TL;DR
- PandaDoc is the broad document-and-signature choice for proposals generated from CRM data. Business is US$49 per seat per month on annual billing; HubSpot status writeback through External Automations adds US$39 per account per month. Salesforce two-way sync is a separate paid connector and needs Salesforce API access.
- Qwilr is the buyer-facing web proposal choice. Its current plans are Starter, Growth and Scale, not the old Business/Enterprise pair still visible in some search results. Starter begins at US$35 per user per month annually with HubSpot; Salesforce requires Scale at US$75 per user per month and a ten-user minimum.
- Proposify is the governed proposal-content choice. Team is US$41 per user per month annually with CRM integrations and a pricing catalog; Business adds approval workflows, roles and API. Its Salesforce integration is listed as a Business-only add-on.
- DealHub belongs on the shortlist when proposals are the last step of a harder CPQ problem: product configuration, pricing rules, discounts, approvals, amendments and renewals. It needs a scoped quote and implementation plan, not comparison by document-seat price.
- Check your CRM's native quote tool first. If the team already has an appropriate HubSpot Revenue Hub or Salesforce quoting setup, a separate proposal product must earn its cost through buyer experience, content governance or workflow coverage.
The weak point in a CRM-connected proposal workflow is rarely the cover page. A rep changes a deal amount after generating a document; a discount gets approved in a chat but not in the quote; the buyer signs a version whose line items differ from the CRM; or the proposal is accepted online and no executed copy reaches the account record. A beautifully designed template cannot resolve those gaps on its own.
That is why the right shortlist depends on where the commercial truth lives. The CRM may own the account, opportunity and stage; a price book or CPQ system may own products, discount rules and tax; the proposal tool may own presentation and acceptance. Four products can connect those steps, but they do different amounts of work. Here is the purchase framework and the plan-level detail a three-person sales team or an enterprise deal desk should actually test.
Decide whether the problem is a document or a price
Before a vendor demo, write down which system owns each value in a live quote: legal buyer, account, opportunity, product, quantity, term, currency, base price, discount, tax, approver, signer and document version. If the price is approved and stable before a rep creates the proposal, a document tool can be enough. If the rep must configure bundles, ramp pricing, renewal co-terms and discount exceptions, you are shopping for CPQ as much as proposal software.
Also examine what the CRM already includes. HubSpot's current Revenue Hub quoting offer puts CPQ-style quotes, e-signature and payments in Professional and Enterprise seats. The name changed from Commerce Hub in 2026, so check the current entitlement in your account rather than treating an old quote-help page as a current offer. A native solution may keep the deal and quote together. The reason to add a separate product should be concrete: better interactive buyer experience, reusable approved content, broader document workflows or stronger commercial rules than your current setup supplies.
| What the team is trying to fix | First tool to test | Why it is different | Purchase trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generate polished documents from CRM fields and collect signatures | PandaDoc | Document creation, variables, pricing blocks, status writeback | Salesforce and automation add-ons |
| Let buyers explore options in a web proposal | Qwilr | Interactive page, pricing choices, analytics and acceptance | Salesforce on Scale, ten-seat minimum; API usage |
| Keep proposal language and pricing catalog consistent across reps | Proposify | Content library, variables, send governance | Approvals and Salesforce sit above Team |
| Control configuration, discounts and amendments | DealHub | Quote rules and approvals before the document | Contract and implementation scope |
Four tools compared
| Tool | Relevant current paid entry | HubSpot path | Salesforce path | Signature and governance gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PandaDoc | Business US$49/seat/month annually | Business/Enterprise integration; verify specific automations | Business Annual or Enterprise Annual paid connector; qualifying Salesforce API | E-sign and approval workflows in Business; CPQ/API Enterprise or add-on |
| Qwilr | Starter US$35/user/month annually | Starter includes HubSpot | Scale US$75/user/month annually, ten-user minimum | E-sign in Starter; automations Growth; team permissions Scale |
| Proposify | Team US$41/user/month annually | Team has CRM integrations; test exact field map | Business with listed US$9/user/month add-on | Team signing, Business approvals and roles |
| DealHub | Scoped quote | Native integration documented | Native integration documented | CPQ rules, approvals and document process; scope in proposal |
Prices and packaging were reviewed 26 September 2026. Dollar amounts are US dollars; an annual monthly equivalent commits you for the year. PandaDoc and Proposify have other entry plans, but their lower tiers omit the CRM-connected or governance capability at issue here. The table does not include a buyer's CRM licence, implementation, payment processing or optional usage.
