JOIN vs softgarden

JOIN

The pricing page shows a hiring pipeline, scorecards, interview scheduling, roles and permissions and automated messages in every tier, plus two-way Google and Outlook sync and candidates booking their own slots. But these are tick marks, not depth: we found no public information on configurable stages per job, on restricting hiring managers to their own vacancies, or on any record of who moved a candidate and why — so I cannot treat it as a decision trail.

softgarden

The captured pages show an application overview with team communication, a dashboard with appointments, to-dos and KPIs including time-to-hire and time-to-interview, and a system history that logs access attempts and changing operations on records — that history is the closest thing to an audit trail here. We found no public information on structured scorecards, pipelines configured per job, hiring-manager access scoped to their own vacancies, or interview scheduling tied to calendars.

JOIN

Distribution is the strongest part: one click to 15 free and 250 paid boards, named partner status with Indeed, LinkedIn and StepStone, the source board stored on every application, mobile-first applications and a quick-apply flow, with sponsored bookings advertised without markup. We found no public information on posting to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Google for Jobs markup, career-page accessibility or multilingual career pages, and per-channel cost and applicant reporting appears only as the Enterprise tier's job-ad evaluation.

softgarden

Multiposting to more than 1,200 job boards plus social media and Google Ads is claimed, with a career page and SEO-optimised job ads in both packages, per-ad conversion and intake-channel analytics, and media competence from the 1.000jobboersen.de merger so booking sits inside the vendor's own offering. We found no public information naming German boards such as the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Google for Jobs markup, cost per channel, or the mobile application experience.

JOIN

The privacy policy states deletion or full anonymisation once a storage period expires, GDPR rights are described as built into every candidate profile, and deleting the account removes all company content. But no specific retention period or configurability is stated, the talent pool carries no recorded-consent statement, and we found no public information on view or export logs a works council could inspect.

softgarden

Automated deletion of applicant data configurable by the responsible party, with a recommended six-month retention, a system history logging access attempts and changing operations, a documented four-week data-subject-response obligation, a compliance contact and a downloadable DPA — that is real governance for what the employer is liable for. We found no public information on talent-pool consent with expiry, per-country retention rules, candidate self-service, or how deletion propagates to backups and job boards.

JOIN

AI is marketed — a job-ad generator in every tier and a pitch to startups to screen with AI — while the captured pages state nothing about what the screening evaluates, which model or provider runs it, where it processes, or whether a customer can switch it off. For a use the EU AI Act treats as high-risk, that is a co-determination conversation I could not prepare a single document for.

softgarden

AI use is stated for job ad texts, communication, candidate matching and process structuring, with named features including a screening assistant and interview assistant, and the vendor's claim is "Transparent und ohne Blackbox". That is a general transparency assurance: we found no public information on inputs, per-feature switches, the model provider, informing candidates, or a published EU AI Act position — and an unexplained score next to a candidate is exactly what a works council will ask about.

JOIN

API access and Zapier and Make arrive from the Advanced tier upward, two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync is confirmed, and Enterprise promises custom integrations on request — so everything below Advanced moves by hand. We found no public information on published API documentation or rate limits, SSO, SCIM, e-signature or webhooks, and no maintained handover to a named HR system such as Personio, DATEV or SAP; the evidenced candidate export is Excel format, and it too starts only in Advanced.

softgarden

The subprocessor list names Textkernel and Cronofy, so parsing and scheduling services exist in the chain, and an onboarding module is offered — but onboarding here is softgarden's own module, not a handover. We found no public information on a documented API, SSO, SCIM, e-signature, webhooks, or a handover to a named HR system such as Personio, DATEV-connected systems or SAP SuccessFactors, nor on who maintains any integration; for a hire arriving in the HR system with its documents rather than a retyped PDF, nothing here is evidenced.

JOIN

A Swiss parent jointly operates the product with German and Spanish subsidiaries, the German entity serves as the Article 27 EU representative, hosting is described as primarily in the EU, and ISO 27001:2022 and a data processing agreement are published. But no infrastructure is named, we found no public information on a subprocessor list covering the job boards or AI providers the CVs reach, the terms choose Swiss law with Swiss venue, and 'primarily in the EU' leaves the remainder unexplained.

softgarden

A German contracting entity with a Berlin register entry, hosting in named German datacenters (WIIT and Equinix Germany in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf), a published subprocessor list including Textkernel and Cronofy, a downloadable DPA, ISO 27001/27017/27018 certification, and the statement that no third-country transfer of applicant data takes place. The one caveat in the captured material is Intercom in the support chain, engaged via its Irish entity, where softgarden argues it acts as controller rather than subprocessor and only support requesters' business email addresses are shared; we found no public information naming the provider behind the AI features.

JOIN

Both paid tiers publish a per-job monthly price (17 € Standard, 34 € Advanced, annual billing, up to 15 active jobs, unlimited users), VAT treatment and notice periods are stated, and sponsored placements are advertised without markup. But the paid-multiposting add-on carries no published price, per-board posting costs are absent, and Enterprise is volume prices by contact — the job-board spend, which is the real invoice, is not computable from the public pages.

softgarden

Core is public at "ab 199 € / Monat" with five included jobs and unlimited users, and VAT is stated as "Alle Preise zzgl. MwSt." — but All-in-One is "Individuelle Preisgestaltung" tailored to hiring volume, so the top tier is a sales conversation. We found no public information on job-board posting costs, add-on prices for the AI or onboarding modules, or the minimum term, though a brochure claims to hold all packages, functions and prices.