Smarsh alternatives for advisers and small broker-dealers
Five archives read against the adviser and broker-dealer record rules, with Smarsh itself as the baseline row. Smarsh's own pages state most of what those rules ask, so the question for a small firm is fit: the channels its people use, its size, where the data lives, and what it takes to move. Each cell says what a vendor's own pages state, and where they are silent.
Reviewed October 2026
Best like-for-like alternative
Global Relay
Its own pages pair 100+ channels and WORM storage with lexicon tools, proof-of-review reports and a data migration team, the closest match to a multi-channel Smarsh setup.
Read the review of Global RelayBest for bringing a long history across
Jatheon
Its migration page names 30+ source systems, takes any source that exports to EML or MSG, and says messages arrive with metadata, timestamps and threading intact.
Read the review of JatheonBest for an adviser whose website is a record too
MirrorWeb
Its pages pair message capture and WORM storage with website and social archiving in one platform, and name firms from one person up.
Read the review of MirrorWeb
The comparison table
| Vendor | Captures messages as sent and received204-2(a)(7); 17a-4(b)(4) | Audit trail or non-rewriteable storage17a-4(f)(2)(i) | Retention set per rule204-2(e)(1); 17a-4(b) | Indexed for location and retrieval204-2(g)(2)(i) | Supervisory review and lexicon flagsFINRA 3110(b)(4) | Produces records for an exam204-2(g)(2)(ii); 17a-4(j) | Channels covered | Cost drivers named, no prices | Takes in your existing archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SmarshFinancial-services archive | Meets Email, mobile, chat, voice, social | Meets WORM and audit-trail methods | Meets Policy-based, by group or message type | Meets Saved, shared, audited searches | Partial Exception-based review; lexicon not stated | Meets PST, EML, HTML, XML exports | Meets 100+ incl. WhatsApp, iMessage where supported | Partial Savings tool counts users and data | Meets Managed migration, message-level reconciliation |
Global RelayMulti-industry archive | Meets Connectors for email, chat, voice, Android texts | Meets WORM-compliant; time-stamped access log | Meets Retention schedules across entities | Meets Search, tag, reconstruct across channels | Meets AI and lexicon tools; proof-of-review reports | Partial Evidentiary export; no exam named | Meets 100+; iMessage not stated | Not stated | Partial Data Services team; extractors for two on-premises archives |
Archive IntelSEC and FINRA archive | Meets Native-app texts; Microsoft 365, Google Workspace | Meets WORM cloud storage; access audit trail | Meets By channel and record type | Meets User, date, keyword, channel | Partial Contextual AI; lexicon not stated | Meets Formatted export for exams | Meets iMessage, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Teams, Zoom | Meets Per seat, per connector | Meets Ingests prior vendors' history |
JatheonCloud or on-premises archive | Meets Carrier and app capture of texts; email, chat, social | Check with vendor Immutable audit trails; WORM not stated | Meets Retention policies enforced | Meets Keyword and LLM search | Partial AI dashboard, keyword alerts | Meets One-click exam-ready exports | Meets 25+ incl. iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat | Not stated | Meets 30+ named sources; any EML or MSG export |
MirrorWebFinancial-services archive | Meets Email, chat, Teams, WhatsApp, voice | Meets Write Once, Read Many | Check with vendor Retention settings not described | Meets Search any message, file, conversation | Partial Scored alerts; lexicon not stated | Meets For regulatory requests; formats not named | Meets Texts, Teams, Zoom, social, websites | Not stated | Not stated Archive import not described |
ProofpointEnterprise governance suite | Meets Capture product, 80+ channels | Meets WORM preservation; audit trails | Meets Retention and disposition | Meets Full-text and metadata search | Meets Review queues, sampling, evidence | Meets Self-service export for regulatory response | Meets 80+ incl. WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal | Not stated | Not stated Archive import not described |
Why a small firm looks past Smarsh
Smarsh's own pages name RIAs, broker-dealers and dual registrants, list more than 100 channels, and split its small-business offer into Small, Scaling and Large firms. The table shows its pages state most of what the record rules ask. So the reasons a firm looks elsewhere are about fit: firm size, the channels its people actually use, where it wants the data kept, and a renewal date. None of them says Smarsh is the wrong archive. Each one says which question to put to the alternatives.
