Appcues vs. UserGuiding 2024 Comparison - For a Better Product Adoption
SaaS

Appcues vs. UserGuiding 2024 Comparison - For a Better Product Adoption

TABLE OF CONTENTS
    #1 product adoption platform. Quick setup, lasting engagement.
    Start for free >
    See how UserGuiding can help you level up your product experience.
    Talk to an expert >
    #1 product adoption platform. Quick setup, lasting engagement.
    Join 20k+ product people >
    Ready to Boost
    Product Adoption?
    Meet With Our
    Onboarding Experts
    BOOK A CALL
    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Home / SaaS / Appcues vs. UserGuiding 2024 Comparison - For a Better Product Adoption

    Appcues is one of the pioneers in user onboarding and digital adoption industries. It is an advanced product adoption platform that mainly focuses on user onboarding and adoption.

    Yet, it does not mean it is the best option for everyone.

    That's where UserGuiding comes in.

    UserGuiding is a product adoption platform that combines adoption, feedback, and self-service capabilities for better in-app experiences.

    And today, we're figuring out which one would work best for you.

    Don't have the time? Here's the TLDR:

    TL;DR

    • Appcues is a no-code platform for user onboarding and engagement with good analytics. It offers guided tours, in-app messages, and third-party integrations like Segment and HubSpot.
    • Appcues supports onboarding, feature adoption, engagement, and analytics; pricing starts at $249/month for <2500 MAU.
    • UserGuiding is a no-code platform for product adoption and engagement, emphasizing ease of use and affordability. It offers onboarding checklists, in-app surveys, announcement modals, knowledge base, and resource centers.
    • UserGuiding supports onboarding, feature adoption, feedback collection, and self-service help; pricing starts at $89/month for <2500 MAU.
    • UserGuiding is easier to set up and learn, and provides additional features like a knowledge base, making it more affordable. Appcues offers more robust analytics features.
    • You could choose Appcues for advanced analytics and smooth experiences, and UserGuiding for ease of use, a wider feature range, and better pricing.

    What is Appcues?

    • G2 Score: ⭐️ 4.6 (305 reviews)
    • Capterra Score: ⭐️ 4.8 (102 reviews)

    Appcues is a product adoption platform that pioneered the no-code approach in user onboarding.

    It is an advanced solution for digital adoption with fairly good analytics and can be a great tool in your arsenal if you're looking to become a product-led business.

    One of the most important advantages of Appcues is its no-code growth capabilities.

    It gives a chance to enhance user engagement and retention to not only designers and product managers but also marketers, support teams, and others.

    Appcues also integrates seamlessly with third-party tools like Segment, HubSpot, and Slack, which allows for streamlined workflows and synchronized user data.

    Appcues Best Use Cases

    Appcues lists 5 use cases on its website: User onboarding, feature adoption, insights, NPS & surveys, announcements, and mobile adoption.

    However, to see the real value of the product, we can categorize the use cases a bit differently:

    1- User Onboarding & Adoption

    Appcues is primarily an onboarding solution, and we can see this in its features.

    With guided product tours and interactive walkthroughs, Appcues empowers businesses to create onboarding flows that help with robust product adoption for first-time users.

    userguiding vs appcues user onboarding

    ‎Welcome messages and checklists also improve first-time onboarding experience and early user activation.

    But it doesn't end there.

    You can also use Appcues later on in your user journeys to help end users adopt new product features and navigate product design updates.

    This is especially good for increasing time-to-value and decreasing early churn.

    Other Appcues features like tooltips, hotspots, and slideouts also contribute to this use case by helping with the onboarding process and new feature adoption.

    2- User Engagement

    Beyond onboarding first-time users, Appcues is there for you for the rest of the in-app experiences as well.

    Their personalized in-app messages and announcement modals are the pillarstones of user engagement optimization within the platform.

    userguiding vs appcues user engagement

    The messaging can also be targeted to specific user segments and personalization, which helps with re-engaging inactive users and delivers contextual tips.

