Disclosure: Mercura publishes this comparison. Information about the other vendors comes solely from their public websites and documentation (as of October 28, 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.

Summary of Mercura vs competitors: who fits whom?

• Mercura: For distributors and manufacturers that want requests, bills of quantities, supplier price requests and orders in one system and written into their ERP, Mercura is the better fit.

• Tendos: for construction-industry manufacturers that also want public tenders found.

• Scalera: for construction suppliers in DACH that value a published price range, and general contractors sending BoQs to subcontractors.

• kinisto: for DACH building-materials suppliers that want an inquiry cockpit with team chat and quote analytics.

• ePlato: for electrical manufacturers seeking early tender presence via planners and wholesalers.

• turian: for manufacturers and distributors also automating purchasing (order confirmations, supplier reminders).

• Workist: for high order volumes, plus a phone agent, SOC 2 Type II and trade quotes as GAEB X94.

• Conexiom: for automating orders and AP invoices, especially on Epicor ERPs.

• Esker: for larger companies wanting order management inside an order-to-cash suite.

• Distro: for US distributors wanting an AI sales suite with HVAC CPQ.

• Canals: for distributors taking phone orders and wanting AP and AR on one platform.

Who is who?

AI quoting software comparison at a glance: 15 criteria

Legend: ✅ documented · ◐ partly · – not mentioned = not mentioned on the vendor's website, as of October 28, 2026; this does not mean it is unavailable · ✗ not offered, per vendor (quote in the source). Mercura: standard features, October 2026; pricing ✗ = Mercura publishes no prices. The vendor pages checked are listed under Sources at the end of the article.

What the matrix shows

The 15 rows come from Mercura's criteria list, so almost every criterion in Mercura's column is documented. That reflects fit for bid and order workflows, not the quality of other products. The combination matters: of the eleven vendors, Mercura included, six document reading GAEB files, nine order entry and three supplier price requests from the BoQ. In part: Workist documents GAEB X83 only, and ePlato supplier requests via its platform; Esker describes supplier quote requests for purchasing and Canals in its procurement app for contractors, neither from a BoQ. Mercura and Scalera document all three; at Scalera, price requests sit in Supplier Matching (marketed to general contractors) and order processing in resource articles. kinisto documents GAEB and supplier requests, not order entry. Tendos and turian document GAEB and orders, not supplier price requests from the BoQ; Workist documents orders and X83 import with trade quotes as X94, also without supplier price requests from the BoQ. Conexiom, Esker, Distro and Canals document order entry; their websites do not mention GAEB.

Mercura connects these steps. It matches every line of a request or BoQ, long text included, to your item master. Missing lines go to suppliers as a price request (GAEB P93 or Excel) from your own mailbox, and replies are filed automatically. The quote is exported as GAEB X84, PDF or Excel, and orders are written into the ERP with duplicate detection. The systems it connects to are listed on our integrations page. The average match rate is 92%, varying by customer and catalog. At Sanitär-Heinze, a quote takes 2 hours instead of 2 days, as the Sanitär-Heinze success story shows. At REHAU, Mercura suggests products for up to 98% of BoQ line items; more in the REHAU success story.

Choose another vendor if …

• published pricing matters: Scalera says license costs "typically range from €8,000-€60,000 annually" (about $9,300–$69,600), depending on tenders processed. GAEB tools publish full prices. Mercura publishes none.

• your IT requires SOC 2 Type II: Workist, Conexiom and Canals state a SOC 2 Type II audit. Mercura, turian and Esker state ISO 27001.

• orders also come in by phone: Workist's voice agent captures orders and quote requests from calls; Canals turns calls and voicemails into ERP-ready orders.

• you want public tenders found for you: Tendos says it searches public tenders and project data.

• you need a network of planners: ePlato offers planners free tender software with over 1 million electrical products.

• you want the whole order-to-cash chain: Esker adds cash application, credit and claims management and a customer portal.

Looking for a Mercura alternative? The vendors in brief

Tendos

Tendos documents GAEB import, catalog matching, optional line items, order entry and hit-rate reporting. Every criterion in detail is in Mercura vs. Tendos.

