Recruitment · alternatives
Alternatives to ZipRecruiter
22 recruitment tools sit alongside ZipRecruiter in this directory. Below is what separates each from ZipRecruiter on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 4
- Cheaper to start
- -
- ZipRecruiter starts at
- On request
Why people look past ZipRecruiter
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the ZipRecruiter entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for ZipRecruiter carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 4 of the 22 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Recruitment and employee engagement platform
- Can be used without paying; ZipRecruiter cannot.
- Publishes an entry price of Free, where ZipRecruiter does not.
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
- 2 tiers to ZipRecruiter's 3.
Powerful, affordable recruiting software
- Publishes an entry price of $1000/year, where ZipRecruiter does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
Talent acquisition suite for hiring success
- Publishes an entry price of $14995/year, where ZipRecruiter does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
- 4 tiers to ZipRecruiter's 3.
Employer review and salary transparency app owned by Recruit Holdings, the same parent as Indeed
- Can be used without paying; ZipRecruiter cannot.
- Sold on a Free for job seekers, employers pay for branding and recruiting products model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
- 1 tier to ZipRecruiter's 3.
Job search app aggregating listings, owned by Recruit Holdings, the same parent as Glassdoor
- Can be used without paying; ZipRecruiter cannot.
- Sold on a Free for job seekers, employers pay for sponsored listings model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
- 1 tier to ZipRecruiter's 3.
AI notetaking and sourcing agents for recruiters, priced per agent rather than per platform
- Can be used without paying; ZipRecruiter cannot.
- Publishes an entry price of $100/month, where ZipRecruiter does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month, per agent model rather than Per active job slot per month, quoted individually.
- 4 tiers to ZipRecruiter's 3.
Every ZipRecruiter alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZipRecruiter (this page) | On request | Per active job slot per month, quoted individually | 3 | |
| WorkableIf you want a full ATS with published pricing rather than a per-slot job distribution product | Free | Usage-based | 2 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| JazzHRIf you want a lower-cost ATS aimed at small businesses | $1000/year | Subscription | 3 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| SmartRecruitersIf you need enterprise-grade applicant tracking alongside job distribution | $14995/year | Subscription | 4 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Glassdoor | Free | Free for job seekers, employers pay for branding and recruiting products | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Indeed | Free | Free for job seekers, employers pay for sponsored listings | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Metaview | Free, then $100/month | Per user per month, per agent | 4 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Gem | On request | Per user per month, by company size and seat type | 2 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Codility | On request | Per year by candidate invite volume, with platform user limits per tier | 3 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Findem | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| HackerRank | On request | Per month by tier, with a metered annual candidate attempt allowance and per-attempt overage on Starter | 3 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Fetcher | On request | Per user per month, tiered by lead volume and sourcer support | 4 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| hireEZ | On request | Quote, enterprise pricing set against the tool stack replaced | 2 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Karat | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Oracle Taleo | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| SeekOut | On request | Per user per month, self-serve entry tier then per seat by quote | 2 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Checkr | On request | Per report, plus pass-through court and database fees | 3 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Occupop | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Recruitee | On request | Quote | 3 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| BrightHire | On request | Quote | 4 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Comeet | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| Bullhorn | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
| JobAdder | On request | Quote | 1 | vs ZipRecruiter |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the ZipRecruiter badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
ZipRecruiter is most often brought in for a small or mid-sized employer with a handful of concurrent open roles wanting broad job board distribution from one posting, a hiring manager without a full ats wanting basic pipeline and messaging tools alongside job distribution, a company that wants to proactively search a resume database rather than only waiting for applicants, an employer comparing per-slot job board spend against a flat-fee ats subscription for a similar hiring volume. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If ZipRecruiter is broadly right and the question is cost, the ZipRecruiter pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Recruitment category lists everything the directory holds, and best recruitment tools ranks them.
ZipRecruiter runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about ZipRecruiter alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to ZipRecruiter?
- 22 other recruitment tools are listed in this directory, led by Workable, JazzHR, SmartRecruiters, Glassdoor. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to ZipRecruiter?
- 4 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Workable, Glassdoor, Indeed, Metaview.
- Why do people look for an alternative to ZipRecruiter?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from ZipRecruiter?
- ZipRecruiter is most often brought in for a small or mid-sized employer with a handful of concurrent open roles wanting broad job board distribution from one posting, a hiring manager without a full ats wanting basic pipeline and messaging tools alongside job distribution, a company that wants to proactively search a resume database rather than only waiting for applicants, an employer comparing per-slot job board spend against a flat-fee ats subscription for a similar hiring volume. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to ZipRecruiter?
- None of the recruitment tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these ZipRecruiter alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Recruitment, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare ZipRecruiter against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against ZipRecruiter covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every recruitment tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Recruitment category, 22 tools beside ZipRecruiter. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.