Quotain vs Brainshark
Brainshark is the sales readiness product Bigtincan acquired, and Showpad's own pages now place it inside Showpad. brainshark.com currently describes readiness training, coaching, scorecards, and RolePlayAI text and audio practice. Quotain is AI sales roleplay software that builds buyers from your playbook, past calls, and deals. Seismic lists a Brainshark integration. Seismic's pages do not call Brainshark a Seismic product.
Thousands of hours of sales calls rehearsed on Quotain
Side by side. Where Quotain and Brainshark differ in 6 decision areas.
| Decision area | Quotain | Brainshark |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Focused voice practice from your own deals | Readiness courses, coaching, scorecards, and RolePlayAI, now under Showpad |
| Practice format | Live voice. Still portraits are the default. Animated video buyers are a paid add-on with no public price. | RolePlayAI: real-time text and audio, with a buyer personality, pain points, and a conversation goal set per activity |
| Where it sits | Practice product. Team plans include 30+ languages, four difficulty levels, and the public library of 32 scenarios. | Coaching, courses, and certifications. brainshark.com also describes lessons, scorecards, and games. |
| Ownership | Independent. Connects to Highspot and Seismic. | Bigtincan acquired Brainshark. Showpad and Bigtincan combined under Showpad on October 30, 2025. |
| Security | SOC 2 Type II audit in progress. SSO is not currently offered. | trust.bigtincan.com presents a Showpad trust center and lists Readiness Hub SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Bigtincan documents SAML 2.0 SSO. |
| Pricing | Starter at $50 and Pro at $100 per seat per month, each with a 7-day free trial. Enterprise is custom. | Bigtincan's pricing page lists Essential and Elite, both naming RolePlayAI, and publishes no dollar prices |
See where the team slips. Every attempt, by skill and rep.
Voice practice from real deals
Quotain builds AI buyers from your playbook, past calls, and deals. Reps speak with the buyer, get a score tied to the conversation, and retry the weak moment.
Team plans include 30+ languages and four difficulty levels. There are 32 roleplay scenarios in the public library. The default buyer image is a still portrait. Animated video buyers are a paid add-on, and Quotain has not published that price.
A 7-day free trial
Starter and Pro each start with a 7-day free trial before the first bill. Larger teams can scope an Enterprise plan for seats and setup.
Highspot and Seismic connections
Quotain connects to Highspot and Seismic. It also connects to Gong, Chorus, Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, Grain, Granola, Circleback, Salesforce, HubSpot, Attio, Salesloft, Clari, Notion, Confluence, SharePoint, Slack, Microsoft Teams, an MCP server, and Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 calendars. A Brainshark or Showpad connection is not part of that list.
Where Brainshark fits better. From Brainshark’s public product information, reviewed November 10, 2026.
RolePlayAI inside readiness programs
Bigtincan's RolePlayAI page says admins choose an audio or text activity, a communication style from intense to easygoing, the pain points to cover, and the goal of the conversation. Activities can be added to coaching challenges, onboarding programs, and certification courses.
brainshark.com, which now presents Bigtincan readiness, says sellers practice in real-time text and audio conversations with an AI that takes on different buyer personalities.
Brainshark is part of Showpad, through Bigtincan
Bigtincan announced an agreement to acquire Brainshark on August 23, 2021. The Showpad page that now hosts that release says Bigtincan and Showpad merged in 2025 and that Brainshark is now part of Showpad. Vector Capital's release on Bigtincan's site says it completed the Bigtincan acquisition on April 23, 2025. Showpad's October 30, 2025 release says Showpad and Bigtincan then combined under the Showpad brand. Showpad's April 13, 2026 spring release says the technology combination is complete.
On November 10, 2026, brainshark.com still described the readiness product, and Bigtincan's status page still listed a Brainshark component. A buyer pricing a new contract should also read /compare/quotain-vs-showpad, because that is the operating brand.
Seismic Exchange lists a Brainshark app
Seismic Exchange lists a Brainshark app. It embeds Brainshark Learning and Coaching in Seismic, returns Brainshark content in Seismic search, and sends usage data to LiveInsights. Seismic's merger and product pages describe the Highspot combination. Brainshark's ownership statements on Showpad's site place the product with Showpad.
Match the product to the buying job. The signals that point one way or the other.
Choose Quotain when
- Simulation quality and realistic buyer behavior lead the decision.
- Scenarios and scorecards must closely match your sales motion.
- The team wants to launch without adopting a broad enablement suite.