Scalera

Scalera matches tender line items to catalog products, "generates ready-to-send RFQs directly from the assignment" and sends reminders for missing supplier quotes. Where the two products differ is shown in Mercura vs. Scalera.

kinisto

kinisto processes PDF and GAEB BoQs, including long scans, creates supplier inquiries straight from the BoQ and includes team chat and quote analytics. Read the full comparison in Mercura vs. kinisto.

ePlato

On ePlato, manufacturers process GAEB inquiries and wholesalers send inquiries into the manufacturer's system; its website does not mention order entry. More in Mercura vs. ePlato.

turian

Besides purchasing features, turian documents GAEB import, X84 export, contingency items, ISO 27001:2022 and hosting in Europe. Every criterion in detail is in Mercura vs. turian.

Workist

Workist captures orders from email and PDF, integrates with SAP ECC, S/4HANA and Business One, and offers SFTP. Its LV Assistent reads BoQs as GAEB X83 or PDF and returns trade quotes as GAEB X94; X84 export and supplier price requests from the BoQ are not mentioned. Read the full comparison in Mercura vs. Workist.

Conexiom

Conexiom processes sales orders, vendor acknowledgements and AP invoices, shows a confidence score and source per match, and lists Epicor Eclipse and Prophet 21 among its ERPs. Where the two products differ is shown in Mercura vs. Conexiom.

Esker

Esker Order Management captures orders from email, EDI, portals and punchout and documents ISO 27001, a nine-language interface and pre-built SAP ECC and S/4HANA integration. Its documentation adds material suggestions from free-text descriptions, a confidence level per field and duplicate detection; its supplier quote requests (Esker Quote Request) serve purchasing. More in Mercura vs. Esker.

Distro

Distro covers quoting, order entry, HVAC CPQ, takeoffs and AP invoices; its privacy policy states its servers are in the United States. Every criterion in detail is in Mercura vs. Distro.

Canals

Canals captures orders from email, spreadsheets, PDFs, handwritten notes and calls, and documents branch-based availability, roles by ERP branch, SOC 2 Type II, and AP and AR. It describes supplier quoting in its procurement app for contractors. Read the full comparison in Mercura vs. Canals.

Comena and Endeavor AI: why no detailed comparison

Comena describes order and quote entry "from inbox to ERP" on a one-page website. Endeavor AI positions itself as "Frontier AI for the real world"; as of October 27, 2026, its website has no pages on quote or order entry. Both websites describe too few of the 15 criteria. A table of mostly "not mentioned" would mislead.

What about GAEB tools?

GAEB tools open, price and convert German GAEB files. Dangl IT's AVACloud is a GAEB API for software vendors from €99 a month plus VAT (about $115); its GAEB-to-Excel converter is free. GAEB-Online is a Windows bidding program at €120 plus VAT (about $139) one-off per workstation. STREIT is trade-business software with a GAEB interface, "speziell für Handwerker entwickelt". None of the three describes AI matching to a supplier's catalog. When a GAEB program is enough and when AI pays off is covered in GAEB software or AI?.

How we compare (methodology)

• Sources: only the vendors' public websites and documentation, without login or demo, retrieved October 27, 2026; the ten vendors in the matrix re-checked in full on October 28, 2026; no third-party claims.

• Status: see the legend. "Not mentioned" only means the website does not describe it.

• Mercura information: standard features, as of October 2026.

• Updates: quarterly. Corrections via /contact, reviewed within 5 business days.

FAQ

Is Mercura a Workist alternative?

Yes, if bids and GAEB tenders come in alongside orders. Both capture orders from email and PDF and read GAEB X83; Workist returns trade quotes as X94, while Mercura also reads D83, P83 and X81 and exports X84. Workist's website does not mention supplier price requests from the BoQ; Workist documents a phone agent and SOC 2 Type II.

Is Mercura a Conexiom alternative or a Canals alternative?

Yes, if you also quote from specs and BoQs: Conexiom's website does not mention supplier price requests from a BoQ, and Canals describes supplier quoting only in its procurement app for contractors. Both document order entry, SOC 2 Type II and AP automation.

Which vendors publish prices?

Scalera publishes €8,000–€60,000 a year; ePlato is free for planners and trades; Workist publishes packages without amounts. Dangl IT and GAEB-Online publish full prices. Mercura gives pricing on request.

Does Mercura replace inside sales?

No. Mercura prepares quotes and orders; inside sales approves every one, and uncertain lines are flagged. A test on your own data usually runs within 2 working days.

Sources

Pages retrieved October 27, 2026; the ten vendors in the matrix were re-checked in full on October 28, 2026. Full page lists per vendor are on the individual comparison pages.

