Indeed vs ZipRecruiter vs a behavioral-health-only board
| Attribute | Indeed | ZipRecruiter | BehavioralHires |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A general job site covering every industry | A general job board that also sends listings out to other job sites | A job board built only for behavioral health: mental health, substance use treatment and ABA |
| Roles covered | Every industry and role type, clinical and non-clinical | Every industry and role type, clinical and non-clinical | 14 behavioral health role pages, from therapist, LCSW and psychiatric NP to BCBA, RBT and clinical director |
| Pricing model | Free postings (subject to limits); sponsored jobs billed for job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications | Free trial, then Standard or Premium plans, monthly subscriptions with job slots, or pay-per-day options | One-time payment per post, or a monthly slot plan |
| Published price | Not published — Indeed's recommendation system generates the price from factors like job competitiveness, your hiring timeline and the supply of job seekers | Not published | $199 Standard or $399 Featured per 30-day post at launch pricing; slot plans $899 or $1,749 a month |
| Employer free option | Many jobs can be posted free, subject to Indeed's terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits | A free trial for new employers, no coupon code needed | None for employers; job seekers search and apply free |
| Billing | Sponsored Jobs bill on the first day of the month or when account spending reaches $500, whichever comes first | Monthly subscriptions, with pay-per-day options also offered | Single posts never renew; slot plans bill monthly and cancel anytime |
| Contract | Sponsored plans: no long-term contracts; you set the ad duration and can cancel at any time | Not published | None |
| Where a listing appears | On Indeed | ZipRecruiter plus 100+ job sites with one click, including Google Jobs and niche boards (self-reported) | The matching role and city pages, and Google Jobs |
| How candidates apply | Not published | Not published | On the employer's own application page; no candidate profiles or resume database |
As of October 2026, checked on each company's own website.
How does Indeed's pricing work for employers?
Indeed has two layers.
The free layer: many jobs can be posted at no cost, subject to Indeed's terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits.
The paid layer is sponsorship: Sponsored Jobs are invoiced for the amount spent on job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications from the previous billing period, and you are billed on the first day of the month or when account spending reaches $500, whichever comes first.
Two caveats before you count on the free option.
Some jobs are sponsored-only — for example jobs aggregated from a career site, published from a data feed or posted through an applicant tracking system — and Indeed reserves the right to require that a job must be sponsored for any reason.
And Indeed publishes no fixed sponsored rate: the Standard price is generated by Indeed's recommendation system from factors like job competitiveness, your hiring timeline and the supply of job seekers, with the minimum shown on the sponsorship page.
The pricing page lists four tiers: Free, Standard, Premium and Premium Plus (Beta).
Indeed says a Standard sponsored job gets 3X more applications than a free one, and a Premium job appears in the top three search results 2X more often than Standard — both self-reported.
Sponsored plans can be cancelled at any time: no long-term contracts, and you set the ad duration.
What does ZipRecruiter charge, and what does a plan include?
ZipRecruiter offers new employers a free trial, and no coupon code is needed.
It sells Standard and Premium plans, with free trials offered on both, plus monthly subscriptions with job slots and pay-per-day options.
Its plan prices are not published on the pages we checked.
Two product claims matter for this comparison.
ZipRecruiter says a job is sent to 100+ job sites with one click, including Google Jobs and niche job boards (self-reported), and it says unlimited clicks and applies are included on all jobs.
That second point is the structural difference the two pricing pages draw: ZipRecruiter says clicks and applies are included on its jobs, where a sponsored Indeed job is charged for each interaction.
What does one behavioral health hire cost on each?
On Indeed, the floor is a free organic post — if the job qualifies under Indeed's usage limits.
Once you sponsor, the price moves with the market: the recommendation system generates the Standard price, invoices reflect job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications, and billing triggers on the first of the month or at $500 in spend, whichever comes first.
New US accounts that post a job can start with a $75 sponsorship credit from Indeed's counselor, social worker or psychologist hiring pages; it expires one year after account creation, and charges after that follow the Sponsored Job budget.
On ZipRecruiter, the entry point can be the free trial, and the ongoing cost is whichever Standard or Premium plan, job-slot subscription or pay-per-day option you land on; ZipRecruiter's plan prices are not published on the pages we checked.
On the pages checked, in other words, neither site publishes a set price you can put in a budget spreadsheet for a therapist or BCBA opening.
BehavioralHires does: $199 per Standard post or $399 per Featured post at launch pricing, each a one-time payment.
Which is better for ABA companies and clinics — Indeed or ZipRecruiter?
Both are generalists: every industry and role type, clinical and non-clinical.
For an ABA company hiring RBTs, that cuts both ways.
Neither audience is gathered specifically around behavior analysis, so a BCBA or RBT posting sits beside every other kind of job, and screening qualified applicants falls to your team.
What you are really choosing between is the billing model: Indeed's free post plus optional per-interaction sponsorship, or ZipRecruiter's trial and monthly plan, with its one-click distribution to other job sites on top (self-reported).
A few rules of thumb.
If budget is the binding constraint, Indeed's free organic posting is a zero-cost way to test a role — assuming it qualifies under Indeed's limits.
