WalkMe vs Userlane - Which Is Better for Interactive User Guides?

Is WalkMe or Userlane the best tool for interactive user guides? Is there a better in-app onboarding software that would better fit your needs?

With so many alternatives on review sites, it’s a bit tricky to choose one.

You need to consider your priorities and what functionality you’ll need from the tool to get the job done. Then there’s also the price that needs to match your budget. Right?

In this post, we’ll discuss exactly that – what the perfect tool for creating interactive user guides should deliver and which will be the best choice for your company’s needs.

Let’s dive in!

Overview of WalkMe vs Userlane for interactive user guides

Let’s explore how WalkMe and Userlane compare when it comes to creating interactive user guides.
- WalkMe offers various features to help you design and implement interactive user guides. These include: Smart Walk-Thrus, SmartTips and ShoutOuts, WalkMe Menu, and User segmentation.
- Userlane is a no-code digital adoption platform used to measure how employees use applications, identify areas for improvement, and offer real-time guidance directly within any application.
If you’re looking for a better option for creating interactive user guides, Userpilot exceeds both functionality and value for money compared to other tools on the list.
Userpilot is a product growth platform that drives user activation, feature adoption, and expansion revenue. It also helps product teams collect user feedback, streamline onboarding, and gather actionable insights from analytics. Get a Userpilot demo and drive your product growth code-free.

What is an interactive user guide?

An interactive user guide is a set of UI patterns designed to work together and help customers understand how to use your product.

There are two main types of user guides: full product tours (which tend to be more detailed and time-consuming), and interactive manuals (using tooltips and real-time guidance to provide more contextual help to your customers).

Interactive user manuals are an excellent way of engaging and educating your users, helping them to get the most out of your product, and improving user onboarding and feature adoption.

Must have features for interactive user guide tools

Not all tools are built the same. Some offer different advantages over others while some will simply get you basic functionality but at a low price. It depends on your budget and needs which will be the best tool to build interactive user guides.

Here’s what to look for as the main functionalities when picking a tool to build in-app guides:

Good range of UI patterns to use for building your guides.
Ability to customize each interactive guide to fit your brand and style.
Segmentation so you could trigger the guides to the right audience at the right time. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t bring you the desired results.
The ability to trigger the user guides when specific in-app events happen is nice to have and will help you build more contextual in-app experiences.
Minimum product usage analytics to be able to track how users engage with the product and where they get stuck so you can build relevant user guides to help them.

The above list is not exhaustive but it’s a starting point. Depending on your product, you might also need automated localization, A/B testing capabilities, advanced analytics or security, and more.

WalkMe for creating interactive user guides

User guides are crucial to maximizing feature adoption and product usage. They can also empower users with self-service support and reduce ticket volume.

WalkMe offers various features to help you design and implement interactive user guides. These include:

Smart Walk-Thrus – You can use these to provide users with step-by-step instructions on how to navigate your product or use a particular feature.
SmartTips and ShoutOuts – These UI patterns come in handy when you want to provide more detailed on-screen guidance.
WalkMe Menu – You can use this widget to give users one-click access to various guides. You can also create a checklist of steps they have to complete for a particular task.
User segmentation – With this feature, you can segment users into different groups based on their behavior and preferences. Then, you can create personalized user guides for each segment.

No-code product tours in WalkMe

Product tours are one of the most common functionalities you’d expect from a digital adoption platform. WalkMe lets you build interactive and personalized product walkthroughs with the Smart Walk-Thrus feature.

Here’s how you can build remarkable product tours with Smart Walk-Thrus:

Provide step-by-step instructions to guide new users as they navigate your product. Each step uses tip balloons to highlight specific features or UI elements and explain how to use them or the next steps a user should take.
Create personalized journeys by controlling the flow of product tours based on user behavior and action.
Use ShoutOuts to communicate crucial information about different features or highlight CTAs within a product tour.

