Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in CPQ software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 15 tools, reviewed
#1 Elfsquad
Dutch CPQ with a fixed-fee licence and unlimited users · Netherlands · elfsquad.io
Manufacturing Fixed-fee pricing European vendor
Elfsquad, from Drachten in the Netherlands, is a cloud CPQ for manufacturers whose products are configured per customer rather than picked from a catalogue.
- Pricing: Fixed fee / organisation. One fixed licence fee covering implementation and use, quoted per organisation; unlimited users included, add-ons priced separately. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Manufacturers who want their own staff, not consultants, to maintain the rules
- Strengths: Visual product configurator; Automated BOM generation; Quote and order documents.
Where it falls short
It is a smaller company than Tacton or Configit, with fewer large-enterprise reference customers, and the actual fixed fee is not published anywhere, so a real number still requires a sales conversation.
Wrong for
A company selling software or subscriptions rather than physical configured products gets little from Elfsquad's manufacturing-specific rules engine.
Visit Elfsquad →
#2 Experlogix CPQ
No-code configurator bolted onto Dynamics, Salesforce or SAP · United States · experlogix.com
No-code rules Dynamics 365 native Document generation
Experlogix is built so the administrator who already maintains your CRM maintains the product rules too, in a grid rather than in code, which is the strongest in-house-ownership story in this category.
- Pricing: Per seat / month. Quoted per organisation, per seat bands; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Companies already committed to Dynamics 365, Salesforce or SAP wanting an in-house-maintainable rules layer
- Strengths: Visual rules grid; Guided selling; Document generation.
Where it falls short
It is only as good as the CRM underneath it: bought without Dynamics 365, Salesforce or SAP there is no usable front end at all.
Wrong for
A company without Dynamics 365, Salesforce or SAP already in place has no front end to bolt Experlogix onto, and should look at a standalone configurator instead.
Visit Experlogix CPQ →
#3 encoway CPQ
Variant rules that serve the quote and the web configurator · Germany · encoway.de
Variant management ISO 27001 Web configurator
encoway CPQ, from Bremen, Germany, argues that one set of product rules should feed both the internal sales quote and the public configurator on a manufacturer's website, rather than two models that drift apart as products change.
- Pricing: Modular / organisation. Quoted per organisation, modular licences; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Manufacturers wanting one configuration model to drive an internal quote and a public-facing configurator
- Strengths: Shared rules model; Public web configurator; Sales quote module.
Where it falls short
No pricing is published anywhere, so budgeting starts with a sales call. It is a strongly DACH-oriented product with partner and support depth concentrated in German-speaking Europe.
Wrong for
A buyer outside German-speaking Europe will find less partner depth and local support than encoway's DACH customers get, and should check references in its own region first.
Visit encoway CPQ →
#4 DealHub
Quote workflow a revenue operations team can own alone · United States · dealhub.io
No-code rules Digital sales rooms Fast go-live
DealHub is the CPQ a revenue operations person can configure without a partner, which is why it tends to go live in weeks rather than quarters.
- Pricing: Per organisation / year. Quoted per organisation, annual subscription; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Services and subscription sellers wanting fast, self-managed go-live
- Strengths: No-code rules builder; Digital sales rooms; Guided selling playbooks.
Where it falls short
The rules engine is not built for a physical product with deep, interacting manufacturing constraints; a machine builder with thousands of valid configurations will outgrow it quickly.
Wrong for
Manufacturers with deep, interacting product-configuration rules involving thousands of options should look at Tacton CPQ, Configit Quote or camos CPQ instead.
Visit DealHub →
#5 Tacton CPQ
Constraint solver that keeps unbuildable machines out of quotes · Sweden · tacton.com
Constraint solving Manufacturing 3D visualisation
Tacton, headquartered in Stockholm with a significant office in Chicago, builds the strongest engine in this category when constraints genuinely interact — it will not let a seller assemble a combination that engineering cannot actually produce, checking validity in real time rather than after the fact.
- Pricing: Per organisation / year. Quoted per organisation, annual subscription; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large manufacturers with deeply interacting configuration constraints
- Strengths: Constraint-solving rules engine; 3D visualisation; Guided selling.
