Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
Job boards are an indispensable resource to recruiters and hiring managers worldwide. Without a job board, it’s extremely difficult to get your job posts enough visibility to qualified candidates in a timely and efficient manner. Take a look at the following stats:
In an effort to save money on recruiting without sacrificing candidate quality, many companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, have been looking for places to post job openings for free.
Where are these places, you ask? From job boards to freelancing websites to online communities, we put together a list of the top cost-free options for employers to post their open roles in front of a large audience. Read below for features, benefits, pricing, insights, and more.
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
We track thousands of HR Tech solutions. Here are the best job boards for employers as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
SimplyHired makes recent job listings easy to find by displaying them directly on the homepage. With over 1 billion job applications passed through their platform to date, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with potential candidates.
SimplyHired
Review:
SimplyHired’s free tool provides the basic functionality you’d expect from online job boards. However, they stand out from their competition on account of their pay-per-contact pricing plan as well as the ability to supplement their basic tools with a full-scale HRIS platform. This adds functionality like onboarding, attendance tracking, benefits administration, document management, and more.
The job search portal also features company profiles, which include complete service reviews, user ratings, and salary comparisons. Not only does this give potential candidates a better feel for your company before making contact, but it lets you know how you rank amongst the competition.
SimplyHired
Customers:
SimplyHired has job postings from Amazon.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Microsoft, GE Corporate, American Express, and Kellogg Company.
SimplyHired
Stats:
SimplyHired
Pricing:
Employers can post job listings on SimplyHired for free, but they also have a pay-per contact pricing model. This starts at $9.99, depending on the job title, industry, and market competitiveness, and only requires payment after you’ve reviewed a potential candidate’s resume or application.
Best For:
SimplyHired is best for SMBs that need access to additional features, such as candidate screening, job description templates, and salary tools. It’s also great for connecting candidates with temporary or entry-level jobs.
Why we love it
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PostJobFree stands out from the competition by letting employers search for potential candidates without having to sign up for an account or profile. They also offer premium service for long-term users.
PostJobFree
Review:
PostJobFree features an intuitive, online interface that is accessible from any device with an internet connection. With more than 5,000+ resumes posted on a weekly basis, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with job seekers. Since they keep a running total of these resumes, it’s easy to see how much exposure your listings are getting every week.
Employers can search for resumes or post new jobs directly from the homepage, so it saves you the time and effort of having to locate these elements within a dropdown list or menu.
PostJobFree
Customers:
Some of PostJobFree’s customers include MD Support Staffing, Action Mechanical Contractors, MSF Electric, Peace River Center, Mediation Arbitration Services, and S & E Group.
PostJobFree
Stats:
PostJobFree
Pricing:
While PostJobFree is free for employers and job seekers alike, there are premium plans available.
Best For:
PostJobFree is great for SMEs that are new to online job posting, as it lets them post a new job without any obligation or commitment.
Why we love it
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Hubstaff Talent is a free platform that offers a searchable talent database, job posting, internal messaging, and automated alerts. As it’s currently available in 200+ countries, Hubstaff Talent caters to international job seekers and employers alike.
Hubstaff Talent
Review:
Hubstaff Talent is an online job board that primarily focuses on remote hiring. It enables companies hiring for remote roles to find talented candidates from anywhere in the world, and vice versa. Featuring a job search engine, job seekers can start browsing open opportunities today. They also have a searchable talent database, making it easy for employers to find qualified remote candidates, as well as a fully customizable messaging system that lets everyone communicate in a fast and secure manner.
Hubstaff Talent
Customers:
Hubstaff Talent currently has job openings from companies in a variety of fields, including Achieve Integrative Health, Results Realty, LIM Lessons, AGT Marketing, DataKitchen, Strikingly, Inc., and Transform Tutoring.
Hubstaff Talent
Stats:
Hubstaff Talent
Pricing:
There are no fees for posting a job on Hubstaff Talent. It is a free service for both the employer and the contractor.
Best For:
Hubstaff Talent is a great option for employers with limited recruitment budgets and those who regularly tap into the remote workforce. It’s also ideal for freelancers that frequently switch between jobs or projects.
Why we love it
:
Indeed stands out for having a massive database of candidates. Companies of any size can post jobs on it and access their talent pool - all for free.
