With over 250 million unique visitors per month, Indeed and LinkedIn are two of the most popular sites for job search and recruiting. But they each offer distinct advantages.
This in-depth guide examines the key differences between Indeed and LinkedIn to help you determine which platform best suits your search and hiring needs.
Table of Contents
An Overview of Indeed vs LinkedIn
To start, let’s look at what each platform offers:
Indeed
- Job search engine aggregating listings from thousands of sites
- Free access for job seekers
- Pay-per-click model for employers
- Limited profile-building and networking capabilities
- Largest professional social network with 875+ million members
- Dual value for job seekers networking and employers sourcing talent
- A freemium model with advanced paid tools
- Robust user profiles and relationship-building
So while Indeed focuses exclusively on job search, LinkedIn combines opportunities for both networking and recruitment. Let’s explore further.
Indeed vs LinkedIn for Job Seekers
Both sites offer tremendous value for job hunters – but in different ways.
Indeed for Job Search
Without question, Indeed’s greatest strength is the sheer volume of job listings aggregated from across the web onto one platform.
Key Advantages
✅ 75%+ Market Share of Listings
Indeed captures the lion’s share of job postings from top boards, company sites, and more via daily crawls. This consolidation makes search more efficient.
✅ Powerful Search and Filters
Indeed’s search functionality allows Boolean operators, keyword targeting, location filters, date ranges and more to pinpoint openings. You can drill down with more filters than any platform.
✅ Job Alert Emails
Get new matching job notifications delivered to your inbox daily or weekly so you never miss an opportunity. Alerts can be saved and customized.
✅ Mobile App
Indeed’s mobile experience makes job hunting on the go seamless. Favorites, alerts, and applied jobs stay conveniently saved across devices.
In summary, Indeed reduces job search friction with top-funnel hunting advantages. But…
LinkedIn for Networking and Visibility
The areas where Indeed falls short are where LinkedIn shines brightest – relationship building, personal branding, and talent visibility.
Key Advantages
✅ Professional Identity
Showcase your full career story, accomplishments, certifications, volunteer work, and expertise via profile-rich media.
✅ Build Connections
Grow your network organically and join groups of like-minded professionals to unlock warm introductions, referral opportunities, and insider intel.
✅ Get Discovered
Engaging on LinkedIn boosts your professional visibility so decision-makers can find and contact you about opportunities before they formally post jobs.
✅ Showcase Skills
Display verified skill badges and recommendations publicly to strengthen your brand.
In summary, LinkedIn accelerates search through relationship currency and talent discovery networks that Indeed lacks.
Verdict: Indeed simplifies job hunting while LinkedIn enables relationship and brand building. Use both in tandem!
Indeed vs LinkedIn for Employers
Just as the value proposition differs on the searcher side, so too does it vary significantly for recruiters and hiring managers evaluating the platforms.
Indeed for High Volume Recruiting
Indeed established its #1 position largely through exceptionally high job post visibility converting site traffic into applicant volume.
Key Advantages
✅ Massive Searcher Base
Indeed’s 250 million+ monthly visitors offers tremendous reach to get jobs in front of relevant candidates.
✅ Pay-Per-Click Model
Employers only pay when searchers click on your sponsored listings displayed at the top of results. Cost per click averages $2-3.
✅ Performance Tracking
Monitor clicks, applications and source of hire data like job title match to optimize recruiting workflow.
✅ Broad Distribution
Expand reach further by syndicating open roles across Indeed’s network of 5,000+ publisher partners including major job boards.
If your goal is high applicant volume from a wide candidate pool at efficient CPC, Indeed delivers results. But for building talent pipelines…
LinkedIn for Specialized Sourcing
While Indeed drives volume, LinkedIn achieves precision through accurate targeting and talent networks.
Key Advantages
✅ Granular Targeting
Narrow candidate search by title, skills, groups, company, seniority, geography, field of study, and more. Significantly more filtering combinations than Indeed.
✅ Advanced Talent Search
Unlock more filters like years of experience, company size, and active status via Recruiter to identify best-fit talent already on LinkedIn rather than waiting for inbound applicants.
✅ Professional Insights
View the full candidate profile, work history, accomplishments, connections, groups, content activity, and mutual networks for insights to personalize outreach and map relationships.
✅ Relationship Foundation
You can message anyone whereas Indeed limits communication to those who actively apply. This facilitates more effective engagement with warm, qualified prospects.
In summary, while Indeed powers top-funnel applicant acquisition, LinkedIn enables bottom-funnel search refinement and pipeline relationship building.
Verdict: Together, Indeed and LinkedIn provide full funnel recruiting coverage at scale.
