Job sites like Indeed, and what each one actually gives you
Job sites like Indeed split into general boards, niche boards and channels you own. LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Wellfound, Handshake and Dice are the main independent ones. Glassdoor and SimplyHired route employer posting back to Indeed, so a ten-name list is usually about 6 separate places.
Is Indeed a job board?
Job board A site where an employer publishes an open role and applicants come to the employer. The board sells reach and a form. It does not find anyone for you and it does not read what arrives.
Indeed's own word for itself is job site, not job board. That matters here: among job search engines like Indeed, several names on any alternatives list route their employer posting to Indeed, so they are Indeed underneath.
8 job sites like Indeed, and what each one is for
Job websites like Indeed differ by audience, not by features, and so do employment sites like Indeed that serve one trade. Every line below was read on that site's own page on 20 September 2026, for the US.
| Site | What it is | The limit, in its own terms | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| A professional network that takes job posts against your company Page | 1 free post active at a time, live 14 days then paused, with an application limit LinkedIn says typically runs 10 to 30 | Professional and management roles | |
| ZipRecruiter | A board that says one post is sent onward to 100 or more job sites | What it calls free is a trial for new employers; the selected plan continues unless you cancel from the dashboard | Employers who want one post to travel |
| Monster | A general board that says it shares your job with CareerBuilder's site, app and partner network | You pick a monthly budget; its higher tier spends credits on promoting a job or searching its resume database | General hiring across 2 networks at once |
| Wellfound | A startup-facing site with unlimited listings and a built-in ATS at no cost | Promotion is an optional paid boost buying top-of-results placement and an email to matched candidates | Early startup and tech hires |
| Handshake | An early-talent network of students and recent graduates | Its Basic plan is free, with free job posts, 10 messages a month and a simple company presence | Internships and first jobs |
| Dice | A board for technology professionals that integrates with ATS platforms | Its hiring page advertises no free tier and sends you to packages, so check the current terms there | Engineering, data and IT roles |
| Google for Jobs | Not a board. Google reads jobs from pages carrying JobPosting structured data | There is no form to post a job on Google itself; the other route is a job site that already integrates | Every employer, alongside a board |
| Your state job bank | A public employment service run by your state, listed centrally by CareerOneStop | Employers post at no charge, but both sides register and policies including wait times vary by state | Local and hourly roles, US only |
Checked on each site's own help or pricing page, 20 September 2026. No prices appear on this page, because every board reprices.
Several alternatives to Indeed are Indeed
Do the arithmetic yourself before you trust a list of ten. Glassdoor's own post-a-job page says to get started with Indeed, and that jobs you pay to post on Indeed will also appear on Glassdoor. SimplyHired says it has partnered with Indeed and sends employers to create the posting there. Monster says it shares your job with CareerBuilder.
So 4 familiar names collapse into 2 channels. That is the practical cost of a long list: you can buy the same reach twice and read it as 2 results. Count independent destinations, not brands, and an alternative to Indeed is worth adding only when it reaches somebody the last one did not.
Before you swap job boards, check these 6 things
Most people comparing Indeed competitors and job platforms like Indeed are really comparing audiences. Run these 6 checks on any Indeed alternative before you move a role or a budget onto it.
- How many roles a month you post, since free caps bite at 2 or 3
- Whether free means a standing free tier or a trial that converts to a plan
- Whether that site's audience matches the role, by industry, seniority or stage
- Whether it feeds your ATS, or whether someone rekeys every applicant
- Who actually reads the applications on the day they arrive
- Whether the people you want are applying to anything at all right now
How each one charges you
Job boards like Indeed charge in 5 shapes. Knowing which shape you are in matters more than any figure, and the figures change anyway.
| Model | What you pay for | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Free with a cap | Nothing, until you hit a count, a clock or an applicant limit | Indeed's 3 free jobs a calendar month, LinkedIn's single live post, Handshake Basic, Wellfound listings |
| A free trial that converts | Nothing during the trial, then the plan you picked | ZipRecruiter, where the free trial runs on into the plan you selected unless you cancel |
| A budget you set | Engagement with the listing rather than the listing itself | Indeed sponsorship, charged per click on a daily budget or per started application on a monthly one |
| Credits against a database | Searching and contacting people who never applied to you | Monster's higher tier resume database, and ZipRecruiter's resume search, which it says covers over 56 million profiles |
| Free, but you build it | Developer time instead of media spend | JobPosting structured data on your own careers page, and registering with your state job bank |
Pricing changes often. Read the vendor's own pricing page on the day you buy, never a figure quoted in an article.
