Key Takeaways
- The best CPQ software depends on where quoting complexity sits, from product configuration to pricing and approval workflow
- SmartQuote from Vistaar suits manufacturers and distributors that need price guidance and net margin on every quote line
- Tacton and Infor focus on configuring engineered products, while Oracle and SAP CPQ fit companies already running those suites
- Salesforce Revenue Cloud and Conga Advantage CPQ cover quote-to-cash on a single platform, and DealHub suits teams that want no-code setup
- A pilot built on 20 real quotes, including the hardest ones from last quarter, separates CPQ tools faster than any feature checklist
The best CPQ software for a B2B company is the one built for the kind of complexity its quotes carry. A machinery maker struggling to configure valid options needs a different tool from a distributor whose quotes go out with the wrong price.
This guide compares eight configure, price, quote (CPQ) platforms used by mid-size and enterprise sellers in 2026. Each one is scored on the same criteria and paired with the buyer it fits best.
The comparison table gives the short answer. The tool reviews and selection steps that follow it give the detail a shortlist needs.
Best CPQ Software at a Glance
The table maps each platform to the buyer profile where it is strongest. Every tool here can configure products and produce a priced quote, so the difference lies in depth.
How to Judge CPQ Software: Find Where Your Complexity Sits
Feature lists make CPQ tools look alike, since all of them configure products and route approvals. The real difference shows up in which of three kinds of complexity a tool was designed around.
- Product complexity: The test is whether a combination of options can be built, which calls for a constraint-based configurator
- Pricing complexity: The question becomes whether the price makes money for this customer after rebates and freight, which calls for price guidance on each line
- Process complexity: The issue is who approves the deal and how it flows into contracts and billing, which calls for workflow and quote-to-cash links
Pricing complexity is the one buyers tend to underweight. A quote can be perfectly configured and still lose money, because the margin problem lives in the price waterfall beneath the invoice.
The screenshot below shows what line-level margin looks like in practice. Its first line is invoiced at $228.49 against a $267.29 floor, which leaves a negative 4.09% invoice margin and a negative 8.09% net margin once post-invoice costs are counted.
Catching that line before the quote leaves the building is what separates deal-level margin visibility from a report that arrives after the order ships.
Readers new to the category can first read Vistaar's overview of what CPQ software does, which covers the core workflow behind every tool below.
The 8 Best CPQ Software Platforms for 2026
Each review follows the same format, covering the buyer it fits and its main capabilities, then the questions to raise during evaluation. Product details come from each vendor's own product pages as of October 2026.
1. Vistaar SmartQuote
SmartQuote is Vistaar's CPQ platform, built for manufacturers and distributors whose quotes depend on getting price and margin right across large catalogs. It runs on the Vistaar Platform alongside Vistaar's pricing and rebate products.
Best for: Pricing-heavy manufacturers and distributors with customer-specific prices and rebate programs
- Price guidance on every quote: Start-Target-Floor price bands are generated for each quote from segment and order size along with product mix and margin targets
- Net margin view: Discount parameters and rebate terms appear next to pricing data, so reps see net margin while building the quote
- Approval rules: Exceptions route automatically based on discount depth or margin impact, with a complete audit trail
- Deal insights: Win probability updates as discount levels change, and deals are scored on profitability and likelihood to close
- Configuration and scale: Dependency and compatibility rules cover configure-to-order and engineer-to-order offerings, with native integration for Salesforce and other major CRM platforms
Considerations: SmartQuote delivers the most when pricing data and margin targets are already defined. Teams quoting a short, fixed price list will use only part of its pricing depth.
Pricing: Quote-based
2. Salesforce Revenue Cloud
Salesforce Revenue Cloud, also marketed as Agentforce Revenue Management, runs the path from product catalog to contracts and orders inside Salesforce. Salesforce put its legacy CPQ product into end-of-sale status in March 2025 and directs new development to Revenue Cloud.
Best for: Companies standardized on Salesforce Sales Cloud that want quote-to-cash in the CRM
- Unified catalog: A single attribute-based product catalog connects to product data and ERP systems
- Configuration rules: A Constraint Builder defines the rules sellers follow to build accurate complex quotes
- AI-assisted quoting: Agentforce helps sellers generate and update quotes and suggests upgrades or add-ons
- Contracts and orders: Clause libraries and AI-assisted redlining sit in the CRM, and orders split into fulfillment tasks automatically
Considerations: Companies still on legacy Salesforce CPQ should scope the migration to Revenue Cloud as part of the evaluation. Teams outside the Salesforce ecosystem will need integration work for catalog and pricing data.