However, you’ll need some coding knowledge to create and implement Smart Walk-Thrus. If you’re looking for a platform that delivers on the promise of a no-code builder, Userpilot would be a better choice.

In-app messaging in WalkMe

Besides product tours and user guides, WalkMe lets you create a wide array of in-app messages to educate, inform, and delight users. You can even compel them to take the desired action and follow a series of steps with such messages. The feature that facilitates in-app messaging is ShoutOuts.

Here are the various applications for in-app messages with ShoutOuts:

Make important announcements about layout changes, new features, scheduled maintenance, and membership updates. Pre-designed templates in the ShoutOut Theme Gallery can be particularly helpful here.
Define events (user actions) that trigger specific ShoutOuts, and set the frequency of each announcement to avoid overwhelming users.
Add CTA buttons and links to videos, knowledge base articles, blog posts, etc., to prompt users to take action.
Monitor the ShoutOut dashboard to track various metrics, such as how many times a ShoutOut was played or how often users clicked the CTA button. These insights can help you understand how users interact with different in-app messages. The analytics are fairly basic, though.

Userlane for creating interactive user guides

With the Userlane Editor, you can create powerful interactive guides within applications, enhancing user experiences and facilitating content creation and editing.

You can create guides within the application or tooltips to add explanations to an element within the application for your users. Let’s take a look at how Userlane can help you create interactive user guides:

Real-time assistance: Userlane’s interactive guides are more than just pop-up hints. They provide context-aware help right when and where a user needs it. If a user seems stuck or unsure of the next step, Userlane’s guides can nudge them in the right direction, ensuring they’re not frustrated or overwhelmed.
Sleek learning path: Userlane allows the creation of adaptive learning paths. This means the guides can adjust in complexity and depth based on the user’s previous interactions, ensuring a customized and efficient learning experience. The platform’s no-code functionality allows these adaptive paths to be set up without needing to delve into complex coding or scripting.
Seamless integration: Userlane understands that users have different learning preferences. Some prefer text, while others benefit from visuals or videos. The platform seamlessly integrates multimedia elements into the guides, ensuring a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.

No-code product tours in Userlane

Userlane is primarily designed to create interactive product walkthroughs with simplicity. For companies looking to integrate a basic onboarding experience without coding complexities, Userlane’s no-code platform is an ideal choice.

It provides a seamless solution for businesses to create in-app interactive content. Rather than requiring extensive coding and development effort, Userlane enables organizations to craft intuitive product tours rapidly.

Here’s a breakdown of the features of Userlane for no-code product tours:

Interactive Step-by-Step Guidance: Userlane offers a visual editor that allows creators to design step-by-step instructions directly within the application interface. These guides provide users with a hands-on approach to learning, leading them through real-time processes. This ensures that users aren’t just reading instructions but are actively engaged in performing tasks.
Analytics and Performance Insights Without Code: Beyond just crafting the tours, Userlane’s no-code platform provides businesses with valuable insights into user engagement. Organizations can monitor the effectiveness of their onboarding content, pinpoint areas of improvement, and optimize their guides—all through a user-friendly, code-free dashboard.
Personalized User Segmentation with No-Code Customization: Userlane’s no-code capabilities enable businesses to tailor tours based on user roles, preferences, or behaviors without diving into complex programming.

In-app messaging in Userlane

With Userlane, you can deliver in-app messages to your users through the Userlane Assistant. This way, you can communicate with your users without the hassle of using a Google translator to translate to their preferred language.

Contextual Communication: Delivers tailored messages to users based on their actions, position within the app, or specific milestones, ensuring timely and relevant engagement.
Role-Based Message Management: Grants specific permissions to administrators, moderators, and contributors in your product team, allowing for streamlined creation, editing, and publishing of in-app messages.
Content-Rich Announcements: Supports the inclusion of various media types, like images, and offers capabilities to link messages directly to detailed guides, enhancing the depth and versatility of the messaging experience.