If you would rather pay a subscription than a per-interaction bill, and you are hiring non-clinical roles (billing, intake, HR, facilities) alongside clinical ones, ZipRecruiter's monthly subscriptions with job slots match that mix.
If the opening is clinical and hard to fill — therapist, LCSW, psychiatric NP, BCBA, RBT — an audience that is already behavioral health does the targeting for you.
Where does BehavioralHires fit?
BehavioralHires is the third option: a job board built only for mental health, substance use treatment and applied behavior analysis, with 14 role pages from therapist, LCSW and psychiatric NP to BCBA, RBT and clinical director.
Posts are one-time payments — $199 Standard or $399 Featured at launch pricing — or monthly slot plans at $899 or $1,749 for organizations that are always hiring, with no contract.
Candidates apply on the hiring organization's own page; the fact sheet has every detail.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Indeed if…
- You want to test a role at zero cost first — many jobs post free, subject to Indeed's terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits.
- You are comfortable paying per interaction: sponsored jobs are invoiced for job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications, with no long-term contract and cancellation at any time.
- You want a general audience and are willing to screen: Indeed covers every industry, so a therapist or RBT posting sits beside every other kind of job.
Choose ZipRecruiter if…
- You want to try the product before paying: new employers get a free trial, and no coupon code is needed.
- You prefer paying for a plan rather than per interaction — ZipRecruiter says unlimited clicks and applies are included on all jobs.
- You want one posting pushed to many sites in one click — ZipRecruiter says 100+ sites, including Google Jobs and niche job boards (self-reported).
Choose BehavioralHires if…
- Every opening is a behavioral health role — therapist, LCSW, counselor, MFT, psychiatric NP, psychologist, BCBA, RBT, behavioral health technician, case manager or peer support — and you want a board where each listing is in-field.
- You want a published price you can budget: $199 per Standard post or $399 Featured at launch pricing, one-time, never renews.
- You are always hiring and want a slot plan — $899 a month for 10 live posts or $1,749 for 25 — with no contract and unlimited free swaps.
- You want candidates applying on your own application page, with no candidate profiles or resume database.
Frequently asked questions
Is Indeed or ZipRecruiter cheaper for hiring a therapist?
It depends on how you use them.
Indeed lets many jobs post free, subject to its terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits, and you only pay if you sponsor — but there is no fixed sponsored price, and invoices reflect job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications.
ZipRecruiter offers new employers a free trial, plus Standard or Premium plans, monthly job-slot subscriptions or pay-per-day options, with plan prices not published.
BehavioralHires publishes its price: $199 per Standard post at launch pricing.
Can I post a behavioral health job on Indeed for free?
Often, yes.
Indeed says many jobs can be posted for free, subject to its terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits.
Two caveats: some jobs are sponsored-only — for example jobs aggregated from a career site, published from a data feed or posted through an applicant tracking system — and Indeed reserves the right to require that a job must be sponsored for any reason.
Does ZipRecruiter really send a job to 100+ sites?
That is ZipRecruiter's own claim, so treat it as self-reported: it says a job is sent to 100+ job sites with one click, including Google Jobs and niche job boards.
It also says unlimited clicks and applies are included on all jobs.
Wide distribution is most useful for non-clinical roles; for therapist, BCBA and RBT openings, breadth matters less than whether the audience includes clinicians in the first place.
What is the $75 credit on Indeed's counselor hiring pages?
Indeed's counselor, social worker and psychologist hiring pages offer a $75 credit to sponsor your first job.
It is only available for new accounts in the US that post a job, and it expires one year after account creation — after that, users are charged based on the Sponsored Job budget.
It is a starting credit, not free sponsorship beyond it.
Which is better for an ABA company hiring RBTs?
Honestly: neither is built for ABA.
Indeed and ZipRecruiter both cover every industry, so an RBT posting competes with every other kind of job and screening falls to your team.
Indeed's edge is a free organic post, subject to its limits; ZipRecruiter's edge is a free trial and monthly plans, plus one-click distribution to 100+ sites (self-reported).
A behavioral-health-only board such as BehavioralHires, with dedicated BCBA and RBT role pages, is the third option.
Do Indeed or ZipRecruiter require a contract?
For sponsored plans, Indeed states there are no long-term contracts, you set the ad duration, and you can cancel at any time.
ZipRecruiter sells Standard and Premium plans with free trials on both, plus monthly subscriptions with job slots and pay-per-day options; contract terms are not published on the pages checked.
BehavioralHires requires no contract either: single posts are one-time payments that never renew, and slot plans bill monthly and cancel anytime.
How does Indeed's pay-per-interaction billing work?
Sponsored Jobs are invoiced for the amount spent on job seeker interactions like clicks or started applications from the previous billing period, and you are billed on the first day of the month or when account spending reaches $500, whichever comes first.
There is no fixed rate: Indeed's recommendation system generates the Standard price from factors like job competitiveness, your hiring timeline and the supply of job seekers, and the minimum price appears on the sponsorship page.
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)
- ZipRecruiter: ziprecruiter.com/freetrial (checked October 5, 2026)
- ZipRecruiter: ziprecruiter.com/post-a-job (checked October 5, 2026)
- ZipRecruiter: ziprecruiter.com/plans (checked October 5, 2026)