CallNote vs Paradino at a glance
| Feature | CallNote | Paradino |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Transcript in, file note out, sealed | Advice automation: file notes, strategies, RoAs, SoAs, tasks and workflow |
| Records audio or video | No, never | Yes. Record live in Paradino or on your phone. Also accepts a recording or transcript |
| How long audio is kept | No call audio is stored | Paradino says video and audio recordings are deleted after 30 days |
| How the transcript arrives | Paste, upload .vtt or .txt, Email-in, Dialpad, Aircall, or a voice memo after an in-person meeting | Paradino records and transcribes, or you supply a recording or transcript |
| SoA and RoA drafting | No | Yes. RoAs on Pro, SoAs on ProMax |
| Note format | Your own. Paste a past note and CallNote builds a matching template | Templates on every plan, custom templating support from Pro |
| Sealed, immutable notes | Yes. Publish: SHA-256 checksum, append-only amendments, audit log | Not described on their site |
| Integrations | Dialpad, Aircall, HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Zapier | intelliflo office, RetireMap, Microsoft 365, Worksorted, ProductRex, NEOS. Google Workspace listed as coming soon |
| Xplan integration | No | Not listed on their site when we checked |
| Built for | Advisers, mortgage brokers, law firms and other client-facing professionals | Financial advisers, advice practices and licensees |
| Hosting and security | Sydney (AWS ap-southeast-2), encrypted, not used to train AI | Hosted in Australia, TLS 1.2 and AES-256, SOC 2 Type 2, penetration testing |
| Pricing (AUD per month) | Solo $149, Team $99 per seat | Starter $149, Pro $239, ProMax $349 per adviser, ex GST. Enterprise on request |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | Site says get started for free. Terms not published on the pricing page |
Which one to choose
When Paradino is the better choice
- You want advice documents drafted, not only file notes. Paradino drafts strategies, paraplanning requests and RoAs on its Pro plan and SoAs on ProMax. CallNote does none of that.
- Your practice runs on intelliflo office or Worksorted. Paradino lists two-way connections with both, plus RetireMap, ProductRex, NEOS and Microsoft 365. CallNote has no native link to adviser practice software.
- You want the tool to capture the meeting. Paradino records live in the app or on your phone for in-person meetings, so you do not need a transcript from somewhere else first.
- You want one platform across the client journey. Paradino includes a client workspace, task tracking and workflow stages. CallNote stops at the file note.
- Your licensee asks for SOC 2. Paradino states it is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant. We do not make that claim.
When CallNote is the better choice
- You only need the file note. If your paraplanner or your existing software already handles SoAs and RoAs, paying for a full advice platform to get a file note is more than the job needs.
- You do not want any tool holding client audio. CallNote never records, never joins a meeting and never stores call audio. It only receives the transcript.
- Your note has to look like your note. Paste one of your past file notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings and your shorthand.
- You want a sealed record. A published note gets a SHA-256 checksum, cannot be edited, and any amendment is appended and logged.
- Most of your client contact is by phone. Dialpad and Aircall transcripts arrive automatically and become draft notes without anyone pressing record.
- Your firm is not only advisers. CallNote has templates for NCCP and mortgage broking and for legal attendance notes, so a group with a broking or legal arm can use one tool.
If you searched for a Paradino alternative, the first thing to work out is which part of Paradino you actually want. Paradino is a broad advice automation platform. CallNote is a file note tool. They overlap on one thing, the file note, and that is the only place this comparison is a real contest.
Everything we say about Paradino below comes from its own website, checked in September 2026. Products change, so confirm the details with them before you decide.
What Paradino does
Paradino is built in Sydney by two founders who describe themselves as ex-advisers. It is aimed squarely at Australian financial advisers, advice practices and licensees. The product covers most of the advice process:
- Meeting capture. For in-person meetings you record live in Paradino, or open it on your phone and tap record. It also takes a meeting recording or a transcript.
- File notes. AI-written, structured for compliance, and linked back to moments in the meeting.
- Advice documents. Strategies and paraplanning requests, Records of Advice and Statements of Advice, depending on the plan.
- Client workspace and workflow. A consolidated view of the client, tasks, and tracking across the stages of the client journey.
