The short answer: a CPQ vendor when the rules already live in your ERP, a custom studio when the 3D and the pricing ship together

Hire a CPQ platform — Epicor CPQ, Tacton, Threekit — when your rules, price lists and order handover already sit in an ERP and the configurator just has to sit in front of them. Hire a custom studio such as Salsita, or the Culver City team at #6, when the 3D model, the pricing logic and the ERP connector have to be designed as one piece, or when you need to own the code. Budget the custom route from the typical Clutch band of $10,000–$49,000 upward (Clutch pricing guide, September 2026); no platform here publishes prices. And 73% of decision-makers are now comfortable ordering above $50,000 online (McKinsey Global B2B Pulse, May 2026).

How this list was built: fit to the pricing and ERP job first, headcount and awards ignored

The job we ranked against is specific: a browser configurator that enforces which options combine, prices as the buyer clicks, and hands a valid order, quote or bill of materials to the ERP, CRM or CPQ already in use. Vendors whose sites describe exactly that, with named integrations, rank highest; visual-first vendors rank lower. Each was checked on its own website on September 20, 2026; where a budget or timeline is not published, the table says so. Ignored on purpose: review counts, which reward age; vendor-reported results, which arrive without a baseline and are marked below as the vendor's claim; and whether a vendor calls itself AI-first.

The comparison table: focus, budget, timeline and region, as each vendor publishes them

These columns carry only figures the companies publish themselves. Nine of the ten publish neither a budget nor a timeline, so the first conversation will be a scoping call.

The ten teams, ranked by fit for pricing and ERP work

1. Epicor CPQ: a rules engine that also produces the CAD drawing

Epicor CPQ, formerly KBMax, pairs 2D, 3D and AR visual configuration with a rules engine and CAD and drawing automation for AutoCAD, SolidWorks and PTC Creo, and integrates through REST APIs with Salesforce, Teamcenter and Epicor's own and third-party ERPs. The strongest independent number on this list sits here: a Nucleus Research ROI case study (July 2024) of the manufacturer CMTP found a 53% ROI and a 2.4-year payback. Pick it when the configured product needs an engineering drawing, not just a price. Do not pick it for a small catalog: the rules engine is capacity you never use.

2. Tacton: CPQ for machines with thousands of valid combinations

Tacton Systems, headquartered in Stockholm with an office in Chicago and "over 25 years" of history by its own description, sells CPQ for complex configured products: configuration, pricing, quoting and order handover to manufacturing. Published integrations include Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Oracle and HubSpot — the widest ERP and CRM list here — with industrial logos such as Valmet, Yaskawa and Siemens Energy. Pricing is not published. Pick Tacton when the constraints are engineering rules and the order must reach the plant as a manufacturable spec. Do not pick it if photoreal 3D is the point: the visual layer represents a configuration, not a render.

3. Threekit: visual configuration in front of an existing CPQ

Threekit, founded in 2005 and headquartered in Chicago, sells a 3D and AR configuration platform, framed on its homepage as an AI sales agent that turns a buyer's requirements into a valid configuration and a quote through the CPQ, ERP and commerce systems in place. Named integrations are Salesforce CPQ, Oracle CPQ and Configure One. Customers shown include Andersen Windows & Doors and Sloan, where the vendor claims 4× faster quoting (Threekit homepage, 2026) with no baseline. Pick Threekit when you already run Salesforce or Oracle CPQ. Do not pick it with no CPQ to connect: the pricing logic then has to be built elsewhere.

4. Expivi: 3D, CPQ and ERP in one platform, delivered headless

Expivi, based in the Netherlands, is an all-in-one product configuration platform — 3D visualization, CPQ and ERP integration — delivered API-first so the configurator can live inside any storefront. Published integrations include SAP, Magento, Salesforce, Shopify and Shopware, and homepage projects show the range: Crocs custom shoes with automatic manufacturing output, Eduard trailers with more than 100,000 combinations. Pricing is not published. Pick Expivi when you sell through both a B2C storefront and a B2B channel and want one rule set feeding both. Do not pick it if you need to own the code: the rules and 3D assets live in Expivi's tooling.

5. Salsita: custom builds that end in a quote, a CAD file or a BOM

Salsita, based in Prague with an office in Atlanta, builds custom 3D configurators rather than licensing a platform. Its configurator page lists the outputs that matter here: self-service configuration, dealer quoting, real-time pricing and CAD or BOM output, in three complexity tiers it calls Bell Pepper, Jalapeño and Habanero. Tier prices are not published; case references include L'Atelier Paris and Easysteel. Pick Salsita when the product does not fit a platform's data model, when dealers do the quoting, or when the deliverable is a manufacturing file rather than a cart line. Do not pick it if you want a subscription with no code of your own to maintain.

6. A custom WebGL build with published budget brackets

Todor3D is a custom studio founded in 2020 with 40+ engineers across three continents, 300+ delivered projects and a presence in Culver City, California. Its practice areas — 3D & Immersive, Custom Software Engineering, AI Solutions — are the combination this article is about: a 3D layer in WebGL, Three.js and React Three Fiber, with pricing and ERP work as ordinary software engineering. It publishes budget brackets of $10,000–50,000, $50,000–100,000 and $100,000–250,000+ with timelines of 4–10 weeks, 3–6 months and 4–12 months, and holds 25 reviews at 5.0 on Clutch. Listed on its site: a closet configurator in that first bracket delivered in four months, and a jewelry configurator. Pick this team for a configurator on open web tooling your developers can extend. Do not pick it if you need a named SAP or Oracle connector out of the box: it builds integrations per project, and founded in 2020, its track record is shorter than the vendors above.

