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Hiring the right talent can be difficult, but the right candidate sourcing platform can make a big difference in your experience by bringing exceptional employees on board. There are many options available, including popular platforms, such as LinkedIn and SimplyHired. So, which is better? We outline the key features of SimplyHired vs. LinkedIn to help you decide.
Featured Partners
Advertisem*nt
1
BambooHR
Onboarding
Yes
Employee Records
Yes
Standout Features
ATS
2
Pinpoint ATS
Applicant tracking
Yes
Onboarding
Yes
Standout features
24/7 customer support, easy-to-use interface, fast and flexible workflows, hundreds of integrations
3
ClearCompany
Applicant tracking/onboarding
Yes
Performance management
Yes
Standout Features
Employee engagement
LinkedIn vs. SimplyHired: At a Glance
SimplyHired is a job board that allows you to post jobs, review résumés and contact candidates. It’s best for employers who want to post jobs on multiple platforms because SimplyHired cross-posts your listing to over seven different boards. Its pricing process operates differently compared to its competition because you only pay once you’ve narrowed down a candidate’s résumé and need their contact information. These rates start at $9.99 per reveal but depend on the location of the job, the position and market data.
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals, so it’s not only great for posting jobs but also for sourcing candidates, evaluating skills and building relationships. It’s best for employers who want to target specific candidates or use more sophisticated evaluation tools. This is because of its skill assessments, so employers can verify a candidate’s aptitude for the skills required for the position. It’s free to post a job, but you’ll get better traction by sponsoring the listing, which is done on a pay-per-click basis.
LinkedIn also offers a free 30-day trial for its paid plans. These paid plans start at $120 per month or $1,999 per year. For its higher-tiered Recruiter plans, which are best for companies hiring often, you’ll have to contact its sales team for a quote. Recruiter plans will even highlight candidates who are more likely to respond, engage with your brand and are open to work.
SimplyHired
Free Plan
Yes
Free Trial
No
Screener Questions
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Editor's Take
SimplyHired is a great option for companies looking for a comprehensive candidate sourcing platform. It offers screener questions to help you weed out unqualified candidates and a built-in applicant tracking system (ATS) to make it easy for you to track applicants throughout the hiring process.
When you decide not to hire a particular applicant, mark them as “not interested” and it will let the candidate know you’re moving in a different direction. SimplyHired integrates with over seven job boards, including Indeed, Glassdoor, GetHired, CareerBliss, Jobrapido, JobTarget and LiveCareer, so you have plenty of options to help spread the word about your open positions.
Instead of paying a monthly plan, SimplyHired operates on a pay-per-reveal basis. This means you get the candidate’s résumé, and if you decide that’s someone you want to move forward with, you pay to reveal contact information. Prices start at $9.99 per reveal and depend on the location of the job, job type and market factors.
Pros & Cons
- Pay nothing upfront
- Easy to navigate
- Applicant tracking
- Free HR software
- Cross-posts listings to over seven job boards
- Pricing is variable and starts at $9.99 to view a candidate’s contact info
- No sponsored listings
- You are still charged if the applicant doesn’t respond to you
Free Plan
Yes
(limited to one job posting at a time)
Free Trial
30 days
Screener Questions
Yes
Yes
(limited to one job posting at a time)
30 days
Yes
Editor's Take
LinkedIn is one of the most popular platforms for candidate sourcing and recruitment. It’s useful as a professional network, helping you identify people who might be a good fit for your company and connect with them. LinkedIn also offers screener questions to help you weed out unqualified candidates, as well as a built-in ATS to make it easy for you to track applicants throughout the hiring process.
Post jobs for free, which can be a major advantage if you’re looking to save money on your recruitment efforts. The downside is that your job postings will be buried on the site among thousands of other companies advertising open roles.
If you want to amplify your reach and get more candidates interested in your job openings, you can purchase paid advertising from LinkedIn. This can be a great way to target specific candidates based on their skills, job title or other factors.
