Brandquad or Pimcore: how to choose a PIM system

A comparison of the Pimcore and Brandquad PIM systems with DAM features.
KT.Team experts analyzed the systems by these criteria: out-of-the-box features; which additional sales- and marketing-related functions can be connected; what integrations are available with 1C, ERP, and marketplaces; where the system can be hosted; whether custom development is possible if the out-of-the-box solution is not enough; and how much it costs to own the system. Reading time: 10 min.
When a CIS company plans to implement a PIM system, the choice most often comes down to two contenders: Pimcore and Brandquad.
Both systems make the same marketing promises: they will help bring order to product data, reduce the share of manual work, and contribute to higher sales. But…
The real differences — often the decisive ones for the business customer — lie deeper. Integrators are not always ready to talk about them, and vendor websites don't cover everything either.
Yet it is precisely these differences and system specifics that will ultimately determine how effective the implementation is and whether the PIM system delivers the expected results.
Having implemented PIM systems since 2020, we meet with business representatives every day and answer their questions about the features and nuances of popular PIM systems. In this article, KT.Team experts have gathered information on the PIM aspects that our clients pay attention to.
This will help make the choice of system more transparent and use the PIM and DAM implementation budget efficiently.
If you have not narrowed the choice to these two platforms yet, start with an overview all PIM systems on the CIS market and PIM selection methods.
This article is about the final choice between Brandquad and Pimcore in 2026: the SaaS speed of a closed platform versus the control and customization of open source.

Key point

In brief

The marketing promises of Brandquad and Pimcore are the same; the differences that matter to business buyers are deeper: deployment model, code openness, customization, and total cost of ownership.
Brandquad is SaaS only on the vendor's servers, with closed-source code and customizations available only through feature requests. The interface and support are in CIS, with a fast start.
Pimcore offers cloud and on-premise deployment, with open-source code on Symfony: any IT team familiar with the stack can customize it; some functions are available only in on-premise versions.
Cost: Brandquad is quote-based (KT.Team client example: 5 million RUB/year for a catalog of 125,000 SKUs); for Pimcore, the POCL license has applied since version 2025.1 - Community Edition is free only for non-production, nonprofits, educational institutions, and companies with revenue up to 5 million EUR/USD, while the full set is available in the commercial Enterprise Edition.
Brandquad is suited to a simple linear catalog with established processes; Pimcore is suited to companies of any size with complex multi-step workflows and dozens of roles.
The choice depends on your product data workflows: which features you need inside the PIM, and which customizations and integrations will be required.

The marketing promises are the same for both systems. The real differences lie deeper, and those are what ultimately determine whether the PIM system delivers the expected results.

Disclaimer: what we look at when analyzing a PIM system

When choosing the comparison criteria, we considered the goals companies usually set for implementing a PIM system.

Reaching these goals becomes a marker of how effectively the money invested in PIM is spent. A PIM system should bring order to product data.

This means it must centrally store all existing product information, product cards must not be duplicated, and the information must be complete and accurate. A PIM system should help improve sales metrics: number of buyers, average order value, upsells, repeat purchases, and so on.

Users of a PIM system should easily master its features without getting confused by buttons and sections. A PIM system should integrate easily with already existing systems.

This does not require writing complex, poorly maintainable integrations on a rare stack. A PIM system can be customized to fit a company's business-process specifics. For example, at one KT.Team client the PIM system is used by staff from several divisions and dozens of departments. Some enter data on new products, some enrich product cards with media files, some create marketing information and make decisions based on analytics, and so on.

Each role must have access to its own pool of data and only at a specific stage of the product lifecycle. A PIM system must meet the company's security requirements.

For some companies it is essential that the core of the system runs on their own servers, while others find SaaS (software as a service) solutions acceptable.

Based on these parameters, we put together a short outline for reviewing Pimcore and Brandquad: the out-of-the-box feature set (what the PIM can cover right after implementation, and what the development team will need to build in, taking your business-process specifics into account); which additional sales- and marketing-impacting features can be connected to the system; and how the PIM system can be integrated with an existing IT landscape - there is

ready-made APIs are available; where the system can be hosted (in the cloud or on your own servers); whether customization is possible if the out-of-the-box solution is not enough; and how much owning the system costs (licenses, cloud space, additional users, additional features).

