{"id":27547,"date":"2025-08-28T06:03:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T06:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-free\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T15:49:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:49:23","slug":"pendo-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Pendo Free: A Thorough Review + Better Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Pendo Free sounds like an attractive option. After all, you\u2019re getting access to a user onboarding tool with a reputation for quality analytics without having to spend a cent. But does the free plan live up to the expectations?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s exactly what we explore in our review. We look at the features available in the free plan, its strengths, and limitations. We also take a look at a couple of alternative tools that might give <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/role\/product-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">product managers<\/a> more bang for their buck.<\/p>\n<div id=\"userpilot-quiz-container\">\n<p><!-- Question 1 --><\/p>\n<div id=\"quiz-question-1\" class=\"quiz-question active\">\n<h3>What&#8217;s your biggest challenge with user onboarding right now?<\/h3>\n<p>Understanding your main pain point helps identify the best solution beyond the basic Pendo Free offering.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"quiz-answer\">Understanding user behavior and analytics<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">Building interactive guides without coding<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">Personalizing experiences for different user segments<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Question 2 --><\/p>\n<div id=\"quiz-question-2\" class=\"quiz-question\">\n<h3>How many Monthly Active Users (MAUs) does your product currently have?<\/h3>\n<p>Pendo Free has a hard limit of 500 MAUs, which is a critical factor for growing products.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"quiz-answer\">Under 500<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">500 &#8211; 2,000<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">More than 2,000<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Question 3 --><\/p>\n<div id=\"quiz-question-3\" class=\"quiz-question\">\n<h3>How important are advanced features like a resource center or guide experiments?<\/h3>\n<p>These features are often missing in free plans but are crucial for optimizing user self-service and adoption.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"quiz-answer\">Nice to have, but not essential<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">Very important for our self-serve support strategy<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"quiz-answer\">Critical for personalizing and improving our user experience<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Final CTA --><\/p>\n<div id=\"quiz-final\" class=\"quiz-question\">\n<h3>You&#8217;re ready for a more robust solution than Pendo Free.<\/h3>\n<p>Based on your answers, the limitations of a free plan could be holding back your growth. Userpilot offers scalable, powerful features for serious product teams without the surprise upgrade costs.<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"quiz-cta-btn\">See a Live Demo of Userpilot<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Link to your JavaScript file --><br \/>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/pendofree.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><strong>What is Pendo Free?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Pendo Free is simply the free version of the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/what-is-pendo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pendo Software Experience Management<\/a> platform.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">The free plan offers core features that allow product teams to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-behavior-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>track user behavior<\/u><\/a>, design and trigger <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/in-app-messages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>in-app messages<\/u><\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/drive-product-adoption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>drive product adoption<\/u><\/a>, collect user feedback through NPS surveys, and manage product roadmaps.<\/p>\n<p>Pendo Free also supports unlimited web and mobile app keys, so you can onboard multiple web, iOS, and Android apps. You can track up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs), and there is no time limit to the free plan.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294247\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294247\" style=\"width: 2432px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294247 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free.png\" alt=\"Pendo Free\" width=\"2432\" height=\"1262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free.png 2432w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free-450x234.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free-1024x531.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free-768x399.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free-1536x797.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Free-2048x1063.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2432px) 100vw, 2432px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294247\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pendo Free summary from Pendo&#8217;s website.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What features does the Pendo free version offer? Key use cases<\/h2>\n<p>Pendo Free is supposed to provide all the basic functionalities of an all-in-one product tool and give smaller companies a taste of what they could achieve with their paid versions.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s go through Pendo Free&#8217;s offering in detail.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Product analytics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-analytics-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pendo Analytics<\/a> is the tool&#8217;s strongest feature set, and the free plan offers most of its strongest features. You can track and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/actionable-analytics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analyze user engagement<\/a>, user behavior, and product usage with various reports and a customizable dashboard.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_4709d57b8bbe308b16d6fde34e6835ec_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_4709d57b8bbe308b16d6fde34e6835ec_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_4709d57b8bbe308b16d6fde34e6835ec_800.png\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Pendo Free analytics features.