Defence tender intelligence · Checked 31 October 2026
DCI Contracts alternative: Zephior vs DCI (2026)
Choose Zephior if you want free tender search and then the bid itself written, with the buyer’s forms and template finished, at a published price. Choose DCI if you sell into defence and security and want specialist contract intelligence, spend analysis, frameworks and decision-maker contacts. DCI publishes no prices and describes no proposal writing.
Choose Zephior if
A team that wants to find tenders for free and have Ziva draft the response, fill the forms and assemble the package.
Choose DCI Contracts if
A defence, security or aerospace supplier that wants specialist market intelligence and early buyer engagement, and writes its bids itself.
At a glance
Zephior and DCI Contracts, fact by fact.
Every DCI Contracts entry links to its source and shows when we checked it. Where we could not find a published fact, we left the row out.
| Fact | Zephior | DCI Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | ZephiorOne published price per project. You choose how many new projects you open each month. | DCI ContractsNot published. Four packages (iconIQ, logIQ, dynamIQ, analytIQ) through a demo or trial. DCI plans(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
| Users included | ZephiorUnlimited users and unlimited company knowledge in every plan. | DCI Contracts1, 3, 5 or 5 licences depending on the package. DCI plans(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
| Trying it first | ZephiorStart paid, with a first-month money-back right: ask for a refund within the first month and you get the full amount back. | DCI ContractsFree trial and free demo on request. DCI plans(opens in a new tab)DCI homepage(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
| Public tender search | ZephiorYes. The public tender directory on zephior.com/tenders is free to browse, without an account. Ziva Intelligence, search and analysis for one country, is CHF 199 per month. | DCI ContractsPaid. Defence and public-sector opportunity search, tender alerts, awards and frameworks; UK and ROI as standard coverage. DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)DCI plans(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
| Full proposal package | ZephiorYes. Proposal, forms, pricing sheet and presentation as finished Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. | DCI ContractsNot described. Discounts on separate consultancy and training are listed per package. DCI plans(opens in a new tab)DCI homepage(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
Ziva prices exclude VAT. See current pricing for every plan and currency.
In their own words
Where DCI Contracts falls short.
Taken from DCI Contracts’s own pages and from public reviews, each with its source.
No public price
The plans page lists four packages, each leading to a demo or trial, with no amounts.
DCI plans(opens in a new tab)Licence counts by package
Packages include 1, 3 or 5 licences.
DCI plans(opens in a new tab)It stops at intelligence
DCI covers finding, analysing and engaging. Writing the response is not described.
DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)
Where Zephior goes further
What changes for your bid team.
Free search, then the bid
The public tender directory on zephior.com/tenders is free to browse without an account. When a tender fits, Ziva reads the full tender package and drafts the response.
Qualification on the documents
Before you commit a team, Ziva reads the tender documents against what your company can prove and shows where you are strong, where you are exposed and what only you can answer.
The submission files, finished
Ziva fills the buyer’s own Excel forms and price sheets, writes the proposal in their Word template and assembles the package as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.
A bid team when you need one
Our Zelius bid team can take on a tender with you in the same workspace, scoped per bid.
What DCI Contracts does well
- Deep focus on defence, security, aerospace, cyber and blue-light procurement. DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)
- Award data, spend analysis, frameworks and decision-maker contacts in one place. DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)
- A dedicated success manager and event and training benefits in every package. DCI plans(opens in a new tab)
Switching
Moving from DCI Contracts to Zephior.
- 1
Search the same market for free
Open zephior.com/tenders and search the countries and categories you monitor today. No account is needed to browse.
- 2
Take one tender into a bid
Pick a live tender, upload its documents and a few past bids into a Ziva project, and let Ziva qualify it and draft the response.
- 3
Measure the work left over
Measure what is left for your team: the forms, the price sheet and the proposal. That is where a bid is won or lost.
- 4
Decide on evidence
Each Ziva product has a first-month money-back right, so you can test it on a real bid before you change anything else.
Questions
Zephior vs DCI Contracts: straight answers.
How much does DCI cost?
DCI publishes no prices; you request a demo or trial. Zephior’s public tender directory on zephior.com/tenders is free to browse without an account.
DCI plans(opens in a new tab)Does DCI write bids?
Its pages describe intelligence, search and alerts, not proposal writing. Ziva drafts the response, fills the buyer’s forms and assembles the package.
DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)Who owns DCI?
Defence Contracts International is part of the BiP Group, based in Glasgow.
DCI homepage(opens in a new tab)Sources and method
We read DCI Contracts’s own website and, where noted, public review pages. Last full check: 31 October 2026. Review quotes are short excerpts from the named page. Zephior publishes this page and sells Ziva; our facts follow our published pricing and product pages. If anything about DCI Contracts has changed, tell us at hello@zephior.com and we will correct it.
Try it on a real bid
Bring a tender you know.
Compare what comes back.
Run a live tender, or one you submitted before, in your first month. If Ziva does not convince you, you get your money back.