# Monster review (2026): is it worth paying for? > Job promotion and resume search on Monster and CareerBuilder Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Hiring & Applicant Tracking - **Made by:** MCB Bermuda Ltd - **Website:** https://hiring.monster.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a fixed cost, as Standard's $8 a day is an average and spend follows clicks. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Monster is a paid product, starting at $8 per day, pay as you go. - **Pricing model:** Paid - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Monster+ Standard | $8 per day and up, pay as you go | Promoted jobs on Monster, CareerBuilder and partners; you pay only when candidates click a posting. | | Monster+ Pro | $299 per month, billed monthly | Promoted jobs plus Resume Search and candidate messaging; 299 credits a month, 1 credit = $1. | Read from https://hiring.monster.com/pricing-3/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Monster before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Two months free on annual Pro** (Annual discount): Prepaying Monster+ Pro for a year costs $2,990 against $299 a month, which the page describes as two months free. Source: https://hiring.monster.com/pricing-3/ ## 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. ## Good for - Employers who want to pay only when candidates click a job - Small hiring volumes that need a job board and a resume database - Teams where several people need access, since Pro has unlimited users ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **Value for money: D.** Standard starts at $8 a day, but Resume Search and messaging need Pro at $299 a month, against $95 in the middle of hiring tools. - **Free plan and trial: F.** Nothing is free, and an upfront $10 charge verifies your payment method. - **Features: C.** Promoted jobs, click-based billing, Resume Search, candidate messaging and a dashboard. Resume Search is not in Standard. - **Ease of use: C.** No rating on record. You post jobs and set a budget. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** A web service, with posts shared across Monster, CareerBuilder and partners. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/hiring ## Keep it, 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. - You could make: Applicant tracking: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Jobs posted to dozens of job boards at once, which takes an agreement with each board. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Job board posting, Applicant tracking ## Alternatives - [Indeed](https://toolgpa.com/tools/indeed): Job search site with free and sponsored job posts for employers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/indeed-vs-monster) - [Handshake](https://toolgpa.com/tools/handshake): Early-career hiring network with free job posting. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/handshake-vs-monster) - [Wellfound](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wellfound): Startup job board with AI sourcing and recruiter service. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/monster-vs-wellfound) - [Betterteam](https://toolgpa.com/tools/betterteam): Job posting to many boards, priced by active jobs. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/betterteam-vs-monster) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://hiring.monster.com/pricing-3/ - https://hiring.monster.com/ - https://hiring.monster.com/products/resume-search/ - https://www.careerbuilder.com/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/monster Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).