Tarun Nagar 
Maintaining a strong online presence is crucial for both employers and job seekers in a rapidly evolving labor market. Online job portals, such as LinkedIn, have revolutionized the processes of networking and recruitment, demonstrating the immense power of well-conceived job search portal mobile apps.
The global online recruitment market is expected to reach $39.0 billion in 2025, continuing a steady upward trajectory from the global pandemic through the present date, driven by digital adoption and the increase in remote work.
We observed a 20% increase in online job postings in India in 2024, with the largest growth rate in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Having a platform with 1.2 billion active users in 2025 is a significant achievement, right? Meet LinkedIn. No, actually, don’t meet. You already know what I’m talking about.
This is the only application that is chosen by millennials and Genz. Shocking, right? Yes, it is. This makes the demand to build a job portal app like LinkedIn among entrepreneurs. In this blog, we will explore how to build an app like LinkedIn and how it can be a turning point for today’s businesses. So, let’s get this blog started.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a business-related and employment-oriented social networking service that was created on May 5, 2003. This digital platform connects the world’s professionals, enabling them to make connections, search for jobs, and hire employees. LinkedIn alternative members are able to create profiles to present their experience, find out more about events from their industry news articles, and follow companies.
Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016 and currently has around 800+ million members worldwide, as it is now a valued tool for career development and maintaining a trove of professional visibility.
How Does LinkedIn Work?
LinkedIn serves as a professional social networking site where users can develop their careers and discover job openings. Follow these instructions in order:
1. Draft Your Online CV:
Begin by registering on the site and completing your profile while paying attention to detail. Include a photograph, headshot, current or intended position as a headline, and more.
2. Expand Your Network:
Seek out business partners, schoolmates, and industry experts who can increase your network. Increase acceptance rates by personalizing connection notes. A larger, relevant network increases your career opportunities.
3. Engaging With The Content:
Check for updates from your connections and industry-relevant pages. Write articles about your area of expertise and share them with the world alongside any relevant data you come across while reading.
4. Search And Apply For Jobs:
Check out the LinkedIn job board for open positions that you wish to apply for or set alerts for certain roles, alongside researching companies.
5. Join Groups & Follow Companies:
Follow companies of interest so that their news updates or alerts appear in your inbox as soon as they are posted, such as new job offerings or other organizational changes, including chatbot notifications.
6. Leverage Learning:
Explore LinkedIn Learning for courses to upskill and earn certifications, enhance your profile, and demonstrate continuous professional development.
What Makes LinkedIn Special for Everyone That Raises Its Demand?
Before you invest in creating a LinkedIn clone app, you must know about some incredible reasons why it’s “THE MOST chosen job portal across the globe. Here are five key reasons that make LinkedIn different and make it so appealing to a wide variety of users:
1. Networking and Relationship Building:
Unlike all the social media that exists today, LinkedIn is focused on professional connections. Best job portal platform for making and maintaining a network of colleagues, peers in your industry, mentors, and potential future collaboration partners.
It is the best opportunity for meaningful professional relationships, which can translate into job offers, collaborations, joint ventures, partnerships, and shared knowledge.
2. Career Development and Job Opportunities:
If you are looking for a job, LinkedIn is the source of possible jobs, in most cases, on a scale that other sites can’t compete with. You can search for jobs, apply for jobs, and recruiters can discover you. If you are a professional, it is a resource for personal branding and showing your skills or exploring opportunities for a career path. For recruiters, it is the best way to access global talent.
3. Knowledge Sharing and Industry News:
LinkedIn has also evolved into a social networking site that focuses on knowledge sharing. If you develop a job portal app like Dice, it is now a professional content site where users can share articles, thoughts, insights, and news about their industries. .
It is an equal opportunity source to help you learn and stay current on trends and read and contribute to articles that have meaning and value, keeping you actively engaged in your area of expertise or industry.
4. Personal Branding and Professional Presence:
LinkedIn provides professionals with a distinct system to build their professional brand. Every user has their own unique profile, and users can share their profession, employment history, skills, and thought leadership through their profile, posts, and articles via their professional profile and increase their visibility in their area.
