How Much Should RFQ Software Cost? A Live Demo and the Market Comparison
Most manufacturing and fabrication shops still run request-for-quote intake through email: a drawing, a thread, and no good way to see what’s open, assigned, or going cold. I built a working demo of what a dedicated RFQ system looks like, and pulled together what the market actually charges for one—off-the-shelf and custom.
What the market charges for RFP/RFQ software
- Mid-market subscription platforms commonly run $800–$1,500+ per month, billed whether you’re actively quoting or not.
- Enterprise RFP/RFQ platforms often run $15,000–$100,000+ per year, typically bundled with a longer sales and implementation cycle.
- Per-seat pricing is common too—often $35–$300+ per user, per month, which adds up fast once more than a couple of estimators are logged in.
Those figures come from vendor-published pricing pages and industry write-ups, not an independent audit—treat them as a general range, not a quote for any specific platform.
A custom alternative, live
I built RFQ Desk (demo), a working example of a quote-intake and tracking system for a fabrication shop: customers submit drawings (PDF, STEP, DXF), quantities, material, and a due date through one form, and estimators work every request from a single board instead of a shared inbox—status, owner, and due date visible to the whole team. Try it yourself at rfq.barondoss.com.
What it costs to build one
A custom RFQ and quote-desk system, built around how your shop already works, typically runs $8,000–$15,000 as a one-time project—no seat fees, no renewal pricing, and it’s yours. For a shop running a handful of estimators, that often pays for itself against a multi-year subscription within the first year or two.
If you’re quoting by email today and want to see what a dedicated system would look like for your shop, the demo is a good place to start.