Showpad Review: Features, Pricing and Alternatives for Sales Practice
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TL;DR
- Showpad is revenue enablement software for content management, sales readiness (training, certification and coaching), buyer engagement and analytics. It now describes itself as revenue effectiveness software and says more than 2,000 companies use it (homepage, checked October 2026).
- Vector Capital bought Bigtincan in April 2025 and completed its acquisition of Showpad on October 30, 2025, combining the two under the Showpad brand, per Showpad's own press releases. Brainshark and Bigtincan Hub are now sold as Showpad products.
- For practice, Showpad has Roleplay AI (an AI buyer avatar that can object or interrupt, with up to 10 weighted feedback categories) and Pitch AI (scored pitch recordings). Roleplay AI appears in the Advanced and Expert plans on the pricing page.
- Showpad publishes no prices. It licenses per user, across Professional, Advanced and Expert plans, each sold through a quote (checked October 2026).
- Showpad fits field and enterprise sales teams that want content, training and practice from one vendor. Teams whose main gap is rehearsing whole calls built from their own deals may get more from a dedicated roleplay tool, or can pilot one beside Showpad.
Showpad at a glance
Area | What Showpad offers | Plan on the pricing page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Content management | Governed content library, AI search across documents and video transcripts, CRM content suggestions | Professional and up (AI search in Expert) | |
Training | Training library and courses, role-based learning paths | Professional and up | |
Certification and coaching | Knowledge checks, certifications, coaching dashboards, competency evaluations, My Team Manager hub | Advanced and up | |
Roleplay AI | AI buyer avatar, Basic to Expert difficulty, weighted scoring categories, Virtual Coach feedback | Advanced and up | |
Pitch AI | Scored pitch videos for delivery and key points, routed to managers | Not stated | |
Buyer engagement | Shared Spaces for buyers, 3D and AR asset hosting | Professional and up | |
Security | SSO, GDPR and SOC 2 compliance listed on every plan | All | |
Pricing | No public prices; per-user licensing, quote only | All |
How we checked
We read Showpad's homepage, pricing page, sales readiness page, Roleplay AI page, Pitch AI page, content management page, integrations page and its newsroom, all on October 26, 2026. For the alternatives we read each vendor's own product and pricing pages on the same day. Demand data came from Google autocomplete and Bing, because Brave Search was rate-limiting.
Quotain publishes this review and sells AI sales roleplay software, which competes with one part of Showpad. We used no third-party review scores or price estimates. Showpad's pages describe features in marketing terms, so confirm what you plan to buy in a demo on your own content.
Who owns Showpad: the Bigtincan and Vector Capital deal
Searches for "showpad bigtincan" and "showpad vector capital" come from three events, all in Showpad's newsroom:
- April 23, 2025. Vector Capital completed its acquisition of Bigtincan Holdings, which then left the Australian Securities Exchange (release).
- August 26, 2025. Vector Capital announced it would acquire Showpad.
- October 30, 2025. Vector completed the Showpad deal. The combined company operates under the Showpad brand, with Apratim Purakayastha as CEO, and says it serves more than 2,000 customers across 50 countries (release).
Showpad's menu now lists Showpad Brainshark, Showpad Bigtincan Hub, Showpad Zunos and Showpad ClearSlide as additional tools. If you are a Brainshark customer, our Brainshark alternatives guide covers what changed for that product and what to compare.
Content management: Best for teams that need one governed library
Content is where Showpad started. Its content management page describes a library with AI workflows and compliance controls, sync from digital asset management systems with metadata and permissions intact, Search AI that indexes "document text and video transcripts with deep links to exact pages," deal-specific content suggestions inside the CRM, and engagement tracking on shared content.
The pricing page says every plan includes access "on mobile, offline, and browser," which matters for field sellers who present in places with poor connections. Showpad's pricing FAQ claims "more than 75 pre-configured integrations and an open API." Its integrations page names Salesloft, Outreach, Marketo, Microsoft Copilot, Salesforce Agentforce and Glean, but no CRM, conversation intelligence or meeting tool by name, so ask about the specific tools you use.