5. Targeted Advertising & Business Development:
The online job portal works and benefits businesses and marketers. It offers highly targeted advertising capabilities based on professional demographics, industries, and job titles. This makes it an incredibly effective platform for B2B lead generation, employer branding, and reaching specific professional audiences with relevant products or services.
Top 10 Game-Changing Job Portals for Job Seekers
Let’s get you a list of the top 10 job portals that have become global sensations when it comes to internships, jobs, freelance, and many more personal branding agency chores. All of these are the best LinkedIn alternatives to try.
S.No. | App Name | Launch Year (App/Platform) | Estimated Downloads (Global) | Avg. Rating (Approx.) | Unique Selling Proposition (USP) |
| 1. | 2003 (Platform), Early 2010s (App) | 1 Million+ | 4.5/5 | Premier professional networking platform, personal branding, B2B connections, content sharing, and learning. | |
| 2. | Indeed | 2004 (Platform), 2011 (App) | 200 Million+ | 4.6/5 | World’s largest job aggregation site, simple job search, free resume posting, and company reviews. |
| 3. | Glassdoor | 2008 (Platform), Early 2010s (App) | 50 Million+ | 4.5/5 | Anonymous company reviews, salary insights, interview questions, and employer ratings. |
| 4. | Naukri.com | 1997 (Platform), 2012 (App) | 50 Million+ (India) | 4.3/5 | India’s leading job portal, extensive local job listings, resume services, and strong presence in the Indian market. |
| 5. | Monster | 1999 (Platform), 2011 (App) | 10 Million+ | 4.0/5 | One of the oldest online job boards, wide range of job listings across industries, and career resources. |
| 6. | ZipRecruiter | 2009 (Platform), Early 2010s (App) | 20 Million+ | 4.7/5 | AI-powered job matching for both job seekers and employers, one-click apply, and broad distribution of job postings. |
| 7. | Simply Hired | 2003 (Platform), Early 2010s (App) | 10 Million+ | 4.4/5 | Aggregates job listings from various sources, free resume builder, and salary estimator tools. |
| 8. | AngelList Talent | 2012 (Talent Portal) | 1 Million+ | 4.2/5 | Focuses exclusively on startup jobs, connecting job seekers directly with founders and early-stage companies. |
| 9. | Hired | 2012 (Platform), Mid-2010s (App) | 1 Million+ | 4.1/5 | Reverse recruitment model where employers apply to candidates, focusing on tech and sales roles. |
| 10. | Seek | 1997 (Platform), Early 2010s (App) | 10 Million+ (Australia/NZ) | 4.5/5 | Leading job portal in Australia and New Zealand, strong local market presence, and career advice. |
Why Do Entrepreneurs Want to Build A Job Portal App Like LinkedIn?
Entrepreneurs are increasingly interested in building job portal apps like Indeed that mimic LinkedIn for several compelling reasons, which go well beyond just providing job-finding services:
1. Untapped Niche Markets and Specialization:
While LinkedIn is broad, entrepreneurs can develop a LinkedIn clone app that targets specific niches (e.g., technology, healthcare, creative arts), geographic locations, or types of work (e.g., freelance, remote, gig economy).
This specialization leads to better user experience, features, and community, particularly for users who get frustrated trying to use more general platforms.
2. Monetization Options:
In addition to regular job postings, these skilled staffing solutions have multiple ways to monetize. There are premium subscriptions with additional options (e.g., enhanced profiles, direct messaging, analytics) and paid job posting options, as well as advertising, recruitment services, and skill-based learning modules.
3. Improved Recruitment Process with Automation:
The goal for entrepreneurs is to improve upon the generally sluggish process of hiring people. Custom LinkedIn alternatives can support any automation, whether that involves AI/ML for improved candidate matching, resume screening, ATS, communication, or other tasks to help everyone save time and money as they interact.
4. Valuable Data and Analytics:
If entrepreneurs build a recruitment app, it will contain valuable data on topics such as job trends, candidate skill gaps, and hiring patterns. This data can be used to improve the platform and provide personalized recommendations, or it can be sold as market intelligence to employers and recruiters, creating another valuable asset.
