Søknadsbasen vs Lønna (Jobbe.ai)
Lønna (marketed in parallel as Jobbe.ai) is the only Norwegian direct competitor that covers the same three-pillar concept as Søknadsbasen: a CV builder, AI cover letters and an application tracker. That makes them the most comparable player, and worth a thorough look.
This comparison is based on hands-on observation of both platforms in 2026. We go through where Lønna delivers good value, where Søknadsbasen stands out, and what you as a job seeker actually get for your money.
What is what
Lønna is a hybrid platform with a job aggregator (~22,700 jobs from all of Norway and parts of Scandinavia), a CV builder with 6 templates (Aurora, Bergen, Oslo, Brilliance, Skyline, Horizon), AI cover letters and a salary assistant. The platform is run by Lønna AS in Oslo and marketed in parallel under the name Jobbe.ai. The AI assistant is called Lønni.
Søknadsbasen combines 10 CV templates (including industry templates for healthcare and IT) with 8 colour palettes and 5 typography sets, 125 curated combinations, AI-assisted cover letters with an explicit Norwegian-convention prompt, a pipeline with kanban + list + timeline, tasks and deadlines, and insights with a funnel showing how far your applications got and where they stopped.
Features side by side
| Feature | Søknadsbasen | Lønna |
|---|---|---|
| Job search with saved searches and alertsAggregator exists, saved searches/alerts not documented | the jobs in NAV's open job feed, 13 filters | Partly |
| Preference-driven job matching (location/role/sector)Aggregator with filters, no per-user preference weighting | Yes | Partly |
| Job alerts as an email digestIn-app recommendations only, no email alerts for new jobs | Yes | No |
| Monthly price | NOK 79/month | NOK 299/month |
| AI credits included | 150 AI credits/month included (top-ups from NOK 29) | Unlimited in the subscription; one-off purchase only 20 generations |
| First month | Free for 7 days the first time (card required), then NOK 79/month | NOK 89 (introductory) |
| Total cost, 6 months | NOK 299 (one-off) | NOK 1,644 (89 + 5×299) |
| Total cost, 12 months | NOK 948 (monthly) or NOK 598 (2× one-off) | NOK 2,988 (annual) |
| One-off purchase | NOK 299 / 6 months of full access | NOK 249 / 20 AI generations (~10 letters) |
| Free tier | Permanently free: search for jobs, CV-bygger med score og funn (vannmerket PDF, uten malvelger), send applications and save; Pro from NOK 79/month | 3 cover letters, 3 CV summaries, 1 template |
| CV template combinations | 125 curated combinations (10 templates) | at least 6 templates |
| AI cover letters with Norwegian conventionsGeneric SaaS voice in the marketing | explicit prompt | Partly |
| Version control for letters | Automatic per employer | No |
| Pipeline views | Kanban + list + timeline | List view |
| ATS rating of the CV templatesNo documented ATS claim | 6 of 10 templates are ATS-friendly in our own ATS check | No |
| Job aggregator included | the jobs in NAV's open job feed | ~22,700 jobs |
| Salary assistant | median and average salary from Statistics Norway for selected occupations on the occupation pages under /jobb | Yes |
| Match Score (CV vs ad) | Pro only | No |
| Insights with reply rate per source | funnel per status, and replies with and without a letter and follow-up, not per source | Limited |
| Clear brand | Søknadsbasen | Confusion (Jobbe.ai/Lønna/Lønni) |
| Data storage explicitly in the EU | 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 | EU clouds + Norwegian servers, but AI in the USA (SCC) |
What Lønna does well
- A job database with ~22,700 jobs from all of Norway (and parts of Scandinavia) is real value, you don't have to open Finn separately.
- The salary assistant and salary data per job are a strong marketing angle.
- Consistent Norwegian language across the UI and the blog.
- A broad social footprint (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat), even though engagement is low.
Where Lønna falls short
- A price of NOK 249 to 299 per month is roughly 3× more expensive than Søknadsbasen.
- The double brand splits SEO authority and confuses users: Jobbe.ai (marketing site, still marked «© 2024») and Lønna (the app itself).
- Only 6 CV templates without colour/typography customisation, against Søknadsbasen's 125 combinations.
