Best CPQ Software in 2026

CPQ tools help your sales squad to configure your company’s products or services with your business rules, manage their pricing, and generate and send a quote to clients to close the deal. This platform can thus prove invaluable for your enterprise’s sales unit. But how do you select the best CPQ tools in the business from loads of solutions out there? Read this buyer’s guide to learn the main features to look for while scrutinizing the various software products and do educated comparisons.

The ideal way to start your quest for the best CPQ software is to try them out free of cost. You can do this by using the handy free trial facility offered by most top vendors. We recommend the following tools and you can visit their websites to check if there is a free trial you can register for: Apttus, Salesforce Quote-to-Cash, Infor Configure Price Quote, and Oracle CPQ Cloud.

CPQ software is recommended for medium-sized and larger companies that provide customization for clients when ordering as well as those that have large product lines. Plus, it can be used by businesses that have big sales teams that need to be constantly updated about product development and changes. Sales teams can use the tool to manage and organize high volumes of custom sales enquiries and orders.  

CPQ software can also prove handy for fast-growing small companies as it can improve their competitiveness by empowering them to speedily turn back price quotes to clients.

1. Apttus: Enables your sales team to sell more anywhere on the cloud. This app is designed within the Salesforce1 solution. It provides users with the best quotes for all channels, products, and pricing. Plus, you can integrate quoting solution with your contract procedures to automate renewal quotes based on agreed terms and pricing.
2. Salesforce Quote-to-Cash: Enables you to configure quotes with accuracy and speed. You can streamline approvals, pricing, and discounting. Deliver branded proposals from within the Sales Cloud platform. The tool offers advanced billing and revenue recognition features to enable you to send invoices and collect money easily.
3. Infor Configure Price Quote: Advanced CPQ technology for your whole network. An easy-to-use product that helps to reduce costs and boost profits. Enables your sales team, distributors, and partners to deliver the best buying experience to clients. Infor CPQ helps you to become a preferred provider in your industry.
4. Oracle CPQ Cloud: Helps your company to improve sales productivity and margins. The solution is enterprise-ready, scalable, and flexible. It enables you to capture orders for complex services and products and produce quotes quickly. In addition, the tool can make your ERP and CRM systems more efficient.
5. Armatic: More than just a CPQ solution, Armatic helps manage the entire billing and payment pipeline from quote-to-cash. It’s a software solution for payment processing, billing and invoicing, recurring billing, and subscription management.

There are 2 widely used versions:

• SaaS – The CPQ solution is cloud-hosted which means you can access it from anywhere, anytime. In addition, the vendor takes care of maintenance, upgrades, and updates. There are no upfront costs and you simply need to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee to avail the benefits.
• On-Premise Software – The CPQ solution can be installed on your company’s computers and made available to authorized employees. Though the upfront costs are more, you can control the security of your company data.

1. Mobile compatibility. Top CPQ solutions offer mobile apps that have all the features included in desktop version.
2. Product configuration. Enables companies to stipulate logic rules for configuration of products and the degree of customization a client can select.
3. Renewal management. Helps sales reps in maintaining renewed orders or standing orders with customers.
4. Price and quote. The core tool of a CPQ platform. It stipulates the price based on a customer’s needs and sends the quote to the customer.
5. Guided selling. Sales professionals can automatically find suitable products based on client requirements.
6. Analytics. Offers detailed data and reports on sales KPIs and other metrics. Top solutions can do predictive analytics and forecasting to predict future configurations and sales.

1. Efficient contract process: CPQ software makes your quote process more efficient by ensuring all essential data is up to date and ready when you need it.
2. Enhanced accuracy: It can prove costly if a company makes pricing errors as this will earn the wrath of the customer. CPQ software eliminates human errors and enables you to deliver dependable and accurate quotes all the time.
3. Personalized service: The tool enables you to provide personalized service to each of your clients. You can create and deliver customized quotes to each customer. Plus, your sales reps can produce updated quotes in real time if customers want to make any changes or to include applicable discounts. If you provide personalized sales quotes, customers will be more willing to share their personal data with your company.
4. Saves time: You can save a lot of time by automating the quote process. This allows your sales team to handle more leads and close more deals. A recent survey by Aberdeen Group Reports reveals that CPQ software helps companies reduce the length of their sales cycles by up to 28% and increases the proposal volume per rep per month by up to 49%.  
5. Increased sales: All the above benefits help to improve sales for companies. In fact, CPQ helps businesses increase their average deal size by up to 105%.

CRM vendors are expanding their CPQ offerings

Salesforce’s acquisition of the Steelbrick CPQ solution signals that CRM companies are keen on buying CPQ platforms to include in their offerings. This means CPQ providers who wish to compete in the market need to differentiate their products and features to stay ahead of software platforms the come bundled with a CRM tool.

Companies are more educated on the benefits of CPQ

A lot of enterprises have learnt the value of CPQ and are using this concept to enhance their business competitiveness. This knowledge helps these companies to understand the features offered by different CPQ vendors and select the best fit for their needs. In addition, a lot of organizations are shifting from one CPQ solution to another as their needs increase.

Artificial Intelligence

The continued improvement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has led to advances in many fields, CPQ software included. With AI, sales representatives can receive guided selling, where they can be directed to the best solutions for each customer’s specific requirements. This also includes the recommendations for accessories and related components that can add more value.

Slow CPQ process

Your CPQ process can be slowed down by manual work and too many reviews and revisions. This can dull your company’s competitive edge. It is important to respond promptly when your clients are ready. You can ensure this by using CPQ software to automate the CPQ process.

Manual CPQ process is error-prone

Dependence on manual CPQ process can make your proposals miss client requests and need revisions. Plus, if you add manual reviews it will further slow down responses and increase the risk of human error. When sales reps use manual processes they may utilize old proposal templates. This can lead to errors like old client names and logos in new proposals. You can resolve these issues by automating proposal generation with CPQ software.

Using inaccurate/outdated data

CPQ software solutions are only as good as the data you feed it. Importing inaccurate or outdated information can greatly affect the chances of closing the sale, and may potentially irk potential customers who expect accuracy every time. It pays to ensure that the item inventory and prices are updated before embarking on any selling activity.

Will it improve the sales process? 

CPQ software is supposed to automate the process and make it easier for salespeople to get the deal closed. However, if your team responds poorly to the software, spends more time with the instruction manual than the interface, and compensates lost time by making manual computations, then you’re probably only throwing money at the problem. Have your salespeople attend product demos to get a pulse if you’re doing the right thing.

Customization, or lack of it. 

Your company may have certain requirements that are different from others. Consequently, acquiring a one-size-fits-all solution may not work as well for you. Ensure that the software you are considering is aligned with your objectives, or at the very least, features customization options that are more in tune with what you need.

Price matters

Having the cheapest option doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. However, shopping for a cost-effective solution makes good sense. While most packages require a monthly subscription, there are others that charge by the number of users as well. In addition, be on the lookout for add-on costs that may push you over the budget while paying for features that you don’t want nor need.

CPQ software is meant to make the sales process not just faster but easier for your end-users. That should remain the foremost test to ascertain if your CPQ software is doing its job well. You get to have productive sales teams that use their time more efficiently and can send client quotes immediately.

For clients, CPQ software helps make quoting consistent. After all, there’s nothing more annoying than receiving a replacement quote that contains new pricing. What’s more, it accelerates turnaround times which is something that your customers are sure to appreciate.

Ultimately, CPQ software should help you save money by doing more in less time and with less effort. If the software helps both your sales team and your clients reach an accord faster and more efficiently, then that means you made a good investment.