ZipRecruiter vs. Glassdoor -- Which Platform Is Better for Hiring New Employees? (2024)

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Glassdoor isn’t just for job seekers looking to gain insight into potential companies to work for — it’s one of the biggest recruiting sites in the world, and is up there with ZipRecruiter in terms of the number of job listings and job seekers who use their platform on the daily. So then how do you know which one is best for hiring new employees?

Since ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor both have noteworthy reputations in the recruiting market, the best hiring platform for your business is going to come down to your strategy for looking for new hires. While ZipRecruiter takes a more standard approach to streamlining the hiring process, Glassdoor has the benefit of providing extra information on potential employers, but may be more helpful for job seekers rather than companies actively recruiting candidates.

Modern job boards all have their pros and cons, and many include specific tools to give your listings that extra oomph, so it’s all about figuring out what will work best for your specific business. We’ll take you through the ins and outs of ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor, so you’ll can figure out which site can bring you the most qualified candidates, fast. Here’s how they measure up to each other in key recruiting areas.

Posting Jobs: ZipRecruiter vs. Glassdoor

ZipRecruiter is not only an extensive job board for employers to post openings, but will also help you get your listings to as many potential candidates as possible. You don’t have to manually post your job ads to multiple, individual job sites when you can do it with ZipRecruiter in just one click.

ZipRecruiter also has a favorite of customizable templates to create and post your job listing from, and the platform will automatically send it to 100+ top job sites. You can also spread your job posts even further through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, improving your odds of reaching potential job seekers interested in the position.

Through a slot-based system, with slots being the number of job listings you can have up at any given time, ZipRecruiter allows you to adjust your number of job listings to your needs. Based on the specific plan you choose you can spring for more or fewer slots, but any job posting you put up will still get distributed to top job boards across the web. The good news is once you’ve filled a position, you can simply swap out your job listing for a new one.

Glassdoor gives you the benefit of creating detailed company profiles, which are free to create, and let you request reviews (which are important for attracting potential applicants), and view the analytics of who’s viewing and interacting with your page. To post job listings though, you’ll have to go through Glassdoor’s sister site Indeed to create free job postings online. Be aware that you’ll need to have separate Indeed account to start posting listings, but that’s free to open as well.

Depending on the number job ads you have, and your preferred amount of distribution for your listings, there’s a few ways ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor can work for you. Having a tougher-than-average-to-fill position? You can use ZipRecruiter‘s “TrafficBoost” tool to give your job posting a little extra boost, including increased placement and visibility across their linked job boards. You’ll be certain to secure some more eyeballs, too, since the tool will promote the position until it receives the number of views you’re aiming for (100-300 views per post), or for up to 30 days.

Glassdoor also gives you the option of paying for premium job listings, and you’ll need to upgrade to those sponsored posts for your listings to show up on both Indeed and Glassdoor (there’s currently no way to post only on Glassdoor). But this way you’ll be able to promote your job openings on two sites at once, expanding your potential applicant base.

Based on the job, and how aggressive you want the campaign for your listing to be, you can set a daily budget for your sponsored posts. This can give you a lot of flexibility with your recruiting budget, but Glassdoor doesn’t post job listings across other job board sites like ZipRecruiter, so your listings will only go up on Glassdoor and Indeed’s databases.

Finding Candidates: ZipRecruiter vs. Glassdoor

So you’ve posted your open positions — what next? Even if you’ve filled all your listing slots on ZipRecruiter, there’s no limit to the number of applicants you can screen. ZipRecruiter actually uses a powerful matching algorithm and AI technology to create instant matches between your listings and the right candidates.

Using information about a job seeker’s skills (such as education, skills, and experience), it can connect all kinds of businesses with millions of potential employees currently on the web through their browser site, mobile app, and email program. You can then use their Candidate Dashboard to narrow down your picks, reviewing profile information and resumes, applications, and check answers to any required screener questions.

Already have a candidate in mind? One key to unlocking ZipRecruiter‘s potential is their ‘Invite to Apply’ tool. You can either send pre-written or personal messages to your favorite candidates, which is sure to encourage a quick response so you can fast-track your search. ‘Invite to Apply’ finds qualified candidates for open roles even before they apply, with a rating indicating how strong a match they are for the position.

Glassdoor’s partnership with Indeed allows you to use their AI-powered recruiting system, where after a candidate applies, you can review their resume, cover letter, application, and more before scheduling an interview. You can also add screener questions to your application, message directly, and virtually interview potential candidates, but you’ll still have to go through Indeed. Through sponsored posts, you can invite candidates to apply for your job, and get resume-matching.

One downside is that unlike ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor doesn’t allow you to post your listings to hundreds of sites at once. But you might not mind if you’re more focused on increasing brand awareness for your company and enticing potential applicants by getting creative with a company profile.

Pricing Model: ZipRecruiter vs. Glassdoor

The best job site pricing model is ultimately one that works best for the size of your company, the hiring timeline, and the number of positions you’re trying to fill, whether you go with ZipRecruiter or Glassdoor.

ZipRecruiter states that “80 percent of employers who post a job get a quality candidate through the site on the first day.” There are two plans available, a Standard and Premium job listing plan. While they don’t list their official pricing online, the Standard plan is for more budget-friendly hiring, and will give you distribution to 100+ job sites, unlimited candidate applications, and one reusable job slot.

The Premium plan offers everything in the Standard plan, but you’ll find qualified candidates fast with prime placement in job alert emails, as well as access to ZipRecruiter’s database of 31 million+ resumes. Both are priced per-job post, per-day, but both plans will be billed on a monthly basis.

Before you even start looking over your qualified candidates, you can post jobs on ZipRecruiter free with their free trial plan. You’ll have access to the same candidates, post job openings, and track the status of applicants during your free trial, the way you would with a Standard or Premium plan.

Glassdoor lets you post basic job openings for free through Indeed, but also gives you the option to use paid sponsored posts to promote your listings and help them get in front of as many eyes as possible. You can really control the cost through a flexible daily budget, which you can set while creating a job listing. Sponsored posts range from $5 to $499 per day, depending on the amount of reach you want. You can turn off or adjust your daily budget any time you want.

Changing or adding more features to your company profile on Glassdoor will also cost more than just the standard free plan. Opting for a paid plan will give you more control, and allow you to get creative by crafting a profile that better shows off your company’s identity and potential workspace to potential employees.

Bottom Line: Which Job Search Site Is Best?

You can find a variety of resources and features on both ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor to hire qualified candidates fast. But while both sites have ways to increase the reach your job postings, overall, we thought that ZipRecruiter was the more comprehensive job board if you’re looking to catch as many eyes as possible.

Glassdoor succeeds at helping you build the profile you need to attract the right kinds of candidates you want at your company, especially if you work in a very specific industry. But ZipRecruiter’s job matching system is even more intuitive, and lets you reach out to the candidates that you want to hear more from as opposed to just putting up postings and hoping for the best. The “TrafficBoost” option is key to guaranteeing more potential employees will see your post than just the ones on two sites, and by one-click posting to over a hundred job boards, you have the potential to see a significant increase in visibility for your listings. Consider signing up for a ZipRecruiter free trial today and see how many job seekers you can reach with the right hiring platform in your corner.