- Connections. Two-way connections with intelliflo office, RetireMap, Microsoft 365, Worksorted, ProductRex and NEOS, with Google Workspace listed as coming soon.
On security, Paradino says the platform is hosted in Australia, uses TLS 1.2 and AES-256 encryption, is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, is penetration tested, and deletes video and audio recordings after 30 days.
What CallNote does
CallNote is Australian software that does one thing. It takes a call or meeting transcript that already exists and turns it into a structured file note in your practice's format, in about two minutes. You review the draft, then publish it it.
It never records a call, never joins a meeting as a bot and never stores call audio. The transcript gets in one of these ways:
- Paste it in.
- Upload the .vtt or .txt export from Teams, Zoom or Google Meet.
- Forward it by email to your Email-in address.
- Connect Dialpad or Aircall and call transcripts arrive on their own.
- After an in-person meeting, dictate a voice memo and CallNote writes the note from that.
There are system templates for general calls, financial advice, NCCP and mortgage broking, and legal attendance notes. Or paste one of your own past notes and CallNote builds a template that matches your headings and shorthand. Finished notes export to PDF and can push to HubSpot, Notion or Slack, or anywhere Zapier reaches.
The main difference: a platform or a single job
Paradino wants to sit across your whole advice process. The file note is the entry point, and the value grows as you move up to RoAs, SoAs and task automation. That is a good design if you want to replace several manual steps at once.
CallNote stays at the file note. We do not draft SoAs or RoAs, we do not model strategies, and we do not manage your workflow. If you are weighing up the two because you want faster advice documents, Paradino is the right product to look at and CallNote is not. If you need a refresher on when each document applies, see Statement of Advice vs Record of Advice.
Recording vs receiving a transcript
Paradino can record the meeting for you. That is convenient, especially in person, and its 30-day deletion of recordings is a sensible control. It does mean the tool holds client audio for a period, and that you are the one making a recording.
Recording law in Australia varies by state. NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT generally require all parties to consent to recording a private conversation. Victoria, Queensland and the NT allow a party to the conversation to record it. The federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 applies separately to intercepting calls over a network. This is general information, not legal advice. In practice, tell the client and get a clear yes at the start, whichever tool you use. We cover the detail in is it legal to record phone calls in Australia.
CallNote sits after that step. Your phone system or meeting platform produces the transcript under whatever consent process you already run. CallNote only ever sees the text. Some licensees prefer that because there is one less system holding audio. Others do not mind. Ask yours.
Your own format, then a sealed record
A file note is evidence. For personal advice it is part of how you show you met the best interests duty in s 961B of the Corporations Act 2001 and followed the process ASIC describes in RG 175. So the note needs to be consistent, written close to the event, and hard to dispute later.
Here is the kind of note CallNote produces from a review call transcript, using an adviser's own headings. The client is fictional.
- Purpose
Review of the client's ongoing fee arrangement, and a check on their circumstances.
- What has changed
- The client is cutting back to four days a week from November.
- No change to dependants or health.
- Mortgage is now under $200,000.
- What we discussed
- Super contributions: how much room is left under their before-tax (concessional) cap this financial year. The client wants to increase their salary sacrifice.
- Risk profile: confirmed again as balanced. The client is comfortable with it.
- Insurance: the client asked about cutting their total and permanent disability (TPD) cover to lower the premiums.
- Advice
- No advice given on the call about TPD cover. The adviser will review the client's cover and needs first.
- Flagged that a record of advice (RoA) will likely be needed for the change to contributions.
- Client's instructions
Go ahead with the review. Send the annual renewal and consent form for the ongoing fee arrangement by email.
- Next steps
- Adviser: ask for an updated super balance.
- Paraplanner: scope the record of advice.
- Follow-up meeting to be booked in 3 weeks.
You check it against what was said, fix anything, then publish it. From that point the note carries a SHA-256 checksum and cannot be changed. If you need to correct it, the amendment is appended with its own timestamp and the original stays visible. Every action lands in an audit log. We could not find an equivalent sealing feature described on Paradino's site. That does not mean its notes are unreliable, only that we cannot describe how edits to a finished note are handled there.
For what belongs in the note itself, see what to record in a financial advice file note or run a note through the best interests duty file note checklist.
