The verdict in three sentences
For a 600-employee company struggling to hire technicians, an employer branding careers site costs between EUR 8,000 and 20,000 excluding VAT depending on integration depth, and ships in 8 weeks. The financial lever is direct: every candidate hired directly avoids a recruitment agency fee of 15 to 20% of annual gross salary, roughly EUR 5,000 to 8,000 for a maintenance technician. With 6 direct hires a year, the site pays for itself in under 12 months and cost per hire is halved. London agency rates run 20 to 40% higher, but the logic is identical.
What a careers site quote includes in 2026
An effective careers site is not one more "Join us" page on the corporate website. It is a dedicated space built for mobile (over 70% of technician candidates apply from a smartphone), with jobs indexed by Google for Jobs, employee video testimonials and an application that takes under 3 minutes.
| Budget line | Essential version | Full version | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy and employer value proposition | EUR 1,200 | EUR 2,500 | Workshops with HR and field managers |
| Design and build (8 to 15 pages) | EUR 3,500 | EUR 7,000 | Job family pages, sites, benefits |
| ATS connection (Teamtailor, Workable, Greenhouse, Workday) | EUR 1,000 | EUR 3,500 | Job feed and application sync |
| Video testimonials (4 to 8 portraits) | EUR 1,500 | EUR 4,000 | On-site shoot, subtitles |
| Google for Jobs SEO and structured data | EUR 500 | EUR 1,500 | JobPosting markup per job |
| Accessibility and candidate GDPR | EUR 300 | EUR 1,500 | Consent, retention period |
| Indicative total | EUR 8,000 | EUR 20,000 | 2026 order of magnitude |
The ATS connection is what separates a brochure site from a hiring tool: without it, HR re-types job ads and loses applications sent by email.
Recruitment agency or direct hiring site: the math
In Marseille, an experienced industrial maintenance technician or electrical technician earns EUR 32,000 to 42,000 gross a year in 2026 (London equivalents sit around GBP 35,000 to 48,000). Specialist agencies charge 15 to 20% of that amount, premium job boards EUR 400 to 1,200 per ad.
| Channel | Cost per hire | Average time to hire | Cultural fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist agency (18% of EUR 38,000) | EUR 6,840 | 6 to 10 weeks | Variable |
| Premium job board (3 ads) | EUR 2,400 | 8 to 12 weeks | Low, unqualified volume |
| Public employment service and fairs | EUR 500 + HR time | 10 to 16 weeks | Medium |
| Employee referral with bonus | EUR 1,000 to 1,500 | 4 to 8 weeks | High |
| Careers site + targeted campaigns | EUR 2,500 to 3,400 | 5 to 8 weeks | High |
The careers site does not replace other channels: it makes them work better. A LinkedIn or Indeed campaign pointing to a job family page with video converts 2 to 3 times better than a plain ad.
Typical 8-week plan
| Week | Deliverable | Who is involved |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Employer brand workshops, site map | HR director, 3 managers, 2 technicians |
| 3 | Mobile and desktop mockups | HR, communications |
| 4 | Video testimonial shoot | 4 to 8 volunteer employees |
| 5 to 6 | Development, ATS connection | Agency, ATS vendor |
| 7 | QA, accessibility, GDPR | HR, DPO |
| 8 | Go-live, Google for Jobs, campaigns | Agency, HR |
Mini case study
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Nadia, HR director of a 600-employee industrial group in Marseille, hired 14 technicians in 2025, 10 of them through agencies at EUR 6,840 on average: EUR 68,400 in fees. She orders a full careers site at EUR 16,000, plus EUR 600 a month of targeted campaigns (EUR 7,200 a year). In 2026, 7 technicians come through the site, 4 through referrals and only 3 through agencies. Total cost: 16,000 + 7,200 + 4,000 in bonuses + 20,520 in agency fees = EUR 47,720, a saving of EUR 20,680 in year one. Average cost per hire drops from EUR 4,886 to EUR 3,409, then to around EUR 2,400 in year two once the site is paid off.
FAQ
How much does an employer branding site cost in 2026?
Budget EUR 8,000 for an essential 8-page version with a job feed, and up to EUR 20,000 with two-way ATS integration and 8 video testimonials. Annual maintenance runs EUR 1,200 to 3,000.
Do we need to change ATS to get a careers site?
Not in 90% of cases: Teamtailor, Workable, Greenhouse, Welcome to the Jungle or Workday expose an API or XML feed. The connection costs EUR 1,000 to 3,500 depending on how much data is synced.
Are employee videos essential?
They are optional, but a job page with video shows a 30 to 50% higher application rate. A one-day on-site shoot for 4 portraits costs around EUR 1,500.
How long before we see results?
Jobs appear in Google for Jobs 1 to 2 weeks after go-live. The first direct hires usually arrive between month 2 and month 4.
How do we handle GDPR for applications?
The site must display a privacy notice, collect consent for the talent pool and limit retention to 2 years at most under CNIL guidance (UK GDPR follows similar principles). This setup accounts for EUR 300 to 1,500 of the budget.
Let's scope your project. Send us your hiring volumes and your ATS: we will price a careers site between EUR 8,000 and 20,000, delivered in 8 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