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Retroactive analytics and unlimited feature tagging<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo Free&#8217;s retroactive analytics enables non-technical product teams to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-behavior-analytics-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>track user behavior<\/u><\/a> data, including past data.<\/p>\n<p>You can easily tag unlimited pages and features you want to track without installing any tracking code. Once you tag them, Pendo tracks every click and screen or page load. What&#8217;s more, the free version offers unlimited page and feature tags.<\/p>\n<h4>Behavioral analytics<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo Free plan gives you access to its flagship analytics tools:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paths: This feature enables you to map out every sequence of events leading up to or following a user action. This can help you identify the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/happy-path\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">happy path<\/a> to conversion or activation, or build funnel charts.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-funnel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>Funnel analysis<\/u><\/a>: It provides you with information about users who have completed specific actions leading to an activation event. It\u2019s invaluable when it comes to identifying <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/friction-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>friction points<\/u><\/a> and boosting conversions.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/retention-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>Retention analysis<\/u><\/a>: It allows you to learn how many users stay with you and keep engaging with your product regularly over time. This gives an idea of your product\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-perceived-value\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>perceived value<\/u><\/a>. With Pendo, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-retention-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>collect retention data<\/u><\/a> and present it in interactive charts. You can filter the data using a range of criteria and get detailed insights about retained and dropped customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>User segmentation<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-user-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>user segmentation<\/u><\/a> functionality enables you to categorize your users by a whole host of criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Product usage and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/behavioral-segmentation-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>user behavior data<\/u><\/a>, like tagged feature clicks or guide views.<\/li>\n<li>Visitor and account data, like demographic data.<\/li>\n<li>Mobile-specific data, for example, the OS version.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>Customer segmentation<\/u><\/a> is essential to gain actionable product insights. You can also use it to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/personalized-onboarding-for-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>personalize user onboarding experiences<\/u><\/a> and for targeted communication with <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-guides\/\">Pendo Guides<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>In-app guides<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-guides\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>Pendo Guides<\/u><\/a> let users create interactive feature walkthroughs, which help with user onboarding and new feature adoption. They consist of <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/in-app-messaging\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>in-app messages<\/u><\/a> and prompts that provide tips on how to get the best out of the product and guide users to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-activation-for-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>activation<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With Pendo&#8217;s Visual Design Studio, you can build <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/website-notification-banner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>banners<\/u><\/a>, lightboxes, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/what-are-tooltips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>tooltips<\/u><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/interactive-walkthroughs-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>walkthroughs<\/u><\/a>, and polls, either from scratch or using templates. This doesn\u2019t require any coding as you get access to a WYSIWYG editor that lets you fully customize your in-app messages. Pendo Free also covers both web and mobile guides.<\/p>\n<p>The in-app guides come with scheduling, ordering, and accessibility features.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_52b8c72e6e598c5621aec09105aee6da_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_52b8c72e6e598c5621aec09105aee6da_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_52b8c72e6e598c5621aec09105aee6da_800.png\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Pendo guides features under the free plan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">NPS<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo Free offers <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/types-of-nps-surveys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPS surveys<\/a> that can help track user sentiment and loyalty. You can set up in-app surveys and then analyze answers on a dedicated dashboard. However, the surveys are Pendo-branded.<\/p>\n<h2>Which features does Pendo Free lack?<\/h2>\n<p>In comparison to paid plans, some of the tool&#8217;s features aren&#8217;t available at all in the free version. The only way to try them out is to switch to free trial.