Cost comparison
What is the cheapest way to advertise a job on Indeed, Reed and CV-Library?
There is no published rate card. On 6 September 2026 we checked Reed, CV-Library, Indeed and Totaljobs in a real browser and none of the four published a price we could read — two returned a 404 at their own pricing URL, one refuses automated requests, and Indeed prices sponsored posts by auction rather than a fixed rate. For a small business the practical answer is a multi-board package from a flat-fee provider, where prices ARE published: £99 to £599 +VAT buys a listing across the major boards at once, against a direct-with-one-board cost you have to ring for. The cheapest option is rarely the cheapest outcome, because none of these packages reads the applications for you.
We tried to answer this with published prices. We could not
The honest starting point: the big UK job boards do not publish what they charge.
On 6 September 2026 we checked each of them in a real browser, with JavaScript running, at the pricing URL each one advertises:
| Board | What the pricing page returned |
|---|---|
| Reed | HTTP 404 — no pricing page at that path |
| CV-Library | HTTP 403 — refuses automated requests |
| Indeed | HTTP 404, and sponsored posts are priced by auction rather than a rate |
| Totaljobs | HTTP 404 — no pricing page at that path |
Zero out of four. That is not a criticism — board pricing genuinely varies by volume, contract length and sector, and they would rather have the conversation. But it does mean that anyone who tells you "Reed costs £X to post a job" has either negotiated that price themselves or is repeating someone else's guess. We are not going to add another guess to the pile.
So this page answers the question the way it can actually be answered: with the prices that are published.
What a multi-board package costs, published
Flat-fee advertising providers buy slots on the major boards in bulk and resell them as one package. Those prices are on their websites:
| Provider | Published price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring People — Starter | £99 | Entry package |
| AWD online | £224 +VAT or less | Multi-board advertising, per vacancy |
| Flat Fee Recruiter — Express | From £350 | Advertising, per vacancy |
| TalentFinder — Standard | £399 +VAT | 28-day listing across the major boards |
| TalentFinder — Premium | £499 +VAT | As above, extended reach |
| TalentFinder — Premium Plus | £599 +VAT | As above, branded |
| Hiring People — Premium to Targeted | £999 – £1,749 | Advertising plus screening services |
We sell one of these, so read our recommendation with that in mind. The figures are all linked to the pages they came from.
The cheapest published multi-board price here is not ours. Hiring People's £99 Starter and AWD's £224 +VAT are both below our £399, and if price alone decides it, those are the numbers to beat.
Direct with one board, or a package across several
Roughly:
- One board, one role, and you already have an account. Going direct can be cheapest, especially if you have negotiated a rate. You will not know until you ask them.
- Several boards. A package is almost always cheaper than buying the same slots individually, which is the entire business model of flat-fee advertising.
- You do not know which board works for your role. A package hedges that for you. The right board for a care assistant in Hull is not the right board for a management accountant in Reading.
What free posting is good for
There are genuinely free routes and they are not useless:
- Indeed's free tier. Real, but free posts rank below sponsored ones and usually fade within days.
- Your own careers page. Free, and it converts better than anything else for candidates who already know you.
- Find a Job, the government's service. Free, and strongest for high-volume roles.
- LinkedIn, for one free post at a time.
Free works for roles with a deep pool of active candidates. It rarely works for anything specialist, because the people you want are not looking.
The number that decides this, and it is not the advert price
Whatever you pay, an advert produces applications. Someone has to work them.
Across the 46 vacancies we filled and publish in full:
| Stage | Candidates |
|---|---|
| Sourced and screened | 1,542 |
| Presented to the client | 235 |
| Client interviews | 143 |
| Hires | 51 |
A median of 26 candidates worked per hire, of whom about 15% were worth presenting. Most of those conversations happen after 6pm, because the candidate is at work.
So the real comparison is not £99 against £399. It is:
- £99–£599 and roughly 26 conversations of your own time, versus
- £1,500–£4,000 for a managed search where somebody else has those conversations and you see a shortlist.
If you have the hours, buy the cheapest advert on the list above and keep the difference — that is a genuinely good decision and we would rather say so than sell you something you do not need. If nobody in the business has those evenings, the advert is the cheaper purchase and the more expensive outcome, because the applications sit unread for ten days and the good candidates accept something else.
Our answer, plainly
If you want the cheapest published multi-board advert, it is not us — it is Hiring People at £99 or AWD at £224 +VAT.
Ours is £399 +VAT for a 28-day listing across the major boards, with no commission when you hire. Where we would argue for the difference is on what happens next: if the advert does not produce the hire, Guaranteed Hire takes the whole search off you for £1,500–£4,000 +VAT by salary band, with a 100% refund if the role is not filled.
Related: should you advertise yourself or use a recruiter, why an advert gets no applications, and how to write a job advert that works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to post a job on Reed, CV-Library or Indeed?
None of them publishes a price you can read without contacting sales. We checked all three in a browser on 6 September 2026 — Reed and Totaljobs returned a 404 at their own pricing URLs, CV-Library refuses automated requests, and Indeed prices sponsored job posts by auction rather than a fixed rate. You have to speak to them, and the quote generally depends on volume and contract length.
What is the cheapest way for a small business to advertise a job on several UK boards?
A multi-board package from a flat-fee provider, because those prices are published. The lowest published figures are Hiring People's Starter at £99 and AWD online at £224 +VAT. TalentFinder's Standard package is £399 +VAT for a 28-day listing across the major boards. One package posts to all of them, so you are not negotiating separately with each board.
Is it cheaper to go direct to a job board than use a flat-fee provider?
For a single advert on a single board it can be, if you negotiate well. For a role you want on several boards it usually is not, because flat-fee providers buy board slots in bulk and resell them as one package. The bigger cost either way is not the advert — it is the time to work the applications it produces.
Can you post a job for free in the UK?
Yes. Indeed has a free posting tier, though free posts are ranked below sponsored ones and typically fade from view within a few days. Your own careers page, LinkedIn and the government's Find a Job service are also free. Free posting works for high-volume, easy-to-fill roles and rarely for anything specialist.
What is the real cost of advertising a job?
The advert is the small number. Across the 46 roles we filled and publish, it took a median of 26 candidates worked to make one hire, and only about 15% of those were worth putting in front of the employer. Whoever does that screening is the actual cost of an advertising-only package, and it is usually paid in someone's evenings rather than invoiced.
Sources
Want the fixed price for your role?
Advertise it yourself from £399 +VAT, or hand the whole search to a dedicated recruiter with Guaranteed Hire — a flat fee by salary band with a 100% refund if the role is not filled.
See Guaranteed Hire Advertise a job
Or call 0161 327 2895.