    Appcues does a pretty good job with its feedback-collection capabilities as well.

    The in-app surveys are another feature that boosts user engagement and long-term retention. With this feature, Appcues makes sure to offer a scalable way of helping businesses understand user needs and pain points.

    3- Analytics

    Appcues offers a good set of analytics capabilities with A/B testing, goal tracking and impact report capabilities.

    userguiding vs appcues analytics

    ‎Though it does not offer product analytics, for user onboarding use cases, the analytics tend to be adequate.

    The user identification and tracking feature also supports personalized analytics.  

    Pricing

    Appcues offers a free trial and adjustable MAU ranges. The 3 plans in Appcues' public pricing are:

    <2500 MAU

    Essential: $249/month

    Growth: $879/month

    Enterprise: Custom

    5K+ MAU

    Essential: $399/month

    Growth: $1149/month

    Enterprise: Custom

    10K+ MAU

    Essential: $499/month

    Growth: $1289/month

    Enterprise: Custom

    What is UserGuiding?

    • G2 Score: ⭐️ 4.6 (245 reviews)
    • Capterra Score: ⭐️ 4.7 (51 reviews)

    UserGuiding is an all-around product adoption platform that doubles down on no-code product adoption and user engagement for optimized in-app experiences.

    Having operated as a user onboarding solution from the beginning, the platform offers a strong set of onboarding and adoption features, along with complementary features. These not only take the onboarding process to the next level but also support different use cases.

    UserGuiding is among DAP leaders, along with Appcues, and it has made a name for itself for being easy to use while still offering advanced solutions.

    The platform is also well known for its stellar customer support, which might not always be available with tools of its size.

    UserGuiding Best Use Cases

    UserGuiding offers a solid set of features, all laser-focused on the task of providing better in-app experiences.

    The UserGuiding feature set looks like this:

    userguiding features

    When it comes to the value of the platform, UserGuiding offers a similar set of use cases to that of Appcues: product adoption, feedback collection, in-app engagement, and self-service help.

    Product Adoption & User Onboarding

    The first use case for UserGuiding is user onboarding since it has operated as an onboarding solution since its first implementation.

    UserGuiding offers features like user guides, interactive product walkthroughs, onboarding checklists, and other UX elements to power smooth user and customer experiences.

    appcues vs userguiding product adoption
    UserGuiding welcome modals and onboarding checklists

    With these features, UserGuiding empowers product people to enhance customer experiences and first-time onboarding journeys while enhancing product adoption.

    These features also consequently increase customer retention and satisfaction in the long term.

    User Feedback Collection

    UserGuiding offers a user feedback collection use case with its in-app survey and NPS survey features.

    The features are fully customizable and come with a wide range of templates for easy implementation, making user feedback collection easier than ever.

    appcues vs userguiding feedback collection
    A cool example of an in-app survey

    Another feature included in this use case is Product Updates, UserGuiding's standalone product changelog solution.

    Product Updates help close the gap between users and product teams by making update announcements accessible within your app. They also come with a built-in user feedback system that allows users to react to and give feedback on new updates.

    appcues vs userguiding product updates

    These features come with their own analytics dashboards, which support better reporting and decision-making.

    appcues vs userguiding analytics dashboard
    Analytics dashboard for in-app surveys

    In-App Engagement & Messaging

    UserGuiding's in-product messaging feature set includes announcement modals and a Product Updates page, supported by segmentation and localization.

    userguiding in app engagement userguiding vs appcues
    UserGuiding in-app announcement modals

    While in-app announcements support higher user engagement and improved user experience, the Product Updates page garners robust product adoption as well as feature adoption.

    Self-Service Help

    And lastly, UserGuiding uses its resource center feature to provide end users with interactive product tours and guides for self-onboarding, help articles, and checklists.

    userguiding vs appcues userguiding resoruce center
    UserGuiding's resource center

    The feature not only allows for self-triggered user journeys and an overall better user experience but also self-service help.

    Another feature that is included in this use case is the knowledge base.

