Tender platform · Checked 31 October 2026
Mercell alternative: Zephior vs Mercell for suppliers (2026)
Choose Zephior if you want free tender search, a published price and the bid itself written, with the buyer’s files finished. Keep Mercell where buyers run their tenders on it, because you submit there. As a paid supplier subscription for finding tenders, Mercell publishes no price, and reviewers report long notice periods and price rises.
Choose Zephior if
You want search across portals for free, a known price for bid work, and the forms, price sheets and proposal prepared for you to submit.
Choose Mercell if
Many of your buyers publish and receive bids on Mercell, and you want its supplier feed and market data alongside the submission portal.
At a glance
Zephior and Mercell, fact by fact.
Every Mercell 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 | Mercell |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | ZephiorOne published price per project. You choose how many new projects you open each month. | MercellNot published on the supplier pages. Mercell for suppliers(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. | MercellFree for 14 days, no credit card required. Mercell for suppliers(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. | MercellPaid. Tender discovery and market intelligence for suppliers, on a platform with more than 800,000 users. Mercell for suppliers(opens in a new tab)Mercell homepage(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. | MercellAI Bid Buddy suggests answers from your document library; more capabilities are announced. A bid workspace brings documents, deadlines and submission together. Mercell AI bid assistance(opens in a new tab)Mercell Bid Delivery(opens in a new tab) Checked 31 October 2026 |
| Bid help from people | ZephiorYes. Our Zelius bid team can take on a tender with you, scoped per bid. | MercellBid Excellence offers training and certification. Mercell for suppliers(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 Mercell falls short.
Taken from Mercell’s own pages and from public reviews, each with its source.
No public supplier price
The supplier pages offer a trial and a sales conversation, without a price.
Mercell for suppliers(opens in a new tab)Hard to leave, according to reviewers
Reviews of Mercell Svenska on Reco.se average 1.3 out of 5. Reviewers describe a 90-day notice period, a 50% price increase and trouble reaching support to cancel.
“Kräver uppsägning minst 90 dagar innan”
Mercell Svenska AB reviews on Reco.se(opens in a new tab)AI drafting is still to come
The AI assistant suggests answers from your documents. Further capabilities are announced as coming.
Mercell AI bid assistance(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 Mercell does well
- A large buyer network: many public buyers run their tenders on Mercell. Mercell homepage(opens in a new tab)
- Supplier discovery, market intelligence and a bid workspace with submission in one place. Mercell for suppliers(opens in a new tab)Mercell Bid Delivery(opens in a new tab)
Switching
Moving from Mercell 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 Mercell: straight answers.
Is Zephior’s tender search free?
Yes. The public tender directory on zephior.com/tenders is free to browse, without an account or trial. Mercell offers a 14-day trial and does not publish its supplier price.
Mercell for suppliers(opens in a new tab)Do we still need Mercell to submit?
Yes, when the buyer runs the tender on Mercell. Ziva prepares the documents, forms and price sheets; you submit them on the buyer’s portal.
Does Mercell write the bid?
No. Its AI assistant suggests answers from your document library. Ziva writes the proposal in the buyer’s template and fills their spreadsheets and forms.
Mercell AI bid assistance(opens in a new tab)Is there a minimum term with Ziva?
No. A monthly Ziva plan runs month to month, and annual billing saves 10%.
Sources and method
We read Mercell’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 Mercell 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.