Best Free AI Resume Builder Better Than Kickresume? I Tested Jobly

A few weeks ago, I was helping a friend apply for internships. She wanted a resume that didn’t look like a plain Word document but also didn’t cost $30 a month for templates she’d use once. Kickresume came up first – I’ve used it before – but the free tier is annoyingly limited. No AI features, no decent exports. So I started looking around for a best free ai resume builder better than KickResume. That’s how I landed on Jobly.

What I actually tested

I created a dummy profile for a marketing intern position. I wanted to see how quickly I could go from nothing to a ready-to-export PDF. Here’s what happened.

First run with the AI

Jobly’s builder asks for the job title and a few bullet points about your experience. I typed in three vague sentences – “I managed social media, helped run campaigns, worked with Canva” – and the AI expanded them into full bullet points that sounded professional but not overblown. For example, “Helped run campaigns” became “Coordinated execution of three seasonal campaigns, tracking engagement metrics weekly.” That felt realistic and not like the over-hyped nonsense some AI tools generate.

One thing I noticed: the AI tends to use the same sentence structure across bullets. I had to go in and manually change two of them to avoid a repetitive rhythm. Not a dealbreaker, but it means you can’t just copy-paste and be done.

Templates and layout

Jobly keeps the template selection simple – maybe 6-8 layouts. They all look clean, modern, and ATS-friendly. No heavy graphics, no two-column disasters that confuse parsers. For my friend’s internship applications, that’s exactly what she needs. But if you want something visually bold (like Kickresume’s more creative templates), Jobly might feel restrictive.

Where it beats KickResume’s free plan

The obvious win is that Kickresume’s free plan doesn’t include AI writing at all – you have to upgrade to their premium. Jobly gives you AI rewriting, content suggestions, and cover letter generation without a paywall. That alone makes it a strong contender for the best free ai resume builder better than KickResume title.

I tested the cover letter feature too. It used the same job description and produced a short, focused letter. It wasn’t perfect – the opening felt stiff – but it saved 10 minutes of drafting. And you can edit freely before export.

Export and limits

Jobly exports to PDF without watermarking, which is rare for a free tool. There’s a limit on how many resumes you can store – I think around 3 on the free plan – but you can delete and make new ones. That works fine if you’re targeting one role at a time.

A realistic tradeoff

Jobly’s design polish isn’t quite at Kickresume’s paid tier level. The fonts are a bit more standard, and you can’t tweak margins or spacing. For a corporate or tech internship, that’s fine. But if you’re applying to a design-heavy field like graphic design, the lack of customization could be a minor drawback. Still, for most people, the tradeoff is worth it – free AI writing beats premium templates you can’t use.

One more thing: the autosave is reliable. I closed the tab accidentally, and it picked up right where I left off. Small but appreciated.

Cautious take on the AI

The AI is helpful but not flawless. On one bullet, it suggested “Leveraged social listening tools to optimize posting schedules” – I had to rewrite it because I didn’t actually use any fancy tools. The AI guesses based on the context, and sometimes it over-corrects. That’s common with resume builders, but worth knowing before you trust every suggestion blindly.

Who should try it

If you’re a student looking for an ai resume builder free of charge, or a career changer putting together a resume for a new field, Jobly is a solid pick. It handles the basics well, the AI saves time, and you get real output without paying. If you’re an experienced professional who needs very specific formatting, you might still look at premium tools. But for the majority of job seekers, this is the best free ai resume builder better than KickResume I found after testing three others.

I’ll keep using it for the next round of applications. The only thing I really wished for was a few more template color options. That aside, it’s practical, it works, and it doesn’t beg you to upgrade every two minutes.