The reason, and what to check
| What the firm says | What to check | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| We are one or two advisers and mostly need texts and email | Whether the vendor names solo RIAs, and captures texts without a second phone | Archive Intel, MirrorWeb |
| We want the archive on our own servers | An on-premises option, and who runs the backups | Jatheon |
| We have years of history in the old archive | Which export formats the new vendor takes in, and a reconciliation report | Jatheon, Archive Intel |
| We already buy email security from one vendor | Whether its governance suite covers every channel the firm has approved | Proofpoint |
| We need the same channel reach under a different contract | Channel list, lexicon review, proof of review | Global Relay, Proofpoint |
| We also need the website archived | Website capture in the same archive (Smarsh sells a Web Archive too) | MirrorWeb, Smarsh |
| Our contract is up for renewal | Export terms, and quotes from two or three vendors on one scope | The switching letters below |
Vendor pages read October 22, 2026
If texting is the reason, the channel question is bigger than the vendor question: start with text message archiving software or, for the two consumer apps, WhatsApp and iMessage archiving. If email is the whole job, the email archiving comparison reads the same vendors against the mail rules alone.
Smarsh against each alternative
Each pair below is read from the same table: what one vendor's pages state that the other's do not. A gap means the page is silent, not that the product lacks it. Put the gap to the vendor in writing.
Smarsh vs Global Relay
The nearest pair. Both name 100+ channels, WORM storage and retention schedules. Global Relay's pages add lexicon tools and proof-of-review reports in plain words; Smarsh's add named export formats (PST, EML, HTML, XML), letters of undertaking and an explicit RIA and broker-dealer audience. Global Relay does not state iMessage capture.
Smarsh vs Proofpoint
Proofpoint's site sells email protection beside a governance suite: 80+ channels through its Capture product, WORM preservation, and review queues with evidence of supervision. It names no adviser audience and the pages we read do not describe importing an old archive. It suits a firm already on Proofpoint for email security.
Smarsh vs Jatheon
The real difference is where the archive lives. Jatheon also sells an on-premises appliance or VM, and its migration tool names 30+ source systems. Its pages state immutable audit trails but not WORM storage, so a broker-dealer must ask which 17a-4(f) mode applies.
Smarsh vs Archive Intel
Archive Intel is narrower and adviser-first: SEC and FINRA firms only, texts captured in advisers' own apps, retention set by channel and record type, and a pricing basis it publishes (per seat, per connector). Smarsh covers more channel types and voice; Archive Intel states its review is AI-led and does not mention lexicons.
Smarsh vs MirrorWeb
MirrorWeb pairs message archiving with website archiving and scored-alert supervision, and names firms from one person up. Its pages do not describe how retention periods are set or how an old archive is imported, the two things a firm leaving Smarsh needs answered first.
Firms weighing Global Relay itself against the rest will find the same reading from the other side in Global Relay alternatives.
Smarsh pricing: what moves the quote
Smarsh's pages offer a demo and a sales contact, not a price list, and so do four of the five alternatives here. A quote is a function of a handful of drivers, and two vendors quoting different scopes cannot be compared. Count the drivers first; then every vendor quotes the same firm.
The seven cost drivers, and what the vendors' own pages say about them
| Driver | What to count before you ask | On the vendors' own pages |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | Everyone whose messages are captured, including staff who only text. Ask how a leaver's archive is counted while its records are still kept. | Archive Intel's FAQ says it is priced “per user, per month”; Smarsh's savings tool starts from the “Number of archived users”. |
| Channels | Only the channels the firm has approved: email, texts, WhatsApp, Teams, LinkedIn, the website. | Archive Intel treats each channel as a connector and prices per seat, per connector. |
| Retention length | The rule's period for your firm type, plus any longer period your own policy sets. | Archive Intel quotes on “channel mix, user count, and retention requirements”. |
| Storage volume | The size of the history you bring and how much each person adds a year. Your current vendor can report both. | Smarsh's savings tool asks for total historical data and the “Average new storage added per year per user”. |
| Migration | Years of history, which systems it sits in, and the formats your current archive exports. | Archive Intel says implementation cost varies with users, “existing archiving vendor migration” and historical import. |
| Supervision | Lexicon rules, AI review, marketing review: in the base product or sold as a module. | Proofpoint sells Supervision and Automate beside Archive; Archive Intel sells marketing review as an add-on. |
| Contract and exit | Term length, renewal notice, and the export terms when the contract ends. | Archive Intel's FAQ: “Annual contracts are standard”. No other page we read states a term. |
Vendor pages read October 22, 2026
Retention is the driver firms forget they do not choose. An adviser keeps covered communications at least five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry; a broker-dealer keeps them at least three years, the first two easily accessible. For a dual registrant, Rule 204-2(h)(1) lets a record kept under the broker-dealer rules count for the adviser rule when it is substantially the same; set the periods with your compliance counsel. The books and records retention calculator works out the dates, and the archiving requirements matcher lists what each channel must keep.
