Does Refinery29 pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Refinery29 employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Refinery29. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Refinery29?

40% of Refinery29 employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Refinery29 2.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 2.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Refinery29?

Intern (9) , Software Engineer (6) , Internship (5) , Writer (5) , Editor (4) , Graphic Designer (4) , Intern - Hourly (4) , Production Assistant (4) , Editorial (3) , Producer (3) , Account Executive (2) , Account Manager (2) , Art Director (2) , Content Writer (2) , Creative Department (2)

What are the pros of working at Refinery29 according to real employee reviews?

"Some great people" ((in 33 reviews)); "The coworkers were the best part of the job." ((in 11 reviews)); "Great culture and creative teams." ((in 8 reviews)); "Beautiful office" ((in 7 reviews)); "Nice work environment, people are mostly kind to you." ((in 4 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Refinery29 according to real employee reviews?

"No work/life balance and no appreciation provided for hard work put in." ((in 12 reviews)); "low pay not in line with the industry or people's experience" ((in 9 reviews)); "Which leaves less capable managers in the middle level therefore further negatively affecting non" ((in 8 reviews)); "Upper management is ignorant of the fact that employees have no work" ((in 8 reviews)); "Hours are long and personnel is under appreciated." ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about Refinery29 layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Refinery29 layoffs and their outlook for job security at Refinery29 in 2026.

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Refinery29

Refinery29 reviews

3.1

40% would recommend to a friend

(191 total reviews)

Philippe von Borries

35% approve of CEO

18% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.4

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Culture & values

2.9

Work/Life balance

2.7

Senior management

2.6

Compensation and benefits

2.5

Career opportunities

Refinery29 has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 191 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Refinery29 employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Mídia e comunicação industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

191 reviews

1.0

Dec 12, 2016

Disappointing Experience

Anonymous employee

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

Free food, beauty products, fun events, some cool people.

Cons

Extremely disorganized without a clear mission. I thought it would be more pro-women and supportive, but it's actually cut-throat and has a "mean girls" culture. It feels like most people leave after less than a year because it's not worth the stress. I used to be a fan, but the company does not reflect what the writing is all about.

4.0

Dec 4, 2016

Account Manager

Anonymous employee

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

FREE Healthcare plan, FREE makeup, FREE clothes, 80% female office, the people are friendly and dedicated to their jobs, everyone wants you to succeed :)

Cons

Lack of diversity, salary is low (if you accept their first offer), lack structure, very unclear how "climb the ladder" so to speak, low employee retention rate (people tend to leave before 6mos mark)

4.0

Nov 30, 2016

I <3 my co-workers

Anonymous employee

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

The people are the smartest bunch I've ever worked with, anywhere. Sure, every day isn't unicorns and flowers, but where *is* that the case? Even folks who don't LOVE R29 have learned a ton during their time here. If you know you're smart, but you aren't getting ahead where you're at, then I'd really consider Refinery. They do an amazing job of recognizing and promoting internal talent.

Cons

Refinery isn't anywhere near as organized as our competitors (in any sense of the word). If you like structure and order, then this is not the place for you.

Viewing 124 - 126 of 191 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

The Business Year

3.5★Compensation & Benefits