Best Product Onboarding Software: 20 Tools

What is product onboarding software?

Product onboarding software is a specialized tool designed to guide new users through the process of learning and adopting a product. 

It aims to streamline the user experience, reduce churn, and accelerate time to value.  

Most product onboarding software includes interactive tutorials, tooltips, and walkthroughs to increase relevance and effectiveness for their users.

Additionally, it collects data-driven insights to optimize the onboarding process and reduce support burden.

Why use product onboarding software

Improved User Experience

• Provides clear and concise instructions, making it easier for new users to understand the product.
• Offers interactive tutorials and walkthroughs to guide users through key features.
• Tailors content based on user behavior and preferences, ensuring relevance and effectiveness.

Increased User Engagement

• Encourages exploration and experimentation by providing personalized recommendations.
• Offers incentives or rewards for completing onboarding tasks.
• Creates a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as users progress through the onboarding process with onboarding checklists and progress bars.

💡 Are you ready to invest in the most crucial part of a user journey aka onboarding? Check out our user onboarding checklist to create a seamless experience. It comes in Excel, PDF, PNG formats as well as a Notion template!

Increased Conversion Rates

• Guides users through the sales funnel and helps them make informed purchase decisions.
• Provides personalized offers like free trials, special discounts, or pricing to increase the likelihood of conversions.
• Reduces friction in the checkout process to improve conversion rates.

💡 Zakeke’s development team was overwhelmed with user requests once. Then, they started using UserGuiding to deliver the best-personalized onboarding experience to their users. In-app messages and tooltips were the game-changers.

Reduced Churn

• Helps users avoid common pitfalls and mistakes by providing guidance and support.
• Ensures users understand the value proposition of the product and how it meets their needs with resource centers, chatbots, and knowledge base.
• Creates a positive first impression that can influence long-term loyalty.

Accelerated User Activation 

• Guides users through essential steps to activate their accounts and start using the product.
• Provides clear instructions and support for common activation challenges like the initial set up phase and showing where key features are.
• Ensures users have the necessary permissions and access to begin using the product effectively.

💡After struggling with engaging users, Opinew started using UserGuiding to decrease churn. Here’s how they increased their user activation rate by 10% thanks to interactive guides and product onboarding checklists:

Data-Driven Optimization

• Tracks user interactions and collects analytics to identify areas for improvement.
• Allows for continuous optimization of the onboarding process based on user feedback and performance metrics like customer satisfaction score.
• Enables personalized experiences at scale by tailoring content based on user data.

Reduced Support Burden

• Provides comprehensive guidance and support, reducing the need for users to contact customer support.
• Reduces the volume of support tickets related to product usage and troubleshooting.
• Frees up customer support resources to focus on more complex issues.

💡Vieworks was able to reduce their support ticket volume by using UserGuiding’s interactive tours and product onboarding checklists. 

See how CEO Chris Gale leveraged UserGuiding’s analytics feature to track user progress and assess their onboarding materials:

How to Choose the Right Tool for Your Needs

What to look for in product onboarding software

When selecting product onboarding software, it's essential to evaluate several key factors to ensure it aligns with your specific needs and goals. 

Here are some important aspects to look out for:

Functionality and Features

Customization makes it easy to tailor onboarding experiences for different user segments or personas, helping everyone feel right at home. 

With interactive elements like tooltips, walkthroughs, and checklists, you can guide users along their journey. 

Personalization takes it a step further by adjusting the experience based on individual preferences, behaviors, and goals. 

Plus, integrating smoothly with your existing tools—like CRM, marketing automation, and analytics—means everything works together effortlessly, creating a welcoming environment for your users!

Ease of Use

With an intuitive interface, both users and teams will find it a breeze to navigate your platform, creating a friendly experience for everyone.

Your users will also love the flexibility to configure onboarding flows and content without needing any technical expertise. 

Plus, with handy pre-built templates and presets, you can speed up the onboarding process and get started even faster. It's all designed to make your customers’ life easier!

Data and Analytics

With robust tracking and analytics capabilities, you can easily measure how effective your onboarding process is and spot areas for improvement. 

Keep an eye out for seamless integration with popular analytics tools to get deeper insights.

And don’t forget about A/B testing! This lets you try out different onboarding approaches to see what works best, so you can keep making the experience even better for your users.

Scalability and Performance

Scalability is key to effortlessly managing growing user volumes and navigating complex onboarding flows. 

When paired with great performance—like fast loading times and responsiveness—you’ll create a smooth, enjoyable experience for all users. 

