Distribution Engine VS Ortoo Q-assign.

One platform for Salesforce lead routing, case routing, and everything in between.

Sales and service teams need Salesforce routing software they can configure and run themselves — not a product where the vendor's team does the heavy lifting every time something needs to change. See why high-growth Salesforce teams choose Distribution Engine over Ortoo Q-assign.

Trusted by Salesforce teams worldwide.

The lowdown

Q-assign is capable. But read this first.

Q-assign is a well-established Salesforce routing tool with real capability. Before you finalise your shortlist, a few things are worth understanding.

Vendor reliance.

Q-assign works, but most customers rely heavily on Ortoo's team to configure and manage their routing. The operational knowledge tends to live with the vendor, not with your ops team. When something needs to change, you're calling Ortoo.

Takes getting used to.

Even satisfied customers describe a configuration experience that requires exploration and patience to navigate. The support team compensates, which is why they feature so prominently in reviews.

Opaque pricing.

Q-assign lists a starting price of $21 per user per month, but what's included at that level isn't clear. To get the functionality most teams actually need, expect a sales conversation and a quote closer to $50 per user per month. A minimum of 20 licences is also required. Distribution Engine starts at $20 with the Advanced plan at $35 and a minimum of just 5 licences — all visible at nc-squared.com/pricing.

Outstanding support.

Ortoo's support team is a genuine strength. Customers name individuals, describe long-term partnerships, and credit the team with getting complex implementations across the line. It's the kind of support that earns real loyalty. We respect it.

In their own words

What Q-assign users say

Reviews from Salesforce AppExchange and G2. Reproduced as published.

"It is a bit complicated and takes some time to get an understanding, but that's where the support comes in place."

Operations Admin, Enterprise

"Q-assign setting up sounds a little complicated in the beginning, but the excellent support that the team provides for sure helps us understand its usage and capabilities."

CRM Manager, Enterprise

"Improvements in the future I would like to see would be mostly around UI. With it being Salesforce native, some things are left to be desired."

Salesforce Admin, Mid-Market SaaS
*Quotes are from real Ortoo Q-assign users. Names removed.
Feature comparison

Everything routing needs. Yours to own.

Both Q-assign and Distribution Engine deliver capable routing and quality support. The difference is ownership: with Q-assign, Ortoo's team is closely involved in configuration and ongoing changes, while Distribution Engine is self-serve, user-friendly enough for your ops team to configure and manage independently, with support on hand whenever you need it.
Distribution Engine
Ortoo Q-assign
Distribution Engine

Ops-owned from day one

Your ops or admin team set it up while your sales or support team own, and adjust their routing logic directly. No professional services engagement. No vendor call when a rule needs updating. The team that owns the work owns the workflow.

Distribution Engine

Transparent pricing

Distribution Engine pricing is clear: Starter at $20, Advanced at $35, Unlimited at $55, per user per month — 5 user minimum. With Q-assign, it's not clear upfront what you're paying or what you get at each tier. You'll need to work through a qualification call before pricing is confirmed. A minimum of 20 users also applies.

Distribution Engine

SLA tracking & Speed-to-Lead

Native Speed-to-Lead measurement, SLA breach reporting, and time-to-action dashboards are built into the core product. Track how fast leads and cases are actioned and surface the gaps - no custom build.

Distribution Engine

Native Salesforce reporting

Detailed routing logs, distribution dashboards, and assignment audit trails are built in and live natively inside Salesforce. Track performance and routing decisions without a third-party tool or custom report build.

Distribution Engine

Lead de-duplication

Distribution Engine handles lead-to-account matching and de-duplication as part of routing, so the same lead is never assigned twice.

Both tools

Round robin & weighted routing

Both Distribution Engine and Q-assign support round robin distribution, weighted assignment, and per-rep capping. Distribute work evenly, skew towards top performers, or cap reps at capacity.

Both tools

Workload-based routing

Both tools route based on current workload, ensuring records go to whoever has capacity rather than whoever is simply next. Useful for case routing and high-volume lead environments.

Both tools

Skills-based routing

Both tools match records to agents based on skill attributes: language, product expertise, segment, or custom criteria. Works for sales teams specialising by product line and service teams routing by case type.

Both tools

Territory-based routing

Both tools route by territory: geography, account assignment, or custom territory definitions. Standard Salesforce territory structures are supported by both products.