Brandquad and Pimcore: key points

A detailed breakdown of each platform is below. If you need a decision right now, here are the key differences; system facts are based on vendor data.

Criterion	Brandquad	Pimcore
License and cost	SaaS subscription only, price on request; based on KT.Team's experience, 5 million RUB/year for a catalog of 125,000 SKUs	Since version 2025.1, the POCL license applies: Community Edition is free only for non-production and revenue up to 5 million EUR/USD; the full set is in Enterprise Edition (price on request)
Deployment	Cloud only on the vendor's servers	Cloud and on-premise (some functions are available only on-premise)
Core and customizations	Closed source; customizations only through vendor feature requests	Open source on Symfony; any IT team familiar with the stack can extend it
DAM and analytics	DAM plus digital shelf analytics: according to the vendor, price and review monitoring across 300+ channels	DAM, MDM, and DXP; alternative hierarchies and Classification Store for complex catalogs
Marketplaces (product pages, FBS/FBO)	Distribution algorithms prepare content for each channel's format; stock and pricing for FBS/FBO are handled by ERP/WMS	There are no built-in connectors to marketplaces: the integrator sets up exports via REST API/Datahub; stock and pricing for FBS/FBO are also handled by ERP/WMS
Integration with 1C and ERP	Ready-made API for 1C and SAP in the full version; the attribute set is limited	REST API and Pimcore Datahub, flexible endpoint configuration; the 1C integration is built by the integrator
Scale (vendor data)	Claims to manage more than 30 million SKU	Several million SKU
Who it's for	Simple linear catalog, established processes, fast launch without your own IT team	Complex catalog, multi-step workflows, dozens of roles, and a need for custom development

Where the PIM system sits in the product data flow

Sources

1C / SAP / ERPproduct pages, stock

Suppliersprice lists, content

PIM

PIM / DAMBrandquad or Pimcore

Customizationsfeature request ↔ your own Symfony code

Channels

MarketplacesOzon, Wildberries, Yandex Market

Website and catalogsAPI, exports

A PIM collects reliable product data and distributes it to channels. The difference between systems lies in the openness of customization and deployment options.

Brandquad platform overview

An ecosystem of products for working with product data

Includes PIM, DAM, and DSA modules (short for digital shelf analytics)

), e-commerce analytics, data distribution.

CIS is one of Brandquad's main interface languages, with documentation and support available in CIS.

As a result, CIS-speaking users learn the platform easily.

According to the vendor, the platform is designed to manage catalogs with more than 30 million SKU.

Brandquad: core features available out of the box

Brandquad has two out-of-the-box plans: PIM and PIM Lite.

Their core feature sets differ

Brandquad PIM and PIM Lite include: configurable product pages; automatic data validation and product-page completeness scoring; a product category tree; bulk data import; a module for configuring document approval workflows (with limitations); a system for monitoring product pages on retailer websites; attribute transliteration for publishing on English-language sites.

The following services and features are available only in the full version of Brandquad PIM: DAM tools; building product information models; links between products (for example, for upsells); configuring different levels of access to product pages and workflows by role; an unlimited number of public catalogs (PIM Lite has only one); sending the product catalog to sales channels (only within the functionality of the ready-made API; everything,

anything outside the scope of this API must be ordered separately from Brandquad).

Business users note that product search and filtering are well implemented in Brandquad; in Pimcore, which we discuss in the next part of the article, these features are less convenient and precise.

Custom export of reports or product selections by attributes, on the other hand, is not implemented.

To get these features, you must order the corresponding customization from the vendor.

Additional Brandquad features that help grow sales and improve marketing processes

Public catalog

A virtual storefront with a user interface synchronized with the PIM. It lets you show a catalog or product selection to any number of clients and send product information via API, mailings, or manual export directly from the catalog in CSV, PDF, XLSX, or XML formats.

300+ channels

E-commerce analytics module

Collects information on prices, reviews, and promotions from more than 300 platforms for both the company and its competitors.

