Sombra vs Alcova: AI for Australian advisers, compared
Details about other tools reflect their publicly available information as at the date this page was published and last reviewed, and may have changed since. Check each vendor's own site for the current position.
Quick answer
Alcova and Sombra are both Australian-hosted and both start with meeting transcription and file notes, so on data residency they are level. They diverge on scope. Alcova is a firm-wide AI foundation: it holds your firm’s knowledge and lets you run the best frontier model of the day over it (Claude, ChatGPT or its own “Operator”), reaching across notes, advice documents, modelling, compliance and more, priced per user from A$50 for meetings up to A$350 for the full product. Sombra is narrower on purpose: the file note is step one, and it carries into a living client record, a practice-wide attention queue and tracked follow-through, bundled at a flat price. Choose Alcova if you want one broad AI platform under the whole firm and the freedom to swap models. Choose Sombra if you want the note plus the connected client workflow after it, without buying a platform.
At a glance
| Sombra | Alcova | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Australian advice firms, solo to small practice first | Australian advice firms and licensees, enterprise-leaning |
| Primary job | File note, then the client workflow after it | A firm-wide AI foundation across many jobs |
| AI approach | One managed stack on Claude, adviser-reviewed | Bring your own frontier model (Claude, ChatGPT or its Operator) over your firm’s knowledge |
| Australian-hosted | App, database and transcription in Australia, no model training | Hosted in Sydney, backups onshore, SOC 2 Type II |
| After the meeting | Client record, attention queue, tracked follow-through | Advice documents, modelling, workflows, compliance evidence across the firm |
| Pricing model | Flat, bundled: Pro A$89 unlimited, Team A$179 for 3 users | Per user: A$50 Meetings, A$100 +MCP, A$350 Operator, Enterprise custom |
| Implementation | We assess and optimise your whole client workflow, working with the tools you already use | Self-serve solo tiers, product onboarding included on firm and enterprise tiers |
| Free trial | Yes, 3 file notes, no card | 15-day free trial, card required |
Same country, same starting point, different ambition. Alcova wants to be the AI layer under the whole firm. Sombra wants to own the note and the week after it.
Where Alcova is the stronger choice
Credit where it is due: Alcova is the most ambitious platform in this comparison, and for a firm that wants one AI foundation under everything, it is built for exactly that. Its central idea is genuinely useful. Your firm’s knowledge, permissions and procedures sit in one place, and you point whatever the best frontier model happens to be at it, Claude today, something else next year, without rebuilding. It spans far more than notes: advice documents, records of advice, investment and cash-flow modelling, form population, compliance evidence, data rooms, even prospecting and research. And it comes with the enterprise controls a licensee needs, single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, role-based access, a choice of data residency region and a dedicated success manager on the top tier. If your goal is to run the whole firm on a model-agnostic AI platform, Alcova goes further than Sombra intends to, and it is Australian-hosted with SOC 2 Type II, so residency is not a trade-off.
Where Sombra pulls ahead
A focused job, not a platform decision. Alcova asks you to adopt a firm-wide AI foundation. That is the right call for some firms and a heavy one for most. Sombra does one thing and does it fully: the note files into a Client Directory that keeps advice context and the source note linked, Follow Through turns agreed actions into tracked work with owner, timing and client context, and Book of Business surfaces which relationships across the practice need attention, with the evidence attached. You are buying a note-to-relationship workflow, not a platform you then have to populate.
The connected workflow is the core price, not the top tier. On Alcova, meetings and file noting start at A$50 per user per month, but the coordinated, across-the-firm product, the part that resembles Sombra’s after-the-note workflow, is Operator at A$350 per user per month on an annual agreement. Sombra bundles the client workflow into Pro at A$89 per month unlimited, and Team at a flat A$179 for the first three users. For the connected job specifically, Sombra’s normal price is a fraction of Alcova’s full-product per-seat tier.
We optimise the whole machine, and we work with what you already run. Alcova centralises the firm on one platform. Sombra’s posture is the opposite. Your firm already uses AI tools and has its own way of working, and we start from that rather than trying to change it. We assess your entire client workflow, from top of funnel through sales, onboarding, advice, ongoing reviews, retention and expansion, across the teams, tools and systems you already run, and help you refine the whole of it. Sombra slots into the part it serves best, the note and the work after it; the rest we help you tune, not rip out and replace. You are not moving your firm onto one platform; you are getting a partner who optimises the machine you already have and fits Sombra into it.
These two are not really competing for the same decision. Alcova is a platform purchase. Sombra is a focused tool you can start free on a real meeting this afternoon, backed by people who help you tune the wider machine around it. If you want the whole firm centralised on one AI foundation, look at Alcova. If you want the note, the work after it, and a partner who refines the workflow you already run, that is Sombra.
When to choose which
Choose Alcova if you want a firm-wide, model-agnostic AI foundation spanning notes, advice documents, modelling and compliance, with enterprise controls, and you are ready to adopt a platform. Choose Sombra if the note is step one, you want the connected client workflow that follows it at a flat, bundled price, and a partner who optimises your whole client machine rather than a platform to run yourself. Start free on three real meetings first.
FAQ
Is Sombra an Alcova alternative? For the note-and-after-the-note job, yes. Both are Australian-hosted and both start with meeting transcription and file notes. The difference is scope: Alcova is a firm-wide AI platform spanning many jobs, Sombra is a focused note-to-relationship workflow. Some firms will run a broad platform and a focused workflow side by side.
Are both hosted in Australia? Yes. Alcova states hosting in Sydney with onshore backups and SOC 2 Type II; Sombra runs its app, database and transcription in Australia, with transcription retaining nothing and no model training. Neither uses your data to train AI. On residency they are level.
Can I choose my own AI model in Sombra? No, and that is deliberate. Alcova lets you bring your own frontier model and swap it. Sombra runs one managed stack on Claude, tuned for the file note, so there is nothing to configure. If model choice is a requirement for your firm, Alcova is built for that; if you want the outcome without the decision, Sombra is the simpler fit.
How does the pricing compare? Alcova is per user: from A$50 per month for meetings and file noting, up to A$350 per user for the full Operator product on an annual agreement, with Enterprise priced custom. Sombra is flat and bundled: free to start on three notes, then A$49 Starter, A$89 Pro unlimited, or A$179 Team for the first three users, with the connected workflow included. Work it out on your own headcount.
Can I try Sombra first? Yes, three file notes free, no card. Run it on a real meeting and see whether the after-the-note workflow is the gap in your practice before you weigh up a platform.
By Kevin Dykes, Cofounder and CEO of Sombra. Alcova facts are from alcova.ai, verified 2 September 2026; features and pricing change, so re-verify before relying on this.
Implementation We optimise the whole machine with you → We assess your client workflow, work with the tools you already run, and fit Sombra into the part it serves best.