ZipRecruiter and Indeed are two of the most popular job boards employers use to find top talent. Both platforms are well-reviewed by job seekers and employers, with many finding them user-friendly and efficient in bridging the gap between potential employers and a large number of job-seeking professionals.
Although they have similar job posting and recruiting tools, some differences in functionalities may help you choose between ZipRecruiter vs Indeed. Here’s a quick look at our recommendations before we dive into our reasoning:
- ZipRecruiter: Best for growing businesses with plans to scale
- Indeed: Best for free job postings and for companies with small recruiting budgets
ZipRecruiter vs Indeed for Employers At-a-Glance
 |  | |
Free Plan | ✕ | Free job postings |
Free Trial | Four days | Not applicable |
Multiple Job Posting Packages | ✓ | ✕ |
Pricing | Usage plans cost $16 and $24 per job post daily; Monthly plans start at $299 for one reusable slot | Pay-per-click “Sponsored Jobs” with a daily budget of $5–$499 per job post |
Job Description Templates | Customizable | Standard |
Resume Database | 32M+ | 200M+ |
Candidate Contact Views | Included in the Premium Usage and monthly plans (except the basic tier) | Costs extra |
Online Skills Assessment | ✕ | ✓ |
Company Page | ✕ | ✓ |
Note that both ZipRecruiter and Indeed offer the following:
- Mobile app
- Smart search tools
- Employer dashboard
- Screening questions
- Unlimited candidate applications
ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: Key Differences
- Indeed is a job board, while ZipRecruiter is a web-based software that lets you post jobs to 100+ job boards.
- ZipRecruiter doesn’t have a free plan, while Indeed has one that lets users post jobs to appear on the general results page.
- Indeed’s sponsored jobs charge you per click, but ZipRecruiter has pay-per-post plans.
- Both offer job templates, but only ZipRecruiter’s templates are customizable.
- While Indeed has a built-in ATS, ZipRecruiter lets you manage the recruitment process via integration with a third-party app.
When to Use
Pros
- Easy to use
- Has customizable job templates
- Uses AI candidate matching technology
- One click to post to more than 100 job boards
Cons
- Expensive compared to software offering similar tools
- Additional charges if you need access to specialty job boards
- Very short trial period of four days
- Monthly plans are automatically renewed
Deciding Factors
- Pricing:
- No free plan
- $16–$24 (daily pricing)
- $299–$719 monthly
- Features:
- TrafficBoost tool for advertising jobs
- Comprehensive knowledge base
- AI candidate matching
- Customer Support:
- Chat
- Phone
- User Reviews: 4.45 out of 5 stars averaged on popular review websites
When comparing ZipRecruiter vs Indeed, we found both to be excellent recruitment software choices for employers and recruiters—in fact, both made it into our guide to the best recruitment software for small businesses. However, we recommend ZipRecruiter for companies planning to scale and hire regularly since it gives you a fixed number of reusable job slots.
To expand your search, it posts your jobs to over 100 other job sites and proactively invites potential candidates that best match your open roles to apply, which saves time and makes hiring move quickly. Unlike Indeed, ZipRecruiter offers employers and recruiters a monthly plan.
Pros
- Built-in applicant tracking system (ATS)
- Has a free plan
- Has the largest candidate pool
Cons
- Free jobs don’t get as much attention
- Branded job posting isn’t included in the free plan
- Full packages are pricey
Deciding Factors
- Pricing:
- Free plan allows unlimited job posting
- Paid plans to let you search resume range, from $120 to $300 per month
- Sponsor jobs for a minimum of $5 daily
- Features:
- Offers a recruiting solution that helps automate hiring flow
- Customer Support:
- Online ticket
- User Reviews: 4.35 out of 5 stars averaged on popular review websites
Indeed, which is our top-recommended free job posting site, is the best choice if you have a small recruiting budget and do not hire regularly. It lets you post as many jobs as necessary, as little or often as needed, at no cost. In addition, Indeed is partnered with Glassdoor (an employer branding tool) so that any job posted to Indeed is also automatically posted on Glassdoor, helping you reach a broader audience.
It is also a good choice if you need to post a large volume of jobs without committing to a monthly plan. To attract more quality job seekers, you may invest in its sponsored job listings to get better visibility and higher chances of hiring the right talent.
