Meta vs. LinkedIn vs. Indeed: What Actually Drives Qualified Applicants at Scale in 2025?

Recruiters are spoiled for choice when it comes to job advertising platforms—but which one actually delivers the best candidates? While LinkedIn, Indeed, and Meta (Facebook & Instagram) each promise reach and relevance, the truth is more nuanced.

In this article, we break down the strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases for each platform based on data, performance insights, and industry trends.

The Recruitment Ad Landscape in 2025

According to recent benchmarks, the average cost per applicant (CPA) and applicant quality varies significantly depending on the platform, job type, and audience targeting. Here's what our own clients are experiencing:

• Meta: Low CPA, high volume, better passive candidate reach
  
  
• LinkedIn: Higher CPA, excellent quality, great for white-collar roles
  
  
• Indeed: Mid-range CPA, broad reach, job seeker–driven traffic
  
  

Meta Ads: High Volume, Low Cost

Meta is no longer just for brand awareness - it’s a powerful recruitment engine. With AI targeting and visual formats, it captures attention and encourages clicks from passive candidates who aren’t actively job hunting.

Pros:

• Reaches passive talent via Facebook & Instagram
  
  
• Lower cost per click and cost per applicant
  
  
• Strong engagement with visual/video job ads

Cons:

• Lower intent compared to job boards
  
  
• May require multiple touchpoints for conversion
  
  

Best for: High-volume roles (e.g., logistics, retail, hospitality), employer branding campaigns, and hard-to-fill locations.

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LinkedIn Ads: Precision Targeting for Professionals

LinkedIn is still the go-to platform for white-collar and senior-level roles. It’s expensive - but for the right role, it pays off.

Pros:

• Highly targeted by job title, company, seniority, skills
  
  
• Ideal for B2B and knowledge economy industries
  
  
• Built-in professional credibility
  
  

Cons:

• High cost per click (CPC) and cost per lead
  
  
• Limited volume for certain roles
  
  
• Doesn’t perform as well in blue-collar hiring
  
  

Best for: Marketing, IT, engineering, leadership positions, and employer branding to a professional audience.

💡 LinkedIn applicants are 2x more likely to be interview-ready, but the cost is often 3–4x higher than Meta.

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Indeed Ads: Job Seeker Magnet

Indeed remains the largest job board in the world, with millions of active job seekers visiting daily. It’s easy to use and performs well for many job types.

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Pros:

• Good reach among active job seekers
  
  
• Easy to scale up across geographies and industries
  
  
• Keyword-based targeting can match job intent
  
  

Cons:

• Increasing competition leads to higher CPA
  
  
• Passive candidates are harder to reach
  
  
• Ads can get buried unless sponsored
  
  

Best for: Generalist roles, volume hiring, and when time-to-fill is critical.

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✅ So, What’s the Verdict?

There’s no one-size-fits-all. But here’s how to decide:

• Use Meta if you're hiring at scale or want to attract both active and passive job seekers.
  
  
• Use LinkedIn when candidate quality trumps quantity, especially for professional roles.
  
  
• Use Indeed for speed and wide coverage across most industries.
  
  

🚀 Pro tip: For best results, combine platforms in a multi-channel strategy. Our data shows that advertising on social media alongside job boards boosts conversion rates from job boards by up to 39%!

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Ready to Drive Qualified Applicants at Scale?

Wonderkind helps companies run AI-powered recruitment campaigns across Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube, Google and more - automatically. We optimize for conversions and quality applicants, not just clicks.