1. PandaDoc for connected documents and signatures
PandaDoc is a sensible general recommendation when the rep wants to build a proposal or agreement using approved templates, merge CRM values, send it for signatures and return status to the deal. The current price list puts its Business tier at US$49 per seat per month billed annually. It includes custom quotes, CRM integrations, content library and approval workflows; API, Salesforce integration and workflow automation can require optional usage credits or add-ons. Starter is cheaper at US$19 annually equivalent, but it should not be priced as the CRM-integrated proposal solution without checking the specific entitlement.
The HubSpot integration guide is unusually useful for a real pilot: it covers Deal, Contact and Company variables, products flowing into a pricing table, document status changing a deal stage and field values returning to HubSpot. This gives RevOps testable questions. Which deal line items become proposal line items? Does an accepted proposal update the deal amount or just attach a document? Which status change fires an automation? The guide says external automations on Business are a US$39 per-account-per-month add-on, while Enterprise includes them. Do not put an automation in the target design without pricing it.
The Salesforce path is more conditional than the word “integration” suggests. PandaDoc's two-way-sync documentation describes a paid connector for Business Annual or Enterprise Annual. It also says Salesforce Enterprise or Professional with the API Access add-on is needed for full two-way sync; without API access, a document may be created from Salesforce but update events do not flow back in the same way. Ask for the connector price and a live writeback demonstration against your Salesforce edition.
Best fit: a document-heavy team that values branded proposals, signatures and CRM-connected status. Poor fit: a purchase premised on the US$49 seat price alone when it requires Salesforce sync, automation and complex CPQ on top. Have the vendor model the complete configuration, including each add-on, before the team builds templates.
2. Qwilr for interactive web proposals
Qwilr's proposal is a page the buyer can read, navigate and accept, rather than merely a PDF attachment. Quote blocks can present options and tiered pricing, and the current plan page lists e-signature, analytics, PDF export, payments and CRM connections. This makes it the strongest first test when the sales team believes buyer choice and presentation will improve the proposal experience. It still needs an approved price source; an interactive option must not let a buyer select a commercially invalid bundle.
The price gate changed materially in June 2026. Qwilr announced the replacement of its old Business/Enterprise structure with Starter, Growth and Scale. Starter starts at US$35 per user per month billed annually, includes HubSpot, Zoho and Pipedrive connections, and covers core quoting and e-sign. Growth is US$55 per user per month annually with a five-user minimum, adding automations and branding. Scale is US$75 per user per month annually with a ten-user minimum, adding Salesforce, conditional content and team permissions. A three-rep Salesforce team cannot fairly compare “three Qwilr seats” with three seats elsewhere: the published Scale minimum is US$9,000 per year.
Qwilr describes unlimited manually created pages, but automated document creation through its API has a separate usage model. The current table lists 40 included automated documents on Starter, 200 on Growth and 600 on Scale, with US$2.50 per extra generated document on a pay-as-you-go basis. Confirm when the allowance renews in the actual offer. If a team generates every proposal from a workflow, forecast that usage separately; do not mistake unlimited shared pages for unlimited automated creation.
Best fit: HubSpot-led sellers who want an interactive, trackable proposal and can keep commercial terms controlled. Poor fit: a small Salesforce team expecting a low seat-only entry, or a high-volume automation project that has budgeted only licence seats. Test the buyer's selected option, signature and PDF export against what the CRM records as the final accepted offer.
3. Proposify for consistent proposal content
Proposify is a practical choice when the biggest issue is inconsistent proposals across reps: copied old decks, altered case-study language, or price catalogues that drift. Its pricing page places content library, tracking and e-signature in Basic, while Team adds CRM integrations, variables and a pricing catalog. Business adds roles, approval workflows, SSO, API and multiple workspaces. These are different governance levels, not cosmetic plan names.
On annual billing, Basic is US$19 per user per month and Team is US$41. A three-rep Team subscription is US$123 per month equivalent, or US$1,476 per year. Business is custom-priced and listed as starting at US$3,900 annually; the actual number of users and features still needs a quote. Proposify also publishes monthly send allowances: 10 for Basic, 30 for Team and 75 for Business, with overage rates. Confirm in the signed offer how a send is counted and whether the stated allowance is shared across the plan or allocated another way. A team that sends many revisions can cross an allowance without adding more customers.
