How LinkedIn job posting cost works for employers
LinkedIn job posting cost starts at zero. You can keep 1 free job open at a time, live for 14 days, capped at roughly 10 to 30 applicants. Past that you promote the job on a daily or total budget you set, and LinkedIn charges per click. It publishes no rate per job.
LinkedIn job posting cost, in short
- A free post is real but small: 1 job open at a time, paused after 14 days.
- Free posts are hidden from search once they reach an applicant limit of roughly 10 to 30.
- A promoted job runs on a daily or total budget you set, billed per click.
- LinkedIn prints no fee per job post. Its budget suggestion moves with title, location and competition.
- Job Slots and Job Posts contracts are sold through LinkedIn sales, with no published price.
Every way to pay LinkedIn for a job post
LinkedIn job posting pricing depends on which of these you use. I read each on LinkedIn's own help and business pages on 4 October 2026.
| Option | How LinkedIn prices it | Price published | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free job post | No charge. Limited to 1 open job, 14 active days and an applicant cap | Not applicable | A one-off hire in a role that draws applicants fast |
| Promoted job (Hiring Pro, self-serve) | Daily average or total budget you set, charged per click on the job | No. LinkedIn suggests a budget per job | Occasional hirers without a recruiter |
| Promoted job from Recruiter or Recruiter Lite | Budget per job with automatic cost per click bidding on qualified clicks | No | Teams that already pay for a Recruiter seat |
| Job Posts or Job Slots contract | Annual jobs budget or a pool of prepaid slots, agreed with sales | No. Contact sales | Companies with roles open all year |
| Job promotion credits | Promotional, iOS, Premium All-in-One or annual Hiring Pro credits, spent before your card | Varies by offer and market | Anyone who received credits with a plan or offer |
| Premium Company Page | Monthly or annual subscription per licence for your company Page | Yes, on LinkedIn Premium's page | Brand and follower growth. It lists no job posting feature |
Read on LinkedIn Help, LinkedIn Talent Solutions and LinkedIn Premium pages, 4 Oct 2026. Recruiter seats are priced separately.
Is posting a job on LinkedIn free
Free job post on LinkedIn A job post tied to your company Page that costs nothing. You can have 1 open at a time and a limited number in 30 days. It stays active up to 14 days, then pauses, and closes after 30 days unless promoted.
Free advertising on LinkedIn has a ceiling. Once it reaches an applicant limit of roughly 10 to 30, the post leaves search, and reposting the same title within 7 days must be promoted.
How a promoted LinkedIn job is billed, step by step
This is the cost to post a job on LinkedIn once you go past the free post, in the order LinkedIn's help pages describe it.
- Read the recommended budget LinkedIn suggests a budget from the job title, location and market activity. You get the final say on the amount.
- Pick a daily or total budget A daily average budget runs until you close the job or 6 months pass. A total budget pauses the job once it is spent.
- Pay per click Each view of the job is a click, and LinkedIn bids for it automatically. Your spend is the number of qualified clicks the job gets. LinkedIn says clicks and views are the same thing, and it works out cost per click as total spend divided by views.
- Know which clicks are free You are not charged for viewing your own post, for repeat views by one person, or for views from people who are signed out.
- Get billed Self-serve charges accrue weekly. LinkedIn charges your card within 48 hours of closing the job, 30 days after posting, or when the balance reaches its billing threshold.
- Close the job to stop spending A promoted job keeps billing up to its budget until you close it. Promotion credits are used first, then your card.
Why LinkedIn publishes no job posting rate
LinkedIn job posting rates are set per job, at the moment you post. LinkedIn says the cost of each click comes from an algorithm that looks at where the job is located and how many competing, similarly titled posts exist in that market. Its Recruiter Lite help adds that cost per click moves daily and cannot be known until the job is live and getting views.
So any single LinkedIn job posting fee you read online is somebody's sample, not a LinkedIn price. The same title can cost more in a crowded city than in a quiet one, and more in a hiring rush than a month later.
The figure LinkedIn does give you is a recommended budget. It is built from similar posts, and it is a suggestion. I treat it as a starting point for a test, not as a forecast.
Daily budget or total budget on a promoted job
The budget type decides how long a promoted job runs and when it stops. LinkedIn offers both on self-serve promoted jobs.
| What changes | Daily average budget | Total budget |
|---|---|---|
| How long the job runs | Until you close it, or 6 months, when it closes automatically | Until the total is spent |
| What happens at the limit | On Recruiter Lite, marketing stops for the day. The job stays searchable, and marketing resumes next day | The job pauses and hides from job seekers. You keep the applicant list |
| Biggest risk | Forgetting to close a filled job, so it keeps billing daily | Running out of budget before the right person sees it |
| Editing mid-run | On Recruiter Lite, a day you edit is billed at the highest budget set that day | Add budget to unpause, or close the job |
| LinkedIn's own tip | Keep a job open at least 5 days before closing it | Set a total budget so the role stops at your limit |
Read on LinkedIn's promoted job posts help article, Recruiter Lite FAQ and Hiring Pro pricing overview, 4 Oct 2026.
