Compare/Head to head
Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.
Starting price
Sales-quoted
Recruitment CRM for agencies with perm, contract, and temp workflows and built-in AI agents. Core, Scale, and Enterprise are quote-based.
Where Firefish fits
£299/mo
Vela is a young UK company selling AI agents to staffing and recruitment firms that work inside their existing CRM. It cleans contact data first, then runs client business development, long-term nurture and candidate screening from the database you already own. Core starts at £299/month (£239 billed annually) and Sift candidate screening at £1,500/month, in GBP only.
Where Vela fits
| Detail | Firefish | Vela |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Sales-quoted | £299/mo |
| Free tier | –No | –No |
| MCP server | –No | –No |
| Public API | ✓Yes | –No |
| Listed under | ATS, CRM | AI outreach, Email finders, CRM, AI screening |
Firefish
Stands out: AI agents for matching, CV parsing, skills, content, email, and enrichment are built into the CRM.
Watch out: No published per-user price. Add-on modules such as websites and portals start from £150 each, on top of the plan quote.
Not the right fit for
Vela
Stands out: It insists on fixing CRM data before any outreach runs, and its agents share that data so Scout and Pulse skip records Core flags as stale. Sift builds UK Right to Work checks into the AI qualification interview and writes the outcome to the candidate record.
Watch out: Vela launched in May 2026 and says itself it is a young company; the performance figures on its pages are labelled as illustrative, not customer results. Pricing is GBP only, Sift is built for UK agencies, and live integrations are limited to a few CRMs such as JobAdder, Salesforce and Firefish.
Not the right fit for
Firefish
Vela
Firefish
Sales-quoted
Sales-quoted. No public rate card on the vendor site. Core, Scale, and Enterprise are priced by recruiter count, desk types, and modules, and add-on modules start from £150 each. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 19 Sep 2026
Vela
£299/mo
Vela prices each agent separately in GBP on rolling monthly terms, with 20% off for annual billing; no USD price is published. Core (CRM enrichment): Growth £299/month (£239 annually) for 1,000 contacts enriched a month, Scale £799/month (£639 annually) for 3,000, Enterprise custom. Sift (candidate sourcing and screening): Starter £1,500/month (£1,200 annually) for 50 jobs a month, Growth £3,000/month (£2,400 annually) for 150 jobs, Scale £4,000/month (£3,200 annually) for 400 jobs, Enterprise custom. Bundles: Scout plus Pulse from £399/month, Pulse plus Core from £499/month, and the Full BD Suite (Scout, Pulse, Core) from £699/month (£559 annually), with Scale versions at £899, £1,199 and £1,499. Scout and Pulse on their own and the full four-agent platform are quoted. Most firms start with a CRM data assessment and an optional paid 30-day pilot. No free trial is listed. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 19 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?