The Salesforce integration is an especially important gate. Proposify's support page says it is available on Business. The current price comparison lists a US$9 per-user-per-month Salesforce integration add-on. Therefore the three-rep US$1,476 Team example is a HubSpot-style CRM-connected baseline, not a Salesforce proposal. For Salesforce, obtain a Business base quote and add-on scope. For HubSpot, check which fields can be read into variables and written back, then demonstrate an amended proposal; “integrated” does not specify the update direction.
Best fit: teams with a shared proposal library and a reason to control approved content. Poor fit: expecting Business-level approval routes or Salesforce at Team pricing. Define who may edit the master template, the pricing catalogue and a live proposal independently.
4. DealHub for governed quoting
DealHub should enter the comparison when the document is only the output of a larger commercial decision. Its CPQ product description covers guided quote configuration, adaptive price books, bundles, discount approvals, renewals, co-terms and amendments. Its Quote API documentation describes a quote linked to a CRM opportunity that can initiate approval and later synchronize; the developer overview names Salesforce and HubSpot native integrations. That is a different job from selecting a prettier signature page.
Imagine an enterprise deal with a platform fee, usage tier, regional service package, annual uplift and renewal co-term. If a rep chooses the service package, the allowed discount and contract term may change. A CPQ system should calculate those options and route exceptions before the proposal reaches a buyer. A standalone proposal template could display the final approved number, but it should not become the source of all those rules. Test how DealHub writes the approved quote and later amendment back to the opportunity, and what happens when one approval is rejected.
DealHub's pricing page requires a commercial discussion rather than publishing a self-serve per-seat rate. Ask for a quote that separates CPQ, document generation, e-signature, CRM integration, API, implementation and ongoing administration. The useful total-cost comparison includes who will maintain product rules, not just the invoice. An enterprise CPQ purchase can pay for itself in fewer errors and faster complex deals, but no vendor case study can establish that outcome for this buyer without their own baseline.
Best fit: a revenue team with configurable offers, discount control and frequent changes after the first quote. Poor fit: a three-rep team with one fixed-price service and no meaningful approval rule; a smaller document tool or native CRM quote could be enough.
What the CRM actually needs to do
“CRM integration” is too broad to use as a pass/fail answer. Draw one lifecycle on a whiteboard: opportunity selected → data pulled → proposal created → price approved → proposal sent → buyer selects an option → signature captured → executed document and status returned. For each arrow, identify the system and field. A vendor can demonstrate pulling a buyer name from HubSpot while leaving signed value and product selection outside the CRM.
| Event | Data to inspect | Failure that changes the decision |
|---|---|---|
| Create from opportunity | Account and deal ID, buyer entity, contacts, product lines, currency | A correct company with the wrong legal buyer |
| Approve commercial offer | Source price, discount, term, approver and time | Rep edits a PDF after approval |
| Send and amend | Document ID, immutable version, expiry | An old link remains signable after a revised price |
| Accept and sign | Chosen options, signer identity, timestamp, audit evidence | CRM amount reflects a different option from the signed document |
| Write back and retain | Status, final value, PDF or stable record link | Signature succeeds but CRM still shows draft |
For any product, ask whether the tool reads, writes or both; when it syncs; which edition permits that action; and how retries avoid duplicate documents or status changes. Also test offboarding: export the signed artifact and its evidence in a usable format. The broader HubSpot, Salesforce and Attio comparison helps frame where each CRM keeps commercial records; proposal software must fit that actual model.
A three-rep purchase and a complex-quote purchase
Consider three reps on HubSpot, each sending ten standard proposals per month, with stable service prices and one signer. PandaDoc Business seats total US$147 per month equivalent, US$1,764 per year. For the described HubSpot status-writeback workflow, add External Automations at US$39 per account per month: US$186 per month equivalent, US$2,232 per year before further extras. Qwilr Starter totals US$105 per month equivalent, US$1,260 per year; manual pages are unlimited, while API-generated documents have a separate allowance. Proposify Team totals US$123 per month equivalent, US$1,476 per year; confirm whether its published 30 monthly Team sends covers the team's 30 proposals and how revisions count. These are subscription illustrations, not quotes or a performance ranking. CRM licences, tax, payment fees, templates and further integration extras sit outside them.