Posting the same role on 5 boards
Do
- Match the site to the audience: a narrower board filters the pool before anybody writes a word
- Keep 1 canonical job page on your own site with JobPosting markup, carrying title, description, datePosted, hiringOrganization and jobLocation
- Check whether a free tier caps applicants as well as days, the way LinkedIn's does
Do not
- Posting one unchanged ad on Indeed and other job sites, then counting that as new reach
- Treating a promoted post as a fresh audience when 2 sites already share distribution
- Wording that prefers or discourages a protected class, which the EEOC says is illegal on every board here
Job sites like Indeed, in short
- Indeed calls itself a job site rather than a job board, and that distinction shapes the whole list
- LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Wellfound, Handshake and Dice are the main independent Indeed alternatives
- Glassdoor and SimplyHired route employer posting back to Indeed, so count channels, not brand names
- Every site here reaches people who are already looking, which is the ceiling none of them clears
What no job site on this list can do
Asking whether there are better job sites than Indeed assumes the problem is the board. Often it is not. Indeed says a free posting loses visibility over time, and LinkedIn says free posts become less visible and are pulled from search once they hit their applicant limit. Swapping to another site resets that clock without changing who is on the other end of it.
Everyone the list above can reach is someone who chose to go looking this month. If the person you need is employed, paid well and not searching, no swap reaches them. The Cognitive does not post jobs to job boards and does not distribute to them. It works the other side of the problem.
Describing the hire instead of advertising it
A 1-line brief becomes structured filters, then a ranked list of people who never saw a listing.
Describe the hire in plain English and The Cognitive parses it into filters in 2 groups, about the person and about their current employer, then searches ~900M profiles. Results come back ranked, each with a "Why this match" line.
Where each hiring problem actually goes
- Nobody knows the role exists: add other job sites like Indeed from the table, and share the link yourself
- The wrong kind of applicant arrives: move to a narrower board such as Handshake, Dice or Wellfound
- Too many applicants and nobody reading them: other websites like Indeed will not fix a reading problem
- The right people are not applying anywhere: other sites like Indeed cannot help, so source directly
Working with the ATS you already run
Sourcing only helps if the people land where your team already works. The Cognitive has 60+ ATS integrations, including Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby. It imports candidates from your chosen stage and writes back a note with score, summary and report link. People sourced inside it are not added to your ATS automatically. Start free at https://app.thecognitive.io/signup and run 1 brief against a role that is not filling.
Related hiring resources
Best job posting sites for employers · Free job posting sites · How to post a job on Indeed · LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives · AI sourcing tool · Sites like LinkedIn for hiring
The short verdict
Swap the site when the audience is wrong. Add a second one when reach is genuinely missing, not duplicated. Source directly when the people you want are not applying anywhere at all.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best job sites like Indeed?
For employers, the main websites like Indeed are LinkedIn for professional roles, ZipRecruiter for onward distribution, Monster for general reach shared with CareerBuilder, Wellfound for startups, Handshake for students and Dice for technology. Add your own careers page, read by Google through JobPosting markup, and your state job bank. Those are the sites similar to Indeed worth your time, and job search sites like Indeed differ by audience rather than features, so pick on who each one reaches.
Is Indeed a job board?
Indeed describes itself as the world's number 1 job site rather than a job board. In practice it does what a board does: employers post jobs, candidates search and apply, and sponsored posts get more visibility. So when people ask is Indeed considered a job board, the honest answer is yes in function, with a search engine on top.
