ZipRecruiter vs Monster: Price, Features & What’s Best
Charlette has over 10 years of experience in accounting and finance and 2 years of partnering with HR leaders on freelance projects. She uses this extensive experience to answer your questions about payroll.
Juvy has over 10 years of content writing experience and was a licensed teacher. She has evaluated and written about dozens of payroll and HR software solutions for small business to provide the best answers to your software questions.
This article is part of a larger series on Hiring.
Monster and ZipRecruiter are both popular recruitment platforms that offer various tools to make finding qualified employees easier. Although either can be a good choice for your business, each has its own strengths.
ZipRecruiter posts to more than 100 job boards (including industry-specific sites for nurses, truck drivers, and others) and has an AI matching algorithm that improves your results the more often you hire by adapting and learning as you post jobs and choose candidates. Monster has large applicant, resume, and job databases, as well as local newspaper partners and international reach into more than a dozen countries.
With these qualities in mind, we recommend the following:
- ZipRecruiter: Best for small businesses with niche job openings or growing businesses planning to scale and hire quickly
- Monster: Best for international applicant searches, local job postings, and resume search
Monster vs ZipRecruiter Compared
 |  | |
Monthly Pricing | $299, $349,$599 | $279, $399, $649 |
Daily Pricing | $16–$24 | N/A |
# Job Boards | 100s | 100s |
# Countries | 4 | 14 |
Military job boards | ✔ | ✔ |
Flexible job posts | ✔ | ✔ |
Automated emails, texts | ✔ | ✔ |
Job ad templates | 500+ | 2,000+ |
Resume search | ✔ | ✔ |
Screening questions | ✔ | ✔ |
Branded career site | ✔ | ✔ |
Special recruiting services | - | ✔ |
Average user reviews (multiple sites) | 4.24 out of 5 | 3.79 out of 5 |
Takeaway: ZipRecruiter and Monster are evenly matched when it comes to their features—in fact, they both rank on our list of the best recruiting software for small businesses. However, Monster has a few specialty functions, while ZipRecruiter has a higher user satisfaction rate.
When To Use ZipRecruiter & When To Use Monster
Best for Pricing: ZipRecruiter
| | |
Free Trial | 4 days | 4 days |
Cancel Anytime? | Yes, no refunds on partial months | Yes, no refunds on partial months |
Daily Pricing | $16–$24 (Usage Plans) | N/A |
Monthly Pricing | $299, $349, $599 (1 job at each level, but expanding features) | $279 (1 job), $399 (3 jobs), $649 (5 jobs) |
Resume View Plans | $349/$599 plans | All plans |
Job Ad Boost | TrafficBoost: $599 plans, or $120/30-days for one ad | Performance Boost: $399/$649 plans |
Takeaway: ZipRecruiter and Monster may offer similar functionalities for almost matching prices. However, only ZipRecruiter offers daily pricing. Its Usage Plans starting at $16/day make hiring employees both easy and affordable, an option that’s best for small businesses with quick and frequent hiring needs.
Monster Pricing
Monster has a single-ad posting at $375 for 30 days, although it does not promote it online. Rather, it displays its monthly subscriptions. These plans give you access to unlimited candidates and its suite of services, the price varying by number of jobs, resume searches, and performance boosts.
Monster’s pricing is on the website, but you need to call if you want the pay-by-click plan. (Source: Monster)
Like ZipRecruiter, Monster lets you switch out jobs at any time, so if a job is filled in two weeks, you can close it and put another job in without adding to your cost. Meanwhile, its Performance Boost works differently from ZipRecruiter’s TrafficBoost. Rather than premium placing, it widens your distribution to outside Monster.com. So, if you want your ad in newspapers and Military.com, you need the Standard or Premium plan.
You can try Monster free for four days and once subscribed, you can cancel anytime and continue using your account until the 30-day cycle ends. This, too, is how ZipRecruiter works.
Finally, Monster offers a pay-per-click plan, where you only pay if someone clicks on your job ad. This is only for large companies with hundreds of job ads active, however.
ZipRecruiter Pricing
ZipRecruiter offers two plans—Usage and Monthly. With the Usage plans, you’ll be charged per job post starting at $16 per day. Based on its help article, monthly pricing changes depending on how many jobs you have active at a time, whether you want simple or reusable slots, and if you want resume downloads as well. Monthly plans start at $299 per month, per ad. This plan does not let you switch out the slot, however. You need the Premium plan for that. Learn more in our ZipRecruiter article or contact Sales.
You won’t find prices online, but can contact Sales via phone or chat. (Source: ZipRecruiter)
It charges $120 per job, per month, for its TrafficBoost add-on—which gets you premium rankings in job searches and on its emails to job seekers—but the highest plan comes with a set number of usable TrafficBoost credits. These credits are tied to the job and cannot be transferred if you close the job before the 30 days are up.
