Looking for a Karbon alternative?
Karbon is one of the best practice management products ever made — and at £59–£89 per user per month, one of the most expensive ways a small UK firm can buy workflow. If you love the idea of Karbon but not the per-user bill, here's how Sodium compares.
The per-user pricing problem
Karbon prices per user: the Team plan is £59/user/month on annual billing (£79 monthly), and Business is £89/£99. For a five-person firm that's £295–£445 every month before add-ons — and every hire, part-timer, or seasonal helper adds another seat.
Sodium prices by client count instead, with up to 25 users included. A firm with 250 clients pays £89/month on the Standard package — the same £89 that buys one single Business seat on Karbon. Your admin staff, part-timers, and new starters cost nothing extra.
(Both figures from the vendors' public UK price lists, checked 11 July 2026 — see the table below.)
Built for UK practice, not adapted to it
Karbon is a global product with a UK price list. Sodium is a UK product: Companies House lives inside the core client record — confirmation statement and accounts dates flow into your workflows automatically — and proposals, engagement letters and the client portal are built around how UK firms onboard and serve clients. It's founder-owned (Duane Jackson — previously KashFlow and Staffology) with no external investment.
What Karbon does well
Karbon earns its reputation. Its collaborative triage and @mention-driven teamwork are the best in the category, the design is superb, Kai (its AI coworker) is genuinely useful, and for larger multi-office teams the per-user cost can be worth every penny. If you're 20+ collaboration-heavy users, Karbon may well be the right tool — this page is for the smaller UK firms doing the per-seat arithmetic.
Side by side
| Karbon | Sodium | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user — Team £59/user/month (annual billing) or £79 (monthly); Business £89/£99; Enterprise custom | Tiered by client count — up to 25 users included, no per-user charges |
| Example: 5-person firm, 250 clients | £295/month on Team (annual billing, 5 × £59) | £89/month on Standard (price set by client count, not team size) |
| Free tier | — | Free for up to 5 clients |
| Companies House | Integration available | Companies House built into the core client record |
| Client portal | Included | Client portal included |
| AI | Kai, Karbon's in-app AI coworker, plus AI agents | Built-in MCP server — connect Claude and other AI assistants to your practice data |
Last checked 11 July 2026. Karbon pricing and features may have changed since — always confirm current details with the vendor. Karbon prices from karbonhq.com/en-GB/pricing. The example row is arithmetic on published per-user prices and assumes no discounts. A dash (—) means the item wasn't listed on the vendor's public site when we last checked.
Moving your data
Sodium imports clients, contacts, and service assignments from CSV files with the built-in import tools. Export your client list from Karbon, map the columns, and the data move is typically an afternoon. Your workflows will need setting up fresh in Sodium's workflow builder — budget a day to rebuild your core processes.
Common questions
How much cheaper is Sodium than Karbon for a small firm?
It depends on your team size and client count, because the pricing models differ. Karbon charges per user (Team £59/user/month on annual billing; Business £89/£99). Sodium charges by client count with up to 25 users included — a firm with 250 clients pays £89/month total on Standard. A five-person firm with 250 clients would pay £295/month on Karbon Team (annual) versus £89/month on Sodium Standard. Prices checked 11 July 2026.
Does Sodium have Karbon-style workflows?
Sodium has multi-step workflows with conditional steps, automated client emails, recurring task generation, kanban boards, and task teams. It doesn't replicate Karbon's shared-inbox triage model — Sodium's connected mailbox links email to clients and tasks in its own way.
Can I import my clients from Karbon?
Yes — export your client list from Karbon as a CSV and use Sodium's import tools for clients, contacts, and service assignments. Workflows are rebuilt in Sodium's workflow builder rather than imported.
Does Sodium have AI features like Karbon's Kai?
Sodium takes a different approach: instead of an in-app AI assistant, it has a built-in MCP server so AI assistants you already use — like Claude — can securely read and act on your practice data with your permission.
Is there a free trial of Sodium?
Yes — one month free with no card details required, plus a free tier for up to 5 clients with no time limit.
“I've tried other practice management solutions but find they're always heavy work to get them set up — but yours feels a breeze!” — Anne Sievewright
Ready to make the switch?
Sodium is free for up to 5 clients, with no card required. Turn off the features you don't need and it fits a practice with 5 clients or 5,000 — import your clients, contacts and services in minutes.
Want to learn about other capabilities?
Explore all featuresHave questions or suggestions?
Get in touch