Both tools

Availability-aware routing

Both tools route based on agent availability. Distribution Engine goes deeper: out-of-office management, shift planner, regional holidays, and Salesforce calendar sync. Q-assign routes to first available user. The mechanics are similar; the depth of control is not.

Both tools

Automated reassignment

Both tools automatically reassign records when they go unactioned. Ortoo lists automated reassignment and dynamic escalations as named features. Distribution Engine handles missed SLA reassignment and escalation within the same product.

Both tools

Multi-object routing

Both Distribution Engine and Q-assign handle leads, cases, opportunities, and custom objects. Multi-object routing on a single platform is a core capability in both products.

Both tools

Round robin & weighted routing

Both Distribution Engine and Q-assign support round robin distribution, weighted assignment, and per-rep capping. Distribute work evenly, skew towards top performers, or cap reps at capacity.

Both tools

Workload-based routing

Both tools route based on current workload, ensuring records go to whoever has capacity rather than whoever is simply next. Useful for case routing and high-volume lead environments.

Both tools

Skills-based routing

Both tools match records to agents based on skill attributes: language, product expertise, segment, or custom criteria. Works for sales teams specialising by product line and service teams routing by case type.

Both tools

Territory-based routing

Both tools route by territory: geography, account assignment, or custom territory definitions. Standard Salesforce territory structures are supported by both products.

Both tools

Availability-aware routing

Both tools route based on agent availability. Distribution Engine goes deeper: out-of-office management, shift planner, regional holidays, and Salesforce calendar sync. Q-assign routes to first available user. The mechanics are similar; the depth of control is not.

Both tools

Automated reassignment

Both tools automatically reassign records when they go unactioned. Ortoo lists automated reassignment and dynamic escalations as named features. Distribution Engine handles missed SLA reassignment and escalation within the same product.

Both tools

Multi-object routing

Both Distribution Engine and Q-assign handle leads, cases, opportunities, and custom objects. Multi-object routing on a single platform is a core capability in both products.

Ortoo Q-assign

AI connectivity

Q-assign connects to external AI services (ChatGPT, Google Gemini) for triage, scoring, and sentiment analysis. Distribution Engine routes on structured Salesforce data. For Q-assign's AI features, data security and compliance sit with the customer, not Ortoo.

Ortoo Q-assign

Slack & Teams notifications

Q-assign includes live Slack and Microsoft Teams notifications today. Slack notifications are coming to Distribution Engine this year.

What our customers say.

Don’t just take our word for it!

“Distribution Engine has grown with us for 12+ years. It handles every routing scenario we throw at it, absorbs every reorg, settles every ownership dispute with matter-of-fact answers, and routes leads into live conversations in under a minute.”

Read story
Chris Sweet
Director - Business Applications

“Distribution Engine has saved us 20+ hours a week of manual case routing. It’s been life changing for our business teams, managers and Salesforce admins as well.”

Read story
Angela Sabel
Consultant

“This speed-to-lead advantage directly impacted our bottom line. We estimate that our overall lead-to-placement conversion rate has improved by 15% since implementing Distribution Engine. When customers receive an immediate, caring response from a knowledgeable expert, they feel supported and are far less likely to reach out to competing agencies.”

Read story
Gabriel Essemini
Director of Digital Innovation

Distribution Engine has been essential in managing our lead flow and optimizing lead distribution. It’s helped us balance lead quality and volume effectively while managing our costs.

Read story
Hakan Citroglu
Salesforce Administrator

"Distribution Engine is the single most important tool we have on our sales team for controlling lead flow and experimenting with different lead scenarios."

Read story
Jake Burton
Sales Operations Lead

"Life Saver. It's saved the Salesforce team and business so much time. It's allowed us to implement processes and manage data in ways which we could have never achieved before, resulting in much more efficient data processes."

Read story
Alex MacRae
Salesforce Manager

"Salesforce should buy this app! Amazing customer service, incredible UI and advanced optionality that significantly extends routing logic in Salesforce for both Sales and Service Cloud. Gold standard of what an AppExchange solution should be."

Read story
Mark Spellman
Head of Delivery

"Long story short... amazing product, amazing support, amazing partner to have for so many years!"

Read story
Gina Skiotys
Salesforce Architect

"Distribution Engine has been a game changer in helping us respond to Support Cases faster. In just the first week of using it we reduced response times by 250%."

Read story
Sheryl Tilton
V.P. Customer Success

"I cannot say enough wonderful things about this app! It gives our teams the flexibility to manage the assignment rotation how they need to without investing multiple hours each day into the manual distribution of cases."

