Short answer: Auto-apply tools are worth it if your problem is time: they fill in forms and send applications far faster than you can. They don't fix the more common problem, which is that your application is one of a big pile and nobody hiring knows you exist. For most professional jobs, fewer close-fit applications plus a message to the person hiring does more.
Key points
- Autofill is genuinely useful. Simplify's free Copilot fills in application forms and lets you review them before you submit. That saves real time on long forms.
- Auto-apply sends applications for you. Simplify+ Autopilot "fills and submits ... without a review step" (20 a week). LazyApply's yearly plans allow 15 to 1,500 applications a day.
- More applications go into the same pile. In LinkedIn's 2025 data, 51% of Australian respondents said they'd been ghosted in a job search. Sending more doesn't change who reads them.
- Targeted outreach works on the other side. Find jobs that fit you, find who's hiring, and send a short note. That's what Sidedoor helps with; it never applies or messages for you.
At a glance
Checked on each tool's own pages on 25 October 2026. Simplify and LazyApply show "$" without naming a currency, so check it at checkout. Sidedoor is in Australian dollars.
| Simplify | LazyApply | Sidedoor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Application autofill, job tracker and AI resume tools, with an auto-apply option | Bulk auto-apply | Finds jobs that fit you and who's hiring for each one |
| What it does for you | Free: fills in forms; you review and submit. Simplify+ Autopilot: fills and submits for you | Fills in and submits applications | Shows the jobs and the person; you reach out yourself |
| Where it works | "100,000+ company career sites" | Platforms such as LinkedIn and Indeed "in the USA & Canada", and sites like Greenhouse, Dice and ZipRecruiter | Australia and New Zealand (beta) |
| Volume | 20 Autopilot applications a week on Simplify+ | 15, 150 or 1,500 applications a day, by plan | Not about volume: one feed of jobs that fit you |
| Tells you who's hiring | No | No | Yes: the recruiter who posted each job, or "Someone hiring"; Job by link for jobs you found |
| Price | Free Copilot. Simplify+ $19.99 a week, $39.99 a month or $89.99 for 3 months, renewing until cancelled | $99, $149 or $999 a year | A$10 for 14 days · A$69 for 90 days · A$119 for 3 searches over 90 days. Paid once. Free month for beta testers; buying opens after the beta |
Who should pick which
| If you… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Spend hours retyping your details into long application forms | Simplify's free autofill |
| Are applying for lots of similar, high-volume jobs (graduate programs, entry-level) | An autofill or auto-apply tool can make sense |
| Want to track every application in one place | Simplify's free job tracker |
| Are applying for professional jobs where a recruiter or manager picks the shortlist | Targeted outreach, with Sidedoor to find the jobs and the people |
| Keep asking "who do I actually contact about this job?" | Sidedoor |
| Are job hunting in the US or Canada and want maximum volume | LazyApply is built for that |
What auto-apply tools do well
They save time on forms. Application forms ask for the same details over and over. Simplify's free Copilot fills in the supported fields across "100,000+ company career sites" and you check them before you submit (Simplify). Jobright offers autofill too (Jobright). If you're applying anyway, this is time well saved.
They keep you organised. Simplify's free job tracker and Gmail integration help you see where each application is.
They help when volume really is the game. For some searches, such as graduate programs or entry-level jobs with standard forms, applying widely is a reasonable strategy, and a tool that sends more applications can help.
The pricing is clear. Simplify+ is $19.99 a week, $39.99 a month or $89.99 for three months, and renews until you cancel (Simplify help centre). LazyApply's plans are $99 a year (15 applications a day), $149 a year (150 a day) or $999 a year (1,500 a day), with a 30-day refund policy (LazyApply).
Where auto-apply falls short for getting noticed
More applications go into the same pile. The reason most people don't hear back isn't the time it takes to apply. It's that the application is one of many, screened quickly. In LinkedIn's 2025 data, 51% of Australian respondents said they'd been ghosted during a job search, and nearly 60% said they were hearing back less (ACS Information Age, January 2025). Sending more applications, faster, doesn't change that.
