Airbnb
Large (~7,300)
Elastic
Large (~4,000)
Best For
Airbnb
Best for: Engineers who want Live Anywhere flexibility with strong comp and no pay cuts
Elastic
Best for: Professionals interested in Elastic
Ratings
AirbnbElastic
4.1
4.0
Overall
4.0
4.1
Work-Life Balance
4.2
4.1
Culture & Values
4.2
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.5
3.8
Senior Mgmt
3.5
3.8
Career Opps
👍 80% Recommend
👤 87% CEO Approval (Brian Chesky)
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (CEO)
Culture Values
Airbnb only
🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Elastic only
📡 Async-First
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚖️ Work-Life Balance🔓 Open Source💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Pros & Cons
Airbnb
- Live and Work Anywhere policy — genuine remote flexibility with no pay cuts
- Strong compensation and benefits with quarterly travel credits and educational stipends
- Limited career growth — senior roles often filled externally, promotions are slow
- Post-IPO cultural shift — increasing bureaucracy and internal politics at mid-to-senior levels
Elastic
- Fully distributed from day one — genuine remote-first culture across 40+ countries
- Open-source DNA means engineers contribute to community, not just internal products
- Cross-timezone coordination means occasional early/late meetings
- Recent leadership shifts have introduced more process and oversight
Bottom Line
Airbnb
Choose Airbnb if you want genuine remote flexibility and travel perks — but promotions are slow and bureaucracy is growing.
Elastic
Elastic — check Glassdoor for detailed reviews.
Open Roles
Airbnb — 244 jobs
💻 Engineering
76
📊 Data
23
📋 Product
14
🎧 Support
14
🧠 ML / AI
12
⚖️ Legal
11
⚙️ Operations
11
📣 Marketing
10
💼 Sales / GTM
9
💰 Finance
3
👤 HR / People
3
🎨 Design
2
Elastic — 198 jobs
💻 Engineering
87
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📣 Marketing
8
📋 Product
7
👤 HR / People
4
🎨 Design
3
🧠 ML / AI
3
📊 Data
2
Summary
Airbnb scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.0 work-life balance rating. Elastic scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 4.1 WLB. That’s a 0.1-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly, Work-Life Balance, Open Source, Strong Comp & Equity. Airbnb also emphasizes Diverse & Inclusive. Elastic also emphasizes Async-First.
On the hiring front, Airbnb has 244 open roles and Elastic has 198 open roles.