LinkedIn vs Indeed for Job Seekers: Filters, Applying and Job Sources
LinkedIn and Indeed both let you apply on the platform or on the employer's own site. On LinkedIn, Easy Apply sends your application to the job poster and cannot be edited after you submit; the Apply button sends you to the company or a third-party site. On Indeed, Apply with Indeed tracks status and sends a confirmation, while Apply on the company site does not. LinkedIn filters by date posted, experience level, Easy Apply and under-10-applicants; Indeed by date posted, pay, job type and experience level. Neither has a visa-sponsorship filter. Indeed also pulls jobs from employers' websites by scanning the web.
On this page
LinkedIn and Indeed work more alike than they look: both let you apply on the platform or on the employer's own site, and neither filters by visa sponsorship. The differences are in where jobs come from, what the quick-apply button sends, and the filters each offers.
Side by side
| Indeed | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quick apply | Easy Apply, sent to the job poster | Apply with Indeed, with status tracking |
| Employer's site | Apply button leaves LinkedIn | Apply on the company site |
| Edit after applying | No | No |
| Date posted filter | 24 hours, week, month | Yes |
| Experience filter | Yes | Yes |
| Visa sponsorship filter | Not listed | None |
| Where jobs come from | Job posts with Easy Apply or an external Apply link | Employer posts plus jobs scanned from employers' sites |
| Paid plan | Premium Career from $39.99/month | Free for job seekers |
Applying: what the button actually does
- LinkedIn has two kinds of job post: Easy Apply, where you apply on LinkedIn, and Apply, which sends you to the company's or a third party's website.
- With Easy Apply your application goes to the job poster, relevant skills from your profile may be included, and you cannot edit or withdraw it after submitting.
- If a job is posted by a recruiting agency, LinkedIn says your application may be shared with other clients of that agency.
- With "Apply with Indeed" the application happens on Indeed, with status tracking and a confirmation email; with "Apply on the company site" you are sent to the employer's applicant tracking system and Indeed shows no status or confirmation.
- When you apply on Indeed it scans your resume and sends the employer the extracted experience, education and qualifications along with the file; you cannot edit an application after submitting it.
Filters and job quality
- LinkedIn's job filters include date posted (past 24 hours, past week, past month), experience level, Easy Apply, job type, company, location, "in your network" and "under 10 applicants"; its help page lists no visa-sponsorship filter.
- A LinkedIn job search returns up to 1,000 results by default.
- Search filters include remote, date posted, pay, easily apply, job type, experience level and skill. Indeed's help says there is no visa-sponsorship filter and suggests searching "visa sponsorship" as a keyword.
- Some employers post jobs on Indeed directly; Indeed also takes jobs from external sources such as employers' websites by scanning the web.
Neither help centre says what date a listing shows when a job is reposted or collected late, so before you apply, check the role on the company's own careers page (how to spot a ghost job).
LinkedIn Premium
LinkedIn Premium Career starts at US$39.99 a month or US$239.88 a year. Premium Career adds top-applicant and top-choice jobs, AI insights on job posts, 5 InMail messages a month and who viewed your profile. LinkedIn says Premium subscribers who apply with Top Choice Jobs are 2x more likely to get a message back from a recruiter (its own data, June 2026).
Which should you use?
- LinkedIn when your network, recruiter messages and "under 10 applicants" matter.
- Indeed for a broad free search, including jobs collected from employers' own sites.
- Either, prefer the employer's own application when it is offered.
How Drivetube differs
| LinkedIn / Indeed | Drivetube | |
|---|---|---|
| Job source | Platform posts and collected jobs | Employers' own career pages only |
| Date shown | Not stated in their help pages | Employer's own posting date |
| Visa sponsorship | No filter | Offers / refuses / not mentioned |
| Where you apply | Platform or employer site | Always the employer's site |
- The Drivetube Job Board is free with no account. It reads jobs from 50+ applicant tracking systems across 110,000+ company career pages and every listing links to the employer's own application page. Listings stay for three days from the employer's posting date; jobs whose posting offers visa sponsorship stay for 60 days, so use the 'posted' filter if you only want the newest.
- Visa sponsorship has three states: the posting offers it, refuses it, or does not mention it (most postings say nothing). The tag is read from the posting's own words by fixed rules, which pass 98.9% of 7,004 test sentences with no false offers.