If you’re a startup needing a recruiting platform, Zoho Recruit offers a highly customizable tool that’s best for both small businesses and staffing agencies on a talent rush. It has a free forever plan with basic tools and a limit of one active job. However, its paid plans have collaboration and applicant tracking tools to help you easily find employees for your business. Paid packages start at $30 per recruiter monthly for 100 active job posts.
Need help with the hiring process or advertising your open position? Check out our guides on how to hire new employees and how to post a job ad.
Best for Affordability: Indeed
| | |
Multiple Job Posting Plans | ✓ | ✕ |
Pricing | Usage plans cost $16 and $24 per job post daily; Monthly plans start at $299 for one reusable slot | Free job postings; $120–$300 to search resumes |
Sponsored Jobs | “TrafficBoost” credits included in premium monthly plans | Pay-per-click “Sponsored Jobs” with a daily budget of $5–$499 per job post |
User Seats | Up to 8 | 1 |
Monthly Candidate Contact View Credits | Starts at 25* | 30 or 100 |
*The number of candidate contact credits vary depending on the plan selected. However, this feature isn’t available in the basic Usage and Monthly plans.
With Indeed, small business owners can make unlimited job posts in its general search results for free. The free option lets employers accept hundreds of applications and manage potential candidates using their Indeed accounts. However, these free job posts will fall out of search results as they become less relevant—unless employers get its pay-per-click “Sponsored Jobs” option.
Employers and recruiters can set a budget as low as $5 per day (max of $499 daily), making Indeed a flexible and affordable option for those with a tight recruitment budget. Sponsored postings can be viewed by job seekers on desktop and mobile, and you only pay when a candidate clicks on your listing. You can also create a hiring campaign with a custom budget. Plus, you are granted access to Instant Match, which lets you view resumes of qualified candidates and invite them to apply.
If you want to learn more about Indeed, check out our in-depth Indeed review.
Unlike Indeed, ZipRecruiter does not offer free job postings. It has two plans: Usage, which follows a pay-per-job post pricing scheme, and Monthly.
Usage Plans
With Usage, you can make as many job postings as you need. Users are charged per post, per day.
- Standard: $16 per job post daily
- Premium: $24 per job post daily
Note that you get billed monthly when your account hits $500 or upon cancellation—whichever comes first.
Monthly Plans
ZipRecruiter’s Monthly plans are based on the number of reusable job slots you need (1, 3, 4, 10, 20, or 20+) and the distribution level (Standard, Premium, and Pro).
Simple (One Reusable Job Slot) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Standard | Premium | Pro | |
Monthly Pricing | $299 | $419 | $719 |
User Seats | 1 | 2 | 8 |
Unlimited Candidates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Resume Database Access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Candidate Contact View Credits | 0 | 25 | 200 |
“TrafficBoost” Credits* | 0 | 0 | 3 |
*These credits promote your job post to the top job boards for 30 days.
If you want to learn more about ZipRecruiter’s pricing, check out our ZipRecruiter Review and our general guide to ZipRecruiter.
Best for Job Postings: ZipRecruiter
| | |
One-Click Job Postings | ✓ | ✓ |
Job Description Templates | Customizable templates | Examples included |
Job Post Visibility | Depends on selected plan; with Standard to Pro levels | Free job listings appear prominently for the first 2–3 days after posting |
Job Ads Promotion | “TrafficBoost” credits included in highest tier | “Sponsored Jobs” with add-on PPC pricing |
When comparing Indeed vs ZipRecruiter for job postings, they have several similar features, like one-click job postings that send your ads to their networks of partner job boards and sites. However, ZipRecruiter has a few functionalities that are slightly more robust than those of Indeed—it even topped our list of best job posting sites.
When it comes to job postings, ZipRecruiter provides access to 500+ customizable templates that make it easy for you to write the position’s details, including the job description. Templates are available for a variety of industries and roles, so you are more likely to find content that matches your job postings. You can also add to your job description time-saving screening questions to weed out unqualified applicants. Once submitted, it will be instantly posted to leading job boards, social networks, and veteran job sites.
Job slots are also reusable. If you fill one of the jobs you are posting, you can take that post out, save it in drafts, and post a completely unique position in its place to run the remainder of the 30-days or end of billing.
With ZipRecruiter, you can easily post a job in a few clicks.
Those with limited recruiting budgets can upload unlimited job posts in Indeed’s general search results for free. It advertises the ad to millions of job seekers and enables employers to accept hundreds of applications. While it also has job description templates that you can use when creating job ads, it isn’t customizable like ZipRecruiter. Plus, as the job posts get older and less relevant, the ads will fall to the bottom of Indeed’s search results. You can improve job posting reach and visibility by having your ads sponsored (daily PPC costs range from $5 to $499 per job post).
