AI quoting software vs should-cost software: what is the difference?
AI quoting software reads a specific customer's RFQ and prices it with the shop's own rates and history. Should-cost software simulates what a part ought to cost, independent of any one RFQ, using a cost model the vendor supplies or the buyer configures. One answers 'what should we charge for this enquiry'; the other answers 'what should this design cost to make'.
Key facts
- Category
- Understanding AI quoting
- Applies to
- Solutions overview
- Answers
- "What should we charge?" vs "what should it cost?"
- Last verified
- August 28, 2026
What problem does each one solve?
AI quoting software exists to turn a specific, real RFQ into a priced quote fast, using the numbers a shop already trusts. Should-cost software exists to answer a design or sourcing question, what a part ought to cost to make, before or independent of any particular customer's enquiry, often to negotiate with a supplier or evaluate a design change.
Where does each one's price come from?
AI quoting software carries no cost model of its own: the shop's own rates, margins and quote history do the pricing, applied to whatever the current RFQ contains. Should-cost software runs a cost simulation, built from manufacturing process models, material data and cycle-time estimates that the vendor supplies or the buyer configures, largely independent of any one shop's own rate card.
Can a shop use both?
Yes, and they are not competing for the same job. A should-cost estimate can set a target or a ceiling for what a part ought to cost; AI quoting software then produces the actual customer-facing quote against a specific RFQ, using the shop's own rates rather than the should-cost model directly.
AI quoting software vs should-cost software
| Dimension | AI quoting software | Should-cost software |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A specific customer RFQ | A part design, independent of any one RFQ |
| Price comes from | The shop's own rates and history | A vendor-supplied or buyer-configured cost model |
| Typical question | What should we charge for this enquiry? | What should this design cost to make? |
| Typical user | Estimators quoting incoming work | Sourcing, procurement and design-for-cost teams |
AI Summary
Frequently asked questions
Related
Manufacturing quoting software
The six categories of quoting software and how to choose.
What is AI quoting software?
The category defined: what it reads, where the price comes from, and who it is built for.
AI quoting software vs an ERP quoting module: what is the difference?
Where quoting lives: inside the ERP that runs the shop, or in a layer that feeds it.
How accurate is AI quoting software?
What an accuracy claim actually needs to mean, and how it should be measured.
Solutions overview
How the AI-quoting category applies across fabrication types.
Best manufacturing quoting software
Six tools compared on what they read and where their prices come from.
Solutions
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customiser