10 Best Online Roadmap Tool Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 18 tools reviewed.
There's an overwhelming number of roadmap tools on the market, so choosing the best one for you can be tricky. You know you want a central hub for planning, tracking, and sharing progress on various initiatives to align stakeholders, but you need to find the right tool for it. I've got you! In this post, I use my experience managing dozens of products and using multiple roadmap tools to evaluate my curated list of the best online product roadmap tools.
What is an Online Roadmap Tool?
An online roadmap tool is a web-based platform used to create, manage, and share visual roadmaps to enable teams to plan and communicate their strategic goals and project timelines effectively. Some of the features that make this possible are multiple timeline visualizations, milestone tracking, collaboration features, integration with project management tools, and the ability to customize and share roadmaps.
These tools provide a dynamic and collaborative environment for teams to outline and communicate strategic plans, align stakeholders on timelines, and track progress in real-time.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Online Roadmap Tools
Here are my overviews of the 10 best online roadmap tools I’ve selected to highlight. I’ve included each platform’s best use case, standout features, integrations, and pros and cons. I also added a screenshot of the interface to give you a feel for the different tools.
Miro is a virtual whiteboard that can be used in various contexts, including product roadmapping and mapping out processes and workflows.
Why I picked Miro: I added this platform to my list because it’s highly versatile, yet well suited to a roadmapping use case. The whiteboard has all types of graphics and lines that can be used for mapping out your product plan. It’s also particularly useful for outlining workflows and processes. This is super helpful for your product development team because they can outline both the what and the how of your product roadmap in the same system.
Moreover, Miro's ability to upload existing charts facilitates seamless integration of prior work. Collaboration tools like voting, stickies, and comments enable real-time feedback and adjustments. Additionally, the TalkTrack feature supports asynchronous communication through video explanations of workflows, making it easier for teams to share insights.
Miro Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the product’s vast template library and wireframing capabilities. There are tons of templates to choose from and customize, or you can easily start with a blank slate. Whiteboards also have infinite zoom, allowing you to go way back or way into your design. You can also use the platform for wireframing, making it a flexible and valuable tool for product development at various stages. Other useful tools include quick diagramming and a dependencies app, which helps teams visualize and manage task dependencies across projects.
Integrations include Webex, Figma, Jira, Azure DevOps, Confluence, Confluence, Notion, Asana, monday.com, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Zoom, and 100+ others. You can access thousands of additional tools using a Zapier integration. This may require an additional expense.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Large template gallery
- Intuitive and friendly interface
- Free plan available
Cons:
- Highly versatile, may not be specialized enough
- Lacks advanced roadmapping features
Visor is a unique tool that brings together data from your team's tech stack, so you can manage, analyze, and update it in one place.
Why I picked Visor: This platform made it onto my list because it allows you to build roadmaps using data from multiple sources. Rather than being a standalone product or project management platform, it pulls information from your various SaaS apps so you can build customized views. Its two-way syncs let you craft detailed roadmaps with data from your CRM and project management tool, and update information across your tools in one place.
Visor Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the software's intuitive and user-friendly interface. You can easily create unique views of your data using the drag-and-drop functionality, to create visual representations of your roadmap or other configurations quickly. Table, Gantt chart, and timeline views are also available for a quick setup.
Once you have your view created, you can customize it to effectively represent your information with color coding. Another nice feature is the ability to add detailed notes to your tasks and milestones. This helps keep your team up to date and aligned on important context.
Integrations include Jira, Salesforce, and HubSpot.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Free plan with a solid feature set
- High level of security, SSL encrypted communication
- Live phone & video support with paid plans
Cons:
- Added fees for additional sync credits
- Limited integrations currently available
ProductPlan is a dedicated product roadmapping software, with best-in-class security features to keep your product data locked down.
Why I picked ProductPlan: If security is a top priority for your product development team, this platform could be a good choice for your roadmapping needs. The simple drag-and-drop roadmap builder lets you pull together your product plan easily. Meanwhile, SOC 2 Type II, PCI Level 1, and GDPR compliance help you rest assured that your precious product data is secure. The software also boasts enhanced password security and advanced admin management.