Indeed
Review:
Indeed is perhaps the biggest and most popular job posting platform available today. It allows companies to post jobs and apply skill assessments to those posted jobs to reach one of the largest talent pools on the internet, all for free. Once a candidate passes the assessment(s) and their credentials have been reviewed, companies can use Indeed’s built-in messaging system to reach out to candidates and schedule interviews. Though it is optional, companies can also sponsor job posts on Indeed to reach quality candidates faster.
Indeed
Customers:
Indeed is used by over 3,000,000 companies, including Nokia, Schwab, McDonald's, and the University of Oxford.
Indeed
Stats:
Indeed
Pricing:
It doesn't cost anything to post jobs to appear on Indeed's general search results. To reach more candidates however, you may want to try sponsoring your listing. The price for sponsoring a listing varies depending on the title, location and available job seekers for your posted job. After you define such criteria, Indeed will calculate and show you the price of sponsoring your listing so you’re able to decide if it’s within your budget before paying for it. To ensure you only pay for desired results, Indeed gives you 48 hours to reject unwanted applications before you’re charged.
Best For:
Businesses of all sizes looking to recruit for any position across hundreds of industries/service types.
Why we love it
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Ladders is a niche platform for employers to find and hire experienced professionals across a range of industries. They offer hiring teams the ability to post 1 job listing for free each month.
Ladders
Review:
Ladders is a unique job board that connects employers with experienced professionals looking for $100k+ positions across different industries. It lets you sign up for a free account and post one free job listing per month, however you will need to upgrade to their paid plans for anything beyond that.
With their premium job posting plan, you can promote job listings both on their site and in weekly candidate emails. They also have a talent sourcing plan with features for resume searching, saving searches, ATS integration, and live support.
Ladders
Customers:
Some of Ladders’ customers include Toyota, Hallmark, Allstate, Fujitsu, BCG, Dish, Eaton, and Teach for America.
Ladders
Stats:
Ladders
Pricing:
Ladders has four distinct pricing plans for job posting. Within those plans, posted jobs can be sponsored for up to eight and included in weekly emails to candidates.
They also have three sourcing plans:
Enterprise: Receive a pricing plan that is custom-tailored to meet your needs.
Best For:
Ladders is ideal for companies that are hiring for roles with annual salaries of $100k or more, especially large-scale corporations and enterprises.
Why we love it
:
Although there are paid plans, AngelList offers a free service that includes basic job posting for employers. These services are comparable to the other free job boards, but AngelList stands out due to its focus on startups.
AngelList
Review:
AngelList’s free tool is comparable to most other popular job boards. Through it, employers can post jobs, edit listings, track potential candidates with AngelList’s built-in applicant tracking system (ATS), and even integrate AngelList with a select number of third-party ATS platforms.
Employers who opt for their free service will also be able to benefit from their online resources, which include helpful articles regarding AngelList and the online job market as a whole. To gain full access to their online suite of tools, however, a paid plan is required.
AngelList
Customers:
Some of AngelList’s customers include Amazon, Twitch, Front, Preset, Elite HRV, and Stripe.
AngelList
Stats:
AngelList
Pricing:
AngelList currently has three separate pricing plans:
Best For:
Dubbed as “the world’s largest startup community,” AngelList is best for small, startup businesses and up-and-coming entrepreneurs who need to assemble their team as quickly as possible.
Why we love it
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Upwork is one of the biggest platforms for freelancer hiring. Basic job posting can be done for free, and their premium plans add on other features such as online chat and file sharing, advanced reporting, talent sourcing, payroll, onboarding, and more.
Upwork
Review:
Upwork offers a free job board that is focused on the freelance workforce. It has a large database of freelance workers, many of whom are ready to start at a moment’s notice. With Upwork’s free service, employers can post jobs, browse freelancers and agencies, and invite potential candidates to apply for specific listings.
Their free service also includes access to Upwork Messages, which lets you chat and share files with potential candidates. Built-in invoicing tools round out their free tools.
Upwork
Customers:
Some of Upwork’s customers include Microsoft, General Electric, Airbnb, Coty, and Bissell.
Upwork
Stats:
Upwork
Pricing:
Upwork has four pricing plans:
Best For:
Upwork is ideal for employers who often tap into the freelance workforce to fill open vacancies. It’s also a great option for organizations with minimal budgets.
Why we love it
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Jooble is a free job board with an international scope. It houses more than 750,000 active job listings on any given day, with opportunities spread out all around the world. It also makes the job hunt easy for candidates by separating their job listings into multiple categories.
Jooble
Review:
Jooble provides aggregate job listings that are free for job seekers and employers. Companies that want to stand out from the competition can opt for a sponsored job listing, but this requires a small fee.
