Best Resume Review Services for Software Engineers in 2026
We compared six ways to have a software engineering resume reviewed, from free Reddit feedback to a $279 written review. One of the six is ours, so this page also says where each of the others is the better choice.
Reviewed by Markus Fink
Senior Technical Recruiter · Formerly Google & Airbnb
What You'll Learn
Quick Answer: Which Resume Review to Pick
The right service depends on three things: whether you want a recruiter or an engineer to read your resume, whether you want written notes or a live call, and how much you want to spend. Prices for a human review of a software engineering resume currently run from free to $279.
Lowest-cost recruiter review
SWE Resume, $49
Written notes and a reviewed version of your resume from Markus Fink, a senior technical recruiter formerly at Google and Airbnb. No call.
Live session with a recruiter
Simplify, $129 to $159, or Levels.fyi, $249
Both are 45-minute video calls with a recruiter. Pick these if you want to ask questions and edit together.
Review by an engineer
DesignGurus, $279
Written line-by-line feedback from FAANG engineers and managers. Pick this if your concern is technical depth more than screening.
If you do not want to pay yet, start with r/EngineeringResumes. It is free, and the feedback can be detailed. The trade-offs are that your resume is posted publicly and nobody is obliged to answer.
Resume Review Services Compared Side by Side
| Service | Who reviews | Format | Price | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE Resume | Markus Fink, senior technical recruiter, formerly Google and Airbnb | Written notes plus a reviewed version of your resume | $49 once, or $59/month for two reviews | Aims for 48 hours |
| Simplify | A senior recruiter from Simplify's network | 45-minute live video session | $129 internship and entry level, $159 experienced | Next available appointment |
| Levels.fyi | A current or former tech recruiter with 5+ years of experience | 45-minute live video session, notes sent afterwards | $249 | Notes about 24 to 48 hours after the session |
| DesignGurus | FAANG engineers and managers | Written line-by-line feedback with rewrites | $279 | 5 business days or less |
| TopResume free review | TopResume's review team, all professions | Emailed assessment | Free | Around 48 hours |
| r/EngineeringResumes | Volunteers from the community | Public comments on your post | Free | Varies, not guaranteed |
Prices, formats, and turnaround times are as listed on each service's own page on October 9, 2026. They change, so check the provider's site before you buy.
How to Choose a Resume Review Service
Recruiter or engineer?
A recruiter reads your resume the way it will be read first: quickly, against a role's requirements, deciding whether to pass you to the hiring manager. An engineer reads it the way an interviewer will: checking whether the technical claims hold up. If you are sending applications and not getting calls, the problem is at the screening stage, and a recruiter is the more useful reader. If you are getting recruiter calls but stalling with hiring managers, an engineer's read may help more. Our guide on what technical recruiters look for in a software engineer resume covers the difference in detail.
Written notes or a live call?
Written reviews cost less and leave you with something to work through at your own pace. Live sessions cost more, and they let you ask follow-up questions and explain context that is not on the page. If you have a specific situation to talk through, such as a career change or a gap, a call earns its price. If you mainly want to know what is wrong with the document, written notes are enough.
Review or rewrite?
Everything on this page is a review: someone tells you what to change, and you (or they) apply targeted edits. A rewriting service produces a new resume for you and often costs a few hundred dollars. For engineers, a review tends to be the safer purchase, because you keep control of technical details a general writer may get wrong.
Not sure you should pay at all?
That is a fair question, and the answer is sometimes no. See is a paid resume review worth it? for when to pay and when the free routes are enough.
Paid Resume Reviews: What Each One Offers
SWE Resume
See the reviewThis is our own service. Markus Fink, a senior technical recruiter formerly at Google and Airbnb, reviews each resume by hand. You upload the PDF you already send to employers, and you get back written notes and a reviewed version of the resume.
Best for
Engineers who want a technical recruiter's read on the resume they are about to send out, at the lowest price on this list, and who do not need a live conversation.
Simplify
Visit simplify.jobsSimplify, the job application tool, sells a one-time resume review led by a senior recruiter from its network. You pick your industry and experience level when booking and are matched to a recruiter.
Best for
Students and early-career engineers who want a live conversation with a recruiter at the lowest live-session price here.
Levels.fyi
Visit levels.fyiLevels.fyi, known for its compensation data, offers a one-to-one resume session with a current or former tech recruiter who has more than five years of experience. Its page lists recruiters from companies such as Google, Apple, and Amazon.
Best for
Mid-level and senior engineers targeting large tech companies who want both a live session and written notes, and for whom the price is small next to the offer they are aiming at.
DesignGurus
Visit designgurus.ioDesignGurus, the interview-prep company, offers a written resume review by FAANG engineers and managers. It is the only option here where the reviewer is an engineer and not a recruiter.
Best for
Engineers who already pass recruiter screens and want someone with interviewing experience to pressure-test the technical content.
Free Resume Review Options
r/EngineeringResumes
A Reddit community where engineers post anonymized resumes and other members comment. It costs nothing. Read the subreddit wiki before posting: it has formatting and posting rules, and posts that ignore them are removed.
Trade-offs: your resume is public, so remove your name, contact details, and anything that identifies your employer if that matters to you. Replies are not guaranteed, commenters vary in experience, and two people may tell you opposite things.
TopResume free review
TopResume emails you an assessment of your resume, normally within about 48 hours, including an ATS check. It covers every profession, so it is not specific to engineering.
Trade-offs: TopResume's paid product is resume rewriting, and the free review is the way into it. Treat it as a general second opinion on structure and formatting, not as a technical recruiter's read.
People you already know
A recruiter you have worked with, an engineering manager who hires, or your university's career office will often read a resume for free if you ask well. Our guide on how to get your resume reviewed by a recruiter covers who to ask and what to send.
How We Compared These Services
We compared what each service publishes about itself: who does the review, what you receive, the price, the turnaround, and the refund terms. Every figure on this page was taken from the provider's own page on October 9, 2026.
What we did not do
We did not buy and grade the other services' reviews, so this page compares the offers, not the quality of the feedback. Quality depends heavily on the individual reviewer, especially where you are matched to one from a pool.
What we left out
Automated resume scorers and full rewriting services are different products and are not included. Coaching marketplaces where each coach sets a different price are also left out, because there is no single offer to compare.
Disclosure: SWE Resume is our product, and the review by Markus Fink is the service we sell. We have listed its limitations alongside the others and named the cases where a different service fits better.
Read Next
Is a Paid Resume Review Worth It?
When paying for a review makes sense, and when the free routes are enough.
GuideHow to Get Your Resume Reviewed by a Recruiter
Free and paid routes, who to ask, and what to send them.
GuideWhat Technical Recruiters Look For
What gets checked on the first read of a software engineer resume.