Integrations
This is a clear win for Paradino if you use the systems it connects to. Two-way connections with intelliflo office and Worksorted mean the note lands in your practice software without a copy and paste. We did not see Xplan on Paradino's integration list when we checked, so if you are an Xplan practice, ask them directly.
CallNote has no native integration with Xplan, AdviserLogic, intelliflo office or Worksorted. The honest route into those systems is copy and paste, the PDF export, or Zapier where the system supports it. What CallNote does connect to is the phone side, Dialpad and Aircall, Microsoft Teams meetings, and general tools: HubSpot, Notion and Slack.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (AUD per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Paradino Starter | $149 per adviser, ex GST | File notes, meeting summaries and templates. No strategies, SoAs or automation |
| Paradino Pro | $239 per adviser, ex GST | Adds strategies, paraplanning requests, RoAs and custom templating support |
| Paradino ProMax | $349 per adviser, ex GST | Adds SoAs, presentations, forms and task automation |
| Paradino Enterprise | On request, 20+ team members | Everything, plus an account manager and templating services |
| CallNote Solo | $149 | File notes, custom templates, Publish, integrations |
| CallNote Team | $99 per seat | Same, plus team roles: owners and admins see all notes, members see their own |
Paradino's prices are from its pricing page in September 2026. It also lists lower annual rates and separate support staff pricing. For a solo adviser who only wants file notes, the two cost the same at the entry level. For a team of five that only wants file notes, CallNote Team is $495 a month against $745 for five Paradino Starter seats before GST. Once you want RoAs or SoAs drafted, the comparison stops, because we do not offer that at any price.
Which one should you pick?
- You want SoAs, RoAs or strategy papers drafted. Paradino.
- You run intelliflo office or Worksorted and want notes synced. Paradino.
- You want the tool to record in-person meetings. Paradino.
- You want file notes only, in your own format, and sealed. CallNote.
- Your licensee would rather no extra tool held audio. CallNote.
- Your group includes mortgage brokers or lawyers. CallNote, since Paradino is built for advisers only. See CallNote for mortgage brokers and for law firms.
Some practices will sensibly run both: a platform for advice documents and a separate sealed file note for phone calls that never go near a meeting recorder. If you want to see how CallNote handles an adviser call, the financial advisers page has the detail, and the 14-day trial needs no credit card. You can also compare us with Claras, another Australian adviser tool.
Common questions
Is CallNote a like-for-like Paradino alternative?
Only for file notes. Paradino is an advice automation platform that also drafts strategies, Records of Advice and Statements of Advice and manages workflow. CallNote turns an existing transcript into a file note in your own format and seals it. If you want advice documents drafted, CallNote is not a replacement for Paradino.
Does CallNote draft SoAs or RoAs?
No. CallNote writes file notes only. It does not draft Statements of Advice, Records of Advice or strategy papers. Paradino offers RoA drafting on its Pro plan and SoA drafting on its ProMax plan, according to its pricing page.
Does Paradino record client meetings?
Yes. Paradino's site says you can record in-person meetings live in Paradino or on your phone, and that it also takes a meeting recording or transcript. It states that video and audio recordings are deleted after 30 days. CallNote never records and never stores call audio. It works from a transcript your phone or meeting system already made.
Does Paradino or CallNote integrate with Xplan?
CallNote does not. Notes get into Xplan by copy and paste or as a PDF. Paradino's website lists intelliflo office, RetireMap, Microsoft 365, Worksorted, ProductRex and NEOS, and we did not see Xplan on that list in September 2026. Ask Paradino directly for the current position.
How much does Paradino cost compared with CallNote?
Paradino lists Starter at AUD $149, Pro at $239 and ProMax at $349 per adviser per month, ex GST, with Enterprise pricing on request. CallNote is AUD $149 a month for Solo and $99 per seat a month for Team, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. Check both sites for current pricing.
What does Publish mean?
When you lodge a note in CallNote it is sealed with a SHA-256 checksum and becomes immutable. Nobody can edit it, including you. Corrections are added as append-only amendments with their own timestamp, and every action is recorded in an audit log. The aim is a file note you can stand behind if it is ever questioned.