Read story
Becca Allen
Product Manager, Salesforce Configuration Lead

"Introducing Distribution Engine has transformed Clarivate’s lead management process by reducing the time taken to make lead assignment rule changes from weeks to minutes."

Read story
Kim Rabbitts
Snr. Demand Centre Director

"The implementation was super easy, the onboarding magnificent and their technical support is very prompt and always on point. Fantastic tool really a must have."

Read story
Giancarlo Amati
Salesforce Developer

"We love Distribution Engine and would highly recommend it to any organisation looking to consolidate their routing or distribution logic onto a single platform."

Read story
Jessica Meyers
Director, Marketing Operations and Technology

"Distribution Engine has totally transformed how we handle lead distribution. It’s fast, reliable, and keeps us ahead of the game."

Read story
Justin Norris
Director of Marketing & BDR Operations
Go further with Distribution Engine.

Smarter lead routing & case distribution in Salesforce.

Distribution Engine goes beyond the basics. Here is what sets it apart for teams with real routing complexity.

Your team runs it. Not ours.

Distribution Engine is built for ops teams who want to own their routing logic from day one. You configure it, adjust it, and manage it without raising a request with the vendor.

Our support team is here when you need them. The difference is that you won't need them to change a routing rule, add a team member, or update your territory logic. That work stays with you. Some teams are live within 45 minutes of installation.

Route across your entire GTM.

Distribution Engine handles routing across all major Salesforce objects and custom objects. Leads, cases, accounts, contacts, opportunities. One platform, one set of routing rules, for your entire sales and service operation.

Case routing is a first-class capability, not an afterthought. High-volume teams use Distribution Engine to manage thousands of cases per day with the same logic and controls they use for leads.

Complex routing, made easy.

Real sales and service teams have routing logic that reflects how they actually work. Distribution Engine handles that complexity without developer resource or vendor involvement. Configure and manage routing by:

✔  Skills — match records to the right agent based on capability
✔  Territory — route by geography, account, or custom criteria
✔  Availability — factor in working hours, leave, and real-time status
✔  Capacity — balance workload fairly across your team
✔  Load Balancing — distribute volume to prevent bottlenecks
250%
Faster case response
ZenBusiness, week one
45min
From install to first routing flow
20k+
Users worldwide
5
Licence minimum — vs 20 for Q-assignFaster case response
Distribution Engine vs Ortoo Q-assign.

More features to power your growth.

Feature
Distribution Engine
Ortoo Q-assign
Round robin & weighted routing
Workload-based routing
Skills-based routing
Territory-based routing
Availability-based routing
Working hours, out-of-office, shift planner, regional holidays, Salesforce calendar sync
Route to first available user
SLA tracking & automated reassignment
Speed-to-Lead dashboards, breach reporting, time-based escalation
Automated reassignment and dynamic escalations
Reporting & audit trails
Routing logs, distribution dashboards, assignment history
Multi-object routing
Leads, cases, opportunities, custom objects
Leads, cases, opportunities, custom objects
Lead de-duplication
Slack & Teams notifications
Coming soon
AI connectivity
Via external LLM (ChatGPT, Gemini). Data security sits with the customer.
Pricing & trial
$20 / $35 / $55 per user per month, published. Min 5 users. 30-day free trial on AppExchange, no sales call required.
Pricing confirmed via sales process. Min 20 users. 30-day free trial available.
Setup & ownership
Ops team configures and owns directly; no vendor engagement required
Vendor-supported configuration

See how routing works when it's built right.

Watch Distribution Engine route leads, cases, and opportunities in a live Salesforce org. No slides, no marketing. Just the product.

Talk to us
Frequently asked questions.

Ortoo Q-assign vs Distribution Engine.

What is Ortoo Q-assign?

How does Q-assign pricing work?

Does Q-assign require a developer to set up?

Does Q-assign have AI features?

Does Ortoo offer other apps alongside Q-assign?

Your questions answered.

About Distribution Engine.

What does Distribution Engine do?

How is Distribution Engine priced?

Does my team need a developer to set up Distribution Engine?

Does Distribution Engine support SLA tracking?

Can Distribution Engine handle case routing as well as lead routing?

How does Distribution Engine compare to Salesforce's native assignment rules?

Ready to see it in action?

Get a demo tailored to your routing use case and see how Distribution Engine fits your team.

See how Distribution Engine stacks up against other tools.

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