Compare Vendor Quotes On Like-For-Like Terms
Quotes arrive on different terms because that makes them hard to compare: one is monthly, one annual, one has setup fees, one wants payment up front. This normalises every quote to an annual figure, adds the cost of setup and payment terms, prices the lead time as tied-up capital, and ranks them. Local only; nothing leaves the tab.
- Table
- Every quote normalised to a comparable annual cost
- local
- What it replaces
- Comparing headline prices on different terms
- $0.00
- Input
- Price, term, setup fee, and lead time per quote
- no card
- Output
- A ranked table with the gap to the low bid
- recomputed
What you pay otherwise
| Route | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement consultant | Someone doing the same normalisation | % of spend |
| Choosing on headline price | Setup fees and terms paid later | the gap |
| Spreadsheet you build each time | Different columns every tender | an hour |
| This page | Like-for-like, in a minute | $0 |
The workflow
Enter the price as quoted and let the tool normalise it
Don't convert monthly to annual yourself first — enter what the vendor wrote and set the term. Double-converting is the most common way a comparison goes wrong, and it always favours whoever quoted in the smallest unit.
Add setup and onboarding fees to the first year
A quote with no setup fee and a higher monthly rate can beat one with a large implementation charge inside twelve months, and lose badly over three. The tool adds setup to year one, which is where it lands.
Price the lead time as money, not just delay
A vendor who takes eight weeks longer is tying up your project or your cash for eight more weeks. Enter a cost of capital and the table turns delay into a figure rather than an inconvenience.
Check what's excluded before you rank
Support, training, and overage charges are the classic omissions. A quote that excludes support isn't cheaper — it's incomplete, and adding the missing line usually reorders the table.
Worked example
Sample: 4 quotes, 3-year view, 8% cost of capital Vendor B 199/mo, no setup, 6 wk yr1 2,388 3-yr 7,164 adj 7,186.04 Vendor A 2,400/yr + 1,500 setup yr1 3,900 3-yr 8,700 adj 8,707.38 Vendor C 2,100/yr + 3,200 setup yr1 5,300 3-yr 9,500 adj 9,503.23 Vendor D 245/mo + 800 setup yr1 3,740 3-yr 9,620 adj 9,665.23 Low bid Vendor B — 1,521.34 below the next, once lead time is priced Uploaded nothing — computed in the tab
Numbers above are sample data produced by the tool's own pre-loaded example, run in the browser — not averages or measured benchmarks.
What breaks this
Converting the price before entering it double-converts and always favours whoever quoted in the smallest unit. Ignoring setup fees hides the largest first-year cost. Ranking before checking exclusions — an incomplete quote isn't a cheap one.
Try it now
Four quotes over a three-year view are loaded with Vendor B lowest. Extend the view to five years and watch the setup-heavy quotes fall further behind.
Open the comparison →Go deeper: the printable table
The comparison is free forever. The $4 one-time tier adds:
- Printable table — the normalised comparison on one sheet for approval — estimate: ~20 min saved rebuilding it for sign-off.
- Saved tenders shelf — keep up to 8 tenders in this browser — estimate: ~25 min saved comparing across rounds.
- Exclusions checklist — what to ask each vendor before ranking — estimate: ~15 min saved drafting the questions.