Like Monster, ZipRecruiter offers a four-day free trial, after which it puts you on a paid plan. (You need to give credit card information for the trial, so be sure to cancel if you are not satisfied.)
Best for Niche Job Posting: ZipRecruiter
| | |
# candidates reached | 10M+ per week | 12M+ (no time frame listed) |
# countries | 4 | 14 |
Job ad templates | 500+ | 2,000+ |
Job boards | 100+ | 100+ |
Military job boards | 7 | 1 |
Newspapers | Dozens | 100+ |
Social posting | ✔ | - |
Premium posting | ✔ | ✔ |
Email alerts to qualified candidates | ✔ | ✔ |
Switch jobs during month | ✔ | ✔ |
Contact employees | Email, text | Email, text |
Career page | - | ✔ |
Takeaway: While the two look similar, ZipRecruiter has a wider online reach. However, for finding international talent, Monster may be the better choice.
Why ZipRecruiter Is Best for Niche Job Posting
ZipRecruiter claims to reach over 10 million job seekers a week. All of its plans get you posting not only on ZipRecruiter.com, but also over 100 job sites. Some are niche boards like LiveTrucking, but others include newspapers like US News and search sites like Google. It also posts to seven veteran websites, including HireVeterans and Veterans Job Exchange. In addition, it lets you post job ads to all your social profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as to your own website, with a single click. Monster, by comparison, posts to hundreds of newspaper job sites and one veteran site.
ZipRecruiter posts to over 100 sites in a single click. (Source: ZipRecruiter)
In addition to posting, ZipRecruiter, like Monster, has email lists of applicants based on what jobs they are searching for. They will send your job through these emails. For an extra fee, you can get a premium placing on the emails and ZipRecruiter job board to get noticed more easily.
When an interested applicant sends an application or resume, ZipRecruiter can send an automated acknowledgement of your design and alerts you so you can begin the assessment process.
One drawback to ZipRecruiter is that it does not have the same international reach of Monster. It works with employers in the US, Canada, and Australia, and has branched into the U.K.
When To Use Monster
To find jobs in other countries, find the country in the menu in the footer. (Source: Monster)
Monster’s reach spans from local to international audiences. First, it posts to Monster.com, which it claims reaches over 12 million applicants. Next, it partners with local newspapers and news sites to post your ads where local job seekers are likely to look. Finally, it reaches out to veterans through Military.com.
To get your ads placed outside of Monster.com, you need a Premium or higher plan. This is in contrast to ZipRecruiter, which automatically posts to all partner job boards with any plan.
Monster outclasses ZipRecruiter in its international reach. It works in 14 countries—the US, Canada, and 12 European nations. It also has a special section of its website for jobs that involve travel.
Like ZipRecruiter, Monster sends email alerts to interested job seekers when jobs in their area or occupation pop up. It also alerts you when someone applies, and can send an acknowledgement email. It offers several templates, and you can create and save them for reuse.
Best for Resume Search: Monster
| | |
# resumes | 31M + | 200M + |
Filters | 4 | 6+ |
Keyword search | ✔ | ✔ |
AI learning | ✔ | ✔ |
New resume alerts | ✔ | ✔ |
Save resumes | ✔ | ✔ |
Resume comparison | ✔ | |
Takeaway: Both have strong resume search capabilities, but Monster offers more value for money.
Why Monster Is Best for Resume Search
Monster has an extensive resume database, which you can access with its SearchMonster tool to help you find and view candidates proactively. Unlike ZipRecruiter, you can conduct resume searches with any plan. It offers more than half a dozen search parameters, with the ability to make them a requirement or a preference. Monster also learns your preferences so that you’ll get alerted when a new resume shows up that meets your needs.
You can narrow a candidate search by multiple fields, even the school they graduated from. (Source: Monster demo on YouTube)
SearchMonster ranks and scores candidates based on your specific criteria, so you’ll always see the best matches first. Monster stands out in that it lets you organize saved resumes into folders for future examination, and you can set up to five resumes side-by-side for comparison.
One weakness of Monster is in keeping track of resume updates. Users complain that they often get several of the same resumes with different information, which clogs up the search.
When To Use ZipRecruiter
You can also search ZipRecruiter’s resume database of more than 30 million but it has fewer filters than Monster to narrow down your results. From the search results, you can rate resumes with a thumbs up or thumbs down, and ZipRecruiter’s AI learns your preferences to help you find suitable candidates in the future. You may also save your searches and set alerts for daily or weekly.