Pros and cons of WalkMe

WalkMe ticks a lot of the right boxes if you’re looking for a digital adoption platform that’s intuitive and scalable. However, business requirements can vary and that could mean that WalkMe might not be the right fit for you. Here are three reasons why you may need to opt for a WalkMe alternative:

You have a low budget: WalkMe is purpose-built for enterprises and it shows in its pricing. You can expect the cost to go into thousands of dollars annually. If your business doesn’t have a huge budget, it might be better to opt for another platform.
You want to get started quickly: If you want a platform that offers near-plug-and-play functionality, you’re better off choosing another digital adoption platform as WalkMe has a moderate learning curve.
You don’t want to work with CSS/HTML: Even though WalkMe is marketed as a no-code/low-code platform, there are some aspects where you’ll need CSS/HTML knowledge for customizations. If you want a fully no-code solution, you’re better off opting for an alternative.

Pros of WalkMe

WalkMe is among the most popular platforms out there for digital adoption, especially for enterprises. It’s got a range of useful features that businesses can leverage to create in-app engagements, track user behavior, and retain customers, among other things. Here are the pros of using WalkMe:

Multiple in-app engagements: Offers a bunch of in-app engagement options, including product tours, tooltips, help widgets, onboarding checklists, and more. Using them well can help you engage your customers.
User-friendliness: The platform is quite user-friendly in terms of creating in-app engagements. And while it does have a moderate learning curve as a whole, it becomes easy to use once you get the hang of it.
Lots of analytics: WalkMe provides in-depth analytics on a range of things like in-app engagements and forms to help you understand the impact that they’re creating. This helps you optimize your strategies for better results.
Workflow automation: Workflow automation features like onboarding automation stand out as they enable you to automate a series of steps and processes like clicking buttons to make your customer experience better.
Community: WalkMe offers a strong community of experts and partners who can help you whenever you get stuck.

Cons of WalkMe

While WalkMe has a bunch of good things to offer that make it one of the leading digital adoption platforms out there, it does have a few drawbacks that prevent you from unlocking its full potential. Let’s take a look at some of the cons of this platform:

Coding knowledge: Even though WalkMe is no-code/low-code for most of its functions, you’ll need to know HTML or CSS to make the most out of the platform.
Challenging on complex sites: The process of implementing WalkMe on your website depends on the complexity of your site. You might find it challenging to ensure that your content behaves the way it should if you’ve got a complicated website.
Focused on employees: WalkMe’s primary use case lies in digital adoption for employees, even though it has a specific plan for customers. However, this makes it slightly weaker compared to other platforms that have been dedicatedly built for customers.

Pros and cons of Userlane

While Userlane is undoubtedly powerful, certain scenarios might necessitate exploring alternatives.

Extensive Third-party Integrations: While Userlane offers some key integrations if your business heavily relies on a diverse range of third-party tools and you need a seamless, in-depth integration for all of them, you might want to explore platforms like Pendo or Mixpanel that offer broader integration ecosystems.
Budget Constraints: While Userlane offers a plethora of features suitable for established enterprises or growing companies, it might be beyond the reach of early-stage startups with limited funds. If you’re on a strict budget and looking for a more affordable solution, platforms like UserGuiding, Intercom, or Intro.js might be more aligned with your financial constraints.
Complex Customization Needs: If your platform requires highly specialized or intricate onboarding experiences that go beyond standard walkthroughs and tooltips, you might find Userlane’s customization options a bit restrictive. In such cases, tools like WalkMe or Appcues, known for their deep customization capabilities, might be a better fit.

Pros of Userlane

Higher productivity, less support effort, and happier users are what Userlane is created for. From a vast spectrum of capabilities to elegantly crafted UI elements that cater to any walkthrough, regardless of its level of customization, Userlane stands out as a robust platform to bolster user engagement and product familiarization.

