Paperless Parts is one of the best-known names in CNC quoting software, but it's built and sold for a certain kind of shop. Here's what it actually is, and how the alternatives — spreadsheets, full ERP quoting modules, self-serve MRP tools, instant-quote marketplaces, and cncquoter — compare on the things you can actually verify: what each one does, and what it costs.
Checked September 2026. Every claim below links to the page it came from — vendor sites change, so verify current details before you decide.
Paperless Parts is a quoting and estimating platform sold to manufacturers — it covers CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, Swiss/turning, and additive manufacturing, and is positioned for shops that want a centralized, searchable system rather than a shared spreadsheet. Its own site lists ERP integrations, customer-facing quote delivery, and security features (ITAR registration, GovCloud hosting) aimed at aerospace and defense work. The primary call to action across the site is "Book a free demo" — it's a sales-led platform, not a self-serve signup. Its pricing page doesn't list plan prices; it collects your name, company, employee count, and contact details, and a specific number is given after that outreach.
The default for most small shops, and often the right call: you control every formula, it costs nothing beyond the time to build and maintain it, and there's no vendor relationship to manage. It doesn't scale past one or two people who understand the sheet, and every part still has to be measured and estimated by eye. See CNC quoting software: what it does and how to evaluate it for a longer take on when a spreadsheet stops being enough.
These are shop-management systems with quoting built in as one module among many — scheduling, inventory, job costing, quality. All three below are sales-led like Paperless Parts: none publish plan prices, and the sign-up path is a demo or a sales call rather than a checkout page.
General-purpose MRP/production-planning software for small manufacturers, with public, self-serve pricing rather than a sales-gated number. Quoting isn't always the headline feature the way it is for a job-shop ERP.
These aren't quoting tools a shop installs or subscribes to at all — they're manufacturers in their own right. You (or your customer) submit a part on their site, and they quote and produce it using their own equipment or supplier network, competing with job shops rather than serving them.
cncquoter is a free, in-browser tool: drop in a STEP (.step/.stp) file and get bounding box, volume, surface area, estimated setups, and an itemized ballpark quote back immediately — nothing to install, no demo call, and the file is never uploaded to a server (geometry is computed on-device). It's not trying to replace a full ERP's scheduling, inventory, or job costing — it's a fast, free starting number. Pro (saved shop profiles, branded PDF quotes, an embeddable instant-quote widget for a shop's own website) is in early access.
| Tool | Category | Has quoting? | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | Manual | You build it | $0 (your time) |
| Paperless Parts | Quoting/estimating platform | Yes — core product | Not published |
| ProShop ERP | Full ERP | Yes — "Estimating & Quoting" module | Not published |
| JobBOSS² | Full ERP | Yes — "Accurate quoting & scheduling" | Not published |
| Fulcrum | Full ERP | Yes — "Sales & Quoting" module | Not published |
| Katana | Self-serve MRP | Yes — job-shop quoting listed | Free / from $299/mo / custom |
| MRPeasy | Self-serve MRP | Order cost & lead-time calculation, not marketed as a dedicated quoting module | From $49/user/mo |
| Xometry | Instant-quote marketplace (manufacturer) | Quotes to buyers, not a tool for a shop | n/a |
| Protolabs | Instant-quote marketplace (manufacturer) | Quotes to buyers, not a tool for a shop | n/a |
| cncquoter | In-browser quoting tool | Yes — core product | Free; Pro early access |
"Not published" means the vendor's own pricing page requires contacting sales rather than showing a number, as of September 2026 — not a claim about what they charge.
No. As of September 2026, paperlessparts.com/pricing doesn't list plan prices — it collects your name, company, employee count, and contact details, and a price is given after that outreach. The same is true of the ERP quoting modules from ProShop and Fulcrum; JobBOSS² is similar (every call to action reads "Get Pricing" with no figures shown). Katana and MRPeasy, by contrast, publish their pricing directly on their sites.
An ERP quoting module (Paperless Parts, ProShop, JobBOSS², Fulcrum) is software your shop runs to quote your own customers. Xometry and Protolabs are the opposite: they're manufacturers themselves — you submit a part on their site and they quote and produce it using their own equipment or supplier network. They're not something a shop licenses to quote its own work.
cncquoter is free and runs entirely in your browser: drop in a STEP file and get bounding box, volume, and an itemized ballpark quote back immediately, with no demo call and nothing uploaded to a server. Pro (saved shop profiles, branded PDF quotes, an embeddable quote widget) is in early access.