BuyButton

A widget that can be added to a website (if it is not an online store) or the company's social media. A button, or a set of buttons if your product is listed on several channels, lets the customer open the product page on the sales channel they prefer.

Adobe and Figma plugins

Plugins for working with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Figma improve the handling of media assets and metadata.

Algorithms for distributing data to online marketplaces

Automated machine-learning algorithms that transform all required content into each retailer's or partner's format: from product names and marketing copy to image resolution and file names.

Brandquad: deployment options, integrations, and license pricing

Deployment options: Brandquad is available only as SaaS, meaning the company gets access to its own space on Brandquad's servers.
Integration capabilities: the full version includes a ready-made API for integration with 1C, SAP, the website, and more.
But the set of attributes and formats that can be passed through this API is limited.
To transfer a custom set of attributes, you need to order the relevant API customization from the vendor.
License pricing: Brandquad prepares each commercial proposal individually.
The annual payment depends on the system version, required resources, and number of users. For example, one KT.Team client with a catalog of 125,000 SKUs paid RUB 5 million per year.

Which companies Brandquad is right for

Brandquad is a fit if you need to quickly launch a product or digital asset management system and set up rapid publishing of information to marketplaces and digital catalogs. For example, for Campari Rus LLC KT.Team launched Brandquad from kickoff to production in two months: product data and images are updated in one click through the account dashboard.

Map out your integration landscape

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Pimcore platform overview

A multifunctional platform that has long gone beyond PIM.

Pimcore currently includes the PIM, MDM, DAM, and DXP modules (abbr

from English digital experience platform

), DCF (abbr

from English digital commerce framework). Using one or more of these modules, a company can configure a clear presentation of reliable information not only about a product, but also about related assets and customers.

Pimcore: core features available out of the box

All Pimcore editions (Community Edition and Enterprise Edition under the POCL license) include the following features: product catalogs of any complexity and dependency structure; product detail pages built with any logic and information model; links to value dictionaries for colors, sizes, materials, and so on; fields with calculated values (using mathematical formulas or composite values); links to media assets; card validation

and data; building workflows (business processes) for working with product information, from simple to complex; integration with external systems and applications; publishing to sales channels; multilingual support and AI translation of product page content; links between products (alternatives and upsells).

Only in paid Pimcore versions: PXM (abbr

from English product experience management

); PDS (abbr

from English product data syndication) - an analytics tool that helps increase sales and improve the customer experience across more than 2,500 channels; CDP (Customer Data Platform); building alternative hierarchies and category trees (a useful feature if several departments work with the same product, each requiring its own catalog and product-page logic); integration with Adobe and Microsoft products.

Additional Pimcore features that help grow sales and improve marketing processes

Customer Data Platform

Only in paid on-premise versions. Collects data on customer activity across different sales channels. Helps build customer profiles, segment audiences more accurately, unify user profiles, and automate some marketing tasks for content personalization.

Digital Commerce Framework

Only in on-premise versions. A framework for building automated omnichannel B2C commerce.

Digital Experience Platform

A headless platform for centrally managing content across multiple websites in different languages and for different target audiences. It covers a wide range of tasks, from content creation and adaptation to analytics and optimizing the digital customer experience.

Deployment options

: any Pimcore plan offers cloud and on-premise deployment options.

Customization capabilities

: Pimcore is an open-source platform built on the Symfony framework. Any IT team familiar with the stack can adapt the platform to unique processes and business specifics. IT integrators with several Pimcore implementation cases in their portfolio may have ready-made bundles (custom code enhancements) for your company's tasks and business-process specifics. Overall, Pimcore is quite flexible and includes many microservices and tools for different business tasks.

For example, one KT.Team client, a manufacturer of plumbing and bathroom products, had a catalog structure that required creating 300 classes (reference tables that product pages point to). That many classes significantly reduced system performance, so we used one of Pimcore's options, Classification Store. This option makes it possible to keep classes out of the main load and reference them only when needed, without affecting the performance of the PIM system overall.

The Classification Store option also lets you "package" additional product attributes and pull them into the card depending on the product category.

