The 12 Best SaaS Onboarding Solutions

The 12 Best SaaS Onboarding Solutions

Nothing slows a SaaS business down faster than a high churn rate. Getting users to adopt and stick to a product is an eternal struggle unless you have the right onboarding solution.

But how do you find the right solution for your business? And how can you be sure your investment will pay off?

That’s where we come in. Keep reading for a comprehensive look at 12 of the most popular SaaS onboarding solutions. We’ll break down notable features, pricing, integrations, and shortcomings so that you can make the most informed decision possible.

What To Know Beforehand …

The world of SaaS onboarding solutions is a varied one. Each platform offers different pricing schemes, features, and approaches to the problem of user adoption.

Before diving into what’s available, it’s worth considering a few things about your business needs so that you can find a solution that best matches them:

• Team's Technical Capabilities: Some platforms are no-code, but others will require a dev.

• Importance of Analytics: Some solutions offer far more in-depth data than others.

• Type of Onboarding: Decide if you need customer communication tools (live chats, automated emails, etc.) or direct product onboarding through flows and product tours.

• Budget and MAU: Most platforms are priced off your monthly active users (MAU), so have those figures and your budget ready when considering options.

The 12 Best SaaS Onboarding Solutions

1. Hopscotch

Hopscotch: the most affordable user onboarding tool.

Hopscotch has perfected the onboarding tour experience without requiring you to be a tech genius. I'm a co-founder of Hopscotch, so I can personally vouch for its excellence. If you need a stupid simple, versatile user onboarding software tool, look no further. Hopscotch is completely no-code and features nearly all the same capabilities as other onboarding tools at less than half the price. You can design product tours and get them live in under an hour. Plus, with design tools and a drag-and-drop editing suite, you can customize your product tours exactly how you want.

Notable Features

• Segmentation: Segment users based on the number of times they’ve been seen, type of customer, whether they’ve seen the tour, and more.

• In-App Guides: Create intuitive, step-by-step guides to help users navigate your software.

• Adaptability: Works seamlessly across mobile, desktop, and tablet.

• Interactive Product Tours: The drag-and-drop, no-code builder makes creating tours a breeze.

• Design Customization: Customize the design to match your brand perfectly.

• In-App Messaging: Communicate directly with users within the app.

• Analytics: Gather insightful data to refine and optimize your onboarding process.

• Browser SDK: Easily integrates with other platforms and tools.

Strengths

Hopscotch's biggest strength is its versatility. The comprehensive tour-builders, segmentation options, and flexible designs allow you to fully customize both the user onboarding experience and the builder interface. For what it offers, the price is unbeatable. Hopscotch’s streamlined format adapts effortlessly to mobile, desktop, and tablet environments.

Shortcomings

Hopscotch focuses solely on user onboarding tours. While other products might offer additional features like NPS surveys or email marketing, Hopscotch excels in its specialization, providing a highly scalable and flexible solution for user onboarding.

Customers

• Vism

• GrowthBar

• WellPrept

• Hotspex

Pricing

Starts at $99/month

👉Try Hopscotch today (no credit card required)

2. Appcues

Appcues has positioned itself as a no-code SaaS solution for companies with anything from 1,000 MAU to 100,000.

Notable Features

• Easy UI: The UI is easy to use and makes creating flows particularly accessible.

• Events Explorer: Track UI engagements without coding.

• Chrome Extension: Operates as a Chrome extension which simplifies building in-app experiences.

Downsides

It’s a pricier product when looking at how much you get for each plan compared to others on this list.

Pricing

• Essentials: $249/month. Offers 3 user licenses and 5 audience segments with limited customization and email support.

• Growth: $879/month. Includes 10 user licenses, unlimited audience segments, a larger range of UI patterns, and access to Premium Integrations.

• Enterprise: Flexible – based on the size of your team and MAU. Includes better support and more robust security features.

Ease of Use

Well-reviewed for ease of use thanks to a visual editor that’s simple to navigate.

Integrations

Multiple integrations, including Hotjar, LogRocket, Google Analytics, Intercom, and more. Reviewers have noted the lack of an integration with MadCap Flare.

The Bottom Line

It’s easy to use but not necessarily worth it for the price.

3. Userguiding

Userguiding features a drag-and-drop interface, making user onboarding easy for even the least technically equipped team members. They’re used by e-commerce sites, consultants, SaaS, and investment companies alike.

Notable Features

• Resource Center: Helpful onboarding guides and templates that can be used quickly and without any coding.

• UI Patterns: Provides access to various UI patterns including tooltips, announcement modals, and onboarding checklists.

• Customization: Allows for the use of emojis and more to flavor the onboarding with your brand voice.

