What is Zety?
Zety is a US-built CV and cover letter builder launched in 2016. It offers ~20 templates, an AI text suggester for bullet points, and a paid export tier. It does not search for jobs, score CVs against specific job adverts using a multi-axis ATS model, or draft outreach — it is purely a CV authoring tool. In 2026 Zety is one of the most-trafficked CV builders in the UK, ranking on hundreds of "uk cv template" and "cv builder" search terms.
Pricing comparison (UK, 2026)
Zety's pricing is the most-complained-about aspect of the product. The "free" tier lets you build but not export — exporting requires a $2.70 (~£2.15) trial that auto-converts into a $24/month (~£19/month) subscription. UK users frequently report unexpected charges and difficulty cancelling.
Atlas Job is free during beta with no trial-to-paid conversion. After beta, the Pro tier will be £9.99/month with a clear cancel-anytime flow.
UK Job Board Coverage
Zety has zero UK job board coverage. It is a builder, not a search tool. Users build a CV in Zety, then manually upload it to Reed, Indeed, Totaljobs, CV-Library, NHS Jobs, or LinkedIn themselves.
Atlas Job searches Reed, Indeed UK, Totaljobs, CV-Library, Glassdoor UK, Adzuna, LinkedIn UK, and Google Jobs — every major UK board — and scores each role against your CV automatically.
ATS Scoring Accuracy
Zety claims its templates are ATS-friendly but does not score specific CVs against specific job adverts. There is no live ATS keyword-gap analysis. The templates themselves are mostly parser-safe (no tables, no sidebars), which is the bare minimum.
Atlas Job runs a five-axis ATS score (keyword match 35%, format 25%, structure 20%, length 10%, readability 10%) against the specific advert you are applying to — calibrated for UK hiring conventions including DBS, NMC PIN, NHS bands, NVQ levels, CSCS, and Care Certificate.
CV Template Quality
Zety has 20+ visually polished templates. Some are too design-heavy for ATS parsing (multi-column layouts, sidebars, graphics) — they look great visually but fail when uploaded to Workday, Greenhouse, or iCIMS. Zety's "ATS-friendly" filter narrows the choice to ~6 templates.
Atlas Job offers 29 UK-tuned CV templates across every major industry (care, nursing, electrician, plumber, HGV, warehouse, teaching, chef, retail, admin, accountant, software engineer, designer, paralegal, and more) — every template uses the seven-section structure that parses cleanly across all six major UK ATS systems.
Who Should Use Zety?
Zety is fine if you only need a CV template, you have already identified roles to apply to, and you do not mind paying $24/month or going through their trial-cancel flow. The visual polish is genuinely good.
Who Should Use Atlas Job?
Atlas Job is the better choice if you want a free UK-first tool that does more than CV authoring — search, score, tailor, and outreach in one platform. For every UK industry (not just tech), Atlas Job's UK-calibrated data model produces better results than Zety's US-tuned templates.
Verdict
Zety is a polished CV builder with a problematic pricing flow and zero UK job-board integration. Atlas Job replaces Zety's CV authoring (with industry-tuned UK templates) and adds the four things Zety cannot do: search, score, tailor, and outreach — all free during beta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zety actually free?
No. You can build a CV for free but exporting it as a PDF or DOCX requires a $2.70 trial that auto-converts into a $24/month subscription. The trial-to-paid flow is the most common UK user complaint about Zety in 2026.
Is there a free UK alternative to Zety?
Yes. Atlas Job is free during beta and includes UK-tuned CV templates plus job search, ATS scoring, and outreach drafting. There is no trial-cancel friction — beta is genuinely free with no card required.
Are Zety templates ATS-friendly?
Some are. About six of Zety's 20+ templates pass cleanly through Workday, Greenhouse, and iCIMS. The visually polished multi-column templates frequently fail ATS parsing because parsers read columns left-to-right and scramble work history. Always test a Zety PDF by copy-pasting its text into Notepad before submitting.
Does Zety work for non-tech UK roles?
The templates work, but Zety has no understanding of UK-specific credentials (DBS, CSCS, NMC PIN, NVQ levels, NHS bands, Care Certificate, food hygiene levels, Gas Safe). Atlas Job recognises and scores all of these alongside standard tech and finance skills.