Software · head to head
Pendo vs Userpilot
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Pendo pricing is not publicly available and requires a custom quote; Userpilot starter tier limited to 2,000 monthly active users; even small-to-medium products may require Growth tier
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Pendo and Userpilot actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Pendo
- Product analytics
- In-app messaging
- User onboarding
- Feature adoption tracking
- User feedback
- NPS surveys
- Session replay
- Mobile analytics
Only in Userpilot
Nothing recorded that Pendo does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Pendo
- User onboardingnot Userpilot
- Feature adoptionnot Userpilot
- Product analyticsnot Userpilot
- User feedback collectionnot Userpilot
- Digital adoptionnot Userpilot
Userpilot
- SaaS companies optimising user onboarding and activationnot Pendo
- Product teams collecting user feedback and identifying churn drivers via session replaynot Pendo
- Customer success teams using in-app guides and contextual helpnot Pendo
- Growth teams orchestrating multi-channel campaigns across email and in-appnot Pendo
- Product managers measuring adoption and engagement across user cohortsnot Pendo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Pendo
- Pricing is not publicly available and requires a custom quote
- Free tier limited to 500 monthly active users
Userpilot
- Starter tier limited to 2,000 monthly active users; even small-to-medium products may require Growth tier
- Large price jump from Starter ($299/mo) to Growth ($849/mo), nearly 3x increase
- Growth tier scales to 100,000 MAU but does not publish pricing for higher volumes, requiring Enterprise negotiation
- Session replay and mobile engagement are optional add-ons in Growth tier, not included in base pricing
- Enterprise pricing not published; custom negotiations required for large-scale deployments
Pricing, plan by plan
Pendo
Free- FreeFree
- 500 MAU
- Core analytics
- In-app guides
Userpilot
Free- Starter$299/month
- Up to 2,000 monthly active users
- In-app engagement
- User segmentation
- Growth$849/month (marked 'Most Popular')
- 2,000 to 100,000 monthly active users
- All Starter features
- Advanced product analytics
- Enterprise$null/variable
- Custom monthly active user levels
- All Growth features
- Premium integrations
Which should you pick?
Choose Pendo if
- You need product analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Desktop.
- You also want in-app messaging.
Choose Userpilot if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Questions people ask
- Is Pendo or Userpilot better?
- Neither clearly leads. Pendo starts at Free and Userpilot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Pendo or Userpilot?
- Pendo starts at Free and Userpilot at Free.
- Does Pendo or Userpilot run on more platforms?
- Pendo runs on Web, Mobile, Desktop. Userpilot runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- Can I use Pendo for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Pendo best used for?
- Pendo is most often used for user onboarding, feature adoption, product analytics, user feedback collection. Of those, user onboarding and feature adoption are not what Userpilot is typically brought in for.
- What can Pendo do that Userpilot cannot?
- Pendo covers Product analytics, In-app messaging, User onboarding, Feature adoption tracking.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Pendo: Does Pendo have a free tier?
Yes, Pendo Free supports up to 500 monthly active users and includes core product analytics, in-app guides, Pendo-branded roadmaps, and Pendo-branded NPS surveys.
SourceUserpilot: What is included in the free trial?
Userpilot offers a free 14-day trial without requiring a credit card, providing full access to the Starter tier features.
SourcePendo: What is Pendo's core functionality?
Pendo combines product analytics, in-app guides, session replay, NPS surveys, product discovery, roadmaps, and cross-channel orchestration to measure and improve product adoption.
SourceUserpilot: Does Userpilot include session replay?
Session replay is available in the Growth tier as an optional add-on for watching real user sessions and identifying friction points.
SourcePendo: What CRM systems does Pendo integrate with?
Pendo offers two-way integrations with Salesforce, mapping Pendo product usage and sentiment data with Salesforce records, and with HubSpot for contact mapping and campaign orchestration.
SourceUserpilot: What integrations does Userpilot support?
Userpilot integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Segment, Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, Heap, Zendesk, Intercom and Google Tag Manager. Additional integrations can be requested.
SourcePendo: What impact does Pendo have on customer retention?
Companies using Pendo for product analytics see on average a 5% reduction in customer churn and report an average 15% increase in net revenue retention.
Source