Resume builder comparison · October 20, 2026
Sheets Resume Builder vs Kickresume
Verdict: Choose Kickresume for design variety, mobile apps, a personal website, or free Premium as a verified student; choose Sheets Resume Builder, built and run by actual recruiters, for one recruiter-tested format you can build by voice, one-time prices instead of a subscription ($9 to $99), and scored mock interviews included.
By Colin McIntosh, co-founder and former Fortune 100 executive recruiter · Updated
Kickresume is a design-forward builder with 40+ templates, a million color and font combinations, iOS and Android apps, and a one-click personal website. It is EU-hosted under GDPR and gives verified students free Premium. Sheets Resume Builder deliberately offers one format, because we think the format is the advice.
Prices below come from Kickresume's pricing page on October 20, 2026, when a limited-time 20% sale was running.
Kickresume pricing vs Sheets Resume Builder pricing
Prices checked October 20, 2026 (USD)
Kickresume
| Plan | Price | What you get / billing |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 4 basic templates, unlimited downloads, limited customization |
| Premium monthly | $24/month | $19.20 during the current 20% sale |
| Premium quarterly | $18/month ($54 per 3 months) | $43.20 for the first 3 months during the sale |
| Premium yearly | $8/month ($96 per year) | $76.80 for the first year during the sale |
All Premium plans are recurring subscriptions with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Students and teachers verified through ISIC, ITIC or UNiDAYS can get Premium free.
Sheets Resume Builder
| Plan | Price | What you get / billing |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | $99 one time | Everything, forever: unlimited resumes, cover letters, mock interviews, AI job search |
| Monthly | $39/month | Same features, billed monthly as a subscription; cancel anytime |
| 1 week | $19 | Same features for 7 days; one-time pass, or an optional weekly subscription |
| 24 hours | $9 | Same features for 24 hours; one-time pass |
| Free | $0 | Build your full resume before paying; unlimited AI cover letters; free Word template |
Students, teachers, military, medical professionals and first responders get 25% off automatically at checkout. Anyone in financial need can email us for a free membership; we give away hundreds every month.
What a typical job search actually costs
Most job searches take about three months, so here is the real total for one search, and for two searches a few years apart. Totals exclude tax and promotions unless noted.
| Sheets Resume Builder | Kickresume | |
|---|---|---|
| Need one resume this week | $9 (24-hour pass) or $19 (1-week pass), never renews | $0 (Free plan with 4 basic templates) |
| One 3-month search, cheapest route | $99 (Lifetime) | $54 (Quarterly at regular price ($43.20 on sale)) |
| One 3-month search, trial or monthly route | $117 ($39/month subscription x 3) | $72 (Monthly x 3) |
| Two separate 3-month searches | $99 (Lifetime covers both) | $108 (Quarterly twice) |
Kickresume's quarterly plan ($54, or $43.20 on sale) is noticeably cheaper than our $99 Lifetime for a single search, and its free plan already lets you download. Over two searches the gap narrows to roughly break-even ($108 vs $99), and ours never auto-renews.
Feature comparison
| Sheets Resume Builder | Kickresume | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid price | One-time passes: $9 (24 hrs), $19 (1 week), $99 (lifetime). Monthly: $39/month subscription, cancel anytime. Optional weekly subscription: $19/week | $24/mo, $18/mo quarterly, or $8/mo yearly (20% off at time of check) |
| Billing model | Your choice: one-time passes that never renew ($9 for a day, $19 for a week, $99 for life), or a $39/month subscription you can cancel anytime (a weekly subscription is also optional). Subscriptions are never required. Payment is only requested after you finish building. | Recurring subscription |
| Free plan | Build your entire resume free; AI cover letters are free and unlimited with a free account; the Sheets Word template (used by 8M+ people) is free forever. | 4 basic templates with unlimited downloads |
| How you build | Build by voice (just talk; the AI writes and edits your resume live as you speak), chat by typing, or import any resume or LinkedIn URL for a full rewrite in seconds | Form builder with AI Writer; LinkedIn and PDF import |
| Resume designs | 1 recruiter-tested format, on purpose (one column, no photo, no summary); the AI keeps you to one page | 40+ templates, 40+ matching cover letters, 1M+ design combinations |
| AI writing | Unlimited AI writing, no credits | AI Writer (GPT-4.1 powered), rewriter, bullet and summary generators |
| Tailor to a job description | Paste a job description, pick subtle / medium / aggressive, accept or reject each change. Your master resume stays untouched. | Resume tailoring |
| Resume scoring | Human Score: grades your resume the way a recruiter skims it, not an ATS | ATS Resume Checker |
| Cover letters | Free and unlimited with a free account (no card) | AI cover letter writer with matching templates |
| Interview practice | Unlimited scored mock interviews (typed), plus 60 min/month of live voice interviews | AI interview question generator |
| Job search | AI job search that pulls roles you pre-qualify for from boards across the web | AI job matching, job board and application tracker |
| Mobile / website | Web app | iOS and Android apps, personal website builder |
| Student pricing | 25% off for students, teachers, military, medical professionals and first responders (automatic at checkout); free memberships for anyone in financial need | Free Premium for verified students and teachers |
| Refunds | Same-day refund, no questions asked (Lifetime: within 30 days; subscriptions: within 7 days of last charge) | 14-day money-back guarantee |
Sources: Kickresume pricing · Sheets pricing · Sheets FAQ. Features change; if you spot something out of date, email [email protected] and we will fix it.