Downsides

An entry-level product that won’t provide much in the way of in-depth analytics or customization.

Pricing

• Basic: $129/month for a maximum of 2,500 MAUs, one customizable theme, an active survey, and two checklists.

• Professional: $499/month for up to 20,000 MAUs, greater customer support, five customizable themes, and unlimited checklists and guides.

• Corporate: Price available on a personalized quote. Offers unlimited themes, team member seats, and a maximum of 10 active surveys.

Ease of Use

The flow builder is considered particularly easy to use and made simpler by the available templates.

Integrations

Limited integrations but does include the basics like Intercom, Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Slack.

The Bottom Line

A great no-code option for building straightforward onboarding flows, but not ideal for companies needing more expansive integration and customization options.

4. Pendo

Pendo caters to advanced analytics and complex SaaS needs rather than entry-level needs. It’s a large platform with various features, making it costlier and less user-friendly.

Notable Features

• Web and Mobile: Works on both web and mobile apps without separate pricing plans.

• Customer Support: Consistently praised customer support team.

• Comprehensive Analytics: Some of the best and most comprehensive analytics available on a SaaS onboarding platform.

Downsides

Dashboard management is tricky, especially when dealing with multiple segments. Limited personalization for visual elements.

Pricing

Available only on request. Pricing starts at about $20,000 per year for the base package, making it pricier than most.

Ease of Use

The interface isn’t intuitive and can be frustrating to navigate. Users often rely heavily on assistance.

Integrations

Well-positioned to integrate with other apps (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) but not easy to implement.

The Bottom Line

Expensive with a steep learning curve, but the comprehensive analytics and features make it worth it for some.

5. Gainsight PX

Gainsight PX combines tools for product adoption and customer analytics, known for its product tours but requires some coding knowledge.

Notable Features

• User Segmentation: Robust features for user segmentation and targeting.

• In-App Guides: Offers excellent walkthroughs and tooltips.

• Data and Analytics: Comprehensive and easy to access from the dashboard.

Downsides

Coding knowledge required and limited range of onboarding UX elements.

Pricing

Essentials and Enterprise packages start at about $14,700 per year, available only on request.

Ease of Use

Requires coding knowledge but otherwise straightforward to use.

Integrations

Various integrations such as Slack, Unit, Support Logic, etc.

The Bottom Line

In-depth segmentation capabilities are great for marketers, but not suitable for those seeking a no-code solution.

6. Drift

Primarily an AI-powered live chat and chatbot platform with additional capabilities for engaging leads and customer adoption.

Notable Features

• Behavior Analytics: In-app behavior and product analytics tools provide a comprehensive view.

• Cross-Platform: Works for both web and mobile apps.

Downsides

Additional features beyond chat are not easy to find or learn as a new user.

Pricing

• Premium: $2,500/month with features like custom chatbots, real-time notifications, and conversational landing pages.

• Advanced: Price available on request. Includes A/B testing, flex routing, etc.

Ease of Use

The chat feature is simple, but other features are less so.

Integrations

Integrates with many other apps, including Databox, HubSpot, etc.

The Bottom Line

A highly useful chat and product tour platform, but limited as a full SaaS onboarding solution.

7. UserIQ

UserIQ is mainly a walkthrough tool aimed at improving new customer onboarding, user-friendly and simple.

Notable Features

• Intuitive Interface: Simple tagging features usable without technical knowledge.

• UI Updates: Recent updates have made creating in-app website messaging easier.

• Surveys: Allows for survey implementation with comprehensive reports.

Downsides

Lacks long-term data or analysis capabilities and some UI patterns like tooltips and hotspots.

Pricing

Available only on request with no free trial.

Ease of Use

Simple to use, though some help guides are outdated, making it harder to learn the platform's more niche aspects.

Integrations

The platform supports a wide variety of integrations.

The Bottom Line

A useful interactive walkthrough tool but offers little in the way of long-term data or analysis and lacks the UI options many other SaaS onboarding tools have.

8. Intercom

Intercom is an AI-powered platform mainly known for its chatbot service. It’s more often than not used in conjunction with other SaaS onboarding solutions as it lacks important features such as product walkthroughs.

Notable Features

• Customization: Easy to customize to suit a business’s branding needs.

• Responsive Chat: The chat system is highly responsive with improved ticketing and pricing functions.

Downsides

A limited tool that generally needs to be used alongside a more comprehensive onboarding platform.

Pricing

• Essential: $39 per seat/month which includes a ticketing system, unlimited articles, and basic automation.

• Advanced: $99 per seat/month with more advanced automation and support for bigger teams.

• Expert: $139 per seat/month that comes with a variety of extra features such as a multi-brand messenger and single sign-on.

Ease of Use

The system is intuitive and code-free to use.

