Every European CPQ tool reviewed
Drachten, Netherlands
Founded Not stated by the vendor
One fixed licence fee, quoted per organisation, unlimited users
Not stated by the vendor; demo on request
Best for: Manufacturers who want their own staff, not outside consultants, to maintain the configuration rules
Elfsquad is a cloud CPQ platform built in Drachten, in the north of the Netherlands, for manufacturers whose products are configured per order rather than picked from a fixed catalogue — machine builders, industrial equipment makers and similar made-to-order manufacturers. The company also runs offices in Eschborn/Frankfurt, Germany, and Gdańsk, Poland, alongside its Dutch headquarters.
The pricing model is the clearest thing that separates Elfsquad from the rest of this category: rather than a per-user subscription with escalating tiers, the vendor sells a single fixed-fee licence that covers both implementation and ongoing use, with unlimited users included at no extra cost. Optional add-ons — an online showroom, dealer management, a testing environment and advanced visualisation — are priced separately, and the actual fee itself is not published; it is quoted per organisation after a demo.
The product is designed so that the people who understand the product — sales engineers, product managers — can maintain the configuration rules themselves, without needing a specialised rules-engine consultant for every change. That lowers the ongoing cost of ownership compared with tools where rule changes go through a partner, but it also means Elfsquad is a smaller, younger company than category heavyweights like Tacton or Configit, with a thinner track record at very large enterprises.
What Elfsquad does well
- Fixed-fee pricing model with unlimited users — no per-seat charges, unusual in this category
- Rules are maintained by business users rather than outside consultants
- EU footprint beyond the Drachten HQ: offices in Germany and Poland
- Built specifically for manufacturers of configured, made-to-order products
Where Elfsquad falls short
- The actual fixed fee is not published anywhere; still requires a sales conversation to get a number
- Smaller company than Tacton or Configit, with fewer large-enterprise reference customers
- ERP integrations reportedly need care during implementation
- Not built for subscription or software quoting, only physical configured products
Standout feature. A single fixed-fee licence with unlimited users — unusual transparency in a category almost everyone else prices per seat.
Bremen, Germany
Founded 2000
Quoted per organisation, modular licences
Not stated by the vendor; demo on request
Best for: Manufacturers who want one configuration model to drive both the internal sales quote and a public-facing web configurator
encoway CPQ is built by encoway GmbH, based in Bremen, Germany, and founded in 2000. The pitch is straightforward: one product-rules model feeds both the internal sales quote and a public web configurator on the manufacturer's own website, instead of two separate models that gradually drift apart as products change.
The company holds ISO 27001 certification and carries “Software Made in Germany” and “Certified Cloud Solution” marks, which is more formal compliance signalling than most CPQ vendors in this category publish. Licensing is modular, so a buyer can start with the sales-quote module and add the web configurator, or vice versa, rather than buying a fixed bundle. Reference customers named on the vendor's site include KHS Gruppe, Schmalz and Teckentrup, all German industrial manufacturers.
The trade-off is geography: encoway is a DACH product with DACH partners, built to integrate cleanly with SAP ERP, Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Outside German-speaking Europe, a buyer is likely to be an earlier reference than a well-trodden case study, and pricing is not published anywhere — budgeting starts with a sales call.
What encoway CPQ does well
- ISO 27001 certified, plus “Software Made in Germany” and “Certified Cloud Solution” marks
- One rules engine serves both the sales quote and a public web configurator, so the two never drift apart
- Modular licensing lets a buyer start with only the modules it needs
- 25 years in business (founded 2000), with reference customers including KHS Gruppe, Schmalz and Teckentrup
Where encoway CPQ falls short
- No published pricing; every deal needs a sales conversation
- Strongly DACH-oriented, with partner and support depth concentrated in German-speaking Europe
- Built to integrate with SAP ERP, Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so it suits companies already running one of those
Standout feature. An ISO 27001-certified CPQ that feeds one rules model into both the internal quote tool and a customer-facing web configurator.
Stuttgart, Germany
Founded Not stated by the vendor
Quoted per organisation, named-user licences
Not stated by the vendor; demo on request
Best for: Mechanical and plant engineering firms with deep variant complexity that can staff a dedicated product modeller
camos CPQ is built by camos Software und Beratung GmbH, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, at the centre of the country's mechanical and plant engineering industry. The product carries variant depth that lighter CPQ tools give up on, which is why it turns up repeatedly inside large German machine and plant builders — the vendor names Siemens Energy, Festo, ABB, Liebherr and Kone as customers.
That depth has a price beyond the licence fee: the rules are built together with camos consultants in Stuttgart during a modelling project, and keeping them current afterwards needs a trained product modeller on the customer's own payroll rather than a business user making quick edits. camos CPQ Compact is positioned as a lighter entry point for mid-sized manufacturers that don't need the full depth.
Integration into existing ERP, CRM, BI, PLM and CAD systems runs through the camos Connect API.
Pricing is quoted per organisation on named-user licences, with no published number and no certifications (ISO, SOC 2 or similar) listed on the vendor's own site. Presence outside German-speaking Europe is thin — this is a DACH specialist first.