Where Kickresume beats Sheets Resume Builder
We would rather you trust this page than click a button on it, so here is where Kickresume is genuinely the better choice.
- Design variety. 40+ templates and a million combinations, if visual design matters for your field.
- Free downloads. The free plan downloads without paying, as long as you stick to free options.
- Students. Free Premium for verified students and teachers is hard to beat.
- Apps and a website. Native iOS and Android apps, plus a one-click personal site.
- Cheaper for one search, especially on the quarterly or yearly plan.
Where Sheets Resume Builder beats Kickresume
- Built and run by actual recruiters. Co-founder Colin McIntosh screened tens of thousands of resumes as a Fortune 100 executive recruiter, and co-founder Nate Schier came up in recruiting too. The format and the AI encode what makes a real screener say yes, which is something no template gallery or growth team can copy.
- Finished in seconds if you have a starting point. Paste in an existing resume (even a long, messy one) or your LinkedIn URL, and the AI rewrites and reformats it into a recruiter-approved, one-page resume in seconds.
- One payment, no subscription. $9 for a day, $19 for a week, or $99 for life, instead of a plan that renews monthly, quarterly or yearly. Subscriptions are optional, never required.
- Build by voice. Never written a resume, or hate typing? Just ramble about your background and goals; the AI gives it structure and writes and edits your resume live as you speak.
- Free cover letters. Unlimited AI cover letters with a free account, no credit card.
- Scored mock interviews. Practice answers (typed or live voice) and get a score and specific feedback on each one.
- Pay only when you are happy. Build the whole resume first, then decide.
- No design decisions to get wrong. One format, tested on screeners since 2018.
- PDF, Word and Google Docs exports, with unlimited versions.
What happens after someone switches to Sheets Resume
Source: Sheets Resume Builder member success survey (self-reported by members).
A recruiter's take on Kickresume
Kickresume's templates are some of the nicest-looking in the category, and if you are a designer or applying in a market that expects a photo, that matters. For most corporate roles, though, "nice-looking" is not what gets the call. Screeners skim left to right, top to bottom, hunting for a relevant title and a recognizable employer. Two columns, color blocks and skill bars slow that skim down.
So our honest take: if design is part of your pitch, Kickresume is a strong pick. If you want the format recruiters actually move forward, use ours (or download our free Word template and skip the builder entirely).
Who should choose which
Choose Kickresume if
- You are a verified student or teacher
- You want many designs or a photo resume
- You want mobile apps or a personal website
- You want the cheapest single-search price
Choose Sheets if
- You want the recruiter-tested format, not a design
- You have an existing resume or LinkedIn and want a recruiter-approved version in seconds
- You have never written a resume, or would rather talk than type (build by voice)
- You never want a recurring charge
- You want scored mock interviews included
- You want Google Docs export
Sheets Resume Builder vs Kickresume: FAQ
How much does Kickresume cost?
Kickresume Premium is $24/month, $18/month billed quarterly ($54), or $8/month billed yearly ($96). On October 20, 2026 a limited-time 20% discount was running. A free plan with 4 templates is also available.
Is Kickresume free for students?
Yes. Kickresume offers free Premium to students and teachers who verify through ISIC, ITIC or UNiDAYS. Sheets gives students, teachers, military, medical professionals and first responders 25% off automatically at checkout, plus free memberships for anyone in financial need.
Can I download a Kickresume resume for free?
Yes, as long as you only use the free customization options. Paid design options require Premium.
Is Sheets Resume Builder cheaper than Kickresume?
Not for a single search: Kickresume's quarterly plan ($54) costs less than our $99 Lifetime. Across two separate searches they are roughly even, and Sheets never auto-renews.
Are creative resume templates bad?
Not bad, just slower to skim. For most corporate roles, a one-column black and white resume gets read faster. See what resumes that got interviews have in common.
Which has better interview prep?
Kickresume offers an AI interview question generator. Sheets runs full mock interviews, typed or live voice, and scores each answer with feedback.
How we compared
We make Sheets Resume Builder, so we are biased, and you should know that. To keep this fair we pulled every price from the vendor's own pricing page on October 20, 2026 (noted above where a page loads prices dynamically and we confirmed with recent independent reviews), we listed where Kickresume beats us before listing where we beat Kickresume, and we only compared features each company publishes. Sheets Resume Builder was started in 2018 by former recruiters Colin McIntosh and Nate Schier after our free resume template became the most-shared resume advice on Reddit. Since then 8 million+ people have used the template, 630,000+ resumes have been built in the AI builder, users rate us 4.88 out of 5 on our public reviews page, and in 2026 Tech Times ranked us #1 and Forbes Advisor ranked us #4. About us · Our reviews · Press.
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