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the detailed list of missing features:<\/p>\n<h4>Selected product analytics features<\/h4>\n<p>While Pendo Free offers a decent set of reporting tools, here&#8217;s what it doesn&#8217;t cover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Customizable reports (Data Explorer) and workflows (two major dashboards that allow cross-referencing different data points and report types),<\/li>\n<li>Product Engagement Score,<\/li>\n<li>Cross-app journey reports and executive dashboards,<\/li>\n<li>Identity mapping,<\/li>\n<li>Top <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-journey-map-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">user journey<\/a> insights,<\/li>\n<li>AI-powered behavioral insights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Crucial in-app guide features<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo Free only allows you to set up the most basic guides. You can&#8217;t set up <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-resource-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pendo&#8217;s resource center<\/a>, which takes self-serve support options away from your users. You also don&#8217;t get experiments, logic, or automation, as well as no <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-localization-strategy-expert-advice-anna-iokhimovich\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">localization<\/a> and cross-app guides. That leaves you without crucial personalization and optimization options necessary to really guide users to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/improve-user-activation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">activation<\/a> and adoption. You&#8217;re left with just the simplest, unresponsive flows.<\/p>\n<p>You cannot set up cohesive flows that fit the users&#8217; lifecycle and perfectly fit their path and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/jtbd-product-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">JTBDs<\/a>. You also can&#8217;t copy themes to reuse them later in your work, and you get no AI support or designer customer code.<\/p>\n<p>However, here&#8217;s the twist: Users on paid plans other than the most expensive one also won&#8217;t get any of these features (other than the resource center) unless they pay extra.<\/p>\n<h4>Session replays<\/h4>\n<p>You cannot access Pendo&#8217;s session replays from Pendo free, so you don&#8217;t get an important behavior analytics functionality commonly used by product teams and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-ux-strategist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UX teams.<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Most Product Discovery features<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-discovery\/\">Product Discovery is<\/a> Pendo&#8217;s module for centralizing user feedback, validating product ideas, and creating <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/outcome-based-roadmap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">product roadmaps<\/a>. However, Pendo Free only gives you a little taste of these functionalities, which is the internal roadmap creation tool. This means no <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/feedback-analysis\/\">feedback analysis or<\/a> idea-testing.<\/p>\n<h4>Selected NPS features<\/h4>\n<p>With Pendo Free, you don&#8217;t get email subscription, NPS triage, AI theme generation, or AI summaries. All of those are included only in the highest-tier plans.<\/p>\n<h4>Journey orchestration<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo Free doesn&#8217;t include features for <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/omnichannel-communication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">omnichannel communication<\/a> building, which means no workflows or emails to integrate with guides. Even on the higher plans, they&#8217;re only available as an add-on.<\/p>\n<h4>Most data management and access functions<\/h4>\n<p>With Pendo Free, you get one-year data retention and no API access, integrations, or data synchronization. Paying users get seven years of data retention plus one integration included, and need to pay even more for everything else.<\/p>\n<h4>Customer support<\/h4>\n<p>Pendo free plan includes self-serve support only, with no connection to the customer success team.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What other pricing plans does Pendo offer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Apart from Pendo Free, the company offers four paid plans, all with a custom MAU limit and pricing only available upon request.<\/p>\n<table>\n<colgroup>\n<col \/>\n<col \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>\ud83d\ude80 Plan<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>\u2699\ufe0f Key features<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Base<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Everything in Free, plus: Full product analytics suite, customer support, resource center, 1 integration slot plus seven-year data retention.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Core<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Everything in Base, plus session replays (capture and playback user sessions).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Pulse<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Everything in Core, plus: White-labeled NPS and advanced survey\/poll capabilities, product discovery tools (roadmaps, feedback insights, idea validation).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Ultimate<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Everything Pulse, plus: In-app guides Pro edition (advanced logic, experiments, automation, custom code), journey orchestration (multi-step, cross-channel campaigns), data synchronization (bi-directional syncing with other systems).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_316e4ff40c2dd48809f0c3f4e987edd2_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_316e4ff40c2dd48809f0c3f4e987edd2_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_316e4ff40c2dd48809f0c3f4e987edd2_800.png\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-pricing\/\">Pendo pricing<\/a> plans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">As you can see, there&#8217;s not much transparency regarding the price.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vendr.com\/marketplace\/pendo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vendr<\/a>, the median buyer pays $48,350, which is quite a sum.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294267\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294267\" style=\"width: 649px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294267 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Vendr-Median.png\" alt=\"Pendo Vendr Median\" width=\"649\" height=\"284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Vendr-Median.png 649w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-Vendr-Median-450x197.png 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294267\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pendo price median according to Vendr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 2 []\">The steep pricing comes from stacking MAUs, and the number of features that leave behind add-ons.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the pros and cons of using Pendo Free?