plainlyATS resume checker
Check the text. Compare the terms.
Keep your resume in your own browser.
Your text review
These are detected text signals and items to review. They do not predict hiring decisions or represent an employer's ATS score.
Contact, sections, and content
Selected keyword comparison
Found · occurrence count
Not found
Matches ignore case and use whole tokens. Phrases require consecutive tokens. Hyphens and most punctuation separate words; Node.js, .NET, C++, and C# retain their punctuation. Synonyms and word endings are not inferred. A missing term is only useful to add if it accurately describes your experience.
Your resume, job description, and files stay in this tab. This tool does not upload or save them. PDF support downloads reading code and resources only when you select a PDF.
A clearer resume.
One check at a time.
An applicant tracking system helps an employer manage applications. Different systems and hiring teams use different rules. This free ATS resume checker gives you a concrete text review instead of inventing a universal pass mark.
Start by pasting your resume or loading a local, text-based PDF or TXT file. Read the extracted text before continuing. If a heading runs into a bullet, a column reads in the wrong order, or an important line is missing, correct the text and check the original document too. The checker only reviews the text you can see in the field.
Compare terms that matter for the role
Paste a job description and make suggestions, or enter your own short list of tools, qualifications, responsibilities, and phrases. Remove generic suggestions and keep the terms that matter for this particular application. The list is editable because an automatic frequency count cannot judge which requirements an employer values most.
The result reports how many selected terms appear and how often each appears. For example, a resume containing “JavaScript” does not match “Java”; “NoSQL” does not match “SQL.” “Project-management” matches the phrase “project management” because the hyphen separates two words. Repeating a keyword does not earn a better score here.
Review the substance of each section
The tool looks for email-shaped and phone-shaped contact details, recognizable standalone section headings, and a few measurable-result patterns. A detected heading is a signal that the text contains the label; it does not tell you whether that section explains your experience well. A number is useful when it describes an outcome you can substantiate, rather than decoration added to satisfy a checker.
The limits
are part of the result.
Text extraction is not a formatting inspection
This checker does not inspect the original font size, spacing, tables, columns, headers, or graphic placement. A complicated document can produce readable text here and still be interpreted differently by an employer's software. Follow the application instructions for file type and layout, and review the final document visually.
MIT's career guidance on ATS-friendly resumes recommends using relevant wording from the job posting and checking a plain-text version. Use the wording truthfully: tailor the description of experience you have, rather than adding skills you do not have.
Scanned files need readable text
A PDF can contain pictures of words without an accessible text layer. The reader does not include optical character recognition (OCR). When little or no useful text is extracted, it asks you to paste text or choose a different file. Mixed PDFs may contain both readable and image-only pages; check for missing content even if the tool loads part of the file.
Private processing, with no saved history
File reading, keyword matching, and checks happen in your browser. The tool does not send your resume or job description to an API, store it in website storage, or use it to train a model. PDF reading uses Mozilla's PDF.js with resources served by this website. Clear the form or reload the page to remove the current inputs. Your own browser extensions or clipboard tools operate separately from this checker.
Copy review creates a text report of the checks and selected terms. It does not copy the full resume. Review that report before sharing it if your selected terms contain confidential information.
Good questions.
Straight answers.
Is this ATS resume checker free?
Yes. You can review text and load a supported local file without an account, payment, or resume upload.
Does it give an ATS score or guarantee that my resume will pass?
No. The tool reports specific text signals and selected keyword matches. It cannot reproduce an employer's configuration, recruiter searches, ranking rules, or decisions. Keyword coverage is not a prediction of an interview.
Which resume file types can I check?
You can paste text or choose a PDF or TXT file up to 10 MB. PDF files must have no more than 10 pages and need readable text. Password-protected PDFs, image-only scans, and DOCX files are not supported; paste their text instead.
How are the suggested keywords chosen?
The tool looks for terms from a small list of common skills and technologies, then adds frequent words after removing common filler words. It suggests up to 20 terms. These suggestions are a draft, not a complete list of requirements. You can edit them or write your own list.
Does a missing keyword mean I should add it?
Only if it accurately describes your experience and is relevant to the role. The checker does not infer synonyms or stem word endings, so a different but valid expression can appear missing. Read the job description and your resume together before changing the wording.
Why did the checker miss my section or phone number?
It uses limited text patterns. A creative heading, heading on the same line as content, unusual phone format, or broken PDF extraction may not match. “Review” means take a look yourself; it does not mean your resume is invalid.
Do you save or send my resume anywhere?
No. This tool reads files and reviews text locally in the current browser tab, without uploading or saving the inputs. PDF reading resources may be downloaded from Plainly, but your file content is not sent with those requests.
Keep the writing clear.
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