ProductPlan Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the built-in prioritization feature. You can weigh each item’s value against its effort to automatically prioritize your backlog. Another cool feature is the built-in communication capabilities. Team members can comment and tag one another to keep up to date on progress and any changes. Finally, access permissions allow you to share roadmaps with private, customized views for different access levels.
Integrations include Jira, GitHub, Azure DevOps, Trello, Confluence, Vimeo, PivotalTracker, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. You can also connect the software to Zapier to unlock additional integrations.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Team communication and collaboration tools
- Roadmap highlights show how plans change over time
- Weekly training sessions with all plans
Cons:
- Portfolio view not available in basic plan
- Integrations are limited based on pricing tier
Productboard is a system of record for product management, with tools to support roadmapping, user feedback collection, and feature prioritization.
Why I picked Productboard: For teams that want to underscore their roadmap with user insights, this platform is a good fit. I added it to my list because of its user feedback capabilities. You can not only centralize user feedback from various sources in the software, but also analyze it and make sense of it.
The tool’s AI capabilities can parse through your feedback data to reveal common themes and sentiments. You can then turn user suggestions into features and projects to be prioritized. The platform can be used for prototyping a new product or improving upon an existing one.
Productboard Standout Features and Integrations
A standout feature of this platform is its product portals. They can be used for testing, feedback collection, and validation efforts in your product development process. Portals are set up with features that are under development or ready for launch before they go live in your product. You can then share these portals with clients, customers, stakeholders, or team members. It’s an effective way to run tests ahead of product launches to pinpoint and address any bugs or issues.
Integrations include Salesforce, Intercom, Zendesk, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gong, FullStory, Mixpanel, Miro, Loom, Figma, Jira, GitHub, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Highly customizable solution
- Responsive, knowledgeable customer support
- Customizable roadmap templates
Cons:
- No notes or annotations on timelines
- Somewhat complex, takes time to learn
Zenhub is a project and product management platform that offers roadmaps, boards, workflow automation, and more.
Why I picked Zenhub: This software offers both a clear and comprehensive roadmapping module as well as project management boards for breaking down work into smaller pieces. But what really stood out to me about this software is its workflow automation features. You can assign a single issue across multiple boards, ensuring all relevant parties stay up-to-date on progress. You can also use the GitHub automation to facilitate better handoff and collaboration between technical and non-technical teams.
Zenhub Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the software’s GitHub extension and integration. The platform is built to fit easily into GitHub, making for a friendly and familiar environment. You can access all of the system’s features and functionalities directly from your GitHub account, reducing app-switching and duplication of tasks like record-keeping. The integration can also be used to automate tasks like updates and moving through workflow stages.
Integrations include GitHub, Slack, Miro, and Figma. An API is also available for building custom integrations.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Ability to create multiple workspaces
- Community support network
- Highly functional GitHub integration and extension
Cons:
- Users limited to 250 in teams plan
- SOC-2 compliance only with enterprise plan
Roadmunk is a roadmapping tool that’s designed to help you craft presentation-ready product roadmaps quickly.
Why I picked Roadmunk: I added this platform to my list for those of you who need to present a roadmap to your stakeholders ASAP. This software is great for whipping up a visually appealing roadmap quickly and easily. You can opt for a timeline or swimlane view, and create multiple roadmaps using the same data. The roadmaps you create in the platform can be exported as URLs, PNG, or HTML files for easy sharing. Multiple templates are also available to help speed up your roadmap creation.
Roadmunk Standout Features and Integrations
One standout feature is definitely the software’s template hub. There are dozens of roadmap templates to choose from, covering technology, business, and product needs. The templates are fully accessible in the platform’s free trial. This is nice for people who want to give it a try, or need to create their roadmap quickly for a presentation. Templates can be customized using your data set, and you can allocate resources and set milestones to suit your needs.
Integrations include Jira, Azure DevOps, and Trello. An API is also available for building custom integrations.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy sharing in multiple formats
- Quick setup and easy to navigate
- Lots of self-serve support content
Cons:
- Additional fees for some add-ons
- Integrations limited on lower price tiers
GLIDR is a product management solution that helps you build a data-driven product roadmap and run tests and experiments on your product.