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The paid version of Pendo is a very capable (although highly priced) tool. However, Pendo Free is more of a glorified trial than a tool you can successfully use in your commercial projects long-term. With the limited functionalities, you&#8217;re bound to outgrow it fast.<\/p>\n<h3>Pros of using Pendo Free<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Works on both web and mobile apps.<\/li>\n<li>Impressive analytical features.<\/li>\n<li>Functional basic product guides.<\/li>\n<li>Roadmaps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Cons of using Pendo Free<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>500 monthly active users limit<\/li>\n<li>No resource center.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/integrations-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><u>No integrations<\/u><\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>No Guide experiments, logic, or localization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are also a few cons that go for all Pendo plans, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/behavioral-data-types\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><u>User behavior data<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is displayed with a 1-hour delay (this goes for all Pendo plans, including paid)<\/li>\n<li>Surveys and polls can either be run as part of in-app guides, or the Pendo Listen add-on (they&#8217;re not a separate module)<\/li>\n<li>No hotspots or s<span data-color=\"transparent\">tandalone checklists (only part of the Resource Centre or as a Task list in Guides with the Ultimate plan).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What do users say about their experience with Pendo Free?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>G2 reviewers give Pendo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/pendo-io-pendo\/reviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><strong><u>an average rating of 4.4 out of 5<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. However, this doesn\u2019t necessarily apply to Pendo Free.<\/p>\n<p>Some users mention data issues on the Free plan:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The subscription is too expensive for a start-up, and the free version has some issues that are becoming problematic because they make the data unreliable and prevent me from fully utilizing the free version. For instance, the metadata on my accounts only updates when a user logs into my product. (&#8230;) As a result, all of my tracking by segment trial or expired is useless.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294285\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294285\" style=\"width: 1076px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294285 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-for-Pendo-Free.png\" alt=\"Pendo Free negative review\" width=\"1076\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-for-Pendo-Free.png 1076w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-for-Pendo-Free-450x221.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-for-Pendo-Free-1024x503.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-for-Pendo-Free-768x378.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1076px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294285\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A G2 review outlining the cons of Pendo Free from a Software Support Specialist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 2 []\">Other reviews mention that the pricing model doesn&#8217;t fit scaling companies. Huge costs of upgrades and add-ons increase the bills, and users often get coerced into long-term contracts.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Pendo is not a great solution for a company (e.g. like a Series A) that is rapidly evolving and requires flexibility. Their pricing\/licensing model is inflexible and old school. (&#8230;) When my company wanted to transition off Pendo and asked for a 1-2 months extra time to facilitate, I was told that they only do 1 year contracts. Only after repeated escalations was I begrudgingly given option for a 3 month term.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294303\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294303\" style=\"width: 1081px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294303 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-Pendo-Free-2.png\" alt=\"Pendo negative review Pendo Free 2\" width=\"1081\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-Pendo-Free-2.png 1081w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-Pendo-Free-2-450x200.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-Pendo-Free-2-1024x455.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pendo-negative-review-Pendo-Free-2-768x341.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1081px) 100vw, 1081px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294303\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A negative Pendo review on G2 criticizing Pendo&#8217;s pricing model from a VP of Customer Success.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 3 []\"><strong>Are there better alternatives to Pendo Free?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While you don\u2019t have to pay for the lowest Pendo plan, it doesn&#8217;t let you take the full advantage of the tool&#8217;s powerful analytics capabilities or features, such as session replays of the Resource Center. Additionally, the 500 MAU limit runs out in the blink of an eye for any commercial product.<\/p>\n<p>But if you&#8217;re thinking about upgrading to the Base plan, think twice. The plan adds some functionalities in terms of data and analytics, but many other features, like NPS or guide logic, need to be purchased separately.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at some <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/best-pendo-alternatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pendo alternatives<\/a> that can give you better value for money.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Userpilot vs Pendo Free<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/userpilot-features\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a> is an all-in-one product growth platform. Like Pendo, it offers solutions for product analytics (including session replays), in-app guidance, and feedback collection.<\/p>\n<p>Userpilot doesn&#8217;t have a free plan, only a free trial. You can get access to the software with one of three pricing plans:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u200b<strong>Starter plan<\/strong>: $299\/month (billed annually) for up to 2,000 MAUs. Perfect for teams just getting started, includes in-app user engagement, segmentation, usage trends analysis, and NPS surveys.