An honest, feature-by-feature comparison
Zety is known for a step-by-step wizard with a resume-scoring meter. Here's exactly where it's strong, where the trade-offs are, and how it stacks up against a CV builder with no account, no watermark, and nothing that ever leaves your browser.
| Feature | Zety | FreeShelf |
|---|---|---|
| Account required to start | No — sign in only, no email needed until later | No, ever |
| Download without paying | Often gated behind a paid trial after you've built the CV | Yes, always — PDF or Word |
| Watermark on free export | No, once past the paywall | Never |
| Matches your CV to a job description | Generic phrase suggestions, not JD-specific | Yes — free ATS Score checks your exact CV against a pasted job ad |
| Cover letter builder | Separate paid add-on in some plans | Included, free, colour-matched to your CV |
| Where your data lives | Zety's servers, tied to your account | Nowhere — stays in your browser only |
Free-tier details change over time and can vary by region — this reflects publicly available information and independent reviews as of September 2026. Worth double-checking current terms on Zety's own site before you decide.
Credit where it's due — plenty of people are well served by Zety, especially if an account-based workflow suits how you work.
Widely reported by independent reviewers: you build the whole thing, then hit a paid trial before the PDF download unlocks — and the trial renews into a subscription if you don't cancel in time.
An account and your details live on Zety's servers for as long as you keep it — normal for an account-based tool, just worth knowing going in.
Zety's writing help is a generic phrase library rather than a match against the actual job description you're applying to.
If you've already got a CV built in Zety (or anywhere else), you don't have to start from scratch — FreeShelf's Upload resume tool reads the text straight out of an existing PDF or Word file to pre-fill the form, entirely in your browser. Pick one of the 250 designs, check it against a job description with the free ATS Score, and export straight to PDF or Word.
Zety offers a free tier to start, but multiple independent reviews report limits on it (such as a watermark, a capped template set, or a paywall before the final download) that FreeShelf's 250 designs, unlimited PDF/Word downloads, and free ATS Score don't have, because FreeShelf never asks for an account or payment at any point.
FreeShelf is a free CV/resume builder with 250 designs, no account, no watermark, and a free ATS Score that checks your CV against a job description — and because it runs entirely in your browser, nothing you type is ever uploaded anywhere.
250 designs, no account, no watermark, no trial to cancel. Your CV never leaves your browser.
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