Newforma controls enterprise documents. Olumba checks the plan first.
Newforma — now Newforma Konekt — is enterprise project information management: RFIs, submittals, email filing, and document control for large AEC teams. Olumba is built for small firms, and it starts with the thing that actually costs you time: seeing what the city will flag before you submit.
If you're searching for a Newforma alternative, you're usually one of two firms. Either you're a small practice that looked at Newforma and found it too heavy — an enterprise platform with an enterprise rollout — or you're already inside a big-firm Newforma deployment and want something faster for the pre-submission step.
Olumba answers the first case directly. It's not an enterprise information-management suite; it's a plan-check-first workflow for small architecture and engineering firms, with project documents and a free public firm profile around it.
| Plan Proof | Newforma Konekt | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Small architecture & engineering firms | Large enterprise AEC teams & owners |
| Core job | Pre-submission plan check + project documents | Project information management, RFIs, submittals, email filing |
| Predicts city corrections | Yes — learned from real AHJ correction letters | No — it routes and files information, not code review |
| Time to value | Upload a set, results in ~90 seconds | Onboarding, configuration, team rollout |
| Pricing | $39 / check · plans from $59/seat/mo | Enterprise contract / by quote |
| Firm reputation page | Free public Titleblock profile included | Not a feature |
When Newforma Konekt is the better choice
If you're a large firm or owner standardizing RFIs, submittals, and transmittals across many projects and hundreds of users, Newforma Konekt is genuinely built for that — deep information management, email filing, and audit trails at enterprise scale. Olumba doesn't try to be a full PIM platform, and for that job Newforma is the serious tool. Its BIM coordination and cross-discipline workflows are real strengths a small-firm tool won't match.
Where Plan Proof wins
For a small firm, the expensive problem usually isn't routing information — it's the correction cycle with the city. Newforma files and routes documents; it doesn't tell you the accessibility note is missing on A-1.2 or predict which corrections your AHJ sends on this building type. Olumba does, before you submit, for $39, with no rollout, no per-seat enterprise contract, and no six-month adoption curve.
Enterprise document control vs. a plan-check-first workflow
Newforma's center of gravity is the flow of information between many parties: RFIs, submittals, transmittals, and the emails that carry them, all filed and auditable. That's the right center for a large team. A three- or ten-person firm rarely has that problem at that scale — its recurring tax is resubmittal after the city flags something correctable. Olumba is built around that tax: read the set, forecast the corrections, fix them before you file. Document management is there to support that loop, not to be the whole product.
Small firms also need to be found — that is where Titleblock comes in
Olumba is the platform where AEC firms build their reputation and run their projects, so beyond Plan Proof it gives every firm a free public Titleblock profile: your projects, disciplines, and jurisdictions on a page clients and search engines can actually find. Enterprise PIM platforms have no equivalent — they're internal by design. For a small firm competing for the next project, a public reputation page is often worth as much as the internal workflow.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Olumba a real Newforma alternative?
- For a large enterprise standardizing RFIs, submittals, and email filing across hundreds of users, Newforma Konekt is purpose-built and Olumba is not trying to replace it. For a small architecture firm whose real pain is correction cycles with the city and keeping project documents straight, Olumba is the lighter, faster alternative — no rollout, no enterprise contract.
- What does Olumba do that Newforma does not?
- Olumba forecasts the corrections your specific jurisdiction is likely to flag before you submit — learned from the correction letters that city actually sends. Newforma manages and routes project information; it does not review your drawings against what a plan checker will want.
- How much does Olumba cost compared to Newforma Konekt?
- Olumba starts at $39 for a single Plan Proof check with no subscription, and monthly plans begin at $59/seat/mo for firms filing regularly. Newforma Konekt is sold as an enterprise contract, typically by quote — a different scale of commitment.
- Do I need to migrate off my current tools to try Olumba?
- No. You can upload a single plan set and get a Plan Proof result in about 90 seconds without changing anything else. Many small firms run Plan Proof alongside whatever they already use for documents and markup.
Plan Proof
Upload a plan set. We scan your first 8 sheets free and return one fully detailed finding plus the real counts — no account needed.
See what the city will flag — scan free →Titleblock
Build a free public firm profile — your projects, disciplines, and jurisdictions, on a page clients and search engines can actually find.
Create your firm page — free →Compare Plan Proof to
Comparison based on publicly available information as of July 2026. Competitor pricing and capabilities are self-reported by each vendor and may change — verify current details on each vendor's site.