5. Stronger Community and Brand:
Compared to a generic job board, a niche professional network creates a stronger sense of community. This provides entrepreneurs with the advantage of creating a powerful brand around its specialized focus, attracting loyal users, and being the go-to resource in that specific sector, resulting in enhanced engagement and a more sustainable business.
5 Stages to Build a Job Portal App Like LinkedIn
The time has come when you must go through a step-by-step guide to build an app like LinkedIn. In this section, we have compiled a detailed version of this.
1. Discovery & Strategy:
This is the most important part of the entire process. Work with the mobile app development company to identify the unique value proposition of your app, clearly define the target audience for your LinkedIn alternatives, and agree on the key features.
Beyond basic job advertisements, decide what advanced features you want, such as AI-powered matching, professional networking, or learning elements. The deliverables of this stage are a project roadmap, preferably a recommendation for a technology stack, and a clear project scope.
2. UI/UX Design & Prototyping:
In the second stage, to build an app like LinkedIn, the development company will design the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) of your app, ensuring it is both simple to use and visually appealing. This will entail wireframing, mockups, and prototypes for job seekers and recruiters.
To achieve a cohesive flow navigation, appealing profiles, user-friendly job search filters, and a clear application process for user engagement.
3. Frontend & Backend Development:
Now, we move to the third step to develop an app like LinkedIn. Hire mobile app developers to work on the client-side interface to the app, making sure that the app works smoothly and responsively on iOS and Android platforms.
Backend developers will work on and structure the server-side logic, manage the database, and set up the APIs (including payment processing and integration with external learning platforms) and security protocols necessary for a professional network.
4. Core Feature Development & Integration:
We will develop core features, including user profiles, job posting and job searching, messaging, networking tools, skills endorsements, and professional news feeds, among others.
The development team will develop and integrate the AI matching algorithms, analytics dashboards for recruiters, integrated learning modules, and accept payments from users. We will also develop all the subscription models for the LinkedIn alternatives you want to build.
5. Testing, Deployment, & Post Launch Support:
Let’s connect to the last stage to create an app like LinkedIn. We will systematically test (QA) all functions across all devices and user cases to ensure we capture all bugs, verify security, and identify any performance issues. After testing and validating the functionality, we will deploy your app in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
The Android app development company will then provide important post-launch support, including bug fixes, performance monitoring, security updates, and future updates, taking into consideration user feedback and market trends.
Key Features for a Job Portal App Like LinkedIn
Now that you know the process to build an app like Linkeidn, it is time for you to go through these amazing features. We have covered three panels of job portal features that will provide you with detailed knowledge on what to add to your LinkedIn clone app.
1. Job Seeker Panel Features
Profile Creation & Management:
Clearly develop and manage a professional profile that captures your skills, experience, and education.
Job Search & Filters:
Use filters to quickly search for jobs by location, industry, experience level, salary range, and keywords.
Resume / CV Upload & Builder:
With just a few clicks, you can upload resumes or build a new resume within the LinkedIn alternatives to apply for jobs faster and without leaving.
Job Alerts & Notifications:
Apps like Seek offer live notifications of jobs that match your saved preferences, so you won’t miss opportunities to apply.
Application Tracking:
Use the application tracking dashboard to review submitted applications, view status updates, and organize your job search process.
Skills Endorsements & Recommendations:
You will be endorsed by your connections and request recommendations to verify your abilities through “peer-validated” endorsements to give you credibility on your professional profile.
Networking & Connections:
You can connect with professionals, mentors, and colleagues to supercharge your network and facilitate job opportunities.
In-App Messaging:
You can chat directly with recruiters or peers within the app. The description chat feature is secure, allowing you to discuss interviews or ask questions about a specific job.
Company Profiles & Reviews:
You can view employer profiles, read reviews, and assess an employer’s culture to make informed decisions about your next career opportunity.
Learning & Skill Development:
You will have access to courses and learning paths to help you upgrade skills and knowledge to help you stay competitive in your career.
2. Employer Panel Features
Company Profile Management:
Employers can develop strong profiles that effectively distinguish their company, culture, and values, thereby attracting top talent and candidates.
