Lemonade vs posting on job boards

A job advert waits for people to apply, then leaves the sifting to whoever is hiring. Lemonade (makelemonade.io) is the alternative for one experienced hire: Lem, Lemonade's AI recruiter, sources, screens and introduces interested candidates.

By , founder of LemonadeUpdated Job board details checked

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Is Lemonade better than posting on a job board?

For one experienced hire, Lem sources, screens and introduces interested candidates, so the person running hiring only does the interviews. The clearest difference is reach: an advert only finds people who are looking, and the experienced person you want is often busy in another job. Lem goes to them as well as screening applicants, and only people who have confirmed their interest reach your shortlist. A standard advert costs less: free on Indeed (up to three jobs a month) to £220 + VAT list on Totaljobs. Lemonade's first search is free, then from £450 (pricing). No hire fee, on any plan; the Search Fee is refunded if you don't interview any of our candidates (roles paid for one at a time). Prices correct as of 21 October 2026. For junior, hourly, local or volume roles, a board is the better choice.

Choose Lemonade when

  • The hire is one experienced person (Lem works best for people with more than five years' experience).
  • The people you want are mostly in work and not reading job adverts.
  • Nobody has time to sift, and the goal is to meet only people who have confirmed their interest.
  • The role is confidential: the company is never named until you request an intro.

Choose a job board when

  • The role is junior, hourly, local or high volume, and plenty of suitable people are actively looking.
  • The budget is small: a free Indeed post, a standard paid advert at £220 + VAT list or less, or a £49 Totaljobs graduate advert.
  • Seeing every applicant and doing the sifting yourself is the priority.

At a glance

Job boards and Lemonade compared for one role
Job boardsLemonade
Who it reachesPeople who see the advert and choose to applyThree sources: Lemonade's talent pool, people Lem sources directly (LinkedIn and a database of about a billion profiles) and applicants to the role's job posts
Who sifts the applicationsThe hiring team, helped by screening questions and filtersLem, scoring every candidate against your brief with its reasoning shown
Who reaches the shortlistWhoever applies; the hiring team builds the shortlistOnly people who have confirmed their interest in your role
Direct outreach to candidatesNot in a standard advert; some boards sell CV-database access separatelyIncluded, by email and LinkedIn
Price for one roleStandard advert: free on Indeed (3 jobs a month) to £220 + VAT list on Totaljobs; boosted adverts cost more (Reed Boost £225 to £599 + VAT)First search free, then a Search Fee by salary band, from £450
Hire feeNoneNone, on any plan
How long it runs28 days to 6 weeks, depending on the board30 days, with a paid renewal if needed
Best forJunior, hourly, local and high-volume roles; tight budgetsOne experienced hire (more than five years' experience)

Sources: Indeed, Reed, Totaljobs, CV-Library. Competitor details checked 21 October 2026. Lemonade prices correct as of 21 October 2026.

What Lemonade does that a job board does not

Lem goes to the people an advert never reaches

The experienced person you want is often busy in another job. Lem hunts day and night across three sources: Lemonade's talent pool, people Lem sources directly and approaches by email and LinkedIn, and applicants to the role's job posts on Lemonade, Google for Jobs and LinkedIn if you choose. Lem's matching is built on more than a million job matches and user feedback, and gets sharper as feedback comes in. It never approaches anyone about a role at a company they have worked for. See how Lem works.

Every candidate is screened against your brief

With a board, the hiring team reads every application, and AI-written applications add to the load: in a BCG survey of 250 UK business leaders (October 2025), 75% said candidates using AI has made it harder and more time-consuming to identify the best people. Lem screens every applicant, including applicants to adverts you run yourself on Indeed or LinkedIn, and every person it sources, against the same brief and shows which requirements each person meets, partly meets or misses. Nobody Lem finds is turned down by software; an applicant turned down by an automatic check is told why and can ask a person at Lemonade to look again. See How Lem stays fair.

Only interested people reach the shortlist

Lemonade's shortlist holds only people who have confirmed their interest in your role. Request an intro and we can connect you in minutes, or Lem can ask the candidate to book a call through your own scheduling link. Lem hunts. You interview.

What one experienced hire costs

One standard advert or one Lemonade search, by role
RoleIndeed free postReed PremiumTotaljobs ProLemonade
£45,000 operations manager£0£150 + VAT£220 + VAT£450
£75,000 head of finance£0£150 + VAT£220 + VAT£650

On a £45,000 role, a standard advert costs £0 on Indeed's free tier, or £150 + VAT to £220 + VAT on Reed or Totaljobs; Lemonade's Search Fee is £450, or £0 for a company's first search. VAT: Reed is £180 with VAT, Totaljobs' £220 does not include VAT, and Lemonade charges no VAT. The difference buys the work an advert leaves to the hiring team. With no hire fee and no introduction window, nothing more is owed on any hire.

