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's Publisher (job-search) API is deprecated (its legacy developer docs are labelled "Deprecated", and third-party sources report it was shut down around 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 ATS platforms and company career sites.
How the Indeed API worksIndeed Publisher API Deprecated: What Happened, What to Use Now| Feature | CleanJobData | Indeed |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | ATS platforms and company career sites — 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 is deprecated (labelled so in Indeed's legacy docs; reported shut down around 2023) |
| Access model | Self-serve — instant API key | Partner program: signed Developer Agreement plus a formal integration request; Indeed's docs estimate about six weeks for the whole Job Sync integration (setup, testing, review, deployment) |
| API format | REST JSON — consistent schema | GraphQL partner API for job sync and applications (Indeed also documents an 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 — $39/mo or $99/mo | Not applicable — no self-serve data product to price |
| Company metadata | Logo, headcount, LinkedIn, description | Not applicable |
| Free trial | 14 days, 300 req/day — no card | None for job-data retrieval |
| Plan | CleanJobData | Indeed |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 300 req/day — no card | N/A — no self-serve listings API |
| Starter | $39/mo — 50,000 requests | N/A |
| Pro | $99/mo — 100,000 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.
300 requests a day during the trial, no card required.
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 — is deprecated — Indeed's own legacy developer docs label the Job Search endpoints "Deprecated", and third-party write-ups report it stopped working around 2023 (we couldn't find an official Indeed announcement with a date). 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 ATS platforms and company career sites — 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: you sign a Developer Agreement and submit a formal integration request, and Indeed's docs say the integration "usually takes about six weeks", counting setup, testing, review with Indeed, and deployment. 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.
Indeed's documentation still covers an XML feed for submitting job postings into Indeed, but it's the same story as everything else on this page: it's a way to push postings in, never a way to retrieve Indeed's listings out, so it doesn't change the comparison. Check docs.indeed.com for the current status of each delivery format, since we haven't independently verified recent changes.