Pricing: Quote-based for enterprise editions
3. Oracle CPQ
Oracle Configure, Price, Quote is a long-established enterprise CPQ used by manufacturers with complex product models. Oracle reports nine consecutive placements as a Leader in Gartner's CPQ Magic Quadrant, most recently in the January 2026 edition.
Best for: Complex manufacturers running Oracle or a mix of ERP systems
- Product modeling: Reusable product models and guided selling support subscription and service ordering
- Pricing controls: Real-time pricing recommendations sit alongside discount management and automated approvals
- AI features: Deal scoring and win probability appear with generative AI quote summaries
- Integration: Oracle states that CPQ works with more than 20 ERP systems, including SAP and Infor LN, plus Salesforce Sales Cloud
Considerations: Product models are powerful and usually need experienced administrators or a partner to build and maintain. Buyers should confirm partner availability for their industry before committing.
Pricing: Quote-based
4. SAP CPQ
SAP CPQ is the quoting application within SAP's sales portfolio, designed to reuse product and pricing data already held in SAP systems. SAP states it can generate quotes of 10,000 lines or more in seconds.
Best for: Companies running SAP Sales Cloud and SAP ERP
- SAP data reuse: Existing variant configuration models and ERP data feed quoting directly
- Margin guardrails: Price controls apply by product and customer as well as by channel, with rules-driven eligibility checks
- Embedded AI: Cross-sell and pricing recommendations appear during quoting
- Connected suite: A preconfigured integration links SAP Sales Cloud, with prebuilt connectors through SAP Integration Suite
Considerations: SAP CPQ fits most naturally inside an SAP environment. Companies using a non-SAP CRM should test the third-party connector with their own data.
Pricing: Quote-based
5. Conga Advantage CPQ
Conga Advantage CPQ quotes tangible goods alongside subscriptions and usage-based offerings from one catalog and connects to Conga's contract and billing products. Conga completed its acquisition of the PROS B2B business in February 2026, adding AI-driven pricing optimization to its portfolio.
Best for: Teams that want CPQ and contract management from one vendor, with billing alongside
- Rules-based configuration: A rules engine defines product relationships and dependencies for complex quotes
- Mixed offerings: Tangible goods and subscriptions combine on a single quote from a unified catalog
- Subscription lifecycle: Renewals generate opportunities and quotes automatically
- Contract alignment: Contracts match the proposals agreed during negotiation
Considerations: Buyers evaluating Conga in 2026 can ask how the former PROS pricing capabilities connect to Advantage CPQ in their deployment.
Pricing: Quote-based
6. Tacton CPQ
Tacton CPQ is built for manufacturers of configurable and engineer-to-order equipment, such as industrial machinery and energy systems. Tacton says the 2026 edition of that report marked its fourth straight year as a Leader.
Best for: Equipment manufacturers with high-variance, engineered product portfolios
- Constraint-based configuration: Every quote reflects valid options and constraints
- Engineering checks: Sellers quote high-variance portfolios without waiting on manual engineering reviews
- Digital thread: Configuration data connects sales with engineering and production
- Industry focus: Solutions target segments including medical equipment and construction equipment
Considerations: Tacton centers on product configuration. Companies whose larger problem is customer-specific pricing or rebates may pair it with a dedicated pricing platform.
Pricing: Quote-based
7. Infor CPQ
Infor CPQ gives manufacturers a visual buying and quoting experience for configured products, and it runs on Infor's cloud platform. Infor has held a Leader position three times in a row, including the January 2026 report.
Best for: Manufacturers of configured products that want a visual quoting experience
- Visual configuration: An intuitive visual interface helps buyers and sellers configure products accurately
- Multichannel quoting: Quotes can be produced across several sales channels
- Document generation: Quote documents generate automatically
- Quote-to-order: Accepted quotes convert to orders without manual rekeying
Considerations: Infor CPQ is a natural fit for companies already on Infor systems. Others should confirm connector scope for their ERP and CRM during the pilot.
