The best proposal software for consultants depends on your business stage and what's costing you deals. Need in-depth tracking that shows where clients linger? Try Qwilr. Want a quick, budget-friendly proposal template? Google Docs does the job. Looking to tie proposals to your entire consulting workflow? Use Kiaro.
A proposal is one of the most important documents you'll create in your consultancy. It can determine whether a deal stays hot or goes cold, and each page builds a case for doing business with you.
With that much riding on your bottom line, you want to get it right while keeping a lid on the time you spend on each one.
Here is a look at six proposal tools for consultants, their strengths and weaknesses, and which one is the best choice for your business.
Quick overview: proposal software for consultants
Short on time? Here is a glance at some of the best proposal tools for a consulting workflow.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan | Tracking and analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Docs | A fast, no-cost option | Free | Yes | No |
| PandaDoc | Professional-looking proposals with minimal extra features | $35 per month | Yes | Yes, but gated behind the Business plan |
| Qwilr | Established consultants with teams | $49 per month | No | Yes |
| Better Proposals | Budget-conscious consultants sending a modest number of proposals | $19 per month | No | Yes |
| Proposify | Consultants who send a high volume of proposals | $29 per month | No | Yes |
| Kiaro | Proposals tied to the rest of your consulting workflow | Free / $29 per month (Solo) | Yes | Status tracking (sent, viewed, accepted) |
The best proposal software for consultants
Google Docs
| Starting price | Free |
| Free trial | Free to use unless you want Google Workspace |
| Best for | Occasional proposals or new consultants who need a fast, no-cost option |
For new consultants, a Google Docs template is a great tool. It's free, there's little learning curve, and it can quickly get you from a blank page to a professional-looking proposal.
What's not to love? The lack of visibility.
Once you email the proposal, there's no way to know when a potential client opens the document or how long they spend looking at it. It also can't pull in your pricing and different services. You need to build that out each time.
What Google Docs does well
- Free to use, forever
- Little to no learning curve
- Comes with a basic proposal template
Where Google Docs falls short
- No built-in tracking
- No e-signature or acceptance flow
PandaDoc
| Starting price | Free, with paid plans from $35 per month |
| Free trial | Yes, and a freemium tier |
| Best for | Consultants who want free professional-looking proposals and don't need the gated features yet |
PandaDoc helps consultants create on-brand proposals in a couple of minutes. With drag-and-drop functionality, you can use pre-built templates and turn finished documents into templates for faster approvals next time.
The software also has interactive pricing tables. If the right permissions are enabled, customers can select packages or quantities that make sense for their business needs. The flexibility helps eliminate back-and-forth and get you closer to a signed agreement.
However, a lot of the functionality that makes PandaDoc a great proposal tool is locked behind the paid plans. Notably, the Business plan is $65 per month.
What PandaDoc does well
- Large template library with industry-specific templates
- Document tracking and interactive pricing tables
- Ability to capture legally binding e-signatures
Where PandaDoc falls short
- Free plan is capped at 5 documents per month
- Custom branding, recipient analytics, pricing tables and product catalogue are only available on the Business plan ($65 per month)
Qwilr
| Starting price | From $49 per month |
| Free trial | 14-day trial |
| Best for | Established consultants with teams who want a proposal tool that connects to their CRM |
Got a team of consultants working with you? Qwilr can build in guardrails so every proposal reflects your positioning, process and brand accurately, automatically.
The tool leans more toward traditional sales teams using a CRM. The API connects data sources and auto-populates fields, while the AI features scan call transcripts and meeting notes to populate content, pricing and structure dynamically.
However, Qwilr can become an expensive exercise for a consultant. Once you go over your first 40 documents on the Starter plan, you'll need to pay per document. If you want access to any of the Growth plan features, it comes with a five-seat minimum and is only available on an annual plan.
What Qwilr does well
- Interactive web-based proposals
- Detailed analytics and engagement tracking
- CRM integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho and others
Where Qwilr falls short
- Per-month billing is only available on the Starter plan, and the Growth plan has a minimum five-seat requirement
- Extra charges for API access and usage
- Start with 40 free documents and then pay $2.50 per document
Better Proposals
| Starting price | From $19 per month |
| Free trial | 14-day trial |
| Best for | Budget-conscious consultants who are sending a modest number of proposals |
Better Proposals helps consultants create an interactive web experience. Instead of a PDF attached to an email that gets flagged by spam filters, you'll have a link and your potential client can view it properly on any device.