- The team wants to compare rollout time and complete cost in a matched pilot.
Choose Brainshark when
- The team already runs Brainshark or Bigtincan readiness and wants practice inside those courses and certifications.
- Text practice and audio practice both need to be available in the same activity setup.
- Readiness scorecards, lessons, and coaching need to stay in that product.
- You are moving the contract onto Showpad and want the readiness product included. Confirm that on the Showpad quote.
Run a fair pilot. One live deal, both vendors.
A feature list cannot prove simulation quality or adoption. Use the same live opportunity and score the work around the session, not only the polish of a sample bot.
- Step 1
Choose one current opportunity and one difficult buyer.
- Step 2
Give both vendors the same account notes, prior-call context, product facts, objections, and scorecard.
- Step 3
Time the work from source handoff to an approved simulation.
- Step 4
Have the same reps complete both simulations in randomized order.
- Step 5
Blind-review buyer realism, context retention, pressure, and score evidence.
- Step 6
Ask each rep to retry one weak moment and compare the manager workflow.
- Step 7
Compare complete first-year and renewal costs under the same assumptions.
Security and procurement. Treat requirements as requirements.
Bigtincan's pricing page, checked November 10, 2026, says to design a package with its team. Essential and Elite both list RolePlayAI, along with learning, coaching, content, and meetings. The page publishes no dollar prices. Because the operating company is Showpad, also ask Showpad which current package covers Brainshark or RolePlayAI. Showpad's comparison is at /compare/quotain-vs-showpad.
trust.bigtincan.com currently presents a Showpad trust center. It lists Readiness Hub SOC 2 Type II, Readiness Hub ISO 27001, and Showpad SOC 2 Type II, and says reports are available under NDA. Bigtincan's Okta page says Bigtincan supports SAML 2.0 single sign-on. Quotain's SOC 2 Type II audit is in progress, and Quotain does not currently offer SSO. Ask which report covers the Brainshark tenant you would use.
Quotain connects to Highspot and Seismic. A Brainshark connection is outside that published list. Seismic's Brainshark app is the Exchange listing that embeds Brainshark learning in Seismic.
Review Quotain’s current controls in the Trust Center.
Our recommendation. Decide on the workflow, then the vendor.
Choose Quotain when the team wants live voice practice from its own deals, with a 7-day free trial on published per-seat plans.
Choose Brainshark when the team wants RolePlayAI text and audio practice inside the Showpad and Bigtincan readiness program it already runs.
If both cases matter, run the same real opportunity through each product and let the evidence decide.
Built with the teams putting strategy into practice
This is actually super cool! I didn’t think it was going to be this good… the questions were literally the questions we hear every day.
Jonah PerryGTM Embedder
Common buying questions. About Quotain and Brainshark.
Is Brainshark part of Seismic?
Showpad's pages say Brainshark is now part of Showpad, after Bigtincan's 2021 acquisition and the Showpad and Bigtincan combination that closed on October 30, 2025. Seismic Exchange lists a separate Brainshark app that embeds Brainshark learning inside Seismic.
Is Brainshark still available?
Yes, as a readiness product. On November 10, 2026, brainshark.com presented Bigtincan readiness, including RolePlayAI, and Bigtincan's status page still listed a Brainshark component. Showpad's April 13, 2026 release says the Showpad and Bigtincan technology combination is complete, and its earlier customer note says existing products continue to be supported. Confirm the contract name on your quote.
What does Brainshark RolePlayAI include?
Bigtincan's RolePlayAI page describes audio or text activities, a communication style from intense to easygoing, pain points, and a conversation goal. brainshark.com says the AI uses different buyer personalities in real-time text and audio. The pages reviewed here do not publish a language count or a dollar price.
Is Quotain a Brainshark alternative?
Yes for AI sales practice and scoring. Quotain builds voice buyers from your playbook, past calls, and deals. Course libraries, readiness scorecards, and the Brainshark coaching program stay on the Showpad and Bigtincan side. Quotain connects to Highspot and Seismic, and this page does not claim a Brainshark connection.
What does Brainshark cost?
Bigtincan's pricing page does not publish dollar prices. It names Essential and Elite and lists RolePlayAI on both. Showpad, the current brand, also publishes no dollar prices and licenses per user. Quotain publishes Starter at $50 and Pro at $100 per seat per month, each with a 7-day free trial.
See what a more tailored simulation changes.
Bring one real deal. We build the simulation, and you compare it with Brainshark side by side.