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Growth plan<\/strong>: Customized and intended for growing teams needing more advanced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-analytics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-analytics\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1761061672332000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02g3DgOSUVQg-xxBf9lYLl\">product analytics<\/a>\u00a0and feedback mechanisms. Includes advanced analytics, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/userpilot-autocapture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">autocapture<\/a>, and multi-channel onboarding capabilities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enterprise plan<\/strong>: Custom pricing for larger teams and high-volume products. Offers full customization, dedicated support, and access to all Userpilot features at scale<span data-color=\"rgba(255, 212, 0, 0.14)\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/userpilot-pricing-plans-6.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-397164 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/userpilot-pricing-plans-6.png\" alt=\"Userpilot pricing\" width=\"2344\" height=\"2246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/userpilot-pricing-plans-6.png 2344w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/userpilot-pricing-plans-6-450x431.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/userpilot-pricing-plans-6-1024x981.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2344px) 100vw, 2344px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 2 []\">However, if you need to upgrade, Userpilot&#8217;s pricing is more predictable and much less add-on dependent than Pendo, so the sudden costs won&#8217;t take you by surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how Userpilot&#8217;s Starter Plan compares to Pendo:<\/p>\n<table>\n<colgroup>\n<col \/>\n<col \/>\n<col \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Key capability<\/th>\n<th colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Pendo Free<\/th>\n<th colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Userpilot Starter<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Monthly active users<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u26a0\ufe0f 500 MAU hard cap \u2013 creation blocked once exceeded<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 2000 MAU included, scales transparently<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>In-app tours<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Guides, but throttled after 500 MAU<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Unlimited flows &amp; patterns<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Checklists<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u274c Not included<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Available<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>NPS surveys<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u26a0\ufe0f Pendo-branded only<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Customizable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Basic product analytics<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u26a0\ufe0f Retroactive tagging, but no Data Explorer or PES score<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u26a0\ufe0f Trend dashboards, event tracking. Funnels &amp; paths available in the Growth plan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Session replays<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u274c Add-on, not in Free<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 5000 replays\/mo on every plan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Integrations &amp; API<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u274c None on Free<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Core integrations (Segment, HubSpot, Amplitude, etc.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Data retention<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 12 months<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 12 months<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Support<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u26a0\ufe0f Self-serve docs only<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\u2705 Email<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\"><strong>Price\/contract<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">$0 \u2192 fast upsell to multi-year contract when you hit 501 MAU<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">$299 \/ mo, cancel any time, no hidden fees<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Summing up, Userpilot&#8217;s Starter plan is more sustainable than the Pendo Free plan. Let&#8217;s face it: How much can you achieve with 500 MAUs? And as soon as you reach 501, your only choice is to get locked into a long-term, expensive deal.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Userpilot reviews<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On average, Userpilot has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/userpilot\/reviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><strong><u>higher G2 ratings<\/u><\/strong><\/a> than Pendo, 4.6.<\/p>\n<p>The reviews mention its intuitiveness, high-quality customer support, as well as advanced but easy-to-use analytics features. Its high value-for-money is also often mentioned.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Userpilot was a third of the price of Pendo, and we actually prefer the UX and overall experience. Highly recommend it to any product or growth team looking for a flexible, cost-effective solution to drive user engagement and onboarding.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294322\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294322\" style=\"width: 1060px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294322 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Positive-Userpilot-G2-review.png\" alt=\"Positive Userpilot G2 review\" width=\"1060\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Positive-Userpilot-G2-review.png 1060w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Positive-Userpilot-G2-review-450x260.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Positive-Userpilot-G2-review-1024x592.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Positive-Userpilot-G2-review-768x444.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1060px) 100vw, 1060px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294322\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">G2 review from Senior Director of Product and Design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><strong>Appcues vs Pendo Free<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/appcues-competitors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><u>Appcues<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is another highly-rated product adoption platform. It has no free plan, and its pricing structure is very similar. Appcues offers a Start plan ($300\/month for 1000 MAUs, billed annually), Grow plan ($750\/month for 1000 MAUs, billed annually), and Enterprise (custom pricing).