Indeed has the largest job database in the world, but as of 2026 it doesn't offer a general-purpose API for pulling that data out. Indeed deprecated its Publisher (job-search) API in 2023; the APIs documented at docs.indeed.com today are employer-side — for posting jobs into Indeed and syncing applications back out — and are gated behind a partner-approval process aimed at ATS and staffing platforms, not data consumers. If what you actually want is a queryable job-listings API you can sign up for and start using, CleanJobData is a direct, self-serve alternative — it just doesn't source from Indeed specifically. It sources directly from employer career pages on Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, and Workable.
| Feature | CleanJobData | Indeed |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workable — direct | N/A — no current listings-retrieval API; employer-side job posting APIs only |
| Public job-search API | Yes — REST API, sign up and query | No — the Publisher/job-search API was deprecated in 2023 |
| Access model | Self-serve — instant API key | Partner-approval program: signed Developer Agreement, security/privacy documentation, and a review process that typically runs around six weeks end-to-end |
| API format | REST JSON — consistent schema | GraphQL partner API for job sync and applications (Indeed now steers new integrations away from its older XML feed format), plus a JS embed widget for search |
| Salary normalization | Parsed min, max, currency | Not applicable to a listings-retrieval use case |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly — $97/mo or $297/mo | Not applicable — no self-serve data product to price |
| Company metadata | Logo, headcount, LinkedIn, description | Not applicable |
| Free tier | 250 list + 500 detail req/mo — no card | None for job-data retrieval |
| Plan | CleanJobData | Indeed |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 250 list + 500 detail req/mo — no card | N/A — no self-serve listings API |
| Starter | $97/mo — 100,000 requests | N/A |
| Pro | $297/mo — 500,000 requests | N/A |
This isn't really a head-to-head on features — Indeed no longer publishes a general job-search API to compare against. If you need to post your own jobs onto Indeed or manage Indeed applications, that's a separate partner-integration path (Job Sync API, Indeed Apply) with its own approval process. If what you're looking for is an API you can query today to get structured job listings for a board, tool, or pipeline, CleanJobData is a live option; a comparable Indeed product currently isn't.
Not as a general-purpose, self-serve product. Indeed's Publisher API — the one that let developers register for a free key and search/retrieve Indeed's job listings, defaulting to XML output — was deprecated in 2023, with key issuance stopping around 2023–2024. That's the source of a lot of stale "free Indeed API" tutorials still floating around. The APIs Indeed documents today (Job Sync API, Indeed Apply) are for employers and ATS platforms pushing job postings and applications into Indeed's system, not for pulling listings data back out.
Indeed offers a Publisher JavaScript plugin for embedding Indeed's own search widget on a job board or publisher site. That's a UI embed, not a structured data feed — you don't get raw JSON you can reshape, filter server-side, or pipe into your own schema the way you would with an API.
No. CleanJobData sources directly from employer career pages via Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, and Workable — a different (and smaller) set of employers than Indeed's full aggregated index, but data you can access via a normal REST API today.
That's a different use case than job-data retrieval, and it runs through Indeed's partner program at docs.indeed.com. It's a real application process, not a quick signup: a signed Developer Agreement, security and privacy documentation, support for specific technical requirements (screener questions, EEO demographic capture, Disposition Sync), and a review that typically takes around six weeks end-to-end before you're approved. CleanJobData doesn't replace that path; it solves the separate problem of getting queryable job-listing data via API right away, without an approval process.
Yes — Indeed's Job Sync XML feed is still live and actively maintained (Indeed's own reference docs picked up new fields and market support as recently as March 2026). But it's the same story as everything else on this page: it's a way to submit job postings into Indeed, never a way to retrieve Indeed's listings out, so it doesn't change the comparison above either way. Indeed's own docs do recommend the GraphQL Job Sync API over a new XML integration going forward, and specific legacy delivery arrangements for some partners are being sunset — but that's a narrowing of one delivery path, not evidence that XML at Indeed is dead.
