Top Highspot Alternatives for Startups & SMBs (2025 Guide)
You don't need 'Sales Enablement Governance.' You just need to close deals. Here's why modern teams are skipping enterprise platforms like Highspot.
Top Highspot Alternatives for Startups & SMBs
You don't need "Sales Enablement Governance." You just need to close deals.
If you are a Sales Enablement Director at a Fortune 500 company with 2,000 sales reps, you should buy Highspot. It is an incredible platform for governance, compliance, and managing a library of 50,000 assets.
But if you are a fast-moving startup or SMB? Highspot might be the wrong tool.
We talk to sales leaders every day who are "downgrading" from enterprise platforms. Their complaints are always the same:
It takes 6 months to set up.
My reps don't use it because it's too complicated.
We are paying for 50 features we never touch.
You don't need a "Content Governance System." You need a Digital Sales Room that helps you close.
Here are the best alternatives if you want speed over complexity.
1. Distribute (The "Agile" Choice)
Best for: Deal-focused teams who want to create bespoke buying experiences in seconds.
Highspot is built for Marketing to organize files. Distribute is built for Sales to close deals.
Setup Time
Minutes, not months.
The Difference
Instead of a rigid library, Distribute is a flexible builder (like Notion). You can spin up a custom microsite for a prospect, embed a video, add a Mutual Action Plan, and hit send.
Why Reps Love It: It feels like a sales tool, not a compliance tool.
Highspot's enterprise interface vs. Distribute's deal-focused simplicity
2. DocSend (The "Utility" Choice)
Best for: Founders and early-stage teams sending pitch decks.
If you don't need "rooms" or "microsites" and just want to track a single PDF, DocSend is the standard. It lacks the collaboration features of a DSR, but it's a fraction of the cost of Highspot.
3. PandaDoc / Proposify (The "Contract" Choice)
Best for: Teams who only care about the signature.
These tools are great for the very bottom of the funnel (getting the ink). However, they struggle with the "middle of the funnel"—the education, the case studies, and the stakeholder management that happens before the contract.
The "Shelfware" Trap
The biggest risk with buying enterprise software is that it becomes "Shelfware"—software you pay for but sits on the shelf.
Highspot requires a dedicated admin to manage. If you don't have a full-time "Sales Enablement Manager" on staff, your Highspot instance will likely become a messy graveyard of outdated content within six months.
The Complexity Curve: Enterprise tools require dedicated resources that most SMBs don't have
Summary: Buy for Your Stage
Don't buy a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.
Buy Highspot
If you need enterprise governance
- ✓You need to lock down compliance across 50 global offices
- ✓You have 2,000+ sales reps
- ✓You have a full-time Sales Enablement Manager
- ✓You manage 50,000+ content assets
Buy Distribute
If you need to close deals fast
- ✓You need to empower your reps to move fast
- ✓You want to stand out from competitors
- ✓You need to close deals today, not in 6 months
- ✓You want a tool reps will actually use
Highspot was built for the enterprise era of sales enablement.
Distribute is built for the agile era of closing deals.
Try Distribute Free
Distribute Team
Content Specialist at Distribute. Exploring the intersection of AI, sales, and buyer enablement.
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