ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: Comparing job posting platforms

Looking for the best job posting platform? Compare features and pricing for ZipRecruiter and Indeed to find the right fit for your business.

Finding the right candidate for a job is daunting. Besides ensuring due diligence in picking the best candidate, you do not wish to spend too much resources and time doing that. That is why more hiring managers are turning to job boards like ZipRecruiter and Indeed to leverage innovative job posting and hiring tools.

Although both ZipRecruiter and Indeed are popular in the market, they still reserve some unique differences that may sway human resources managers to pick one over the other. Here is a breakdown of how each platform compares to help you choose the right platform for your company.

What is ZipRecruiter?

ZipRecruiter is a paid job posting platform where employers not only post job openings but also rely on the platform to have their jobs shared across multiple job posting platforms.

Unlike many job posting sites where your job is hosted only on the site, ZipRecruiter distributes your openings on other job boards. This way, the platform makes it possible for more job seekers to see your job openings and allows you to track each application with their applicant tracking system.

What is Indeed?

Indeed is a job posting platform that aggregates job postings from employers and other job boards. Unlike ZipRecruiter, Indeed does not distribute the job openings on its site across other job posting sites. Instead, it picks jobs posted on other job boards and hosts them on the site where job seekers can apply either directly or follow the recruiter’s application link to apply.

Although Indeed allows recruiters to post jobs for free, they are charged a fee if they wish to increase their job post visibility on the platform.

ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: Features and pricing comparison

Free trial and plans

ZipRecruiter comes as a paid service and does not offer a free plan. However, employers are treated to a four-day free trial where they can post a single job for free. To make your job posting run beyond the four days, you will be required to pay for a plan.

Indeed offers its users an opportunity to post jobs at no cost. But if you want your listing to gain enough visibility, you may need to pay for a sponsored job posting.

Pricing

ZipRecruiter offers three pricing plans: Standard, Premium and Pro. For a standard usage plan, the fees vary based on what features you pick and the number of jobs you post. For accurate pricing, you should contact their customer support to discuss a custom plan and the correct quote for your business.

On the flip side, Indeed allows users to post their jobs for free but requires them to sponsor their job listing if they want their posts to gain more traction.

Sponsoring a job post on Indeed attracts a fee, but this is based on performance. This means that you can only pay for applications that meet your requirements. Indeed usually gives 72 hours for users to reject applications that do not match their needs before they get charged.

Résumé in database

Indeed has over 200 million résumés in its database compared to ZipRecruiter’s over 32 million.

This vast difference in the number of résumés in the database could be due to the difference in the areas of coverage. Indeed is a worldwide job listing platform, while ZipRecruiter only accepts job postings from U.S. territories.

Candidate evaluation tools

ZipRecruiter allows employers to pose questions to candidates to help them narrow down the best candidates according to their needs.

Indeed, on the other hand, offers a comprehensive skill assessment of candidates in the form of skill-based tests. These skill-based tests help users to pick qualified candidates for specific jobs.

Job posts handling

Although both ZipRecruiter and Indeed make provisions for users to post their jobs, each platform handles how it processes the job posts differently. For every job post listed on ZipRecruiter, it shares the listing with more job boards.

This is different in Indeed, which acts more like a job aggregator. This means that Indeed not only lists jobs posted on its platform but also sources job listings from other job posting platforms.

Pros and cons of ZipRecruiter

Pros

• The platform is easy to use.
• With one click, your job can be seen on more than 100 job boards.
• It offers customizable job templates.
• It uses AI to handle candidate matching.
• If offers branded job pages.

Cons

• The trial period is too short.
• Your monthly billing is auto-renewed.
• The platform is expensive when compared to other platforms.
• You might miss out on the most suitable candidate outside the U.S.

Pros and cons of Indeed

Pros

• Employers can post jobs for  free.
• It has the largest candidate résumé pool.
• You can create an unlimited job posting at no cost.
• You’re not limited to only the candidates in the U.S.

Cons

• Free jobs don’t get as much visibility.
• You cannot brand free job postings.
• Sponsored job posts can be expensive if you have multiple roles to hire.
• The site can get spammed easily by fake recruiters from other parts of the world targeting U.S. citizens.

How to choose between ZipRecruiter and Indeed

ZipRecruiter and Indeed are great options for recruiters looking for innovative tools to simplify their hiring process. Picking one tool over the other will depend on your organization’s budget, hiring needs and regulations.

ZipRecruiter will be a more suitable option for companies with a higher budget who are more interested in hiring U.S. talents. The platform is best for companies with recurrent hiring budgets.

Alternatively, companies with tight hiring budgets will have to pick Indeed over ZipRecruiter as it allows recruiters to post jobs for free. And if you have multiple roles to hire, Indeed may be the right option because you can post as many jobs as possible without committing to a monthly plan.