Alternative to Bidsketch

Credit where credit is due, Bidsketch were first to the scene. They've been around a long long time in the online proposal space but like with all things, age catches up to you. Times have changed massively in the last 5 years and their software seemingly hasn't been updated much, if at all since its inception.

This is a look at some key differences between Better Proposals and Bidsketch in terms of software, features and approach.

 

Bidsketch

Better Proposals

  Digital signatures
Digital Signatures
  Ready to use templates
Ready to use templates

250+

  Document analytics
Document analytics

Limited

  Integrations
Integrations

7

40+

  Free trial
Free trial
  Custom domain
Custom domain
  Custom branding
Custom branding

  Document tracking
Document tracking
  Live chat integration
Live chat integration
  Document importer
Document importer
  Multiple brands
Multiple brands
  Payment integrations
Payment integrations

Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal

Bidsketch's editor

If you get annoyed at most online editors you'll absolutely hate this. One of the biggest issues with Bidsketch if you read online is how antiquated it feels when using the editor, you know, the bit you spend 98% of your time using?

It's not "preview as you go" so you're filling in text fields for each part of your proposal giving you little to no control over how it actually appears to your clients. Want a section to fit nicely on one page? Be prepared to press 'back' and 'next' a lot.

Better Proposals shows you what your content will look like as you're typing it. You're in full control of how everything looks but we don't let you make things look bad. Everything looks great by default.

Our Proposal Editor

Zero learning, automatically designed, lightning fast.

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Why our customers love us

Every business is struggling in some way or another at the moment but one thing we're finding easy is get proposals signed and deals done thanks to how quick and easy it is for us to create proposals and our clients to sign them

Myusp Tim
Tim Coe
Marketing Consultant

Layout of your proposals

Despite claiming to be moving towards a paperless world, their proposals are still designed around the concept of a piece of paper. This means you still need to adjust your proposal to sit on sheets of paper even when it's viewed on a computer screen.

We know that proposals get printed less than 0.2% of the time so there's just no need for that in this day and age. With Better Proposals, you're working with web pages. Your content is infinite. This means no worrying about formatting your text, resizing things, resizing pictures. Just throw in your content and let the automatic designer handle everything.

Here's what they look like on mobile

Scroll through one of our proposals on the left, compare it to Qwilr's on the right

Templates

The templates Bidsketch provides are very weak from a sales perspective. Even if you were to use their software, I would recommend hiring a professional to write your proposal content. It's written as example content which means you need to edit every bit of it.

Of course, you have to tailor it to each client but every template available in the Better Proposals marketplace has won business. Not only by our customers but by us when we ran our digital agency and our close business friends.

No design skills required

Process, share, and store your proposals quicker, easier, and more securely than ever.
And the best part is, you won't need a team to make it perfect.

Bidsketch's pricing

Bidsketch have been around a long time and definitely seem to have rested on their laurels somewhat. Their pricing isn't really geared up for small businesses and doesn't really seem suitable for high senders either. While their lowest plan at $15/month is seemingly more affordable than Better Proposals’ at $19, there’s a catch. Bidsketch only allows for annual subscriptions on their lowest plan and, more importantly, digital signatures aren’t included. And if you’re wondering why you’d even need proposal software without being able to collect digital signatures, you’re not alone.

So, if you’re already going to commit to the lowest plan for a year, Better Proposals is not only more affordable, but also gives you the option to collect digital signatures. Billed annually, it’s only $13/month and you’re getting more value for your money.

Pay annually to save up to 35%

Starter

Perfect when just starting out.

$13

/user per month

$19 /user per month when paid monthly

Try it Free

Core features:

  • Legally binding digital signatures
  • Interactive pricing tables
  • Payment integrations
  • Content Library
  • Notifications and analytics

Premium

Ideal for any small business.

$21

/user per month

$29 /user per month when paid monthly

Try it Free

Everything in Starter, plus:

  • Custom domain
  • CRM integrations
  • Automatic expiry dates
  • API/Zapier
  • Custom onboarding flows and forms

Enterprise

Designed for sales teams.

$42

/user per month

$49 /user per month when paid monthly

Try it Free

Everything in Premium, plus:

  • Content locking
  • Simultaneous editing
  • Inline commenting
  • Manager approvals
  • Advanced user permissions

This isn't an article bashing Bidsketch. They've done an incredible job to stay in business for the amount of time they have and they deserve credit for that. That said, the writing is on the wall and it seems if you look on review sites it doesn't take long for the same criticisms to come up again and again.

We hope they relaunch one day. Competition is good for everyone but right now, if you want a simple to use proposal system that saves you hours, your clients will love, and doesn't need a training manual then try Better Proposals free and choose a plan later.

 

Try Better Proposals Free Today

Start sending world-class, professional looking proposals, with no errors, in way less time. Blow your clients' minds and your competition out the water.

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