Job search websites in Germany 2026: a ranking built on verified facts
A ranking of German job boards, vacancy search engines and the job search of the Federal Employment Agency, built only on verifiable facts from their official pages: whether they are free for job seekers, whether they check employers or job ads, whether they publish guidance against job scams, whether you can hide your CV from chosen companies, whether the imprint names the operator with its commercial register number, the privacy policy, how many vacancies they state, and the App Store rating of their app. Recruitment agencies and freelance platforms are not included. Every fact links to its source with the date we checked it. This is not advice to use a particular site. Places are not for sale.
| # | Company | Who it serves | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jobsuche der Bundesagentur für Arbeit | 82 | Not verified | Yes | Yes | 1,000,000 | Scam advice Hidden CV Free State portal Operator named |
| 2 | stellenanzeigen.de | 60 | Not verified | Yes | Not verified | 10,000 | Scam advice Free Operator named |
| 3 | meinestadt.de Jobbörse | 57 | Not verified | Yes | Not verified | 215,991 | Scam advice Salary in every ad Operator named |
| 4 | HeyJobs | 57 | Not verified | Not verified | Yes | 359,238 | Hidden CV Free Operator named |
| 5 | Absolventa | 53 | Not verified | Not verified | Yes | 9,067 | Hidden CV Free Operator named |
-
- Employer checks or ad moderation
- Not verified
- Anti-scam guidance for job seekers
- Yes
- Hide CV from employers
- Yes
- Vacancies (as stated by the site)
- 1,000,000
Pros
- Free for job seekers
- Publishes advice on avoiding job scams
- Names the operator and its registration number
- Large number of vacancies
Details Visit site ↗ 85% backed by facts
-
- Employer checks or ad moderation
- Not verified
- Anti-scam guidance for job seekers
- Yes
- Hide CV from employers
- Not verified
- Vacancies (as stated by the site)
- 10,000
Pros
- Free for job seekers
- Publishes advice on avoiding job scams
- Names the operator and its registration number
- Publishes a privacy policy
Details Visit site ↗ 70% backed by facts
-
- Employer checks or ad moderation
- Not verified
- Anti-scam guidance for job seekers
- Yes
- Hide CV from employers
- Not verified
- Vacancies (as stated by the site)
- 215,991
Pros
- Publishes advice on avoiding job scams
- Names the operator and its registration number
- Large number of vacancies
- Publishes a privacy policy
Details Visit site ↗ 60% backed by facts
-
- Employer checks or ad moderation
- Not verified
- Anti-scam guidance for job seekers
- Not verified
- Hide CV from employers
- Yes
- Vacancies (as stated by the site)
- 359,238
Pros
- Free for job seekers
- Names the operator and its registration number
- Large number of vacancies
- You can hide your CV from chosen companies or from everyone
Details Visit site ↗ 64% backed by facts
-
- Employer checks or ad moderation
- Not verified
- Anti-scam guidance for job seekers
- Not verified
- Hide CV from employers
- Yes
- Vacancies (as stated by the site)
- 9,067
Pros
- Free for job seekers
- Names the operator and its registration number
- You can hide your CV from chosen companies or from everyone
- Publishes a privacy policy
Details Visit site ↗ 64% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Indeed Deutschland (site closed to automated checks, )
- Jobware (site closed to automated checks, )
- Monster Deutschland (site closed to automated checks, )
- Stepstone (site closed to automated checks, )
- XING Jobs (site closed to automated checks, )
- Yourfirm (51% backed by facts)
- get in IT (51% backed by facts)
- kimeta (site closed to automated checks, )
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
20%
Reliability
Whether the website names its operator with a registration number (in the imprint, terms or contacts), and whether a privacy or personal data policy is published.
30%
Safety for job seekers
Whether the site says it checks employers or moderates job ads before they go live, and whether it publishes its own guidance on recognising fake vacancies and job scams.
25%
Terms for job seekers
Whether searching, applying and posting a CV are free for job seekers, and whether you can hide your CV from chosen companies or make it invisible.
25%
Vacancies and app
How many vacancies the site itself says it has (the first tens of thousands matter most), whether it has its own job seeker app, and that app's App Store rating weighted by the number of ratings.
How to look for work safely
Never pay to be hired
A genuine employer does not charge for an interview, training, a uniform or a work permit. A request for money, a deposit or card details before a contract is the most common sign of a scam.
Check who the employer is
Look the company up in the official business register, compare the contact details with its own website and be careful if the employer only talks through messengers or personal email.
Protect your personal data
Do not put your ID number, passport details or home address in your CV. Send document copies only after an offer, to the company's official address, and never share codes from text messages.
Use the privacy settings of your CV
If you are employed, hide your CV from your current employer or make it visible only to the companies you apply to. Check what your profile looks like to others before publishing it.
Read the offer in writing
Ask for the salary, working hours, type of contract and place of work in writing before you start. An employment contract should be signed before the first working day.
Report suspicious ads
Use the report button on the job site, and if you have lost money or data, contact the police. Save screenshots of the ad and the messages before they are deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a state job portal in Germany?
Yes. The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) runs Jobsuche, formerly Jobbörse, on arbeitsagentur.de. On its app page the agency calls it Germany's largest online job portal with more than 1 million jobs; the Jobsuche app can be installed free of charge on iOS and Android.
May a job ad select candidates by age or sex?
No. Under section 11 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), a job may not be advertised in breach of the ban on discrimination. Section 1 AGG says the aim of the act is to prevent or remove discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin, sex, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity.
How quickly must I act after a discriminatory rejection?
A claim for damages or compensation under section 15 AGG must be made in writing within two months, unless the parties to a collective agreement have agreed otherwise. For a job application, the period starts when you receive the rejection.
What may a private recruitment agent charge me?
Under section 296 of Social Code Book III, the placement contract must be in writing and state the fee. You only have to pay if an employment contract results from the placement, and the agent may not ask for or accept advance payments. The fee, including VAT, may not exceed 2,000 euros unless a placement voucher for a different amount is presented; for a mini-job the agent may not charge anything.