JACVault vs. Zety
JACVault builds a complete application per posting — a tailored resume and cover letter, a real PDF, two free with no card. Zety gets you one resume fast, and this page is honest about that. The difference you actually feel is what "free" means here and how the billing works — so that is where we start.
Where we do something else
One profile in, a tailored resume and cover letter out for one specific job, with a Fit Score before you send. Two complete applications are free with a real PDF and no card; after that it is a monthly plan with a hard cap.
- What "free" means here Two complete applications, exported as real PDFs, no credit card, nothing to cancel. It is a small free tier — and it is finished work, not a preview.
- No trial that turns into a subscription You are not enrolled in anything by starting. When you do subscribe, it is monthly billing, cancellable, with the cap stated in applications.
- Tailored per posting, not one document reused The unit is the application, not the resume: each posting gets its own resume and cover letter built from the same profile.
- The rest of the pipeline Fit Score, tracker with the real lifecycle stages, and interview practice with a written debrief — the parts that come after the document exists.
See the difference on a posting you already have
Two complete applications are free — a tailored resume and cover letter, real PDF, no credit card. Run it on a job you were going to apply to anyway and compare the output.
At launch: 2 complete applications free · real PDF · no credit card
What each product’s own pages say
Third-party figures come from zety.com/pricing and were checked on the date shown. Prices in this category change often — check the current page before you pay. We sell a competing product, so this table sticks to quotable facts.
| JACVault Our answer | Zety | |
|---|---|---|
| Download formats | Real PDF on every plan, including the two free applications | TXT only on the free package; PDF, Word and TXT on the paid packages |
| How you start | No card, no trial to cancel — the free applications simply run out | A paid 14-day trial that converts into the subscription unless cancelled |
| Billing cycle | Calendar-monthly, 12 charges a year | Every 4 weeks on the Pro package — 13 charges a year — or once a year on the annual package |
| Beyond the document | Fit Score per posting, application tracker, interview practice with a written debrief | Resume Check (identifies 30+ issues), instant job matches, Bold.Pro networking profile |
| The unit you buy | Complete applications — resume and cover letter tailored to one posting | Unlimited downloads, prints and edits of your documents |
| Free tier | 2 complete applications, lifetime — tailored resume and cover letter, real PDF, no credit card | Basic package, free: resume builder, templates, cover-letter builder, resume check, job matches — download in TXT format only |
| Paid price | Starter $49, Pro $99, Max $149 per month · plus applicable taxes | Pro: 14-day trial for $1.95, then auto-renews at $25.95 billed every 4 weeks · Annual: $71.40 up front ($5.95/month), auto-renews yearly |
| Templates | Single-column, Letter-format layouts: real text, standard headings, no photo | 18+ resume templates |
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At launch: 2 complete applications free · real PDF · no credit card
Get early accessWhere Zety is genuinely better
Zety: get one resume built fast. A polished builder with guided content suggestions, a matching cover-letter builder, and a resume check. Building is free; on the free package the download is plain text, and full formats sit behind a paid package that starts as a cheap trial.
- Faster to a first draft If you have never written a resume, their guided suggestions get you to something presentable quickly. We assume you can describe your own jobs.
- Cheaper for a single document For one resume and one letter, their trial is a fraction of our monthly price. If that is your whole need, we are the wrong purchase.
- A large template selection More visual variety than we offer. Our layouts are deliberately conservative: single column, real text, no photo.
- An annual option They publish a yearly package at a much lower effective monthly rate. We only sell monthly today.
Our recommendation
you are sending many applications over months, you want the cover letter and the fit check to come with each one, and you would rather have a stated cap than a renewal date to remember.
you need one good-looking resume this week, you are comfortable cancelling on time, and the rest of the search is not the problem.
At launch: 2 complete applications free · real PDF · no credit card
Weighing up another one? JACVault vs Teal
No affiliation with, or endorsement by, the product compared here. Trademarks belong to their owners.
Questions we get about this comparison
Is Zety actually free?
Building is free. On their free package, the download is in TXT format only; PDF and Word come with a paid package, which starts as a low-cost trial that auto-renews every four weeks unless you cancel. Exact figures and the date we checked them are in the table above.
What is the four-week billing thing?
A cycle billed every four weeks charges thirteen times a year, not twelve — so the next charge lands sooner than a calendar month. It is disclosed on their pricing page; it is just easy to read as "monthly".
Is your free tier better?
It is different, and smaller. Two complete applications with real PDFs and no card, then it stops. If you need three resumes for free, neither product is your answer.
Are you saying Zety is a scam?
No. Their terms are published on their own pricing page, and the model is legal and common in this category. Our position is only that a small honest free tier beats a large one that ends at the download screen.
The written version
Download something real before you decide
Two complete applications free, real PDF, no credit card, nothing to cancel. That is the whole test we would want to run in your position.
At launch: 2 complete applications free · real PDF · no credit card