What drives your LinkedIn job ad cost
LinkedIn job advertising costs move with these. The first 4 LinkedIn names itself. The rest are billing mechanics from its help pages.
- The job's location, since cost per click is set per market
- How many competing, similarly titled posts are live in that market
- How many qualified members fit the job, for Recruiter promoted jobs
- Your Advanced Targeting, which decides which clicks count as qualified
- The budget you set: a higher budget buys more placements across LinkedIn
- How many days the job stays open before you close it
- Add-ons bought per day, such as extra InMail credits and AI interview invites
- Whether you have promotion credits that are spent before your card
LinkedIn Recruiter vs job posting, and what each costs
People often mix the two up. A job post brings applicants to you. A Recruiter seat lets you search for people and message them.
| What changes | Job posting | LinkedIn Recruiter |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Visibility for one job, free or promoted | A seat licence to search members and send InMail |
| How it is priced | Per job, on a budget you set, charged per click | Per seat. Recruiter Lite at checkout, other plans quoted by sales |
| Price published | No rate per job | No list price on LinkedIn's Recruiter pages |
| Who reaches whom | Candidates find the job and apply | You find candidates, including people not looking |
| Where jobs are posted | Jobs page on a personal account, through Hiring Pro | Inside Recruiter. Jobs on a corporate contract post from there |
Seat plans are covered in our LinkedIn Recruiter pricing guide. Read on LinkedIn Help and Talent Solutions, 4 Oct 2026.
LinkedIn job slots, Job Posts contracts and Premium Company Page
LinkedIn job slots are a contract product. You buy a pool of slots through sales, an admin shares them across your Recruiter team, and each slot keeps one job promoted. Slots work with Job Wrapping and the Premium Job Posting API, so jobs can flow in from your ATS. LinkedIn still markets Job Slots for companies with roles open all year, and publishes no price.
LinkedIn's Recruiter help says some contracts move from Job Slots to Job Posts at renewal. There you hold a jobs budget, set a budget per job, and an admin sets a monthly spend limit, with alerts at 70, 90 and 100 percent of it.
Premium Company Page is a different thing. It is a subscription for your company Page, sold per licence with a published price, and its features are follower invites, testimonials, a custom button and visitor insights. It does not buy job posts.
How to cut LinkedIn job posting cost
Do
- Use the free post first for a role that fills from a small pool of applicants.
- Set a total budget, so the job stops when the money does.
- Tighten Advanced Targeting, since only qualified clicks are charged on Recruiter promoted jobs.
- Spend any promotion credits before they expire, then decide whether to keep paying.
- Close a filled job the same day. Open jobs keep billing.
Do not
- Reposting the same title within 7 days, which forces a paid promotion.
- Leaving a daily budget running with no end date for 6 months.
- Editing the daily budget up and down in one day on Recruiter Lite.
- Buying Premium Company Page to get job posts. It does not include them.
On the per-job figures you have seen
Every average cost per click or per job post in other articles comes from somebody's sample, not from LinkedIn. LinkedIn sets cost per click per job and per market. Budget from the recommendation it shows you, then test.
When to source candidates instead of posting a job
A job post works when enough of the right people are looking. For a scarce skill, most of the people you want are employed and not reading job ads, so a bigger budget mostly buys clicks from the wrong ones.
Volume is the other trap. Ashby's recruiter productivity report says the average recruiter now processes 291 applications per hire, up from roughly 100 in early 2021. Paying per click for more applicants adds to that pile.
I run The Cognitive, and this is the gap it fills. It is not a job board and posts no jobs. You describe the hire in plain English, it searches ~900M public profiles, and you reveal verified emails and phone numbers for the people worth contacting.
A brief instead of a job ad
One line about the hire becomes a search, then a ranked list of people matched to the brief.
A promoted job waits for the right person to click. A search goes and finds them. On The Cognitive you write the brief once, it becomes editable filters, and every person found is judged against your must-haves. Anyone who misses one drops below the people who meet them.
What The Cognitive's credits pay for
Where LinkedIn charges per click on a job, The Cognitive charges per candidate found and per contact revealed. These are the credit rules.
| Action | Credits | When you are charged |
|---|---|---|
| A candidate returned by a search | 1 | For each person the search returns |
| Reveal a verified email | 5 | Only when an email comes back |
| Reveal a verified phone number | 10 | Only when a number comes back |
| Email and SMS sequences | Plan feature | Included on the Sourcing Pro plan |
AI Sourcing starts at $49/month and AI Interview at $99/month. Monthly plans, cancel anytime.
