Online Resume Builders Comparison

The guide that follows advises you in comparing and choosing the right service. We take a look at what their features usually are – like spell-checking, pre-written phrases, customizable sections, cover letters etc. – what the different pricing options are and what’s the best buy. We also investigated if there are any options to use this software for free even for a limited time and give recommendations on how you can compare each solution with the help of our reviews, comparison articles and, of course, the nice comparison chart you see here.

Comparing your options

Thankfully there are plenty of options to create your resume: using a word processor, purchasing downloadable software with their respective apps or subscribing to an online resume builder.

Using a word processor

This solution is the most convenient of all, because all computers have some kind of word processor like MS Word or LibreOffice installed. Therefore you already have (free) software capable of creating your resumes and, in many cases, convert them to PDF. However, this is where the advantages stop as a word processor is incapable of arranging your document in a professional manner; you have to do everything by yourself, which, unless you are an expert and/or have templates, will definitely take away precious time.

Using downloadable software

Purchasing downloadable software is a better solution than using word processors for various reasons. Not only do you have to pay only once, but it has several magnificent features too: uploading and downloading of resumes and cover letters in various formats, printing, sharing and hosting options, hundreds of samples, pre-written phrases, keywords, audit options, additional support, availability of mobile apps and the list goes on. The problem with this solution is that it will eventually become outdated regardless of regular updates, and, unfortunately, free or Mac versions are usually out of question.

Using online resume builders

The best solution is always going online. The always up-to-date cloud-based resume builders have different pricing plans with various features; therefore, you will only pay for what you need. In fact, you can end up paying less or even nothing for more and better features than those of downloadable software, and you can access your data from any device that has a web browser. However, only a few of these software solutions are truly mobile-friendly and certain features remain blocked until you choose a better subscription.

Online resume builder features

So many resume builders, so many features. However, there are some attributes of this software that are basically the same no matter which builder you choose. For instance, all online resume builders are capable of creating new resumes from scratch, they let you customize and even rename the sections in your document, offer you different templates and sometimes even fonts. Online resume services present you with various options for getting your documents – printing, downloading, sharing, emailing, hosting etc. – and they are available for free, on a risk-free trial, or for a subscription fee. If you decide to subscribe for a paid version of the software, you pay only for the time that you’re actually using the service.

Differences start with the cover letter as some online resume builders cannot create letters, not even from scratch. However, if this option is in the software, you can actually get pre-written letters which only need to be completed with your own phrases. Speaking of pre-written phrases, this is another feature present in only some of the resume builders, which is also true for hints & tips and the built-in spell-checker. Certain resume builders like LiveCareer and Resunate can check your resume from the point of view of a hiring manager without paying an additional fee, thus allowing you to work further on your document before sending to make it exceptional. Very rarely you can add (media) files to your resumes – see VisualCV – but usually it only works with hosted CVs.

Hosting your resumes online is another feature not always available with traditional resume builders. This is also true for creating it in different formats (like MS Word and PDF), sharing your documents via social media or even emailing your CVs to your future employers. These employers can be searched using a job search engine, but none of the resume builders actually allow you to apply for a job via the software itself.

And we haven’t even talked about the pricing policies…