Clew

A UserGuiding alternative — free to start, self-hosted if needed

UserGuiding is a no-code onboarding platform with tours, checklists, a resource center, knowledge base and surveys, starting at $174/month billed yearly. Clew covers tours, tooltips, checklists and modals with a free plan forever, monthly paid plans from $14.99 and a self-hosted edition.

Start freeAll comparisonsFree plan forever · no credit card

Clew vs UserGuiding, point by point

FeatureClewUserGuiding
What it isWeb onboarding: tours, tooltips, checklists, modalsTours, checklists, resource center, knowledge base, surveys, AI assistant
Free planYes, foreverNo — 14-day trial
Entry price$14.99/mo, billed monthly$174/mo, billed yearly
Self-hostedYes (Docker, your server)Not stated; EU data hosting on higher plans
BuilderVisual editor on your live pageChrome extension, no code
Knowledge base, resource centerNoYes
When UserGuiding is the honest choice: If you want a knowledge base, resource center and AI assistant bundled with onboarding — it is among the most affordable of the established tools. Clew is the pick for a free start or self-hosting.

Comparison based on public information as of September 2026 — the vendors' own pricing, product and help pages. Features and prices change; if something here is outdated or inaccurate, email hello@getclew.io and we will fix it.

app.yourproduct.com/dashboard
A Clew tooltip on top of an app dashboard, pointing at the New report button
Shown for illustration — this is how a hint looks on a live page.
What it looks like

A hint inside your product

A tour, tooltip, checklist or modal — built in the visual editor and shown by URL, segment, trigger and frequency. A product manager or marketer edits it, with no release.

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real customer. Real customer stories will appear here as they happen.

Why teams pick Clew

Free plan forever, no cardSelf-hosted — data stays in your perimeterSet up by non-engineers — no codeReact, Vue, any SPA

Frequently asked questions

How is Clew different from UserGuiding?

UserGuiding is a no-code onboarding platform with tours, checklists, a resource center, knowledge base and surveys, starting at $174/month billed yearly. Clew covers tours, tooltips, checklists and modals with a free plan forever, monthly paid plans from $14.99 and a self-hosted edition.

Is Clew cheaper than UserGuiding?

Clew publishes its prices: a free plan forever, and paid plans from $14.99/month. UserGuiding lists Starter at $174/month and Growth at $349/month, both billed yearly from 2,000 monthly active users, with a 14-day trial and no free plan. Checked on September 26, 2026 on userguiding.com/pricing.

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.

Put onboarding into your product with one line of code.

Start free Ask about self-hosting Cloud — free plan forever. Self-hosted — runs on your own servers.

Product tours, popups and onboarding in the age of AI

7 patterns with step counts, copy rules and what to measure, what AI changes, and a checklist before you publish. PDF, 2 pages. What is inside →