CVPitch vs RefineCV: Agency CV Formatting Compared

CVPitch vs RefineCV is one of the closest comparisons in this market. The two are close on price and on the basic promise: upload a candidate's CV, review it, and export it in your agency's format as Word and PDF. Both now read scanned CVs and offer chat edits you accept or reject. The differences are in what each puts first. RefineCV offers a free custom template build and pay-as-you-go pricing. CVPitch puts fact checking first: the source passage behind each fact, approval tied to the exact version, and an evidence-backed job match.

How we compared them: we make CVPitch. On 10 October 2026 we ran RefineCV's public sample formatter, which produced a four-page PDF with a cover sheet, and opened a free account. In our session we could not complete a custom template in the free account, so we did not format our own synthetic CV there or test its Word export, template fidelity or anonymisation. RefineCV features below are as advertised unless we say we saw them.

The short answer

Choose RefineCV if you want them to build your existing template for you at no charge, or prefer pay-as-you-go at $0.40 a CV.

Choose CVPitch if you want to verify each fact against the source before approval, need contact removal that clears hidden metadata, want a job match and pitch email built from evidence, or want native ATS connectors, email intake or a Claude, ChatGPT, Slack or Teams connection.

Who each tool suits

RefineCV suits

• Agencies with an established Word template they want reproduced, using the free custom template build RefineCV advertises.
• Low or irregular volumes, where $0.40 per CV with no subscription is the cheapest route.
• Anyone who wants to see a real output before signing up: the public demo formats a sample CV with your agency name on the cover sheet.

CVPitch suits

• Agencies that want every employer, date and qualification checked against the candidate's own words before sending.
• Teams that send one candidate to several clients in different formats.
• Recruiters who pitch candidates against job descriptions and want the evidence in the email.
• Agencies that work in Greenhouse, Lever, Workable or another connected ATS, forward CVs by email, automate with webhooks, Zapier, Make or n8n, or work from Claude and ChatGPT.

Side-by-side comparison

Where CVPitch differs

Fact checking is the workflow

In CVPitch, each extracted fact links to the passage it came from. Facts without support are marked unverified, recruiter additions are labelled, and review flags must be resolved before approval. That matters most for the details AI tools tend to flatten: a course that ended early, a missing end date, a degree that was not awarded. Our AI CV formatting accuracy guide covers what to test in any tool.

Approval tied to the exact version

A CVPitch approval covers the facts, the template version and the contact-removal policy. Edit any one and it needs approving again. The Word file and PDF are generated from the same approved snapshot, so they match.

Contact removal you can audit

Choose which details to remove and CVPitch strips them from the generated DOCX, the PDF and hidden document metadata, while the original stays untouched. Read how to remove contact details from a CV.

Job match and pitch

Paste a job description and each requirement is marked evidenced, partly evidenced or not shown, with the CV passage beside it. The matching is deterministic, and it drafts an editable, evidence-cited pitch email and a list of gaps to confirm with the candidate.

Integrations

Every CVPitch plan includes native connectors for Greenhouse, Lever, Workable, Ashby, Teamtailor, Recruitee, SmartRecruiters, Recruit CRM and Crelate (Manatal for import), a private email intake address, a REST API with scoped keys, signed webhooks, notifications to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and Google Chat, and a remote MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT. See integrations.

Parity features

Both tools offer unlimited users, free re-downloads, OCR for scanned CVs and chat edits you accept or reject. CVPitch also has bulk upload and tracked share links, which are common across the market. Note that CVPitch's OCR and AI writing use AI credits: each plan includes a monthly allowance, and more are available as add-on packs.

Where RefineCV may be the better choice

• Template reproduction. A free custom template build is valuable if your format is intricate. CVPitch lets you upload your own Word template, but you add the placeholder tags yourself.
• Pay-as-you-go. If you format fewer than about 50 CVs a month, $0.40 each can cost less than a subscription.
• Price at 200 a month. RefineCV's $50 for 200 is level with CVPitch Pro at $49 for 200; the difference is in features, not price.

Pricing compared

Units differ slightly: a CVPitch export is one approved CV as a DOCX + PDF pair. Check RefineCV's current page for how it counts a CV. Full details on our pricing page.

Questions to ask in either trial

• Does the output keep qualifiers? Check that "withdrawn", "not awarded", "part-qualified" and "expected" survive exactly as written.
• Where did each date come from? A missing end date should stay missing or be flagged, not become "Present".
• Are contact details gone everywhere? Open the DOCX file properties and search the PDF text, not just the first page.
• What happens after a correction? Find out whether the corrected file needs a fresh sign-off and whether Word and PDF still match.

Next steps

Use RefineCV's public demo and CVPitch's free trial on the same synthetic CV, ideally one with an incomplete qualification and a missing end date, and compare the output against the source line by line. Our we tested CV formatting tools write-up and agency CV template guide will help. You might also compare CVPitch vs CV-Transformer and read the features overview.

Frequently asked questions

Is RefineCV cheaper than CVPitch?

It depends on volume. Below about 50 CVs a month, RefineCV's $0.40 pay-as-you-go can be cheaper. At 200 a month they are level ($50 against $49). At 400 to 500 a month, CVPitch Agency at $99 for 500 is cheaper on published prices.

Can CVPitch read scanned CVs?

Yes. Scanned PDFs and photos in PNG, JPEG, WebP or TIFF format are read with AI text recognition at 1 AI credit per page, and the transcription is flagged so a recruiter checks it against the image before approval. A Word file or text PDF needs no credits.

Will CVPitch build my existing Word template?

We do not build it for you, but you can use it. Add simple tags such as {{name}} and a repeating {{#experience}} block to your .docx, upload it, and CVPitch checks it and fills it from the approved facts. Alternatively, configure a client variant with one of five layouts, your branding, logo, colours, section order, headings, required sections, page limit and optional coversheet.

Does RefineCV keep the original CV?

RefineCV's page says originals are deleted after processing and formatted outputs stay in history. CVPitch keeps the original separately, unmodified, for the retention period you set, up to 90 days, so you can recheck facts later.

RefineCV details reflect its public pages, public demo and our free-account session on 9–10 October 2026. Features and prices change, so check RefineCV's own site before deciding.