Corpus vs SOQDraft: AI for SOQs and go/no-go at engineering firms
By Yermek Ibray, Founder & CEO, SalemWise Solutions. Every statement about SOQDraft comes from SOQDraft's own public pages as of October 10, 2026, linked inline and listed under Sources. Corpus statements can be checked in the live demo.
Who this is for
You run an engineering firm of 20 to 500 people, or you lead its business development. You want help deciding which RFQs to chase and getting the SOQ out faster. You asked an assistant about AI for SOQs and bid/no-go, and it named SOQDraft. Both products score an RFQ and draft an SOQ, so this page focuses on what each one works from, and how to test both on one real RFQ.
What each product is built to do
SOQDraft
SOQDraft calls itself AI proposal intelligence built for AEC firms (as of October 10, 2026). You upload an RFQ and SOQDraft scores it against your firm's project library, staff qualifications and agency history, then gives a bid-fit recommendation. It generates SOQs aimed at the evaluation criteria, flags weaknesses before the deadline, and exports to Word. Its home page says most firms generate a first SOQ within 2 hours of signup, that full library setup means importing past projects and staff by CSV, which takes 1 to 2 weeks, and that integration with CRM and ERP systems such as Cosential, Deltek and Unanet is on its roadmap. It says data is hosted on Vercel and Supabase, and names the third-party security audit each host holds. Its pricing page lists a free trial (3 SOQs, 1 user), Starter at $299 a month (10 SOQs, 1 user), Professional at $499 a month (25 SOQs, 3 users) and Firm at $849 a month (unlimited SOQs and users), billed monthly, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Corpus by SalemWise
Corpus by SalemWise is page-cited AI search over a company's own documents. Engineering firms are the first worked example. For them, Corpus reads the project record itself: reports, drawings, specs, calc packages and bid tabs. Each answer cites the document and page. Click a citation and the source page opens with the sentence highlighted. If the archive does not hold the answer, Corpus is designed to say "Nothing on file." On a new RFQ, it suggests bid/no-go scores with each scored factor linked to its sources. Fit, relationship and capacity stay your call. It drafts SOQ sections from your past projects with page citations, and flags what the archive cannot support for a person to write. It builds the fee with the math done by code. Arithmetic done in code is only as good as its inputs and formulas, so a qualified person still checks them. Set up for you: Corpus is cloud-agnostic. It runs on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or your own servers, with an open-weight model and no public AI API.
Side by side
| SOQDraft | Corpus by SalemWise | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | AEC proposal teams; self-serve sign-up | Principals, BD leads and engineers at engineering firms |
| Main job | Score an RFQ and generate a scoring-focused SOQ | Find facts in the project record and draft from them, with page citations |
| Works from | A project and staff library you import, plus agency history | Project files: reports, drawings, specs, calc packages, bid tabs |
| Go/No-Go | Bid-fit recommendation against your library | Suggested scores, each scored factor linked to its sources; fit, relationship and capacity stay your call |
| Fee | Not covered on the pages we read | Fee build with the math done by code, checked by a person |
| Setup | First SOQ within 2 hours; full CSV import of past projects and staff, 1 to 2 weeks | Pilot: we load a copy of up to 3 years of your project PDFs |
| Where it runs | Hosted on Vercel and Supabase; it names each host's security audit | Set up for you: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or your own servers |
| Price | Free trial; $299, $499 or $849 a month | $5,000 pilot; setup from $21,000, then $1,500 to $2,000 a month, no per-user fees |
When to choose SOQDraft
- You want to start today, on your own, at a low monthly price.
- Your past projects and staff are already in a clean list you can export to CSV.
- Your main need is a fast bid-fit read and a first SOQ draft aimed at the evaluation criteria.
- A hosted service fits your IT policy.
For a small firm with a tidy project list, SOQDraft costs far less to try than a Corpus pilot. That is a fair reason to start there.
When Corpus fits
- Your project list is not the problem. The facts the RFQ asks for are inside the reports, drawings, specs and bid tabs.
- You want each claim in the SOQ cited to a document and page a reviewer can open.
- You would rather hear "Nothing on file" than get a confident guess.
- You want a fee build from the same past projects.
- You need the files to stay on your own servers.
They can work together. A project list tells you which jobs to cite. Corpus shows what the firm actually did on them, page by page.
How to test both on one real RFQ
Do not decide from a feature list. Run one pursuit through both and count what you could check.
- Pick one RFQ you are pursuing now. Use your own files, not a sample.
- Write down five facts the SOQ must prove. For example: three similar projects from the last five years, the test standard you specified on one of them, and the unit prices from a recent bid tab.
- Ask each tool for those five facts. For each answer, open the source and time how long it takes to confirm it.
- Ask one question you know your files cannot answer. Note which tool says so and which one guesses.
- Compare the drafts your team would actually submit, and the hours it took to get there.
For SOQDraft, ask for a demo on your own content. For Corpus, start with the live demo. It holds a fictional sample firm's archive, built from real public engineering documents: about 7,000 pages of plan sets, geotech reports, specs, bid tabs and public RFQs. Then run your real RFQ in the pilot.
FAQ
Is Corpus a SOQDraft alternative?
Both score an RFQ and draft an SOQ. SOQDraft works from a project and staff library you import. Corpus works from the project files themselves and cites the page. Pick by where your facts live and how you need them checked.
Why does Corpus cost more than SOQDraft?
Corpus is set up for you on your archive, and can run on your own servers. That is setup work, which is why there is a $5,000 pilot and a setup fee, and no per-user fees. If a self-serve tool on an imported list covers your need, it will cost less.
Where do our files go with Corpus?
Set up for you: Corpus is cloud-agnostic. It runs on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or your own servers. It uses an open-weight model and nothing goes to a public AI API. In the pilot, your files are never used to train or fine-tune a model. In full deployment, fine-tuning on your files happens only if you agree in writing. We don't have a SOC 2 report, which is one reason you can choose your own hardware.
Next step
Book a free 30-minute call. Bring one RFQ you are pursuing now and tell us where the facts for it live. We will tell you plainly whether it is a Corpus problem, a SOQDraft problem, or both.
If it fits, the next step is the $5,000 pilot on one real pursuit. It takes about 2 to 3 weeks. We load a copy of up to 3 years of your project PDFs and run your RFQ through Corpus: a go/no-go scorecard, an SOQ draft with page citations to check, and a fee build. There is no integration work. The $5,000 is credited toward setup if you sign a deployment within 60 days of the pilot's end. Full deployment is from $21,000 setup, then $1,500 to $2,000 a month, with no per-user fees.
Want to look first? Try the live demo or read more about Corpus. Comparing other tools? See all our side-by-side guides.
Sources
Checked October 10, 2026:
- SOQDraft home page: what it does, project library, first SOQ and CSV setup, integrations on the roadmap, hosting
- SOQDraft pricing: Trial, Starter, Professional and Firm plans; monthly billing; 60-day money-back guarantee
SOQDraft is a name of its owner. SalemWise Solutions is not affiliated with SOQDraft. Check SOQDraft's pages for its current offer.