Job Posting & Management:
Post jobs with all the relevant information, manage all job postings and edit job postings or update openings from one easy-to-use platform.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS):
The best job search app manages, filters, and tracks applicant submissions in one place in a more timely and strategic way to make hiring decisions faster.
Candidate Searching & Filtering:
Filter through large databases to find potential candidates by their skills, experience, location, and more.
In-App Messaging and Communication:
You can communicate with candidates straight from the app to send updates, interview links, questions, etc.
Interview Scheduling:
An app like Naukri.com sets interview times, sends invites, and syncs calendars to remove the hassle of scheduling a meeting.
Employer Branding and Analytics:
You can elevate your brand and track post views and engagement through analytics and metrics, which provide insight into how people are interacting with your applications.
Premium Job Listings:
LinkedIn alternatives use premium job listings to grab top talent faster, using premium placement for enhanced visibility.
Talent Pool Management:
The top job search apps manage and keep track of your top applicants for future roles, so you always have talent pipelines.
Hiring Team Collaboration:
A similar app, like LinkedIn, uses notes, feedback, and status updates to communicate internally between team members to create and improve team-based hiring.
3. Admin Panel Features:
User Management:
LinkedIn alternatives manage users, accounts, and approvals for users, suspend users, and delete users to keep the platform running smoothly and uphold safety and security.
Job Listing Moderation:
The Admin will need to review and approve or deny any job listings, which enables them to filter out fraud and other illegal job postings.
Content Management:
A similar app like LinkedIn allows admins to manage content from trainers used on the platform, including the articles the trainer writes and comments made by trainers on articles, approving, denying, or deleting comments if they are inappropriate and do not follow community guidelines.
Analytics & Reporting:
LinkedIn clone app offers insights, engagement statistics, and activity trends from customizable reports to prioritize decision-making.
Revenue Management:
LinkedIn clone app monitors subscriptions, ads, and sponsored listings; creates reports and manages the monetization of the platform effortlessly.
Support & Ticketing:
Respond to users and their concerns and feedback in a timely manner, and advance customer satisfaction with organized ticketing for account issues.
Security & Privacy Controls:
LinkedIn alternatives manage user permissions, data management, and compliance while administering security and privacy controls platform-wide.
System Configuration:
An abroad job search app configures integrations and settings, such as updates, notifications, and other system-related applications and settings, to manage whatever is needed to keep the application operating smoothly.
Database Management:
LinkedIn clone app facilitates data functionality, records and backs up data, and manages database performance and speed through query management for effective domain functionality.
Audit Logs & Activity Tracking:
The best app for search jobs can track what an admin has done and the activity of a user for transparency to see that all users are following the rules and troubleshoot any issues.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Job Portal App Like LinkedIn?
The cost to develop a job portal app like LinkedIn involves a substantial investment, which can usually run between $8,000 – $25,000+ to have a fully functional app. The job portal development cost can be even higher for advanced, more complex, or ultra-featured platforms.
If you are considering a basic MVP ( Minimum Viable Product), it may run around $30,000. Here are seven key factors affecting the LinkedIn app development cost:
Features and Functionality:
This is the prime factor contributing to the cost. Basic aspects of the app (user profiles, job search, application, and basic admin) are cheaper to create. Intermediate to advanced elements of the app (AI matching, in-app chat, video interviews, company reviews, salary data, real-time analytics, CRM integrations, and post- and/or pre-subscription models) all significantly increase online job portal app development costs.
Feature Level | Estimated Cost Range |
| Basic Features (Profiles, Job Search, Admin) | $8,000 – $12,000 |
| Intermediate Features (Messaging, Resume Builder, Alerts) | $12,000 – $18,000 |
| Advanced Features (AI Match, Video Calls, CRM, Analytics) | $18,000 – $30,000+ |
Platform (iOS, Android, Web):
A single platform (web-only or iOS-only) is cheaper to develop than native iOS and Android versions and a robust web app. Development on each platform is a separate effort, which will increase the LinkedIn app development cost.
