# Cathago alternatives: 3 options compared (2026)

> Cathago alternatives compared: Streckenheld, Comstruct and Vestigas on ordering, delivery notes, invoice checks, tendering and payment approval.

Cathago is AI software for construction companies that brings ordering, delivery notes and invoice checking together in one platform. The companies looking for alternatives usually want tendering and payment approval as well, want to set up their own checking rules in detail, or simply want to compare several providers before deciding. This article sets Cathago and three alternatives side by side.

> **Disclosure:** This comparison is published by Streckenheld. Information about other providers comes from their public websites (as of October 2026) and may have changed since. If you spot an error or an update, please let us know at hello@streckenheld.com.

## Cathago at a glance

Cathago's website is in German. Its headline reads "Bestellt. Geliefert. Geprüft. Mit KI-Software für Bauunternehmen." ("Ordered. Delivered. Checked. With AI software for construction companies."). The footer describes it as "Die KI-Software für Bauunternehmen: Einkauf, Lieferscheine und Rechnungsprüfung auf einer Plattform" (AI software for construction companies: purchasing, delivery notes and invoice checking on one platform). The slogan "Warten Sie nicht auf Ihre Lieferanten. Standardisieren Sie selbst." (Don't wait for your suppliers. Standardise yourself.) sums up the approach: Cathago digitises supplier documents even when the suppliers themselves still work on paper.

The website names its target customers as primarily building and civil engineering firms in the DACH region. The smallest plan is explicitly for trades and small construction firms, the larger plans for mid-sized and large companies.

The modules:

- **Ordering:** ordering via app, a construction-site shop, a catalog and framework-contract manager with catalogs from Excel to BMEcat, project price lists, tracking of phone orders and pickups, and maverick-buying analysis. App orders come with approval settings.
- **Order confirmations:** an automated confirmation check that matches the confirmation to the order and flags deviations.
- **Delivery notes:** photo AI that reads supplier, items, quantities and signature; digital supplier data via EDI/API; goods receipt and defect reporting in the app; and a delivery calendar. A format called "1Lieferschein" has been announced.
- **Invoice checking:** every invoice is checked against order, confirmation and delivery note, marketed as a four-way match. Prices are checked against supplier price lists and framework contracts, and invoices are coded automatically to creditor and cost center. According to the magazine, tolerances can be defined.
- **E-invoicing:** receives XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, PDF, paper, XML and JSON.
- **Analytics:** price histories, project costs and supplier and article analyses in every plan.

Its strengths include a supplier network of more than 4,000 suppliers by its own account, with Cathago proactively connecting suppliers for its customers via EDI/API; the mobile app for ordering, goods receipt and signatures; and a broad list of integrations: Nevaris, RIB (iTWO), BRZ, pds, Cosmo Consult, Label Software and Bau für Windows on the ERP side, DATEV for accounting, plus JobRouter, DocuWare and other DMS, and single sign-on via Microsoft, Google and Okta. According to its security page, the AI is based on Google Gemini and Claude, and customer data is not used for model training.

**Profile:** CATHAGO Technology UG, Berlin, founded 2021. Website in German.

## Why companies look for alternatives to Cathago

Cathago covers ordering, delivery notes and invoice checking thoroughly. The reasons for comparing usually lie at the edges of that chain, or in how closely the software can follow a company's own processes:

- **Tendering and bid comparison:** RFQs to several suppliers and a bid comparison are not described on the product pages. The topic only appears in the magazine.
- **GAEB:** importing or exporting GAEB files is not described on the website.
- **Payment approval and payment:** payment approval or generating a payment file is not described on the website.
- **Your own checking rules:** tolerances and approval settings are described. How further company-specific rules are set up is barely documented on the website.
- **Plan limits:** the plans are tiered by the number of suppliers, active projects and users. For growing companies that can be a factor in the comparison.

## The alternatives

### 1. Streckenheld

Streckenheld is an AI platform for construction companies and building-material dealers that covers the chain from RFQ to payment approval. In ordering, delivery notes and invoice checking it overlaps heavily with Cathago. On top of that core it adds functions before and after:

- **RFQ and award:** send a BoQ or bill of materials to several suppliers and subcontractors with deadlines and automatic reminders, compare offers in a line-by-line price matrix with AI matching, and use the negotiation co-pilot. Accepting an offer creates a contract. More in the [quote requests](https://www.streckenheld.com/guides/quote-requests.md) guide.
- **GAEB:** import of GAEB DA XML (X80–X86), export of X83/X84. Background in the knowledge article on [GAEB](https://www.streckenheld.com/knowledge/gaeb.md).
- **Ordering:** from catalogs and framework contracts, multi-step approval with spend limits, automatic email to the supplier.
- **Document intake:** email forwarding, WhatsApp photo, upload and integrations. Text recognition also reads handwriting, site photos and margin notes.
- **Matching:** order against confirmation including delivery date and address, confirmation and order against invoice, invoice against delivery notes, plus contract prices, payment terms and early-payment discount. Details on the [invoice verification](https://www.streckenheld.com/invoice-verification.md) page.
- **Payment:** multi-step approval, a SEPA file (pain.001) from approved invoices with execution dates that respect the discount deadline, and reminders before discount and due dates.
- **Classification:** every line classified automatically into ECLASS product categories and trades.

