To save time and energy making their resumes, many job seekers choose to use an online resume builder. Most websites offering resume builder software have free trials or low subscription fees, so a builder is a great way to create a professional-looking resume and is:
- Easier than writing it yourself
- Cheaper than paying for a traditional resume writing service.
But with countless resume builder websites out there, it’s not easy to know which one is worth your time (and money).
To help you make a more informed decision, we’ve reviewed the 11 best online resume builders for job seekers in 2023, rating them on the quality of their software, template options, pricing, and more.
11 best resume builder websites
These are the best resume builders available today:
- Resume Genius
- Indeed
- Zety
- Canva
- LiveCareer
- Resume Companion
- Novoresume
- ResumeNerd
- EnhanCV
- MyPerfectResume
- JobScan
Keep reading to learn more about each of these services, including their cost, features, and customer service:
1. Resume Genius
We know what you’re thinking: of course a career resources website is going to say their own resume builder is best. Fair enough, go ahead and skip this section if you want.
However, we wouldn’t be one of the top career advice websites online if our product wasn’t well-designed and helpful. The Resume Genius builder offers users 15 modern resume templates to choose from, all of which are highly professional and designed to be ATS friendly.
Additionally, the Resume Genius builder features something many others don’t: our software uses AI to add pre-filled bullet points to your experience section.
Each bullet point is pulled from a database of common professions, and highlights skills and responsibilities relevant to your career. The end result is that making your resume with our software is extremely fast and easy.
The Resume Genius builder charges a one-time fee of $2.95 to download your custom-built resume, or a monthly fee of $7.95 for unlimited resumes and cover letters.
2. Indeed Resume Builder
While Indeed is mostly known as a job board, they also provide one of the best free resume builders online.
Featuring eight unique templates, Indeed gives job seekers everything they need to put together a strong resume. Additionally, their builder provides the option to add less common resume sections like military experience and patents, which makes it a good choice for people with nontraditional work experience.
However, Indeed’s resume builder falls short regarding features and template offerings. Their templates are all quite basic looking when compared to competitors, and many of them don’t do a great job of maximizing available space.
Lastly, the Indeed resume builder lacks many convenient features — like pre-written bullets and the ability to add skill bars — that other online resume builders provide.
Verdict: Indeed’s resume builder is super easy to use and gets the job done. However, their template offerings aren’t exciting and their builder is missing some key features provided by other builders.
Pros
- Costs nothing
- Easy to use
Cons
- Templates are unimpressive
- The builder lacks features found in other software options
3. Zety
One of the biggest career advice websites on the internet, Zety provides a snappy, helpful paid resume builder with plenty of template options.
Zety’s resume maker offers an extensive library of pre-written bullet points, skills, and resume summaries, making it one of the more helpful builders we tested. Each pre-written line is tailored to the industry you work in, and provides a short fill-in-the-blank template.
We found that this feature significantly sped up the process of creating a resume, making Zety’s resume builder a great option for anyone looking to save time.
Our primary critique of Zety is that their template options are slightly similar in style. They’re great for making a modern, minimalist resume, but if you want your resume to stand out from the competition, we think you’re better off using a different service that provides more variety in template designs.
Zety’s resume builder costs $2.70 for a 14-day trial, after which they charge $5.95 per month.
Verdict: Zety’s resume builder is beginner-friendly and convenient to use. However, their templates all feature a very similar style.
Pros
- Convenient and fast
- Helpful pre-written content
Cons
- Templates all use the same style
4. Canva Resume Builder
Canva offers the best free resume builder, with a wide range of templates and customization options.
Where Canva really excels though is the sheer number of template options they provide. In fact, the Canva builder has so many templates that we couldn’t count them.
However, unlike some other online resume builders, Canva doesn’t offer pre-filled text or provide advice for how to write your resume. Additionally, you can’t upload your current resume for a redesign, and will have to fill in each text field manually. This makes it a more time-consuming option than other websites we tried.
Canva’s resume builder is free to use, but many features and templates require you to sign up for a Canva Pro account, which is $119.99 per year.
Verdict: With a huge library of templates, Canva is the best free resume builder online, and is a great choice for graphic designers in particular. However, if you’re short on time or aren’t sure what to include on your resume, you’re better off using a more streamlined, content-focused resume builder.
Pros
- Many resume template options
- Highly customizable
Cons
- Need to manually fill in each section
- Little resume writing guidance offered
5. LiveCareer
LiveCareer has provided expert advice and resume building services for over 15 years.
Their resume maker is fast, intuitive, and provides a wide variety of professional-looking templates. Using their builder, it’s clear that LiveCareer has leveraged their years of industry experience to refine their software and make it easy to use.
Additionally, LiveCareer’s builder allows you to import your existing resume and reformat it within their builder. We found this feature worked well and saved time.
Our one criticism of LiveCareer’s resume builder is that their template designs are a bit simple, and look old-fashioned compared to some competitors. The end result may not be ideal for job seekers applying for work in creative industries like design or marketing.
LiveCareer’s resume builder provides unlimited 14-day access for $2.95, or $5.95 for a monthly subscription, making it a cheaper option. However, they don’t offer a free trial period.
Verdict: LiveCareer’s resume builder is quick, affordable, and easy-to-use. It’s a great option for the average job seeker. However, their templates are due for an update.
Pros
- Numerous template options
- Fast, easy-to-use builder
Cons
- Templates look outdated
6. Resume Companion
Although relatively small when compared to the other sites on this list, Resume Companion provides a high-quality resume maker that’s just as good (if not better) than most of the other options online.
What most impressed us about Resume Companion’s builder was their selection of resume templates. While not as diverse as Canva’s, Resume Companion offers some sleek, modern-looking templates that are both attractive and professional.
