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10 Best User Onboarding Software in 2023

User Onboarding Software Shortlist

Here’s the list of the best tools that I’ll cover in this article.

  1. 1. Trakstar — Best for product onboarding paired with industry upskilling
  2. 2. Apty — Best for turning free trial users into paying subscribers
  3. 3. Userpilot — Best user segmentation for personalized onboarding
  4. 4. Appcues — Best for tracking onboarding KPIs
  5. 5. WalkMe — Best for interactive website walkthroughs
  6. 6. GuideCX — Best for user onboarding task lists
  7. 7. Intercom — Best user onboarding paired with customer support services
  8. 8. Chameleon — Best user onboarding software with Chrome extension
  9. 9. Pendo — Best user onboarding software for feature discovery
  10. 10. Stonly — Best customer support onboarding scripts and playbooks

Did you know that 55% of people admitted to returning a product simply because they didn’t understand how to use it? This startling statistic is a wake-up call for any product team that hasn’t yet built a user onboarding process for their product, website, or app. The best onboarding experience will introduce consumers to your product, explore the user interface, and guide them through key features and shortcuts. But don’t worry: you don’t need to build this process from scratch if you employ user onboarding software.

User onboarding software can be used to create interactive video and/or text onboarding workflows to walk a new user through your product step-by-step. In this article, I take a look at some of the best user onboarding software solutions on the market. I’ll also go over what they do, what makes each one unique and cover some basic details like integrations and cost.

What is user onboarding Software?

A user onboarding tool is a software solution designed to guide users through the process of getting started with a product or service. It typically includes features such as tutorials, walkthroughs, and prompts that provide step-by-step instructions to help users understand the product's features and functionality. The goal of a user onboarding tool is to ensure that users can quickly and easily navigate the product and achieve their desired outcomes, leading to higher user engagement and retention rates.

A user onboarding tool can guide new users through your product, typically using video or interactive web pages to show off features, processes, and shortcuts. User onboarding software can help build customer experiences that are more satisfying and intuitive for both company and customer.

How I Selected the Best User Onboarding Software

If you're wondering how I selected the best user onboarding software, here's where I'll break it all down for you. First of all, I started with customer onboarding tools that have high user review and satisfaction ratings. Then, using my experience in product management, I discerned what key criteria were most important for product onboarding tools and compared how each of them stacked up against the rest.

I empathize with how much time it takes to source the right software for a job. I do this work so that you don't have to. I've been using and reviewing customer onboarding tools for years so you can trust me to do the heavy lifting and compile all the facts you need to make your final decision.

If you have more general questions about product onboarding tools, you can skip to our FAQ at the bottom of the page. Or, you can jump right to the best user onboarding software overviews if you're ready to start comparing.

Selection Criteria

After careful consideration, I've determined that these are the most important criteria when selecting the best product onboarding tool. Here's a brief list outlining the whats and whys of my selection.

User Interface (UI):

User interface is a critical factor to consider when selecting a user onboarding tool because it directly affects how users interact with the tool and the overall onboarding experience. A well-designed UI can make the onboarding process more intuitive and straightforward, while a poor UI can cause confusion and frustration for users. An effective UI for a user onboarding tool should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and provide clear and concise instructions.

Usability:

Usability is crucial when selecting a user onboarding tool because the tool's effectiveness depends on how easy it is for users to understand and navigate. A user onboarding tool with poor usability can frustrate users, lead to confusion, and ultimately drive users away from the product or service being offered. On the other hand, a tool with good usability can help streamline the onboarding process, make it more efficient, and improve user engagement and retention.

Integrations:

Integrations are an important factor to consider when choosing a user onboarding tool because they enable the tool to work seamlessly with other systems and platforms used by the organization. Integrations can help streamline the onboarding process by automating tasks, eliminating duplicate data entry, and providing a more comprehensive view of user data. For example, an integration with a customer relationship management (CRM) system can help track user activity and engagement.

Pricing:

Pricing is an essential factor to consider when selecting a user onboarding tool because it directly impacts the budget and financial resources of the organization. While it is important to choose a tool that meets the needs of the organization, it is also crucial to ensure that the cost is reasonable and justifiable. Factors that can impact the pricing of a user onboarding tool include the number of users, the level of customization, the availability of integrations, and the level of support provided.

