clipboard Health, clipboard.com/solutions and clipboard.com/pricing; IntelyCare, intelycare.com/facilities; ShiftMed, shiftmed.com; ShiftWise, shiftwise.com; Medefis, medefis.com; Prolucent, prolucent.com; Aya Healthcare, ayahealthcare.com/healthcare-software-solutions; Trusted Works, works.ai; QGenda, qgenda.com; symplr, symplr.com/solutions/workforce-management; Smartlinx, smartlinx.com. All read 13 November 2026.
- Betterleap, betterleap.com and the linked case studies.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best healthcare staffing software?
It depends on the job. For running a healthcare staffing agency: Bullhorn, Ceipal, Avionté or LaborEdge. For filling per diem shifts without an agency: ShiftKey, Nursa or Clipboard Health. For managing agencies and float pools across a health system: ShiftWise Flex, Medefis, Prolucent or Trusted Works. For finding licensed clinicians for permanent roles who are not applying: Betterleap (35M+ healthcare professionals, 25+ state board partnerships, outreach sent and followed up automatically).
Which healthcare staffing software publishes pricing?
Of the nineteen products on this page, only Bullhorn publishes a price list, and only for its two smallest tiers: Starter at $99 per user per month and Core at $165 per user per month. Nursa, Clipboard Health, ShiftKey, LaborEdge and Medefis publish how they charge without a rate. The rest, including Betterleap, quote after a demo.
What is the difference between a healthcare staffing ATS and a VMS?
An ATS (Bullhorn, Ceipal, Avionté, LaborEdge) is the agency's system: candidates, credentials, placements, timesheets and invoices. A VMS (ShiftWise Flex, Medefis, Prolucent, Aya's LotusOne) is the hospital's system: it posts contingent needs to many agencies, compares submissions and tracks every traveler's rate and credentials. Ceipal and LaborEdge sell both sides.
Do shift marketplaces replace a staffing agency?
For per diem shifts, that is what ShiftKey, Nursa and Clipboard Health are built to do: a facility posts a shift, local credentialed clinicians claim it, and the platform handles credentials and payment with no agency markup. They do not place travelers on 13-week contracts or fill permanent roles; ShiftMed and IntelyCare add contract and longer-term options.
Does healthcare staffing software find candidates?
Agency ATSs search the database the agency already has, marketplaces draw on clinicians who signed up, and VMSs receive submissions from agencies. None of them finds a clinician who is employed elsewhere and not looking. That is sourcing, which Betterleap does for agencies and health systems, feeding the ATS or VMS they already run.