JOIN vs softgarden

JOIN

The pricing page lists a hiring pipeline, scorecards, interview scheduling with two-way Google and Outlook sync, roles and permissions, and automated messages — but only as checkmarks. I found no public information on whether pipelines are configurable per job, whether hiring-manager access is limited to their own vacancies, or whether a record exists of who changed a candidate's stage. Structured evaluation and scheduling are real; the audit trail a fair-process claim needs is entirely unevidenced.

softgarden

The captured pages show an application overview with team communication, a dashboard with recruiting KPIs like time-to-hire, and a system history that logs access attempts and changes to records — more than a bare inbox. But we found no public information on configurable pipeline stages per job, hiring-manager access limited to their own vacancies, structured scorecards, or interview scheduling; the module list names a KI screening and interview assistant without saying how any decision is documented.

JOIN

Distribution is the best-documented area: 15 free and 250 paid boards in one click, named partner status with Indeed, LinkedIn and StepStone, the source board stored on every application, a career-site builder in the employer's own design, and mobile-first applications with Quick Apply. I found no public information on Google for Jobs markup, posting to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, career-page languages, accessibility, or budget tracking per board; booking sponsored placements without markup is stated, but per-channel cost reporting is not.

softgarden

Multiposting to more than 1,200 jobboards plus social media and Google Ads is stated, alongside a hosted career page, SEO-optimised ads, and per-ad analysis of conversion rates and entry channels — that is real measurement, not just broadcast. We found no public information on which German boards are covered, Google-for-Jobs markup, mobile application without an account, application-form configurability, or accessibility.

JOIN

The privacy policy promises deletion or complete anonymisation once the storage period expires, but no period is stated and I found no public information on a configurable deadline. GDPR rights are said to be built into every candidate profile and account deletion removes the company's content, which covers the access- and erasure-request basics. The talent pool is a checkmark in every tier with nothing on a consent step, and I found no public information on logging of views or exports.

softgarden

This one is documented rather than merely promised: automatic deletion of applicant data configurable by the responsible party, a recommended six-month retention period, a four-week deadline for answering data-subject requests, a downloadable processing agreement, and a system history logging access attempts and changes to records. What holds it back: we found no public information on talent-pool consent or its expiry, candidate self-service, per-country retention rules, or how deletion propagates to backups and to the job boards the system posts to.

JOIN

The startup segment page says candidates are screened "mit KI" and a KI generator for job ads sits in every tier, but nothing published says what the AI evaluates, where it runs, who the model provider is, or whether any of it can be switched off. Not even a general humans-decide assurance appears on the captured pages.

softgarden

AI is used for job-ad texts, communication, candidate matching and process structuring, marketed as "Transparent und ohne Blackbox", with named KI Screening Assistant and KI Interview Assistant modules — a benefit claim with a general assurance, not documentation. We found no public information on the inputs the matching evaluates, a per-feature switch, whether a rejection can occur without a human action, candidate notification, or the model provider behind these features; the published subcontractor list names Textkernel and Cronofy without tying either to the matching.

JOIN

An API and Zapier & Make are gated to Advanced and Enterprise, calendar sync with Google and Outlook runs two-way, and candidates can be exported in Excel. On the handover side — carrying a hire into a German HR or payroll system — I found no public information: no Personio, DATEV or SuccessFactors is named, and SSO, e-signature and webhooks are likewise unevidenced.

softgarden

An onboarding module and multi-client capability are described as softgarden's own offering, and the subcontractor list names Cronofy, but the captured pages never say what Cronofy is used for. We found no public information on an API, SSO, e-signature, webhooks, or handover to a named HR system such as Personio or DATEV-connected systems — so the hire's path into payroll stays invisible to a buyer.

JOIN

The contracting entity and exclusive venue are Swiss — JOIN Solutions AG in Pfäffikon under Swiss substantive law — with the Berlin GmbH serving only as the Article 27 representative, and hosting is described as "primär in der EU", which concedes non-EU parts without explaining them. I found no published subprocessor list; the privacy policy names only the category "Stellenportale". ISO 27001:2022 and a published DPA are genuine, but they leave the chain neither fully European nor visible.

softgarden

The captured pages show a German contracting entity in Berlin, hosting in German data centres on named providers (WIIT and Equinix in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf), a published subcontractor list, a statement that no third-country transfer of applicant data occurs, a downloadable processing agreement, and ISO 27001/27017/27018 certification. Three things keep it below the top band: ownership is not evidenced, the provider behind the AI matching is not named, and the support chain includes Intercom — engaged via its Irish entity and argued to act as controller with only business email addresses shared, but the US Cloud Act exposure remains.

JOIN

Standard and Advanced carry public prices with their basis and limits — 17 € and 34 € pro Job/Monat, jährliche Abrechnung, up to 15 active jobs, unlimited users — plus VAT treatment, notice periods, prepaid invoicing and a 14-day trial without credit card. Enterprise is "Staffelpreise — Kontaktieren Sie uns", and for the paid-multiposting add-on, the item a job pushed to three paid boards runs through, I found no posted price. A buyer can compute most of the annual invoice, but not all of it.

softgarden

The Core package is public at "ab 199 € / Monat" with its basis and limits stated — five included jobs, unlimited users — and the VAT treatment is given ("Alle Preise zzgl. MwSt."), plus a brochure claiming to contain all packages, functions and prices. But the All-in-One tier is "Individuelle Preisgestaltung", and we found no public information on job-board posting costs for the multiposting module, prices for the AI assistants, or the minimum term — so the invoice for a larger hiring volume is not computable from public pages.