Top 11 Simple Productboard Alternatives for Startups in 2024

Hey! Scrolling the internet for the perfect feedback tool that won't break the bank?

You're in luck! We've handpicked the 11 best Productboard alternatives. They are perfect for startups and give you the most value for your money. 💵

P.S. Don't worry - we hate long, boring lists as well, so we brought out only the important stuff.

Top 11 Productboard Alternatives in 2024

1. Featurebase - best value and easiest to use for teams of all sizes
2. Producter - for medium teams, great for managing tasks
3. Userback - for bigger teams with multiple products
4. Canny.io - for very small or really large businesses - nothing in between
5. FeatureOS - for growing startups looking to collect feedback
6. Nolt.io - for very small and early-stage teams
7. Fider - Open-source option for small startups ready to self-host
8. Upvoty - for medium-sized teams
9. Sleekplan - for small teams and NPS & CSAT tracking
10. Frill - for small organizations seeking a simple feedback tool
11. Aha! - for large companies looking to handpick what they get

But first, let's go over the shortcomings of Productboard. This will help us know what to look for in the new tool.

Why even switch from Productboard?

Read more Productboard reviews here →

• Built for validating, not for getting new ideas
  Productboard's feedback portal is essentially a roadmap that shows only the ideas that you post. Not your users' own feedback. It's great for sharing what you've planned and for validating these ideas with upvotes. But it doesn't let your users see, upvote, or comment on their peers' ideas. As a result, you'll drown under duplicate posts and biased feedback.
• Can't follow up and engage with users
  Productboard doesn't allow commenting. This makes it challenging to engage with users. Commenting helps you clarify ideas by starting a discussion with the post creator or interested users.
• Too complex
  Productboard doesn't feel like a streamlined feedback management tool that makes your life easier. Instead, it seems better suited as a sophisticated issue-tracking system. This and its steep learning curve could slow you down. Especially if you're a fast-moving startup.
• No widgets
  Producboard doesn't offer a way to embed the feedback collection into your app like most other tools. Widgets are useful because users don't have to leave your site to submit feedback or see updates.
• Can't close the feedback loop
  Unlike many popular feedback tools, Productboard doesn't have a Changelog feature. Changelog lets you publish product updates, closing the feedback loop with your users. In Productboard, you can only do this by updating the roadmap's status.
• Expensive
  On top of the complicated plans, Productboard is very expensive. For five users on their Pro plan, it's $400 a month or $4,800 a year. But it can get much more expensive than that as users are complaining about their excessive feature gating.👇

Conclusion

Productboard's features and portal is suitable for large companies with too much feedback. But useless for startups looking to get many new feature ideas and engage with their users.

They focus on issue-tracking and roadmapping, sacrificing a big part of feedback management. It underperforms compared to popular issue-management tools like Linear and Jira. And lacks the advanced features of top feedback tools such as Featurebase or Canny.

Top 11 Productboard Alternatives in 2024

Below, you'll find everything you need to pick the right Productboard alternative. We've compared the features, shortcomings, and best use cases of each tool, so let's get to it!

1. Featurebase

Featurebase is one of the best Productboard alternatives out there. It has loads of features, neat and easy-to-use interface, affordable pricing with a Free plan, and many powerful integrations.

You can set it up in minutes and always get quick help through live chat. ⚡️

What Featurebase has that Productboard doesn't?

• Changelog for closing the feedback loop with users
• In-app surveys to measure customer satisfaction and much more
• Feedback portal that's perfect for collecting and managing both public and internal feedback
• Widgets for collecting feedback and showcasing the latest changes
• Post comments that allow you to start a discussion with users interested in the feature
• Neat & easy-to-use UI/UX that's customizable and comes with light and dark modes
• A duplicate post-detection system to show users if the post they want to make is already made
• Active team with amazing customer support that ships new features & improvements every week

Drawbacks

• Supports fewer languages than Productboard. Currently: English, German, Portuguese, and Estonian
• Fewer integrations than Productboard

Pricing

Featurebase offers a great Free plan allowing for unlimited feedback collection. It includes all core features, such as a public feedback portal, roadmap, and even a changelog. All to take your product management to the next level.