Count the drivers, then send the same scope to each vendor on your shortlist, Smarsh included. The quote request on our Global Relay alternatives page writes one from your channels and modules. File the replies: they show the archive was chosen against the rule. None of this is legal advice; check the final setup with your compliance counsel.
Switching without a gap in the record
Changing archive does not restart any clock. Each record keeps the period it started with, so on the day a firm switches it still owes every record the old archive holds that has not aged out. For an adviser the clock reads:
What an adviser's old archive still holds on January 1, 2027
| Last entry made in | Keep until at least |
|---|---|
| 2022 | December 31, 2027 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2028 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2029 |
| 2025 | December 31, 2030 |
| 2026 | December 31, 2031 |
17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1), by our reading, December 31 fiscal year end
By our reading, a firm with a December year end that switches on January 1, 2027 carries five years of history it cannot drop, the newest of it until the end of 2031. Records last entered in 2021 or earlier reached their five years by December 31, 2026. Work out your own dates with the retention calculator; the full list of adviser records is in Rule 204-2, the adviser books and records rule.
A broker-dealer keeps its communications “for a period of not less than three years, the first two years in an easily accessible place”. Rule 17a-4(b) does not state the event that period runs from, so do not let an old archive lapse on a date worked out alone; set it with counsel.
Getting the records out
Leaving depends on the old archive letting go. For a broker-dealer the rule builds that in: the recordkeeping system must
An adviser must be able to give an examiner “a legible, true, and complete copy of the record in the medium and format in which it is stored”, wherever it now sits. Smarsh's archive page lists PST, EML, HTML and XML exports; Jatheon takes “any source extracting to EML”; Archive Intel says it ingests prior vendors' history. Smarsh's migration page names “message-level reconciliation” and Global Relay's “chain of custody and reconciliation”: ask whichever side runs the move for that report. Storage modes are set out in Rule 17a-4 and WORM storage, and the storage layer alone is compared in SEC 17a-4 compliant storage.
A switch in five steps
- 01Quote on one scopeSend every vendor the same scope (the cost drivers above) and ask for the export terms at the end of the contract in writing, from the new vendor and the old one.
- 02Settle the paperwork before capture startsWhere a broker-dealer's new archive owns and operates the servers holding its records, the vendor files the Rule 17a-4(i) undertaking with the Commission. Check with counsel whether the undertakings the firm keeps on file with its designated examining authority name the old vendor.
- 03Run both captures for an overlapSwitch capture on in the new archive before switching it off in the old one, so no message sent on cutover day falls between the two.
- 04Move the history and reconcile itCount messages out of the old archive and into the new one, per person and per channel, and keep the report. Bring the review trail across with the messages, not the messages alone.
- 05Keep what you did not move readableAnything left behind stays producible until its own period runs out. Keep read access to the old archive, and its export tools, until then.
Two letters carry most of that work: one asks Smarsh how the records come out, the other asks the new archive how they go in. Set your firm below, copy both, and keep the replies with the switch file.
Pre-filled for a six-person RIA bringing three years across. Change any field; both letters update as you type.
0 if you keep the old archive instead
To Smarsh: getting your records out
- 01We are moving our archive to a new vendor. Please list the export formats you offer for email, text messages (SMS, MMS, iMessage), LinkedIn and other social media.
- 02Please confirm the export covers 3 years of history for 6 people, including former staff whose records we still keep.
- 03Please say whether each reviewed message exports with its review trail: the reviewer, the date and the action taken.
- 04Please give a message count per person and per channel with the export, the timing, and who runs it.
To the new archive: taking them in
- 01Please confirm you can capture email, text messages (SMS, MMS, iMessage), LinkedIn and other social media from our start date, so both archives run during an overlap and no message falls between them.
- 02Please list the formats you import from Smarsh, and confirm original dates, metadata and threads are kept.
- 03Please reconcile message counts per person and per channel after the import and give us the report.
- 04Retention we must meet: adviser records at least five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry, the first two years in an appropriate office (17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1)).
- 05Please put the export terms at the end of our contract (format, timing, who runs it) in writing.
Supervision moves too
A broker-dealer's reviews are records as well. FINRA wants the reviewer traceable after the fact:
A new archive also means new review queues and lexicons, and Rule 3110(b)(7) requires the firm to “promptly amend its written supervisory procedures” as changes occur in its supervisory system. What a review must show is set out in FINRA Rule 3110 supervision.
