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Technology · head to head

Canny vs Thought Machine

Canny logo

Canny

Technology

Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Machine logo

Thought Machine

Technology

Cloud native core banking where products are written as smart contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Canny has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Canny tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs; Thought Machine a core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • They diverge on capability: Canny covers Feedback boards, Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Canny and Thought Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where Canny and Thought Machine differ
AttributeCannyThought Machine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Claude AI (MCP)Web, API, Cloud
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).

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 Canny

  • Feedback boards
  • Voting system
  • Roadmap planning
  • Changelog
  • User segmentation
  • Status updates
  • Admin moderation
  • Analytics

Only in Thought Machine

  • Smart contract product engine
  • Cloud native architecture
  • Real time ledger
  • Vault Payments
  • API first design
  • Multi entity and multi currency
  • Product versioning and testing
  • Configurable posting rules

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Canny

  • Feature request managementnot Thought Machine
  • Product roadmappingnot Thought Machine
  • Customer feedback collectionnot Thought Machine
  • Changelog communicationnot Thought Machine
  • User engagementnot Thought Machine

Thought Machine

  • A large bank launching a separate digital brand on a clean core rather than migrating the back booknot Canny
  • A bank whose product launches are blocked by vendor change requests on a legacy corenot Canny
  • An institution needing real time balances and postings for instant payment obligationsnot Canny
  • A group consolidating multiple country cores onto one multi entity platformnot Canny

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Canny

  • Tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs
  • Limited integrations on Core plan; must upgrade to Pro to connect with Jira and Linear
  • Lacks built-in analytics for identifying themes and patterns across hundreds of feedback requests without manual tagging
  • Customizations limited for public-facing interfaces regarding branding and information presentation
  • Autopilot AI cannot be linked to product knowledge bases to better understand products and improve function
  • Slow response times reported by users, affecting feedback management efficiency
  • Limited custom user fields and manual data updates require API access

Thought Machine

  • A core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • The smart contract model presumes a bank can write and maintain Python financial products, and institutions without that engineering capability end up outsourcing the very flexibility they bought.
  • Cloud infrastructure cost sits with the bank and is not trivial at scale, so total cost of ownership comparisons against a hosted legacy core often miss a large recurring line.
  • Thought Machine has made two rounds of job cuts pursuing profitability, which is a legitimate supplier stability concern for a system a bank expects to run for fifteen years.
  • The functional footprint is core ledger and product engine, so origination, collections, regulatory reporting and channels all come from other vendors, and the integration estate around Vault is the bank's problem to design and own.

Pricing, plan by plan

Canny

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 100 tracked users
    • Unlimited feedback
    • 1 board
  • Starter$400/month
    • 1,000 tracked users
    • Unlimited boards
    • Private boards
  • Growth$900/month
    • 5,000 tracked users
    • API access
    • SSO
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Unlimited tracked users
    • White label
    • SLA

Thought Machine

On request
  • Vault Core$undefined/year
    • Quoted per institution, typically on account volumes or annual contract value
    • Implementation and system integrator costs commonly exceed the licence fee
    • Cloud infrastructure costs are the bank's and are not included

Which should you pick?

Choose Canny if

  • You need feedback boards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Claude AI (MCP).
  • You also want voting system.
Canny review

Choose Thought Machine if

  • You need smart contract product engine.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud native architecture.
Thought Machine review

Questions people ask

Is Canny or Thought Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. Canny starts at Free and Thought Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Canny or Thought Machine?
Canny has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Canny and On request for Thought Machine.
Does Canny or Thought Machine run on more platforms?
Canny runs on Web, Claude AI (MCP). Thought Machine runs on Web, API, Cloud.
Can I use Canny for free?
Yes. Canny has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Machine starts at On request.
What is Canny best used for?
Canny is most often used for feature request management, product roadmapping, customer feedback collection, changelog communication. Of those, feature request management and product roadmapping are not what Thought Machine is typically brought in for.
What can Canny do that Thought Machine cannot?
Canny covers Feedback boards, Voting system, Roadmap planning, Changelog. Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine, Cloud native architecture, Real time ledger, Vault Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Canny: Does Canny offer a free plan?

Yes. Canny offers a free plan that allows collecting up to 100 feedback ideas. Free users get basic features without roadmap, changelog, or integrations.

Source
Thought Machine: Is Vault Core genuinely cloud native?

Yes. It is containerised, runs on Kubernetes on public cloud, and posts in real time rather than in overnight batch.

Canny: How is Canny priced?

Canny pricing scales based on tracked users. Core starts at $19/month (100 users, annual), Pro starts at $79/month (100 users, annual). Prices increase as tracked users grow.

Source
Thought Machine: How long does a migration take?

Eighteen months at the absolute fastest for a narrow greenfield launch; two to four years for a phased migration at an established bank.

Canny: What is a tracked user in Canny?

A tracked user is anyone who posts, votes, or comments on your Canny board or embedded widget. Each unique end user counts once and the count accumulates.

Source
Thought Machine: Does the licence fee represent the total cost?

No. Implementation, system integration, parallel running and cloud infrastructure typically cost more than the licence over the programme.

Canny: What is Canny Autopilot?

Canny Autopilot is an AI feature that automatically captures feature requests from communication tools like Gong, Intercom, Slack, and Zendesk. It prioritizes requests by revenue impact.

Source
Canny: Does Canny have a public roadmap feature?

Yes. Canny provides a public roadmap where customers can see what is planned, building, and shipped. Customers can vote on features and watch their feedback progress.

Source
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