ZipRecruiter vs CareerBuilder: Which Job Platform Wins?

Last Updated on March 29, 2025

If you are currently looking for a new job, you would be excused for occasionally getting a little stressed. The fact is, job searching and applying for jobs is one of the most worrisome and stressful situations in modern life. Nobody particularly enjoys it, and it can be surprising how fast it can take it can wear you down.

A successful job search is a series of tasks and approaches applied over a period of time. While you could get lucky and quickly find a job, this is unlikely in any market. The best approach is to split your time across a number of job search activities, including job search engines. Finding a job search engine that works best for you is a key component of your search. Today’s job search engines list millions of job opportunities that are available locally, nationwide, and internationally.

There are many job search resources out there to help you find success and land your perfect job, and you can find the best job search engine for your job search by taking advantage of the extra resources that some job search engines offer such as:

• Uploading/building your resume.
• Job Alerts that are tailored to your specific job search requirements.
• Career advice (interviewing, resumes, applying for jobs, etc.).
• Smartphone and tablet support.

ZipRecruiter.com and CareerBuilder.com are two of the best-known job search engines. These best job search sites not only provide job opportunities but also provide an array of tools that will help with your overall search. Both are free for job seekers.

ZipRecruiter for Job Search

ZipRecruiter was founded in 2010 and is an online employment marketplace that matches job seekers with companies that are looking to hire.  Companies place their jobs on ZipRecruiter and then ZipRecruiter sends these job opportunities to over one hundred of the most popular job search sites and social networks. ZipRecruiter is free for job seekers and is very easy to use.

ZipRecruiter for Employers

ZipRecruiter is an online employment marketplace that matches job seekers with companies that are looking to hire.  Companies place their jobs on ZipRecruiter and then ZipRecruiter sends these job opportunities to over one hundred of the most popular job search sites and social networks.  This is a big advantage for companies because the platform broadcasts job opportunities to a very large audience of potential job seekers. Job seekers who have posted their resumes on ZipRecruiter are typically actively looking for new opportunities. There are a number of pricing options for employers, depending on their needs.

Getting Started with ZipRecruiter

Getting started is very easy.  Set up your free account and upload your LinkedIn profile (as well as Twitter, Facebook, and your personal website). Editing your experience from the profiles page is also very easy.

Using ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter creates a list of suggested opportunities based on your resume and profile. You can create and automate job alerts based on search activity, location matching, and salary matching. Minimize or maximize notifications from the notifications page with a wide range of options. Job alerts are very flexible and will save time searching the site as you will receive daily alerts based on the criteria that you set. It’s easy to keep track of the jobs that you’ve applied for by using their “Applied Jobs” link.

You can also see salaries from employers.  Enter the job title or keyword along with the location and select search.  You will see results displayed based on nationwide, and your location with commentary on average pay and pay ranges for that position.  ZipRecruiter also displays job opportunities that match the title selection (on the same page).

CareerBuilder for Job Search

CareerBuilder started as NetStart Inc. in 1995 selling software to companies for listing job openings (source Wikipedia). Job seekers using CareerBuilder have access to career advice, job opportunities, and training resources. For employers, CareerBuilder matches job listings with candidates and can integrate with most existing ATS software platforms.

Getting Started with CareerBuilder

When you create your account, CareerBuilder provides the option of either uploading your resume or building your resume. If you don’t have a resume, you can create one online. CareerBuilder’s site focuses on three main areas: Jobs, Salaries and Advice, and recommended jobs.

Using CareerBuilder

Once your resume has been created, you will see recommended jobs.  When searching for jobs, you can filter by job type, date posted, pay, distance as well as work from home/remote. As with ZipRecruiter, you can have saved searches as well as track your applications.

Finding help on CareerBuilder is challenging and certainly not as easy as on ZipRecruiter, but there are resources to help you at the bottom of the page, along with related articles. CareerBuilder also has the ability to create job alerts. As with ZipRecruiter, you can review salaries as well as apply for most jobs directly from your search results. You will be getting quite a few emails from CareerBuilder and you can customize what emails you get under your Profile and Contact Preferences.

Summary

Although both sites have robust job search features, we did find that overall, using ZipRecruiter is more intuitive than CareerBuilder.  Both have robust filters when searching for opportunities as well as having the ability to apply directly from the search. You can certainly try both to see which works best for you.  Both are also available on mobile devices.

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