Indeed alternatives for behavioral health hiring, side by side
| Attribute | Indeed | BehavioralHires | ABAI Career Center | NASW Career Center | ACA Career Central | iHireMentalHealth | SUD Jobs | SimplyHired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A general job site covering every industry | A job board built only for behavioral health: mental health, substance use treatment and ABA | The behavior analysis association's career center | The social workers' association's job board (NASW JobLink) | The counseling association's career center | A mental health job board sold as job-slot plans | Counselor Magazine's job board for addiction and behavioral health | A general job site whose postings run through Indeed |
| Roles covered | General — all industries | Therapists, LCSWs, counselors, MFTs, psychiatric NPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, substance abuse counselors, BCBAs, RBTs, behavioral health technicians, case managers, peer support specialists and clinical directors | Behavior analysis roles | Social work roles | Counseling roles | Mental health roles | Addiction and behavioral health roles: SUD counselors, prescribers, nurses, peer support specialists, case managers | General — all industries |
| Pricing model | Free organic posts (some jobs sponsored-only) plus Sponsored Jobs billed per click or started application | One-time payment per 30-day post, or a monthly slot plan | Not published | Per-posting packages | Not published | Monthly or quarterly job-slot plans | Free postings | Free postings; free or sponsored posts also appear on Indeed |
| Published price | Not published — Indeed recommends a budget per job; the minimum shows at sponsorship | $199 Standard or $399 Featured per post at launch pricing; slot plans $899/mo for 10 live posts or $1,749/mo for 25 (arranged by contacting BehavioralHires) | Not published | Basic $440 (30 days), Enhanced $550 (30 days), Premium $725 (60 days) | Not published | $369/mo for 1 slot, $450/mo for 3, $799/mo for 10 (lower per month on quarterly plans) | Free | Free to post; exclusions apply |
| Contract | None — sponsored plans can be cancelled at any time and you set the ad duration | None — single posts are one-time payments; slot plans bill monthly and cancel anytime | Not published | Not published | Not published | None — upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time, no long-term commitment | None — free posts run 90 days or until filled | Not published |
| How candidates apply | On Indeed, via Indeed Apply | On the employer's own application page; no candidate profiles or resume database | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Where listings appear | On Indeed; sponsored jobs also get email advertising and job feed placement | The matching role and city pages on behavioralhires.com, plus Google Jobs | The ABAI Career Center and partner sites such as ZipRecruiter, Google for Jobs and Adzuna/LinkedIn | The NASW Career Center (NASW JobLink) | ACA Career Central | iHire's network and partner sites like Google and Indeed | SUD Jobs | SimplyHired and Indeed |
As of October 2026, checked on each company's own website.
Why do behavioral health employers look for an alternative to Indeed?
Start with what Indeed genuinely offers: reach across industries and a free option.
Many jobs can be posted there for free, subject to Indeed's terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits.
The friction starts with pricing.
Indeed publishes no fixed price for a Sponsored Job: the recommended budget comes from its recommendation system, which weighs market factors such as job competitiveness, your hiring timeline and the supply of job seekers.
You are billed for job seeker interactions — clicks or started applications — and spending is invoiced on the first of the month or when the account reaches $500, whichever comes first.
There are two more wrinkles for specialty employers.
Some jobs are sponsored-only — for example postings that come from a career site, a data feed or an applicant tracking system — and Indeed reserves the right to require that a job must be sponsored for any reason.
And a therapist or BCBA post sits alongside openings from every other industry, so the applicant pool is not pre-filtered to behavioral health.
Flat-price, field-specific boards are the alternative: you know what a post costs before you buy it, and the board is dedicated to the field you are hiring in.
Which niche job boards cover behavioral health roles?
BehavioralHires is built only for behavioral health: mental health, substance use treatment and ABA.
It covers the range from therapist to clinical director, including BCBAs and RBTs, charges a published flat price per post, and offers monthly slot plans (arranged by contacting BehavioralHires) for organizations that are always hiring.
The BehavioralHires fact sheet has the full list.
ABAI Career Center is the Association for Behavior Analysis International's career center.
ABAI says jobs posted there are also distributed to partner sites such as ZipRecruiter, Google for Jobs and Adzuna/LinkedIn.
Its posting rates were not published on pages we could open, so ask ABAI for current prices.
