6 Best Salary Comparison Tools for 2023
This article is part of a larger series onHiring.
Before you can set or negotiate an employee’s pay level, you’ll want to compare salaries using compensation data you’ve gathered for similar roles at other companies. The best salary comparison tools provide you access to a wide range of data—from staff wages and bonuses to employee benefits—that cover many job types, skills, and positions across industries and locations. Some are free to use and include both employee- and employer-reported salaries, while others offer paid solutions that provide market pay data sourced from salary benchmarking studies.
Since our last update:LinkedIn Salary is no longer available and therefore no longer appears on our list.
We evaluated a variety of solutions and narrowed the list down to our top six salary comparison tool recommendations.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics:Best overall salary comparison tool
- Indeed:最好的员工,employer-reporte的混合d and job posting data
- PayLab:Best for education and consultants
- ZipRecruiter: Best for employers needing easy-to-understand salary research reports
- Payscale:Best for employers looking for a compensation scenario builder
- Salary.com: Best for companies that need unique data filters to view salary data
只需要一个快速检查吗?If you are only looking for a “sanity check” on a salary, there are simple, searchable databases that let you filter by job and location. These are usually aimed at job seekers, but can provide a good basis for comparison:
Salary Comparison Tools Compared
Paid salary comparison plans* |
Data reporting |
Includes pay bonuses |
Basic benefits information |
Robust data points (position title, location, gender, education, and skills) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
✕ |
Employer only |
Only shows the percentage of survey respondents that offer it |
✓ |
✓ |
|
✕ |
Employer and employee |
✕ |
✓ |
Limited |
|
✓ |
Employee only |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
✓ |
Employer and employee |
✓ |
Paid versions |
✓ |
|
✓ |
Employer only |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
*Every product on our list offers at least some of its services for free. These include:
- Salary by job and location
- Range of salary
- Reports (most are downloadable)
- Search for a single job by title and location
Having a competitive compensation package is just one aspect of an effective hiring process. To learn more, check out our articles onfinding the best employeesandwriting an effective job descriptionthat attracts the top candidates.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Best Overall Salary Comparison Tools
Pros
- Free access and download of reports
- Large database
- Robust data filters
Cons
- No list of high-paying companies for a selected position
- Bonus data not available; only lists the percentage of company-respondents that offer it
- Some reports require additional resources to check position and/or industry codes
Bureau of Labor Statistics Deciding Factors
- Pricing:Free
- Software or reports:Reports only
- Number of searches:Unlimited
- Number of available job titles:800+
- Sources:Employer-reported data sourced from government-run nationwide surveys
- Updates:Annual
- Ease of use:Not as easy as the others on our list
- Additional tools:Reports on consumer price index, unemployment, benefits, and more
美国劳工统计局(BLS)工资调查is the largest of its kind. It’s a highly scientific government-run survey that’s free to download. The data is sourced from quarterly nationwide employer surveys and has the most robust filtering and download capabilities. This helps you account for organizational, regional, and other data variations in compensation. However, the quarterly reports are summaries; the job-specific searchable reports are updated each May.
Earning an overall rating of 4.12 out of 5, the BLS scored high in pricing, comparison tools, and reporting given its free salary research reports, nationwide employer-reported data, and multiple filter options. It was rated poorly in ease of use primarily because of its dated-looking website, which makes it difficult to navigate through wage reports.
Indeed: Best for Employee-reported, Employer-reported & Job Posting Data
Pros
- Completely free; no limits
- Shows salary satisfaction percentages and common employee benefits
- Lists highest-paying companies for the position and location selected
Cons
- Only displays base salary; bonuses not included
- Data filters aren’t robust; you have to scroll through its salary comparison page to see pay information based on skills, work experience, location, and company
- Lacks downloadable salary compensation reports
Indeed Deciding Factors
- Pricing:Free
- Software or reports:Reports only
- Number of searches:Unlimited
- Number of available job titles:Thousands in 24 industries
- Sources:Employer- and employee-reported salaries as well as pay info from job postings (700 million salaries)
- Updates:Continual
- Ease of use:Very easy
- Additional tools:Job posting (free and paid plans)
Indeed is one of the largest job posting sites on the market. It has a robust set of salary data that is a blend of information pulled from past and current job postings on Indeed, including those anonymously reported by employees and employers. It’s completely free to use, and because Indeed captures data from so many companies, it’s a good tool for competitor analysis.