The variety of job listings seen on Jooble makes it a great solution for remote workers. Couple this with the fact that it’s available in so many different countries and languages, and it’s easy to see how Jooble caters to such a large international audience of both employers and job seekers.
Jooble
Customers:
Some of Jooble’s listings come from notable brands such as Amazon, Hyatt, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Target Brands, Inc., Rumble Boxing, and News Corp.
Jooble
Stats:
Jooble
Pricing:
Job posts are collected and aggregated from other sites at no additional cost. Vacancies can be posted for free and certain listings can be sponsored for a fee. Optional pricing plans include:
Best For:
Jooble is best for enterprises who regularly tap into the international workforce.
Why we love it
:
Job Spider’s website features simple formatting and coding, which keeps loading times at a minimum. Since it’s a dedicated online platform, Job Spider is easily accessible – for job seekers and employers – from any device with internet access.
Jobspider
Review:
Job Spider isn’t meant as a one-stop shop for all of your hiring, recruitment, and HR needs. Instead, it focuses on one thing – connecting job seekers in the U.S. and Canada with local or remote opportunities that are right for them.
One thing that sets Job Spider apart from the competition is their dedicated Scam Awareness section. Not only does the site acknowledge the existence of scammers across modern job boards, but it provides several helpful tips to how job seekers can avoid these scams. If nothing else, it helps build trust between companies and their prospective recruits right from the start.
Jobspider
Customers:
Job Spider’s customers include Donmich Corp, Business Information Technology Solution (BITS), Inc., Inster Canada, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, and Blue Shark Transport.
Jobspider
Stats:
Jobspider
Pricing:
JobSpider.com is free to employers and jobseekers. There is no charge to post a resume, post job(s), search through the resumes, search through the jobs, or create a job alert.
Best For:
Job Spider is great for workers who want to browse potential opportunities from the comfort of their own home. It’s also perfect for small businesses and employers who maintain limited – or nonexistent – recruitment budgets.
For recruiters and hiring managers looking to find and employ skilled applicants, job boards are incredibly useful. Here's why:
The main pitfall to free software products is that they often are very limited in terms of features. When it comes to free job posting sites, many of them limit the number of job posts you can post per month, sometimes to as little as 1 job post a month, which is fine if you only have one position to fill, but most companies require more or unlimited job posting quota.
Another pitfall of free software products is that they may be temporary, meaning you only get to use them for free for a limited period of time, and then you have to pay, or they are temporary in the sense that they aren’t robust and scalable enough to accommodate your company as it grows, which means you’ll need to switch to another provider later on.
One more thing to consider here is this: just because a software product is free, it doesn’t mean it isn’t costing you money. For example, because free products often come with limited automation features and 3rd party integrations, this means your team will do a lot more manual work than they would with a robust, full-featured solution. This wasting of your team’s time translates directly into wasting money.
Even with a limited recruitment budget, sometimes it is better to invest in a paid job board. The key is to identify the features you really need and only spend on those features. This way you get what you need faster and more efficiently, without spending money unnecessarily.
The pricing models of job boards vary from one vendor to another. Some vendors offer a free plan where companies can post jobs at no charge. Besides that, job board vendors may employ any of the following pricing structures:
Do keep in mind that in all cases, additional fees may apply for on-demand services such as product customizations and dedicated account management.
Not every job board is the same. Aside from price, they often differ in terms of features. Be that as it may, the following are some of the most common features you can expect from a job board:
We always recommend scheduling as many demos as possible with various providers when buying a job board (or any solution for that matter). This is to ensure their solution is suitable for your company’s size and needs. During those demos, you can ask the following questions:
It's relatively easy to use a job board, especially since most of them are cloud-based. Once you've registered for (or purchased) a plan that suits your needs, you can immediately create an account and begin configuring it. This includes designing your company profile, creating job posts, searching for relevant resumes, and more.
A job board is online database of open roles that job seekers use to source their next positions.
Job boards are a great place for companies to post their open roles to reach a large, targeted audience of potential hires. Job boards are also a good place to build your talent brand and share content. Employers often see reduced time- and cost-to-hire.
If you are looking to post jobs and have them reach a large number of candidates quickly, then you should definitely consider using a job board. As you should know by now, there are many free job boards available on the market, so having a limited recruiting budget is not a problem. All of the job boards we’ve listed in this guide are free of charge and would make a great addition to your HR tech stack. All you have to do is:
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