Indeed + LinkedIn Full Funnel Recruiting
See Also: Our full guide to LinkedIn Recruiting
Indeed vs LinkedIn Search Metrics
Let’s look at some key statistical comparisons between Indeed and LinkedIn:
| Metric | Indeed | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Visitors | 250 million | 277 million |
| Registered Users | 200+ million | 810+ million |
| Mobile Users | Indeed app installed 10+ million times | 63% of traffic |
| Jobs Posted | 9 million+ | 20 million |
| Candidates Reached | Indeed delivered 350 million+ app views and clicks in 2021 | 94% of professionals are open to opportunities |
A few things stand out:
- Indeed continues to see very strong growth momentum
- But LinkedIn has firmly cemented itself as the go-to professional network
- LinkedIn’s member base is significantly more engaged in career advancement
Both sites deliver huge audiences – just optimized for different priorities based on member intent and platform strengths.
Indeed vs LinkedIn Site Traffic
In terms of web traffic share between the two sites over the past 2 years, Indeed has maintained a consistent 70% majority, with LinkedIn steady at around 30% as seen in the chart below:
Indeed Owns Majority of Job Search Traffic
See Also: Full stats on Indeed’s growth trajectory
Indeed Pricing
Indeed operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model for job ads similar to search advertising.
Here is Indeed’s pricing model:
Sponsored Jobs Pricing
- Minimum Spend per Month: $25
- Average Cost per Click (CPC): $1.60
- Typical Range: $1.20 – $3+ per click
There are no long-term contracts and budgets can be adjusted flexibly month-to-month.
Sponsored Job listings receive premium visibility including:
- Top Placement in Search Results
- Featured Search Widget Placement
- Spotlight in Job Seeker Email Alerts
Advantages
- Only Pay When Candidates Engage
- Control Costs
- Scale Up or Down
- Cancel Anytime
However, visibility remains largely limited to active searchers within Indeed’s walled garden.
See Also: LinkedIn Live: The Ultimate Guide
LinkedIn Pricing
Rather than pay-per-click, LinkedIn monetizes through monthly software subscriptions with tiered levels of access priced as follows:
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Individual | Free |
| Premium Career | $29.99/month |
| Sales Navigator Pro | $64.99/month |
| Recruiter Lite | $959/month |
| Recruiter Corporate | Custom |
Key Features
Here are some of the key capabilities unlocked at each tier:
🔹 Premium Career: Profile visibility controls, expanded search filters, professional insights on who viewed your profile, and unlimited InMail messages.
🔹 Sales Navigator: Advanced lead and account search, TeamLink collaboration tools, automated alerts, and unlimited InMail to build robust pipelines.
🔹 Recruiter: Bulk candidate sourcing, InMail email templates, candidate comparison, pipeline analytics, and more.
In contrast to Indeed’s transactional model, LinkedIn packages provide extended platform access enabling proactive relationship-based recruiting.
See Also: LinkedIn Alternatives
Indeed vs LinkedIn: Which Should You Prioritize?
With a clear sense of Indeed and LinkedIn’s respective specialties now mapped out, how should you split your focus between the two platforms?
Job Seekers: Adopt Connected Approach
60% Indeed – Focus the majority of the effort on active search and job applications leveraging Indeed’s unparalleled breadth of listings and intelligent alerts.
40% LinkedIn – In parallel, network consistently on LinkedIn to establish professional visibility and nurture relationships with contacts who can refer opportunities.
This balanced game plan aligns tactics to each site’s sweet spots -passive hunting on Indeed and proactive branding via LinkedIn.
Employers: Full Funnel Strategy
Similarly for recruiting, a connected Indeed + LinkedIn strategy yields optimal results:
60% Indeed – Lean heavily into Indeed for broad visibility to talent, pay-per-click job ads and incoming applicant volume.
40% LinkedIn – Complement with targeted LinkedIn sourcing by seniority, function, and advanced criteria to build tailored pipelines around strategic roles.
This fuels the best of both worlds: quantity and efficiency via Indeed + quality and specificity through LinkedIn.
The highest-performing teams adopt an integrated Indeed and LinkedIn approach across the full recruiting funnel.
Also Read – LinkedIn Insights
Indeed vs LinkedIn: Final Verdict
Indeed LinkedIn should be viewed as a complementary platform, not a competitor.
Here is a quick cheat sheet:
| Indeed | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best For | High volume job hunting and recruiting | High-volume job hunting and recruiting |
| Key Metric | Searcher traffic and job listings | Engaged professional community |
| Pricing Model | Pay-per-click job ads | Monthly software subscriptions |
| Main Strength | Efficient pay-per-click applicant access | Targeted talent pipelines via relationships |
In summary:
- Job Seekers: Use Indeed for broad discovery and alerts while cultivating your professional brand on LinkedIn to get discovered by the right people
- Employers: Indeed to cast a wide candidate net cost-efficiently + LinkedIn for specialized sourcing and warm introductions
An integrated strategy combining the unique advantages of both platforms gives you the best shot at job search and recruiting success.
So rather than choosing one side – embrace the power of Indeed AND LinkedIn together!