Sales readiness: training, certification and coaching
Showpad's sales readiness page covers role-based learning paths, just-in-time recommendations, automated certification workflows, coaching dashboards for managers, competency evaluations that score reps against role-specific skills, and "score-to-course connections" that point reps to the right training. The page says Showpad was named a Leader in the Aragon Research Globe for Enterprise Coaching 2027.
On the pricing page, the training library and courses are in Professional. Knowledge checks, certifications, the My Team Manager hub and Roleplay AI start in Advanced. Authoring AI, which helps build training content, is in Expert.
Roleplay AI: what Showpad says it does
Showpad's Roleplay AI page describes a sales simulator inside Showpad:
- An AI buyer avatar "that knows your industry, can object or interrupt, and asks follow-ups."
- Scenario setup covering context, objectives and the AI buyer's persona, including communication style, education level and speech settings.
- Scenarios built from existing Showpad content.
- Difficulty from Basic to Expert.
- Up to 10 weighted feedback categories, either built by you or created with AI, for topics such as objection handling, competitor comparison or trust building.
- A Virtual Coach that scores each session against the criteria and gives instant feedback, plus a performance overview of scores and submissions.
- Exercises can be assigned inside learning journeys, so practice sits in onboarding and certification programs.
On languages, the page contradicts itself. One line claims "35+ supported language and pronunciation dictionaries," while the FAQ says Roleplay AI supports 14 languages and lists English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Hindi, Italian and Czech, with regional variants for English and French. Ask which languages your reps can practice in.
What the page does not say matters for a practice buyer:
- It does not describe managers replaying a session or reviewing the transcript beyond scores.
- It does not say whether a real recorded call can become a scenario.
- It does not mention CRM or deal context for Roleplay AI.
- It does not describe a call with several buyers at once.
These may exist. They are the first four things to ask in a demo.
Pitch AI: scored pitch recordings
Pitch AI is a different exercise: the rep records a pitch video and gets feedback seconds after submitting it. Showpad says it scores delivery "across pace, silences, body language, and enthusiasm," along with filler words and key points, benchmarks against top performers, and routes videos and scores to managers for 1:1 coaching. It claims 15+ languages. Pitch AI suits certifying reps on a company narrative, and differs from a two-way conversation where the buyer pushes back. The pricing page does not say which plan includes it.
Showpad pricing
Showpad does not publish prices. Its pricing page, checked October 2026, lists three plans, each with a "Request a quote" button:
- Professional. Content library, pages and collections, the Genie assistant with text chat, the training library and courses, Shared Spaces, report and dashboard builders, and CRM, email, Chrome and marketing automation integrations.
- Advanced. Everything in Professional plus Genie voice chat, AI-powered content governance, Roleplay AI, knowledge checks and certifications, the My Team Manager hub, sales engagement integrations and a developer bundle.
- Expert. Everything in Advanced plus Genie Agent Studio and custom agents, Library AI and Search AI, AI-powered CRM recommendations, Authoring AI, a Field Seller Agent and priority support.
The FAQ says "Showpad is licensed on a per-user basis," that packages are customizable, and that it offers additional license types for adjacent teams. Add-ons named Empower +, Learn + and Collaborate + are listed without detail. The practical takeaway: Roleplay AI is not in the entry plan, so a team that wants practice should price Advanced or Expert.
Who Showpad fits
Showpad is best for enterprise and field sales organizations (its homepage shows logos such as Bosch, Siemens, Roche, PepsiCo and Unilever) that need governed content, offline access, training and certification from one vendor, with an enablement team to run it. It suits companies consolidating Bigtincan or Brainshark contracts under the new Showpad brand.
