Compare/Head to head

ERIN vs Hellora

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

ERIN

$449/mo Free tier

ERIN is frontline text-to-refer software so hourly employees can send a candidate in about 60 seconds with no login. A Free plan runs until your first referral hire, and the paid referral platform starts at $449 per month billed annually. Refer, Reach, and a free Referral Studio sit in one platform.

Where ERIN fits

  • Hourly and deskless employers that need referrals from a phone, not a desktop portal
  • TA teams already on Workday, iCIMS, UKG, ADP, or Bullhorn
  • Retail, healthcare, and hospitality groups running SMS campaigns by location
  • Program owners who want bonus eligibility, waiting periods, and payroll queue automated

Hellora

Sales-quoted

Hellora is the new name for Eqo. It is a frontline SMS referral program, strongest in healthcare, where employees refer from a phone with no app and no login. Pricing is quoted.

Where Hellora fits

  • Health systems and senior-living operators with large nursing and clinical hourly teams
  • TA leaders replacing spreadsheet referral tracking with text-to-refer
  • Program owners who will send department- and location-targeted SMS campaigns
  • Orgs that want automatic status texts at applied, interviewed, hired, and paid

At a glance

DetailERINHellora
Starting price$449/moSales-quoted
Free tier✓Yes–No
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No–No
Listed underEmployee referralsEmployee referrals

Where they pull apart

ERIN

Stands out: SMS, email, Slack, and Teams campaigns plus AI matching trained on 12.4 million-plus real referral payouts. Bonuses queue into payroll when the hire is ready.

Watch out: This is a text-first program for distributed hourly teams. Corporate intranet-and-leaderboard shops may want a classic portal instead. ATS and payroll go live through a sales implementation.

Not the right fit for

  • Staffing agencies that need a Bullhorn-native talent-referral product (see Staffing Referrals)
  • Small offices that only need a simple web form

Hellora

Stands out: Fairview moved referrals from 6% to 41% of hires and sourced 589 nursing hires with 92% retention. Eve is an AI assistant that captures referrals made on applications and matches messy names.

Watch out: The product is built for frontline healthcare, senior living, and similar hourly workforces. A general corporate referral intranet is a different buy. SMS short-code programs need employee-comms consent.

Not the right fit for

  • Tech companies whose employees will use a desktop portal and LinkedIn Auto Share
  • Staffing firms that need a Bullhorn talent-referral network product

Pros and cons

ERIN

  • Text-to-refer in about 60 seconds with no app or login
  • Named syncs: Workday, iCIMS, UKG, ADP, Bullhorn, JazzHR, Jobvite, Paycom
  • Free Referral Studio for policies, posters, and bonus benchmarks
  • Paid tier starts at $449/mo billed annually, and price rises with hiring volume
  • Built for frontline SMS. Weak fit for white-collar intranet programs
  • Reach and Refer are separate products

Hellora

  • Text-to-refer with no app or login, built for healthcare frontline
  • Published case studies with 6% to 41% referral-hire share at Fairview
  • Eve AI captures off-platform referrals and messy name matches
  • Quoted only. Healthcare-weighted, not a general corporate portal
  • SMS-first. Weak fit if the workforce will not use text short codes
  • Homepage also sells a healthcare recruiting CRM, so scope the referral module in the quote

What each one costs

ERIN

$449/mo

ERIN Refer has a Free plan at $0, with the full referral platform free until your first referral hire. The Employee Referral Platform is priced by hiring volume on a slider: $449 per month billed annually at 50 hires a year (up to 1,000 employees), or $799 per month at 100 hires a year. Enterprise is custom priced, with unlimited hires and SSO. ERIN Studio, the AI referral assistant, is included free with every plan. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Hellora

Sales-quoted

Hellora (formerly Eqo) quotes the frontline SMS referral program after a conversation. The vendor does not publish a per-employee or per-location table. Case studies and Eve sit on the referral module. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Common questions

Can you try ERIN or Hellora for free?
ERIN carries a free tier on our listing.

Not the pair you wanted?

All ERIN alternatives All Hellora alternatives Every Employee referrals tool

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 4 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?