A free alternative to Zety
Who wrote this: CVLoom — we compete with Zety, so read accordingly. Everything we say about them is deliberately conservative and checkable against their own site; everything we say about us is exact.
You can build an entire resume on Zety for free, and then find out that downloading it isn't. As of this writing the free path exports plain text — formatting stripped — and the finished PDF sits behind a paid plan. That last step is why most people end up on a page like this one.
What Zety does
Zety is a guided builder: pre-written phrases per role, tips as you type, a template catalogue, and a matching cover-letter tool. Building costs nothing. The formatted PDF or Word file costs a subscription, usually entered through a low-priced trial that renews at the full rate (their pricing page has the current numbers — read the renewal line).
Side by side
| Zety | CVLoom | |
|---|---|---|
| Formatted PDF download | Paid plan (free tier exports plain text) | Free, unlimited, no watermark |
| Templates | Large catalogue on paid plans | 585+ free, each with a published ATS score, lossless switching |
| Guided writing | Extensive pre-written suggestions | AI feedback + bullet rewrites (5 free AI runs/day) |
| ATS checking | Built-in checker on paid plans | Free, unlimited, all 30 rules published |
| Signup | Account required | None required to build or check |
| Price | Trial then subscription (see their pricing page) | Free; no paid tier exists |
Competitor details are as of this writing and simplified — pricing and tiers change; their site is the source of truth. Our column is exact.
What the subscription buys you
- •The download. Building is free on both sites; on Zety the formatted file is the paid product.
- •A large library of pre-written bullet phrases — useful if you would rather pick sentences than write them.
- •The rest of the suite bundled into the same subscription for as long as you keep paying it.
Where CVLoom fits
- ✓The download is free, full stop. Formatted PDF, selectable text, embedded fonts, clickable links, no watermark, no card at the end.
- ✓585+ resume templates across 27 categories — software, freshers, teachers and tutors, creative, role-specific, general. Organised so you can find yours in one click instead of scrolling a wall.
- ✓Every one carries the score its own PDF earned from our 30-rule checker, printed on its page — 555 clear our 90 bar and are certified; the rest show their number anyway. No other builder publishes that figure at all.
- ✓Teachers and tutors get ten templates rather than one token option — seven of them certified, the flagships scoring 92–94 — with a written teacher resume guide behind them.
- ✓Switch templates whenever you like — your content re-flows losslessly, so trying a different look costs you nothing and no retyping.
- ✓No signup to try any of it. Checker uploads are never stored.
The one-sentence version: CVLoom is a free ATS resume checker that publishes its full 30-rule checklist — you see every rule it scores you against, with no signup and nothing stored.
Common questions
Is Zety free?
Building is free; the formatted download is the paid product — the free route out is a plain-text export. On CVLoom the PDF itself is free: selectable text, no watermark, no card at the end, and the template switch costs nothing either.
Can I really download a PDF from CVLoom for free?
Yes. Selectable text, embedded fonts, clickable links, no watermark, no payment step. The download button is a download button, not a sales funnel.
What is the catch?
There isn't a payment one. The real limits, stated plainly: AI features (import, deep feedback, letter drafting) share five free runs a day, and Zety's library of canned role phrases is larger than our AI suggestions. The 30-rule check, the 585+ templates, and every download are unlimited and free.
Will my Zety content transfer?
Export from Zety (even their plain-text export works), then use CVLoom's import — upload the PDF or paste, and it becomes an editable resume in any of our templates. AI import uses one of your five free daily runs.
If you would rather pay for the PDF, that option is not going anywhere. But spend ten minutes with our templates first — it costs nothing to find out, and the download works at the end of it.
585+ templates — each showing the ATS score it earned — a real PDF at the end, and a 30-rule check that shows you every rule. Free, no signup.
More comparisons
Zety is a trademark of its respective owner. CVLoom is not affiliated with or endorsed by Zety; the name is used only to identify the product being compared.