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Overviews Of The 10 Best User Onboarding Software Solution 

Here’s a brief description of each user onboarding platform to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface. 

1

Trakstar

Best for product onboarding paired with industry upskilling

Trakstar Learn is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) that enables product managers to develop custom training programs and onboarding systems for users and customers that want to learn about the products or services. With Trakstar Learn, users get an intuitive interface, a robust course creation tool, and detailed reporting.

Trakstar Learn provides various authoring tools to keep the LMS up to date and compliant with constantly evolving requirements and regulatory standards. Users can quickly change or modify their learning materials to suit the needs of new users. Trakstar Learn also features an intuitive dashboard that allows customers to go through the training courses on their own, setting the onboarding pace at a level that suits their needs.

Trakstar Learn provides optional courses and organizational culture training, as well as all the essential product information that new customers might need. All product data that customers have to learn or get familiarized with can be relayed automatically through the Trakstar learning platform.

Pricing for Trakstar Learn is available only upon request.


This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 188

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

2

Apty

Best for turning free trial users into paying subscribers

Apty is customer onboarding and user adoption software for SaaS companies that houses intuitive walkthroughs designed to highlight your service’s best features for new clients. Apty has specifically positioned itself as a system that can propel free trial users into paying customers. They do this by helping you highlight tooltips and key features that your customers can’t live without. 

With Apty, you can employ a straightforward interface and code-free editor to craft the perfect training/onboarding solution. You can design and implement on-screen guidance content dedicated to highlighting your must-have features. You can then track who is accessing your onboarding content as well as when, where, and how long. That way, you can continue to improve anywhere you see a bounce rate. 

Apty is, by far, the best user onboarding software for SaaS companies looking to make the most out of freemium or free trial sign-ups.

Apty offers customized pricing upon request and a free trial for up to 45 days, where you can test out their workflows with full admin access.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.8 107

Pricing upon request

3

Userpilot

Best user segmentation for personalized onboarding

Userpilot is cloud-based software that helps businesses improve product adoption and customer onboarding. Admins can segment users, based on certain attributes or in-app events. They can also create multilingual walkthroughs or add tips and hits to improve the client's overall experience. 

The software gets new users up and running faster by offering a personalized user onboarding experience. Enterprises can add custom triggers or conditions and preview them across staging and production environments. To optimize performance, they can also perform A/B testing, set up milestones, and track engagement rates. 

This tool integrates with platforms such as Google Analytics, Amplitude, Intercom, and Segment. 

Userpilot costs from $249/user/month. A 14-day free trial is also available. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 86

14 Days Free Trial

From $249/user/month

4

Appcues

Best for tracking onboarding KPIs

Appcues delivers native-looking onboarding experiences designed to engage users, increase activations, and improve retention. Using the no-code builder, you can drag and drop images, change text, or adjust buttons. 

Segmenting and targeting users by persona, plan tier, lifecycle stage, or account owner is easy. You can track the impact of each onboarding flow, to better guide and support users. 

Appcues measures how flows impact key business metrics, so you can identify areas where improvements are needed. You can make adjustments and iterations to maximize the number of free-to-paid conversions. 

Appcues integrates with Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack, Intercom, Mailchimp, Heap, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics, Segment, and others. Plus, a paid plan through Zapier can unlock even more integration options. 

 Appcues costs from $249/month (billed annually) and offers a free trial for up to 50 onboarding “flows” and 10 tracked events. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 173

From $249/month (billed annually)

5

WalkMe

Best for interactive website walkthroughs

WalkMe is a cloud-based interactive guidance platform that helps you manage customer experiences on your company website. Using automated tip balloons, the software drives customers to specific walkthroughs. You can play these automatically or allow the user to initiate them.

You can use segmentation to change the display based on a user's role, location, and language. You can also embed content into walkthroughs such as videos, articles, and more. Thanks to the analytics feature, you can track user interactions with the platform and modify the way they are guided through the site. 

WalkMe integrates with Salesforce, AWS, Segment, Gainsight, Google Analytics, Heap, Slack, Google Workspace, LiveAgent, Intercom, Livechat, Zendesk, and other apps. 

WalkMe costs from $2-3000/annually. It comes with a free demo.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 129

Free demo

From $2-3000/annually

6

GuideCX

Best for user onboarding task lists

GuideCX is client onboarding software that turns the learning process into a series of tasks lists with status indicators for progress checking. Using the fundamentals of digital project management, GuideCX lets you build a customer onboarding workflow populated with learning materials that you set up yourself. You can white-label the system, so it’s all in line with your personal branding. 

