Indeed Pricing 2026: Free Posts, Sponsored Job Budgets, Premium and Smart Sourcing Costs

How much does it cost to post a job on Indeed?

A job post on Indeed can cost nothing, and a sponsored post costs whatever budget you set above Indeed’s minimum. Indeed has no flat fee per post. Its employer pricing page lists four plans: Free, Standard, Premium and Premium Plus, which is in beta.

All prices were checked on Indeed’s own pages on November 8, 2026. Indeed adjusts budgets by market, so the number in your employer dashboard is the one that counts.

Is posting a job on Indeed still free?

Yes, within limits. Indeed’s pricing explainer says employers posting directly on Indeed can post up to three free jobs per calendar month, each staying live for up to 30 days. After 30 days a free post is no longer visible.

Some jobs cannot be posted free at all. Indeed marks a job “sponsored only” when it comes from a careers site, an applicant tracking system or a data feed such as XML or API, and it can require sponsorship for other reasons too. So if your ATS sends jobs to Indeed, expect to pay for every one of them.

How does Indeed charge for Sponsored Jobs?

Indeed charges when job seekers act on your post, and what counts as an action depends on the budget type you pick. With a daily budget you are charged when someone clicks to view your job. With a monthly budget you are charged when someone clicks to apply, which Indeed calls a started application.

Either way, the budget renews automatically and the job stays sponsored until you pause or close it. Indeed is clear that you must pause or close the post to stop future charges.

Which budget type should I pick?

Pick monthly if you only want to pay for people who show intent to apply, and daily if you want to buy visibility and are happy paying for views. For most small employers posting one or two roles, monthly lines spend up with real candidate interest. Daily suits urgent roles where you want reach right now and plan to watch the numbers closely.

What is the minimum budget on Indeed?

Indeed’s pricing page says Sponsored Jobs start at $5 a day or $150 a month, and adds that prices may be higher based on role, title and location. You cannot sponsor below the minimum shown for your job, but you can always set more.

The minimum for a given job depends on how many job seekers are in your market, how many similar posts are competing for priority placement and which plan you choose. Indeed generates the Standard price from its recommendation system and sets the Premium price above it.

How much does Indeed cost per click or per application?

Indeed does not publish a rate. Its pricing explainer says pricing is results based, and your performance report shows clicks, started applications and cost per click so you can match them to your invoice.

Outside estimates give a rough range. 100Hires’ cost guide cites Vendr data putting clicks at about $0.25 to $5 or more, most often $0.50 to $3. Competitive roles and big cities sit at the top of that range.

What happened to pay per application?

In April 2023 Indeed announced pay for results pricing with pay per application and pay per started application, according to its Business Wire release. Today’s US pricing page describes only per click and per started application billing, so guides that still quote a price per completed application are out of date.

What is the difference between Standard and Premium Sponsored Jobs?

Premium buys better placement and more tools, at a higher price than Standard for the same job. Indeed says Premium Sponsored Jobs appear in the top three search results twice as often as Standard ones, and that Premium jobs posted directly on Indeed get 90% more quality applications than non Premium Sponsored Jobs, both from its own US data.

Premium Plus, still in beta, adds a Smart Fit Score from 0 to 100 with candidate summaries, license and certification gathering, AI follow up questions during the application and automated invites set by your instructions. Indeed has not published a price for it.

How much does Indeed Smart Sourcing cost?

Smart Sourcing is Indeed’s resume search and candidate matching product, billed separately from Sponsored Jobs. The US Smart Sourcing page lists two self serve plans and a custom Enterprise plan, with a 14 day free trial.

Professional adds extra filters such as willingness to relocate, an AI highlighter for skills, bulk messaging, SMS to opted in candidates, team sharing and ATS sync with Workday, iCIMS, isolved and Workable. Contacts from Premium Sponsored Jobs do not use up Smart Sourcing contacts, according to Indeed’s pricing FAQ.

When does Indeed bill you?

Indeed bills on the first day of the month or when your account spending reaches $500, whichever comes first. The invoice covers clicks or started applications from the previous billing period. You change a budget from the employer dashboard under Manage Budget.

What does Indeed really cost per month?

It depends on how many jobs you sponsor and for how long. The table uses Indeed’s published minimums and two common budgets. They are planning numbers, not quotes, because Indeed may require more for competitive roles.

Is Indeed worth paying for?

For hourly, local and high volume roles, usually yes. Indeed is where most job seekers start, and the free tier lets you test a role before you spend. The trade off is applicant quality: a big audience brings plenty of applicants who do not fit, so screening questions matter.

For senior, technical or niche roles, Indeed often works better alongside sourcing than on its own. Compare it with LinkedIn job posting pricing, ZipRecruiter pricing and ZipRecruiter vs Indeed, see our Indeed alternatives guide, or browse our where to post jobs list.

How can you cut your Indeed costs?

• Use the three free posts first. Post directly on Indeed rather than through your ATS for low priority roles, since ATS jobs are usually sponsored only.
• Pick monthly for intent. A monthly budget pays for started applications rather than every click.
• Add screening questions. They are free on every plan and cut time spent on poor fits.
• Pause or close filled jobs right away. Sponsorship keeps running until you stop it.
• Buy Premium only for hard roles. It costs more per job, so save it for roles that stall on Standard.
• Measure cost per hire. Our source of hire calculator shows whether Indeed beats your other channels.

Quick answers

The bottom line

Sources: Indeed pricing, Indeed pricing explainer, Indeed Smart Sourcing, Business Wire release, 100Hires cost guide