// Comparison

Specifivs Portal.io.

Portal is a proposal tool. Specifi runs the business the proposal turns into. If proposals are all you need, Portal is cheaper.

See pricing

// Feature matrix

How they stack up.

Feature

Specifi

Portal.io

PLATFORM

Platform

Cloud-native (web + mobile)

Cloud, proposal-first. Merged with D-Tools in August 2026.

Mobile app

iOS and Android. Works offline: clock in, notes, photos and expenses without signal, synced when it returns.

iOS app and mobile-responsive web. No Android app listed.

PROPOSALS & QUOTING

Proposals

Bob the AI writes the whole proposal and you edit it on the page. E-signatures, optional upgrades with live totals, Stripe and QuickBooks payment links. Analytics show opens, reading time and which sections held attention. Auto Labour prices the labour from the product list.

Strong proposal engine with client view mode, optional items, expiry, change ordersLite capped at 10 new proposals a month; unlimited from Pro

Product database

1 million+ products with live supplier pricing, including Habitech trade pricing in the UK and ADI, Savant and Blackwire dealer pricing in the US

5 million+ items with managed dealer pricing

CRM & SALES

CRM

Full CRM with pipeline management, lead scoring, email sync

Client and contact management. Portal describe it as a lite CRM.

Email & calendar integration

Two-way Gmail and Outlook sync across mailbox and calendar. Turn any email into a customer, project, work order, purchase order or invoice. Any other mailbox connects over SMTP and IMAP.

Google Contacts sync (Beta). No mailbox or calendar sync listed on Portal.io's published pages.

PROJECT DELIVERY

Project management

Work orders, a Dispatch board for your crews, scheduling, task templates, notes with @mentions, change orders with digital sign-off, mobile updates

Not part of the platform

Time tracking

Mobile and desktop, with breaks, a live lock-screen timer and offline clock-in

Not part of the platform

Inventory management

Included on every plan, at no extra cost.

Not part of the platform

Service management

Via customer portal and work orders, with service call, maintenance and warranty job types

Not part of the platform

System design / drawings

Automated cable schedules, network maps, basic floor plan editor

Not part of the platform

MARKETING & WEB

Website builder

SEO-ready website and blogs included

Not available

Social media management

Echo social media, SEO and blogs included

Not available

Marketing automation

Managed marketing services available for existing customers

Not available

CLIENT EXPERIENCE

Customer portal

Yes: invoices, change orders, service booking, project visibility

Proposals, change orders and invoices online, with approvals, e-signatures and payments

Extended warranty

SureBright extended warranty options included

No warranty programme listed on Portal.io's published pages. Dealers can sell warranties as proposal items.

FINANCIALS & INTEGRATIONS

Invoicing

Built-in, from the job or standalone with catalogue products. Request for Payment with reusable schedule templates. QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe and QuickBooks payment links included.

Unlimited invoices on all tiers. Invoices sync to QuickBooks; proposals push to Zoho Books (Beta). Xero not listed on Portal.io's published pages.

Payment processing

Included, no per-transaction platform fee

0.25% per transaction, $1 min, $10 max, on top of processor feesQuickBooks, Square and Stripe

Integrations

QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, QuickBooks payment links (included)

QuickBooks, D-Tools SI, iPoint, ProjX360, Simply Reliable, Zapier, Google Sheets. In Beta: Salesforce, HubSpot, Jobber, Pipedrive, and Zoho at a listed $49 /mo plus usage.

AI & AUTOMATION

AI features

Bob the AI, email intelligence, content generation, product search

AI Proposal Builder on all plans: speak, paste notes or upload a walkthrough video to generate a proposal outline, then convert it to a full editable proposal in a click

PRICING & SUPPORT

Starting price

From £119 /mo1 office + 2 field users, all features included

From ~£23 /mo for one userUnlimited users ~£279 /mo. Lite capped at 10 proposals a month. Free sponsored plans for Sonos and Wesco dealers. Portal publish in USD; converted at $1 = £0.80.

Support

Included on all plans, unlimited ongoing training

Live chat all tiers. Priority chat and 2hrs training from Pro. Unlimited training from Premium.

Onboarding

One-time fee set by plan, Year 1 only

$0 at every tier

Free trial

14 days

14 days, no credit card

Prices exclude VAT, GST, US sales tax, and other applicable local taxes unless stated otherwise.

Portal.io features and pricing verified against their own published pages on 3 November 2026.

Specifi features current to 2 November 2026, from the release notes.

// Scope

Where Portal stopsand Specifi keeps going.

Portal's own pricing page tells you what it covers: proposals, product catalogue, a lite CRM, billing, purchase orders, an iOS app, integrations and support. That's the whole table.

What isn't in it: project management, scheduling, time tracking, stock, service management, work orders. Portal isn't hiding this. Their integration list connects into D-Tools SI, iPoint and ProjX360, because that's where the job goes after the proposal is signed. And in August 2026 Portal.io merged with D-Tools.

Whether you want a second platform alongside it is your call. Specifi is for firms who would rather have one.

That's why this page compares what each one covers rather than two-year cost. A proposal tool against a whole platform isn't like for like.

In Portal

Proposals
AI Proposal Builder
Product catalogue
Lite CRM
Invoicing and payments
Purchase orders
iOS app

In Specifi

Proposals
Product catalogue
CRM
Invoicing
Purchase orders
iOS and Android apps
Project management
Scheduling
Time tracking
Inventory
Service management
Work orders
Customer portal
Website, SEO and social
Bob the AI

// Side by side

Where eachone wins.