Together, these features help your platform grow while keeping everyone happy and engaged!

Support and Customer Service

With responsive and friendly customer support, your users will have all their questions and concerns addressed quickly and easily. 

Consider investing in comprehensive documentation and resources to help you every step of the way, from implementation to ongoing use. 

Together, these support options create a welcoming experience for your users. So they get the most out of the platform and feel confident along the way!

Cost

When looking at pricing models, it's helpful to explore different options, like subscription-based, usage-based, or fixed fees, to find what works best for you. 

Don’t forget to consider the potential return on investment (ROI) as well! 

By calculating the cost savings from reduced churn, increased user engagement, and faster time to value, you can make a smart choice that truly aligns with your goals.

20 Best Product Onboarding Tools

To make things easier for you, we’ll look at the best 20 product onboarding tools and categorize them based on their use case. 

Under each category, you’ll find a winner based on strengths, pricing, integrations, and must-have features like personalization.

Ready to find the best fit for your business? Keep reading!

1. Interactive Tours and Walkthroughs

Check out these tools to create guided tours and walkthroughs for users.

1. UserGuiding

UserGuiding’s highlight features are interactive product tours, onboarding checklists, and tooltips.

You’ll also find customizable UI/UX, segmentation options, and in-app surveys that make it easy to tailor the user’s experience. 

One of UserGuiding’s standout strengths is the user-friendly no-code editor, which offers extensive customization and robust analytics to help you create onboarding experiences that really resonate with users. 

It’s perfect for a variety of use cases, including new product launches, feature adoption, user training, and optimizing your onboarding process. 

Plus, it easily integrates with popular CRM systems like Salesforce, analytics tools such as Google Analytics, and communication platforms like Slack. 

As for pricing, UserGuiding typically offers tiered plans based on the number of users and features, starting around $89 per month for small teams. 

2. WalkMe

WalkMe offers a variety of features like in-app guidance, interactive walkthroughs, and task automation.

We can easily list advanced digital adoption functions, supporting multiple platforms such as web and mobile as the tool’s strength. 

WalkMe is especially well-suited for large-scale enterprise deployments, complex software systems, and digital transformation platforms. 

The tool seamlessly integrates with various enterprise systems like SAP and Oracle, as well as CRM tools and support platforms like Zendesk. 

Pricing is customized based on the size of your organization and the features you need, so it's best to contact WalkMe directly for a personalized quote.

3. Pendo

Pendo is another product onboarding platform that offers in-app guides, tooltips, onboarding flows, and product analytics. 

It’s an ideal tool for product management, user engagement strategies, and tracking feature adoption. 

Additionally, it easily integrates with CRM systems like Salesforce, along with marketing tools and analytics platforms. 

Pricing is customized based on the features you need and your company's size, so be sure to contact Pendo for more details.

4. Appcues

Appcues is a user-friendly product adoption platform that offers customizable onboarding flows, checklists, and modals. 

Its no-code setup is a key feature for teams of all sizes. 

With detailed targeting and personalization capabilities, Appcues can create streamlined onboarding processes and personalized user experiences. 

It integrates seamlessly with tools like Segment, HubSpot, and Mixpanel. 

Pricing starts at $249 per month for basic features,with higher tiers available for advanced features and more users. Contact Appcues for a custom quote.

5. Intro.js

Intro.js is a lightweight JavaScript library that allows you to create step-by-step product tours. It's easy to integrate into your web application and highly customizable, with minimal impact on page performance. 

Intro.js is ideal for small to medium-sized applications, straightforward onboarding experiences, and open-source projects. 

While it works with any web application, integrations can be more manual compared to other tools. 

The basic version of Intro.js is open-source and free, but commercial licensing options are available for additional features and support.

🥇Winner of this category is UserGuiding!

If you’re ready to take your product onboarding to the next level, see what UserGuiding can do for you in action! Start a free trial today.

2. In-App Messaging and Tooltips

These tools help with in-app messaging, tooltips, and contextual help.

6. Intercom

Intercom is a comprehensive communication platform that offers live chat, help desk, automated workflows, and product tours.

Ideal for customer support, lead generation, user engagement, and personalized onboarding, Intercom integrates with CRM systems, email marketing tools, and analytics platforms. 

Pricing starts at $74 per seat per month, with prices increasing based on features and the number of users. Contact Intercom for a detailed quote.

7. Chameleon

Chameleon is packed with great features to boost user engagement like onboarding checklists, surveys, and handy tooltips. 