Platform Type | Estimated Cost |
| Web-only or iOS-only | $8,000 – $10,000 |
| Android + iOS (Native) | $15,000 – $20,000 |
| Cross-platform + Web | $20,000 – $30,000+ |
UI/UX Design Complexity:
Using a pre-designed template for basic and simple app development will not increase the LinkedIn app development cost. User-custom, interactive, and visually rich user interfaces and experiences (UI/UX) require a higher hourly amount due to increased design hours, additional skills, and, ultimately, higher job search app development costs.
Design Level | Estimated Design Cost |
| Basic Template-Based UI | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Custom Standard UI/UX | $3,000 – $6,000 |
| High-End Interactive UI/UX | $6,000 – $10,000+ |
Development Team Size & Location:
Developers’ hourly rates can vary significantly based on region. Developers in North America and Western Europe are able to demand rates at ($150-$200/hour) compared to developers from Eastern Europe and India with rates at ($10-$20/hour). Likewise, the size and collaborative experience of your development team increase the overall job portal app development cost.
Region/Team Type | Estimated Hourly Rate | Estimated Cost (Full App) |
| India / Eastern Europe (Small Team) | $10 – $20/hr | $8,000 – $15,000 |
| North America / Western Europe | $150 – $200/hr | $30,000 – $60,000+ |
| Mid-size Global Remote Team | $40 – $80/hr | $15,000 – $30,000 |
App Complexity and Architecture:
Final technical complexity issues, including database design, backend infrastructure, API integrations (e.g., payments, social media sign-on, analytics), and scalability issues, will impact the amount of time spent and the ultimate LinkedIn app development cost.
Complexity Level | Estimated Cost Range |
| Low (Simple Backend + DB) | $5,000 – $8,000 |
| Medium (Standard APIs, DB, Scalable Architecture) | $8,000 – $15,000 |
| High (Complex APIs, Load Balancing, Cloud Infra) | $15,000 – $25,000+ |
Third-Party Integrations:
LinkedIn app development cost is affected by the integration with external services (like payment gateways such as Stripe, email/SMS services such as Twilio, storage solutions, analytics, etc.). It usually comes with licensing or LinkedIn mobile app development costs if done professionally.
Integration Type | Estimated Additional Cost |
| Basic (Social Logins, Analytics) | $500 – $1,500 |
| Intermediate (Payment Gateway, Email/SMS API) | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Advanced (CRM, Video API, AI Tools) | $3,000 – $6,000+ |
Post-Launch Maintenance And Updates:
The on-demand job portal app development cost doesn’t just stop at a single payment. The continued expenses for fixing bugs, security and maintenance updates, service operations and enhancements, the addition of new features, etc., are all part of maintaining the sustainability of web applications and will typically represent 15-20% of the initial cost to build a job portal app like LinkedIn yearly.
Maintenance Type | Yearly Cost Estimate |
| Bug Fixes & Minor Updates | 10–15% of Development Cost |
| Major Feature Upgrades | 15–20% of Development Cost |
| Full Support + Scaling | $3,000 – $6,000/year |
However, to get a rough estimation of the cost to develop a job portal app like LinkedIn with all your customer factors and requirements, you must connect with a leading web portal development company.
How Does a Job Portal App Like LinkedIn Make Money?
Get ready to have an amazing list of ways that will help you earn money from your LinkedIn substitutes. Here, we have compiled a list of ways through which job portal apps like LinkedIn.
1. Premium Subscriptions (Recruiter and Job Seeker):
This is a major component, although there is a premium subscription for job seekers (LinkedIn Premium Career, LinkedIn Premium Business) with benefits like increased visibility, direct messaging to recruiters, learning courses, etc.
There will be a premium subscription for recruiters, also. LinkedIn’s recruiter and talent solutions include advanced searching filters, InMail credits, and an application tracking system that can help employers hire efficiently.
2. Advertising Services:
If businesses create a job portal website, it provides various advertising formats for businesses, and companies can purchase targeted ads in user feeds, job postings, or company pages. The ads can be for employer branding, product service, and lead generation, utilizing LinkedIn’s vast collection of professional users’ data, specifically on those who are interested in specific products or services.