It also means your proposal is a living document. If you make a mistake, you can fix it quickly, and your client will only see the latest version.
Once you send the proposal, real-time notifications keep you up to date with any activity. You can see what sections were read, in what order and for how long.
With that kind of data, it's a lot easier to write a follow-up email that'll get a response.
The only hiccup? The document caps don't make Better Proposals a good option if you're sending volume each month.
What Better Proposals does well
- 2-minute response time from support on all plans, round the clock
- Legally binding e-signatures and approval workflows
- Unlimited templates and no feature gating on the proposal editor
- Detailed, real-time analytics available on all plans
Where Better Proposals falls short
- Monthly send limits (10 on the Starter and 50 on the Premium plans)
- Starter plan is capped at one user
- CRM integrations are only available on the Premium plan ($29 per month per user)
Stop rebuilding the same proposal from scratch
Kiaro drafts proposals from your own past work, then turns an accepted one into a project with the budget already carried across. Free, no credit card.
Proposify
| Starting price | $29 per month |
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Best for | Solo consultants who send a high volume of proposals and value visual appeal |
If your consulting business is maturing and you want a more capable proposal tool, Proposify is a good option. It helps you run the whole process from creation to close and has the functionality you need to stay on top of your pipeline.
It includes a template editor, a content library for service descriptions, pricing, case studies and images, and detailed analytics. You can see how prospects are interacting with your proposals and adjust the sections that aren't landing.
One thing to note: Proposify lets you create unlimited documents, but limits how many you can send each month based on your paid plan. If you run out of sends, you'll need to pay a per-document fee.
What Proposify does well
- Interactive pricing tables and a pricing library
- Built-in legally binding e-signature
- Professional customisable design templates
- Proposal analytics and client engagement tracking
Where Proposify falls short
- No free forever version
- More advanced features like integrations, automations and the pricing catalogue are gated behind the more expensive Team tier
- Send limits apply on paid plans
Kiaro
| Starting price | Free forever, with paid plans from $29 per month |
| Free trial | 30-day trial of Solo or Team, no card required, plus a permanent free plan |
| Best for | Consultants who want a proposal tool built into the entire client workflow |
Each of the previous tools does a decent job at creating a proposal. Some take it a step further with detailed analytics. But they all lack one thing that Kiaro does.
Built with consultants in mind, it connects your proposal to the entire client workflow.
Once the client accepts your proposal, Kiaro creates a project with the budget carried across from the accepted line items. From there you can create your contract, and when it's time to start working, everything is set up and ready for you to begin time tracking.
At month-end, all of that data feeds directly into an invoice set up to use your billing preferences, with a built-in direct payment link.
What Kiaro does well
- The free plan covers the full workflow, proposals, projects, time tracking and invoicing, for your first three active clients
- Accepted proposals convert directly into a project with the budget carried across
- AI drafts proposals from your inputs, your style guide and your past proposals
Where Kiaro falls short
- No legally binding e-signatures, acceptance is recorded in the app rather than signed
- Tracking shows status (sent, viewed, accepted) rather than page-level, time-per-section analytics
- The free plan caps you at three active clients and 100 AI commands a month
Read more: The Best Invoicing Software for Consultants in 2026
Which consulting proposal software should you use?
The right proposal software comes down to how often you're using it, the maturity of your business, and how it fits your existing workflow.
- If you're new to consulting and only sending the odd proposal, Google Docs does the job.
- If you're growing and trying to close more deals, better follow-up timing is the goal. Tools like Qwilr and Better Proposals give you the data you need.
- If you want your proposals to feed the rest of your workflow and run through a single dashboard, Kiaro is the tool for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is proposal software worth paying for?
Yes, it's worth paying for if you want to tighten the systems in your consulting business. While it's possible to use a Google Docs template, it doesn't have the tracking data or automations you need.
What should a proposal include for a consulting engagement?
A proposal should include a summary of the brief, the scope of work broken down into deliverables, a proposed timeline and itemised pricing. There should also be a section covering payment and cancellation terms.
How long should a consulting proposal be?
Most consulting proposals run from five to ten pages. Keep it short and to the point, because padding won't make the proposal look more impressive, it will do the opposite. On average you need seven sections: a cover page, introduction, approach, deliverables and timeline, about page, pricing, and terms and sign-off.