Job Search Sites: The Best Job Search Engines Compared

Job search websites is the broad name for every site that helps you find openings. It covers search engines, job boards that sell job postings to employers, company career pages, government job sites and boards for one field or one kind of work.

The types differ in where the listings come from and who pays. The table under Best Job Search Engines below compares them side by side.

Search engines work best with a short, specific query and a location. These steps get you from a first search to an application quickly.

1. Enter one job title or skill, such as medical assistant or forklift, and a city, state or ZIP code.
2. Sort by date to see the newest postings first, because early applicants are more likely to be read.
3. Open a result and read the full posting on the original site, including pay, schedule and requirements.
4. Apply on that site, then save the job so you can find it again.
5. Save the search or create an email alert so new matches come to you.

Searching by place first? Our job search near me page searches by city or ZIP code and can use your browser's location if you allow it.

Any ranking of job search sites depends on what you measure, so treat lists that call one site number one with care. A site that is strong for nursing jobs in a big city can be thin for trucking jobs in a rural county.

A practical test is to run the same search, with the same title and ZIP code, on two or three sites. Compare how many of the results are recent, how many are duplicates and how many link to the employer's own posting.

Jobs Search is a free job search engine: searching, saving jobs, saving searches and email alerts cost nothing, and you do not need an account. You can sign in with your email only if you want saved items on several devices.

Most mainstream job sites are free for job seekers because employers, partners or advertisers pay. The Federal Trade Commission warns that a request to pay to get a job is a sign of a scam, so treat any fee to apply or be hired as a warning.

Remote job search engines let you search remote and work from home listings across many sources at once. On Jobs Search, type remote or work from home as a keyword, or leave out the location to search the whole country.

Read each remote posting closely. Some remote jobs still require you to live in certain states or work in a set time zone.

Legitimate job search engines show who posted each job and send you to the employer or a known job board to apply. The most legit job search websites never ask you to pay to be hired, and they do not ask for your bank details or Social Security number before you have a confirmed offer.

• Be wary of offers that ask you to pay for training, starter kits or certifications to get the job.
• Never deposit a check from a new employer and send part of the money on to someone else.
• Treat unexpected texts offering online work with no details as a likely scam.
• Contact the company through a website or phone number you find yourself, not one the recruiter gave you.

These warning signs come from the Federal Trade Commission's consumer guidance on job scams. If you spot a suspicious posting, report it to the FTC and to the site where you found it.

Job search sites besides Indeed fall into the same types as the table above: other job boards, search engines that pull from many boards, company career pages, USAJOBS and state job banks. Free job search sites like Indeed include Monster, which says on its own site that job search is free, and ZipRecruiter, which says the same for job seekers.

Job search sites like Monster let you upload a resume so employers can find you; Monster lets you hide your resume or post a confidential version. Job search sites like Craigslist work differently: Craigslist lists local jobs by city and charges employers a fee for most job postings, with the amount varying by area.

No site is better than Indeed for everyone; a site is better for you if it has more current listings in your field and area. For federal jobs, USAJOBS is the official source, and for a single employer, its own career site is the most complete and up-to-date list.

Niche and professional boards can also beat a general board when your field is small or licensed, because employers there target people with your training. Use the criteria under Best Job Search Engines to compare any two sites.

LinkedIn combines job postings with a professional network. Its free basic account lets you view and apply to jobs and save searches with alerts, while Premium Career is a paid plan that adds tools such as applicant insights, extra filters and InMail messages.

Job search sites other than LinkedIn that also lean on your professional background are professional association job boards and alumni or university career networks. Whether any of them are job search sites better than LinkedIn depends on your field; an association board in a licensed profession often lists jobs that general sites miss.

ZipRecruiter describes its job search and job alerts as free for job seekers, and it sells hiring plans to employers. Sites like it are other job boards that send matching jobs by email.

Jobs Search offers the same kind of help: you can set up free job alerts for any search and get new matching jobs by email, daily or weekly, without an account.

We do not rank sites by popularity, because visitor counts come from outside estimates that we cannot verify. Popularity also says little about whether a site lists jobs in your field and town.

A busy site does have one practical effect: popular postings draw many applicants. That is a good reason to sort by newest and apply early wherever you search.

This page does not give ratings or scores, since any rating would be our opinion of our own competitors. Rate sites yourself with the same few questions instead.

• Are most listings from the last two weeks?
• Does each listing name the employer and link to the original posting?
• Can you search and apply without paying?
• Can you filter by location and date, and see pay when the employer lists it?
• Does the site explain what it does with your data?

Rather than a top ten list of brands, here are ten kinds of places worth checking in a US job search. Most people find enough openings by using three or four of them well.

1. A job search engine that covers many boards, such as Jobs Search Platform.
2. One or two large general job boards.
3. Career pages of employers you want to work for.
4. USAJOBS for federal jobs.
5. Your state's job bank.
6. City, county and school district job pages.
7. Professional association job boards in your field.
8. Remote-only job boards if you want to work from home.
9. Staffing agencies for temporary or contract work.
10. Your local American Job Center or college career center.

USAJOBS is the main job search engine for veterans who want federal work. Its search has a Veterans filter, and job announcements open to veterans show a shield icon; veterans' preference can apply to many federal jobs, though it does not guarantee one.

CareerOneStop's Veterans Job Matcher turns a military job title or code into civilian careers with similar skills and links to local postings. American Job Centers offer free in-person job search help, and our guide on how to get a government job covers federal applications step by step.

For professionals, the strongest sites are usually the ones run by or for your field: professional association job boards, licensing body listings and alumni networks. Employers who post there are looking for people with your specific training.

Pair a field board with a broad search engine to see openings at employers who post only on general sites. Our salary comparison by job title shows advertised pay from current postings, so you can check an offer against the market.

Remote job search websites range from general job sites with a remote filter to boards that list only remote work. Job search sites for remote jobs are useful, but they also attract scams, so check that the employer is real before you share personal details.

Some remote-only boards charge a subscription to job seekers. Before paying, search the same titles on a free engine to see whether the listings are available anyway, and browse our work from home jobs page.