Quick answer: Posting a job on LinkedIn is free for one open job at a time. To get more reach you promote the post and set your own daily or total budget, and LinkedIn charges you for views from candidates. LinkedIn’s own example is a $10 daily budget for 30 days, which costs $300 or less. Teams that hire all year can buy prepaid budgets or Job Slots on a contract through LinkedIn sales, and LinkedIn says prepaying can save up to 35%.
What LinkedIn does not publish: a fixed price per post, a minimum budget for your role, or Job Slot prices. LinkedIn shows a recommended budget for each job when you post it.
Who this is for: hiring managers, founders and recruiters deciding whether to pay to promote a LinkedIn job, and how much to set aside.
How much does it cost to post a job on LinkedIn?
It costs nothing to post one job at a time, and promoted posts cost whatever budget you set. LinkedIn sells job posts through Hiring Pro, its self serve product for people who hire now and then. The Hiring Pro pricing page lists two options, free and promoted, and says the free option is limited to one open job post at a time.
| LinkedIn option | What you pay | How it is billed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free job post | $0 | Nothing to bill | One role at a time, no rush |
| Promoted job post (self serve) | Your daily or total budget | Per candidate view, charged to your card | Roles you need filled this month |
| Prepaid jobs budget (contract) | Agreed with LinkedIn sales | Up front, quarterly or monthly | Companies hiring all year |
| Job Slots (contract) | Quote from LinkedIn sales | Contract terms | Steady, high volume posting |
Prices on this page were checked on LinkedIn’s own pages on November 8, 2026. LinkedIn changes its job products often, so confirm the budget shown in your account before you post.
What do you get with a free LinkedIn job post?
A free post appears in LinkedIn job search results and to your connections, and that is about it. You can only have one free post open at a time, so a second open role means closing the first or paying to promote.
The bigger difference is the tooling. LinkedIn reserves most of its AI help for promoted posts. On the Hiring Pro page, promoted posts add AI sorting of applicants against your criteria, search in plain words, help with first round screening, 25 recommended candidates a day you can invite to apply, instant candidate summaries and advanced targeting by location and industry. Free posts get basic targeting and AI help drafting the job post.
| Feature | Free post | Promoted post |
|---|---|---|
| Shown in job search results | Yes | Yes, eligible for top position |
| Open posts at once | One | No stated limit, one budget each |
| AI drafted job post | Yes | Yes |
| AI applicant sorting and summaries | No | Yes |
| 25 recommended candidates a day | No | Yes |
| AI first round screening | No | Yes, US first |
| Targeting | Basic | Advanced |
How does LinkedIn promoted job pricing work?
You set a budget, LinkedIn recommends a number, and you pay for views. LinkedIn bases its recommendation on the job title, location and how much competition there is for similar roles, and you get the final say. A higher budget pushes the post into more places on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn treats a click and a view as the same thing. Its pricing page says the cost of each click comes from an algorithm that looks at where the job is and how many similar posts compete in that market, and that your cost per click is your total spend divided by the views the job received.
What views does LinkedIn not charge for?
LinkedIn says you are not charged for viewing your own post, for repeat views from the same person, for views from people who are not signed in, or for views from LinkedIn employees. That is why the view count in your dashboard can be higher than the views on your bill.
Daily budget or total budget?
A daily budget caps your average spend per day, and a total budget caps spend for the whole promotion. LinkedIn’s own examples are simple: a $10 daily budget for 30 days costs $300 or less, and a $300 total budget pauses the job once the $300 is spent.
The daily option is an average, not a hard daily cap. LinkedIn’s help center explains that it may spend more on a busy day and less on a quiet one, but never more than seven times your daily average in a week, and unused budget rolls into the next day. LinkedIn’s own tip is to set a total budget if you want the role to stop once you hit your limit.
| Budget type | What it controls | What happens at the limit | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily average | Average spend per day, weekly max of 7x | Promotion pauses for the day; post stays searchable | You want steady visibility on an open ended role |
| Total | Spend for the whole promotion | Promotion pauses for good | You have a fixed hiring budget per role |
What is the minimum budget to promote a LinkedIn job?
LinkedIn does not publish one. Its help center says the minimum and maximum depend on the role, whether you have promoted a job before and LinkedIn’s applicant forecast. You see the range when you set up the promotion.
Third party guides fill the gap with estimates. Truffle’s cost guide reports a minimum daily budget of $7 to $10 and cost per click of $1.50 to $4.50 in the US. Treat those as rough ranges, not a rate card, because LinkedIn prices each job against its own market.
How much should you budget for a LinkedIn job post?
Start with LinkedIn’s recommended budget, run it for at least a week, then adjust. LinkedIn advises keeping a post open for at least five days before closing it, so you collect enough applicants to judge the spend.
The table below turns LinkedIn’s own $10 a day example into monthly ceilings for more roles. These are spending limits, not quotes. LinkedIn may spend less if a role gets fewer views.
| Promoted roles | Daily budget each | 30 day ceiling | Yearly ceiling if always open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10 | $300 | $3,600 |
| 1 | $25 | $750 | $9,000 |
| 3 | $15 | $1,350 | $16,200 |
| 5 | $10 | $1,500 | $18,000 |
| 10 | $10 | $3,000 | $36,000 |
30 day spending ceiling by number of promoted roles
Each role on a $10 daily budget, LinkedIn’s own example rate
When is promoting worth it?
