JOIN vs softgarden

JOIN

The captured pages show a hiring pipeline, structured scorecards, screening questions, interviewer pools and interview scheduling with two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync, plus roles and permissions across tiers — but the depth stops at feature tick-marks. We found no public information on pipelines configured per vacancy, on a record of who moved a candidate and why, or on approval steps for offers, so the attributed decision history an AGG dispute would need is not evidenced.

softgarden

Applicant management is evidenced as an application overview with built-in team communication, a dashboard with time-to-hire and time-to-interview KPIs, a basic process configuration, and a system history logging access attempts and every changing operation on records. We found no public information on structured scorecards, interview scheduling with calendar integration, hiring-manager access limited to their own vacancies, or whether each stage change records who made it and why.

JOIN

Distribution is the product's visible core: organic multiposting to 10+ boards, paid posting to 250+ as an add-on bookable without markup, partner status with StepStone, Indeed and LinkedIn, a career-page builder in the customer's own design, mobile-first application and source tracking per application. We found no public information on posting to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, on Google for Jobs markup, on an accessibility statement, or on cost and applicants reported per channel, which holds this below the higher marks.

softgarden

The pages state multiposting to more than 1,200 job boards plus social media and Google Ads, a career page in both packages, SEO-optimised job ads, and per-advertisement analysis of conversion rates and incoming channels, with media booking offered through the vendor's own media business. We found no public information naming the German boards covered, Google for Jobs markup, an application flow on mobile without an account, or cost and applicants per channel.

JOIN

The privacy policy promises deletion or full anonymisation once the storage period ends, and GDPR rights are stated to be built into every candidate profile, which gives applicants a documented answer path for access and erasure. No retention period is stated anywhere, configurability after a rejection is not evidenced, and we found no public information on a consent step or expiry for the talent pool, on a log of who viewed or exported an applicant file, or on reportable deletion runs — exactly the points a works council will raise.

softgarden

Automated deletion of applicant data that the controller configures to its own operational requirements, a recommended six-month retention default, a four-week deadline for answering data-subject requests, and a system history logging access attempts and record changes give the employer real hooks for its liability. We found no public information on talent-pool consent or its expiry, candidate self-service access to their own file, logging of exports, or how deletion propagates to backups and to the boards and tools the system syncs with.

JOIN

An AI generator for job advertisements ships in every tier and the homepage tells startups to "screenen Sie mit KI", yet we found no public information on what the screening evaluates, its inputs, a per-feature switch, the model or provider, or the vendor's EU AI Act position. An AI feature applied to applicant screening with nothing published about inputs, human oversight or where it runs is precisely the co-determination gap I flag.

softgarden

AI use is stated for job-ad text, communication, candidate matching and process structuring, sold as modules including a KI Screening Assistant and KI Interview Assistant, with the assurance it is 'Transparent und ohne Blackbox'. We found no public information on the inputs any of these evaluate, a per-feature off switch, informing candidates, exclusion of protected attributes, or the model provider; Textkernel appears in the published subcontractor list, but the captured pages do not tie it to the AI features.

JOIN

An API, Zapier & Make connectors and a candidate export in Excel format appear from the Advanced tier up, custom integrations are reserved for Enterprise, and two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync is stated for all plans. We found no public information on published API documentation or limits, on a named handover to a DACH HR or payroll system such as Personio or DATEV-connected tools, on SSO or SCIM, or on e-signature for offers and contracts.

softgarden

The evidence for life after the hire is an onboarding module carrying the new employee forward inside the vendor's own product, plus Cronofy among the named subcontractors. We found no public information on a documented API, a handover carrying the hire's documents and consent status into any named HR or payroll system, e-signature for contracts, or single sign-on.

JOIN

Hosting is stated as "primär in der EU", and the corporate structure is openly European: a Swiss parent with German and Spanish subsidiaries, an Article 27 representative in Berlin, a published data-processing agreement and ISO 27001:2022. But the contracting entity and governing law are Swiss rather than EU, the hosting infrastructure is unnamed, and we found no published subprocessor list — providers appear only as categories such as job portals, with nothing naming a CV parser or AI provider or saying where their processing runs.

softgarden

Hosting in named German datacentres (WIIT, formerly myLoc, and Equinix Germany in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf), a Berlin contracting entity with court and register number, a published subcontractor list naming myLoc, the CV parser Textkernel and Cronofy, a downloadable data-processing agreement with TOMs, and the statement that no third-country transfer of applicant data occurs — that is most of a European chain in the vendor's own words. What holds it below the top band is the support-channel provider Intercom, whose parent is flagged for US Cloud Act exposure while the vendor states it acts as its own controller, and we found no public information tying the AI features to a named EU provider.

JOIN

Standard at 17 € pro Job/Monat and Advanced at 34 € pro Job/Monat with annual billing are public, together with their pricing basis, the 15-active-job limits, unlimited users, per-tier feature lists, and VAT treatment, prepaid payment terms and notice periods are all stated. Paid multiposting appears only as an add-on without a price, Enterprise is "Staffelpreise" behind a contact request, and posting costs per board are not published, so a complete annual invoice is not computable from the public pages.

softgarden

The Core package is published at from 199 € / Monat with its basis and limits — a maximum of five advertised jobs and unlimited users — and all prices are stated as excluding VAT, with a brochure offering all packages, functions and prices. The All-in-One package is stated as individual pricing matched to hiring volume, and we found no public information on the price of add-on modules, job-board postings, or a minimum term.