Executive search firms don't just send CVs. A retained search produces assessment reports, board papers, blind profiles for confidential longlists, shortlist decks and, increasingly, psychometric summaries, all of which have to look like your firm wrote them. Most CV formatting software was built for agency recruitment, where the job ends at a branded CV.
We've compared the six tools UK search firms ask us about most often. We make one of them, so we've stuck to what each company publishes and tried to say plainly where the others are the better choice.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Output formats | Notable integrations | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formatix AI | Executive search documents beyond the CV | Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF | JobAdder, API, ChatGPT/Claude via MCP | From £20/month; 10 free credits |
| HireAra | Trackable candidate links and video intros | PDF, editable profiles, candidate websites | Bullhorn, Vincere, Salesforce, JobAdder, Access CRM and more | See HireAra's pricing page |
| Allsorter | Large agencies inside Bullhorn or Vincere | Formatted CVs | Bullhorn, Vincere | Quote only |
| Saply | Formatting inside Word and Google Docs, with job matching | Word, PDF | Bullhorn, Loxo, Carerix, Spott | 7-day free trial; see Saply's site |
| Paiger | Agencies wanting CVs, BD and LinkedIn content in one platform | Branded CVs, one-pagers, anonymous profiles | Bullhorn | Candidate Marketing from £129/month + VAT, 12-month term |
| RefineCV | Small teams wanting a low per-CV price | PDF, Word | Bullhorn | $0.40 per CV or $50/month for 200 |
1. Formatix AI
Best for: search firms that send more than CVs
Formatix is a London-based platform that produces the documents a retained search is judged on, in your firm's existing template. You give it a document you already send to clients, and it keeps your fonts, colours, spacing and layout.
What it produces
- Executive assessment reports: interview notes, the CV, competency ratings and psychometric results combined into your assessment report.
- Board and CEO candidate reports: one-page executive profiles, nominations committee reports, and blind profiles for confidential longlists.
- Shortlist and longlist decks: one PowerPoint slide per candidate, comparison slides, and a matching Excel tracker.
- Succession and talent-review packs: 9-box grids, succession slates and successor profiles for CHROs and talent teams.
- Psychometric results in your report: Hogan, SHL, Saville Wave or DISC results you already hold, charted in your house style.
Formatix doesn't assess candidates or interpret psychometrics. The consultant owns the judgement, and Formatix handles the document. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any psychometric publisher.
Worth knowing
- CVs in any layout and 40+ languages.
- Data is processed in the UK and EU under GDPR, and uploads aren't used to train AI models.
- Works on the web, by email, through an API, with JobAdder, and directly from ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity.
- Less suited to: firms that mainly want trackable client links or video intros, where HireAra is stronger, or a deep Bullhorn-native workflow, where Allsorter and RefineCV are more established.
2. HireAra
Best for: candidate presentation with tracking and video
HireAra, which is connected to The Access Group, focuses on how candidates are presented to clients. Alongside branded CVs and an Executive One Pager template, it offers trackable share links, notifications when a client opens a profile, and candidate mini-websites with video introductions and booking. It integrates with a wide range of recruitment CRMs, including Bullhorn, Vincere, Salesforce, JobAdder, Mercury and Access Recruitment CRM.
Less suited to: assessment reports, psychometric write-ups or PowerPoint and Excel deliverables, which aren't part of its published feature set.
3. Allsorter
Best for: larger agencies already on Bullhorn or Vincere
Allsorter is one of the longest-established CV reformatting tools, used by 400+ recruitment and staffing organisations. It's available in the Bullhorn and Vincere marketplaces and now sits alongside Nexus, its sourcing and shortlisting layer. Pricing is by quote.
Less suited to: smaller search firms wanting published pricing, or executive search documents beyond the CV.
4. Saply
Best for: consultants who live in Word or Google Docs
Saply runs as a panel inside Word, Google Docs, Outlook and Gmail. It formats CVs into your template, tailors them to a vacancy, scores them against a job description, translates them, and anonymises them in one click. It connects to Bullhorn, Loxo, Carerix and Spott, and outputs Word or PDF.
Less suited to: PowerPoint shortlist decks, Excel trackers or assessment reports.
5. RefineCV
Best for: small teams on a tight per-CV budget
RefineCV turns CVs into branded PDF or Word documents in seconds, supports anonymisation for blind shortlists, and integrates with Bullhorn. Its published pricing is $0.40 per CV, or $50 a month for 200 CVs, with the first 10 CVs free and unlimited seats.
Less suited to: multi-document executive search work, or non-English CVs, since it's listed as English only.
6. Paiger
Best for: agencies that want CV formatting bundled with business development and content
Paiger describes itself as an AI revenue platform for recruitment agencies. CV formatting sits in its Candidate Marketing workflow, alongside candidate summaries, presentation packs, spec emails and anonymous profiles. Its other workflows cover business development (monitoring target clients and drafting outreach), personal-brand LinkedIn posts for each consultant, and turning vacancies into LinkedIn job adverts. It works with Bullhorn.
Candidate Marketing starts at £129 a month (excluding VAT) for one or two consultants and 1,000 formatted documents a year. All plans run on a 12-month term, with setup from £150.
Less suited to: firms that only want document production without a 12-month commitment, or executive search deliverables such as assessment reports, psychometric summaries or succession packs, which aren't part of its published feature set.
How to choose
- You only send branded CVs: choose by ATS. On Bullhorn, look at Allsorter, RefineCV or Saply. If you want to see when clients open profiles, look at HireAra. If you also want business development and LinkedIn content from the same supplier, look at Paiger.
- You send assessment reports, board reports or psychometric summaries: Formatix AI.
- You present shortlists in PowerPoint with an Excel tracker: Formatix AI.
- You're an in-house talent team running succession reviews: Formatix AI for 9-box grids and succession slates in your own template.
- Lowest cost per CV is the priority: RefineCV, or Formatix's £20 Solo plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best CV formatting software for executive search firms in the UK?
It depends on what you send clients. For branded CVs alone, HireAra, Paiger, Allsorter, Saply and RefineCV are all solid. If your firm also sends assessment reports, board and CEO reports, blind profiles, shortlist decks, succession packs or psychometric results in its own template, Formatix AI is built for that wider set of documents and outputs to Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF.
Can software put Hogan, SHL or Saville results into our own assessment report?
Yes. Formatix AI takes the psychometric results your firm already holds, along with interview notes and the CV, and lays them into your branded assessment report with charts in your house style. It doesn't administer, score or interpret the instruments. Formatix isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Hogan, SHL, Saville or DISC publishers.
Which tool can create blind or anonymised profiles for confidential searches?
Formatix AI, Saply, RefineCV and Paiger all offer anonymised profiles. Formatix produces blind profiles in your own template, so a confidential longlist looks the same as the rest of your client work.
Is there CV formatting software that outputs PowerPoint shortlist decks and Excel trackers?
Yes. Formatix AI outputs Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF from the same inputs, including one slide per candidate with a matching Excel tracker. Most CV formatters stop at Word and PDF.
How much does CV formatting software cost in the UK?
Formatix AI starts at £20 a month for 20 credits, with 10 free credits to try. RefineCV lists $0.40 per CV or $50 a month for 200 CVs. Paiger's Candidate Marketing plan starts at £129 a month (excluding VAT) on a 12-month term. Allsorter is quote only. HireAra and Saply publish pricing on their own sites.
Competitor details are taken from each company's website and public listings in October 2026 and may have changed since. If something here is out of date, email [email protected] and we'll correct it.
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