Once you view a resume, you can download or re-view it as often as you like. (Source: ZipRecruiter)
Best for Applicant Screening & Evaluation: ZipRecruiter
| | |
Screening questions | ✔ | ✔ |
AI learning | ✔ | ✔ |
Recommendations, applicant matching | ✔ | ✔ |
Tracking applicants | ✔ | ✔ |
Resume comparisons | - | ✔ |
Prewritten invites | ✔ | ✔ |
Manager communications | ✔ | ✔ |
Manger notes | ✔ | ✔ |
Sort and rate candidates | ✔ | ✔ |
ATS Integrations | 45 | API |
Takeaway: Both Monster and ZipRecruiter have limited applicant tracking features. ZipRecruiter, however, is easier to integrate as it allows direct integrations with 45 applicant tracking system providers compared to Monster’s Application Programming Interface (API) offering.
Why ZipRecruiter Is Best for Applicant Tracking & Evaluation
ZipRecruiter has a simple rating system that feeds into the AI for recommending additional candidates. You can collaborate with others on your team as long as they also have a user seat. This allows you to share notes and update candidate status as needed. You can send candidates emails through the system, and it offers a few email templates such as an invitation to apply.
ZipRecruiter makes it easy to add pre-screening questions to your applications, so that you can either weed out unqualified candidates or gather necessary information for conforming to regulations.
ZipRecruiter has 45 native integrations into ATS software. This is where it stands out.
The rating system is simple, but also informs the AI to your preferences. (Source: ZipRecruiter)
When To Use Monster
Monster’s resume comparison function stands out. It lets you make side-by-side comparisons of up to five resumes. You can also sort candidates into folders. Like ZipRecruiter, it has pre-screening questions, ratings, and notes. Although ZipRecruiter has more ATS integrations, you can integrate Monster with other applicant trackers.
You can do cross-comparison of candidates. (Source Monster demo on YouTube)
Best for Reports: Monster
| | |
Basic reports | 1 | 10 |
EEOC reports | - | ✔ |
Downloadable | ✔ | ✔ |
Customizable | ✔ | ✔ |
Takeaway: Monster offers more reports, including those for federal regulations.
Why Monster Is Best for Reports
Monster has 10 standard reports that cover account use and candidate status such as active jobs, responses, and resume views. However, it stands out in that it has an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action report (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs report, or OFCCP) that you can generate and download. This is an important report for businesses with federal contracts.
When To Use ZipRecruiter
While ZipRecruiter has fewer reports, its Job Insights page lets you know how your job ad is performing so you can explore ways to optimize job postings for better applicant traffic. The Job Insights page not only shows your ad’s statistics, but also suggests similar job ads and recommendations to help you get the most out of your employee search. For example, ZipRecruiter looks at other jobs to show how your posting compares to jobs similar to yours, based on title, category, location, and description. You can compare this performance to your own candidate traffic.
Best for Job Seekers: Monster
| | |
Job search | ✔ | ✔ |
Resume upload | ✔ | ✔ |
Job alerts | ✔ | ✔ |
Job hunt, career advice | - | ✔ |
Interview training | - | ✔ |
Android app score | 4.8 out of 5, 332,000+ reviews | 4.2 out of 5, 66,000+ reviews |
iOS app score | 4.8 out of 5, ~400,000 reviews | 4.6 out of 5, ~70,000 reviews |
Takeaway: Monster does more to help job seekers present themselves as strong applicants, but also has a higher incidence of spam.
Why Monster Is Best for Job Seekers
Monster works not only to help job seekers find jobs, but also to present themselves in the best way possible. In addition to a searchable website and mobile app (which is well rated on both Android and iOS), it offers educational opportunities. These include:
- Salary comparisons
- Tips articles on finding jobs, improving resumes, and developing interview skills
- Webinars for new graduates
- Company profiles, to see if they’d be a good fit before applying
Users give the app high praise, but the ratings took a dive after a recent update that resulted in lost data and glitches in the app. Users also complained of receiving spam and robocalls for jobs they were not interested in.
When To Use ZipRecruiter
Despite not having the help tools Monster has, job seekers gave it a higher satisfaction rate, particularly for the mobile app, which has 4.8 out of 5 stars on both Android and iOS. Job seekers can search by job title, keywords, location, occupation and more. They can also search salaries of similar job posts so that they can better negotiate. Like Monster, it also gets complaints of spam, but not as many.
How We Evaluated ZipRecruiter vs Monster
We evaluated ZipRecruiter vs Monster using their pricing, niche job posting, resume search, applicant screening, reporting, and job seeker features. These are essential tools for employers or those looking to fill open positions in their businesses.
Based on our evaluation, we recommend ZipRecruiter for businesses with quick and regular hiring needs because of its daily pricing option, smart AI technology, and niche job posting ability. Monster’s job and resume search tools and local and international reach make it ideal for businesses posting for in-office local positions and remote positions.
Bottom Line
ZipRecruiter and Monster are popular job recruiting software that have been around for a long time. In comparing Monster vs ZipRecruiter, consider your hiring needs. ZipRecruiter offers daily pricing and works with more job boards and niche markets, while Monster has wider international reach and works with local newspapers.
