Indeed and ZipRecruiter are competing online job listing sites that are often the go-to sources for job seekers looking for their next opportunity. Both vendors allow you to post open job opportunities with the core purpose of sourcing applicants; however, their approaches are vastly different. Finding the best job posting sites depends on your preferences, such as budgetary restrictions or the amount and quality of sourced candidates.
- Indeed: Best for general talent needs and those who want their openings seen on the most used job board for job seekers.
- ZipRecruiter: Best for industry-specific talent and sourcing multiple positions at once.
ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: Which platform is right for you?
Pricing
Subscription-based
Sponsored ad-based
Candidate sourcing
Job post distributor
Job post aggregator
Candidate management
Employer dashboard and built-in ATS
Employer dashboard and ATS hybrid
Applicant experience
Apply in ZipRecruiter
Occasionally have to apply on other sources
Reporting
Job posting insights
Job market trends and job posting insights
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter has a wide job posting distribution network of over 100 job boards. This means you can post your open positions and ZipRecruiter automatically syndicates them to all of the job boards in its network.
ZipRecruiter also has an intuitive artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that parses applicant résumés, determines if they may be a match for the open role, and invites candidates to apply. If you have massive hiring quotas and need to fill positions quickly, these features can amass a qualified candidate pool with little effort.
Despite this, the large volume of applications that ZipRecruiter sources for an open job position can be overwhelming. This may be a turn-off if you need more time or resources to screen candidates closely. However, larger employers may appreciate the number of applications, as it allows them to be choosier in their selection without worrying about a lack of qualified applicants.
Pros
- AI candidate matching and inviting.
- Job candidate ranking.
- Attentive customer service.
- Mobile app.
- Customizable job post templates.
- Applicant tracking system (ATS) integrations such as Greenhouse, JazzHR, Zoho Recruit, and Breezy HR.
Cons
- Unclear pricing.
- No skills assessments.
- ATS integration options only on Pro plan.
- Does not post to competing job boards, like Indeed, Monster, or CareerBuilder.
Indeed
Indeed is perfect if you’re sourcing talent on a budget because it is free. You can post as many open positions as needed without buying into a subscription-based plan.
In addition, you have access to Indeed’s free job hiring insights tool, where you can view trends in job-specific roles. This allows you to strategically pinpoint marketplaces without posting your open position on multiple job boards.
There is one major drawback: Because Indeed is a free tool for both recruiters and job seekers, it is easy for job openings to get lost in the mix of competing job posts. Unless you pay to get your job posting sponsored, Indeed may not be the right fit for sourcing talent for urgently needed positions.
Pros
- Interview scheduling.
- Budget-controlled pricing.
- Company pages.
- Mobile app.
- Large candidate pool.
- Built-in ATS software functions.
Cons
- Does not distribute job posts elsewhere.
- Customer service is limited to online help forums or through email.
- Google Chrome Indeed Recruiter Extension can only transfer data to a limited number of ATSs, such as Greenhouse, Bullhorn, and Workday.
ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: A detailed comparison
Pricing
ZipRecruiter and Indeed follow different pricing ideologies. ZipRecruiter has a subscription-based tier model, whereas Indeed’s pricing requires the purchase of ad space to reach a wider audience. Which model works better depends on several factors, such as hiring needs, budgetary constraints, and the nature of the open role itself.
Pricing
$16 – $24 per post per day; Monthly packages (starting at $299)
Free to post; Sponsored job postings (starting at $5 per day)
Free Plan
No
Yes
Free Trial
Yes
N/A
Budget Control
No
Yes
Candidate sourcing
Although ZipRecruiter and Indeed are job boards in name, how they source candidates differs significantly. As a job distributor, ZipRecruiter focuses on getting job posts to appear in as many places as possible. Meanwhile, as a job aggregator, Indeed collects as many job posts from around the web as possible to appear in one place. Determining the best method ultimately depends on how you plan to interact with each solution during the recruitment process.
Candidate management
Neither ZipRecruiter nor Indeed are complete applicant tracking systems; the tools for managing candidates once sourced are limited.
Both solutions utilize an employer dashboard that collects job applicants in one location to be filtered and screened. Although both ZipRecruiter and Indeed leverage screening questions to assist in ranking qualified candidates, Indeed includes additional features, like skills assessments and interview scheduling, to streamline the hiring process.
Employer Dashboard
Yes
Yes
Screening Questions
Yes
Yes
Skills Assessments
No
Yes
Interview Scheduling
No
Yes
Candidate management software can help you during the hiring process. Read more: Top Candidate Relationship Management Software
Applicant experience
To reach suitable candidates, consider what aspects are most important to job seekers when interacting with job listing sites. The best sites allow job seekers to quickly identify positions that fit their skill set, assist in making their applications stand out, and provide opportunities for engagement with hiring employers.
ZipRecruiter and Indeed are free for job seekers and include mobile applications to easily apply to positions from any device. Beyond this, ZipRecruiter and Indeed offer different functions to attract job seekers.
Mobile App
Yes
Yes
Company Pages
No
Yes
AI Assistant
Yes
No
Reporting
Unless integrated with an ATS, both ZipRecruiter and Indeed offer little in the way of reporting analytics. However, through each platform’s respective recruiting pages, you can gain fundamental insights into the performance of your job postings, such as how long a job post has been active and the number of candidates who applied.
Here’s a quick overview of the metrics available in each platform:
Job Market Trends
No
Yes
Job Performance Pages
Yes
Yes
Job Post Impressions
No
Yes
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
No
Yes
Number of Applicants
Yes
Yes
Spending per Job
N/A
Yes
Indeed vs ZipRecruiter: Ready to choose?
Is ZipRecruiter better than Indeed? That depends. Indeed and ZipRecruiter are two of the most prominent online job board players. Because both platforms are free to use by job seekers, they attract substantial talent pools. As a result, you can use both sites to collect the most diverse candidate pool. Of course, whichever platform you start with depends on what is most valuable to your recruitment efforts: ZipRecruiter for efficiency or Indeed for value.
While ZipRecruiter and Indeed are great ways to advertise your open job positions, their candidate management and reporting capabilities are rather simplistic. For more advanced features, check out our Applicant Tracking System Software Guide to browse solutions to enhance your hiring processes.