Are these resume templates really free?

Yes. All 14 templates are free to use and download as PDF, with no account, no trial and no watermark. MakeCV is paid for by ads on the website, never in your PDF.

Can I download the templates as Word files?

No. MakeCV exports PDF only: a design-accurate PDF and a text-based ATS PDF. If an employer insists on a .docx file, keep your text in a document editor as well and paste it into their template.

Which template is best for applicant tracking systems?

Harvard, Classic, Student, Compact and Minimalist are single-column layouts with standard headings, so they are the safest. Professional, Executive and Swiss keep a narrow side column but still use plain headings. Whatever you choose, download it with the ATS PDF button. See the ATS resume guide.

Can I switch templates after filling in my details?

Yes. Your details are entered once and every template reads from them, so you can switch templates in step 2 or from the preview as often as you like without retyping anything.

Free Resume Templates: Compare All 14

By the MakeCV team · Updated October 27, 2026

MakeCV has 14 resume templates, and every one is free to download as a PDF with no sign-up and no watermark. Below you can see each template filled with the same sample resume, so you can compare layouts fairly, plus an honest note on how well each one handles applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Quick comparison

"ATS" below is our own assessment of how safely a parser can read the layout. Best means one reading column and standard headings; Good means a narrow side column with plain headings; Fair means a sidebar, cards or a dark page, which look great to a human reader but carry more parsing risk.

Template	Layout	Photo	ATS	Good for
Harvard	One column, Education first	None	Best	Graduates, finance, consulting, law
Classic	One column	Optional	Best	Traditional employers, first jobs
Student	One column, Education and Projects first	Optional	Best	Students, internships, first jobs
Compact	One column, dense	None	Best	Long careers on one page
Minimalist	One column	None	Best	Finance, consulting, management
Professional	Main + light side column	Optional	Good	Corporate roles, any industry
Executive	Main + side column	Optional	Good	Senior and leadership roles
Swiss	Main + side column	Optional	Good	Product, operations, design-minded roles
Modern	Dark sidebar	Optional	Fair	IT, marketing, sales
Aurora	Two columns	Optional	Fair	Marketing, communications
Creative	Gradient header, cards	Optional	Fair	Design, content, events
Bloom	Two columns, emoji icons	Optional	Fair	Hospitality, beauty, education
Tech / Dark	Dark page, side column	Optional	Fair	Software, data, DevOps
Neon	Near-black page, skill bars	Optional	Fair	Gaming, creative tech

"Optional" photo means the template shows your photo if you upload one. If you skip it, nothing is left in its place: no empty frame or placeholder icon. Harvard, Compact and Minimalist have no photo area at all.

Templates by style

Each style guide shows the templates in that family at full size and explains when the style helps and when it hurts:

Professional resume template: a clean two-column corporate layout with an optional photo.
Harvard resume template: the traditional black-and-white format with Education first.
Student resume template: Education and Projects first, for first jobs and internships.
Simple resume template: plain, single-column, works for almost any job (Classic and Compact).
Modern resume template: sidebar and two-column layouts with colour.
Minimalist resume template: black-and-white, typography-led designs.
Creative resume template: bold colour and cards for creative fields.
Executive resume template: understated serif design for senior roles.
Tech resume template: dark, developer-style layouts for engineering roles.

All 14 templates

Every preview uses the same fictional sample (a product marketing manager) so the only difference you see is the design. Click a template's "Use the … template" button to open the builder with that template already selected.

Professional resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Professional ATS: Good

**Layout:** Main column + light right sidebar
**Photo:** Optional, square, top right (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Navy and blue, Source Sans, skill-level dots
**Suits:** Corporate roles in any industry: sales, operations, HR, finance, project management
Use the Professional template

Harvard resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Harvard ATS: Best

**Layout:** One column, Education first
**Photo:** No photo area
**Look:** Black only, Source Serif, centred headings with rules
**Suits:** Students and graduates, finance, consulting, law, academia-adjacent roles
Use the Harvard template

Classic resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Classic ATS: Best

**Layout:** One column
**Photo:** Optional, round (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Serif name, blue accents, white page
**Suits:** Accounting, law, teaching, public sector, first jobs
Use the Classic template

Student resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Student ATS: Best

**Layout:** One column, Education and Projects first
**Photo:** Optional, round (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** DM Sans, teal accents, skill tags
**Suits:** Students, graduates, internships, part-time and first jobs
Use the Student template

Compact resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Compact ATS: Best

**Layout:** One column, section labels in a left margin
**Photo:** No photo area
**Look:** Dense Inter type, thin rules, blue labels
**Suits:** Experienced candidates who need everything on one page
Use the Compact template

Minimalist resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Minimalist ATS: Best

**Layout:** One column, dates in a left margin
**Photo:** No photo area
**Look:** Black and white, Playfair Display headings
**Suits:** Consulting, finance, management, academia-adjacent roles
Use the Minimalist template

Executive resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Executive ATS: Good

**Layout:** Main column + narrow right column
**Photo:** Optional, above the name (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Garamond serif, gold rules
**Suits:** Director, VP, C-level, senior legal and finance roles
Use the Executive template

Swiss resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Swiss ATS: Good

**Layout:** Main column + narrow right column
**Photo:** Optional, square (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Inter, black labels, red accents
**Suits:** Product, operations, architecture, design-minded corporate roles
Use the Swiss template

Modern resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Modern ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Dark left sidebar + main column
**Photo:** Optional, round, in the sidebar (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Navy sidebar, teal accents, skill bars
**Suits:** IT, marketing, sales, startups
Use the Modern template

Aurora resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Aurora ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Header + two columns below
**Photo:** Optional, round (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Gradient edge stripe, colourful skill pills
**Suits:** Marketing, communications, customer success
Use the Aurora template

Creative resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Creative ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Gradient header + card grid
**Photo:** Optional, round, in the header (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Purple-to-cyan gradient, cards
**Suits:** Design, content, social media, events
Use the Creative template

Bloom resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Bloom ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Centred header + two columns
**Photo:** Optional, round (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Cream page, pink accents, emoji section icons
**Suits:** Early-years education, beauty, hospitality, creative freelancers
Use the Bloom template

Tech / Dark resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Tech / Dark ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Main column + right column, dark page
**Photo:** Optional, square (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Dark navy page, Space Grotesk, blue accents
**Suits:** Software engineering, data, DevOps, game development
Use the Tech / Dark template

Neon resume template filled with a sample product marketing manager resume — Neon ATS: Fair

**Layout:** Main column + right column, near-black page
**Photo:** Optional, square (nothing shown if you skip it)
**Look:** Near-black page, cyan and magenta, skill bars
**Suits:** Gaming, creative tech, streaming, music
Use the Neon template

How to choose in 30 seconds

Applying through an online portal (Workday, Greenhouse, Taleo, iCIMS and similar)? Pick Harvard, Classic or Minimalist and download the ATS PDF.
Senior role, conservative industry (law, finance, government)? Executive or Classic.
Emailing a person directly, or a design/creative role? Any template works; Modern, Aurora, Creative and Bloom stand out most.
Student or first job? Student puts your education and projects first; Harvard is the more traditional option.
Lots of experience to fit on one page? Compact.
Developer or data role? Tech / Dark reads well on screen; keep Classic as a second version for strict portals.
Applying in the UK or Ireland? Skip the photo (see the UK CV guide). In parts of continental Europe a photo is still common.

Because your details are typed in once, it costs nothing to keep two versions: a design-forward PDF for people and a plain one for portals.