Why I picked GLIDR: I chose to add this software to my list because of its focus on experimentation. Not only can you build product roadmaps in the platform, but you can also consolidate all of your product data in one place. From user research to customer feedback and test results, you’ll have plenty of data to make decisions about what to build next. The public portal lets you run tests with real users, and analyze the feedback and data you get from their experience. It’s well-suited to innovative teams that want to build their product in an iterative way, or startups striving to find product-market fit.
GLIDR Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the built-in knowledge database. You can store all of your feedback and data from running experiments and user research in one place. The repository is searchable, helping you find the insights and data you’re looking for quickly and easily. Another cool feature is the public portal and public roadmaps. This helps you run user testing and keep external parties in the loop about what’s coming up in your product.
Integrations include Zoom, Figma, Jira, Intercom, Trello, Slack, and a Chrome Extension. Zapier can also be connected to configure additional integrations.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Connects product with go-to-market strategy
- Easily save data from tests run through system
- Good for data-driven product development
Cons:
- Integrations limited in starter plan
- Starter plan limited to 1 project
Venngage is a web-based creative platform that can be used to craft roadmaps and other types of assets, with a broad template gallery to get you started.
Why I picked Venngage: If you need to create a roadmap quickly, and want a pre-built template to get you started, this could be the right platform for you. Its template bank hosts over 10,000 ready-made outlines that can be used for various purposes. It has Scrum, product development, portfolio, website, release, and other specialized roadmap templates. Many of the templates are available for free, which lets you give the tool a try before you buy.
Venngage Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the platform’s additional templates, which cover things like timelines, presentations, proposals, mind maps, and more. You can use the same platform to outline and share your work with stakeholders and other teams. This is especially useful for product teams that need to keep other departments in the loop on their plans and progress. Another helpful feature is the knowledge base, which has tons of courses and webinars to ramp up your design skills.
Integrations can be built using the platform’s API.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Self-serve customer support content
- Friendly drag-and-drop interface
- Free plan available
Cons:
- Highly versatile, may not be specialized enough
- Lacks advanced roadmapping features
Aha.io is a product management software company that offers roadmapping and idea management solutions as well as a virtual whiteboard tool.
Why I picked Aha.io: This platform covers several aspects of your product planning and management processes. Its roadmapping tool offers everything you need to map out your plan, like timeline views and swimlanes. But you also get tools to help you ideate, strategize, and prioritize, which is why I added it to my list.
Whiteboards allow your product team to brainstorm and connect ideas collaboratively. From there, they can use the idea management module to refine their ideas and gather feedback. Finally, prioritization comes with built-in scoring options to ensure the most impactful work gets done first.
Aha.io Standout Features and Integrations
Standout features include the software’s AI capabilities, which include a writing assistant and smart feedback management. The AI can help you draft everything from meeting notes to release memos and even product announcements. Meanwhile, the software’s AI can also help you interpret and categorize feedback. This really helps speed up your processes, from bringing new features and products to market to testing them with real users and implementing customer feedback.
Integrations include Azure DevOps, GitLab, GitHub, Jira, Trello, Asana, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Pivotal Tracker, and Rally, among others. You can also integrate with thousands of additional tools using Zapier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Highly customizable and flexible
- Lots of self-serve support content
- Robust, comprehensive feature set
Cons:
- Comes with a learning curve
- Reporting is somewhat basic
Visme is an online creative platform you can use to build nearly anything, including product roadmaps.
Why I picked Visme: This is a super flexible platform that can be used for so many different things, roadmaps being just one of them. I added it to my list because depending on how your team works, you might be looking for a versatile tool for creating various types of assets. In addition to roadmaps, you can develop mockups, presentations, charts and graphs, video content, and more.
This software can be a useful tool to add to your team’s toolkit because it can be used for creating engaging content for stakeholders and other audiences. For example, you can create product mockups to go alongside a pitch deck. Or, you can develop data visualizations to outline product performance or user research. You might even craft customer-facing documentation to improve the onboarding experience and adoption of your product.