Where Portal is stronger

Cheaper, if proposals are what you need. Lite is $29 a month for one user, Pro is $89 for two. Setup is free at every tier, where we charge a one-time onboarding fee. The catalogue is 5 million lines, with managed dealer pricing. Their AI Proposal Builder ships on every plan and will take a spoken description, pasted notes or an uploaded walkthrough video and turn it into a structured proposal outline, then a full editable proposal in a click. And the proposal itself has client view mode, optional items, expiry dates and open notifications.

Where Specifi is stronger

Project delivery after the signature, and everything before the enquiry. Projects, scheduling, time, stock, service and work orders are all part of the platform rather than something you add. So is the front of the business: a website, SEO, blogs and Echo social media, which Portal doesn't offer at any price. Then two-way Gmail and Outlook sync across mailbox and calendar, so you run your inbox from inside Specifi and turn any email into a customer, project, work order, purchase order or invoice. A client portal that runs past the proposal into project visibility and service booking. Bob the AI across the stack. And an Android app as well as iOS. Since July: Bob writes whole proposals with section-by-section analytics, a Dispatch board plans your crews, and the field app works offline.

Which to pick

Pick Portal if you want a fast, good-looking quoting tool and either you already run a platform behind it or you don't need one yet. Pick Specifi if you would rather run the whole business in one place than wire two systems together.

// Migration

What carries acrossand what doesn't.

Proposal templates, product data, client records and proposal history all come across. Both platforms run in parallel until you're ready to switch off, so quoting never stops mid-migration. The import is an optional one-time fee on top of onboarding, live within 14 days of us getting your backup.

The part that doesn't carry across is the habit. In Portal, a signed proposal leads on to invoices, payments, change orders and purchase orders, but the project, the schedule and the service call happen somewhere else. In Specifi an accepted proposal becomes a project with work orders and a client portal, and the invoice reconciles back to the proposal without a sync. Teams tend to find that shift takes longer to get used to than the data migration does.

Proposal templates and branding
Product data and pricing
Client and contact records
Proposal history

They switched. Theyhaven't looked back.

We chose Specifi for its modern interface, streamlined project timelines, and advanced time management and proposal software. Specifi has streamlined our process from start to finish, and provides a more professional appearance to our clients. Their support is superb, often fixing issues within minutes of them being reported. They're innovating at a much faster pace than others in the space.

Specifi is an amazing software that literally runs our business operations. From initial proposals, sales and CRM to team and project management, invoicing & generating purchase orders. I would definitely recommend Specifi to anyone running a small to medium size audio visual or electrical company that wants a simple to use software that gets the business organised and looking super professional.

Specifi has significantly improved the efficiency of our day-to-day business operations. The software is incredibly easy to use and has helped us create an organised and streamlined setup. Their aftersales service is outstanding; they're always available to assist and consistently roll out updates with valuable new features. This commitment to ongoing improvement sets them apart. I highly recommend it.

// Explore more features

See why Specifi ismore than a quote tool.

Pricing

// Questions

What integratorstypically ask us.

Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch and we'll get back to you within a few hours.

What is the best Portal.io alternative for AV integrators?

It depends what you want it to do. Portal is a proposal platform, so if you're replacing a quoting tool, the alternatives are other quoting tools. Specifi is the alternative for integrators who want the proposal, the project, the invoice, the service call and the marketing in one system rather than a proposal tool plus a platform behind it.

Is Portal.io cheaper than Specifi?

For proposals, yes. Portal Lite is $29 a month for one user and Pro is $89 for two, against our £119 floor, and Portal charge nothing for setup where we charge a one-time onboarding fee. If quoting is the whole job, Portal is the cheaper answer. The comparison changes when you add what Portal doesn't cover, because that has to come from somewhere.

What does Portal.io do that Specifi doesn't?

A 5 million line catalogue with managed dealer pricing. Free setup at every tier. Unlimited users on their top plan for a flat $349. An AI Proposal Builder on every plan that turns a spoken description or an uploaded walkthrough video into a proposal outline, then a full editable proposal. And a proposal engine with client view mode, optional items and expiry dates that's genuinely strong at what it does.

What does Specifi do that Portal.io doesn't?

Everything after the proposal is accepted: project management, scheduling, time tracking, inventory, service management and work orders. Everything before the enquiry: website, SEO, blogs and Echo social media. Plus Gmail and Outlook sync, Xero and an Android app, none of which Portal.io lists, a client portal that runs into projects and service, and Bob the AI.

Do I need another platform alongside Portal?

If you want project management, scheduling, stock or service, yes. Portal integrates with D-Tools SI, iPoint and ProjX360 for exactly that reason. Plenty of firms run Portal plus one of those and are happy with it. Whether the extra subscription and the second login are worth it is a judgement only you can make.

Can I migrate from Portal.io?

Yes. Proposal templates, product data, client records and proposal history all carry across. Both platforms run in parallel until you're ready to switch off. The import is an optional one-time fee on top of onboarding, set by your plan.

// Other comparisons

Comparing Specifi tosomeone else too?

See all six AV platform comparisons on the hub, or jump straight to the one closest to your shortlist.

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Specifivs Portal.io.

How they stack up.

Where Portal stopsand Specifi keeps going.

In Portal

In Specifi

Where eachone wins.

Where Portal is stronger

Where Specifi is stronger

Which to pick

What carries acrossand what doesn't.

They switched. Theyhaven't looked back.

See why Specifi ismore than a quote tool.

See what is included on every plan before you compare feature-by-feature.

Look at the proposal workflow most competitors only solve in isolation.

See how CRM, projects, invoicing, stock, and Bob the AI connect end to end.

What integratorstypically ask us.

Comparing Specifi tosomeone else too?

Jetbuilt alternative

WeQuote alternative

iPoint alternative

D-Tools alternative

ProjX360 alternative

Every feature.One price. All In.