It's highly customizable, making it easy to create and deploy tailored onboarding experiences. Chameleon's powerful analytics can also help you optimize your onboarding process. 

Ideal for user onboarding, feature adoption, and in-app feedback collection, Chameleon integrates with tools like Segment, Amplitude, and Salesforce. 

Pricing starts at $299 per month,with plans varying based on features and user volume. Contact Chameleon for more details.

8. Drift 

Drift is a powerful tool if you’re looking for chatbots, live chat, and conversational marketing. It enables real-time user engagement, lead capture, and automation of responses and workflows. 

Ideal for real-time support, sales conversations, and interactive user engagement, Drift integrates well with CRM systems, email marketing tools, and other communication platforms. 

Pricing is customized for advanced features and larger teams. Contact Drift for specifics.

9. Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer support platform with help center integration and ticketing system tools. 

It is ideal for customer support, self-service help centers, and user onboarding assistance. 

Zendesk integrates with CRM systems, email platforms, and other third-party applications. 

Pricing starts around $55 per agent per month, with variations based on features and the number of agents. Contact Zendesk for more details.

🥇Winner of this category is Chameleon!

3. Onboarding Analytics and Insights

These are tools that focus on tracking and analyzing user onboarding processes.

10. Mixpanel 

Mixpanel is an analytics tool that provides advanced insights into user behavior, funnels, retention, and onboarding metrics. 

Its detailed event tracking and powerful data visualization capabilities make it easy to track user journeys and optimize onboarding processes. 

There's a free tier available with basic features, and paid plans start at around $28 per month. 

You can contact Mixpanel for custom pricing based on your specific needs.

11. Amplitude

Amplitude is a product analytics and event tracking platform that offers user behavior analytics, onboarding tracking, retention metrics, and cohort analysis. 

It provides deep insights into user behavior, segmentation, and flexible data analysis tools. 

Ideal for product analytics, feature usage analysis, and retention tracking, Amplitude integrates with CRM systems, data warehouses, and other analytics tools. 

There's a free tier with basic features, and paid plans start at around $49 per month. Contact Amplitude for custom pricing.

12. Heap 

Heap offers automatic event tracking, user interaction analysis, and onboarding insights. 

Its no-code event tracking and comprehensive data collection make it easy to understand user interactions and optimize onboarding experiences. 

Heap integrates with CRM systems, marketing tools, and other analytics platforms. 

There's a free tier for small teams, and you can contact Heap for a detailed quote.

🥇Winner of this category is Mixpanel!

4. Onboarding Automation and Flows

These are the tools designed to automate and streamline the onboarding process.

13. Userlane

Userlane offers onboarding automation, process documentation, and user training. 

It's known for its ease of use in creating interactive guides, its ability to automate complex processes, and its detailed performance tracking.

Ideal for streamlining complex onboarding processes, training users, and improving digital adoption, Userlane integrates with various enterprise systems and CRM tools. 

Pricing is customized based on company size and needs. Contact Userlane for a detailed quote.

14. Product Fruits

Product Fruits is a product onboarding platform that offers interactive tutorials, tooltips, checklists, and in-app messaging to guide new users through the product adoption process.

With its user-friendly interface and customization options, Product Fruits allows for personalized onboarding experiences tailored to different user segments. 

Additionally, it integrates with popular tools like Salesforce and HubSpot, making it easy to incorporate into existing workflows. 

Pricing for Product Fruits is based on the number of users and features required, but more affordable options start at $79 per month.

15. Whatfix

Whatfix offers guided walkthroughs, interactive training, onboarding flows, and in-app help. 

It's known for its comprehensive onboarding solutions, advanced analytics, and multi-platform support. 

Ideal for user training, onboarding complex software, and enhancing user adoption, Whatfix integrates with CRM systems, LMS platforms, and other enterprise tools. 

Pricing is customized based on features and organizational size. Contact Whatfix for a tailored quote.

🥇Winner of this category is Whatfix!

5. Onboarding Documentation and Knowledge Bases

Check out these tools to create documentation and knowledge bases for user self-service.

16. Help Scout

With its intuitive knowledge base builder, you can easily create self-help articles and FAQs to assist your customers with Help Scout. 

It allows you to effectively manage support tickets and track customer interactions.

Additionally, Help Scout integrates seamlessly with popular tools like CRM systems and email marketing platforms, making it easy to manage your entire customer support workflow. 

Pricing starts at $22 per user per month, with customizable plans to fit your team's needs.

17. Document360

Document360 is a user-friendly platform that makes it easy to create and manage your own self-service knowledge base. 