3. Talent Solutions (Hiring Products):
Beyond offering job postings, LinkedIn sells complete hiring solutions to companies. Job + employer branding tools + backend access to LohI’s incredible amount of candidate records. These all allow both the direct employers and others to find, maintain, and engage with candidates in a better way.
4. Learning & Development (LinkedIn Learning):
LinkedIn monetizes professional development content through a platform called LinkedIn Learning. The infrastructure enables individual and business membership, allowing users to unlock library content on various topics. According to the top job portal development companies, this also enhances LinkedIn by assisting its users with their skills while capturing another revenue stream.
5. Sales Solutions (Sales Navigator):
Sales professionals use LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator. This application is created for lead generation, account management, and insights. It enables sales-focused offices to more effectively visualize their prospects, facilitating non-competitive connections. This is also a subscription-based offering, which is essential to B2B sales professionals.
How AI Can Help Job Portal Apps Like LinkedIn?
AI would vastly improve job portal mobile apps, such as LinkedIn, because every user could have a personalized experience through job recommendations based on their profile, skills, and activity.
Users would be able to utilize AI for resume screening, as well as recruiters’ ability to quickly and automatically match candidates, which would save users time and drastically improve the accuracy of their candidate outputs.
AI-infused chatbots that can assist users 24/7 are a connected tactic that builds a positive user experience. Furthermore, AI offers the capability to detect fraudulent profiles and spam listings, which is a major challenge to ensuring trust for users. Predictive analytics can help users recognize in-demand skills and career paths.
Overall, AI enhances efficiency, engagement, and trust across the platform, making job searches more intelligent and recruitment easier.
How Dev Technosys Can Help You Build a Job Portal App like LinkedIn?
Hopefully, now you know the process to build a job portal app like LinkedIn. Dev Technosys is a leading job portal development company with 15+ years of industry experience. We are experts in building feature-rich, highly scalable job portal platforms, such as LinkedIn. Our team of developers, UI/UX designers, and artificial intelligence specialists work collaboratively to develop tailored solutions that connect.
Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise-level company, we provide end-to-end development from ideation, design, deployment, and support to all things necessary to engage users and streamline recruitment processes.
FAQ
Q1. Is Linkedin Premium Worth It For Job Seekers And Professionals?
Yes! LinkedIn Premium expands upon your free member account. You have access to benefits such as InMail, which allows prospective employers to see who is viewing their profile, as well as information like imposter data for job applicants, learning courses, and networking opportunities.
All of which will help you differentiate yourself to cut through the noise, have quicker connections, and land better jobs.
Q2. What Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator, And How Does It Help Businesses?
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a useful tool for sales teams. It provides in-depth lead searching capabilities, interactions through personalized outreach, and real-time insights they can use to identify, track, and connect with their business prospects.
Q3. Which Technology Stack is Best To Make a Job Portal App Like LinkedIn?
There are a high number of tech stacks to make a job portal app like LinkedIn, such as React or Angular, as your framework. Next, you’ll use a backend, where we suggest Node.js or Django. Then it’ll be the database (we suggest either PostgreSQL or MongoDB), and finally, the hosting and scalability (we suggest AWS or Azure).
Q4. How Does LinkedIn Use AI in Job Matching And Networking?
LinkedIn collects your answers and analyzes thousands of profiles, behavior, and job descriptions and can create personalized job recommendations, connection suggestions, and focused insights for professionals based on skills in order to improve user engagement and employers’ ability to hire qualified candidates.
Q4. How Long Does It Take To Create a Job Portal App Like LinkedIn?
To create a job portal app like LinkedIn, it takes between 3 and 6 months to build a complete, fully-featured job networking platform, and that number varies by features and team size. This time frame to build a job portal app like LinkedIn starts with planning, design, job portal mobile app development, testing, and finally, launch.
Q6. How Much Does It Cost To Build A Job Portal App Like LinkedIn?
In addition to function and feature sets, the cost to build a job portal app like LinkedIn would also depend on your tech stack, as well as where your development team is located. The cost to develop a job portal app like LinkedIn ranges between $8,000 and $25,000+, depending on how complex you want to build out your job portal, plus scalability.
