The verdict in three sentences
For a Lisbon logistics, port or manufacturing company hiring more than 50 people a year, a dedicated careers site pays for itself in 9 to 18 months. The realistic 2026 budget sits between 12,000 and 30,000 EUR excluding VAT, plus an ATS connector (Welcome to the Jungle, Flatchr, Teamtailor) at 2,000 to 6,000 EUR. The real stake is not design but lowering the cost per application, which drops from 40 to 120 EUR on job boards to 8 to 25 EUR on a well-ranked site.
What an employer branding site costs in Lisbon in 2026
Price depends mainly on the number of job families, the depth of the ATS integration and the volume of video content. A logistics hub in Azambuja hiring forklift drivers, pickers and team leaders has different needs from an industrial group in Setúbal looking for maintenance engineers.
| Package | Scope | Price excl. VAT 2026 | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhanced careers page | 5 to 8 pages, jobs via ATS iframe | 6,000 to 11,000 EUR | 4 to 5 weeks |
| Standard careers site | 15 to 25 pages, job family pages, testimonials | 12,000 to 18,000 EUR | 7 to 8 weeks |
| Full employer branding site | SEO job pages, videos, candidate journey, multisite | 20,000 to 30,000 EUR | 9 to 10 weeks |
| ATS connector (API) | Job and application sync | 2,000 to 6,000 EUR | within timeline |
| Employee video shoot | 4 to 6 portraits of 60 seconds | 3,500 to 8,000 EUR | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Maintenance and updates | Updates, backups, 2 h of changes/month | 150 to 400 EUR/month | ongoing |
The connector is the line item not to underestimate. Teamtailor and Welcome to the Jungle expose documented APIs, which puts integration around 2,000 to 3,500 EUR. Flatchr or an in-house ATS may require custom work up to 6,000 EUR.
Job boards versus careers site: the real cost per application
Job boards remain useful for hiring peaks, but their cost climbs fast for hard-to-fill profiles in the Lisbon area (drivers, electromechanics, dock technicians).
| Channel | Cost per application 2026 | Average quality | Brand control |
|---|---|---|---|
| General job board (sponsored Indeed) | 40 to 70 EUR | medium | low |
| Specialist job board (logistics, industry) | 60 to 120 EUR | good | low |
| Recruitment agency | 15 to 20% of annual salary | very good | medium |
| Careers site without SEO | 25 to 45 EUR | variable | high |
| SEO-optimised careers site + Google for Jobs | 8 to 25 EUR | good | high |
| Employee referral promoted on the site | 5 to 15 EUR (bonus included) | very good | high |
The gain comes from three levers: JobPosting markup that surfaces offers in Google for Jobs, job family pages ranking for queries like "warehouse jobs Lisbon" or "port of Lisbon careers", and an application form that takes under 2 minutes on mobile. For blue-collar roles, 70 to 80% of applications come from a smartphone.
What the brief must include
- One page per job family with indicative salary, shifts and work location (Lisbon, Azambuja, Setúbal, Sines).
- Application without account creation, CV optional for operational roles.
- JobPosting markup generated automatically from the ATS.
- Analytics by source (Indeed, LinkedIn, Google, referral) to measure the true cost.
- GDPR compliance: CV retention period (2 years maximum is the common benchmark), explicit consent.
- Baseline WCAG accessibility, since candidates with disabilities matter for legal hiring quotas.
Mini case study
Inês, HR Director of a 650-employee logistics group based in Lisbon and Setúbal, hires 140 people a year. Her company receives about 2,800 applications annually, at an average of 55 EUR on job boards, or 154,000 EUR a year.
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She invests 22,000 EUR excl. VAT in a careers site with a Teamtailor connector (4,000 EUR) and 4 video portraits (5,000 EUR), 31,000 EUR excl. VAT in total, plus 3,000 EUR of annual maintenance. After 12 months, 45% of applications come through the site at 15 EUR each. Calculation: 1,260 applications × 15 EUR = 18,900 EUR, versus 1,260 × 55 EUR = 69,300 EUR before. Savings of 50,400 EUR in year one, for a 34,000 EUR investment. Payback arrives around month 8.
FAQ
Should it be a separate site or a section of the corporate site?
Above 50 hires a year, a subdomain or dedicated section with its own template works better. The budget stays comparable (12,000 to 18,000 EUR excl. VAT) and rankings on job queries improve faster.
Which ATS suits a mid-sized company?
Teamtailor and Flatchr fit organisations of 50 to 500 employees, with subscriptions of 150 to 600 EUR per month. Welcome to the Jungle brings visibility but often costs over 1,000 EUR per month.
How long before the cost per application drops?
Allow 3 to 6 months for job family pages to rank. Google for Jobs works faster, often within 2 to 4 weeks after the offers are indexed.
Are employee videos essential?
No, but they lift application rates by 15 to 30% on operational roles. A 4-portrait shoot costs 3,500 to 5,000 EUR in Lisbon.
What happens to candidate data?
CVs stay in the ATS, hosted in Europe for most vendors. The site should keep no data beyond transmission, which simplifies GDPR compliance.
Let's scope your project. Send us your hiring volume, current ATS and work locations: we will price a careers site between 12,000 and 30,000 EUR excl. VAT with a 7 to 10 week plan. 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.
