Disclosure: Mercura publishes this comparison. Information about Streit Software, Dangl IT and GAEB-Online comes solely from their public websites (as of October 27, 2026, sources listed at the end of the article). Found an error? Write to us via /contact; we review and correct within 5 business days.

GAEB is the German standard for exchanging construction tender data, and “GAEB software” covers tools for very different jobs: an all-in-one suite for trade contractors, building blocks for software developers, a Windows program to edit a GAEB file, and AI that takes incoming requests all the way to a quote. This comparison sorts four vendors by their job. Our article GAEB file explained covers what a GAEB file is.

Highlight Summary

• For distributors and manufacturers that handle incoming LVs (Leistungsverzeichnisse, German bills of quantities), requests and orders in many formats, want every line matched to their own item master and the result written into the ERP, Mercura is the better fit.

• Trade contractors looking for an all-in-one suite for estimating, GAEB, purchasing and invoicing find it at Streit Software.

• Software vendors that build GAEB into their own products are in the right place at Dangl IT; for occasional GAEB-to-Excel conversions it offers the free WebGAEB converter.

• Bidders who want to open GAEB tenders locally, price them in Excel and submit them get a program at a published one-time price with GAEB-Online.

What are Streit, Dangl IT, GAEB-Online and Mercura?

Streit Software positions itself as “Software fürs Handwerk” (software for the trades): an all-in-one package with estimating, quotes, invoices and apps for the job site. GAEB is one interface in it, for importing and exporting bills of quantities. Per the vendor, STREIT is “speziell für Handwerker entwickelt” (developed specifically for tradespeople).

Dangl IT develops GAEB and AVA (tendering, award and billing) libraries for .NET and the AVACloud web service, which software vendors build into their own products. Positioning: “AVACloud ist der moderne Weg für GAEB” (AVACloud is the modern way to GAEB).

GAEB-Online is, per the vendor, “ein Bieterprogramm, um GAEB-Ausschreibungen zu öffnen, dort die Angebotspreise zu erfassen oder per MS-Excel/OpenOffice zu kalkulieren”: a bidder program to open GAEB tenders and enter or calculate prices there or in Excel/OpenOffice; it runs on Windows. Its add-on module KI-PreisNavigator (AI price navigator) suggests unit prices from the user’s own past quotes.

Mercura is AI software for distributors and manufacturers. It reads incoming requests, LVs and orders from Outlook and shared mailboxes, as a GAEB file, PDF including scans, Excel, Word or photo, and matches every line to your own item master, including long text. The result is quotes, supplier price requests and orders that Mercura hands over to the ERP.

Comparison at a glance

Legend: ◐ partly = reason in brackets. – not mentioned = not mentioned on the respective vendor’s website, as of October 27, 2026; this does not mean it is missing. ✗ not offered, per vendor = explicit statement, quote in the source. Mercura: standard features. GAEB file types: X83 = tender, X84 = bid, X85 = order, X31 = quantity takeoff, P93 = price request.

On pricing, Dangl IT and GAEB-Online come out ahead, because both publish their prices. Dangl IT lists AVACloud at €99 per month (Basic, up to 500 conversions) and €329 per month (Premium, 100,000 conversions). GAEB-Online costs €120 net as a one-time purchase for a single workstation; the KI-PreisNavigator costs €25 per workstation per month. Streit gives prices on request. Mercura prices are not public; on request.

When is a GAEB program enough?

A GAEB program is enough when the file itself is the task: open, price, convert, submit. If you receive few LVs and keep your prices in an Excel calculation, you do not need matching to an item master.

• GAEB-Online detects the format and exchange phase of a file automatically. Pricing happens in Excel, OpenOffice or LibreOffice; EFB 221 and 223 (standard price-breakdown forms in German public tenders) are created “auf Knopfdruck” (at the push of a button), and the bid can be digitally signed and sent by email as DA84.

• Dangl IT converts between all GAEB formats and Excel free of charge with WebGAEB. With the .NET library, developers get “nativen Zugriff auf alle GAEB Formate” (native access to all GAEB formats).

• Streit brings the tender into the software in which a trade contractor estimates and invoices; the bid goes back as X84 with a PDF.

Example: An electrical contractor receives an X83 with 60 line items. It opens the file in a GAEB program, takes prices from its Excel calculation, fills in the EFB forms and submits the signed bid.

The three programs’ websites often do not mention catalogue matching, photos or order entry. That reflects a different purpose, not a gap: they position themselves as a trades ERP, a developer building block and a bidder program.