NASW Career Center (NASW JobLink) is the National Association of Social Workers' job board.
Packages run from $440 for a 30-day Basic post to $725 for a 60-day Premium post.
ACA Career Central is the American Counseling Association's career center — a specialized job board it invites employers to post open positions on.
Its rates sit on a posting page we could not open, so ask ACA for current prices.
iHireMentalHealth sells mental health job slots on monthly or quarterly plans — $369 a month for 1 slot up to $799 a month for 10 — and you can swap jobs in and out of a slot as roles are filled.
SUD Jobs, the job board of Counselor Magazine (the official publication of the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals), posts addiction-focused jobs free, and each one stays live for 90 days or until filled.
SimplyHired is not a separate option: its own post-jobs page says it has partnered with Indeed, and a job posted there also appears on Indeed.
What does each option cost to post one behavioral health job?
For a single post, the published flat prices are:
- BehavioralHires: $199 for a 30-day Standard post or $399 for Featured — one-time payments, at launch pricing (regular prices $299 and $499).
- NASW Career Center: $440 for a 30-day Basic post.
- iHireMentalHealth: a single job slot is $369 a month on a monthly plan.
- SUD Jobs: free.
Indeed does not fit this list because it has no fixed price.
A sponsored post is a budget you set and adjust, billed per interaction, and new US accounts get a $75 credit toward a first sponsored job on Indeed's counselor, social worker and psychologist hiring pages.
Posting free is still possible, subject to Indeed's limits, and some jobs are sponsored-only.
When is Indeed still the better choice?
Keep Indeed in the mix when reach matters more than price predictability.
A free organic post costs nothing and can be enough for a role with steady demand.
For sponsored placement, Indeed's own figures — self-reported — say the paid Standard tier draws 3X more applications than a free post, and sponsored plans can be cancelled at any time.
The $75 first-job credit makes the first sponsored test inexpensive for new US accounts on its counselor, social worker and psychologist pages.
Indeed is also the pragmatic pick for roles outside behavioral health: a biller, an office manager or a marketing hire can all be posted in the same place, which a behavioral-health-only board does not cover by design.
The trade is control.
Sponsored costs move with the market, Indeed can require sponsorship for some jobs, and the applicant pool spans every industry, so you do the filtering.
If you would rather know what a post costs before you buy and keep the listing on a board dedicated to behavioral health, a niche board with a published rate card does that better.
How should you choose where to post?
Match the board to the role and to how you want to pay:
- Mixed behavioral health staff (therapists, counselors, social workers, BCBAs, RBTs, technicians): BehavioralHires covers all of them on one board, at launch prices of $199 or $399 a post, or on a slot plan.
- BCBAs and behavior analysts: the ABAI Career Center — ABAI says posted jobs also reach partner sites such as ZipRecruiter and Google for Jobs.
- Licensed clinical social workers: the NASW Career Center.
- Counselors: ACA Career Central, the counseling association's career center.
- Several openings across locations, paid monthly: BehavioralHires slot plans (10 or 25 posts live at once; arranged by contacting BehavioralHires) or iHireMentalHealth's job slots.
- Addiction programs on no budget: SUD Jobs, free for 90-day listings.
- Maximum general reach, with screening time to spare: stay with Indeed and use a free post wherever one qualifies.
Prices and terms change, so check each board's own pages before you buy.
You can also post the job on BehavioralHires — it goes live the moment checkout is confirmed — or check the current prices first.
Which one should you choose?
Stay on Indeed if…
- You want one board that spans every industry, and free organic posts are bringing you enough applicants.
- You prefer to pay only when a candidate clicks or starts an application.
- You hire outside behavioral health too — billing, office management, IT — and want one site for all of it.
- You have the screening capacity for a mixed applicant pool.
Choose BehavioralHires if…
- Every role you hire is behavioral health: therapist, counselor, social worker, MFT, psychiatric NP, psychiatrist, psychologist, substance abuse counselor, BCBA, RBT, behavioral health technician, case manager, peer support specialist or clinical director.
- You want a published flat price — $199 or $399 per 30-day post at launch pricing — instead of a variable per-click bill.
- You keep several roles open across sites and want a monthly slot plan — 10 or 25 posts live at once, arranged by contacting BehavioralHires — instead of paying per post.
- You want candidates sent to your own application page, with no profile for applicants to create.