Key features include time tracking, resource management, a reporting/analytics engine, collaboration tools, and a client portal (no login required!). You also get a mobile app, flexible user permissions settings, private internal communications channels, automated dependency logic, end date forecasts, a timeline view, and storage/attachment capabilities. 

GuideCX integrates natively with Salesforce, Hubspot, Gainsite, Slack, and Jira. You can unlock more integrations through Zapier, but this may require a paid plan.

GuideCX offers customized pricing upon request. They offer a free trial and a free demo.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 158

Offer a free trial and a free demo

Pricing Upon Request

7

Intercom

Best user onboarding paired with customer support services

Intercom is a sales, marketing, and support solution that helps businesses acquire, engage, and support customers. The software includes a bot-based algorithm, targeted emails, push and in-app messages, and an integrated helpdesk.

Intercom includes a product tour function designed to produce polished, engaging onboarding tutorials. Simple to use, this feature makes it possible for anyone to create an effective, engaging onboarding guide. 

For more complex apps, custom bots can be built. These automatically capture new users' intent, then send them on the appropriate tour directly from the bot conversation.

Intercom integrates with Stripe, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Analytics, Segment, Heap, Outlook, Slack, Salesforce, and hundreds of other options. You can also access their robust API for additional DIY connections. 

Intercom costs from $74/month (billed annually) for small businesses and increases from there. You can try it for free for up to 14 days. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 2116

14-day free trial

From $74/month (billed annually)

8

Chameleon

Best user onboarding software with Chrome extension

Chameleon is a product adoption platform that gives SaaS teams more control over configuration and customization. You can create onboarding flows that trigger in real-time, leverage user data, or only show experiences based on who users are and what they did. The software allows you to target based on role, action taken, or survey response. Alternatively, it's possible to show experiences immediately when a user falls into a particular target audience. 

With Chameleon, flows can be created and deployed without any technical knowledge, and no ongoing engineering is needed. The flow builder uses a Chrome extension to keep user payloads light. 

Chameleon integrates with Segment, Heap, Mixpanel, Intercom, Amplitude, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Fullstory, Typeform, and other common product workflow apps.

Chameleon costs from $279/month and offers an “unlimited” free trial to test out all their features. You must purchase a subscription before it goes live, though. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 119

From $279/month

9

Pendo

Best user onboarding software for feature discovery

Pendo personalized in-app guides help you create better product experiences with in-app web and mobile communication. Out-of-the-box user onboarding tours, product walkthroughs, and in-app support help optimize the user experience. 

The software includes a visual design studio for building targeted in-app guide campaigns across both desktop and mobile apps. You can deliver tooltips and best practice advice in-app, to increase user retention and reduce customer support inquiries.

Marketing teams can serve tailored messages to users, based on their behavior and segmentation. In addition, Pendo’s retroactive analytics help you determine when, where, and how to guide users to successful activation. 

Pendo integrates with apps like Slack, Zendesk, Confluence, Salesforce, Fivetran, Intercom, Segment, HubSpot, and Drift. Integrations are limited to paid plans. 

Pendo is free for up to 1000 monthly active users. You can contact them for paid plan pricing when you’re ready to expand. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 1175

Free version available

From $7,000/year

10

Stonly

Best customer support onboarding scripts and playbooks

Stonly assists in accelerating activation and driving engagement. Using the no-code onboarding and adoption tools, you can guide users from setup to proficiency quickly and easily. The software allows you to launch interactive product tours that adjust according to each person's onboarding journey so that more people can be activated successfully. Adaptive checklists guide users and track their progress as they get to grips with the application.

Using Stonly, you can drive discovery by placing hotspots, tooltips, and interactive product guides in your user interface. Even non-techie users can quickly build and optimize onboarding and product adoption experiences.  

Stonly integrates with Zendesk, Front, Intercom, Freshdesk, Segment, WordPress, Shopify, Bubble.io, and additional integrations using Zapier (which might require a paid plan through them). 

Stonly costs from $99/month (billed annually) and offers a 14-day free trial. 

14 days free trial.