With its intuitive interface and customizable options, you can easily add articles, FAQs, and other content, and track how users interact with your knowledge base to optimize its effectiveness. 

There's a free pricing tier for small teams and solo users, and paid plans start at $199 per project per month. 

Custom pricing is available for larger teams and additional features, such as advanced analytics and integrations.

18. Confluence 

Confluence is a collaboration tool that allows you to create detailed user documentation, onboarding guides, and internal knowledge bases. 

It integrates seamlessly with Atlassian tools, making it a great choice for teams using other Atlassian products. 

Confluence offers strong team collaboration features and there's a free tier for up to 10 users. 

Paid plans start at around $5 per user per month. Pricing increases with additional features and larger teams.

🥇Winner of this category is Confluence!

6. User Feedback and Surveys

These tools are focused on gathering user feedback to improve onboarding experiences.

19. Typeform 

Typeform is an easy-to-use tool that helps you create engaging surveys and forms. 

With its customizable options, you can design surveys that match your brand and collect valuable feedback from your audience. 

Typeform's interactive format makes it more enjoyable for your users to fill out forms, resulting in higher completion rates and more accurate data. 

Plus, you can easily integrate Typeform with your other tools and platforms. 

Paid plans start at just $25 per month, making it a great option especially for small-sized businesses.

20. Survicate 

Survicate is a survey platform that offers survey tools, feedback widgets, and user insight collection. 

Its in-app surveys and customizable feedback widgets make it easy to gather feedback directly from your users. 

Survicate integrates with CRM systems and email marketing tools. 

Pricing starts at $99 per month, with custom pricing available based on features and team size.

🥇Winner of this category is Typeform!

How to evaluate tools based on your specific requirements

To effectively evaluate product onboarding tools based on your specific requirements, follow these steps:

1. Define Your Goals and Objectives

To create a successful onboarding experience, start by identifying the key metrics you'd like to improve, like user retention, engagement, or time to value.

It’s also a great idea to understand your target audience better by analyzing their unique needs and preferences. 

This way, you can tailor the onboarding experience to fit them perfectly, making their journey more engaging and enjoyable!

2. Assess Existing Onboarding Processes

To enhance the onboarding experience, you should identify pain points by pinpointing areas where users struggle or tend to drop off. 

Also, gathering feedback from both users and internal teams can provide valuable insights into their experiences. 

This combined approach helps you understand challenges better and make informed improvements that support a smoother journey for everyone involved.

3. Create a List of Requirements

To create a well-rounded onboarding experience, start by outlining the essential features that are a must-have, such as personalized experiences, interactive tutorials, and data analytics. 

Next, consider any desired features that could further enhance the experience, like gamification or social proof. 

It’s also important to evaluate any technical constraints or integrations that may be required because it ensures your onboarding solution is not only effective but also feasible within your existing setup.

4. Research and Shortlist Tools

When you're on the hunt for the right onboarding tools, start by checking out reputable software review platforms for user feedback and ratings—it's a great way to gauge overall satisfaction! 

Then, take a peek at vendor websites to explore their features, pricing, and customer support options. 

Finally, don’t be shy about requesting demos from your top choices; seeing the tools in action can really help you make the best decision for your needs!

5. Evaluate Tools Against Your Requirements

Start by creating a comparison chart that lets you evaluate each option’s features side by side. It’s also a good idea to look into how customizable these tools are to make sure they fit your unique requirements. 

Don’t forget to check their integration capabilities to ensure they work smoothly with your existing systems and tools. 

Finally, take a close look at the cost of each tool and think about the potential return on investment. This way, you’ll find the perfect balance between value and functionality.

6. Conduct Pilot Tests

To ensure the effectiveness of your shortlisted tools, start by testing them with a small group of users to gather valuable feedback. 

This approach allows you to see how well each tool performs in a real-world setting. 

As you implement the tools, be sure to track key metrics to assess their effectiveness, helping you make informed decisions about which ones to fully adopt.

7. Make an Informed Decision

Be sure to think about your long-term goals to make sure it fits nicely with your overall product strategy. It’s also important to check out the vendor’s support and customer service to ensure they offer the resources you’ll need. 

And if it comes down to it, don’t be afraid to negotiate pricing and terms with the vendor to get the best deal! 

Key Takeaways

Product onboarding tools simplify how new users learn and adopt your product, making the process smoother and more engaging.

These tools offer interactive tutorials and personalized guidance, encouraging users to explore and get the most out of your product. Effective onboarding reduces user frustration and support requests, leading to higher retention and satisfaction.