Comparing Job Board Advertising: Cost, Reach, and Response Rates
Hiring the right candidate isn’t just about placing an advert and waiting for CVs to roll in. If you’re concerned by cost and challenged by a limited candidate pool, it’s crucial to ensure your job advertising budget is delivering the best possible return on investment (and maximising your time too).
Since the start of the year in particular, we’ve seen the switch in employers, HR managers and in-house recruitment teams prioritising job board advertising over agency spend. It’s seen as a quick way to reduce your hiring costs and hopefully filling your job direct.
Recognising the drawbacks to this approach (we are recruiters after all!), we also know for some companies it’s a necessity in a context of wage inflation and rising national insurance costs as we approach the new financial year.
So, we wanted to share some basic information for recruiting novices and seasoned pros about the relative job board costs, reach and response rates for each of the main job boards in the UK. We’ve also added in a quick mention on sector specialism and anecdotal feedback from our clients and own experience to help you decide which job board is the best to advertise your job on. Hope you find it useful!
1. Indeed UK
- Reach: One of the world’s largest job boards, offering extensive visibility due to large advertising budgets and brand recognition.
- Cost: Free adverts are available (but be mindful these will appear lower in the search results), or on a pay-per-application model (which can feel a little confusing at first, but has flexible budgeting so you don’t exceed your maximum spend).
- Response Rates: We’ve found these to be amongst the highest of all the job boards, but relevance can vary significantly.
- Sector Specialisation: Covers all industries, making it suitable for advertising roles across all sectors – from entry-level to executive roles.
- User Feedback: Many employers report receiving large numbers of applications but often complain about a lack of quality control. We’ve found filtering irrelevant applications can be time-consuming and frustrating.
2. LinkedIn
- Cost: Free job postings available, but, like Indeed, paid promotions increase visibility (cost varies).
- Reach: It’s the go-to platform for professional networking, ideal for ‘passive’ candidates (those who aren’t actively looking, but could be tempted for the right opportunity).
- Response Rates: High for white-collar and senior roles, but competitive.
- Sector Specialisation: Best for finance, tech, marketing, and HR roles.
- User Feedback: Many employers praise LinkedIn for connecting them with strong candidates, but we’ve found that competition can be fierce, and many applications come from passive jobseekers who aren’t actively looking and can then be difficult to connect with or progress to interview stage.
3. Reed.co.uk
- Cost: From £150 + VAT per job post.
- Reach: 250,000+ live jobs at any time, with a strong UK presence.
- Response Rates: Around 14 applications per job.
- Sector Specialisation: Strong in banking, finance, education, and HR.
- User Feedback: Reed’s CV search tool is a highlight and its interface is easy to use, but some employers report that applications can lack quality, requiring additional screening. We also find we can receive the same applicants from Reed as CVLibrary due to a similar user demographic, (although this can be the case with all job boards, as jobseekers tend to have more than one account).
4. Totaljobs
- Cost: From £89 + VAT for first post; £219 + VAT for repeat posts.
- Reach: Over 280,000 live job ads.
- Response Rates: Highest stated response rates with an average of 26 applications per job.
- Sector Specialisation: Strong in commercial vacancies, as well as IT, construction, and technical roles due to its links to Jobsite.
- User Feedback: Some users report website technical issues affecting usability (we’ve not experienced this), but overall we find it’s generally positive and tends to yield good quality responses from relevant applicants.
5. CV-Library
- Cost: From £75 + VAT per job post.
- Reach: Database of 14 million+ CVs.
- Response Rates: Average of 12 applications per job.
- Sector Specialisation: Retail, administration, design, and finance.
- Employer Feedback: Employers like the ease of use, but some report that high application volumes lead to lengthy screening processes. As mentioned, we also find we receive the same CVs from CVLibrary as from Reed.
Other Job Boards
Other paid advertising options include:
- Monster UK – Their “Monster+ Standard” plan operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, starting at £15 per day, where employers pay only when a candidate views or applies to the job. Alternatively, the “Monster+ Pro” monthly plan is priced at £99, allowing unlimited job postings and access to resume searches.
- Adzuna – Utilizes smart matching technology to connect employers with suitable candidates. They offer flexible pricing based on the performance of the job posting, with charges corresponding to the visibility and engagement the advert receives.
- Glassdoor – Employers can start with a 7-day free trial to post jobs and then choose from various paid plans to enhance job visibility and attract quality candidates.
Common Features and Additional Perks
Most job boards now offer CV databases, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and filtering tools to help manage responses more effectively. However, some stand out with additional features:
- Programmatic Advertising (Totaljobs): Uses AI to target specific candidate demographics.
- Company Reviews and Insights (Glassdoor): Helps boost employer branding and attract culture-fit candidates.
- Instant Match (Indeed): Automatically finds CVs matching your job description.
How to Choose the Right Job Board
When selecting a job board, consider:
- Budget vs. Reach: Higher-priced job boards often offer more targeted reach.
- Job Role & Industry: Some boards specialise in particular industries, so align your vacancy accordingly.
- Quality vs. Quantity: A high response rate isn’t always beneficial if it leads to excessive screening.
And a word of caution: Not all roles can be filled via job board adverts. For highly specialised roles, or those where the active jobseeker pool is small, proactive recruitment strategies such as headhunting, networking, employee referrals and/or using a recruitment agency may be more effective.
We’ve seen many SMEs waste money on job boards that simply don’t work for their needs. A targeted approach—perhaps combining a niche job board with a mainstream one—often yields better results. Ultimately, recruitment is about striking the right balance between reach, cost, efficiency and time.
If you’re struggling with hiring, it might be a good opportunity to review your approach before committing to spend to make sure investing in the right platforms. If you’d like to chat about the best options for your hiring needs, which job board to use, which roles can be brought in-house or how to maximise your hiring budget, please get in touch. We’d love to share some expertise or arrange a formal recruitment audit to help support your plans for growth.