Promote when the role is hard to fill, the hiring window is short, or your one free slot is already taken. Leave it free when the role is easy to fill and you have time. If ten promoted roles would cost $3,000 a month, compare that against a contract budget or other boards before you commit. Our where to post jobs list covers more than 100 boards.
When does LinkedIn charge your card?
On the self serve option, charges build up weekly and your card is charged at the first of three moments: within 48 hours of closing the job, 30 days after you posted it if it is still open, or as soon as your balance reaches $500 (in US dollars). LinkedIn emails the bill at the end of each cycle, and receipts sit on your billing history page.
| Trigger | When the card is charged |
|---|---|
| You close the job | Within 48 hours |
| Job still open | 30 days after the post date |
| Balance hits $500 | Right away |
If you edit a daily budget, LinkedIn’s help center says that day is billed at the highest budget you set that day, so make changes early rather than raising and lowering it within one day.
What are LinkedIn Job Slots and prepaid budgets?
They are the contract options for companies that post all year. LinkedIn routes both through sales. With a long term contract, LinkedIn helps you set a jobs budget up front and you choose up front, quarterly or monthly billing. LinkedIn’s jobs pricing tipsheet says buying the job posting budget in advance can save up to 35%.
Job Slots prices are not public. A slot lets you keep one job live and swap it for another role when it fills, which suits agencies and in house teams with steady openings. Ask sales for the price per slot, the term, whether slots can be swapped freely and what happens to unused prepaid budget at renewal.
Is a job post the same as LinkedIn Recruiter?
No. A job post brings applicants to you. LinkedIn Recruiter is a separate seat for searching LinkedIn profiles and sending InMail, priced at checkout for Recruiter Lite and by quote for full Recruiter. Many teams buy both, and LinkedIn now sells Recruiter with its Hiring Assistant add on for teams that hire constantly.
How does LinkedIn compare with Indeed and ZipRecruiter?
All three let you control spend, but they bill differently. LinkedIn charges for candidate views, Indeed charges per click or per started application against a budget, and ZipRecruiter sells job slots on a flat monthly rate. Our guides to Indeed pricing and ZipRecruiter pricing cover each in detail, and ZipRecruiter vs Indeed puts those two side by side. If you want to move beyond Indeed entirely, our Indeed alternatives guide compares 12 job sites with real prices.
| Board | Free option | Paid model | Published minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| One open job at a time | Pay per candidate view on your budget | None published; shown per job | |
| Up to 3 jobs a month, 30 days each | Per click (daily budget) or per started application (monthly budget) | $5 a day or $150 a month | |
| Free trial for new employers | Flat monthly rate per job slot | None published; shown at signup |
LinkedIn tends to win for professional, tech and white collar roles where candidates keep their profiles current. For hourly and high volume roles, Indeed usually reaches more people per dollar. Browse the full job boards category to compare more options.
How can you lower your LinkedIn job posting cost?
- Use a total budget. It stops spend at a number you choose, which a daily average does not.
- Give it five days. LinkedIn’s own advice; closing early wastes the learning period.
- Write a specific title. Cost per click depends on competing posts with similar titles in your market, so a clear title reaches the right people faster.
- Close filled roles at once. Billing runs until you close the job or 30 days pass.
- Price a contract once you pass a few roles. LinkedIn says prepaying can save up to 35%.
- Track cost per hire, not cost per click. Our source of hire calculator compares LinkedIn against your other channels.
Quick answers
Is it free to post a job on LinkedIn?
Yes, for one open job at a time. A second open job needs a promoted budget, or you close the first post.
How much does LinkedIn charge per day to promote a job?
You choose the amount. LinkedIn recommends a budget for each role and uses $10 a day as its example, which caps a 30 day post at $300.
Does LinkedIn charge per applicant?
No. It charges for views from candidates. Your cost per view is your total spend divided by the number of views.
When will LinkedIn bill me?
Within 48 hours of closing the job, 30 days after posting, or when your balance reaches $500, whichever comes first.
Can I set a maximum spend?
Yes. A total budget pauses the promotion once the amount is spent.
How much do LinkedIn Job Slots cost?
LinkedIn does not publish the price. Job Slots are a contract product sold by LinkedIn sales.
Is promoting worth it for a small business?
Often, for one hard role at a time. Set a total budget, run it at least five days and compare cost per hire against Indeed and free boards.
The bottom line
LinkedIn is free for one job at a time and pay as you go after that. You control the spend with a daily or total budget, LinkedIn bills for candidate views, and a $10 a day promotion for a month costs $300 or less. Use a total budget so spend stops where you want it, leave each post open at least five days, and ask LinkedIn sales about prepaid budgets once you are promoting several roles every month.
Sources: Hiring Pro pricing, LinkedIn budget help, LinkedIn pricing tipsheet, Truffle cost guide, Indeed pricing
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