Clew vs Appcues, Pendo, WalkMe and other onboarding tools
Side-by-side comparisons on features, pricing, free plans and self-hosting — each with a section on when the other tool is the honest choice. Pick a product:
Comparisons
An Appcues alternative — with a free plan and published prices
A similar set of web onboarding formats, with a free plan, public pricing and a self-hosted option — and an honest list of who should stay on Appcues.
Open →PendoA Pendo alternative — when you need onboarding, not an analytics suite
Pendo is a product-analytics suite with in-app guides. Clew is focused onboarding with published prices and self-hosting.
Open →UserpilotA Userpilot alternative — for teams that don’t need a $299 starter plan
Userpilot is a full product-growth platform starting at $299/mo. Clew covers core onboarding with a free plan and self-hosting.
Open →UserGuidingA UserGuiding alternative — free to start, self-hosted if needed
UserGuiding starts at $174/mo billed yearly. Clew has a free plan forever and can run on your own servers.
Open →ChameleonA Chameleon alternative — publish tours on a free plan
Chameleon starts at $279/mo with no free plan. Clew publishes on a free plan and can be self-hosted.
Open →IntercomAn Intercom Product Tours alternative — without buying a support suite
Intercom tours come as a paid add-on to a per-seat support platform. Clew is standalone onboarding with a free plan and self-hosting.
Open →WalkMeA WalkMe alternative — without an enterprise sales cycle
WalkMe is an enterprise digital adoption platform, quote-only. Clew is lightweight onboarding with public prices and full self-hosting.
Open →WhatfixA Whatfix alternative — for product teams, not training departments
Whatfix is an enterprise DAP with simulations and desktop guidance, quote-only. Clew is lightweight onboarding with public prices.
Open →Intro.js, Shepherd.js, Driver.jsA no-code alternative to Intro.js, Shepherd.js and Driver.js
Tour libraries are great until product wants to change a sentence. What they do well, where they stop, and when a library is still the right call.
Open →What sets Clew apart
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a developer to set up onboarding?
Only once — to paste one script tag into your page. After that, product managers, marketers or support build tours, tooltips and checklists in a visual editor right on the live page, with no releases.
Does Clew work with React, Vue and single-page apps?
Yes. The widget is dependency-free vanilla JavaScript; it survives route changes in single-page apps and does not pull in a framework.
Can I self-host Clew?
Yes. Run it in Docker or as a single Node process with a built-in SQLite database; visitor data stays on your servers. The self-hosted edition is a one-time license with a year of updates and support.
How much does Clew cost?
The Free plan is free forever: 1 site and up to 3 published tours, no visitor caps. Pro ($14.99/month, 20 published tours, no visitor caps) and Business come with a 14-day trial, no credit card. There is also a one-time Lifetime license and a self-hosted box.