The short answer
Highspot and Showpad are both sales enablement platforms built around governed content, with training, coaching and AI agents added on top. Highspot, now "Highspot by Seismic", leans toward a unified AI layer across content, training and deal signals; Showpad leans toward field sellers, with offline access, 3D product demos and agents that turn meeting notes into CRM updates and follow-up emails.
Most comparisons of the two are written by one of them about the other. This one describes each from its own site, read on 31 October 2026. For the wider map of coaching and enablement tools, see our guide to sales tools compared by the job they do.
What changed at both companies
Seismic announced on 18 August 2026 that it had completed its merger with Highspot. The combined company operates under the Seismic name, led by Seismic CEO Rob Tarkoff, and says it serves 2,500 customers and 3.5 million users. Highspot's home page now reads "Highspot is part of Seismic". Our Highspot vs Seismic piece covers what the merger means for each product line.
Showpad went through its own combination first. On 30 October 2025 Vector Capital completed its acquisition of Showpad and combined it with Bigtincan, its existing portfolio company, with the business operating under the Showpad brand and a new CEO, Apratim Purakayastha. Showpad's comparison page presents it as "the stable, field-first alternative". Both vendors are integrating acquired products, so ask each the same roadmap questions.
What each platform is built around
Highspot by Seismic calls itself "an AI platform for revenue execution that helps go-to-market teams turn intelligence into action". The home page puts three agents forward: a GTM Agent that "spots gaps in content, training, and plays", a Deal Agent that "works alongside sellers in every active deal, spotting risk, recommending next moves, and building follow-up", and AI Role Play for practicing "high-stakes conversations before they happen".
Showpad calls itself "the revenue effectiveness platform for field teams who can't afford to slow down". Its homepage leads with "medical devices that save lives" and "equipment that powers cities", a Field Seller Agent that turns "meeting insights into CRM updates and email follow-ups", Authoring AI for training, and a Roleplay AI avatar "who knows your industry and competitors, interrupts, and objects". Showpad Genie is described as "the platform's AI core that learns how your company wins".
Side by side
Every cell comes from the vendor's own pages.
| The decision | Highspot by Seismic | Showpad |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Governed content plus one AI layer across plays, training and deal signals | Governed content for field sellers, online or offline |
| Field selling | Not a focus of the pages read | Offline-first, 3D and AR product presentations, Field Seller Agent |
| Deal help | Deal Agent: risk, next steps, follow-up, Digital Rooms | Genie Agents for outreach, research, competitive answers, business cases, RFPs |
| Practice | AI Role Play, including roleplays generated from live deal context | Roleplay AI avatar that interrupts and objects |
| Coaching | Skill assessments, Meeting Agent feedback, manager scorecards | Sales readiness with "skills, practice, and real-time coaching" |
| Integrations | "100+ integrations", MCP Server | "75+ pre-built integrations", open API, MCP connections |
| Pricing published | Three packages, figures by conversation | Per-user licensing in three packages, figures by conversation |
Read down the columns and one difference keeps coming back. Highspot sells a single AI layer that connects everything a rep sees; Showpad sells fit for the rep standing in a customer's plant without a signal.
Questions to put to both vendors
Both companies are integrating acquired products, and both price by conversation. The same short list of questions, asked of each, makes the answers comparable. Each platform now pitches to everyone who talks to a customer, so bring a front-line manager and a field rep into the demos alongside enablement, and ask each vendor to show the part of the product that person would use on a Tuesday.
- Which parts of the product we would buy came from the acquisition, and which are being rebuilt or retired in the next year?
- Show the AI roleplay on a scenario from our own pipeline. Who writes the scenario, and how long does it take?
- Score ten of our recorded calls. How close is your order to the order our managers gave them? (The test is set out below.)
- What does a field rep see with no signal, and what syncs back when they reconnect?
- Which integrations are pre-built for our CRM and call recorder, and which need the API?
- Which package includes the agents you demoed, and what does each package cost for our team size?
Write the answers into one sheet as you go, with a line for what a good answer sounds like before either demo starts. Gaps in one column usually tell you more than a polished answer in the other.
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like | Highspot | Showpad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Acquired parts | Named modules, a dated plan for each | "Everything is on one platform now" | ||
| 2. Roleplay on our scenario | Built live in the demo from a deal you supply | A stock scenario with your logo on it | ||
| 3. Scoring ten calls | Rank order compared with your managers', in writing | One average accuracy figure | ||
| 4. Offline | A walk-through on a phone in airplane mode | "Most content is cached" | ||
| 5. Integrations | Your CRM and recorder named as pre-built | "We have an API for that" | ||
| 6. Package and price | The package that carries each demoed agent, priced for your seat count | "Let's scope that after the pilot" |
Where Highspot fits better
Highspot fits a team that wants content, plays, training and coaching run from one platform and measured together. Its pricing page describes three packages that build on each other: "Equip and engage", "Train and practice", and "Coach and reinforce", the last adding "Highspot Agents with deal, meeting, and performance context".
