tl;dr: If you’re looking for a simple Userlane alternative, Nickelled might be your best bet. If you’re a larger, complex business think about using Appcues or WalkMe.
Userlane Review
Userlane is an easy-to-use digital adoption software offering product walkthroughs for both user and employee onboarding of simpler applications.
Benefits
- Easy, intuitive setup, just copy-paste a snippet of code into browser-based apps or e-commerce websites
- Compatible across browsers; integrations with platforms such as Zendesk and Intercom are possible
- User segmentation for contextual onboarding
- User behavior analytics
- Localisation possible: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, and Chinese available
- Customer success program at all pricing levels
Disadvantages
- While onboarding customizable and you can add media like GIFs and images, there are limited UI elements: product walkthroughs only
- Custom pricing only – you pay for the features and MAUs that you require
- Analytics reports are based on usage data, not on user feedback
Pricing
Userlane’s pricing is customizable based on the number of users and the number of features you require. Both price plans are opaque, you have to contact them to get a quote for your SaaS.
How To Choose The Right Userlane Alternative
Great onboarding software is the key to boosting product adoption and user retention rates. To ensure you invest in the right user onboarding software for your SaaS, assess your business’s needs in terms of:
- Number of monthly active users (MAU’s) that you’ll be onboarding (this often has a huge impact on pricing)
- Number of team member seats required to collaborate on guide creation and analytics
- Amount of coding required, especially if you don’t have an in-house developer
- Compatibility and integrations with the platforms you use
- User segmentation and flow triggering to optimize onboarding experiences
- Onboarding elements: as well as product tours, does the software offer tooltips, banners, widgets, etc for effective onboarding flows?
- Feedback and analytics: collecting user feedback and behaviour data is essential for comprehensive analysis of your onboarding experiences
- Translation and localization: a 2014 CSA study showed that 75% of surveyed consumers prefer buying products in their own language. If you’re targeting a global market, multilingual localization is key.
- Customer support
- Your budget
Best Userlane Alternatives
Nickelled: Best No-Code Userlane Alternative For Small & Growing Businesses
Nickelled is the #1 user onboarding software for 2021, offering advanced user onboarding and employee training experiences for smaller businesses and growing startups.
Main features
| MAUs & team members | Unlimited MAUs and team members at all price levels |
| Coding | Zero coding for guide creation and minimal, optional Javascript for customization – you can create a product tour in minutes No download required, all browser-based |
| Compatibility & integrations | Nickelled offers cross-platform and device functionality, onboarding for web apps Includes simple integrations with major services including Zendesk, Salesforce and Google Analytics |
| Segmentation & triggering | Segmentation and onboarding flow targeting with Nickelled Launchers |
| Onboarding elements | Interactive onboarding experiences for users and employees with extensive UI elements proven to work, including product tours, website banners and widgets |
| Feedback & analytics | Optional user feedback survey at the end of every guide In-depth analytics of qualitative and quantitative data |
| Localization | Successfully onboard users in multiple languages, like online translation platform Gengo does with Nickelled |
| Customer support | Live phone, chat and email support (email only on Starter plan) |
Nickelled Pricing
Nickelled’s transparent pricing model offers three tiers based on the number of onboarding flows you create. Each level includes unlimited team seats and MAUs, an instant free trial and a money back guarantee.
Appcues: Best Userlane Alternative For Larger Businesses With In-House Developers
Appcues is a leading onboarding solution. However, most features are only available with their Enterprise pricing plan and require developer support for setup.
Main features
| MAUs & team members | Appcues’ pricing model is based on the number of MAUs, starting at 2,500, and number of team member seats (user licenses), which is capped at 3 for their Essentials plan and 10 for their Growth package |
| Coding | Theoretically the pioneer in code-free onboarding solutions, however, many customers report requiring developer support for setup and customization |
| Compatability & integrations | Web and mobile app onboarding solutions Integrations with main platforms (Salesforce, Zendesk) are only available on higher price plans |
| Segmentation & triggering | Intelligent user segmentation, however, number of segments limited with Essentials plan Event triggering only available on Enterprise plan |
| Onboarding elements | Interactive onboarding with a wide range of UI patterns Customization only available on higher price plans |
| Feedback & analytics | NPS surveys allow analytics to track qualitative and quantitative user data Can export data to external analytics tools |
| Localization | Multilingual localization available |
| Customer support | Email only for Essentials plan; more support and a dedicated Customer Success Manager on higher price plans |
Appcues Pricing
Appcues has three pricing tiers with increasing costs based on the number of MAUs with features limited based on cost. Each price plan has a free trial.
Userpilot: Best No-Code Userlane Alternative For Larger Budgets
Userpilot is a powerful and code-free Userlane alternative providing effective onboarding solutions for SaaS companies with larger budgets.
Main features
| MAUs & team members | Capped: plans start with 2,500 MAUs and 20 team member seats, the price scales up with more users so not ideal for apps with thousands of users |
| Coding | Zero code, easy installation with no need for technical background |
| Compatability & integrations | Web apps only Doesn’t currently offer integrations with major platforms like Salesforce |
| Segmentation & triggering | Contextual onboarding triggered by user behavior |
| Onboarding elements | Extensive range of UI elements for a fully interactive onboarding experience Customer onboarding only, no employee training |
| Feedback & analytics | User feedback surveys including NPS, unlimited goal setting |
| Localization | Can be localized in 32 different languages |
| Customer support | Live chat only with lower price plan, Enterprise package includes full customer support |
Userpilot Pricing
Userpilot’s two-tier pricing model is based on the number of MAUs your SaaS has: both plans start at 2,500 MAUs and the price scales up with more users. Unless you have a very high budget, Userpilot isn’t the best Userlane alternative for apps with many thousands of users.
WalkMe: Best Userlane Alternative For Enterprises
Offering powerful product walkthroughs and advanced analytics, WalkMe is ideal for high-revenue enterprises with in-house developer teams.
Main features
| MAUs & team members | WalkMe’s Basic plan is limited to 300 MAUs, while their Custom price plan offers unlimited users No information on number of team member seats included |
| Coding | Claims to be code-free but most reviews say it has to be installed within your software by professional developers |
| Compatibility & integrations | Integrations with major platforms including Salesforce, AWS, G Suite etc. |
| Segmentation & triggering | User segmentation and flow triggering potentially only available with Custom package |
| Onboarding elements | Limited to product walkthroughs, however, available for onboarding users and employees to a company’s own products or third-party services |
| Feedback & analytics | Advanced user experience analytics |
| Localization | Multilingual product walkthroughs available with Custom plan |
| Customer support | Limited online support with Basic plan |
Walkme Pricing
WalkMe has a two-tier pricing model based on MAUs and features, however, their Basic plan is very limited. So it’s really only a worthwhile product for high-revenue businesses, as most will require the custom plan, which reportedly costs between $9,000 – $50,000 per year. Find out more in our full Walkme breakdown.
Userlane Alternatives: Key Takeaways
Userlane is a great piece of software for simple SaaS apps that don’t require extensive onboarding experiences. However, with customized pricing and no clear rates, it’s difficult to know if Userlane would fit your budget.
If you’re a high-revenue SaaS requiring more comprehensive and interactive onboarding experiences, investing in a Userlane alternative such as Appcues or WalkMe could be worth your while.
Finally, if you’re looking for budget-friendly code-free software with advanced analytics, effective onboarding solutions and dedicated customer support on every pricing plan, Nickelled is the best Userlane alternative for your business.