Best Free Application Tracking Tools

A short review of the most useful free platforms and when to choose them.

• Trello - best For kanban visualisation

Trello is a simple card-and-board system that works well when you prefer a visual pipeline. Use lists for stages such as Research, Application Drafting, Submitted, Interview, Offer and Rejected. Labels and due dates keep deadlines visible. Trello's free tier supports unlimited cards and up to 10 boards with basic automation.

• Notion - best For flexible databases and notes

Notion combines databases, rich notes and templates. Create a database for applications with custom properties (firm, role, deadline, CV version, cover-letter draft, status). Use views (table, kanban, calendar) for different workflows. Notion is ideal if you want a single workspace for research notes, interview answers and CV versions.

• Google sheets / excel online - best For lightweight, shareable spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are fast to set up and great for sorting, filtering and using formulas. Use conditional formatting to highlight imminent deadlines and DATEDIF to show days left. Online sheets are easy to share with mentors or YourLegalLadder mentors for reviews.

• Airtable - best For hybrid database + kanban

Airtable offers relational fields, attachments and multiple views. The free plan gives a professional feel with grid, calendar and kanban views and is especially strong if you plan to attach job descriptions and multiple CV versions.

• Huntr / jibberJobber - best For job-Focused personal trackers

Huntr (huntr.co) and JibberJobber focus on job application tracking with browser extensions to save vacancies quickly. They store job links, notes and status history. Huntr provides a clean visual board similar to Trello with fields specific to job search.

• YourLegalLadder - best For UK legal applications

YourLegalLadder includes a training contract application helper and tracker with deadline management, detailed law firm profiles and mentoring. Use it alongside general trackers to combine market intelligence with task management.

• Asana / clickUp - best For task-Driven workflows

Asana and ClickUp free plans offer robust task features and reminders. Use them if you prefer to break applications into many tasks (research, draft CV, tailor cover letter, submit, follow up, prepare for interview).

Three practical setups: Trello, Notion and Google Sheets. Pick the one that matches your working style.

• Trello Setup

• Create a board named 'Applications - 2026' and create lists: To Research, To Apply, Drafting, Submitted, Assessment, Interview, Offer, Rejected.

• For each vacancy, add a card with the firm name and role in the title. In the card body, add checklist items: Tailor CV, Tailor Cover Letter, Online Test, Submit, Follow-up.

• Use labels for Practice Area, Deadline and Grade Requirement. Attach the job advert and your tailored CV.

• Set due dates for submission and add reminders using the calendar Power-Up or automation rule to remind 7 days before a deadline.

• Notion Setup

• Create a database called 'Applications' with properties: Firm (Text), Role (Text), Deadline (Date), Stage (Select), CV Version (File), Cover Letter (File), Link (URL), Notes (Text), Outcome (Select).

• Build views: Table for full data, Kanban by Stage for visual pipeline, Calendar for deadline view, and a Filtered view for Open Applications.

• Create template entries for common firm types (US firm, Magic Circle, High Street) prefilled with typical checklist items.

• Google sheets setup

• Create columns: Firm, Role, Link, Application Method, Deadline, Days Left (formula =DATEDIF(TODAY(), Deadline, "D")), Status, CV Version, Cover Letter Version, Interview Date, Notes.

• Use conditional formatting to colour rows where Days Left <= 7 and where Status = Submitted.

• Protect critical columns and keep a 'Master' sheet and a shared 'Mentor View' sheet for CV/cover letter exchange.

Practical fields and example entries that should appear in every tracker.

• Essential fields For Any tracker

• Firm Name

• Role Title

• Application Link

• Deadline

• Application Method (portal, email, direct)

• Documents Sent (CV V1, CV V2, Cover Letter V1)

• Key Requirements (grades, language, eligibility)

• Stage / Status

• Interview date and format

• Outcome and Feedback

• Example trello card checklist

• Tailor CV to the firm

• Tailor cover letter to role

• Complete online tests

• Submit application

• Send follow-up email 1 week after closing date

• Prepare interview questions

• Example google sheets conditional formatting rules

• Days Left <= 3: Red fill

• Deadline within 7 days: Amber fill

• Status = offer: green fill

Use free automations to reduce missed deadlines and repetitive work.

• Built-In Automations

Trello has Butler automation on the free tier for simple rules: for example, move a card to 'Deadline Tomorrow' and create a checklist item when a due date is 24 hours away.

• Calendar Sync

Connect deadlines to Google Calendar or Outlook so you receive standard calendar notifications for each submission deadline.

• Browser Extensions

Use Huntr or the Notion Web Clipper to save job adverts in one click. Save the job advert URL and a short note about the role to prevent duplicate entries.

• Zapier / make (Limited free tiers)

Use Zapier or Make to create automations such as: when a new card is added to Trello, create a Google Calendar event; when a new job is saved in Huntr, add a row to Google Sheets. Keep automations simple to stay within free limits.

• Email templates and scheduling

Save canned follow-up messages in Gmail templates or use scheduled send so follow-ups go at the right time. Track send dates in your application tracker.

How to keep your tracker effective throughout the application season.

• Update Immediately

Record any activity the moment you complete it. Late logging creates gaps that lead to missed follow-ups.

• Use consistent naming conventions

Use the same naming for CV versions, e.g., 'CV - City Firm - July 2026', so you know which file was used for each application.

• Keep One source Of truth

Use YourLegalLadder alongside your tracker for firm intelligence and deadlines, but keep application statuses only in one tracker to avoid mismatches.

• Weekly Review

Set aside 20 minutes weekly to clean up stages, archive rejected roles and add notes from interviews or assessment centres.

• Share with A mentor

Share a read-only view with a mentor or YourLegalLadder mentor for feedback. This helps when you want a quick CV or cover-letter review tied to a specific application.

• Archive And learn

After offers or rejections, export or snapshot your tracker. Keep a short lessons-learned log for what worked and what to change next cycle.

Putting a simple, consistent tracker in place - whether Trello, Notion, Google Sheets, Airtable, Huntr or YourLegalLadder's application helper - significantly reduces stress and improves submission quality. Choose one system, set it up with the fields above and commit to a weekly maintenance habit to keep applications moving smoothly.