The website names ERP integrations with BRZ, Nevaris, RIB and PDS. Hosting is in the EU, and customer data is not used for training. Prices are not public; Streckenheld charges per active site plus modules.

**Best fit:** construction companies that want tendering, ordering, document matching and payment approval in one platform and need to set their own rules flexibly, as well as building-material dealers.

### 2. Comstruct

Munich-based Comstruct describes itself as "AI agents for construction" and automates procurement "from the Bill of Quantities to the fully matched invoice". The website sums up its offer as five modules forming one data strand from the BoQ to the document: a BoQ becomes a structured enquiry "in seconds", offers are compared line by line, and the site also mentions 'automatic renegotiation'. Framework contracts and call-offs run through an approval chain; delivery notes arrive as paper, PDF, EDI or photo and are assigned to the matching framework agreement. The invoice check matches against the BoQ, framework contract and delivery note and codes invoices automatically.

Its strengths are the continuous line from BoQ to invoice, ESG data with CO₂ figures and EPDs per material, and integrations such as RIB, SAP, BRZ, Abacus and Power BI. Comstruct shows an ISO/IEC 27001 badge. Order-confirmation checks, e-invoicing and payment approval are not described on its website. More in the comparison of [Comstruct alternatives](https://www.streckenheld.com/alternatives/comstruct.md).

**Best fit:** large general contractors and infrastructure companies in Switzerland and Germany that buy through framework contracts and call-offs.

### 3. Vestigas

Vestigas, based in Munich and founded in 2021 out of a TUM research project, describes itself as an AI supply chain for construction and industry. Its focus is digital delivery notes: structured data via EDI from what it says are more than 1,000 connected suppliers, an AI scan that "learns from corrections", and an offline-capable site app for iOS and Android with a GoBD-compliant signature. It adds concrete testing, contracts and call-offs, a three-way match with configurable tolerances, monitoring of discount deadlines and Scope 3 CO₂ reporting. Vestigas is free for suppliers.

Tendering and awarding are not described on its website. Order-confirmation upload and AI cost allocation are announced as coming soon.

**Best fit:** contractors, dealers and plants for whom a large EDI supplier network and a robust site app come first.

## Comparison table

| Feature | Cathago | Streckenheld | Comstruct | Vestigas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tendering & bid comparison | not described | ✓ RFQs to several suppliers and subcontractors, line-by-line price matrix | ✓ BoQ → enquiry, bid comparison, 'automatic renegotiation' | not described |
| GAEB | not described | ✓ import (X80–X86), export X83/X84 | not described | not described |
| Ordering & approvals | ✓ app, site shop, approval settings | ✓ from catalogs and contracts, multi-step approval with spend limits | ✓ call-offs with approval chain | ✓ call-offs from contracts |
| Order-confirmation check | ✓ | ✓ incl. delivery date and address | not described | supplier confirms call-off; AB upload announced as coming soon |
| Delivery notes | ✓ photo AI, EDI/API, site app | ✓ email, WhatsApp photo, upload, integrations; handwritten notes too | ✓ paper, PDF, EDI, photo | ✓ EDI (1,000+ suppliers), AI scan, offline app with signature |
| Invoice check | ✓ 4-way match, price lists and framework contracts | ✓ 4-way match, contract prices, payment terms and early-payment discount | ✓ against BoQ, framework contract and delivery note, with coding | ✓ 3-way match with tolerances |
| Payment approval & SEPA | not described | ✓ multi-step approval, SEPA file with discount dates | not described | discount deadlines monitored; payment approval not described |
| E-invoices (receiving) | ✓ XRechnung, ZUGFeRD | ZUGFeRD/Factur-X; pure XRechnung on request | not described | ✓ XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, EB-Interface |
| Classification | not described | ✓ automatic ECLASS (product categories and trades) | grouping by material category | not described |
| Fit to your own rules | tolerances, approval settings | rules as AI instructions, typical 2-week onboarding | 'your rules remain with you' | tolerances; learns from corrections |
| Built for | building and civil engineering firms in DACH, incl. trades | construction companies and building-material dealers | large GCs and infrastructure, Switzerland and Germany | contractors, dealers, plants; free for suppliers |

"Not described" means not described on the provider's website (as of October 2026). The feature may still exist or may have been added since.

## When Cathago is still the right choice

- **Ordering on site is the priority.** With its app, site shop, catalogs from Excel to BMEcat and tracking of phone orders and pickups, Cathago offers well-developed site ordering.
- **You want suppliers connected for you.** The network of more than 4,000 suppliers and Cathago's proactive EDI/API onboarding take work off the purchasing team.
- **The integration list is an exact match.** If you use DATEV, Bau für Windows, JobRouter or DocuWare, or need single sign-on via Okta, you will find these systems on its integrations page.
- **Tendering and payments already run elsewhere.** If awarding and payments work well in your existing systems, Cathago covers the part in between thoroughly, with a dedicated plan for trades and small construction firms.