What camos CPQ does well
- Deep variant and rules modelling built specifically for mechanical and plant engineering
- camos CPQ Compact gives a lighter entry point aimed at mid-sized manufacturers
- Integrates into ERP, CRM, BI, PLM and CAD systems via the camos Connect API
- Long reference list among large DACH industrial manufacturers, including Siemens Energy, Festo, ABB, Liebherr and Kone
Where camos CPQ falls short
- Rules are built with camos consultants; keeping them current needs a trained in-house product modeller
- Very little presence outside German-speaking Europe
- No published pricing, and no certifications listed on the vendor's own site
Standout feature. The configurator most often found inside German mechanical engineering firms, with reference customers including Siemens Energy, Festo, ABB, Liebherr and Kone.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Founded 2000
Quoted per organisation, enterprise agreements
Not stated by the vendor
Best for: Large automotive, medical-device or industrial-machinery manufacturers running an engineering-led configuration programme
Configit Quote is built by Configit A/S, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and founded in 2000 by computer-science professor Henrik Reif Andersen, reportedly inspired by the 1996 Ariane 5 rocket failure. Its core technology, Virtual Tabulation®, pre-calculates every valid configuration of a product before it reaches manufacturing, rather than checking rules on the fly — the reasoning being that a configuration error should be impossible, not just unlikely.
That makes it a fit for large automotive, medical-device and industrial-machinery manufacturers that treat configuration as an engineering discipline shared across product development, sales and production, rather than a sales-department tool. The vendor holds a certified, out-of-the-box SAP integration and reports averaging 32% year-over-year growth since 2011; named customers include GEA Tuchenhagen.
Configit was acquired by Polaris Private Equity, a Copenhagen-based Nordic investment firm, in 2016 — so while the operating company remains Danish-headquartered and the ownership stays within Europe, it is no longer founder-controlled. International offices in the US, UK and Germany support delivery outside Denmark. Pricing is not published; this is a multi-year enterprise agreement, quoted per organisation.
What Configit Quote does well
- Virtual Tabulation® technology calculates every valid configuration in advance, ruling out unbuildable orders
- One configuration model shared by engineering, sales and manufacturing, not a sales-only add-on
- Certified, out-of-the-box SAP integration
- 25 years of focus on complex configuration (founded 2000); the vendor reports 32% average year-over-year growth since 2011
Where Configit Quote falls short
- Owned by Polaris Private Equity (a Danish/Nordic private equity firm) since 2016, so despite the Copenhagen HQ, majority ownership sits with an investment firm rather than the founders
- This is an enterprise engineering programme, not something a sales director buys off a price list
- No published pricing; multi-year enterprise agreements are the norm
- International offices in the US, UK and Germany mean delivery work is not purely Danish
Standout feature. Virtual Tabulation®, patented technology that pre-calculates every valid configuration before a product is manufactured, so engineering, sales and production share exactly one model.
Pisa, Italy
Founded 2008
Quoted per organisation, annual subscription
Not stated by the vendor; demo on request
Best for: Sales teams already on Salesforce, in telco, energy/utilities, photovoltaic, software, manufacturing or retail, wanting fast digital proposals with e-signature
Apparound is built by Apparound S.p.A., headquartered in Pisa, Italy, and founded in 2008. It is one of the few tools in this category with sustained, independent third-party recognition: Gartner has placed it in the Magic Quadrant for CPQ Application Suites every year since 2018, a run the vendor reports continuing through 2026.
The product is Salesforce-native, generating quotes, applying product rules, price lists and discounts automatically, and producing a digital proposal with e-signature and contract creation built into the same flow. The vendor states its customers produce over 1 million error-free quotations a year across the platform. Named verticals are Telco & Media, Energy & Utilities, Photovoltaic, Software & Services, Manufacturing and Retail — a broader spread than the manufacturing-only focus of most other tools in this category.
Ownership remains substantially Italian: founder CEO Gianluca Cagiano continues to lead the company, and Fondo Italiano d'Investimento, an Italian investment fund, acquired a minority stake of roughly €9 million in January 2022. Apparound also runs an office in the United States alongside its Pisa headquarters. Pricing is not published; it is an annual subscription quoted per organisation, and the product's value case is strongest for a buyer already committed to Salesforce.
What Apparound does well
- Recognised in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for CPQ Application Suites for eight consecutive years
- Native Salesforce integration with quote generation, e-signature and contract creation in one flow
- Serves six named verticals: Telco & Media, Energy & Utilities, Photovoltaic, Software & Services, Manufacturing, Retail
- Founded 2008 and majority Italian-owned; minority stake held by Fondo Italiano d'Investimento (Italian investment fund) since 2022
Where Apparound falls short
- No published pricing; annual subscription quoted per organisation
- A US office alongside the Pisa HQ means it is not a purely domestic-only operation, though ownership remains Italian
- Built around Salesforce; less compelling for a buyer outside a Salesforce estate
Standout feature. A native Salesforce CPQ recognised in Gartner's Magic Quadrant every year since 2018, producing over 1 million quotes a year across its customer base.