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294357\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294357\" style=\"width: 2356px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-294357\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025.png\" alt=\"Appcues pricing 2025\" width=\"2356\" height=\"1284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025.png 2356w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025-450x245.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025-1024x558.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025-1536x837.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-pricing-2025-2048x1116.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2356px) 100vw, 2356px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294357\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appcues pricing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 2 []\">A huge advantage of Appcues is that even its lowest plan offers a solid number of in-app experiences (including surveys), with a limit of 50 published at once. The Start plan includes an impressive <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/appcues-features\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">set of features<\/a>, including event triggering, dynamic personalization, localization, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/ab-testing-product-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A\/B testing<\/a>, no-code event tracking, usage reporting, a Public API, and more.<\/p>\n<p>However, when considering Appcues&#8217; value for money, it&#8217;s important to remember that it&#8217;s primarily a product engagement platform. As such, it doesn&#8217;t have product analytics capabilities. Additionally, all the starting prices include only 1000 MAUs.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the Starter plan doesn&#8217;t include NPS or resource center, and email and branching workflows are add-ons for all plans.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Appcues reviews<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Appcues platform gets positive reviews from its users, and its current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/appcues\/reviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>G2 rating is sitting at 4.7<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>G2 reviewers mention that it\u2019s incredibly easy to design in-app flows code-free and get started with improving user engagement. However, when it comes to pricing, some reviews also mentioned steep pricing for a relatively limited feature set.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;While Appcues provides a solid set of templates, having more design flexibility and customization options would be a welcome improvement. We often find ourselves wishing for greater control over the appearance of modals and tooltips to better match our branding and user interface. Additionally, while the tool is fantastic, the price can be a bit high for smaller teams or companies that are just starting out. A more flexible pricing model would make it more accessible for businesses that are scaling their onboarding efforts and may not yet have the budget for higher-tier plans.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_294378\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294378\" style=\"width: 1080px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294378 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-G2-review.png\" alt=\"Appcues G2 review\" width=\"1080\" height=\"585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-G2-review.png 1080w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-G2-review-450x244.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-G2-review-1024x555.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Appcues-G2-review-768x416.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294378\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appcues G2 review stressing insufficient customizability and high price.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><strong>Get better value for money with Userpilot<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Pendo Free would be a great option for startups embarking on their <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-led-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PLG<\/a> journey if it expanded its functionality and MAU limit. However, the free account is unlikely to fulfill the needs of scaling companies and is likely to require an upgrade very soon. And unfortunately, Pendo&#8217;s upgrades tend to break to bank with the unclear pricing, necessity for add-ons, and rigid contracts.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you&#8217;re looking for an all-in-one product growth platform that&#8217;s simple, reliable, fast, and offers a transparent pricing model suitable for scaling teams, consider Userpilot.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Userpilot strives to provide accurate information to help businesses determine the best solution for their particular needs. Due to the dynamic nature of the industry, the features offered by Userpilot and others often change over time. The statements made in this article are accurate to the best of Userpilot\u2019s knowledge as of its publication\/most recent update on August 29, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pendo Free sounds like an attractive option. After all, you&#8217;re getting access to a user onboarding tool with a reputation for quality analytics without having to spend a cent. But does the free plan live up to the expectations?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":272331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[138,137,1839,385,387,5896],"class_list":["post-27547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comparison","tag-pendo-alternatives","tag-pendo-competitors","tag-pendo-guides","tag-pendo-pricing","tag-pendo-vs-userpilot","tag-userpilot-vs-pendo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pendo Free: A Thorough Review + Better Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pendo Free may be a very appealing idea. It&#039;s Pendo, and it&#039;s free, after all. But does it live up to the expectations? Let&#039;s find out!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/pendo-free\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pendo Free: A Thorough Review + Better Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pendo Free may be a very appealing idea. It&#039;s Pendo, and it&#039;s free, after all. But does it live up to the expectations? 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