When a job board is the better choice

For a warehouse operative or a graduate, plenty of suitable people are already searching. A board is the better choice when:

  • Hiring is high volume. Hourly or local roles fill well from active seekers; Totaljobs adds up to 450 partner boards.
  • The budget is tight. A free Indeed post costs nothing, and a standard paid advert lists at £220 + VAT or less, against a lowest Search Fee of £450.
  • Reading every applicant matters. A board shows everyone who applies.
  • The role is junior. Lem works best for people with more than five years' experience; a graduate or apprentice has less career history to match on.
  • The employer brand is the draw. Welcome to the Jungle (tech and startups, quote-only pricing) and Escape the City (purpose-driven organisations) attract people looking for a kind of employer.

Using both

Lemonade is not exclusive, so a board advert can keep running while Lem searches for the one hard, experienced hire. Point the advert's apply link at the role's Lemonade job page and Lem screens those applicants too. Either way, write the job description first. Lemonade does not handle offers: from in-person interviews, move candidates into your own applicant tracking system (how Lemonade works with your ATS).

Pricing

Prices correct as of 21 October 2026. Full pricing

  • First search free: 30 days, any salary, no card needed, one per company.
  • Pay as you go: a Search Fee per role for 30 days of searching: £450 (salary up to £50k), £650 (£50k to £100k) or £1,200 (above £100k). Another 30 days for £250 if needed.
  • No hire fee, on any plan.
  • Refund: We will refund your Search Fee if you don't interview any of our candidates. Applies to roles paid for one at a time. Claim it from your portal within 14 days of the search ending. Refunded to your original card within five working days.
  • Plans: Team £990 a month (24 roles a year), Growth £1,800 a month (48 roles a year), on a 3-month minimum, or £825 and £1,500 a month on an annual plan. Searches run until the role is filled. LinkedIn promotion at cost, with no 5% fee.
  • Optional LinkedIn promotion, charged at cost plus 5%. Unspent budget is refunded; the 5% handling fee is not.

Lemonade does not currently charge VAT (not VAT-registered). Employer Terms of Business

Start your free search

Lem hunts. You interview. The first search is free: 30 days, any salary, no card needed.

Start your free searchOr book 30 minutes with Ali Grant

Questions founders ask

What is the main difference between Lemonade and a job board?

A job board shows your advert to people who are searching, and you sift whoever applies. Lemonade runs a 30-day search in which Lem draws candidates from Lemonade's talent pool, people Lem sources directly and applicants to your job posts, then screens them and introduces interested candidates. A board is cheaper; Lemonade does more of the work.

Is it worth paying for a job board, or should I post on Indeed for free?

Start free if you can. Indeed allows up to three free jobs a calendar month, each visible for up to 30 days, though some (such as a confidential job) may have to be sponsored. Paying buys a longer listing, partner sites or prioritised display. If the people you want are not applying, a bigger advert may not reach them either.

How much does it cost to advertise a job in the UK?

As of October 2026, Indeed offers up to three free jobs a month, and Sponsored Jobs on a budget you set with no published UK price. A standard paid advert lists at £150 + VAT on Reed, £149 on CV-Library and £220 on Totaljobs, with new-customer offers such as £69 on Totaljobs, £75 + VAT on CV-Library and £89 + VAT on Reed. Boosted adverts cost more (Totaljobs Pro Plus £275 list; Reed Boost £225 to £599 + VAT). Lemonade's first search is free, then from £450.

What are the alternatives to a job board for one experienced hire?

To reach people who are not actively looking, you have to go to them. Search a CV database or LinkedIn yourself, use a recruitment agency, or use Lemonade, where Lem sources, screens and introduces interested candidates, hunting day and night for the best candidates and approaching people by email and LinkedIn for you. Indeed's Smart Sourcing and LinkedIn Recruiter Lite are paid subscriptions. Smart Sourcing searches Indeed's CV database with AI candidate matching, AI-written messages and bulk outreach, run from your own account.

Does Lemonade post my job anywhere?

Yes: on a Lemonade job page, on Google for Jobs, and on LinkedIn if you choose (paid LinkedIn promotion is optional, at cost plus 5%).

Who should use a job board instead?

Anyone hiring for junior, hourly, local or high-volume roles, on a very tight budget, or wanting to read every applicant. Lem works best for people with more than five years' experience.

Sources and notes

Lemonade prices correct as of 21 October 2026.

VAT: board prices in the cost table are as each board lists them. Totaljobs' £220 and CV-Library's £149 do not include VAT (confirmed by Ali Grant, 22 October 2026). Lemonade is not VAT-registered and charges no VAT.

We make Lemonade. We have tried to compare like for like; if anything here is out of date, email contact@makelemonade.io.