    With a standalone knowledge base or one that is inside your app, you can offer end users organized and streamlined support materials.

    Pricing

    UserGuiding has a 14-day free trial. The pricing is adjustable according to MAU.

    >2500 MAU

    • Basic: $89/month
    • Professional: $249/month
    • Corporate: Custom quote

    5K+ MAU

    • Basic: $230/month
    • Professional: $449/month
    • Corporate: Custom quote

    10K+ MAU

    • Basic: $300/month
    • Professional: $524/month
    • Corporate: Custom quote

    Appcues vs UserGuiding

    Appcues and UserGuiding are pretty similar tools that catch up with one another in different qualities.

    Here's a quick look:

    Ease of Use & Setup

    Both Appcues and UserGuiding are pretty easy to use. Since they are both code-free solutions, most users wouldn't have problems using either. Though looking at Appcues' Panel, it might be slightly harder to get the hang of it.

    Talking about getting the hang of it, Appcues also has a slightly steeper learning curve since it requires just a bit more technical knowledge, while UserGuiding is fairly easier to implement and learn.

    Overall, since both Appcues and UserGuiding are essentially user onboarding tools, they are better than most of their market counterparts.

    For users prioritizing ease of use and implementation, UserGuiding is the better option.

    Product Analytics and User Behavior Analysis

    When it comes to analytics, Appcues excels in product analytics and user behavior analysis.

    The platform provides robust features such as A/B testing, goal tracking, and impact reports. This focus on analytics helps in fine-tuning onboarding processes and improving user engagement based on data-driven insights.

    UserGuiding is also similar in terms of analytics, and it offers A/B testing, goal tracking, and user profiles.

    However, it lacks impact reports and some product analytics capabilities at the moment. So we can say for users prioritizing analytics, Appcues is the better option.

    In-App Elements

    Though Appcues is the more seasoned tool, UserGuiding offers a comprehensive suite of in-app elements that match and extend beyond what Appcues provides.

    UserGuiding and Appcues both offer interactive product walkthroughs, onboarding checklists, tooltips, and hotspots.

    However, UserGuiding adds value by offering Knowledge Base, Resource Centers, and Product Updates (Changelog) features as well.

    These additional elements allow for better user self-service and keep users informed about the latest product updates and changes directly within the app.

    So, for users prioritizing a more comprehensive user journey and a wider variety of UX elements, UserGuiding is the better option.

    Pricing

    When it comes to pricing, the arrows once again point at UserGuiding for better affordability.

    While the starting subscription cost for UserGuiding is around $89 for <2500 MAU, the starting price for Appcues is $249 a month for the same MAU.

    Though Appcues is on the more affordable end of the spectrum compared to similar tools like Pendo and WalkMe, it is still too expensive when UserGuiding offers similar capabilities at a lower price.

    For users prioritizing affordable pricing, UserGuiding is, again, the better option.

    UserGuiding vs Appcues

    UserGuiding Appcues
    Starting Price $89/month $249/month
    G2 Rating 4.6⭐ 4.6⭐
    Interactive Walkthroughs
    Tooltips
    Hotspots

    Onboarding Checklists
    Announcement Modals/Banners
    NPS Surveys
    In-Product Surveys
    In-App Resource Center
    Product Updates Page
    Knowledge Base
    User Analytics
    Multi-Language Support
    Easy Localization
    User Tracking

    Wrapping Up

    Appcues sure is a pioneer in the user onboarding and digital adoption industries. However, it's not the ideal solution for everyone.

    UserGuiding steps in as a versatile product adoption platform, combining adoption, feedback, and self-service capabilities for better in-app experiences.

    Which one is the one for you?

    If you're looking for a seasoned product that offers smooth experiences and better analytics, Appcues is the one for you.

    If you need a tool that will be easier to set up and use, with a wider range of features and in-app elements, and is more affordable, UserGuiding is the one for you.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Join 1000+ teams
    driving product success at speed

    14-day free trial, no coding needed, 30-day
    money-back
guarantee!