Each vendor, read against the rule
Global Relay
Multi-industry archive- What it is
- A multi-industry archive with its own capture connectors, supervision and eDiscovery. Its recordkeeping page says “All archived content is stored in a WORM-compliant, tamper-proof format with continuous integrity checks”, and its archive records and time-stamps every access, search and export.
- Who it fits
- A firm that wants Smarsh's breadth from another vendor, above all a broker-dealer whose principals must show their reviews: it reports on “proof of review”. A Data Services team runs moves into the archive. Its pages speak to “a growing business or a global enterprise” and do not name RIAs or broker-dealers.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsConnectors for email, chat, voice, Android texts
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM-compliant; time-stamped access log
- Retention set per ruleMeetsRetention schedules across entities
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsSearch, tag, reconstruct across channels
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsMeetsAI and lexicon tools; proof-of-review reports
- Produces records for an examPartialEvidentiary export; no exam named
- Channels coveredMeets100+; iMessage not stated
- Cost drivers named, no pricesNot stated
- Takes in your existing archivePartialData Services team; extractors for two on-premises archives
- Not verified by us
- Whether it has taken in a Smarsh export before and in which format, which formats it exports in, and its 17a-4(i) undertaking. The migration extractors it names are for two on-premises archives, not Smarsh.
Jatheon
Cloud or on-premises archive- What it is
- A general archive sold as a cloud service on AWS or on premises as a “hardware appliance or VM”. Its financial page says the archive “features full audit trails and role-based access” and that one-click exports deliver “exam-ready records”.
- Who it fits
- A firm that wants its archive behind its own firewall. Its migration page lists more than 30 sources, takes “any source extracting to EML”, and says messages arrive “with full context, metadata, timestamps, and threading intact”. Smarsh is not on the list by name. It cites 200+ financial-services customers; RIAs and broker-dealers are not named.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsCarrier and app capture of texts; email, chat, social
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageCheck with vendorImmutable audit trails; WORM not stated
- Retention set per ruleMeetsRetention policies enforced
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsKeyword and LLM search
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsPartialAI dashboard, keyword alerts
- Produces records for an examMeetsOne-click exam-ready exports
- Channels coveredMeets25+ incl. iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat
- Cost drivers named, no pricesNot stated
- Takes in your existing archiveMeets30+ named sources; any EML or MSG export
- Not verified by us
- Which 17a-4(f) storage mode it uses (WORM is not stated), whether it has migrated a Smarsh export before, and its 17a-4(i) undertaking.
MirrorWeb
Financial-services archive- What it is
- A supervision and archiving platform for financial firms that also archives websites. Its financial page says records are stored “immutably (Write Once, Read Many)” and that supervision uses scored alerts. Its home page says MirrorWeb and Red Oak (advertising review) combine; the pages we read do not say how.
- Who it fits
- Advisers and broker-dealers that want website and social archiving beside their messages: it names investment advisors and broker-dealers, and firms from “a one-person powerhouse” up. The pages we read do not describe bringing an old archive over.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsEmail, chat, Teams, WhatsApp, voice
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWrite Once, Read Many
- Retention set per ruleCheck with vendorRetention settings not described
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsSearch any message, file, conversation
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsPartialScored alerts; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsFor regulatory requests; formats not named
- Channels coveredMeetsTexts, Teams, Zoom, social, websites
- Cost drivers named, no pricesNot stated
- Takes in your existing archiveNot statedArchive import not described
- Not verified by us
- How it imports an existing archive and in which format, how retention periods are set, its export formats, and its 17a-4(i) undertaking.
Archive Intel
SEC and FINRA archive- What it is
- An archive and supervision service “Built for SEC and FINRA Regulated Firms”. It captures texts in the apps advisers already use, with no second phone and no new number, and its FAQ says it stores records in “WORM-compliant cloud infrastructure” with every access logged.
- Who it fits
- Solo and small RIAs first: its FAQ names firms “from solo RIAs and independent advisory practices” up to large broker-dealers. On switching, it says it “can ingest historical data from prior archiving vendors” and recommends keeping access to the old archive for the rest of its retention period.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsNative-app texts; Microsoft 365, Google Workspace
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM cloud storage; access audit trail
- Retention set per ruleMeetsBy channel and record type
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsUser, date, keyword, channel
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsPartialContextual AI; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsFormatted export for exams
- Channels coveredMeetsiMessage, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Teams, Zoom
- Cost drivers named, no pricesMeetsPer seat, per connector
- Takes in your existing archiveMeetsIngests prior vendors' history
- Not verified by us
- Its 17a-4(i) undertaking (its FAQ describes a third-party custodian arrangement instead), its export file formats, and how a text or LinkedIn history is brought over (its FAQ names bulk email imports).