Fit gets looser. Volume tools are designed for applying widely. A recruiter who sees the same person apply to most of the jobs they post may take each application less seriously. We don't have data on how often that happens, but it's worth thinking about in a small market like Australia, where you'll meet the same agency recruiters again.
No review step means less control. Simplify's Autopilot "fills and submits after you choose the job and preparation options, without a review step". That's the point of it, but it means answers to screening questions go out without you reading them.
Watch where it acts in your name. LinkedIn's User Agreement says members agree not to "use bots or other unauthorized automated methods to access the Services" (LinkedIn User Agreement, section 8.2). How that applies to any particular tool is for LinkedIn to decide, but if your LinkedIn account matters to your job hunt, read it before you let software act there.
Many jobs never reach the forms. In Australia, a lot of hiring happens through people (the hidden job market). In 2025, 12% of employers who recruited were approached directly by job seekers, and most of those employers hired one of them (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026). That approach is most common for lower-skilled jobs, so treat it as a signal, not a promise. And recruiters often advertise jobs in their own LinkedIn posts, which auto-apply tools don't read.
What targeted outreach looks like
Instead of more applications, aim for fewer, better ones, each with a person behind it (how to find the hiring manager):
- Pick jobs you genuinely fit. Ten close fits beat a hundred maybes.
- Find who's hiring. The recruiter who posted it, or the likely hiring manager.
- Apply, then send a short note. A LinkedIn connection request with two or three lines is enough.
- Follow up once, about a week later. Then move on.
Hi Tom, I've just applied for the senior analyst job on your team. I've spent six years in pricing analytics in insurance, most recently at [company], so it looks like a close fit. Happy to chat if it's useful. Thanks!
If you've been applying widely and hearing nothing, Why am I not getting interviews for jobs I'm qualified for? goes into why.
What Sidedoor does differently
Sidedoor does steps 1 and 2 for you, and leaves the reaching out to you.
You tell it the job you want and where. It finds the recruiters who specialise in your field, checks their LinkedIn posts every day, and combines them with job listings into one feed of jobs that fit you. Each job shows who's hiring: the recruiter who posted it, or "Someone hiring" when the poster isn't a recruiter. When a recruiter published their email or phone in their own posts, you see it with a confidence label.
Found a job elsewhere? Paste a LinkedIn, SEEK, Greenhouse or Lever link (or paste the ad) into Job by link, and it suggests up to three likely hiring managers and up to three in-house recruiters, with the reasons. It uses 3 credits.
It learns what you want: mark a job "Not for me" with a reason, or show it a job you wanted. It doesn't need your LinkedIn login, and it never applies or sends messages in your name.
Can you use both?
Yes, and the combination makes sense. Use Sidedoor to decide which jobs to go after and who to talk to. Use a free autofill tool like Simplify's Copilot to get through the application form faster, and review it before you submit. Then send the person a short note. You get the time saving without adding to the pile blind.
If you're thinking about paying to message people on LinkedIn, see Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for job seekers in Australia?. If you want a person's email rather than their LinkedIn, see How to find a recruiter's or hiring manager's email.
Price compared, like with like
For a three-month job hunt (checked 25 October 2026, in the currency each site shows):
| Tool and plan | Cost for 3 months | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Simplify Copilot (free) | $0 | Autofill, job tracker, resume builder; you submit |
| Simplify+ 3 months | $89.99 (renews until cancelled) | AI tools and 20 Autopilot applications a week |
| LazyApply Basic | $99 (a year, paid up front) | 15 applications a day |
| Sidedoor Job Hunt pack | A$69, paid once (after the beta) | 90 days, 1 search, 300 credits; Job by link uses 3 credits |
LazyApply's plans are yearly, so its three-month cost is the full year. Sidedoor beta testers get their first month free.