Let’s dive into the pros of using Userlane:

Streamlined no-code interface: Userlane boasts a user-friendly dashboard, enabling even those with no coding background to easily design and implement onboarding flows.
Product adoption analytics: Get a real-time view of digital transformation progress in your organization. Delve deeper into user behaviors across different applications and analyze engagement levels so you can optimize user experiences.
Dynamic user walkthroughs: Craft compelling and interactive walkthroughs that intuitively guide users through your software, ensuring they grasp every essential feature.
Versatile in-app communication tools: Whether tooltips, banners, or pop-up modals, Userlane offers many tools to engage users directly within your platform. With Userlane’s customer onboarding solution, you can tailor communications for different user segments, guiding them through the tasks and processes they will most likely need help with.
Seamless third-party integrations: Integrate Userlane with various analytics tools, CRM platforms, and other essential software to ensure a harmonious workflow and data sharing.
Granular audience segmentation: Understand your users and their needs better by segmenting them based on behavior, user type, or other customizable metrics. This ensures that your messaging and tours are always relevant and timely.
Optimized A/B testing capabilities: Refine your onboarding and in-app messaging by A/B testing different approaches, enabling you to continually enhance user experience based on concrete data.
Thoughtful pacing with walkthrough rate limiting: Ensure users aren’t too quickly bombarded with too much information. With Userlane’s rate limiting, you can pace the introduction of new features or tasks, striking a balance between informing and overwhelming.

Cons of Userlane

As with any tool, weighing its strengths and weaknesses is essential. Here are the notable drawbacks of adopting Userlane:

Visual Customization Restrictions: One of Userlane’s apparent setbacks lies in its restricted visual customization capabilities. If you have an eye for aesthetic and unique branding elements might find the platform limiting. The lack of diverse templates and somewhat rigid design elements could impede brands from truly reflecting their identity.
Analytical Ambiguities: In the age of data-driven decision-making, Userlane’s analytical powers — or the lack thereof — stand out. While it offers basic insights, those looking for a deep dive into granular user behavior, funnel analysis, heatmaps, and more might need to bridge the gap with external integrations.
Integration Quandaries: Speaking of integrations, Userlane might not be the Swiss Army knife of connectivity that some businesses might be hoping for. While essentials like Zendesk, Google Analytics, Hubspot, and Salesforce are on the list, those yearning for a wider array of integration options might need to strategize around these limitations.
Cost Considerations: Userlane’s pricing structure could be a roadblock, especially for startups and SMEs keen on budget constraints. The initial investment for Userlane might seem daunting, especially considering the added costs of potential integrations and the learning curve associated with maximizing the platform’s potential.

WalkMe vs Userlane: Which one fits your budget?

Understanding the cost implications is paramount when selecting the right solution for creating interactive user guides, so here’s a detailed pricing comparison of WalkMe and Userlane.

Pricing of WalkMe

WalkMe’s pricing isn’t transparent, but it’s fully customizable based on your requirements. It offers a bunch of useful features like analytics, a self-serve content creation engine, in-app engagement creation, and more.

However, you need to get in touch with their team to find pricing details for both the customer and employee versions. Considering the platform is specifically built for enterprises, you can expect the cost to be on the higher end. You could end up spending anywhere between $9000 to $50,000 per year if you choose to use WalkMe.

Pricing of Userlane

Userlane’s pricing plan is structured in a customizable pattern. This means you need to get a custom quote to know the plan that fits your brand’s purpose based on the level of your SaaS and the number of acquired customers.

Userpilot – A better alternative for building interactive user guides

Userpilot is a product growth platform that drives user activation, feature adoption, and expansion revenue. It also helps product teams collect user feedback, streamline onboarding, and gather actionable insights from analytics.

With Userpilot, you’ll be able to track both product usage and user behavior to get a holistic view of how customers use your product — which will guide future development, improve the user experience, and inform your growth efforts.

No-code product tours in Userpilot

Product tours are an effective way to show new users what a product can do and reduce the time-to-value (TTV) for them. Userpilot lets you build advanced product tours, set contextual triggers, and target specific audiences, all without writing a single line of code.