Scoring 4.06 out of 5 in our evaluation, Indeed earned perfect marks in pricing, given its free salary research tools. It scored the lowest in reporting because it doesn’t let you download salary comparison reports. Plus, it doesn’t have robust data filters like Payscale, Salary.com, and the BLS do.
PayLab: Best for Consultant Services & Academia
Pros
- Over 460,000 job profiles
- International salaries
- 容易-to-use mobile app
Cons
- Euro-centric
- For free salary comparison, you need to fill out the survey
- Free trial is highly limited
PayLab Deciding Factors
- Pricing:7-day free trial, EUR499 per year (approx $526) for unlimited reports; one job, EUR49 (approx $51)
- Software or reports:Reports
- Number of searches:Unlimited
- Number of available job titles:700+
- Sources:Employee surveys
- Updates:Continuous
- Ease of use:容易
- Additional tools:Partnership programs
If your focus is on salary research for academic or consulting purposes, then check out PayLab’s partnership program. It offers you access to all your country’s data in exchange for participation in its research. PayLab is one of the few on our list that provides salary information for countries outside the US. It offers sample salaries of over 700 job positions in over 36 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
PayLab earned 3.94 out of 5 on our rubric. It took a big hit on pricing since its free tool is extremely limited for employers. However, it did very well on comparison tools, reporting, and ease of use, with the second-highest ease of use score after ZipRecruiter.
ZipRecruiter: Best for Employers Needing Easy-to-Understand Salary Comparison Reports
Pros
- Free and easy to use
- Has an online salary comparison summary that’s simple yet easy to understand
- Salary database covers 35,000 job titles
Cons
- Comparison reports aren’t downloadable
- Bonus and benefits data not available
- Limited data filters; only allows you to view salaries by the hour, week, month, year, and in table format
ZipRecruiter Deciding Factors
- Pricing:Free
- Software or reports:Reports only
- Number of searches:Unlimited
- Number of available job titles:35,000
- Sources:Employer job listings from ZipRecruiter and third-parties
- Updates:Continual
- Ease of use:容易
- Additional tools:Job posting (free and paid plans)
ZipRecruiter是一个在线人才市场和recruitment solution for posting jobs and finding qualified candidates. It also offers a salary comparison tool that contains compensation information from job listings posted on its site and third-party data sources (like ADP). The results of its salary research are easy to understand, plus it has a short yet helpful summary that explains the average annual pay and pay range for the position selected.
It earned an overall score of 3.91 out of 5 in our evaluation. Its ease of use and free-to-use salary comparison tools contributed to its high scores. However, ZipRecruiter’s lack of data filters and downloadable salary research reports prevented it from scoring higher on this list.
Payscale: Best for Businesses Looking to Create Custom Compensation Scenarios
Pros
- Has a compensation scenario builder
- Wide range of survey and compensation management solutions
- Offers products with robust employee- and employer-reported data
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent
- Differences between Payscale’s products can be difficult to understand
- Can download only one report a year free
Payscale Deciding Factors
- Pricing:Free (one report or pricing); more reports cost $49.50–$100
- Software or reports:Both
- Number of searches:Simple search; one free report per year
- Number of available job titles:15,000
- Sources:Employer and employee
- Updates:Continual
- Ease of use:Mostly easy
- Additional tools:Job description, compensation management and communication, tailored implementation and support
Payscale is an easy-to-use tool that includes robust employee- and employer-reported data (although not job posting data like Indeed). It has a wide range of compensation management and survey tools like Salary.com, although Payscale lets you build your own compensation scenarios in case you need to create new positions or a completely new business. This allows you to get a holistic idea of your staffing costs, more so than the other salary comparison tools in this guide (although PayLab will let you set up cumulative positions for multiple salaries at once). The reports are simple and easy to understand, but the plethora of job titles can make it difficult to get the right title comparison.