Visme Standout Features and Integrations
One standout feature of the product is its built-in templates. You can select from a large bank of ready-made roadmaps to customize and create your own. There are templates for various other assets, too, which is especially helpful if your team is lacking in design or UX expertise. Another nice feature is the ability to implement custom branding into your roadmaps. This makes for a visually appealing, on-brand roadmap that’s ready for presenting to investors and other key stakeholders.
Integrations include Google Analytics, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Loom, Slack, Typeform, JotForm, HubSpot, Salesforce and Mailchimp, among others.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Large template library
- Friendly drag-and-drop interface
- Free plan available
Cons:
- Highly versatile, may not be specialized enough
- Lacks advanced roadmapping features
The Best Online Roadmap Tools Summary
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Miro | From $10/user/month | Website |
| Visor | From $9/user/month | Website |
| ProductPlan | From $49/user/month | Website |
| Productboard | From $20/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| ZenHub | From $12.50/user/month | Website |
| Roadmunk | From $19/month, paid annually | Website |
| GLIDR | From $25/month | Website |
| Venngage | From $19/user/month | Website |
| AHA.io | From $9/user/month | Website |
| Visme | From $29/month | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareOther Online Roadmap Tool Options
Here’s a list of the tools that didn’t make it to the top, but are still worth your consideration:
- JIRA by Atlassian
Best for agile development teams
- airfocus
Best for scalability and flexibility
- Craft.io
Best all-in-one product management solution
- ClickUp
Best complete work management platform
- Targetprocess
Best for comprehensive business planning
- ProdPad
Best with OKR planning included
- Hygger
Best for simplicity and user-friendliness
- Notion
Best for creating roadmaps within an intranet
Selection Criteria For Online Roadmap Tools
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best product roadmap software for this article:
Core Functionality
Before getting into specific features, I always look for the core functionality of a product. When it comes to online roadmap tools, here are the core capabilities I expect to see:
- The ability to create a product plan, and
- A visual representation of your product roadmap.
Key Features
Beyond the basic functionality I’ve outlined above, here are some of the top roadmapping features I saw in my research:
- Timeline management: You should be able to schedule milestones and you may be able to schedule resources, too.
- Project management tools: Many platforms have sprint management, tasks and dependencies, swimlanes, workflows, etc.
- Backlog prioritization: Most tools allow you to prioritize projects and initiatives from your backlog using Scrum and other methodologies.
- Multiple view formats: Configure your roadmap as a Kanban board, Gantt chart, timeline, calendar, and other visual roadmap views.
- Collaboration features: You might be able to plan your roadmap collaboratively in real time. You can also usually share roadmaps easily with collaborators and stakeholders.
- Customer feedback: Some tools allow you to solicit feedback from users to inform new features, new products, and your product vision.
- Roadmap templates: Many platforms have product roadmap templates to help speed up your roadmap planning process.
- Reporting dashboards: Most tools have reporting and analytics capabilities to help you track progress and team performance against business goals.
Usability
Next up in my assessment criteria, I looked at the user-friendliness of the roadmap software’s user interface. Many of these platforms have a drag-and-drop interface, which makes it easy to set up and customize your product roadmap. Ideally, the roadmap workspace should be intuitive to navigate without too much of a learning curve. I also looked for smart, straightforward automations for streamlining your product development process.
Integrations
It’s important for your online roadmap tool to connect easily with your other core SaaS products. I looked for integrations with popular project management software like Trello, Asana, monday.com, and Wrike. I also looked for integrations with other popular workplace tools like Slack and Google Workplace. Integrations with popular development team tools like Github and Azure DevOps are also a bonus, as are APIs you can use to build custom integrations.
Pricing
Your software budget is often the final frontier in selecting a new SaaS tool to add to your team’s toolkit. So what’s the average price of an online roadmap tool? I tried to get the price per month on a monthly payment plan so you don’t have to commit long-term if you don’t want to. Some offer free plans or free versions that are suitable for small teams and startups. But if you’re looking for more advanced product features, a paid plan will usually offer what you need.
Online Roadmap Tools FAQs
Still have questions about product roadmapping, and the online tools that facilitate it? I’ve answered some common questions on the topic for you here.
What are the benefits of having an online roadmap tool?