Integrations

It integrates with a variety of other apps and works especially well with bigger SaaS onboarding solutions.

The Bottom Line

Intercom is a solid chat and customer support platform but it’s unlikely to fulfill a company’s SaaS needs on its own.

9. Userpilot

This is a far more robust SaaS onboarding option than something like Intercom. It’s a one-stop shop for all things UX and product-related with a variety of features.

Notable Features

• Product Analytics: Extensive tools such as trends, cohorts, and funnels.

• Customizable Dashboard: Can be customized through a drag-and-drop method or by using templates.

• Code-Free: Building onboarding flows is simple and completely code-free.

Downsides

Limited control in customizing walkthroughs and known for occasional freezing.

Pricing

• Starter: $249/month for a maximum of 2,000 MAU. Includes NPS, limited product analytics, and basic reporting and customization.

• Growth: $749/month provides greater access to a resource center, EU hosting option, and expanded features.

• Enterprise: Price on request with room for premium integrations and customization.

Ease of Use

Generally easy to use, though the interface can be confusing.

Integrations

Starter plan has limited integrations, but Intercom and Mixpanel are included across packages.

The Bottom Line

A solid SaaS onboarding solution that covers all the basics. Main drawbacks are occasional glitches.

10. Chameleon

Comparable to UserIQ, this is a strong no-code option for new user onboarding with high customization and comprehensive targeting tools.

Notable Features

• Customization: Fine-tune and customize appearance and audience targeting.

• Real-Time Data: Allows constant optimization of onboarding tours.

• Segmentation: Strong segmentation includes the option of A/B tests.

Downsides

Doesn’t allow multiple in-app experiences and requires CSS knowledge.

Pricing

• Startup: $279/month which includes one launcher, 5 micro surveys, unlimited tours, and tooltips.

• Growth: $1250/month for better scaling and coaching, includes A/B testing.

• Enterprise: Price on request with advanced roles, multi-product account, and proper localization.

Ease of Use

Easy installation if using Segment, but the UI can be finicky.

Integrations

Extensive integrations, including Figma, Google Tag Manager, and Intercom.

The Bottom Line

Excellent customization options but limited by the startup package's single launcher. Not ideal for most SaaS businesses.

11. HelpHero

HelpHero is a reliable, no-code SaaS onboarding solution best used for its interactive product tours, which are quick and easy to create.

Notable Features

• Behavior-Responsive Messaging: Set up targeted messages based on user actions.

• No-Code Builder: The product tour builder doesn’t require any coding.

• UI Patterns: All plans include tooltips, checklists, banners, and hotspots.

Downsides

Flow editor is somewhat unintuitive and lacks design customization options.

Pricing

Based on MAU, starts at $55/month for 1,000 and goes to $299/month for 20,000. Beyond that, pricing is on request.

Ease of Use

Well-designed but the flow builder and editor take getting used to.

Integrations

Complex to set up and not as seamless as others on this list.

The Bottom Line

Popular for its range of UI patterns and no-code tour builder, but lacks more advanced features like interactive elements.

12. Apty

Apty is structured to make things as easy as possible for users at every stage of adoption, not just the initial interaction.

Notable Features

• User Insights: In-depth analytics for creating customized workflows.

• On-Screen Guidance: Real-time app guidance makes it useful for complex systems.

Downsides

Initial deployment and integration are challenging, and the platform requires technical knowledge.

Pricing

Available only on request.

Ease of Use

Requires a dev or technical knowledge, though easier to use once familiar.

Integrations

Limited integrations, but includes Salesforce and Coupta.

The Bottom Line

Excellent for walkthroughs adapted to complex apps, though initial integration can be challenging.

13. User.com

User.com is primarily a marketing automation tool offering multiple communication channels such as email, live chat, and push notifications.

Notable Features

• Visual Automation: Everything is done via a visual automation creator with click-and-drop, no coding required.

• All-in-One Tool: Makes running multiple campaigns easier than ever.

Downsides

No functionalities for product tours, so complex apps need another onboarding solution. Workflow can be slow.

Pricing

Price is given on request based on MAU, action points, and emails sent.

Ease of Use

Extremely user-friendly platform with a simple, code-free interface.

Integrations

Basic script integration and integrates easily with various tools such as Slack, Zapier, etc.

The Bottom Line

Excellent for customer communication, helps automate, schedule, and manage communication across multiple channels.

Choosing the Best for Your Business

Even the most impressive SaaS onboarding solutions will fail a business if they don’t line up with that business’s needs. Niche functionalities and integrations can seem like big-ticket items, but the most important thing is that they directly support your customer adoption goals.

Focus on your unique hurdles and parameters. That’s the best way to get the most out of whichever solution you choose to invest in.