Choose the ABAI Career Center if…
- You are hiring BCBAs or other behavior analysis staff.
- You want posted jobs also distributed to ABAI's partner sites, such as ZipRecruiter and Google for Jobs.
Choose the NASW Career Center if…
- You are hiring licensed clinical social workers or other social work roles.
- You want your listing on the social work association's own job board.
- Your budget fits per-posting packages of $440 to $725.
Choose ACA Career Central if…
- You are hiring counselors.
- You want your openings on the counseling association's own career center.
Choose SUD Jobs if…
- You run an addiction or substance use treatment program.
- You want postings that are free and need no account.
- A 90-day listing matches your hiring pace.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Indeed for behavioral health jobs?
SUD Jobs posts addiction-focused roles free — no account or password needed — and each job stays live for 90 days or until it is filled.
Indeed itself also allows free posts for many jobs, subject to its terms, quality standards and usage limits, though some jobs are sponsored-only.
SimplyHired is free too, but its postings run through Indeed, so it is not a separate audience.
How much does a Sponsored Job on Indeed cost?
There is no published fixed price.
You set a budget for each job and are billed for job seeker interactions such as clicks or started applications.
Indeed's recommendation system suggests the budget, weighing factors like job competitiveness, your hiring timeline and the supply of job seekers.
Spending is invoiced on the first of the month or when the account reaches $500, whichever comes first.
Does Indeed give new employers a discount?
Yes — on its counselor, social worker and psychologist hiring pages, Indeed offers a $75 credit to sponsor your first job.
It is limited to new accounts in the US that post a job, and it expires one year after the account is created.
Once the credit is used up or expires, charges follow the Sponsored Job budget you set.
What is the cheapest way to post a BCBA job?
Two flat-price options are worth pricing out.
BehavioralHires charges $199 for a 30-day Standard post at launch pricing ($399 to make it Featured), and it covers BCBA and RBT jobs alongside the rest of behavioral health.
SUD Jobs is free, but its board is for addiction and behavioral health roles — it is not an ABA-focused board.
The ABAI Career Center is the field's association board; its current rates were not published on pages we could open, so ask ABAI directly.
Are niche behavioral health job boards better than Indeed?
They are different tools, and many employers use both.
Niche boards put your listing on a board dedicated to behavioral health and publish flat prices, so you know the cost before you post.
Indeed gives you a general audience across industries and free organic posts, but sponsored placement has no fixed price and you pay per interaction.
Choose based on how specific your role is and how you want to pay.
Is SimplyHired a separate job board from Indeed?
No. SimplyHired's own post-jobs page says it has partnered with Indeed and that a job posted through SimplyHired, free or sponsored, also appears on Indeed.
Its free-posting offer also excludes job sites, staffing agencies and certain other job types at Indeed's discretion.
If you want an audience beyond Indeed, SimplyHired does not add one.
How much does it cost to post on BehavioralHires?
A Standard post is $199 and a Featured post is $399 at launch pricing — regular prices are $299 and $499.
Each runs for 30 days and is a one-time payment with nothing to sign.
Organizations that are always hiring can take a slot plan instead — $899 a month for 10 live posts or $1,749 a month for 25 — arranged by contacting BehavioralHires.
Who is responsible for screening once the job is posted?
You are.
BehavioralHires says in its terms that it is not a staffing or recruiting agency and does not screen, interview or vouch for candidates or employers — the board delivers the listing, and the hiring decision stays with your team.
The same logic applies anywhere: check what each board does and does not do before you post, and judge results on the role, the pay and your own process.
Where these facts come from
- Indeed: indeed.com/hire/pricing (checked October 5, 2026)
- Indeed: indeed.com/hire/how-to-hire/counselor (checked October 5, 2026)
- ABAI Career Center: abainternational.org/careers/employers.aspx (checked October 5, 2026)
- NASW Career Center: joblink.socialworkers.org/employer-offers (checked October 5, 2026)
- ACA Career Central: counseling.org/resources/career-central (checked October 5, 2026)
- iHireMentalHealth: ihirementalhealth.com/employers/solutions/jobads (checked October 5, 2026)
- SUD Jobs: sudjobs.com (checked October 5, 2026)
- SUD Jobs: sudjobs.com/post-a-job (checked October 5, 2026)
- SimplyHired: simplyhired.com/post-jobs (checked October 5, 2026)