Kivo vs Teal
Teal is one of the most popular resume-and-job-search tools out there, and its job tracker is genuinely good. But it lives in the cloud behind an account, and it bills by the month — sometimes by the week. Kivo takes the opposite approach: everything on your phone, one price, no account.
An honest comparison from the Kivo team. Prices and features checked July 2026; both products change — verify current details on each site before you decide.
Pick Kivo if…
your privacy matters, you want one price instead of a recurring bill, you're on Android, and you want AI that structurally can't invent claims about you.
Pick Teal if…
you live in your browser across devices, you want the most mature job-application tracker on the market, and a monthly subscription during your search doesn't bother you.
Head to head
| Kivo | Teal | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the AI runs | On your phone (Gemma, on-device) | In Teal's cloud |
| Account required | None — ever | Yes, sign-up required |
| Your resume + history | Encrypted on your device; never uploaded | Stored in Teal's cloud account |
| Pricing model | $19.99 once (early), then it's yours | Teal+ ~$29/mo, with weekly billing options |
| Cost over a 6-month search | $19.99, total | ~$174+/mo-billed, more if billed weekly |
| Works offline | Yes — airplane-mode proof | No — needs the cloud |
| Anti-fabrication guard | Truth Lock blocks unsupported claims from export | AI suggestions; review is on you |
| Job application tracker | Yes — pipeline states on device | Yes — mature, well-loved tracker |
| Chrome extension / desktop | No — Android app (iPhone later) | Yes — browser + web, cross-platform |
| Maturity | New, launching on Google Play | Established, thousands of reviews |
Where Teal is genuinely strong
- A genuinely excellent job-application tracker — years of refinement and a large, happy user base.
- A polished Chrome extension and full web app that work anywhere you have a browser, on any OS.
- A big library of free career tools and templates around the core builder.
- Established track record with thousands of reviews — a known quantity.
Where Kivo wins
- Nothing you type ever leaves your phone — no account, no upload, no cloud copy.
- One purchase (early $19.99) instead of a monthly or weekly bill that stacks up over a real search.
- Truth Lock deterministically blocks unsupported claims from export — not just a 'please review' nudge.
- Works fully offline; queue ten jobs and Kit builds them in the background.
- An anti-slop pass tuned so drafts don't read like every other AI cover letter.
The one difference that doesn't change:
Teal runs in the cloud, behind an account. Kivo runs on your phone, with no account at all. Your career data goes wherever the tool keeps it — so it matters where the tool keeps it.
More on the wedge: Private by design · Pricing
Teal's published pricing has shifted over time and varies by billing period; figures here reflect what was commonly listed as of July 2026. Check tealhq.com/pricing for current rates.