In addition to Salesforce CPQ – part of Salesforce Revenue Cloud – appero quote - CPQ Light offers a fully native alternative that provides a lightweight, efficient way to generate quotes, especially for mid‑sized companies.
In this article, I’ll explain how appero quote differs from Salesforce Revenue Cloud CPQ – and when each solution is the better fit.
Salesforce Revenue Cloud is a bundled suite of products designed to support monetization of goods and services. It unifies components of the quote-to-cash process, including:
Practically speaking, Salesforce CPQ (formerly SteelBrick) is the standard CPQ within Revenue Cloud—a feature-rich solution commonly used by enterprises for configuration, pricing, and quoting.
There is also Salesforce Industries CPQ (formerly Vlocity), tailored to industry-specific scenarios like telecom, energy, or healthcare. It’s highly configurable and rule-based, built on OmniStudio, but is a separate product outside the general Revenue Cloud bundle.
Salesforce is strategically moving toward:
In the long run, this could form the foundation for a modernized generation of CPQ. For now, however, Salesforce CPQ remains the central CPQ module within the Revenue Cloud.
appero quote - CPQ Light is a 100% native Salesforce app focused on two core elements of the quoting process: Pricing (P) and Quote (Q). It's designed to be simple, efficient, and visually driven.
appero quote offers comprehensive, rule-based price calculation that goes far beyond standard features. For example, it enables:
Calculations take place directly in the quote document in real time, allowing users to transparently see and immediately understand the impact of any changes.
appero quote is not built for highly complex scenarios such as dynamic product setups, advanced bundling, or guided selling processes. If your business requires features like rule-based product logic or subscription management, Salesforce CPQ and the Revenue Cloud are the better fit.
|
Criterion |
appero quote |
Salesforce Revenue Cloud (CPQ) |
|
Integration in Salesforce |
✅ 100 % native (Apex, LWC), no external dependencies |
⚠️ Deeply integrated, but not fully native – built on an acquired architecture (SteelBrick) with its own rule engine |
|
User-friendliness |
✅ High—WYSIWYG editor, intuitive visuals |
❌ Technical and complex, with multiple configuration layers |
|
Configuration |
⚠️ Only simple bundles and add-on products, no dynamic bundles, limited guided selling |
✅ Supports advanced logic, guided selling, product rules |
|
Pricing |
✅ Powerful and customizable price calculation, fully transparent in real time directly within the editor. |
✅ Advanced pricing rules, discounts, and contracted pricing |
|
Quote Document |
✅ Visually appealing and fully compliant with corporate identity and design standards |
❌ Limited layout customization, more technically driven |
|
Implementation Effort |
✅ Low – often up and running within just a few days |
❌ High – often requires several months of implementation time |
|
License Costs |
✅ 33 € per user/month (list price) |
❌ 200 € per user/month (list price) for Revenue Cloud Advanced (CPQ), with additional components priced separately |
|
Target Audience |
✅ Mid-sized companies, traditional sales teams |
✅ Enterprise, subscription-based business, globally scaling models |
|
Quote-to-Cash Capability |
❌ Not included – the focus is on pricing and quote creation, but there are proven integrations with partner solutions such as JustOn for billing and subscription, as well as DocuSign and other e-signature providers. |
✅ Fully integrated – including billing, revenue recognition, and subscription management |
Those looking for a simple, streamlined, and powerful way to create quotes will find in appero quote a focused, native alternative to CPQ – offering strong usability, reliable pricing, and professional quote documents.
For businesses aiming to automate complex sales models and implement global standards, Salesforce Revenue Cloud enables full digitalization of the sales value chain – but at a significantly higher price point and with a much greater implementation effort.