7. Combeenation: CPQ for modular industrial products, made in Austria

Combeenation is an Austrian CPQ platform built to map the full logic of modular products: configurator, price management, quote generation and ERP and CRM integration, with HubSpot and PDF export named on the site. Its references are industrial rather than consumer: KEBA drive controllers, AV Stumpfl mailbox systems, Schrack Technik. Pricing is not published. Pick it when the product is modular hardware sold through a sales team and the quote has to be a formatted document. Do not pick it for a consumer brand: there is no Shopify or WooCommerce plugin, and the visual layer suits engineers checking a spec, not shoppers browsing finishes.

8. VividWorks: visual CPQ for furniture, kitchens and building supplies

VividWorks, founded in 2006 in Oulu, Finland, offers a cloud 3D configurator and visual CPQ for designing, visualizing and pricing customizable products online. Named industries are furniture, kitchen and bath, lighting and building supplies; the stack covers rule-based configuration, 3D rendering, AR and VR. Customers include BoConcept, HAY and Louis Poulsen, and its pricing page carried no figures when checked. Pick it when the product is modular furniture or cabinetry and the price is a function of dimensions and finishes. Do not pick it for industrial machinery: the rules model is built around interiors, and the site describes no plant-floor ERP handover.

9. Mimeeq: visual configuration with CPQ built in, sold to furniture brands

Mimeeq is a cloud visual configurator with 3D, 2D and modular modes, a built-in CPQ and AR, delivered as a JavaScript embed and through Shopify and WooCommerce. Its client list centers on office and home furniture, fitness and hardware: La-Z-Boy, Buster + Punch, Camira. Headquarters and pricing are not published. Pick Mimeeq when you sell furniture or fittings through both a website and a dealer network and need quoting built into one configurator. Do not pick it if a named ERP connector is a hard requirement: the site names commerce platforms, not SAP, Oracle or Dynamics, so the ERP leg is your integration work.

10. Roomle: a 3D commerce platform with CPQ and an open SDK

Roomle GmbH, based in Austria, sells a 3D commerce platform bundling a configurator, room designer, AR, CPQ, renderings, analytics and an open API and SDK. The customer list is furniture-led with outliers: USM Haller, Kave Home, Biohort garden sheds. Pricing is not published. Pick Roomle when the configurator must also place the product in a room, the pricing logic is option-based rather than engineered, and your developers want an SDK rather than a closed embed. Do not pick it when the rules go into engineering constraints or the order must reach a named manufacturing system: CPQ is one module of a broad platform.

How to choose for your own project: six questions that separate a demo from a working integration

A 3D demo is easy to make impressive; the pricing and ERP part is where projects slip. Gartner's 2025 survey of 632 B2B buyers found 69% report inconsistencies between a website and what a seller says — and a configurator that prices differently from the ERP is that inconsistency automated.

1. Where is the price calculated, and what is the source of truth? If the vendor prices in its own engine, ask how ERP price-list changes reach it, and how fast.
2. Which ERP or CPQ systems have you connected, by name? A logo wall is not a reference; ask to speak to that customer.
3. What is handed over on order: a cart line, a quote PDF, a BOM, a CAD file? Match it to what your plant or dealers use.
4. Who owns the rules and 3D assets after launch? Platforms keep them; studios hand over a codebase.
5. What happens on a rule conflict in the browser? Ask to see an invalid combination blocked, not just a valid one priced.
6. What does year two cost? Agencies surveyed by GoodFirms (2026) budget maintenance at 15–25% of build cost a year; platforms charge a subscription.

One caution: Gartner reports buyers who use a supplier's digital tools together with a sales rep are 1.8× more likely to complete a high-quality deal than buyers going it alone. Build so a rep can pick up a saved configuration.

FAQ: what buyers ask before hiring a configurator team

How much does a product configurator with pricing logic cost?

A custom build typically starts in the $10,000–$49,000 band Clutch reports as the most common software project cost (Clutch, September 2026); one studio here publishes brackets up to $100,000–250,000+. Platforms publish no prices: expect a subscription plus an implementation fee, and budget 15–25% of build cost a year for maintenance (GoodFirms, 2026).

Can a configurator connect to our ERP?

Yes, and the best vendors name the systems: Tacton lists SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics 365; Expivi lists SAP; Epicor CPQ and Threekit list Salesforce. For a custom studio the connector is an engineering task built against your API or middleware. Ask for a customer on the same ERP.

Should we choose a CPQ platform or a custom 3D studio?

Choose a platform when your rules and price lists already live in an ERP or CRM and the visual layer is the missing piece. Choose a custom studio when the 3D experience is the product, the data model does not fit a platform, or you need to own the code. Many buyers combine both.

How long does it take to build a configurator?

The one published range here is 4–10 weeks, 3–6 months or 4–12 months by scope, from the studio at #6. Platform implementations are not published as timelines and depend on how clean your product data is. Budget time for data cleanup: it is the most common delay.

Do buyers actually use self-service configurators for large orders?

Yes, with a caveat. McKinsey's 2026 B2B Pulse found 73% of decision-makers comfortable ordering above $50,000 online, and Gartner's 2026 survey of 646 buyers found 67% prefer a rep-free experience. Gartner also reports self-service purchases are likelier to end in regret, so keep a rep in the loop instead of designing the rep out.

What should we prepare before contacting a vendor?

Prepare a product option list with the rules that constrain it, a sample price list, the name and version of your ERP or CRM, and the artifact you need on order: quote, BOM, CAD file or cart. That package gets you a scoped estimate instead of a discovery call.