Sources
Every statement about another company on this page was read on that company's own website on the date shown. Prices and features change, so check the linked page before you decide. Drivetube figures come from Drivetube's own audits and live job board.
- Indeed: www.indeed.com/help/job-seekers/articles/115002786323-about-jobs-on-indeed-what-you-need-to-know, checked 6 November 2026
- Indeed: www.indeed.com/help/job-seekers/articles/115005875163-searching-for-remote-jobs, checked 6 November 2026
- Indeed: www.indeed.com/help/job-seekers/articles/204652920-applying-for-a-job-on-indeed, checked 6 November 2026
- Indeed: www.indeed.com/jobs?q=data+analyst&l=Remote, checked 6 November 2026
- LinkedIn: premium.linkedin.com/careers/career, checked 6 November 2026
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a507441, checked 6 November 2026
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a511260, checked 6 November 2026
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a512348, checked 6 November 2026
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a512388, checked 6 November 2026
- Drivetube: experience, clearance and sponsorship accuracy from Drivetube's internal audits of live postings, 31 October to 3 November 2026; filter coverage from the live board on 6 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
They suit different searches. LinkedIn adds your network, recruiter contact and filters such as under 10 applicants; Indeed is a broad free board that also collects jobs from employers' websites. Both let you apply on the platform or on the employer's own site.
With Easy Apply your application goes to the job poster, relevant skills from your profile may be included, and you cannot edit or withdraw it after submitting. With "Apply with Indeed" the application happens on Indeed, with status tracking and a confirmation email; with "Apply on the company site" you are sent to the employer's applicant tracking system and Indeed shows no status or confirmation.
No. LinkedIn's job filters include date posted (past 24 hours, past week, past month), experience level, Easy Apply, job type, company, location, "in your network" and "under 10 applicants"; its help page lists no visa-sponsorship filter. Search filters include remote, date posted, pay, easily apply, job type, experience level and skill. Indeed's help says there is no visa-sponsorship filter and suggests searching "visa sponsorship" as a keyword.
When a listing offers it, applying on the employer's own site puts your application straight into its hiring system. Some jobs show hirer responsiveness, such as typical review time; LinkedIn says this data is unavailable when applications are managed outside LinkedIn in an external ATS.
Related
Sites Like Indeed: Job Search Sites Compared on Job Quality
The best sites like Indeed depend on what Indeed isn't giving you. For a similar general board, ZipRecruiter works much the same way. For jobs read straight from company websites, try HiringCafe (free, many filters), Remote Rocketship (paid, remote only) or Drivetube's free board, which shows the employer's own posting date and tags visa sponsorship from the posting. For hand-screened flexible work, FlexJobs. For remote matching with auto-apply, Jobgether. Indeed itself has no visa-sponsorship filter and also pulls jobs from employers' websites by scanning the web.
LinkedIn Alternatives for Job Search: 8 Sites Compared
Good LinkedIn alternatives for job search depend on who you are. Students and new graduates: Handshake (public profiles by default) or Internshala in India. Startups: Wellfound, which shows salary and equity up front and lets you apply to founders in one click. Tech: Dice, which says every job is posted by a verified employer. Broad search: Indeed. Jobs straight from company websites: HiringCafe (free) or Drivetube's free board, which also tags visa sponsorship. LinkedIn itself has no visa-sponsorship filter and Premium Career starts at $39.99 a month.
Is ZipRecruiter Legit? ZipRecruiter vs Indeed for Job Seekers
Yes, ZipRecruiter is legitimate and free for job seekers. It says it vets job posters with detection software and an onboarding check, re-checks listings as they are posted and has staff reviewing suspicious posts seven days a week, but scam listings still get through on every large board. Its 1-Click Apply sends your resume on file straight to the hiring manager in one click, while Apply Now opens the employer's own form. Indeed works the same way with Apply with Indeed and Apply on the company site; it also pulls jobs from employers' websites by scanning the web and has no visa-sponsorship filter.
Ghost Jobs: What They Are and How to Spot One Before You Apply
A ghost job is a posting for a role the employer is not actively filling: already filled, on hold, kept open to collect resumes, or a stale copy on a job board after the employer removed it. You cannot prove a job is real from the listing, but four checks catch most ghost jobs: find the same job on the company's own careers page, check the employer's original posting date rather than the board's, look for reposts of the same role, and be wary of vague roles that never close. Apply within a few days of the real posting date.
Last updated November 6, 2026