Now change only one requirement: the same three reps use Salesforce and need automated bidirectional quote status. Qwilr Scale has a ten-user minimum at US$9,000 per year. PandaDoc may need its paid Salesforce integration and a Salesforce edition with API access. Proposify requires a Business quote plus a listed Salesforce add-on. The cheapest published HubSpot-connected seat is no longer the cheapest valid Salesforce configuration. This is why plan gates should be checked before design work.
For a complex quote with configuration, ramp terms, approval thresholds and amendments, stop comparing three seats. Price a native CRM CPQ path against DealHub or another governed CPQ configuration, then add the document experience. Include implementation and price-book maintenance. A self-serve proposal tool can still present and sign the approved offer, but it should not silently invent pricing rules. Our RevOps platform guide covers how this decision sits within the wider revenue stack.
The five-deal test
Run the same five opportunities through every serious candidate. First, a standard price with one buyer and one signer. Second, a discounted deal requiring approval. Third, a multi-currency or multi-entity deal. Fourth, a proposal that is amended after the buyer viewed it. Fifth, an expired or rejected proposal that must not be signed or counted as won. For each, save the deal before and after, the customer-facing proposal, the signed copy where applicable and the audit trail.
Have a rep, a sales manager and a RevOps administrator score the run independently. The rep should see how much manual work is required. The manager should see whether price exceptions and current status are trustworthy. RevOps should be able to answer which system owns the final value, whether a failed CRM sync retries cleanly and whether the signed artifact remains available if the proposal subscription ends. Test both HubSpot and Salesforce only if the company genuinely uses both; otherwise test the one that will operate the workflow.
This is also the right moment to price the full scope. Ask each vendor for seats, minimum term, send or API usage, CRM connector, approvals, onboarding and any payment fee as separate line items. If the answer is custom, use the same five-deal specification in each request. A generic demo and a per-seat headline cannot tell the buyer what this implementation costs.
Which proposal tool should you choose?
Choose PandaDoc when CRM-connected document creation, signatures and status return are the centre of the job; make connector and automation costs explicit. Choose Qwilr when a web proposal with buyer choices is worth more than a traditional document; account for its current Scale minimum if Salesforce is required. Choose Proposify when centrally managed content and proposal consistency matter; move to Business if formal approvals or Salesforce are requirements. Choose DealHub when pricing configuration and approval are the real project, with a proposal as the outcome.
If none clearly beats your native quote workflow on the five deals, keep the CRM tool and fix its templates and process first. Then connect proposal engagement to sensible follow-up rather than treating an opened page as purchase intent. The signal-based outbound playbook offers a way to combine account evidence and next steps without overreading a single interaction.
FAQ
Can proposal software replace CPQ?
It can handle simple product tables, optional items and approved prices. It does not automatically replace rules for incompatible products, discount thresholds, ramp terms, renewals and amendments. If those conditions determine the valid price, compare a governed CPQ system or the CRM's native CPQ capability before buying only a document tool.
Which proposal tool is best for HubSpot?
There is no universal winner. PandaDoc Business offers detailed document and field integration; Qwilr Starter offers interactive pages with HubSpot; Proposify Team has CRM integrations and content controls. First check what the current Revenue Hub quote tool already does in your HubSpot account, then run the same deal through the two most relevant additions.
Which tool is cheapest for a three-person Salesforce team?
Published seat prices alone cannot answer. Qwilr's Salesforce access is on Scale with a ten-user minimum. PandaDoc's Salesforce two-way integration is paid and requires qualifying Salesforce API access. Proposify's Salesforce connector is Business-only with an add-on. Obtain complete quotes for the same three-person workflow before comparing cost.
Do unlimited documents mean unlimited automated proposals?
Not necessarily. Qwilr's current pricing distinguishes unlimited manually created pages from a separate allowance and per-document rate for API-generated documents. Proposify publishes send allowances and overages. Define whether your team manually creates, shares, regenerates or resends proposals, then model the billed event for the actual workflow.
What should a proposal write back to the CRM?
At minimum, link the proposal and its version to the opportunity, record status and final accepted value, and retain the executed document or stable reference. If the buyer can choose optional items, capture those specific selected line items. A view event may be useful for a rep, but it should not overwrite the commercial status or count as acceptance.
What happens if a price changes after a proposal is sent?
Treat the sent offer as a version. Reapprove the revised commercial terms, issue a new version and make the previous link's status explicit. Test whether the tool prevents an expired or superseded offer being signed, and whether the CRM identifies which version the buyer accepted.