When does AI quote automation pay off?

AI quote automation pays off when the time goes not into opening the file, but into matching hundreds of line items to your own range. And when requests also arrive as PDF, Excel list, photo or email text.

Mercura also reads LVs as PDF or scan and structures the line items; the quote goes back as GAEB X84. Every item suggestion comes with a reason, source passage and confidence; several items and accessories per line are possible. Optional and contingency line items are detected, inconsistencies flagged. The average match rate is 92% and varies by customer and catalogue; Mercura learns from corrections.

Line items outside your range go to suppliers as a price request, as GAEB P93 or Excel, from your own mailbox; replies are filed automatically. Export formats are GAEB X84, PDF with technical attributes, Excel/CSV or your own ERP format. More on quotes and tenders and in our article on tender pricing software.

GAEB-Online uses AI too: the KI-PreisNavigator “erkennt gleiche oder ähnliche Positionen” (recognizes identical or similar line items) from past quotes and takes over their prices, with confidence values. It answers “What did I charge for this last time?”; Mercura answers “Which of my items meets this long text?”.

Example: On Monday, a plumbing and HVAC distributor receives an X83 with 240 line items, a scanned PDF LV and an Excel quantity list. Mercura reads all three, suggests items from its own catalogue for each line and sends two line items to a supplier as a price request. Inside sales reviews, exports the X84 and hands the quote to the ERP.

How line items, short texts and long texts are structured is explained in our article on the bill of quantities.

Combine them?

Yes, when the jobs are separate. This does not mean a ready-made connection between the products, but a division of work via files such as X83 and X84.

• GAEB-Online plus Mercura at a manufacturer: GAEB-Online converts building product manufacturers’ product descriptions from Excel into a GAEB format, for example for their own specification texts. Mercura handles incoming LVs.

• Streit and Mercura on two sides: A trade contractor requests prices from wholesalers out of Streit. At the wholesaler, that is an incoming request; if it arrives as a GAEB, PDF or Excel file, Mercura reads it like any other.

• Dangl IT for your own IT: If you build your own portal with GAEB upload, you use libraries such as Dangl IT’s. For your own connections, Mercura offers a REST API, webhooks and SFTP.

Choose Streit if …

• you run a trade business and want an all-in-one suite “mit allen Funktionen” (with all functions).

• your installers on site should work with apps for iOS, Android and Windows.

• you want to check wholesaler prices and delivery times in real time.

• you export the quantity takeoff (Aufmaß) as GAEB X31.

• it matters to you that the rental license includes “auch zukünftige Module” (future modules too).

Choose Dangl IT if …

• you develop your own software and want to build in GAEB 90, GAEB 2000 and all GAEB XML versions.

• you want published prices and 30 days of full trial access to AVACloud.

• you need on-premises or an isolated instance with access to the source code.

• you also process ÖNorm A 2063 (Austria), SIA 451 (Switzerland), DATANORM, UGL or BMEcat.

• you only convert GAEB to Excel occasionally: WebGAEB is free.

Choose GAEB-Online if …

• you are a construction company, trade contractor or planning office that opens GAEB tenders, prices them in Excel and submits them as DA84.

• your data should stay on your own computer: “Läuft nur auf Ihrem PC – keine Cloud, kein Datenversand” (runs only on your PC, no cloud, no data transfer).

• you want a low one-time price (€120 net per PC) and to test first without a time limit.

• you want price suggestions from your own past quotes.

• you fill in EFB 221/223 and sign bids digitally.

Choose Mercura if …

• you are a distributor or manufacturer and requests arrive in Outlook or shared mailboxes and should be routed by branch and owner.

• every line item should be matched to your own item master, with reason, source passage and confidence, including competitor products.

• supplier price requests should be created straight from the LV and replies filed automatically.

• quotes and orders should land in SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, proALPHA, Salesforce or UniTrade.

• your IT requires ISO/IEC 27001, hosting in Europe, a separate tenant and SSO via Microsoft Entra ID and SCIM.

Methodology

Sources are exclusively the public websites of Streit Software, Dangl IT (including public documentation) and GAEB-Online, retrieved October 27, 2026, without login, forms or trial access. Each table cell has one of four statuses: documented, partly, not mentioned, or not offered per vendor. The legend above the table explains the symbols. Rows without catalogue matching reflect a different product purpose. Mercura information: standard features, as of October 2026. We update quarterly; corrections via /contact. You will find all other comparisons under Mercura vs. competitors.

