Compare/Head to head

HiringCafe vs TrueUp

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

HiringCafe

Free Free tier

HiringCafe is a free job search engine that indexes 5M+ jobs straight from company career pages rather than selling sponsored placement, and filters out staffing agencies and ghost jobs. Job seekers pay nothing. For recruiters and employers it is a read on who is really hiring and a free way to get a career page indexed, not a paid posting channel.

Where HiringCafe fits

  • Employers wanting their career page jobs found for free
  • Recruiters mapping which companies are hiring now
  • Candidates you coach through a job search

TrueUp

12%/hire

Tech job marketplace plus TrueUp Talent intros. Employer hires via TrueUp Talent cost 12% of first-year base salary.

Where TrueUp fits

  • Listed tech companies hiring engineers and PMs
  • Startups that want intros without a 25% agency fee
  • Teams already on Ashby, Greenhouse, or Lever
  • Employers who will wait for mutual-interest matches

At a glance

DetailHiringCafeTrueUp
Starting priceFree12%/hire
Free tier✓Yes–No
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No–No
Listed underJob boardsJob boards, Sourcing

Where they pull apart

HiringCafe

Stands out: Jobs come from employers' own career pages, not paid ads, so the index is far larger than sponsored-only boards and agency reposts are removed. It grew to 2M+ monthly users through Reddit with no marketing spend, raised a $6.8M pre-seed led by Spark Capital in 2026, and launched an AI Talent Agent that matches seekers from a resume.

Watch out: It is built for job seekers first, and the vendor says so. There is no published employer product, job promotion, applicant tracking or candidate database, so you cannot buy reach or search resumes. Agency recruiters' own postings are filtered out of results by design.

Not the right fit for

  • Buying applicant volume or sponsored reach
  • Staffing agencies posting client roles
  • Searching a resume database

TrueUp

Stands out: Warm intros only after both sides confirm interest, at 12% instead of a classic 20-35% fee.

Watch out: Only companies already on TrueUp can apply, and they need a Trajectory Score of 60-plus or venture backing.

Not the right fit for

  • Companies that are not already on TrueUp
  • Teams that need an ATS rather than a talent channel

Pros and cons

HiringCafe

  • Free, with no pay-to-win job placement
  • Jobs pulled from company career pages, agencies filtered out
  • Large live index with pay and experience filters
  • No published employer or recruiter product
  • No applicant tracking or resume search
  • Agency postings excluded from results

TrueUp

  • Talent fee is 12% of first-year base
  • Intros only after mutual interest
  • Named Ashby, Greenhouse, and Lever fit
  • Only companies already on TrueUp qualify
  • Trajectory Score 60-plus or VC backing
  • Not a full ATS or recruiting CRM

What each one costs

HiringCafe

Free

HiringCafe is free for job seekers, including search, saved searches, boards and the AI Talent Agent. Employers can submit a career page for indexing from the site; the vendor does not publish a paid employer product or price. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 28 Sep 2026

TrueUp

12%/hire

TrueUp Talent is 12% of first-year base salary for hires sourced through Talent. The public job board is free for members. TrueUp AI is listed as unlimited roles. Only companies already on TrueUp can apply, with a Trajectory Score of 60+ or venture backing. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try HiringCafe or TrueUp for free?
HiringCafe carries a free tier on our listing.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 28 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?