LinkedIn vs Indeed vs Glassdoor: Where Should You Post Your Job Ad?

The question comes up in almost every SME: "Where should we post?" With a dozen major platforms available, variable budgets, and very different audiences, the choice can quickly become overwhelming.

The reality is: there's no single right answer. The ideal platform depends on your sector, the profile you're looking for, your budget, and your level of employer brand awareness. What works for a London-based tech scale-up doesn't necessarily work for a manufacturing SME in the Midlands.

In this article, we compare the 6 main platforms available in the UK, with their strengths, limits and actual positioning in 2026.

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The 6 Platforms at a Glance

| Platform | Estimated audience | Pricing model | Target profiles | |---|---|---|---| | LinkedIn | 35M+ UK users | Paid (per click or subscription) | Professionals, qualified profiles, tech | | Indeed | 15M+ monthly visits UK | Freemium (free + sponsored) | All levels, all sectors | | Glassdoor | 67M global, strong UK presence | Subscription or per-post | All levels, employer brand-aware candidates | | Reed | 18M+ registered candidates | Per post or subscription | All UK sectors and levels | | Totaljobs | 12M+ registered | Per post or subscription | All sectors, strong regional coverage | | Welcome to the Jungle | Growing UK presence | Monthly subscription | Tech, startups, young professionals |

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LinkedIn

What It Really Is

LinkedIn is the world's professional network. It's far more than a job board: it's an employer branding platform, a networking hub, and an active sourcing channel. With 35 million UK users, it's the leading passive candidate network.

The Strengths

• Massive audience for qualified profiles (managers, directors, technical experts)
• Active sourcing possible via LinkedIn Recruiter (direct candidate outreach)
• Integrated employer branding: your company page, posts and employee recommendations strengthen your attractiveness
• Precise targeting: sector, job title, experience level, location, education

The Limits

• High cost: a sponsored job post can cost between £200 and £700 depending on duration and targeting
• Variable application quality: the algorithm can generate low-quality applications if targeting isn't precise
• Less effective for non-professional profiles, manual trades, or entry-level roles

Best For

Professional and management roles, B2B sales, digital marketing, tech, engineers. Particularly effective for companies with a strong brand presence on the platform.

Reference budget: £300–600 per post for 30 days sponsored.

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Indeed

What It Really Is

Indeed is the number one generalist job board by volume in the UK. Its strength: a very large audience, an accessible freemium model, and coverage across all sectors and experience levels.

The Strengths

• The largest volume of applications in the UK, across all categories
• Freemium model: free posting possible, with sponsored options on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis
• All profiles: from technicians to directors, from services to industry
• Aggregation: Indeed also indexes jobs posted on other sites (including your careers page)
• Simplicity: easy to use for both recruiters and candidates

The Limits

• Variable application quality: volume is high, but sorting takes time
• Limited employer branding: company pages are less developed than on other platforms
• CPC can escalate quickly on competitive roles (developers, senior profiles)

Best For

All-level recruitment, sectors with limited coverage on other platforms (logistics, retail, hospitality, construction), SMEs with a tight recruitment budget.

Reference budget: £0 to £300 per post depending on sponsorship level.

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Glassdoor

What It Really Is

Glassdoor is unique in combining a jobs platform with company reviews, salary transparency and interview insights. Candidates who come to Glassdoor are particularly employer-brand aware — they research companies before applying.

The Strengths

• Research-minded candidates: candidates on Glassdoor investigate deeply before applying — they tend to be more deliberate
• Salary benchmarking: your salary ranges are visible and compared to market data — transparency is rewarded
• Employer brand management: responding to reviews (positive and negative) builds credibility
• Strong reach for candidates who care about workplace culture and values

The Limits

• Your reviews are visible: a poor Glassdoor rating is a conversion killer. This is a risk if your employer brand needs work
• Less effective for volume: not the platform for high-volume, operational hiring
• Requires active management of your employer profile for maximum impact

Best For

Companies with strong culture and values who want to attract brand-aligned candidates. Particularly effective for tech, professional services and purpose-driven organisations.

Reference budget: £300–800 per post, or an enhanced profile subscription.

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Reed

What It Really Is

Reed is the UK's largest domestic job board, with 18 million registered candidates. It covers all sectors and experience levels and is particularly strong in professional services, finance, healthcare and education.

The Strengths

• Largest registered UK candidate database of any domestic platform
• Sector depth: particularly strong in finance, HR, legal, healthcare, education
• Strong regional coverage: effective for SMEs outside of major cities
• Recruiter tools: good applicant management and communication features built in

The Limits

• Less dominant in tech: developers and digital roles often perform better on LinkedIn or specialist boards
• Brand perception: seen as more traditional, less attractive to candidates seeking startup or innovative company cultures
• Cost per post without an annual subscription can be high

Best For

Professional services roles (accountants, HR professionals, legal, healthcare), regional SMEs, and sectors where Reed has strong candidate databases.

Reference budget: £150–400 per post, or annual subscription from ~£1,200.

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Totaljobs

What It Really Is

Totaljobs is one of the UK's most established job boards, with strong national coverage and particularly deep regional reach. It's part of the Stepstone Group alongside Jobsite.

The Strengths

• National reach with strong regional depth: effective outside London and major cities
• Volume of candidates across a wide variety of sectors
• CV database access for proactive sourcing
• Competitive pricing relative to LinkedIn

The Limits

• Less brand-focused than LinkedIn or Glassdoor
• Less differentiated in the tech and digital sector
• Interface less modern than some competitors

Best For

Regional SMEs, operational and support roles, manufacturing, logistics, retail and healthcare. Good complement to Indeed for broader coverage.

Reference budget: £200–500 per post, or subscription packages available.

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Synthetic Comparison: Which Platform for Which Profile?

| Profile sought | Recommended platform | |---|---| | Developer / Tech | LinkedIn + (Welcome to the Jungle for EU hires) | | B2B Sales | LinkedIn + Indeed | | Senior executive | LinkedIn + Reed | | Operational / Entry level | Indeed + Totaljobs | | Apprentice / Graduate | Indeed + Glassdoor + LinkedIn | | Marketing / Communications | LinkedIn + Glassdoor | | Finance / Accounting | Reed + LinkedIn + ACCA jobs | | Rare or specialist profile | LinkedIn Recruiter (active sourcing) |

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The Real Winning Strategy: A Channel Mix

The perfect platform doesn't exist. The winning strategy in 2026 is targeted multi-posting: publishing simultaneously on 4 to 6 relevant platforms, adapting the message slightly if needed.

The advantages:

• More visibility = more applications = better pool to choose from
• You reach both active and passive candidates
• You reduce the risk of depending on a single channel

The challenge: managing multiple postings and multiple separate candidate inboxes is very time-consuming. That's precisely where an ATS with automatic multi-posting changes the game: one job ad written, posted everywhere in a single click, all applications centralised in one place.

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Conclusion: Diversify, Centralise, Measure

Platform choice is a strategic decision — not just a budget question. One pound invested on the right platform for the right profile is worth ten times more than a pound wasted on an ill-suited channel.

The key: diversify your channels, centralise your applications, and measure what works for your business. The data from your previous hires is your best guide for the next ones.

Want to post to all the right platforms in one click and receive every application in a single space? Discover Seeklon and its intelligent multi-posting across 50+ job boards — to save time and never miss a strong profile.