Where it falls short
It is priced for large manufacturers and typically sold alongside an implementation partner, so a firm quoting fifty machines a year is unlikely to earn the cost back.
Wrong for
A smaller manufacturer with modest configuration volume will find Tacton priced well above what the deal flow justifies.
Visit Tacton CPQ →
#6 camos CPQ 365
Rules engine for machine and plant builders in DACH · Germany · camos.de
Machine building DACH focus Deep rules
camos CPQ, now marketed as camos CPQ 365, carries variant depth that lighter configurators give up on, which is why it turns up repeatedly inside large German machine and plant builders.
- Pricing: Named user / month. Quoted per organisation, named-user licences; camos CPQ Compact offered as a lighter mid-market entry point. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mechanical and plant engineering firms with deep variant complexity and a dedicated modeller
- Strengths: Deep variant configuration; Dynamic pricing rules; Quote document generation.
Where it falls short
The camos Modeler is no-code, but large deployments are still typically modelled together with camos consultants, and keeping a deep variant model current needs a trained in-house product modeller rather than a business user making quick edits.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting a lighter, self-service rules engine without a modelling project and outside consultants should look at DealHub or Elfsquad instead.
Visit camos CPQ 365 →
#7 Configit Quote
One configuration model shared by engineering, sales and production · Denmark · configit.com
Configuration lifecycle Engineering data Enterprise
Configit treats configuration as a single model shared by engineering, sales and manufacturing rather than a sales-department tool, using its patented Virtual Tabulation® technology to pre-calculate every valid configuration before a product is manufactured. That is why it appears in automotive and industrial groups where an unbuildable order is unacceptable.
- Pricing: Enterprise agreement. Quoted per organisation, enterprise agreements; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large automotive, medical-device or industrial-machinery manufacturers running an engineering-led configuration programme
- Strengths: Virtual Tabulation® engine; Configuration lifecycle management; Certified SAP integration.
Where it falls short
This is an enterprise programme with an engineering department attached, not something a sales director buys off a price list. Copenhagen-headquartered Configit A/S has been owned by the Danish investment firm Polaris Private Equity since 2016, so it is no longer founder-controlled, and pricing is quoted through multi-year enterprise agreements rather than published anywhere.
Wrong for
A company without a dedicated engineering team to own the configuration model will struggle to get value from Configit's engineering-first approach.
Visit Configit Quote →
#8 QuoteWerks
Quoting software with a published per-concurrent-user price · United States · quotewerks.com
Concurrent-user pricing Web and desktop Published price
QuoteWerks is not really CPQ in the rules-engine sense, and that is exactly the point: it is a quoting tool with a price list, bundles, distributor integrations and a price published openly in a category where almost nothing else is.
- Pricing: Concurrent user / month. Published: Essential $50, Balanced $78 and Pinnacle $102 per concurrent user per month, or $45.83, $71.50 and $93.50 billed annually. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Resellers and distributors with a catalogue and no complex configuration rules
- Strengths: Price list management; Distributor price integrations; Document generation.
Where it falls short
There is no constraint engine worth the name, so it cannot stop a seller quoting an incompatible or unbuildable combination the way a true CPQ tool can.
Wrong for
A manufacturer with genuinely interacting product constraints needs a real rules engine.
Visit QuoteWerks →
#9 Epicor CPQ
Visual configurator that produces a drawing with the quote · United States · epicor.com
3D configurator CAD output Manufacturing
Formerly KBMax, Epicor CPQ is the tool to look at when a buyer needs to see what they are configuring and the factory needs a manufacturing drawing generated from the same rules that priced the quote.
- Pricing: Per organisation / year. Quoted per organisation, annual subscription; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Manufacturers needing a visual, CAD-linked configuration alongside the quote
- Strengths: 3D visual configurator; CAD drawing generation; Rules-driven pricing.
Where it falls short
Rules are built in Epicor CPQ Snap, which the vendor describes as no-code, but the CAD automation that justifies buying it still needs engineering time to connect drawings and models to the rules.