Though, if you're looking to unlock the full potential, check out the Growth plan. It goes for a flat fee of $40/month, allowing 4 managers, a custom domain, and tons of other features. Or the Premium plan that's $124/month, allowing for 8 managers, user segmentation, API, and Single Sign-On (SSO).

To control which boards can be accessed with user roles and for White-labelling, reach out to the team to explore the Enterprise plan. It's tailored to your needs with priority feature development and support.

Conclusion

Featurebase is one of the best alternatives to Productboard. It's perfect for all team sizes that are looking to collect user feedback, publish a public product roadmap and showcase changes to users.

It's super easy to use and affordable with paid plans plans starting at just $40/month.

Learn more here →

2. Producter

Producter is a brand-new product management alternative to Productboard. It's a great tool if you're looking to collect feedback and manage all your issues in the same tool.

What Producter has that Productboard doesn't?

• Changelog for closing the feedback loop
• Documentation module

Drawbacks

• The public board design is neat yet very difficult to use
• No sorting or filtering options on the public board
• No duplicate post-detection system
• No way to merge duplicate posts into one
• Can't delete ideas, they're there to stay
• Expensive for large teams
• Few integrations
• Supports only English

Pricing

Producter offers a seat-based pricing model:

• Free plan - up to 5 makers
• Growth plan - at $12/month per maker
• Premium plan - at $24/month per maker

So with 5 makers and growth features, you'll be paying $720/year. It's quite reasonable, but not the cheapest compared to some other alternatives.

Conclusion

Producter is a strong Productboard alternative in the task management space. It suits medium-sized teams looking to collect feedback and manage tasks with the same tool. Although it can prove to be quite expensive as the pricing is seat based.

3. Userback

Userback is another good alternative to Productboard if your goal is to capture user feedback. It's perfect for those that are looking to have many products or companies under the same tool.

What Userback has that Productboard doesn't?

• Feedback widget and internal browser extension that you can integrate into your app
• Allows to collect different feedback for multiple products on a single plan

Drawbacks

• No dark mode
• No duplicate post-detection system
• No Changelog for closing the feedback loop
• Asks the user for feedback on their Userback experience every time they submit ideas

Pricing

Userbacks pricing is perfect for large teams on a budget that have many different products. Though, it doesn't make sense for regular startups with a single product and a couple of makers.

• Startup plan - at $59/month, allowing for 10 makers and 5 projects.
• Company plan - at $119/month, allowing for 15 makers and 15 projects.
• Premium plan - at $217/month, allowing for 25 makers and 27 projects.

'Projects' are your companies or products. Although, it's quite hard to imagine that someone would even have 15 products, making the pricing impractical for many.

Conclusion

Userback is best for large teams that are looking to manage many products or companies under the same roof. It's a good tool to capture user feedback, but if you're a smaller company, other deals would make more sense as you'd be paying for empty admin seats.

Check out the best UserBack alternatives →

4. Canny.io

Canny is a popular user feedback tool that's focused on enterprise companies, much like Productboard. It offers feedback boards, a roadmap, a changelog, and many other features.

What Canny has that Productboard doesn't?

• Post comments that allow you to start a discussion with interested users
• Changelog for closing the feedback loop
• A better feedback collection system
• Widgets for capturing feedback & showcasing changes

Drawbacks

• Fewer customization options for branding than most of the competitors.
• Instead of improving their product, Canny has been focusing on their sales cycles. This has left many users dissatisfied, replacing them with more active alternatives.

Pricing

Although Canny offers a Free plan, it's very limited and only allows for 100 active posts a month. The second plan costs $99/mo and basically removes the post limit.

The third plan starts at $400/month for 5 admins, custom domain, user segmentation, and more.

Canny Pricing 2024: Is It Worth It →

Conclusion

Canny is a good choice for small startups that can survive on their free plan. Or for enterprise businesses, looking to collect feedback - nothing in between.

