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Jan 25, 2024
12 Best CPQ Tools for Salesforce in 2024
It's one of the hardest deployments to get right but all starts with selecting the right tool.
First and foremost, we don’t have a dog in this race.
This isn’t some listicle we created to tout ourselves as the top option on the list.
And the purpose of this guide isn’t to highlight why companies are adopting CPQ and Billing tools. The assumption is that you’ve already reached that conclusion and, more than likely, have a CPQ solution in place.
This resource serves as a real-time look at the landscape of emerging CPQ and Billing infrastructure, backed by commentary and reviews from our network of Rev Ops Leaders.
The Future of CPQ
The challenge with CPQ stems from how deeply intertwined the tool is with the overall Go-to-Market workflow. It is initiated from front-office processes (Sales) and simultaneously intertwined with back-office processes (Legal, Finance, Billing).
This is fundamentally what makes CPQ tools so powerful and yet so complex.
At the end of the day, it comes down to your processes. A poorly designed process can’t be fixed by the best technology in the world.
When you do have the right processes in place, CPQ is the best accelerant.
The CPQ tools of yesterday still offer immense value in terms of customizability and scalability.
But a lot is changing - new pricing methodologies like usage-based; a greater prioritization on end user experience; self-serve features being integrated to the core Product experience; and more.
This evolution is expected but not all solutions on the market can keep pace.
It’s why 7 out of the 11 tools featured on this list were launched in the last 4 years.
The market has spoken and current solutions aren’t addressing their needs.
12 Best CPQ Tools
1. Conga (formerly Apttus)
Born out of the merger between Conga and Apttus in 2020, Conga CPQ (formerly Apttus) was the first CPQ tool built natively on top of the Salesforce platform and was a longtime, leading alternative to SteelBrick.
It’s most often compared to Salesforce and Zuora CPQ - powerful and robust but also a complex tool that needs a ton of customization to get right.
Pros
Highly customizable
Can handle complex requirements
Cons
Code needed to customize
"Super complex, often requires code to solve things other tools do out of the box". - Revenue Cloud Practice Lead
2. Salesforce CPQ
In 2010, SteelBrick, led at the time by Max Rudman, developed a CPQ solution built entirely on top of the Force.com platform, designed to create a seamless integration with Salesforce. It quickly became one of the top, enterprise-grade CPQ solutions on the market, eventually being acquired by Salesforce (2015) and rebranded as Salesforce CPQ.
While a lot of users complain about its complexity, and overwhelming customization options, Salesforce CPQ is one of the most complete solutions out there and uniquely built to scale with Enterprise Customers handling complex, multi-segment, multi-currency processes across a larger product SKU.
Pros
Scalability
Highly customizable
Cons
Steep learning curve
Price
Bottomline: It’s one of the better solutions for companies with over 1,000 Reps, but be prepared to invest in it to get it right.
Quote from a Sr. Director of RevOps & Technology:
Complex implementation however has the scalability needed for a multi-segment business. Also gives options needed to pivot technology as the business pivots. "Implementation took too long and was super expensive." - Sr. Director of RevOps & Technology:
3. DealHub
Born in TelAviv, Israel in 2011, DealHub is widely considered the most ‘Sales-centric’ tool of the list, with an approach to quoting that’s straightforward, yet flexible.
Users praise their playbook versioning, which facilitates release management and diminishes Rep errors.
On the flipside, the core functionality is cited as being too biased towards front of the house (Sales), underperforming in upsells, renewals and other post-sale activities.
Pros
Facilitates release management
Sales-centric approach
Cons
Post-sales features underperform
Bottomline: If you want zero deviation from your Sales playbook and need a tool that can act as a guardrail for your Reps, DealHub is a good option. Buyer beware, the smoothness of the pre-sales process can turn into a challenge when upselling or renewing. "Their approach to playbook versioning is a release management dream". - Director of Sales Systems
4. Zuora
Zuora was an early pioneer in SaaS Billing infrastructure and launched a CPQ solution in 2014. While Zuora’s DNA is in subscription businesses, Zuora CPQ can be powerful but rigid and was described by many as ‘clearly an add-on to the core Billing platform’.
From our research, customer sentiment around Zuora CPQ was pretty low, often due complaints about overly complex architecture and inflexible feature sets.