Highspot's Deal Agent goes further into the open opportunity than most enablement suites. It "brings together your calls, emails, and CRM data and buyer activity", flags "missing buying-group stakeholders", and "creates role plays from real deal context". For a team already on Seismic, the merged roadmap is the other reason to look here first.
Where Showpad fits better
Showpad fits field sales in regulated or product-heavy industries. Its platform page names healthcare, chemicals and manufacturing, and describes "3D models, AR environments, collaborative workspaces" for buyers who want to see a physical product. Content works "on any device, online or off".
Its agent library is aimed at the paperwork a field rep hates: an RFP Response Agent, a Business Case Agent that "converts discovery notes into a CFO-ready executive summary", and a Competitive Intelligence Agent that "delivers approved responses the moment a competitor comes up". Genie Agent Studio lets a team build its own.
Coaching on both platforms
Both platforms coach skills. Highspot describes "AI-powered 360° assessments" that combine manager, rep and enablement input with buyer and performance data, a Meeting Agent that "connects call signals, prospect feedback, and your go-to-market skill framework", and "Manager Scorecards to compare performance and prioritize coaching tasks". Showpad promises to "combine proven skills, practice, and real-time coaching" and to "prepare sellers for pushback before they face buyers live".
Both pages describe coaching the rep's skill against a framework, with deal signals feeding in. That is a good fit for enablement leaders running readiness programs.
Putting the AI feedback to a test
Both platforms now put AI feedback on calls and practice sessions, so test that feedback on your own recordings before you sign. The test takes about an afternoon of manager time:
- Pick ten recorded calls from the last quarter, including two you know went badly and one messy multi-party call.
- Have two managers rank the ten from best to worst on your own scorecard, separately, before either vendor sees them.
- Give the same ten calls to each platform and take its scores without anyone adjusting them.
- Compare each platform's order with the managers' order, and read every quote in the AI feedback against the transcript.
Judge it on ranking. In our call-scoring research, a scorer that never read the transcript landed an average error of 0.41 against 0.43 for the best real model, so a low average error on its own proves little.
The deal nobody has time to work
Some teams comparing Highspot and Showpad have a different problem: deals stall between calls because no manager has time to work each one with the rep. Content and skill scores help, but someone still has to sit with the rep, hear what the buyer said, name what the deal is missing and agree the next move. Our AI sales experts do that job, so read this section knowing who wrote it.
On a call with Caty, the rep talks through the live deal the way they would with a manager, typing only when they cannot talk. She asks for the buyer's evidence, finds the gap in the team's own method (MEDDPICC, SPICED or a house playbook) and leaves the rep with the next conversation planned. The platform runs roleplay as well, against the stakeholder the rep is about to meet, and it remembers every deal. Managers get a read across the team from Bryce. Highspot or Showpad stays in place for content. Our side-by-side is with Highspot, and the category is explained in the AI sales coaching guide.
The full evaluation checklist is in how to evaluate AI sales coaching software. If Mindtickle is also on your list, see Mindtickle vs Highspot, and the wider field is on our best AI sales coaching software page. Field teams with more deals than manager hours can see how it works for teams.
FAQ
Is Highspot part of Seismic now? Yes, Seismic announced on 18 August 2026 that it had completed its merger with Highspot. The combined company operates under the Seismic name, and Highspot's site now presents the product as Highspot by Seismic and says "Highspot is part of Seismic". Seismic says the combined company serves 2,500 customers and 3.5 million users.
Is Showpad still an independent company? Showpad is owned by Vector Capital, which completed its acquisition on 30 October 2025 and combined Showpad with Bigtincan, another Vector portfolio company. The business operates under the Showpad brand. Showpad's own site says "Bigtincan Hub is now part of Showpad".
Is Showpad better than Highspot for field sales? Showpad's pages are written for field sellers: offline and mobile access, 3D and AR product presentations, and a Field Seller Agent that turns meeting notes into CRM updates and follow-up emails. Highspot's pages do not lead on field selling. If reps sell on site without reliable connectivity, start the evaluation with Showpad.
Do Highspot and Showpad have AI roleplay? Both platforms offer AI roleplay. Highspot's AI Role Play lets sellers practice with multi-persona AI buyers, and its Deal Agent builds roleplays from live deal context. Showpad's Roleplay AI avatar is described as knowing your industry and competitors and as interrupting and objecting. Test both on a scenario from your own pipeline.
How much do Highspot and Showpad cost? Neither Highspot nor Showpad publishes prices. Highspot's pricing page lists three packages and asks for team size before quoting. Showpad's pricing page lists Professional, Advanced and Expert packages and says it is licensed per user. Both quote after a conversation with sales.