Where can I post a job other than Indeed?
Job sites other than Indeed that take employer posts directly include LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Wellfound, Handshake and Dice. Two more cost nothing: your own careers page, which Google reads when it carries JobPosting structured data, and your state job bank, which CareerOneStop says accepts employer posts at no charge. Those are the job boards other than Indeed to check first, and the same list is where to find jobs other than Indeed from the candidate side.
Who are Indeed's competitors?
The independent alternatives to Indeed are LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Wellfound, Handshake and Dice, plus Google's job experience, which is not a board. Two names often listed as Indeed competitors are not independent: Glassdoor's post-a-job page sends employers to Indeed, and SimplyHired says it has partnered with Indeed for posting. Monster states it shares distribution with CareerBuilder, so treat those 2 as one channel.
Indeed vs Monster: what is the difference?
Monster says it shares your job with CareerBuilder's site, mobile app and partner network, so one post covers 2 brands, and its higher tier spends credits on promoting a job or searching its resume database. Indeed allows up to 3 free jobs per calendar month in the US, each showing up to 30 days, then charges against a budget you set, per click on a daily budget or per started application on a monthly one. Check both vendors' current pricing pages.
Is SimplyHired different from Indeed?
Not on the employer side. SimplyHired says it has partnered with Indeed and directs employers to create a free job posting on Indeed. So posting through SimplyHired creates an Indeed posting under Indeed's limits, including the 3 free jobs per calendar month in the US. Anyone weighing Simply Hired vs Indeed as 2 separate channels is counting one channel twice.
Are there job boards other than LinkedIn and Indeed?
Yes. Wellfound takes unlimited listings at no cost for startup roles, Handshake's free Basic plan reaches students and recent graduates, and Dice is built for technology professionals. Beyond boards, your state job bank accepts employer posts at no charge and your own careers page reaches Google directly through structured data. Those are the job sites other than LinkedIn most employers reach for.
Are there job apps like Indeed?
The app question is really the site question. Job apps like Indeed means the apps the sites above publish, so pick the site by the audience you need and check that company's own app listing for what its app does. Other apps like Indeed are not a separate category with its own answer. ZipRecruiter, for one, says a posted job is visible to job seekers on its website and its mobile app alike.
Are there free job sites like Indeed?
Wellfound lists jobs at no cost and Handshake's Basic plan includes free job posts. State job banks take employer posts at no charge, and your own careers page costs nothing once it carries JobPosting markup. One trap: on ZipRecruiter, free is a trial for new employers that continues into the plan you selected unless you cancel. Our page /blog/free-job-posting-sites sets out each cap.
Can I keep Indeed and add screening on top?
Yes, and for most teams that is the sensible first move. Keep Indeed for reach, let applicants land in your ATS, then import the ones worth a look into The Cognitive and bulk invite them to a live two-way AI video interview of 10 or 20 minutes. Each comes back with a 1 to 5 score per criterion, a weighted score out of 100 and the recording. Nothing is rejected automatically.
What about ZipRecruiter alternatives?
The same split applies. If you need more reach, the alternatives are the other boards in the table above, keeping in mind that ZipRecruiter itself sends one post onward to 100 or more sites. If you need fewer unread applicants or people who are not applying anywhere, another board will not help. That calls for screening the applicants you have, or sourcing people directly.
Which job board has the highest success rate?
No published, comparable, independent success rate exists across these sites. Each vendor publishes its own figures about itself, measured its own way, so the numbers cannot be lined up. What actually varies is audience fit, how long a free post stays visible, since Indeed and LinkedIn both say listings fade, and whether anyone reads the applications the week they arrive. Judge on those.
Explore: Best job posting sites for employers · Free job posting sites · How to post a job on Indeed · LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives · How much Indeed costs · ZipRecruiter vs Indeed · ZipRecruiter pricing · Indeed resume search · Hiring platforms for employers · AI sourcing tool