• Tendos website, home page and pages "Angebotserstellung" (quotes) and "Auftragserfassung" (order entry) in the Platform section, plus the English version of the website text: information on GAEB import, catalog matching, optional line items, order entry and hit-rate reporting. Quote on the target group from the home page: "100% Herstellerfokus. Jede Funktion existiert, weil Hersteller sie brauchen." Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Scalera website, English home page, FAQ, page "Supplier Matching" and a resource article on order processing automation for building materials: information on product matching, supplier price requests, the price range and order processing. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Scalera website, resource articles comparing CPQ and AI for quote calculation and comparing AI assistants for bills of quantities: information on order processing. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• kinisto website, English version: FAQ, product pages on spec processing, collaboration and analytics, and the company page. Information on PDF and GAEB BoQs, supplier inquiries, team chat, quote analytics and logical separation of customer data. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• kinisto website, blog article on quotation management software for construction (August 2025): information on operation exclusively in data centers within the European Union. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• ePlato website, home page and pages for manufacturers, planning and wholesale, plus the home page of its operator root-nine GmbH: information on GAEB inquiries, the network with planners and wholesalers, and free access for planners and trades. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• turian website, home page, pages "Bill of Quantities" and "Automated Supplier Communication" (Use Cases section) and page "Security": information on GAEB import, X84 export, contingency items, purchasing features, ISO 27001:2022 and hosting in Europe. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Workist website, English home page, pages "Pricing", "Integrations", "Voice Agent" and "Inbox Agent", and the downloadable "GAEB-Spickzettel" (GAEB cheat sheet): information on order entry, SAP integration, SFTP, the phone agent, email classification, SOC 2 Type II and packages without amounts. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Workist website, German blog articles on answering a GAEB X83 and on comparing AI assistants for BoQs, and the field report on its customer ACO: X83 and PDF import, the trade price offer as GAEB X94, alternate items and keywords for competitor products. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• Workist documentation (German), pages on incoming documents, document processing, validation checks and output formats: X83 files, confidence thresholds and X94 with contingency items. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• Conexiom website, home page, pages "About", "Solutions" and "Relay" (Platform section) and FAQ, plus two articles in Conexiom's help center on the Outlook integration and the August 2025 release notes (the help center requires a login since October 28, 2026): information on sales orders, vendor acknowledgements, AP invoices, confidence scores, Microsoft 365 mailboxes and Epicor ERPs. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Esker website, home page, pages "Order Management" and "Order to Cash" (Solutions section), the SAP integration page and the customer trust and data security page: information on order channels, order-to-cash features, SAP integration, ISO 27001 and interface languages. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Esker online product documentation (Order Management help and release notes) and its overview of Esker Quote Request (Source-to-Pay): material suggestions from free-text descriptions, origin and confidence level per field, duplicate detection, and supplier quote requests created from purchase requisitions. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• Esker website, press release on the launch of Esker Quote Request (March 2026) and customer story on a North American specialty chemical and ingredient distributor (May 2026): automated quote requests for purchasing and a distributor using Order Management. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• Distro website, home page, text overview for AI assistants, pages "CPQ" and "Implementation & Pricing", and privacy policy: information on quoting, order entry, HVAC CPQ, target group, pricing and server location. Quote on hosting: "Our servers are located in the United States." Quote on the target group: "Distro sells only into wholesale distribution and manufacturers' rep agencies". Quote on pricing: "your pricing is built around how your team actually operates". Retrieved October 27, 2026, re-checked October 28, 2026.

• Canals website, home page, page "Distributor Order Entry" (Products section) and pages "For Enterprise" and "Why Canals": information on order channels, branch-based availability, SOC 2 Type II, and AP and AR. Quote on pricing: "We offer a tiered, usage-based pricing model. … we can provide a pricing proposal". Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Canals website, page "ASAP" for contractors: information on importing BoMs and takeoffs and on quotes and ordering from preferred suppliers. Retrieved October 28, 2026.

• Comena website, English home page: information on order and quote entry "from inbox to ERP". Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Endeavor AI website, home page: information on its positioning as "Frontier AI for the real world". Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• Dangl IT website, English product page "AVACloud" and the German article on the free GAEB converter: information on AVACloud pricing and free conversion between GAEB and Excel. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• GAEB-Online website, page "Preise" (prices): information on the one-time price per workstation. Retrieved October 27, 2026.

• STREIT Software website, home page and page "GAEB-Schnittstelle" (GAEB interface): information on the GAEB interface and the target group ("speziell für Handwerker entwickelt"). Retrieved October 27, 2026.

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