When sponsoring a job ad, Indeed recommends a daily budget for your job posting.
Best Recruitment Features: Indeed
| | |
Number of Job Seekers | 10M | 250M |
Number of Resumes | 32M+ | 200M+ |
Unlimited Monthly Resume Views | ✓ | Paid add-on |
Instant Resume Matches | ✓ | With paid option |
View Candidate Contact Information | Included in non-starter Usage and Monthly plans | Included in paid add-on |
Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Integrations | 45 | 101 |
Company Page | ✕ | ✓ |
Background Screening | ✓ | ✕ |
Since Our Last Update:
Indeed has recently added new recruiting features to simplify attracting candidates. This includes the ability to add “Text to Apply” and “Scan to Apply” keywords, which works by having candidates text a keyword or scan a QR code to view open jobs and apply.
While Indeed and ZipRecruiter both have resume parsing, search filters, candidate management, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help you find qualified applicants who best fit your job hiring requirements, Indeed has a better set of recruiting features. It is mainly because of its extensive resume bank (over 200 million vs ZipRecruiter’s 32+ million), large marketplace of job seekers (250 million vs 10 million), and robust ATS integrations.
Business owners can also use Indeed to create a free company page with information about the company, photos and videos, and basic performance metrics. This can help you promote your employer brand to job seekers, allowing them to know more about your business’ corporate culture and work environment.
Unlike Indeed, which requires you to purchase its resume solution to view and search through candidate profiles, ZipRecruiter lets you search its resume bank at no extra cost. The platform offers unlimited previews that show you the resume details without the applicant’s contact information. If you subscribe to its non-starter Usage and Monthly plans, you get candidate contact view credits that start at 25 per month.
Best for Ease of Use & Customer Support: ZipRecruiter
| | |
Ease of Use | Good | Good |
Phone, Email, and Chat Support | ✓ | ✓ |
24/7 Customer Service | ✓ | Weekdays only |
Online Help Center With How-to Articles | ✓ | ✓ |
When comparing ZipRecruiter vs Indeed for customer support, only ZipRecruiter provides customer service that’s available 24/7. However, we found that both have extensive libraries of how-to articles that you can access online. Both also offer phone, chat, and email support.
Both also have user-friendly platforms—employers and job seekers reported that they make the job posting and application processes more efficient. Users also like that they proactively filter resumes and send interview invites to highly qualified candidates, saving them time.
How We Evaluated ZipRecruiter vs Indeed
We evaluated ZipRecruiter and Indeed using their pricing structures, job posting tools, and capabilities. We also considered both providers’ reputations among job seekers, including customer reviews. Their customer support was also a major consideration since a lot of small business owners may need assistance in navigating through their systems.
Indeed vs ZipRecruiterFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
It depends on your specific needs and priorities. ZipRecruiter may be a better option for growing companies looking to hire talent from niche markets. Meanwhile, Indeed is best for companies with limited budgets looking to post jobs for free. Both platforms offer different job search and job posting options, so it’s best to compare the costs and features of both and consider your unique needs.
Yes, you can add job listings for free on Indeed. However, sponsored jobs offer more tools, such as higher visibility and better candidate matches. Sponsored jobs are paid job postings that are displayed more often in job seeker search results and stay live until the post is filled or until a user decides to pause it. Free listings, on the other hand, fall back in search results as new jobs are added and are automatically paused after a month.
When looking for a recruiting site, you should consider factors such as candidate quality, cost, job posting visibility, job seeker audience, ease of use, applicant tracking, and candidate matching. You must also reflect on your specific needs, including location, industry, and type of job openings you are looking to fill. It’s best to take your time to research and compare different recruiting sites to find one that best meets your needs and priorities.
Bottom Line
ZipRecruiter and Indeed offer robust tools for recruiters and job seekers. Both have helped countless employers find highly-qualified candidates that were perfect for their jobs. Hence, choosing either of them could be difficult for a business owner since they both ranked high in many reviews.
Before you choose, consider your budget and the number of postings you need each month. For companies with a larger budget, ZipRecruiter’s job posting and recruiting tools may be worth the extra cost. Alternatively, companies with a smaller budget may be better served by Indeed’s pricing structure—plus, you can post jobs for free.