There are a number of benefits that come with investing in an online roadmap tool. Here are a few to consider:
- Creating clarity: These tools help you visualize product goals, timelines, and priorities. This makes things clearer for your team members and stakeholders alike.
- Collaboration: Many platforms have built-in collaboration features. This helps keep product development a team effort.
- Flexibility: You can update your roadmap in real time as needs and priorities shift. It helps keep your team agile and keep work iterative.
- Transparency: Stakeholders and other teams and departments have a clear view of what’s in store for the product. This supports marketing, sales, customer support, and beyond.
- Efficiency: Planning, tracking, and decision-making are streamlined. No more clunky spreadsheets or complicated approval processes.
How do I create a product roadmap?
If you’ve never created or managed a product roadmap before, it can feel daunting. But don’t worry — there are roadmap management best practices you can follow to be sure you’re successful. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide for creating your product roadmap:
Step 1: Define the product vision
The initial step is to establish a clear product vision. Your vision should align with the company’s mission and address consumer needs.
Step 2: Solicit feedback from stakeholders
Next, gather input from various stakeholders. This can include internal teams like development, sales, and customer service. You can also collect feedback from external stakeholders like clients and customers. Use these insights to help shape the product’s features, feasibility, and market fit.
Step 3: Set priorities
With a clearer outline of your product, it’s time to prioritize. You can use frameworks for prioritizing. Here are a few to consider:
- MoSCoW: Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have, Won’t-Have
- RICE: Return, Impact, Confidence, Ease
- QFD: Quality Function Deployment
- WSJF: Weighted Shortest Job First
Step 4: Develop a product strategy
From here, you can create a product strategy. It should be based on your gathered input, and tailored to different teams’ objectives. For example, your development team will focus on technical aspects. Meanwhile, marketers will concentrate on selling the product’s benefits.
Step 5: Determine a broad time frame
You’ll want to establish a realistic launch time frame. Typically, these are between 4 to 6 months. Be sure workloads are feasible and avoid employee burnout. The idea is to embrace flexibility and adapt to unforeseen changes or challenges as they arise.
Step 6: Build the product roadmap
Finally, the pièce de résistance. You can now construct a visual timeline — a roadmap — to guide the product development process. There are multiple product roadmap formats you can follow. Consider what format will best serve the needs of your team. You can use a tool from this list, an Excel spreadsheet, or examples of product roadmaps to create your own. It should be accessible to team members and stakeholders, and easy to understand.
What makes a good product roadmap?
A good product roadmap is one that balances clarity and comprehensiveness with flexibility and room for agility. Building great products takes creativity, and too rigid of a roadmap risks boxing your team in.
On the other hand, a roadmap that lacks structure can cause misalignment and inefficiency.
There are several types of product roadmaps to choose from. But what’s most important is what you choose to include (and choose not to include) in your roadmap. Here are 6 key elements to include when creating a product roadmap:
- A product vision: This sets the direction and potential of the product, initiating the roadmap.
- A product strategy: Articulate the business goals and how the product aligns with the vision.
- Product requirements: Gather input from various sources to define key product features and functionalities.
- A product plan: Detail the execution strategy, including broad timelines and milestones, maintaining flexibility.
- Markers: Define points for tracking progress without exact dates, allowing for adjustments as needed.
- Metrics: Set clear KPIs, OKRs, or other measurement criteria to monitor and evaluate progress.
As for what doesn’t belong in your product roadmap? Here are 2 things no agile team needs in their product planning:
- Strict timelines: Differentiate between a roadmap (strategic direction) and release plan (specific dates). Avoid exact dates to give the team flexibility.
- Non-value items: Exclude technical debt, DevOps work, and bug fixes from the roadmap. These are assumed parts of ongoing agile development efforts, not strategic highlights.
What’s Next?
So, hopefully now you have a better sense of the online roadmap tools available to you. Remember, there is no single best product roadmap software. But there are a ton of options, and it’s worth investigating which one will most effectively meet your needs. With the information outlined in this article, you should have what you need to find the best product roadmap tool for your team!
Want to stay up to date on the latest content from The Product Manager? Subscribe to our newsletter mailing list!