It scored 3.72 out of 5 in our evaluation, with perfect marks in comparison tools and ratings of 3 and up in reporting capabilities and ease of use. However, the non-transparent pricing of its paid salary survey solutions and services hurt its overall score.
Salary.com: Best for Businesses Wanting Unique Filters to View Compensation Data
Pros
- Employer-reported salary information with 800 million data points
- Offers a wide range of survey and compensation management solutions
- Multiple data filters; includes unique selections for sorting data based on performance, reporting lines, and number of direct reports
Cons
- Navigating through all its solutions and services can be a bit confusing
- Some products are expensive; can be costly for small businesses especially if you get multiple tools
- Results of online salary calculator can’t be downloaded
Salary.com Deciding Factors
- Pricing:Free job pricing; reports and software cost extra
- Software or reports:Both
- Number of searches:Unlimited
- Number of available job titles:15,000
- Sources:Employer
- Updates:Monthly
- Ease of use:Medium
- Additional tools:Compensation management, job description management, job skills and competency model
Salary.com is one of the oldest sources of salary data on the web—the company was founded in 1999. It has 100% employer-reported survey data purchased from data collectors and even offers a wide range of compensation management and salary survey products. The information is updated monthly and can be filtered in ways unavailable on other sites, such as salary views based on performance and management level.
Salary.com’s pricing hurt its score the most, bringing it to 3.69 out of 5. It earned a perfect score for its robust comparison tools, with the unique filters making it stand out. Plus, it had high scores for ease of use. It has a free-to-use salary calculator, but you have to pay extra if you want to download the report. We also found the add placement more intrusive than others on our list.
Tips for Using Salary Comparison Tools
Conducting salary research is a critical part of creating your company’s compensation program. It helps ensure that you’re paying employees at par with market rates, enabling you to attract qualified candidates and improveemployee retentionas well. Regardless of which salary comparison tool you use, here are a few key things you should do.
Salary ranges for any job title can vary greatly based on a number of factors, such as location, education, years of experience, and industry. For example, an engineer in New York City needs to make more than the same engineer in Iowa to have the same standard of living.
In addition, job titles vary greatly, so consider similar job titles when gathering salary data. Filter by as many variables as you can to get data that closely matches the position you are researching.
努力穰之间找到合适的平衡点ct job match and a number of data points. The closer you can match a comparison profile with your job profile, the more relevant the comparison data is. However, as you add constraints like experience or region, you’ll reduce the size of your dataset. Reduce it too much, and you won’t have a large enough data set for a reliable comparison.
Because you want to create a competitive salary package, you should not focus on a single number. Calculate a comparison range and a compa ratio.Compa ratio, short for comparison ratio, compares the salary you are paying your employees versus the market midpoint for similar positions at other companies. Decide where on the scale you should fall to be competitive, considering youremployer brandand other things you offer your employees, such as benefits, flexible scheduling, and bonus payouts.
How We Chose the Best Salary Comparison Tools
We looked at several salary comparison tools, comparing each solution’s data sources and the types of pay information supplied. We also considered other features like downloadable reports, the amount of data available, and ease of use. And while most have free salary research tools, we checked whether it offers a paid version that’s affordably priced.
Click through the tabs below for a more detailed breakdown of our evaluation criteria.
25% of Overall Score
40% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
Salary comparison reports should be downloadable and easy to understand. PayLab took the lead here with 4.44 out of 5.
15% of Overall Score
Bottom Line
不管你的公司规模和bu的类型siness you have, you should be using salary comparison tools to determine whether or not your salary package is on par with the market. Having access to up-to-date salary data also helps you create compensation strategies for attracting new hires and retaining current employees. Some even provide insights on HR best practices such as forhiring qualified candidates,onboarding new hires, and more.
We found that the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers the best value for money. It’s free to use with a rich data set that comes from nationwide surveys run by the government. The salary ranges for positions, multiple filters, and different data points included (like salary quartiles, pay by years of work experience, and extensive industry coverage) are also super helpful. You can even download its reports and charts in various file formats—all at no cost.
Get started with the BLS’s salary research tools today.