From $99/month (billed annually)

The 10 Best User Onboarding Software Solution Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
Trakstar

Best for product onboarding paired with industry upskilling

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
2
Apty

Best for turning free trial users into paying subscribers

Not available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
3
Userpilot

Best user segmentation for personalized onboarding

14 Days Free Trial

From $249/user/month Visit Website
4
Appcues

Best for tracking onboarding KPIs

Not available

From $249/month (billed annually) Visit Website
5
WalkMe

Best for interactive website walkthroughs

Free demo

From $2-3000/annually Visit Website
6
GuideCX

Best for user onboarding task lists

Offer a free trial and a free demo

Pricing Upon Request Visit Website
7
Intercom

Best user onboarding paired with customer support services

14-day free trial

From $74/month (billed annually) Visit Website
8
Chameleon

Best user onboarding software with Chrome extension

Not available

From $279/month Visit Website
9
Pendo

Best user onboarding software for feature discovery

Free version available

From $7,000/year Visit Website
10
Stonly

Best customer support onboarding scripts and playbooks

14 days free trial.

From $99/month (billed annually) Visit Website

Other User Onboarding Options

Here are a few more that didn’t make the top list.

  1. Userlist - SaaS email automation that can be used for various product onboarding messages
  2. Customer.io - User onboarding centered around data-driven emails, push notifications, and SMS messages
  3. VidGrid - Enterprise video software that can be used for recording, sharing, and embedding product tutorials 
  4. Helppier - Easy-to-build welcome messages and product tours with a quickstart template library 
  5. Zumvie - Interactive product demos that don’t require a customer to log in anywhere before getting taking a test drive 
  6. Inline Manual - Digital adoption platform for interactive walkthroughs, tooltips, surveys, and support articles
  7. Process Street - Process and workflow management that can be used for onboarding clients of professional service providers
  8. Hotjar - Heatmaps and screen recording to track user onboarding flow for product usage optimization
  9. Vimeo - Record and share video tutorials for detailed product adoption training and feature tutorials
  10. Userguiding - Onboard your users with no-code product walkthroughs that are served up according to contextual user behavior

People Also Ask

I thought of a few questions I wanted to addres to round out this article. Here they are.

What are User Onboarding Software Key Features?

Here are some key features I look for when selecting user onboarding tools.

  1. Interactive guide: The system should walk users through the app's core features.
  2. Customer education: Enough training should be provided for anyone to get up to speed quickly.
  3. Knowledge base: Users must be able to find additional information easily when they need it.
  4. Onboarding flow: Good software follows a logical progression, introducing the core features first.
  5. Product adoption analytics: Admins need access to detailed reporting showing how the software is used.
  6. Customer stories: Analyzing customer journeys helps admins to better understand possible problem areas
  7. Beyond-app engagement: Better onboarding apps engage people through multiple channels to increase app usage.
  8. Data transparency: Users need to know what information you are collecting and why it is needed.
  9. Milestones: The best software motivates people by showing their progress towards onboarding milestones.
  10. Lean design: The onboarding process should run efficiently without hogging system resources
  11. Multi-language capability: A good onboarding process provides training in the user's preferred language. 

Why Use user onboarding software?

Plenty of reasons! To name a few:

  • 86% of consumers say that they are willing to pay more for a better customer experience 
  • 40% of users now prefer self-service tools over human guidance
  • 60% of companies use between 4-6 tools for user onboarding (so you are not alone!)

User onboarding software can help reduce churn rate, gather customer feedback, encourage feature adoption, increase net promoter score (NPS), boost customer engagement, and support the user journey. Products and consumers are becoming more tech-oriented, and we need onboarding apps that can keep up with this demand.

You might also like: What Is Customer Onboarding? Tips And Best Practices

What Other User Experience Resources Do I Need?

If you're already thinking about user onboarding tools, then I would recommend these articles next:

User Onboarding for the Best Product Learning

That concludes my summary of the best customer onboarding software available today! Now it’s your turn: What’s your favorite user onboarding software? Have you tried any of the user onboarding tools on this list? Is there a customer success software you would add here? What benefits have you found in using a digital adoption platform? Sound off in the comments! 

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By Hannah Clark

Hannah Clark is the Editor of The Product Manager. Following six years of experience in the tech industry, she pivoted into the content space where she's had the pleasure of working with some of the most brilliant voices in the product world. Driven by insatiable curiosity and a love of bringing people together, her mission is to foster a fun, vibrant, and inspiring community of product people.

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