In particular, we liked that their templates come in various pastel colors (including millennial pink) that are well-suited to newer generations of job seekers.
The Resume Companion resume creator charges a $2.95 trial fee, or a monthly fee of $7.95 for full access to their product.
Verdict: Resume Companion’s resume maker is easy to use and features some tasteful, modern template designs. It’s a good option for younger job seekers in particular.
Pros
- Great resume templates
- Beginner-friendly builder
Cons
- Lacks some features offered by other builders
7. Novoresume
Based in Denmark, Novoresume provides a modern resume builder that works well for job seekers on either side of the Atlantic.
Like Indeed’s resume builder, Novoresume allows you to manually adjust many aspects of your resume, such as the font, margins, and layout. Additionally, Novoresume provides tons of tips while you build your resume to help you make sure it’s written well.
However, where we feel Novoresume’s builder falls short is that their template options are a bit limited. The majority of their offerings look similar to one another, and all stick to a basic design. If you want a more traditional-looking resume or something that feels more creative, you’re better off using a different resume builder.
Additionally, Novoresume’s builder encourages users to add a profile picture to their resume. While this is standard in most parts of Europe, job seekers in the U.S. or U.K. should not include a picture of themselves. This feature could cause an issue for inexperienced job seekers who don’t know better.
The Novoresume builder uses a freemium model, so you can download your resume as a PDF for free. However, if you want extra features, you’ll need to pay $16 per month or $29.99 for three months.
Verdict: Novoresume offers a good free resume builder. Their software is powerful and has some unique features. However, their templates are all quite similar and their builder seems geared more toward European job seekers.
Pros
- Helpful writing tips inside the builder
- Free to try
Cons
- Might be confusing for U.K. or U.S. users
- Template offerings are very similar looking
- Premium access is expensive
8. ResumeNerd
ResumeNerd is a job board site that also provides a powerful online resume builder tailored for beginners.
ResumeNerd stands out by providing tons of pre-written examples users can add to their resume’s experience section. Not only that, but they offer a list of helpful tips before filling out each section, making them a great option for anyone creating their first resume.
However, ResumeNerd’s template options aren’t as impressive as some other online resume builders. The majority of their templates are simple, and not very space-efficient. If you have a lot of information to list on your resume, you’re better off using a builder that provides more compact templates or allows you a greater degree of customization.
ResumeNerd’s paid resume builder costs $2.75 for a 14 day trial, and a $9.75 per month subscription.
Verdict: ResumeNerd’s builder is very easy to use and provides a range of tips and pre-written content, making it a great option for entry level job seekers. However, their template options aren’t as impressive as those offered by competitors.
Pros
- Beginner-friendly
- Pre-written content helps with writer’s block
Cons
- Basic template options
9. EnhanCV
EnhanCV offers one of the best free resume builders online, housed on a sleek, minimalist website.
When starting EnhanCV’s builder process, you’re greeted by Julia, a virtual assistant and “resume expert”. While a bit uncanny, this is just one of many details that makes Enhancv feel like the most cutting-edge and contemporary out of all the resume builders we tried.
However, unlike some other resume builders, EnhanCV doesn’t offer a guided experience or pre-written options to speed the resume writing process along. Not having these elements makes EnhanCV’s service a bit intimidating for anyone without experience writing a resume.
EnhanCV provides a freemium service, so you’re able to download a basic resume from their builder without paying. However, if you want access to their full library of templates, designs, fonts, and colors, you’ll need to pay $14.99 per month. This makes it one of the more expensive online resume builder services we tested.
Verdict: EnhanCV’s resume builder is sleek and modern, but doesn’t offer a lot of help for beginners. Additionally, their premium service is costly compared to other online resume builders.
Pros
- Modern resume template designs
- Polished experience
Cons
- Not beginner-friendly
- Full access is pricey
10. MyPerfectResume
Featuring helpful pre-written content and a broad slate of templates, MyPerfectResume is a resume builder website that’s on par with the rest of the competition.
MyPerfectResume’s resume builder excels with its extensive library of pre-written content. We found that it made the process of writing a resume fast and easy.
However, many of MyPerfectResume’s templates are old-fashioned looking or awkwardly designed. For example, the formatting of some templates was very inefficient, leaving a large block of white space on the right side of the page.
MyPerfectResume’s paid resume builder is $2.95 for a 14 day trial, after which they charge $5.95 for monthly access.
Verdict: MyPerfectResume’s resume builder provides a helpful, fast service. However, their template options are outdated looking when compared to other online resume builders.
Pros
- Templates are tailored for different experience-levels
- Helpful pre-written content
Cons
- Many templates are old-fashioned or are poorly formatted
11. JobScan
Established in 2013, JobScan provides a good free resume builder with a focus on helping your resume get passed the ATS software many large companies use in their hiring process.
JobScan’s resume builder is straightforward and formats information well, even if you don’t have much work experience to list.
But where JobScan excels is its ATS-compatibility check. Once you’ve generated your resume, you’re offered a free scan to determine what information you’re missing, if you need to add keywords, and how your skills stack up to the competition.
We thought this service was unique and helpful if you’re applying for a job at a company that uses ATS software during its hiring process, like Microsoft or Walmart.
However, JobScan’s free resume builder only offers three very basic templates. So if you want your resume to stand out, you’re better off using a different product.
JobScan’s resume builder is free. But if you want extra features and more in-depth resume scans, you need to pay $49.95 per month.
Verdict: JobScan offers one of the best free resume builders online, with a focus on getting you through ATS scans. However, their template offerings are very limited and their builder lacks some of the features available in other builders.
Pros
- Free
- Includes an ATS scan
Cons
- Very basic templates
- Few features