A reveal that finds nothing costs nothing
A shortlist where contact details are revealed one at a time, with a No email found row beside the revealed ones.
A click on a promoted job is paid for whether or not that person ever applies. A reveal on The Cognitive is charged only when a value comes back. Email and phone are separate reveals, so you pay for the channel you plan to use.
Where to go next
The Cognitive's AI sourcing tool · LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives · LinkedIn Recruiter pricing · How much Indeed costs · Free job posting sites · ZipRecruiter pricing
Before you spend
LinkedIn changes its job products often, so read its pricing overview and help centre on the day you post. If you would rather find people than wait for clicks, Start free at https://app.thecognitive.io/signup. The free trial includes 100 sourcing credits.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to post a job on LinkedIn?
Nothing for 1 free job, and a budget you choose for anything more. A free post stays live up to 14 days and is capped at roughly 10 to 30 applicants. A promoted job runs on a daily or total budget and is charged per click. LinkedIn publishes no fixed fee per job post; it recommends a budget from the title, location and market activity.
Is posting a job on LinkedIn free?
Yes, within limits. You can have 1 free job open at a time and a limited number in any 30 days, tied to your company Page. It pauses after 14 days, closes after 30 unless promoted, and leaves search once it reaches its applicant limit, which LinkedIn says typically ranges from 10 to 30. Reposting the same title within 7 days must be promoted.
How much does a promoted job on LinkedIn cost?
Whatever budget you set, since LinkedIn prices promoted jobs per click with no published rate. You choose a daily average or a total budget, and LinkedIn will never charge more than it. Cost per click comes from an algorithm that weighs the job's location and how many similarly titled posts compete in that market, so it differs by job.
Does LinkedIn charge per click or per applicant for job posts?
Per click. LinkedIn says it bills promoted jobs for qualified clicks, and that clicks and views are the same thing. You are not charged for viewing your own post, for repeat views by one person, or for views from signed-out visitors. No LinkedIn help page I read on 4 October 2026 describes a pay per applicant option.
What are LinkedIn job slots?
Job slots are a contract product: a pool of prepaid slots, bought through LinkedIn sales, that keep jobs promoted. An admin shares them across a Recruiter team, and they work with Job Wrapping and the Premium Job Posting API. LinkedIn publishes no price. Its Recruiter help says some contracts move to Job Posts at renewal, with a budget per job and a monthly spend limit.
What is the difference between LinkedIn Recruiter and a job post?
A job post brings applicants to one role; LinkedIn Recruiter is a seat licence for searching members and messaging them by InMail. Job posts are priced per click on a budget you set. Recruiter is priced per seat, with Recruiter Lite shown at checkout and other plans quoted by sales. Our LinkedIn Recruiter pricing guide covers the seat plans in detail.
Does LinkedIn Premium Company Page include job posts?
No. Premium Company Page is a per-licence subscription for your company Page, with a published monthly and annual price. Its features are follower invites, testimonials, highlights, a custom button and visitor insights. Job promotion credits come from other places: promotional offers, the iOS app, eligible Premium All-in-One plans and annual credits on eligible Hiring Pro subscriptions.
How much does LinkedIn cost for employers?
It depends on which product you buy, because LinkedIn prices each one differently. Job posts are free for 1 open job, then per click on your budget. Job Slots and Job Posts contracts are quoted by sales. Recruiter seats are priced per seat. Premium Company Page is a subscription with a published price. Only that last one shows a figure on LinkedIn's site.
How can I lower my LinkedIn job posting cost?
Set a total budget, target tightly and close the job the day it fills. Use the free post first for roles that fill from a small pool. Spend promotion credits before they expire. Avoid reposting the same title within 7 days, which forces a promotion. For scarce skills, sourcing people directly with a tool like The Cognitive often costs less than buying more clicks.
What is a cheaper alternative to promoting a job on LinkedIn?
For hard-to-fill roles, sourcing candidates directly is often cheaper than paying for clicks. The Cognitive searches ~900M public profiles from a plain-English brief and charges credits: 1 per candidate a search returns, 5 to reveal an email and 10 to reveal a phone number, only when a value comes back. AI Sourcing starts at $49/month.
Explore: LinkedIn Recruiter pricing · LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives · AI sourcing tool · Best job posting sites for employers · LinkedIn alternatives for hiring · LinkedIn Recruiter Lite review · Applicant tracking system pricing · Greenhouse pricing · Bullhorn pricing