A Free Teal Alternative That Tailors From Your Own Work
CareerDiary tailors your resume to a job description from your own work record: a private career diary of what you actually did, or simply the resume you paste. Nothing invented is the rule we tailor by. The AI is instructed to rephrase and reorder, not to add employers, numbers or skills you never gave it, and you can start free without an account.
Teal is a well-built job search suite with a generous free plan, and for some people it is the better pick. Below is what each product's own pricing page says (we read Teal's on 1 October 2026), where we differ, and when to choose Teal instead.
Teal and CareerDiary, side by side
CareerDiary is our product. We have kept to what each pricing page says, and we say where the other tool is the better choice.
| Teal | CareerDiary |
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| Free plan | Free forever: unlimited resumes, unlimited job tracking and 10 resume templates, the top 5 keywords from a job description, and 10 AI credits for resume bullets, 2 for professional summaries and 2 for cover letters. No credit card is needed to start. | As a guest, with no account: 2 AI credits a day. A free account: 5 a day. One tailoring run uses one credit, and the ATS resume checker is free and unlimited. |
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| Paid plan | Teal+ is $13 every 7 days, $29 every 30 days or $79 every 90 days. | Pro is $9 a month or $59 a year. |
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| What paying adds | Teal+ shows every keyword from the job description with a match score, and adds unlimited AI writing, unlimited templates and advanced design settings. | 50 AI credits a day, unlimited saved resumes and cover letters, and Interview Prep, Career GPS and the ATS Simulator. |
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| How it tailors to a job | Highlights the keywords in a job description so you can edit your resume toward it, with AI help for bullets, summaries and cover letters. | Rewrites your career diary entries or the resume you paste in the posting's words, and shows the result beside your original so you can check every change. |
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| Also worth knowing | Its tools also include a job application tracker, application autofill, a networking CRM and a LinkedIn profile review. | Guests can read a tailored resume; copying, downloading or saving it needs a free account. Downloads are one plain layout, as PDF or Word. |
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Where we differ
Tailoring from your own record
Log wins in a private career diary as they happen, or paste a resume. When you tailor to a posting, we pick what fits from that record and put it in the posting's words.
Nothing invented, and you can check
The AI is instructed not to add employers, numbers or skills you never gave it. It is still an AI model, so the tailored resume appears beside your original and you can read every change before you use it.
Free to start, without an account
Paste a job description and your resume and tailor it as a guest, with 2 AI credits a day. Create a free account, with 5 a day, when you want to copy, download or save the result.
When to choose Teal instead
- You want AI writing without a daily cap: Teal+ includes unlimited AI writing, while our Pro plan is 50 AI credits a day.
- You want to design the page itself: Teal offers resume templates with design settings. We export one plain layout, as PDF or Word, and have no template gallery.
- You need it for a short, intense stretch: Teal+ can be bought 7 days at a time, for $13.
- You want networking in the same tool: its tools include a networking CRM and a LinkedIn profile review.
Frequently asked questions
Is Teal free?
Teal has a free plan. From its pricing page, read on 1 October 2026: Free forever: unlimited resumes, unlimited job tracking and 10 resume templates, the top 5 keywords from a job description, and 10 AI credits for resume bullets, 2 for professional summaries and 2 for cover letters. No credit card is needed to start. Teal+ is $13 every 7 days, $29 every 30 days or $79 every 90 days.
Is CareerDiary free?
Yes, to start. As a guest you can tailor with 2 AI credits a day, and a free account gets 5 a day; one tailoring run uses one credit, and no card is needed. Guests can read the result, and copying, downloading or saving it needs a free account. The ATS resume checker is free and unlimited. Pro is $9 a month or $59 a year for 50 credits a day.
Will CareerDiary invent experience to match the job?
No. That is the rule we tailor by: the AI is instructed to work only from your diary or the resume you give it. It can reorder, rephrase and use the posting's words for work you actually did, but a requirement you do not meet stays out. It is still an AI model, so read the tailored resume beside your original before you send it; the side-by-side view is there for exactly this.
Can I use Teal and CareerDiary together?
Yes. Plenty of people track applications in one tool and tailor in another. Neither needs a card to start. Trying CareerDiary needs no account, so there is nothing to undo either way.
How current is this comparison?
We read Teal's pricing page on 1 October 2026 and link it below, and our own figures come from the limits our servers enforce. Plans and prices change, so check Teal's page before you decide; the date tells you how old our reading is.
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