It is a weaker fit for a small team that only needs conversation practice, because Roleplay AI sits in the Advanced plan with content and training. It may also be a slower fit for buyers who want a published price or a self-serve trial.
Where Showpad fits better than Quotain
Showpad is the better choice when:
- You need a content library, buyer-facing Shared Spaces, training and certification in one contract. Quotain offers no content library or buyer rooms; its modules and certification are built around practice calls.
- Field reps need content offline on mobile devices.
- Practice must sit inside Showpad learning paths your enablement team already runs.
- You want scored pitch videos that include body language, which Quotain does not grade.
- Your security review needs SSO or a SOC 2 report today. Showpad lists SSO and SOC 2 compliance on every plan; Quotain has no SOC 2 report yet (its SOC 2 Type II work is in progress) and no SSO yet, per its trust center.
Alternatives for teams whose gap is conversation practice
If reps can find the right content but still stall in discovery, pricing or negotiation calls, the gap is rehearsal. Our sales readiness vs sales enablement guide explains why the two jobs often need different tools.
Tool | Best for | Practice built from | Public price |
|---|---|---|---|
Quotain | Practice built from your own calls and deals | Playbook, past calls, deal context | Free trial; team quote |
Hyperbound | SDR and AE teams that want a free tier | Product, ICP, uploaded transcripts | Free plan; paid via demo |
Second Nature | Lessons plus practice with published certifications | Freeform description or uploaded content | Not found |
Mindtickle | Practice inside a full readiness suite | Prompts and prebuilt personas | No |
Allego | Video avatar practice inside a learning suite | Pre-built scenarios | No |
Quotain: Best for practice built from your own calls and deals
Quotain builds the AI buyer from your playbook, past calls and deal context, and scores each attempt against your criteria, with each score pointing to the transcript line behind it (AI sales simulations). Reps can run the full call or start at the pricing question. Real-call grading grades recorded calls against the same scorecard and lets a rep continue a real call from any transcript line as practice. The pricing page offers a free trial of up to 3 practice calls; team plans are quoted for seats and scope, include AI buyers in 32 languages, and offer buying-committee calls with several buyers on request. Buyers appear as still portraits by default, with animated video buyers available at extra cost. Works beside Showpad: keep content and training there, and use Quotain for practice before key calls.
Hyperbound: Best for SDR and AE teams that want a free tier first
Hyperbound's Practice page describes buyer simulations from your product, ICP and messaging, personas generated from an uploaded call transcript, multi-party and screen-share roleplays, and 30+ languages. Its pricing page lists a free plan with 45 prebuilt roleplays and per-user Practice and Perform licenses through a demo (checked October 2026). See Quotain vs Hyperbound.
Second Nature: Best for lessons plus practice with published security certifications
Second Nature's product page describes building a roleplay from a freeform description or uploaded content, 1:1, group and chat scenarios, courses that combine videos, decks and quizzes with practice, and over 30 languages. It lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. We found no public price. See Quotain vs Second Nature.
Mindtickle: Best for enablement teams replacing a full readiness suite
Mindtickle's AI Role Play page describes dozens of prebuilt buyer personas and voices, prompt-built personas, feedback in 25+ languages, screen-share role plays and automated certification based on scores you set. It can pull CRM data and push skill data back to Salesforce. It publishes no price. See Quotain vs Mindtickle.
Allego: Best for teams that want video avatar practice inside a learning suite
"Showpad vs allego" appears in Google autocomplete. Allego's pricing page lists an AI Role Play plan with "lifelike AI video avatars," real-time feedback on talk track and objections, manager scoring with rubrics and side-by-side review, and badges and certifications. Prices are per user per month through a quote. See Quotain vs Allego.
If you are comparing enablement suites, our Highspot review and Seismic Learning review cover the two names that appear next to Showpad most often in autocomplete.
How to choose: a two-week pilot scorecard
Run the same test on Showpad's Roleplay AI and on any practice tool you shortlist. Pick one team, one call type and one behavior your recorded calls show reps missing.