Here are the Userpilot features that you can use to build a product tour for your users:

Flow builder: Userpilot’s no-code flow builder has a variety of UI patterns to choose from, such as modals, slideouts, tooltips, and driven actions. All UI patterns are available for use regardless of which Userpilot plan you’re on. All you need to do is install the Chrome extension.

Contextual triggers: Userpilot lets you set triggers for your flows to ensure that they appear at the most contextual moments. Flows could be triggered when users land on a specific page or when a tracked event occurs. There are also manual triggering options that you can tinker with.

Audience targeting: Userpilot’s audience targeting setting lets you set the conditions needed for a flow to show up for a specific user. You can use these settings to create flows that target a specific segment or exclude certain users from seeing a flow if certain conditions are met.

In-app messaging in Userpilot

In-app messaging enables communication within your product to onboard new users or drive feature adoption among existing customers.

Here are a few ways you can send in-app messages using Userpilot:

Modals: Userpilot lets you use modals to send unmissable in-app messages to your users. Simply choose from one of the six templates or create a new modal from scratch. You’ll be able to use text, emojis, images, and videos to help your modals get the message across to users.

Banners: Userpilot banners can be used to send in-app messages that are urgent but don’t need to take up the entire screen. You can also add blocks with text, emojis, images, videos, forms, custom JavaScript functions, and more to style banners to your liking.

Tooltips: They are the least intrusive form of in-app messaging as they only show up when users hover over an element or click on an info icon. You’ll be able to adjust the height, shape, color, and placement of tooltips to make them native-like.

Pricing of Userpilot

Userpilot’s transparent pricing ranges from $249/month on the entry-level end to an Enterprise tier for larger companies.

Furthermore, Userpilot’s entry-level plan includes access to all UI patterns and should include everything that most mid-market SaaS businesses need to get started.

Userpilot has three paid plans to choose from:

Starter: The entry-level Starter plan starts at $249/month and includes features like segmentation, product analytics, reporting, user engagement, NPS feedback, and customization.
Growth: The Growth plan starts at $749/month and includes features like resource centers, advanced event-based triggers, unlimited feature tagging, AI-powered content localization, EU hosting options, and a dedicated customer success manager.
Enterprise: The Enterprise plan uses custom pricing and includes all the features from Starter + Growth plus custom roles/permissions, access to premium integrations, priority support, custom contract, SLA, SAML SSO, activity logs, security audit, and compliance (SOC 2/GDPR).

What do users say about Userpilot?

Most users laud Userpilot for its versatile feature set, ease of use, and responsive support team:

I recently had the pleasure of using Userpilot, and I must say it exceeded all my expectations. As a product manager, I’m always on the lookout for tools that can enhance user onboarding and improve overall user experience. Userpilot not only delivered on these fronts but also went above and beyond with its impressive new features, unparalleled ease of use, and truly exceptional customer support.

What truly sets Userpilot apart is its outstanding customer support. Throughout my journey with Userpilot, the support team has been responsive, knowledgeable, and genuinely dedicated to helping me succeed. Whenever I had a question or encountered an issue, their support team was always there to assist promptly, going above and beyond to ensure my concerns were addressed effectively.

Source: G2.

Of course, other users are also kind enough to share constructive criticism regarding specific features like event tracking filters:

“The filtration while analyzing specific events is a little confusing. Understanding of custom properties and data management configuration could have been more organised.”

Source: G2.

Conclusion

This is the end of our thorough comparison between WalkMe and Userlane. You should be able to make a confident decision by now. If you’re looking for a solid tool for building interactive user guides that promises great value for money, give Userpilot a go. Book a demo today.

WalkMe vs Userlane: Which is Better for Interactive User Guides?

Overview of WalkMe vs Userlane for interactive user guides

What is an interactive user guide?

Must have features for interactive user guide tools