Comparison: obqo vs 12twenty
obqo vs 12twenty
12twenty is a reporting and benchmarking tool. obqo adds the coaching layer underneath the numbers — at a fraction of the cost.
12twenty (now part of Symplicity / Anthology) is the de-facto reporting tool for MBA and graduate-business employment outcomes. It is excellent at employment surveys, benchmarking, and rankings data. obqo addresses the layer underneath: the day-to-day coaching workflows that drive the numbers 12twenty reports on. Many institutions run both.
Side-by-side
| Feature | obqo | 12twenty |
|---|---|---|
| Coaching session management | ✅ First-class — 8 types, trajectories, AI notes | ❌ Out of scope |
| Employment reporting + benchmarking | ⚠️ Programme analytics, no benchmarking data | ✅ Industry-standard employment reports |
| AI session notes (transcription + summary) | ✅ Whisper + Claude, coach reviews | ❌ N/A |
| Career Signals (live alumni updates) | ✅ Self-report + coach + AI outreach | ⚠️ Survey-driven (annual) |
| Flow engine for assessments + reflections | ✅ Visual builder, 8 step types | ⚠️ Survey-only |
| Pre/post programme career comparison | ✅ Built-in pivot table | ✅ Mature reports |
| EU data residency | ✅ Frankfurt (Supabase EU) | ❌ US-hosted |
| School ranking integrations (FT, BW, US News) | ❌ Not integrated | ✅ Direct integrations |
| Pricing | From €6,000/year | Enterprise — typically $30K+/year |
Where obqo excels
- Coaching workflows are the product: sessions, trajectories, AI notes, follow-ups, action items.
- Career Signals turn alumni updates into one-click outreach via Truncus — no waiting for the annual employment survey.
- AI session notes save coaching time and produce a real, structured dossier per student.
- EU-hosted, GDPR-aligned out of the box.
- Modern UX, multi-tenant per faculty, 5-minute tenant setup.
- Significantly lower entry price — fits faculty-level budgets, not just MBA-programme budgets.
Where 12twenty excels
- Industry-standard employment surveys with benchmarking data across MBA programmes.
- Direct ranking-data integrations (Financial Times, BusinessWeek, US News).
- Established product with deep coverage of US graduate-business employment reporting.
- Mature compensation analytics and salary-by-industry breakdowns.
Best for
Use obqo for coaching, alumni engagement, and faculty-level career-services workflows. Keep 12twenty if your school relies on its rankings-data pipelines and benchmarking reports — the two are complementary.
Pricing: obqo Core from €6,000/year (150 students). 12twenty is enterprise-priced and typically lands at $30,000+/year per institution.