The verdict in three sentences
For a Dublin scale-up hiring more than 80 people a year, an employer branding careers site at 12,000 to 30,000 EUR excl. VAT pays for itself in under 18 months. The main lever is reducing dependence on job boards: direct applications cost four to six times less. What makes these projects fail is a missing ATS integration, which forces recruiters to re-enter every application.
How much does a careers site cost in 2026?
Dublin's talent market is fiercely competitive: tech multinationals, fintechs and scale-ups all chase the same profiles (sales, engineers, data analysts, customer success). A careers site is no longer a "Join us" page bolted onto the corporate site. It is a recruitment tool with its own role pages, testimonials and application funnel.
| Cost line | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Careers site, 8 to 12 pages | 12,000 to 18,000 EUR | Role pages, values, locations, openings |
| Advanced careers site (multi-office, filters, multilingual) | 20,000 to 30,000 EUR | Several offices, filterable jobs, multiple languages |
| ATS integration (Teamtailor, Greenhouse, Workable) | 2,000 to 6,000 EUR | Automatic job feed, one-click apply |
| Employee videos (4 to 6 portraits) | 3,000 to 8,000 EUR | On-site shoot, editing, subtitles |
| Team and office photography | 1,500 to 3,500 EUR | One to two shooting days |
| Maintenance and hosting | 150 to 400 EUR per month | Updates, security, small changes |
For a typical scale-up, the realistic budget is around 22,000 EUR excl. VAT all-in for year one (site, ATS, videos, maintenance). The most expensive projects involve groups with several employer brands or offices in several countries.
Job boards versus direct applications: the real maths
Cost per hire depends heavily on where the application comes from. The orders of magnitude below are observed in 2026 at companies with 300 to 1,500 employees.
| Application source | Average cost per hire | Average time to fill | Quality as rated by HR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid generalist job boards | 120 to 180 EUR | 45 to 60 days | Average, lots of screening |
| Recruitment agency | 15 to 25% of gross annual salary | 30 to 45 days | Good but very expensive |
| LinkedIn Recruiter | 8,000 to 10,000 EUR per seat per year | 35 to 50 days | Good for senior roles |
| Careers site + role-page SEO | 40 to 70 EUR | 30 to 40 days | Good, motivated candidates |
| Referrals promoted on the site | 500 to 1,000 EUR bonus | 20 to 30 days | Very good |
The careers site does not kill job boards overnight. It gradually captures "job + role + Dublin" search traffic and turns visitors into candidates at no marginal cost. Over 12 months, the share of direct applications typically rises from 10-15% to 35-50%.
What a careers site needs in order to convert
Three elements separate a showcase careers site from one that actually hires. First, a page per job family (engineering, sales, operations, support) describing daily work, entry salaries and progression: these are the pages that rank on Google. Second, an application form that takes under 2 minutes, with no account creation and mobile-friendly: more than 65% of applications come from smartphones. Third, concrete proof: real employee videos, internal mobility figures, embedded Glassdoor reviews.
The ATS integration is the central technical component. Jobs published in Teamtailor or Greenhouse flow automatically to the site, and applications go straight back into the ATS without re-keying. Without it, the HR team loses 3 to 5 hours a week copying and pasting on average.
Mini case study
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Sophie, Head of People at a Dublin fintech scale-up (650 employees), hires 120 people a year. She spends 12,000 EUR a year on job boards and 18,000 EUR in agency fees for 6 senior roles.
- Year-one investment: careers site 18,000 EUR + ATS integration 4,000 EUR + videos 5,000 EUR = 27,000 EUR excl. VAT.
- After 12 months, 45% of hires come from the site. Job board spend drops to 6,500 EUR and only 3 roles go through an agency (9,000 EUR).
- Annual saving: (12,000 + 18,000) - (6,500 + 9,000) = 14,500 EUR, plus 4 HR hours per week (about 190 hours a year).
- Payback: about 22 months on direct savings, under 15 months once the HR time saved is counted.
FAQ
How long does it take to launch a careers site?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks for an 8 to 12 page site with ATS integration. Video shooting can run in parallel over 2 to 3 weeks.
Separate site or a section of the corporate site?
Above 50 hires a year, a dedicated subdomain (careers.company.com) is better for SEO and HR autonomy. Below that, a well-structured 5 to 6 page section is often enough.
Which ATS should a Dublin scale-up choose?
Teamtailor (from around 400 EUR per month), Greenhouse and Workable are the most common. The choice depends on job volume and multi-posting needs; all three have a usable API.
Are employee videos worth the investment?
Yes for hard-to-fill roles: a job ad with video receives 30 to 40% more applications on average. A budget of 3,000 to 8,000 EUR covers 4 to 6 portraits you can reuse on LinkedIn.
How do I measure ROI?
Track cost per hire by source in the ATS every quarter. The realistic goal is to halve that cost within 12 months.
Let's scope your project. Send us your hiring volume, ATS and office locations and we will price a careers site between 12,000 and 30,000 EUR excl. VAT, delivered in 8 to 12 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.
