Monster review (2026): is it worth paying for?
Job promotion and resume search on Monster and CareerBuilder
Black Friday: is there a Monster sale?
Monster report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for promoting jobs and searching resumes
Monster promotes your job posts on Monster and CareerBuilder from $8 a day, billed by candidate clicks, and Pro at $299 a month adds Resume Search. The Pro price sits in the dearest tenth of hiring tools and its credits expire each month.
Who Monster is for
- Fits if you want to pay per click on a job post for a short search
- Works for small teams that want resume search on one plan
Who Monster is not for
- Skip it if you want a fixed cost, as Standard's $8 a day is an average and spend follows clicks
- Pricey if you need Resume Search, which is $299 a month on Pro
- Watch out: Pro's 299 credits expire each month and are spent on clicks and resume views
- Watch out: there is no free plan or trial, and an upfront $10 charge applies
- Too light for tracking, with Standard excluding Resume Search and messaging
Why Monster gets a 1.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyStandard starts at $8 a day, but Resume Search and messaging need Pro at $299 a month, against $95 in the middle of hiring tools.
- FFree plan and trialNothing is free, and an upfront $10 charge verifies your payment method.
- CFeaturesPromoted jobs, click-based billing, Resume Search, candidate messaging and a dashboard. Resume Search is not in Standard.
- CEase of useNo rating on record. You post jobs and set a budget.
- CPlatforms and integrationsA web service, with posts shared across Monster, CareerBuilder and partners.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from MCB Bermuda Ltd's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Monster? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/monster#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/monster.svg" alt="Monster: 1.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Monster stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
Monster's GPA of 1.4 is higher than 0 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on features (C, above 3 of 101) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Monster’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 101, level with 11
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 101, level with 63
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 101, level with 71
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 101, level with 99
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 101, level with 38
Keep Monster, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Monster you would be making jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 96 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools grade higher.
What you could make
- Applicant tracking: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board.
What this rests on. Monster’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Monster?
Monster is a job board and resume database for employers. Its Monster+ plans promote a job on Monster, CareerBuilder and a partner network of job boards, and the higher plan adds a searchable resume database and candidate messaging. Standard is billed per click on a promoted job, and Pro is a monthly subscription paid in credits.
Worth knowing
- Pro's 299 monthly credits expire each month and are spent on clicks and resume views.
- Standard's $8 a day is an average budget; spend depends on candidate clicks, not a fixed fee.
- Resume Search and candidate messaging are not part of Standard.
- CareerBuilder's employer products now run through Monster+, so the two job boards share one plan set.
Key features
- Promoted job postings
- A job is published to Monster, CareerBuilder and a partner network of job boards, and sent to candidates who have shown interest in similar roles.
- Click-based billing
- On Standard you set a daily budget and pay when candidates click the posting. A first promoted job carries a $10 setup charge that is credited toward clicks.
- Resume Search
- Pro includes a searchable resume database with filters such as education, salary and veteran status, plus saved searches and alerts. Each resume view costs 2 credits.
- Candidate messaging
- Pro users can message candidates one at a time or as a group, with automated follow-ups and drip campaigns.
- Applicant dashboard
- A dashboard to review applications, rate candidates and reach out to them. Neither plan limits the number of applicants.
Monster pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Monster is a paid product, starting at $8 per day, pay as you go.
- Starts at
- $8 per day, pay as you go
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Monster+ Standard | $8per day and up, pay as you go | Promoted jobs on Monster, CareerBuilder and partners; you pay only when candidates click a posting. |
| Monster+ Pro | $299per month, billed monthly | Promoted jobs plus Resume Search and candidate messaging; 299 credits a month, 1 credit = $1. |
Read from hiring.monster.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Monster before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountTwo months free on annual Pro
Prepaying Monster+ Pro for a year costs $2,990 against $299 a month, which the page describes as two months free.
Stated on hiring.monster.com
Monster alternatives
- Monster vs Indeed
Free plan
- Monster vs Handshake
Free plan · from $450/mo
- Monster vs Wellfound
Free plan · from $135/mo
- Monster vs Betterteam
Free trial · from $39/mo
Common questions
Does Monster have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Monster is listed for Web.
Does Monster have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Monster is listed for Web.
Is Monster open source?
Monster is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.