What to test | How to run it | Score 0, 1 or 2 |
|---|---|---|
Buyer pushback | Two senior reps run the scenario at the hardest level and rate whether the buyer resisted like a real one. | 0 if the buyer folds, 2 if reps say it matched |
Your scorecard | Load your own criteria and check that feedback cites the moment behind each score. | 0 if generic, 2 if your criteria with evidence |
Deal context | Build a scenario for one live deal and check the buyer knows the account. | 0 if generic, 2 if it uses your deal |
Retry one moment | Ask the rep to replay only the pricing or objection moment. | 0 if full restart only, 2 if they can start at the moment |
Call format | Run the call you sell: a committee call, a technical demo with a shared screen, a renewal. | 0 if not supported, 2 if it runs as sold |
Language | Run the scenario in each language your reps sell in. | 0 if any is missing, 2 if all work |
Real-call link | Score the same behavior on each rep's next real call. | 0 if no change, 2 if the miss is gone on most calls |
Cost | Get a written quote for the plan that includes practice. | 0 if practice needs a plan you would not otherwise buy, 2 if it fits the budget |
Record each score with a link to the session or call that earned it. At the end, decide: Showpad only, Showpad plus a practice tool, or a practice tool only.
Frequently asked questions
What is Showpad software used for?
Showpad is used by sales and marketing teams to store and govern sales content, share it with buyers in Shared Spaces, train and certify reps, coach with dashboards and competency evaluations, and practice with Roleplay AI and Pitch AI. Its plans include access on mobile, offline and in the browser, which suits field sales teams.
Is Showpad part of Bigtincan?
Showpad and Bigtincan are now one company under the Showpad brand. Vector Capital acquired Bigtincan in April 2025 and completed its acquisition of Showpad on October 30, 2025, combining the two. Bigtincan Hub and Brainshark are now sold as Showpad products, per Showpad's menu and press releases.
Who owns Showpad?
Vector Capital, a private equity firm, completed its acquisition of Showpad on October 30, 2025, per Showpad's press release. The same release says Insight Partners rolled over its full investment into the combined company, and that Apratim Purakayastha was named CEO of the combined Showpad and Bigtincan business.
How much does Showpad cost?
Showpad does not publish prices. Its pricing page, checked October 2026, lists Professional, Advanced and Expert plans, each sold through a quote, and says Showpad is licensed per user. Roleplay AI appears in the Advanced and Expert plans, so teams that want AI practice should price one of those.
Does Showpad have AI roleplay?
Yes. Showpad's Roleplay AI lets reps practice with an AI buyer avatar that can object or interrupt, with difficulty from Basic to Expert and up to 10 weighted feedback categories scored by a Virtual Coach. Its FAQ lists 14 supported languages. It is included in the Advanced and Expert plans.
Is there a Showpad app?
Yes. Showpad's pricing page says every plan includes access on mobile, offline and in the browser. Offline access lets field reps open approved content in front of a buyer without a connection. Ask which features, such as Roleplay AI, work in the mobile app.
What are the best Showpad alternatives for sales practice?
For teams whose main gap is conversation practice, dedicated roleplay tools such as Quotain, Hyperbound and Second Nature focus on rehearsing live calls with AI buyers. Mindtickle and Allego are enablement suites with AI role play built in. Many teams keep Showpad for content and training and pilot a practice tool beside it for one call type.
Decide what you are buying Showpad for
If the problem is content, offline access, training and certification across a large field team, put Showpad on the shortlist and price the plan you need. If the problem is reps rehearsing the calls they keep losing, run the pilot above with a dedicated practice tool before you move up a plan to get Roleplay AI. Compare suites in Quotain vs Mindtickle and Quotain vs Allego, see how onboarding and certification works with practice calls, try a free practice call, or book a demo with one upcoming deal to see a buyer built from it.