PandoLogic vs Adway: Best for Quality Hires

While both platforms automate recruitment advertising, Adway delivers a documented 36% boost in quality of hire compared to PandoLogic's efficiency-focused approach. Adway's social-first strategy reaches passive talent at half the cost of job boards, with clients reporting €194 return for every €1 spent versus traditional programmatic job advertising.

Key Facts

• Adway holds Core Leader status in Fosway's 9-Grid for four consecutive years, reflecting strong enterprise performance
• Social recruiting costs average $0.49 per click versus $1.00 for job boards, delivering 50% lower acquisition costs
• Swedish property firm Ocab achieved 33% more quality hires per vacancy after switching to Adway
• PandoLogic's pandoIQ automates job board placements but lacks published quality-of-hire benchmarks
• 73% of millennials found their last job through social media, not job boards
• Nexer Recruit shortened time to hire by 24% using Adway's automation

Talent acquisition leaders weighing PandoLogic vs Adway care about one outcome: which platform boosts quality of hire. This comparison unpacks evidence from analyst grids, benchmark reports and customer data to show where each vendor shines and where Adway pulls ahead.

Why 'Quality of Hire' Is the New Battleground

TA teams face mounting pressure to do more with less. 75% of TA leaders say candidate quality is their top priority, yet traditional job boards keep delivering volume without the fit that hiring managers demand.

The shift matters for two reasons:

Passive talent dominates. 84% of organizations now use social media to recruit, recognizing that the best candidates rarely browse job boards.
Investment is accelerating. 90% of companies using programmatic are increasing their spend, proof that automation is becoming table stakes.

Both PandoLogic and Adway promise to solve the quality puzzle, but they take fundamentally different routes. Understanding those routes is essential before you commit budget.

Side-by-side illustration of social recruiting funnel versus programmatic job board funnel

PandoLogic centers on programmatic job advertising: the automated process of buying and selling ad inventory through an exchange, which connects advertisers to publishers. Its pandoIQ platform uses AI to automate manual tasks, maximize ROI, and precision-target job-board audiences.

Adway takes a social-first approach. Rather than optimizing placements across job boards, it delivers job ads into candidates' social feeds on Meta, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. The logic is simple: 73% of millennials found their last job through social media ads, not by scrolling job boards.

Dimension	PandoLogic	Adway
Primary channel	Job boards & publisher exchanges	Social media platforms
Candidate type	Active job seekers	Active + passive talent
Optimization focus	Budget allocation & bidding	Targeting, creative & candidate journey

The downstream impact? Social recruiting reaches candidates before they start a job search, expanding your talent pool to nearly 100% of the workforce rather than the minority actively hunting.

Which Vendor Delivers Better Hires? Evidence & Benchmarks

Numbers tell the story best.

Adway reports a platform-wide boost in quality of hire by +36% across its customer base. One standout example comes from Ocab, a Swedish property restoration company. After switching to Adway, Ocab achieved 33% more quality hires per vacancy.

PandoLogic's pandoIQ makes sure job listings end up in front of qualified candidates by automating placements and optimizing decision-making at every stage. Yet public benchmarks for quality-of-hire improvements are less prominent in PandoLogic's positioning; the emphasis skews toward efficiency and cost control.

Key takeaway: Both platforms promise qualified candidates, but Adway provides documented quality-of-hire lifts backed by case-study data.

How Easy Is Roll-Out, Automation & ATS Integration?

Implementation speed can make or break your hiring quarter.

PandoLogic offers seamless integration with ADP Recruiting Management, featuring bi-directional data exchange, real-time updates and single sign-on. A dedicated client success manager supports the onboarding process.

Adway integrates with major ATS platforms as well. One G2 reviewer from PEAB noted: Seamlessly integrates with our ATS and enables us to take full control of data and strategic TA investments. Nexer Recruit, a Swedish staffing firm, reported time to hire shortened by 24% after rolling out Adway's automated recruitment marketing.

Both vendors automate campaign execution, but Adway's automation extends to creative optimization, candidate nurturing and mobile-first application journeys that keep drop-off rates low.

Abstract bar chart showing job board costs higher and social recruiting delivering greater ROI and speed

What About Cost, Speed and Recruitment ROI?

TA leaders need hard numbers before signing off on budget.

Metric	PandoLogic	Adway
Job-board CPC	~$1.00 (industry average)	N/A (social-first)
Social CPC	N/A	$0.49 (nearly 50% cheaper)
ROI lift	Efficiency focus; public ROI benchmarks limited	230% boost in ROI (contingent staffing case)
Cost-per-hire trend	Industry average reached $851 in 2024	Clients report €194 return for every €1 spent

Appcast's 2025 Benchmark Report confirms that job-board CPCs hover around $1.00, while social ad CPCs sit at $0.49, a near 50% saving. With 90% of candidates applying on mobile, social ads meet talent where they already scroll, boosting apply rates and lowering overall recruitment spend.

Key takeaway: Social recruiting delivers lower click costs and stronger documented ROI, making Adway the more cost-efficient choice for quality-focused TA teams.

What Do Analysts & Users Say? Third-Party Validation

Independent recognition adds credibility.

Adway is recognized as a Core Leader in the 2025 Fosway 9-Grid for Talent Acquisition, its fourth consecutive year in this position. Fosway's rating reflects strong market and customer performance at enterprise scale, with an Accelerating trajectory. According to Adway, we frequently win competitive tenders from enterprise corporate customers.

User sentiment echoes analyst findings. A G2 reviewer, Karin F., Recruiting Manager at a mid-market company, shared: "Simple, reliable, and efficient. It's simple and efficient. We're a small team. Adway gives us the help we need to succeed. Their experience covers where we lack experience. We see Adway as a partner and that's the way we like to cooperate."

PandoLogic is well-regarded in the programmatic space and serves recognizable enterprise brands, but comparable independent analyst grid placements for the talent acquisition category are not as prominently featured in public materials.

Choosing the Right Partner for Quality Hires

Both platforms bring automation and AI to recruitment advertising. The difference lies in where they place your jobs and the outcomes that follow.

Choose PandoLogic if your strategy centers on optimizing job-board spend and you already see strong apply rates from active job seekers.
Choose Adway if quality of hire is your north-star metric, you want to reach passive talent on social, and you value transparent, consumption-based pricing with documented ROI.

Adway's track record (Core Leader status for four years running, a 36% quality-of-hire lift, and social CPCs at half the job-board average) makes a compelling case for TA teams ready to move beyond traditional job boards.

Ready to see how social recruiting can transform your hiring outcomes? Book a demo with Adway and explore what a social-first strategy looks like for your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between PandoLogic and Adway?

PandoLogic focuses on programmatic job advertising through job boards, while Adway uses social recruiting to reach both active and passive candidates on platforms like Meta and LinkedIn.

How does Adway improve the quality of hire?

Adway reports a 36% boost in quality of hire by targeting passive candidates through social media, expanding the talent pool beyond active job seekers.

What are the cost benefits of using Adway over PandoLogic?

Adway offers a lower cost-per-click on social ads at $0.49 compared to job-board CPCs, and clients report a 230% ROI boost, making it a cost-efficient choice for quality hires.

How does Adway integrate with existing ATS systems?

Adway seamlessly integrates with major ATS platforms, allowing for efficient data management and strategic talent acquisition investments, as noted by users like PEAB.

What recognition has Adway received in the industry?

Adway is recognized as a Core Leader in the 2025 Fosway 9-Grid for Talent Acquisition, highlighting its strong market performance and customer satisfaction.