FAQ

What is GAEB software?

GAEB software reads or edits files in the GAEB format, such as tenders (X83) and bids (X84). This includes ERP systems with a GAEB interface such as Streit, developer libraries such as Dangl IT’s and bidder programs such as GAEB-Online.

Which GAEB program do I need to edit a GAEB file?

To open, price and submit, a bidder program such as GAEB-Online is enough. If you price many LVs a day against your own item master, you need line-item matching; that is what Mercura is built for.

Is there a free GAEB converter?

Yes. With WebGAEB, Dangl IT offers a free online converter between all GAEB formats and Excel.

What do the four solutions cost?

See “Comparison at a glance”: Dangl IT and GAEB-Online publish prices, Streit gives prices on request. Mercura prices are not public; on request.

Does Mercura convert PDF to GAEB?

Mercura also reads LVs as PDF or scan and structures the line items; the quote goes back as GAEB X84. Mercura is not a one-click PDF-to-GAEB converter: in between sits the matching of every line item to your item master.

Is Mercura an alternative to GAEB software?

For distributors and manufacturers that price incoming LVs, yes. For an all-in-one trades suite, developer libraries or a local bidder program, no: those are different jobs.

Sources

• Streit Software website, home page: information on the all-in-one package, the job-site apps and the rental license. Quote on the target group: „STREIT ist speziell für Handwerker entwickelt und deckt alle Anforderungen ab, die Ihr Gewerk benötigt.“ (STREIT is developed specifically for tradespeople and covers every requirement of your trade.) Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, product page “GAEB & AVA .Net Library”: information on supported GAEB versions, the Excel module and product data such as DATANORM, UGL and BMEcat. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, article on the free GAEB converter: information on free conversion between all GAEB formats and Excel with WebGAEB. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “Preise” (prices): information on the one-time single-workstation price and its description as a bidder program. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, page “GAEB-Schnittstelle” (GAEB interface, Interfaces section): information on GAEB import and export, the X84 bid with PDF, X85 orders, links to catalogues and the quantity takeoff as X31. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, product page “AVACloud”: information on pricing, the 30-day trial and on-premises or isolated-instance deployment. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, home page: information on AVACloud’s positioning and customer testimonials. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “KI-PreisNavigator”: information on price suggestions from your own past quotes, confidence values and local operation. Quote: „Läuft nur auf Ihrem PC – keine Cloud, kein Datenversand.“ (Runs only on your PC, no cloud, no data transfer.) Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “GAEB-Phasen” (GAEB phases): information on automatic detection of format and exchange phase, and the supported phases. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, article “Arbeiten mit GAEB in Microsoft Excel” (working with GAEB in Excel): information on converting to exchange phase 84 (bid submission). Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “Funktionen” (functions): feature list including DA84 bid submission, sending by email, export formats and converting manufacturers’ product descriptions. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, page “Schnittstellen” (interfaces): overview of wholesaler and item-data interfaces (DATANORM, IDS, UGL) and real-time prices and delivery times. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT public documentation, AVACloud changelog (version 1.68.0): information on importing prices via the API, PDF output and project validation. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “PDF in GAEB umwandeln” (converting PDF to GAEB): information on text recognition for image PDFs and scans in the separate Excel LV generator, and on the trial version without a time limit. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “GAEB-Excel-Konverter” (Excel converter): information on converting LV texts and item data from Excel or OpenOffice into GAEB. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, page “Produkte” (products): overview of the libraries, AVACloud and WebGAEB. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, page “KI und Automation” (AI and automation, trade software section): information on AI features for texts and translations. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, video user tip “Einlagerung GAEB D83 und D84” (importing GAEB D83 and D84, customer tutorials): information on price requests to wholesalers and importing their offers into the project. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “Aktuelles” (news): information on EFB 221 and 223, digital signatures and Excel price requests to building-materials dealers. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, page “Kommunikation” (communication, trade software section): information on sending email from the software and filing messages to the job. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page “Produktbeschreibung” (product description): information on the target group, GAEB versions and DATANORM import in the LV generator. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, page on the cloud version of its trade software: information on server location in Germany. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, page “Über uns” (about us): information on its focus on construction, trades and wholesale. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Streit Software website, home page, FAQ on prices. Quote: „Gerne informieren wir Sie unverbindlich über Kosten und Preise … je nach Lizenzbedarf, Kauf- oder Mietoption unterschiedlich“ (costs and prices on request; they vary by license need and purchase or rental option). Retrieved October 27, 2026.

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