Pros & Cons
- Network of over 800 million career-oriented professionals
- Built-in skills testing
- Great for sourcing executive-level candidates
- Option to sponsor job listings to increase visibility
- Easily enable staff to share job openings with their networks
- The Recruiter Lite option only allows you to market the job to first-, second- and third-degree contacts
- Must contact the sales team for pricing on higher-tiered plans
- Higher-tiered plans can cost thousands of dollars
How the Services Stack Up
| SimplyHired | ||
|---|---|---|
Free Job Postings | Yes | Yes |
Limitation | Costs $9.99 to view each candidate’s contact info | Post one job at a time |
Résumés in Database | Not reported | Not reported, but it has more than 800 million active members |
Candidate Evaluation Tool | No | Yes |
Number of Job Boards It Posts To | More than seven | LinkedIn-only |
Sponsored Listings | No | Pay-per-click |
Free Plan
While employers can post jobs for free with SimplyHired, to access candidate information, they must pay to reveal contact details. LinkedIn users can post jobs for free but have to pay to sponsor the listing.
Free Trial
SimplyHired does not offer a free trial. For any of LinkedIn’s paid plans, there’s a 30-day free trial, provided you’ve never had a paid plan before.
Pricing
Pricing to reveal a candidate’s contact details varies with SimplyHired. The position, location and market-rate all determine the price. These rates start at $9.99 per reveal. For any of the paid plans with LinkedIn, you’ll pay a minimum of $120 per month or $1,999 per year. Higher-tiered plans require you to get a quote from its sales team.
Résumés in Database
Neither LinkedIn nor SimplyHired reports the number of résumés in its database. LinkedIn has more than 740 million active members, so one can assume, as a professional networking site, many of those users have résumés on file.
Candidate Evaluation Tools
Other than offering screener questions, SimplyHired doesn’t have any kind of sophisticated candidate evaluation tool other providers have. LinkedIn has skills tests to verify the candidate’s aptitude for the job. It has an entire talent hub with tools to manage the entire relationship-building and hiring process.
Number of Job Boards It Posts To
In 2016, Recruit Holdings Co. acquired SimplyHired. This company also owns Glassdoor and Indeed. It makes sense it cross-posts jobs to these platforms, plus several others. LinkedIn does not cross-post your listing to any other job boards.
Featured Partners
Advertisem*nt
1
BambooHR
Onboarding
Yes
Employee Records
Yes
Standout Features
ATS
2
Pinpoint ATS
Applicant tracking
Yes
Onboarding
Yes
Standout features
24/7 customer support, easy-to-use interface, fast and flexible workflows, hundreds of integrations
3
ClearCompany
Applicant tracking/onboarding
Yes
Performance management
Yes
Standout Features
Employee engagement
Sponsored Listings
SimplyHired doesn’t offer a way to sponsor your listings, so yours might get lost among all the other jobs posted. LinkedIn provides sponsored listings on a pay-per-click basis, so you only have to pay when the listing performs (such as when a candidate views the job).
Bottom Line
SimplyHired and LinkedIn are both great options for companies looking to hire the right talent. SimplyHired is a good choice if you’re looking for a comprehensive candidate sourcing platform, as it offers screening questions and an applicant tracking system (ATS). LinkedIn is a good choice if you’re looking to build professional relationships with top talent, as well as post jobs for free and purchase paid advertising. Ultimately, the best choice for your company will depend on your specific needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which is better: SimplyHired or LinkedIn?
It depends on your personal preferences and needs. LinkedIn is ideal for employers who want to target specific candidates or use more advanced evaluation tools. SimplyHired works best for employers who want to post jobs on multiple platforms.
Can I post a job for free on LinkedIn and SimplyHired?
It’s free to post a job on LinkedIn, but you’ll get better results by sponsoring the listing, which is done on a pay-per-click basis. SimplyHired, on the other hand, operates on a pay-per-reveal basis. So, you can get a candidate’s résumé, but if you decide you want to move forward, you pay to reveal their contact information.
