An honest comparison
Healthcare staffing,
compared fairly.
AMN, Aya, Cross Country, Maxim — and Source EQ Staffing. Every firm here is good at something. This page tells you what each is actually best at, so you choose on fit, not on whoever's ad you saw last.
By the numbers
Professionals
Expertise
Since 2018
Markets
Before you compare
A few questions that
decide the choice.
Healthcare staffing firms differ less in quality than in model. Ask these and the shortlist usually reveals itself: Do you need national scale, or a specialist who knows your market? One dedicated contact, or a large account team? High-volume travel, or a hard-to-fill and niche role that needs real screening? An enterprise managed-service program, or transparent boutique terms?
Side by side
The agencies,
at a glance.
| Source EQ Staffing | AMN Healthcare | Aya Healthcare | Cross Country | Maxim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Boutique, founder-led specialist | Enterprise workforce solutions / MSP | Large travel + tech platform | National multi-service staffing | Home care + medical staffing |
| Best at | Fast fills on niche & hard-to-fill roles | Enterprise MSP across a whole system | High-volume travel nursing | National multi-category coverage | Home-based & community care |
| Who you work with | The founder + one team | Large account teams | Platform + reps | Regional account teams | Branch network |
| Contract flexibility | Single shift to multi-month + contract-to-hire | Standardized MSP terms | Travel-block focused | Varies by division | Home-care & shift-based |
| Screening | Vetted + EQ-fit assessment | Credential-compliant, high volume | Platform-driven | Standardized | Compliance-focused |
| Best for | Groups wanting a specialist that answers fast | Systems wanting one enterprise partner | Facilities needing many travelers | Multi-site orgs wanting breadth | Home health & community programs |
Where the big agencies win is raw scale across a whole system at once. If your need is a specific, hard-to-fill role — filled fast, screened for fit, with someone who answers — a specialist desk is the better tool.
Provider by provider
Where each firm wins —
honestly.
01 The enterprise partner
AMN Healthcare
AMN Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare staffing and workforce-solutions companies in the country, spanning travel nursing, allied, locum tenens, and technology-driven managed service programs. For a large system that wants a single partner to run staffing at enterprise scale, that breadth is a real strength.
Choose AMN if you're a large system that wants one enterprise partner running workforce solutions at scale.
Choose Source EQ Staffing if you want a specialist that fills niche and hard-to-fill roles fast — with the founder, not an account queue, on the other end.
02 The travel platform
Aya Healthcare
Aya Healthcare is one of the largest travel-nursing agencies, known for a high-volume, technology-forward model and a very large pool of travel and short-term assignments. If you need to move a lot of travel clinicians and like a self-serve platform, Aya's scale is hard to match.
Choose Aya if you need high-volume travel clinicians and a self-serve platform.
Choose Source EQ Staffing if your need is specialized, local, or hard to fill — and you'd rather a person who knows your market than a job board.
03 The national generalist
Cross Country Healthcare
Cross Country Healthcare is a long-established national firm offering travel nursing, allied, locum, and workforce solutions across many categories. For a multi-site organization that wants national breadth under one roof, it's a solid, familiar option.
Choose Cross if you want national breadth across several staffing categories in one place.
Choose Source EQ Staffing if you want a focused desk that moves faster on the roles that matter to you and screens for fit, not just availability.
04 The home & community specialist
Maxim Healthcare Services
Maxim Healthcare Services has a strong national footprint in home healthcare and community-based, behavioral, and non-clinical staffing, with a large branch network. For home-based care and large community or school programs, that reach is a genuine advantage.
Choose Maxim if your need is home-based care or large-scale community and school programs.
Choose Source EQ Staffing if you want contract coverage across clinical and non-clinical roles with a specialist's screening and one point of contact.
Where we fit
The specialist
alternative.
Every firm above is built for scale. Source EQ Staffing is built for fit and speed on the roles that are hardest to fill. From the team behind Source EQ — 500+ healthcare placements since 2018 — we bring the same EQ-fit screening to contract staffing, with one team, transparent terms, and coverage that shows up and stays.
If you've been handed a résumé stack or a rotating rep and want a specialist who actually knows your market, that's the profile we're built for.
Comparison FAQs
The questions
buyers actually ask.
Who is the best healthcare staffing agency?
It depends on your need. AMN and Cross Country suit large systems wanting enterprise scale and breadth; Aya excels at high-volume travel nursing; Maxim is strong in home-based and community care. Source EQ Staffing is built for organizations that want a specialist to fill niche and hard-to-fill clinical and non-clinical roles fast, with EQ-fit screening and a single point of contact.
What are the best alternatives to AMN or Aya?
Common alternatives include Cross Country Healthcare (national multi-category), Maxim Healthcare (home and community care), and specialist desks like Source EQ Staffing. Large agencies win on scale; a specialist tends to win when you want speed on hard-to-fill roles, screening for fit, and a dedicated contact.
How much do healthcare staffing agencies charge?
Contract staffing is typically billed as a markup on the worker's pay rate — commonly 25–50% or more for healthcare roles depending on specialty, credentialing, and insurance burden. Source EQ Staffing prices with a clear markup and no surprises, scoped to the role and term.
Ready to get covered?
Tell us the role, the term, and the start date. We'll come back with screened candidates, fast.