"Job-search trackers compared: Huntr vs. Teal vs. Job Pin Board — what stays private"
The right job tracker depends less on features and more on how much of your search you're willing to hand to a platform. Here's an honest comparison.
Why this comparison matters
Job-search trackers split into two camps: web apps with accounts, and browser-native local tools. They look similar on the surface — both let you record applications and track status — but the underlying architecture creates a meaningful difference in what happens to your data.
This comparison covers three trackers: Huntr and Teal (the two leading web apps) and Job Pin Board (a local-only Chrome extension). The goal isn't to declare a winner — they serve different users — but to lay out the tradeoffs clearly.
Huntr
Huntr is the most feature-rich of the three. It organises applications in a kanban-style board with columns you can customise, and goes well beyond basic tracking to include a contacts manager (log recruiters and hiring managers), document storage (upload cover letters and offer letters), and detailed analytics on your search (response rate, time-at-each-stage).
What's good: The depth is genuinely useful if you're running a long, complex search with multiple companies in parallel. The contacts section in particular solves a real problem — most trackers lose the human layer entirely.
What to know: Huntr requires an account, and everything you enter lives on Huntr's servers. Their free tier caps at 40 job cards, which sounds like a lot until you're three months into a thorough search. The paid tier is reasonably priced but adds friction if you were expecting free.
Privacy: Standard SaaS terms. Your career data is on their platform. Read their privacy policy before entering anything sensitive like your current employer, current salary, or target compensation.
Teal
Teal takes a cleaner, more modern approach than Huntr. The tracker itself is similar — kanban board, application status, notes — but Teal's differentiating feature is its AI resume tools: it can help you tailor a resume to a specific job description, score how well your CV matches a listing, and identify gaps.
What's good: The UI is polished and the resume-matching functionality is meaningfully useful for people who want to optimise application-by-application. Teal's free tier is more generous than Huntr's for the tracking core.
What to know: The AI features are the reason most people try Teal, but they're also why Teal needs to read your resume and the job descriptions you're targeting. That data is in Teal's systems.
Privacy: Same category as Huntr — account required, career data on their servers. Teal has been thoughtful about their AI data policies but they're still a platform business.
Job Pin Board
Job Pin Board is a Chrome extension. There's no account, no web app, no cloud sync — your application data lives in Chrome's local storage on your machine, and only on your machine.
The experience is deliberately minimal: open the side panel on any job listing, click to pin, add a note, set a status. The tool captures the URL and page title automatically. You get a kanban board (Interested / Applied / Interviewing / Closed) that lives inside Chrome, accessible from any tab via the side panel.
What's good: The privacy guarantee is unconditional because there's nothing to transmit. No account means no data breach risk, no recruiter targeting, no platform selling your search profile. The capture friction is also lower than either web app — you don't leave the current tab.
What to know: The feature set is intentionally narrow. No contacts manager, no document storage, no analytics, no resume tools. If you need those, Job Pin Board isn't the right tool.
Privacy: Local-only. Nothing leaves the browser.
How to choose
| Huntr | Teal | Job Pin Board | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requires account | Yes | Yes | No |
| Data location | Their servers | Their servers | Your browser |
| Free tier limit | 40 cards | Generous | Unlimited |
| Kanban board | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts manager | Yes | No | No |
| Resume tools | No | Yes | No |
| Cross-device sync | Yes | Yes | No |
Choose Huntr if you want the most features and you're running a complex search with many contacts and documents to manage.
Choose Teal if you want a polished experience and the resume-tailoring functionality is valuable to you.
Choose Job Pin Board if you're doing a confidential search, want zero account overhead, or simply want something that works from the browser without another SaaS tab open.
Common mistakes
Using Huntr or Teal for a confidential search without reading their privacy policy. It's easy to forget that "free job tracker" means someone is paying for the product to exist — usually via your data. If your search is sensitive, know what you're signing up to.
Overbuilding in Huntr from day one. The contacts manager and document storage are powerful, but filling them in for every speculative application is overhead that will slow your search. Use the advanced features only for roles you're actively pursuing.
Expecting Job Pin Board to replace a full-featured tracker. It won't. If you need to manage 60+ applications with multiple recruiters across a 6-month executive search, you want Huntr. Job Pin Board is for people who want a lightweight, private option.
Related reading
- Job Pin Board — free Chrome job application tracker
- How to keep your job search private
- The minimum viable job-application tracker
FAQ
Is Teal free?
Teal has a free tier with core tracking features. Its paid tier (Teal+) adds AI resume tools and more application analytics. The free tier is enough for basic job tracking.
Is Huntr free?
Huntr has a free tier limited to 40 job cards. After that, you need a paid plan. For an active search with 40+ applications, the free tier runs out.
Does Job Pin Board sync across devices?
No. Job Pin Board stores data in Chrome's local extension storage on a single device. If you search on multiple machines, you'll have separate boards. This is the tradeoff for zero-account, zero-cloud privacy.
Can I export my data from Huntr or Teal?
Both offer some export functionality. Huntr lets you export boards as CSV. Teal has PDF and export options. Check their current docs for specifics, as these features change. With Job Pin Board, your data is in Chrome's local storage — there's no export, but there's also no account to close.
Which tracker is best for a confidential search?
Job Pin Board. Any web-based tracker requires an account and stores your search activity on their servers — your target roles, current employer, and salary expectations are part of your profile. For a sensitive search (currently employed, executive-level, competitive industry), local-only is the cleaner choice.