Proofpoint
Enterprise governance suite- What it is
- An enterprise communications-governance suite (Capture, Archive, Supervision, Discover). Its archive page offers “WORM-Compliant Preservation”, full-text indexing, and review queues with “evidence of supervision”.
- Who it fits
- A firm that already buys Proofpoint security. For smaller organisations it sells a bundle, the Nuclei Discovery and Archive Suite. Its pages do not name RIAs or broker-dealers, and the pages we read do not describe importing an old archive.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsCapture product, 80+ channels
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM preservation; audit trails
- Retention set per ruleMeetsRetention and disposition
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsFull-text and metadata search
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsMeetsReview queues, sampling, evidence
- Produces records for an examMeetsSelf-service export for regulatory response
- Channels coveredMeets80+ incl. WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal
- Cost drivers named, no pricesNot stated
- Takes in your existing archiveNot statedArchive import not described
- Not verified by us
- How it imports an existing archive, its export formats, and its 17a-4(i) undertaking; FINRA rules are not named on the archive page.
Smarsh
Financial-services archive- What it is
- The baseline: a capture, archive and supervision platform for financial firms. Its archive page offers exports “in PST, EML, HTML, XML, and optional EDRM formats”, and its 17a-4 page says it supports both WORM and audit-trail retention methods and will “Provide letters of undertaking to applicable regulatory bodies”.
- Who it fits
- Firms that want one vendor for every channel: its navigation names RIAs, broker-dealers and dual BD and RIA firms, and its small-business offer is split into Small, Scaling and Large firms. Its migration page says the archive is “built for data portability”, which matters to anyone leaving as much as joining.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsEmail, mobile, chat, voice, social
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM and audit-trail methods
- Retention set per ruleMeetsPolicy-based, by group or message type
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsSaved, shared, audited searches
- Supervisory review and lexicon flagsPartialException-based review; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsPST, EML, HTML, XML exports
- Channels coveredMeets100+ incl. WhatsApp, iMessage where supported
- Cost drivers named, no pricesPartialSavings tool counts users and data
- Takes in your existing archiveMeetsManaged migration, message-level reconciliation
- Not verified by us
- Which storage mode your account uses, whether lexicon rules sit beside its AI review, and the written export terms (format, timing, who runs it) that apply when a contract ends.
How we read these vendors
Questions firms ask
Can we leave the old archive behind when we switch?
Not while its records are inside their retention period. An adviser keeps covered communications “for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record”, and a broker-dealer keeps them “for a period of not less than three years, the first two years in an easily accessible place”. Either move the history into the new archive or keep read access to the old one until the last of it ages out. Archive Intel's own FAQ recommends keeping that access in parallel.
17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(b)
How much does Smarsh cost?
Smarsh's pages offer a demo and a sales contact rather than a price list, and AdviserDeck prints no prices for any vendor. What moves an archiving quote is countable: people captured, channels, retention length, stored volume, migration, supervision modules and contract term. State them the same way to Smarsh and each alternative, so the replies can be compared; the switching letters on this page cover the export and import terms a move adds.
Is Smarsh, or any alternative, approved by the SEC or FINRA?
No. Neither regulator approves archiving vendors, and FINRA retired its Compliance Vendor Directory effective March 19, 2024. The duties sit with the firm: a broker-dealer's system must keep either a complete time-stamped audit trail or a non-rewriteable, non-erasable format, and an outside archive that holds the records files an undertaking that they “will be surrendered promptly on request”.
17 CFR 240.17a-4(f)(2)(i), (i)(1); finra.org/industry/cvd
Does an RIA switching archives need WORM storage?
The adviser rule does not require it. Rule 204-2(g) asks an adviser to index records for easy retrieval, produce them promptly, keep a separate duplicate copy, and safeguard them “from loss, alteration, or destruction”. WORM and audit-trail storage are Rule 17a-4(f) conditions for broker-dealers. Five of the six archives here state WORM storage on their own pages; a dual registrant's broker-dealer records still need WORM or the audit-trail mode.
17 CFR 275.204-2(g)(1)-(3); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(f)(2)(i)
What must the new archive be able to hand an examiner?
For an adviser, “a legible, true, and complete copy of the record in the medium and format in which it is stored”, a printout, and the means to view and print it, provided promptly. For a broker-dealer, “legible, true, complete, and current copies” furnished promptly, with the electronic record and its audit trail in a reasonably usable electronic format if asked. Ask each vendor for its export formats before you sign: Smarsh lists PST, EML, HTML and XML on its archive page.
17 CFR 275.204-2(g)(2)(ii); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(j)