The market for AV proposal software has grown considerably over the past several years, driven by the broader movement toward digitizing sales and quoting workflows in professional services. In 2026, AV companies have more options than ever for creating, sending, and tracking proposals — which makes the evaluation process both more important and more difficult. This guide covers the leading platforms in the AV proposal space, what each does well, where each falls short, and how to think about the choice based on your company's size, workflow, and the type of AV work you do. No tool is perfect for every use case, and this review aims to be honest about that.
CueQuote is an AI-native proposal platform built specifically for live event AV production and rental companies. Its defining feature is AI generation: describe an event in natural language and the system generates a complete, priced equipment proposal from your catalog in under two minutes. This positions CueQuote as the fastest path from client brief to sent proposal among the tools reviewed here. It handles multi-currency proposals in EUR, USD, GBP, PLN, AED, and others, includes a client portal for proposal review and e-signatures, generates invoices from accepted proposals, and offers a risk assessment tool that identifies contingencies based on the event scope. Pricing starts with a functional free tier and scales to 29 euros per month for Starter, 79 euros for Pro, and 179 euros for Business. Best for: live event production companies, AV rental operations, hybrid event specialists, and freelance AV technicians who send frequent proposals.
Jetbuilt is a cloud-based proposal platform with deep roots in AV systems integration. Its primary strength is a large product database with manufacturer-provided pricing and specifications, which enables AV integrators specifying products for permanent installations to build proposals from a current, maintained catalog rather than manual lookups. Jetbuilt also offers project management, distributor pricing integration, and labor tracking features that serve the integration workflow. Pricing runs approximately 90 to 150 dollars per user per month. The proposal creation workflow is manual — users search and add products item by item — which is appropriate for the deliberate pace of integration design but slower than AI generation for high-volume event proposal work. Best for: AV systems integrators and low-voltage contractors specifying and installing permanent AV systems.
D-Tools System Integrator is the most established enterprise platform in the AV integration space, with a history spanning more than two decades. It is a desktop-based Windows application with a comprehensive feature set covering system design, proposal generation, project management, installation documentation, CAD drawing integration, and service contract management. D-Tools connects to a large product database and supports the full project lifecycle from initial design through installation and warranty. The trade-offs are significant: D-Tools is among the most expensive options at 150 dollars or more per seat per month, requires the most onboarding time of any tool reviewed, and carries a learning curve that most users measure in weeks. Best for: large AV integration firms with complex installation projects, established service practices, and teams that can invest in platform adoption.
XTEN-AV positions itself as a proposal and design tool with a focus on visual system design alongside proposal generation. It includes features for creating AV system diagrams, rack elevations, and signal flow documentation alongside the commercial proposal. For companies where technical documentation is a central deliverable — integration firms that provide full documentation packages to clients and other contractors — this visual design capability adds meaningful value. XTEN-AV has a product database and supports multi-category proposals with organized line items. Pricing is structured around subscription tiers. Its live events capabilities are limited compared to platforms purpose-built for event production, and it is best evaluated by companies where visual system documentation is a regular deliverable alongside the commercial proposal.
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Try CueQuote Free →Portal.io addresses a different part of the AV workflow: it is primarily a project management and business management platform for AV integrators, with proposal generation as one component of a broader operational suite. Portal.io includes CRM, project management, field service management, inventory tracking, and billing alongside proposal tools. For AV integration companies looking to consolidate multiple point solutions into a single operational platform, Portal.io's breadth is an asset. The trade-off is that its proposal capabilities are not as deep as tools built exclusively for quoting, and the overall platform complexity reflects the full operational scope it covers. Best for: AV integration businesses wanting a single platform for operations, not just proposals.
QuoteAV is a simpler, lower-cost tool aimed at AV companies needing basic proposal generation without the complexity of enterprise platforms. It provides catalog management, equipment list building, PDF output, and client communication features at a price point accessible to smaller AV companies and freelancers. The platform lacks AI generation capabilities and the depth of features found in the enterprise tools, but it is a step up from spreadsheets and manual formatting for companies that do not yet need the full power of more comprehensive platforms. Best for: small AV rental companies and freelancers who need a straightforward, affordable quoting tool without complex feature requirements.
Evaluating these tools on speed to proposal reveals the clearest distinction. CueQuote generates a complete proposal from an event description in under five minutes including review time, making it the fastest option for companies with high proposal volume or tight response time requirements. Jetbuilt and D-Tools require manual product selection and configuration, taking 20 to 60 minutes for a complete proposal depending on complexity and user experience. XTEN-AV and Portal.io sit similarly in the manual-build range. QuoteAV is faster to learn but still relies on manual catalog selection. If proposal throughput is your primary constraint, the AI generation difference is material.
AI capabilities in 2026 range from central feature to complete absence. CueQuote's AI generation is the most integrated, using event description inputs to produce scoped equipment lists with quantities and catalog pricing. Jetbuilt has introduced some AI-assisted features in recent releases, primarily around product suggestions and pricing optimization, but the core proposal workflow remains manual. D-Tools does not offer AI proposal generation. XTEN-AV, Portal.io, and QuoteAV similarly do not offer AI generation as a primary workflow. For AV companies that want AI at the center of their quoting process rather than as a peripheral add-on, CueQuote is the only tool in this review that was built from the ground up around that premise.
PDF output quality varies across platforms and matters more than many evaluators initially expect. The proposal PDF is the primary client-facing document, and its visual quality communicates professionalism before a single line item is read. CueQuote offers four professionally designed PDF templates — Modern, Bold, Classic, and Minimal — that automatically apply your uploaded logo and brand color. The output is clean, print-ready, and visually consistent across all proposals. D-Tools and Jetbuilt generate functional PDFs that reflect more of a traditional technical document aesthetic, which is appropriate for their integration market but less polished than what modern event clients expect. Portal.io and XTEN-AV offer reasonable PDF output. QuoteAV's output is basic.
Client experience and self-service features have become important differentiators as more AV companies seek to modernize their client interactions. CueQuote includes a client portal where clients log in to view all proposals and invoices, accept proposals digitally with a timestamped record, and track the status of their requests. Jetbuilt has some client-facing features oriented toward the service side of integration relationships. D-Tools, XTEN-AV, and QuoteAV have limited client self-service capability. For AV companies that want to offer clients a branded, professional digital experience beyond a PDF attachment in an email, the client portal capability is a meaningful feature to evaluate.
How to choose among these options depends primarily on the type of AV work you do. AV systems integrators specifying and installing permanent equipment should evaluate Jetbuilt and D-Tools, with Jetbuilt being the more modern and accessible option and D-Tools appropriate for larger firms with established service practices. AV integration firms wanting full operational management should look at Portal.io. Companies that do both integration and event production may find themselves using different tools for each segment. Live event production companies and AV rental operations should start with CueQuote — the AI generation speed, event-optimized workflow, and accessible pricing are designed precisely for that segment. Freelancers and small operations evaluating entry-level tools should compare QuoteAV with CueQuote's free tier before committing to anything, as CueQuote's free plan provides AI generation capability that QuoteAV's paid tiers do not match. The right tool is the one that fits your actual workflow — evaluate on the proposals you actually write, not the features you might use someday.