## Where Streckenheld is different

Cathago and Streckenheld cover much of the same work: ordering, confirmation checks, delivery notes and the four-way match. The differences lie in three areas.

**1. The whole chain in one platform.** Streckenheld starts before the order and ends after the invoice check: RFQ and award, ordering and approval, delivery and delivery calendar, the [four-way match](https://www.streckenheld.com/knowledge/four-way-match.md), payment approval and the SEPA file. Tendering with a price matrix, GAEB, and payment approval with SEPA are not described on Cathago's website.

**2. Your own rules as AI instructions.** In Streckenheld, customer rules such as approval limits, site workflows, ERP terminology, tolerated deviations and supplier-specific identifiers are written as plain-language instructions that the AI follows (the "AI Harness"). Edge cases are added during the typical two-week onboarding. A few examples:

- A supplier prints its own order or project number on every document. That identifier is set up as a rule and used to group related orders, confirmations, delivery notes and invoices.
- Matching is not limited to order against invoice: Streckenheld also compares order against confirmation, or any group of orders, confirmations, delivery notes and invoices, for example a collective invoice covering several partial deliveries.
- Delivery-note numbers printed on the invoice are read and linked to the matching delivery notes, even on handwritten documents.

**3. Follow-ups and the delivery calendar.** When an invoice has no delivery note yet, or an order has no confirmation yet, Streckenheld chases the supplier automatically. These chasers can be switched on per supplier and also triggered by hand or through the AI assistant. Every document received feeds the site's delivery calendar. Cathago also has a delivery calendar. In Streckenheld you can additionally ask the supplier or carrier to confirm the delivery date with one click or through the AI assistant. When they confirm or correct the date, the answer updates the document, the purchase order and the calendar, so site management plans with more reliable dates.

Which solution fits depends on how much of the chain you want in one platform and how specific your rules are. If you would like to see Streckenheld with your own documents, [book a demo](https://www.streckenheld.com/demo).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best alternative to Cathago?

It depends on what else you need. If you want tendering, a price matrix and payment approval with a SEPA file in the same platform, look at Streckenheld. Comstruct, with BoQ-based enquiries and framework contracts, is aimed mainly at large general contractors. Vestigas is strong on digital delivery notes through an EDI supplier network and on its site app.

### How much does Cathago cost?

Cathago does not publish prices. Its website lists three plans (S, M, L) with caps on suppliers, active projects and users, plus the add-on modules ordering, delivery notes and invoice checking. Streckenheld does not publish prices either; it charges per active site plus modules.

### Does Cathago offer tendering or a price matrix?

Tendering with a price matrix is not described on Cathago's product pages (as of October 2026). The topic appears in its magazine, for example in an article on building a price matrix for material offers. Streckenheld and Comstruct describe RFQs and bid comparison as product features.

### How long does a Cathago rollout take compared with the others?

Cathago describes guided onboarding with a pilot phase; a webinar mentions a switch in just four weeks. Streckenheld states a typical two-week onboarding, Vestigas a pilot of about eight weeks on one to three sites. Comstruct says ‘in days, not months’ without a concrete timeline.

### Can Cathago receive e-invoices?

Yes. According to its website, Cathago receives XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, PDF, paper, XML and JSON. Sending e-invoices is not described on the website. Streckenheld reads ZUGFeRD and Factur-X; processing pure XRechnung files is available on request.

## Read next

- [Comstruct alternatives: 3 options compared (2026)](https://www.streckenheld.com/alternatives/comstruct.md): Comstruct alternatives compared: Streckenheld, Cathago and Vestigas on tendering, ordering, delivery notes, invoice checks and payment approval.
- [Vestigas alternatives: 3 options compared (2026)](https://www.streckenheld.com/alternatives/vestigas.md): Vestigas alternatives compared: Streckenheld, Cathago and Comstruct. Features from tendering to payment approval, strengths and best fit for each.
- [Invoice Verification for Construction Firms](https://www.streckenheld.com/invoice-verification.md): Invoice verification for construction: four-way match of order, confirmation, delivery note and invoice, contract prices, Skonto deadlines and SEPA export.
- [Four-way match: order, confirmation, delivery note, invoice](https://www.streckenheld.com/knowledge/four-way-match.md): What a four-way match is, how it differs from two- and three-way matching, and which deviations are typical on building-material invoices, with an example.

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Source: https://www.streckenheld.com/alternatives/cathago
Other languages: [Deutsch](https://www.streckenheld.com/alternativen/cathago.md)
Streckenheld: https://www.streckenheld.com/llms.txt · Contact: https://www.streckenheld.com/contact · hello@streckenheld.com