Pros
Helpful for end-to-end subscription management
Cons
Lacks scalability
Requires customization to address feature gaps
Bottomline: The marriage of CPQ and Billing tools is a difficult challenge for many large companies and Zuora Billing remains one of the leading platforms, making the CPQ offering at least worth a look. "It’s not an intelligent or scalable CPQ" - Sr. Director of Business Technology
5. Nue
Nue is relatively new to the game, having been founded in 2019 by Tina Kung (ex-Zuora and ex-Salesforce Engineering Leader) and Kate McCullough. Based on our experience conducting research for this piece, customer hype for Nue is stronger than any other product evaluated.
The biggest benefit highlighted was ease of implementation and usability, while not sacrificing on the rich features needed or the essential integration to Salesforce.
Pros
Easy to manage
Native integration to Salesforce
Cons
A bit on the slow side (G2)
Needs a lot of customization if not a SaaS
Bottomline: If you’re a SaaS SMB, Nue is a great fit. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the tool, along with the seamless integration with Salesforce makes it easy for Reps to make changes without switching tools. "Simple to use, easy to setup and manage." -Director of Revenue Operations
6. Salesbricks
Salesbricks is another new kid on the block in CPQ. Founded in 2021 and built with early-stage SaaS in mind, Salesbricks got a lot of praise for being a lightweight but ‘complete solution’, solving pricing + packaging challenges while also handling CLM workflows.
Described as super easy to set up and get going, Salesbricks is better suited for companies that are just getting their technology infrastructure up and running. At the same time, it’s capable of tackling complex pricing and inventory management.
Pros
Super easy set up
Built for SaaS
Great for CPQ first-timers
Cons
Integration with Salesforce is average
Few finance features missing
Bottomline: This seems to be a great foundational CPQ for earlier stage companies but product maturity may leave you upgrading down the line. "Super easy to configure robust pricing and packaging including usage." -VP Solutions Engineering
7. Subskribe
Subskribe was built for modern SaaS and launched in 2020. While powerful, Subskribe was referenced as being somewhat one-sided. There’s little personalization to be done, what Sales gets is exactly what Finance gets and that means not all workflows might be covered.
Common feedback was the desire for a more personalized experience across teams and deeper third-party integrations, including CLM functionality.
Pros
Fast to implement
Easy to use by everyon
Cons
Not as customizable
Workflows are generic
"Fast CPQ that makes my job easier". - Sr. Sales Development.
8. MonetizeNow
Founded in 2021, MonetizeNow is a unified CPQ and Billing Platform built for SaaS. As a new tool, simplicity of use is one of MonetizeNow’s most cited benefits.
As with other new tools in the market, MonetizeNow is praised for simplicity and usability but documentation isn’t fully established and feature gaps do exist.
Based on our research, the MonetizeNow team seems to ship FAST, adding customer feedback to the roadmap almost real-time, so factor that in to some of the limitations that exist today.
Pros
Simple, beautiful interface
Easy training
Cons
Lacks documentation/knowledge base
Still in building mode
Bottomline: For a simplified quote to cash process, MonetizeNow will work and grow with you as your processes develop. "The best part of MonetizeNow has been their commitment to continuously improving their product." - SaaS Founder
9. Cacheflow (now Hubspot)
Another startup going against legacy software, Cacheflow launched in 2021. Very much focused on Sales-led activities, Cacheflow call themselves the “quote to close” solution.
Users love the simplicity yet power of the platform, and say they feel Cacheflow does improve the quote to cash to cash time.
Pros
Very sales-forward
Easy to use and implement
Cons
Light weight in core CPQ functionality
Still in building-mode
Bottomline: If you don't mind partnering with your vendor to help them grow and develop the functionalities you need, Cacheflow is a great new, young team that can ake your specific need parts of their roadmap. "Cacheflow is one of the only tools in our sales stack that actually improves win rates for our sales team." -Sales Operation Manager
10. Sculptor CPQ
100% native to Salesforce, Sculptor was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2021. Users basically look at it as a Salesforce App (and a pretty good one).
Sculptor CPQ allows users to smooth the sales cycle and easily build things like product bundles and pricing rules.
But it’s still on the lighter weight end of the CPQ tools list and the team at Sculptor is small.
Pros
Salesforce-native
Easy to configure
Cons
Small teams in building mode
Bottomline: This is THE lightweight end CPQ tool. If there's no need for a super robust platform, Sculptor should be a great alternative to the bigger, more powerful CPQ tools. "Sculptor’s team provided a tailored CPQ solution that allows our sales reps to generate an accurate quote with all product bundles." - Co-founder in SaaS
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