Integration capabilities

: Pimcore ships with a REST API out of the box. You can configure its endpoints in Pimcore Datahub to pass each system and each application exactly the set of attributes it needs.

Pimcore: license pricing

Since version 2025.1, Pimcore has moved to the POCL (Pimcore Open Core License) and offers two editions. According to the vendor, Community Edition is free only for non-production, nonprofits and educational institutions, and companies with revenue up to 5 million EUR/USD; it lacks some capabilities, including Product Experience Portal, Asset Experience Portal, the workflow editor, advanced syndication, and official support.

Enterprise Edition is the commercial POCL edition with the full set: Workflow Automation, Pimcore Copilot, Experience Portals, product data syndication, SLA, and long-term support (LTS); pricing is subscription-based and on request, and the number of deployments in an organization is unlimited. A detailed breakdown of licenses and total cost of ownership is in the article Pimcore 11.5 vs 2025: licenses and TCO; the platform capabilities overview is on the page Pimcore.

Which companies Pimcore is right for

Pimcore places no major limits on company size or profile, especially given its nearly unlimited customization potential. Community Edition under the POCL license (for non-production or revenue up to 5 million EUR/USD) is suitable for small businesses and large companies with relatively simple product management processes.

Enterprise Edition with the full feature set better meets the needs of large companies with complex processes - it lets you build multi-step workflows for product information that account for the involvement of multiple departments and dozens of roles.

For example, for Relief-Center KT.Team automated publishing from Pimcore to marketplaces and cut the launch of a new collection from 10 days to one, and for the music retailer Muztorg implemented PIM on Pimcore as a manageable and extensible catalog core.

Brandquad or Pimcore: which system fits when

When Brandquad

Companies with a linear product page structure and a small number of dependencies. Companies with a simple product catalog.
Companies whose product management processes are already established and change very little, and whose product page and category approval workflows are simple and short.
You need to quickly launch product or digital asset management and set up fast exports to marketplaces and electronic catalogs.
Deployment is only possible as SaaS, and vendor feature requests are enough for customizations.
A CIS-language interface, documentation, and support are important.

When Pimcore

A catalog of any complexity and interdependence; alternative hierarchies and category trees are needed for different departments.
Complex processes: multi-step workflows involving several departments and dozens of roles.
You need customizations for unique processes, implemented by your own IT team or a contractor - the open-source Symfony codebase makes this possible.
On-premise deployment is required, or some features are available only on-premise.
Budget is flexible: Community Edition is free for non-production and companies with revenue up to 5 million EUR/USD, while Enterprise Edition covers the full feature set for large businesses.

What questions to ask so you don't make a mistake when choosing a PIM system

The choice of a PIM system depends on your company's existing product information workflows. Before choosing a vendor, analyze the following points.

Which functions should be inside the PIM, and which can stay in other systems or be moved there? This can be worked through with a contractor during the pre-project assessment.
Are the out-of-the-box features enough? Are customizations needed? Consider the processes already in place at the company.
Which systems does the PIM need to integrate with? What information needs to be received and sent?
Which additional marketing and analytics options do you need?

For more on the seven steps required before implementing a PIM system, read our article Why You Can't Just Implement a PIM System. And to implement or adapt PIM for your processes - Brandquad, Pimcore, or another platform - helps KT.Team PIM/MDM team.

Sources

Checked on: 18.07.2026

pimcore.com - Pimcore Community and Enterprise editions (POCL license) - https://pimcore.com/en/products/edition/community ; https://pimcore.com/en/products/edition/enterprise
pimcore.com - Community Edition transition from GPLv3 to POCL - https://pimcore.com/en/resources/blog/breaking-free-pimcore-says-goodbye-to-gpl-and-enters-a-new-era-with-pocl
brandquad.ru - Brandquad platform: PIM, DAM, and digital shelf analytics - https://brandquad.ru/

Comparison of Brandquad and Pimcore - popular PIM systems in the CIS market

Disclaimer: what we look at when analyzing a PIM system

Brandquad and Pimcore: key points

Brandquad platform overview

An ecosystem of products for working with product data