Pricing: Quote-based
8. DealHub CPQ
DealHub CPQ is a no-code quoting platform popular with mid-market and subscription businesses, with built-in subscription management and billing. Its DealRoom feature sends buyers a digital sales proposal they can review online.
Best for: Mid-market SaaS and services companies that want fast, no-code setup
- No-code setup: Admins configure products and rules without coding
- Self-service quoting: AI features include buyer assistance and self-service quoting
- Subscriptions and billing: Renewals are automated, and billing manages the revenue lifecycle
- CRM integration: DealHub connects with Salesforce and HubSpot among other CRM platforms
Considerations: DealHub is designed around subscription and services selling. Manufacturers with deep bills of material should test their most complex configurations in a pilot.
Pricing: Quote-based
How to Choose CPQ Software
Shortlisting starts with the problem that costs the most today. The table matches common symptoms to the type of CPQ that addresses them:
Self-service ordering raises the stakes on whichever tool you pick. In a Gartner survey of 646 B2B buyers, 67% said they prefer a rep-free buying experience, which means pricing rules must hold when no rep reviews the quote.
Run a pilot with real quotes
A pilot exposes differences that demos smooth over. Use quotes your team actually struggled with, including deals that went through a long discount approval workflow:
- Pull 20 recent quotes: Include the five hardest from last quarter, such as large multi-line deals and accounts with rebates
- Rebuild each quote in every shortlisted tool: Time how long each takes, and record where manual workarounds appear
- Compare the margin shown: Check whether each tool shows invoice margin only or net margin after rebates and freight
- Trace one deal end to end: Follow a quote from approval through to the order to see where data must be rekeyed
- Score integration effort: Ask each vendor to map the connection to your ERP and CRM, and confirm who maintains it
Integration often decides total cost more than license fees. A review of pricing software integrations helps frame the questions to put to each vendor.
What Drives CPQ Software Cost
Every vendor in this list prices CPQ on a custom basis for enterprise deals, and none publishes a full enterprise rate card. The final number depends on a handful of factors you can estimate before talking to sales:
- User count and type: Full quoting licenses cost more than approver or read-only access
- Configuration depth: Engineered products with thousands of rules take longer to model and maintain
- Integrations: Each ERP or CRM connection adds build and testing effort, and every custom field mapped raises the testing load
- Implementation partner: Partner services are a separate line item on most complex rollouts
- Modules: Contract management and price optimization are often licensed separately from core CPQ
Timeline matters as much as license price. The guide on pricing software implementation time sets out what drives a rollout from months to a year.
Pick the CPQ Built for Your Hardest Quote
The right CPQ answers the question your current process gets wrong most often. Product-heavy manufacturers should start with configuration specialists such as Tacton and Infor or with Oracle, while companies tied to one suite will find the shortest path with Salesforce or SAP.
Equipment makers weighing configuration depth against pricing control can use the guide to CPQ for manufacturing companies to set their test cases.
Manufacturers and distributors losing margin between list price and pocket price should start with a tool that shows net margin on every line before approval. Vistaar SmartQuote was built for that case, and it connects to Vistaar's rebate management software when rebate terms shape the deal.
Check margin before a quote goes out
Walk through SmartQuote with your own quote scenarios, including price bands and margin-based approvals.
Request a demo
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between CPQ and pricing software?
CPQ manages configuring products and producing the quote document. Pricing software sets and governs the prices that CPQ applies, so many enterprises run both and connect them.
How long does CPQ implementation take?
Simple deployments can go live in weeks. Enterprise rollouts with complex product rules and ERP integration usually take several months, depending on data readiness and scope.
Can CPQ software work with an existing ERP?
Yes. Each platform in this guide offers ERP integration, though depth varies by vendor and ERP, so confirm the exact connector for your system before signing.
Is Salesforce CPQ still available?
Salesforce stopped selling its legacy CPQ to new customers in 2025. Existing customers can keep using and renewing it, while new buyers are directed to Revenue Cloud.
Do small businesses need CPQ software?
Small teams with short price lists can often quote from a CRM or spreadsheet. CPQ pays off once configuration rules or discount approvals start causing errors.
As an experienced pricing solutions partner to some of the biggest names in global business, Vistaar offers a range of services to help our customers reach their maximum potential. Talk to us to see how we can help you create a more profitable future.
