The Honest Comparison
Spreadsheets. Legacy eQMS.
Or Neither.
Most eQMS vendors won't tell you the price until you've sat through a demo. We'd rather put the whole comparison on one page, including where we're not the right fit.
| Dimension | My ISO QMS | Legacy eQMS | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing on the website | Yes: pricing is being finalized; every plan includes 15 seats, plus a per-seat rate after that. | Rarely. 10 of the 12 leading vendors we surveyed require a sales call to hear a number.* | Free, until you count the hours. |
| What's included | All 12 modules. No feature gates, no per-module add-ons. | Often licensed per module; published add-on prices run to thousands per module, per year.* | One fragile tab per process. |
| Contract | Monthly. Cancel anytime. | Typically annual; some vendors state annual-only agreements.* | None. |
| Implementation | Days, with a low one-time fee; data import included. | Weeks to months; onboarding is typically a mandatory paid package, sometimes billed by the day.* | Every new hire reinvents it. |
| Your data if you leave | Exports with you: records and documents, anytime. | Ask before you sign. | Yours; that's the one genuine upside. |
| Bespoke processes | Custom pages built around how you actually work. | A professional-services engagement. | Another spreadsheet. |
| Built by | ISO consultants who run QMS audits for a living. | Enterprise software teams. | You, at 11pm before the audit. |
| Support | The people who built it, and who know ISO. | A ticket queue. | You again. |
| Upgrades | Continuous. No version-migration projects. | Upgrades are projects; user reviews report regressions.* | QMS-FINAL-v7-REAL(2).xlsx |
* Based on a survey of 12 leading eQMS vendors' public websites and published price lists (July 2026) and attributed user reviews on independent review platforms. Sources and exact statements are in the receipts below. Individual vendors vary; always confirm terms directly.
Don't Take Our Word for It
The Receipts.
Everything below comes from the vendors' own websites or official published price lists, not estimates, not hearsay.
Of 12 leading eQMS vendors we surveyed, only two publish usable prices on their websites.
- Vendor pricing pages, surveyed July 2026
"The minimum subscription price is USD 17,500 annually, which covers up to 15 users." That's the entry-level tier.
- A leading eQMS vendor's own pricing page
"All new customers must purchase our one-time onboarding services to get started." Onboarding isn't optional, and the price isn't on the page.
- Another vendor's own pricing page
One vendor stacks separate one-time fees for implementation and training on top of annual license fees.
- A third vendor's own pricing page
One published price list: £15,000/year platform fee before user licenses, optional modules at £1,995–£6,650 each per year, and implementation billed at £1,330 per day.
- A vendor's published UK G-Cloud price list (public-sector framework pricing)
"Our agreements are annual and we typically invoice against Purchase Orders."
- A fourth vendor's own pricing page
Meanwhile, our pricing will be three lines long: 15 seats included, plus a per-seat rate after that. All 12 modules. Monthly billing. Yes, there's a one-time implementation fee, quoted up front and a fraction of a legacy onboarding package.
Why Teams Pick Us
Six Things We Do Differently.
Monthly billing, cancel anytime, and your records export with you. We keep customers by being good, not by holding data hostage.
Built-in import tooling brings your existing spreadsheets and records in fast, and consultants who know QMS structure map them right the first time.
Every plan includes 15 seats, with a straightforward per-seat rate after that. The math will be on the website; no discovery call required.
Bespoke process? We build custom pages for the workflows that make your business yours, without a six-figure services engagement.
Designed by ISO consultants who've lived the audits, the findings, and the 4 a.m. document hunts, not by a software team that's never heard of clause 7.5.
Document control, NCR→CAR, audits, training, calibration, suppliers, metrics, management review. All 12 modules in every subscription.
Full Disclosure
When a Legacy Suite Really Is the Right Call.
If you're running FDA design controls across thousands of users, need a formally validated environment for regulatory submissions, or have an on-premise mandate, the big enterprise platforms exist for a reason, and you should probably buy one.
My ISO QMS is built for small and mid-sized organizations that hold (or are pursuing) ISO 9001 and related certifications, and want their quality system to run without a six-month implementation project or a five-figure renewal surprise. If that's you, we think this comparison speaks for itself.
See the Difference Yourself.
Request early access and, if accepted, we'll walk you through it, no sales-call surprises.
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