FreeCV vs Zety:
is Zety free, and what does it really cost?

Zety is free to build in, not free to download from. The free download is a plain-text file with the formatting stripped. A PDF or Word file needs the trial: $1.95 for 14 days, which renews at $25.95 every four weeks unless you cancel first. Checked on 2 September 2026.

Zety bills every four weeks, not every month: $25.95 every four weeks after the trial. That is 13 charges a year, about $337 a year, because four-week billing means 13 charges. The annual plan is $71.40 a year.

Nothing for the CV. The builder, the AI assistant, 20 templates and the PDF download are free, with no signup. The optional PRO Lifetime, $19 once adds 19 more templates, DOCX export, higher AI limits, designed cover letters and portfolio themes, with a 24-hour refund.

Only as plain text. The TXT file loses fonts, columns, spacing and colours. To send a formatted PDF you need a paid plan. On FreeCV the formatted PDF is the free download.

The PDF is free at the end, every time, with no watermark. The catch that most builders spring at the download button does not exist on FreeCV. Paid features are extras like PRO templates and DOCX, never the download itself.

Zety. It offers hundreds of template and colour combinations, and that is its real strength. FreeCV has 39 templates, 20 of them free, every one single-column and built to parse cleanly in applicant tracking systems.

Both produce ATS-readable resumes if you pick a clean template. FreeCV also includes a free ATS checker that scores your CV against a job description, three scans a day with no account. Zety sells resume-check features inside its paid plan.

Yes. The 14-day trial converts to the four-week plan automatically. Cancellation is in the account settings, and Zety's help pages also point to chat and phone support. Reviewers report retention offers before the cancellation confirms, so keep going until you see the confirmation email.

Bold, the company behind LiveCareer, MyPerfectResume and Resume Now. Those brands share the same trial-then-four-week-billing model, so switching between them does not change the pricing shape.

Yes, in two minutes. If you paid, download the PDF and upload it to the FreeCV builder, which reads it and rebuilds every section. If you did not pay, download the free text file, paste it into the builder, and the AI splits it into jobs, education and skills for you.

Yes. FreeCV writes a cover letter from your CV and the job ad, in 7 languages. One letter is free per account; unlimited letters and twelve designed stationeries are part of PRO. Zety's cover letter builder is part of its paid plan.

No. You open the builder and start typing. Zety asks you to create an account before you can build. On FreeCV an account is optional and only exists to save CVs, publish a portfolio link or write cover letters.

On Zety's four-week plan, about $337 a year, because four-week billing means 13 charges; on the annual plan, $71.40 a year. On FreeCV a year costs $0, or $19 once if you want PRO, which never renews.