LinkedIn does two jobs: it's a job board and a professional network. The best alternative depends on which one you need. Its job search is crowded with reposted and recruiter listings. Its feed is full of engagement bait. You don't have to quit it, but you shouldn't depend on it alone.
Below are the alternatives worth your time in 2026, grouped by what you're replacing: finding jobs, networking and showing your work, or both, in a specific region.
Earlier versions of this guide recommended Read.cv and Polywork. Read.cv shut down in 2025 after Perplexity acquired its team. Polywork stopped being a professional network back in 2023 and became a personal website builder. If you had a profile on either, the networks below are where that audience went.
Quick comparison
| Platform | Replaces LinkedIn for | Best for | Cost for job seekers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellfound | Job search | Startup roles with salary and equity shown | Free |
| Welcome to the Jungle (formerly Otta) | Job search | Curated tech and startup jobs, UK, US and Europe | Free |
| Indeed | Job search | The widest range of roles and countries | Free |
| Glassdoor | Job search + research | Company reviews and salary data before you apply | Free |
| Jobzeni | Job search | Remote jobs that apply directly on the company's site | Free |
| Peerlist | Networking | Developers and designers showing real work | Free, optional paid tier |
| GitHub, Dribbble, Behance | Networking | Portfolios that do the talking | Free |
| Hacker News "Who is hiring?" | Job search + networking | Messaging founders and engineers directly | Free |
| Both | Jobs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland | Free, optional premium |
LinkedIn alternatives for finding a job
1. Wellfound
Best for: startup jobs. Wellfound, formerly AngelList Talent, is where early-stage and venture-backed startups post roles. Most listings show the salary range and equity up front, so you don't spend three interviews finding out the pay doesn't work. You can message founders and hiring managers directly, and many roles are remote.
Watch out for: listings stay up after a role has quietly closed. Check the "last active" signal before you invest in an application.
2. Welcome to the Jungle (formerly Otta)
Best for: a curated tech job search. Otta merged into Welcome to the Jungle in 2024. It still matches you to roles based on what you want: salary, company stage, values and remote policy. Company profiles show how the team works, not just the job ad. Its strongest coverage is the UK, Europe and the US.
Watch out for: it's selective about which companies it lists, so it won't have every role.
3. Indeed
Best for: breadth. If LinkedIn doesn't cover your field or country well, Indeed probably does. It aggregates millions of postings across industries and works in most countries. Use its salary filters and "posted in the last 3 days" filter to cut through old listings.
Watch out for: it pulls in staffing-agency and reposted ads. Prefer listings that link to the employer's own careers page.
4. Glassdoor
Best for: research before you apply. Glassdoor has job listings, but its real value is employee reviews, interview questions and salary reports. Read a company's recent reviews and its interview section before you apply. It's the closest thing to a reference check on your future employer.
Watch out for: review sites lean negative, because unhappy people write more reviews. Look for patterns, not single posts.
5. Jobzeni
Best for: remote jobs without the middlemen. This is our site, so weigh that. We built Jobzeni because so many LinkedIn listings are reposts, recruiter ads or roles that closed weeks ago. Every job here links to the company's own careers page, shows where you can actually work from (many "remote" jobs are limited to certain countries), and is removed when it closes.
LinkedIn alternatives for networking and showing your work
6. Peerlist
Best for: developers and designers. Peerlist is a professional network built around proof of work. Your profile pulls in your projects, GitHub activity, writing and design work instead of a list of job titles. The community is small and tech-focused, so posting a project gets real feedback, and messaging someone isn't lost among hundreds of recruiter messages.
Watch out for: outside tech and design there isn't much activity yet.
7. GitHub, Dribbble and Behance
Best for: letting your work be your profile. For engineers, a GitHub profile with a pinned project and a clear README often says more than a CV. For designers, Dribbble and Behance serve the same role, and both have job boards where companies hire straight from the portfolio.
Tip: pin two or three projects that match the job you want, and write a short note on each covering the problem, your role and the result.
8. Hacker News "Who is hiring?"
Best for: reaching founders directly. On the first weekday of every month, Hacker News posts a "Who is hiring?" thread. Hundreds of companies, mostly tech startups, post a short description and say how to apply. Often that means emailing the founder or an engineer. It's one of the few places where your first message reaches the person who decides.
Tip: reply by email the same week the thread goes up, and mention something specific from the company's post.
A regional alternative: Xing (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
9. Xing
Best for: anyone job hunting in the DACH region. If you're searching for an Alternative zu LinkedIn, Xing is the obvious one. Since 2023 it has repositioned itself as a jobs network rather than a general social feed, and anyone can now search its listings without an account. Recruiters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland still use it heavily, especially for German-speaking roles.
Watch out for: outside the DACH region it's of little use.
How to choose
- You want a job fast: set up alerts on Indeed or Welcome to the Jungle, and apply directly on company sites where you can.
- You want a startup role: Wellfound plus the monthly Hacker News thread.
- You want a remote role: filter by where you can actually work from. Many "remote" jobs are limited to one country. Jobzeni shows this on every listing.
- You want to be found: build a Peerlist profile or a portfolio on GitHub, Dribbble or Behance, and keep your LinkedIn profile current so recruiters can verify your history.
- You're in Germany, Austria or Switzerland: add Xing.
Frequently asked questions
Should I delete my LinkedIn profile?
No. Recruiters still use it to check your work history, so keep it accurate and up to date. Spend your active job-search and networking time where your messages and applications get noticed.
What is the best free alternative to LinkedIn for job search?
For the widest choice, Indeed. For tech and startup roles, Wellfound or Welcome to the Jungle. For remote roles where you apply directly to the company, Jobzeni. All are free for job seekers.
What happened to Read.cv and Polywork?
Read.cv shut down in 2025 after Perplexity acquired its team. Users could export their data, and .cv domains moved to Hello.cv. Polywork pivoted from a professional network to a personal website builder in 2023. Former users mostly moved to Peerlist or to portfolio sites.
Is there a LinkedIn alternative for recruiters?
Recruiters hiring engineers and designers find candidates on GitHub, Peerlist and Dribbble. Recruiters hiring for startups use Wellfound. In German-speaking markets, Xing remains a strong sourcing channel.