- The one-off purchase gives only 20 AI generations (~10 letters), not full access.
- Job pages use UUID slugs (/stillinger/<uuid>), poor SEO that brings little long-tail traffic.
- A generic SaaS voice in the marketing («Revolutionise the way you apply for jobs»), suggesting the AI cover letters may also carry an American-influenced voice.
- No verifiable user base: no Trustpilot page, no Reddit mentions, no press coverage in E24/DN/Karriere.no.
- The testimonials on the front page use stock photos with several names (Martin/Camilla/Julie on the same picture), not verifiable LinkedIn customers.
- No Chrome extension, no Match Score, no native mobile app.
What Søknadsbasen offers beyond that
- +An explicit Norwegian-convention prompt: at most 350 words, no «enthusiastic» or «passionate», concrete numbers ahead of adjectives. Marketed as «Norwegian mode».
- +125 curated CV combinations (10 templates, 8 colour palettes, 5 typography sets), against Lønna's 6 templates.
- +Match Score (Pro): Søknadsbasen explains which requirements in the ad you cover and which are gaps. Lønna does not have this at all.
- +A pipeline with kanban + list + timeline, three views of the same data.
- +Insights with a funnel showing how far your applications got and where they stopped, and whether the applications with a letter and follow-up got replies more often than those without.
- +Preference-driven matching: you weight location, role and sector, and the /jobb list is re-sorted by your actual preferences, not just CV overlap.
- +Job alerts as a daily email digest based on your saved preferences, not just new hits on a single search.
- +Database, login and files on our own server at Hetzner in Helsinki, Finland (EU), no data sales, and a dedicated page showing where your data goes (/en/privacy-and-data).
- +A clear single brand without dual-brand confusion.
- +Clear pricing: NOK 79/month or NOK 299 one-off for 6 months, no 89-to-299 step-up.
- +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 Lønna
Choose Lønna if you want more jobs gathered in one place, also from parts of Scandinavia, or want the salary assistant, and are willing to pay 3× for it. Also a choice if you are already established on the platform and don't want to migrate.
Choose Søknadsbasen
Choose Søknadsbasen if you want a CV builder with 125 curated combinations, AI cover letters that actually follow Norwegian conventions (not the American cover-letter style), and a Match Score that explains the gaps (in Pro). Three pipeline views at a third of the Pro price, and a free basic plan for searching and sending applications. Also strongly recommended if you value a clear brand and explicit EU privacy.
Common questions
- What is the difference between Jobbe.ai and Lønna?
- It is the same company (Lønna AS) with two brand names. Jobbe.ai is the outward-facing marketing site (still marked «© 2024»), while Lonna.no is the app itself. It creates confusion about which site you actually log in to, and the AI assistant, by the way, is called Lønni.
- How good are Lønna's AI cover letters compared with Søknadsbasen?
- Lønna does not say publicly which AI model they use, and their marketing is in a generic SaaS voice («Revolutionise the way you apply for jobs»), which suggests the AI output may let American-style phrases through. Søknadsbasen has an explicit Norwegian-convention prompt: at most 350 words, no clichés, concrete numbers in the body, and a validator that flags banned words before the letter is sent to you.
- Why is Lønna 3× more expensive?
- The standard monthly price is NOK 299 (or NOK 249/month with annual payment), against Søknadsbasen's NOK 79/month. The extra price probably goes to running the job aggregator and the salary assistant. Søknadsbasen already has the jobs NAV shares in its open job feed gathered in one place, and shows median and average salaries from Statistics Norway for selected occupations, but has no salary assistant.
- Can I move my CVs from Lønna to Søknadsbasen?
- Yes. Export your PDF from Lønna, upload it as a reference in Søknadsbasen, and rebuild it in one of the 10 templates. Søknadsbasen detects many fields automatically and gives you more template/colour/typography combinations than Lønna has.
- What is Match Score, and does Lønna have it too?
- Match Score is a transparent review of how well your CV covers the requirements in the job ad, with a status per requirement (covered / partly / missing). Lønna does not have this at all. Match Score is a Pro feature in Søknadsbasen: the free tier does not have it. In Pro the first matching is free, and re-matching after you have changed the CV uses AI credits.