Søknadsbasen vs JobStep
JobStep is a Swiss AI platform for job applications with a CV score, an AI CV builder, weekly job suggestions, tailoring of the CV and cover letter to each position, and a job tracker. It is aimed at a European market, and the website is also available in Norwegian.
We compare honestly: JobStep has a broad AI offering and a free tier, but we did not find Norwegian jobs or the Norwegian cover letter convention documented. What does that mean for you if you are applying for jobs in Norway?
What is what
JobStep is an AI platform that assesses your CV (a CV score with an ATS focus), lets you create a CV from templates, suggests new positions every week sorted by an AI match score, tailors the CV and cover letter to each position, and collects your applications in a job tracker. The company has an address in Zurich, states that the data is stored in Europe, and states that it has more than 100,000 users (jobstep.io, read 18.10.2026).
Søknadsbasen is built for the Norwegian market: 10 CV templates with an ATS check, AI cover letters that follow Norwegian convention, the jobs in NAV's open job feed, a pipeline for tracking applications and pricing in NOK.
Features side by side
| Feature | Søknadsbasen | JobStep |
|---|---|---|
| Job search with saved searches and alertsWeekly AI-matched job suggestions, but we did not find saved searches or Norwegian job sources (read 18.10.2026) | the jobs in NAV's open job feed, 13 filters | Partly |
| Preference-driven job matching (location/role/sector)Each position gets a match score against the CV, but we did not find that you can weight location and sector | Yes | Partly |
| Job alerts as an email digestWeekly job suggestions, but we did not find documentation of email alerts | Yes | Partly |
| Price (per month) | NOK 79 | NOK 299 a month, or NOK 149 a month on the quarterly plan (jobstep.io, read 19.10.2026) |
| AI credits included | 150 AI credits/month included (top-ups from NOK 29) | Not stated |
| Free tier | Permanently free: search for jobs, CV builder with score and findings (watermarked PDF, no template picker), send applications and save; Pro from NOK 79/month | CV score, AI CV, all templates and job tracker |
| AI CV builder | 10 templates | Yes |
| AI cover letterPaid plans only | Yes | Yes |
| CV score and ATS assessmentThe CV score is part of the free tier | 6 of 10 templates are ATS-friendly in our own ATS check | Yes |
| Tailoring the CV to a job adDescribed as automatic tailoring of the CV and letter, paid plans only | keywords from the ad against the CV, and Match Score in Pro | Yes |
| Application pipeline | Kanban + list + timeline | job tracker, also free |
| Norwegian language and interfaceThe website is available in Norwegian (jobstep.io/no), but we did not find documentation that the app is (read 18.10.2026) | Yes | Partly |
| Norwegian cover letter convention | Yes | Not documented |
| Norwegian ATS templates (Webcruiter, ReachMee) | our own ATS check of the templates, not tested in Webcruiter or ReachMee | Not documented |
| Data storage in the EUThe database is in Ireland and Frankfurt, but the AI text goes to OpenAI in the USA, and several providers are in the USA (jobstep.io/privacy, read 18.10.2026) | database, login and files in Helsinki, Finland, but the AI text is stored with Anthropic in the USA, and email, payment, analytics and error tracking go through providers that may process data in the USA | Partly |
| The app in several languagesThe website exists in 28 language versions, including Norwegian, Polish, Ukrainian and Lithuanian, but not Arabic (read 18.10.2026) | the app in Norwegian, English, Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Arabic; the website in Norwegian and English | Partly |
| Referral programme (invite friends)Only a partner programme where the partner gets 50% of the first purchase (jobstep.io, read 18.10.2026), not gifts to users who refer | your friend gets a longer Pro trial without a card, and you get Pro days and AI credits when your friend has created a CV | No |
What JobStep does well
- A free tier with a CV score, an AI CV builder, all templates and a job tracker.
- Weekly job suggestions sorted by an AI match score against your CV.
- Tailors the CV and cover letter to each position, with an ATS focus.
- A money-back guarantee on the quarterly plan, and you can cancel at any time.
- The website exists in 28 language versions, and the company states that it has more than 100,000 users.
Where JobStep falls short
- We did not find that Norwegian jobs are part of the job suggestions. The examples on the front page are from Germany and the rest of Europe.
- We found no documentation of the Norwegian cover letter convention or Norwegian CV standards.
- Tailoring the CV, cover letters and unlimited downloads require a paid plan.
- The AI text is processed by OpenAI in the USA, and analytics and error tracking go through providers in the USA, with standard contractual clauses as the basis.
- The monthly plan costs NOK 299 a month. Even the quarterly plan, NOK 149 a month, costs more than Søknadsbasen.
What Søknadsbasen offers beyond that
- +A cover letter module that follows Norwegian convention (formal, short, concrete).
- +The jobs in NAV's open job feed collected in one place, with 13 filters and saved searches.
- +6 of 10 templates are ATS-friendly in our own ATS check, and the builder warns you when you use one of the others.
- +Preference-driven matching: you weight location, role and sector, and the /jobs list is re-sorted by your actual preferences, not just CV overlap.
- +A pipeline with kanban + list + timeline, three views of the same data.
- +Pricing in NOK: NOK 79 a month, or NOK 299 one-time for 6 months.
- +Our database, authentication and files run on our own Hetzner server in Helsinki (Finland, EU). The privacy statement openly shows which providers may process data in the USA.
- +A CV score of 0-100 with concrete findings marked directly in the document: clichés, missing results, page count and ATS structure, each finding with a fix (one click, jump to the field or an AI suggestion).
- +«ATS view»: see your CV as plain text, in the order a recruitment system typically reads it, and export the same content as plain text.
Choose JobStep
Choose JobStep if you are applying for jobs in Germany, Switzerland or the other European countries JobStep shows examples from, or want automatic tailoring of the CV and letter to each ad and can accept that the cover letter does not follow Norwegian convention. Also a choice if you want to try a free CV score and job tracker first.
Choose Søknadsbasen
Choose Søknadsbasen if you are applying for Norwegian positions and want cover letters in Norwegian, the NAV jobs collected in one place, pricing in NOK and a platform adapted to Norwegian application culture.
Common questions
- Is JobStep available in Norwegian?
- The website is available in Norwegian (jobstep.io/no), but we did not find documentation of how the app and the cover letters work in Norwegian. Søknadsbasen is built for Norwegian from the ground up, with the Norwegian cover letter convention.
- Can I use JobStep to apply for Norwegian positions?
- You can track Norwegian applications in the job tracker and upload a Norwegian CV. But we did not find that Norwegian jobs are part of the weekly job suggestions, and the examples on the front page are from Germany and the rest of Europe. Søknadsbasen has the jobs in NAV's open job feed.
- What does JobStep cost?
- JobStep has a free tier and paid plans monthly and quarterly, with a money-back guarantee on the quarterly plan. The monthly plan costs NOK 299 a month, and the quarterly plan works out to NOK 149 a month (jobstep.io, read 19.10.2026). Søknadsbasen costs NOK 79 a month, with 7 days free without a card.
- Where does JobStep store my data?
- According to the privacy statement, the database is in Ireland and Frankfurt. The AI text is processed by OpenAI in the USA, and some providers for analytics and error tracking are also in the USA, with the EU's standard contractual clauses as the basis. Søknadsbasen has the database, login and files in Helsinki, and the privacy statement shows which providers may process data in the USA.
- Can I move my CV from JobStep to Søknadsbasen?
- Yes. Download the CV as a PDF from JobStep, upload it as a reference in Søknadsbasen, and rebuild it in one of the 10 templates. Søknadsbasen detects many fields automatically.