Wrong for
A company that only needs a text quote with no visual or CAD output will pay for capability it never uses.
Visit Epicor CPQ →
#10 Apparound
Sales-enablement CPQ recognised in the Gartner Magic Quadrant · Italy · apparound.com
CRM integrations Gartner recognised Mobile apps
Apparound, from Pisa, Italy, is one of the few tools in this category with sustained, independent recognition: Gartner has placed it in the Magic Quadrant for CPQ Application Suites every year since 2018.
- Pricing: Per organisation / year. Three plans (Essential, Enterprise and Headless CPQ), all quoted by sales; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Field sales teams in telco, energy, manufacturing or retail wanting fast digital proposals with e-signature
- Strengths: Salesforce, Dynamics and HubSpot integrations; Real-time quote configuration; Contract generator and e-signature (Enterprise plan).
Where it falls short
No pricing is published; all three plans route through a sales conversation, and the contract generator that makes the one-flow e-signature pitch work is only in the Enterprise plan.
Wrong for
A manufacturer whose main problem is deep, interacting engineering constraints rather than fast field quoting should compare Tacton CPQ, Configit Quote or encoway CPQ instead.
Visit Apparound →
#11 Sofon CPQ
Guided selling and quotation for mid-market manufacturers · Netherlands · sofon.com
Guided selling Manufacturing US-owned since 2021
Sofon is an Eindhoven-built product with two decades of machine-builder quotations behind it and a question-and-answer flow a non-technical seller can follow.
- Pricing: Licence + implementation. Quoted per organisation, licence plus implementation; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mid-market manufacturers wanting guided selling a non-technical seller can follow
- Strengths: Question-and-answer guided selling; Quote and proposal generation; ERP/CRM integration.
Where it falls short
Implementation runs through the vendor rather than being self-service, and the interface shows its age next to newer no-code tools.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants a self-service rules editor that a business user maintains without vendor involvement should look at Elfsquad or DealHub instead.
Visit Sofon CPQ →
#12 Conga CPQ
Quotes, documents and contracts from one vendor's stack · United States · conga.com
Salesforce and other CRMs Contracts included Enterprise
Conga CPQ's real argument is that the quote, the generated document and the signed contract should sit with one supplier rather than three, which matters for a revenue team that wants a single vendor across the whole quote-to-contract lifecycle rather than configuration depth for its own sake.
- Pricing: Per seat / month. Quoted per organisation, per seat; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Revenue teams, often on Salesforce, wanting quote, document and contract lifecycle from a single vendor
- Strengths: Guided selling; Document generation; Contract lifecycle management.
Where it falls short
Implementations are partner-led, and customers describe upgrades as projects rather than routine events.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting CPQ alone, without the document and contract suite around it, will find better value in a focused tool like DealHub or Elfsquad.
Visit Conga CPQ →
#13 Conga Smart CPQ
Quoting driven by price optimisation rather than product rules · United States · pros.com
Price optimisation Distribution focus Enterprise
The reason to buy this tool is the pricing science underneath it: a recommended price and win probability per deal, derived from a company's own transaction data, rather than a static rules-based price list. PROS sold its B2B business, including Smart CPQ, to Conga in February 2026, and the product is now sold as Conga Smart CPQ next to Conga's own Advantage CPQ.
- Pricing: Enterprise subscription. Quoted by Conga, which now sells the product; no published list price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Distributors and manufacturers whose problem is margin leakage rather than configuration complexity
- Strengths: AI-driven price recommendations; Win-rate optimisation; Constraint-based configuration.
Where it falls short
It needs years of clean transaction data and someone who actively owns pricing strategy; smaller distributors typically have neither.
Wrong for
A manufacturer whose main challenge is preventing unbuildable configurations, not pricing optimisation, should look at Tacton CPQ or Configit Quote instead.
Visit Conga Smart CPQ →
#14 Salesforce Revenue Cloud
CPQ for a company already committed to Salesforce · United States · salesforce.com
Salesforce native Large partner network Quote to cash
Inside a Salesforce estate, the account and product data is already there, which removes an integration nobody enjoys building, and that convenience is the entire case for Salesforce Revenue Cloud.
- Pricing: Per seat / month. Published: Revenue Cloud Growth $150 and Advanced $200 per user per month, billed annually. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Companies fully committed to Salesforce wanting quoting built into the platform they already run
- Strengths: Native Salesforce data model; Guided selling; Subscription and usage billing.
Where it falls short
The product line has been repackaged more than once, and existing Salesforce CPQ customers face a migration rather than a simple upgrade when Salesforce revises the offering again.
Wrong for
A company not already running Salesforce gains nothing from this tool's core advantage and will find a standalone specialist cheaper and less entangled with a platform decision.
Visit Salesforce Revenue Cloud →
#15 Oracle CPQ
Enterprise CPQ inside Oracle's CX suite, for complex quoting · United States · oracle.com
Enterprise Suite vendor Partner-led
Oracle CPQ handles large product catalogues, subscription pricing and multi-step approval chains competently, and connects to Salesforce as well as Oracle's own sales cloud.
- Pricing: Enterprise agreement. Quoted per organisation; negotiated as part of a wider Oracle agreement. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large enterprises already running Oracle CX or Oracle ERP with complex approval chains
- Strengths: Large-catalogue configuration; Subscription pricing support; Multi-step approval chains.
Where it falls short
The rules engine needs trained administrators rather than being self-service, licence terms are negotiated rather than published anywhere, and leaving takes a project of its own once embedded in a wider Oracle estate.
Wrong for
A company not already committed to a wider Oracle agreement will find the standalone specialists in this list cheaper to implement and easier to leave.
Visit Oracle CPQ →
Questions and answers
What is the best CPQ software in 2026?
Elfsquad ranks first of 15, best for manufacturers who want their own staff, not consultants, to maintain the rules. Experlogix CPQ is second (companies already committed to Dynamics 365, Salesforce or SAP wanting an in-house-maintainable rules layer) and encoway CPQ third (manufacturers wanting one configuration model to drive an internal quote and a public-facing configurator). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
Is CPQ the same as a quote or proposal tool?
No. A proposal or quoting tool like QuoteWerks formats and sends a document from a price list you already know is correct.
Why is almost none of this category's pricing published?
Because the licence fee is rarely the largest cost. Implementing a rules engine for a genuinely complex product is a modelling project, encoding the compatibility, pricing and legal constraints of an entire product line, and that scope varies enormously by customer, so vendors quote it after a discovery call rather than publishing a number that would mislead most buyers.
Which CPQ tools work without a specific CRM underneath them?
Elfsquad, encoway CPQ, camos CPQ, Configit Quote, Tacton CPQ, Epicor CPQ and Apparound all ship with their own front end and are not built to require a specific CRM, though most still integrate with the major ones.
Which CPQ tool is best for very deep configuration complexity?
Tacton CPQ and Configit Quote both use genuine constraint-solving technology rather than a simple rule list, which matters once one option choice can eliminate dozens of others several steps downstream.
Is there a genuinely free CPQ tool?
No. None of the fifteen tools ranked here offer a permanent free tier, and most require a scoped sales conversation before any price appears.
What happened to Sofon, and who owns it now?
Sofon is a long-established Eindhoven-built product for mid-market manufacturers, but it now belongs to Revalize, an American group built by rolling up CPQ and engineering-software vendors, and is marketed as Sofon CPQ from Revalize.
How long does a typical CPQ implementation take?
It ranges from a few weeks to the better part of a year, and the deciding factor is almost always configuration complexity rather than the software itself.
Do these tools generate a 3D or visual view of the configured product?
Some do. Epicor CPQ (formerly KBMax) is built specifically around producing a visual configuration, including a manufacturing drawing, from the same rules that price the quote.
Can I get my product rules model out if I switch vendors?
Rarely in a form another CPQ tool could directly import.
Which vendors here are the industry's biggest, and should I avoid them for that reason?
Salesforce Revenue Cloud and Oracle CPQ are the category's dominant suite vendors, both bundled into a much larger CRM or CX platform agreement rather than sold as standalone decisions.