It's a reliable tool, but we feel like at this price there are better options that are more customizable and affordable.

Want more options? Check out these affordable Canny alternatives →

5. FeatureOS

FeatureOS is a flexible alternative to Productboard, made for SaaS tools. It offers a clean and user-friendly interface, allowing companies to easily gather valuable ideas from their users. However, it lacks many important prioritization features to make sense of the feedback.

What FeatureOS has that Productboard doesn't?

• Changelog for closing the feedback loop
• A knowledge base feature

Drawbacks

• Can't sort feedback by monetary value
• No user segmentation
• Few customization options
• The interface can feel clunky
• Few integrations
• Supports only English
• No built-in prioritization frameworks
• Can't change the logo, colors, or sending address of emails that users get

Pricing

FeatureOS offers three plans:

• Runway ($29/month) - 2 boards, 1 admin, 1 integration
• Take Flight ($79/month) - 10 boards, 3 admins, 3 integrations
• Fly High ($149/month) - unlimited boards, 10 admins, SSO, API

You can try them out with a 14-day free trial.

Conclusion

FeatureOS is a great Productboard alternative for startups looking to get into the world of collecting feedback.

Altough they got many great features for collecting feedback, it lacks some essential ones for prioritizing it. This can make it unideal teams already getting much feedback and need to organize it.

Check out the best alternatives to featureOS →

6. Nolt.io

Nolt is an intuitive and lightweight feedback tool that offers a simplified way to manage user feedback. It's particularly well-suited for small teams looking for basic functions and simplicity.

What Nolt has that Productboard doesn't?

• Post comments that allow you to start a discussion with interested users

Drawbacks

• Does not scale well with a significant amount of data, making it less suitable for most teams
• Lack of a dedicated admin view for efficient data management
• Missing advanced features that competitors offer
• Users have criticized Nolt's UI/UX as outdated and not user-friendly
• No Changelog for closing the feedback loop

Pricing

Nolt offers 3 plans to choose from:

• Essential ($29/month) - 1 board, roadmap, SSO
• Pro ($69/month) - 5 boards, API, and task management integrations
• Enterprise (talk to sales) - unlimited boards

Essentials is a good deal for folks who need SSO and can get away with collecting only a single type of feedback. But for other plans, you'll find a better deal elsewhere.

Conclusion

Nolt is a great tool for small startups looking for simplicity. They offer most of the advanced featutes, but lack a separate admin dashboard. This makes them more suitable for smaller teams, as it may get hard to manaage high volumes of feedback without a dashboard.

Want more options? Check out the best alternatives for Nolt →

7. Fider

Unlike other tools, Fider is the only self-hosted open-source feedback tool in this list. It's a straightforward feedback voting and collecting tool, but it lacks many necessary features.

What Fider has that Productboard doesn't?

• It's open source
• Supports more languages than Porductboard (10+)

Drawbacks

• Can only be self-hosted, which can get expensive
• No roadmap or changelog feature
• No embeddable widgets
• Minimal features compared to other tools on the market at this price

Pricing

Fider offers a simple flat pricing of $40/month or $490/year that includes all features, unlimited makers and feedback, etc.

It's also possible to get a free 15-day trial for trying it out first.

Conclusion

Fiders is an open-source alternative to Productboard that requires self-hosting. It's a straightforward tool without too many features but it's enough for startups to collect feedback and user votes.

The pricing only makes sense if you need an open-source solution. Otherwise, you can get more features from competitors at half the price.

Check out the top Fider alternatives →

8. Upvoty

Upvoty is a feedback management platform that makes it easier to gather and organize customer feedback. It's best suited for small to medium teams focusing on improving customer engagement.

What Upvoty has that Productboard doesn't?

• Changelog for closing the feedback loop

Drawbacks

• Can't segment and prioritize your feedback data by customer attributes
• Tricky pricing
• Aged UI/UX
• Poor customer support. They rely on contractors and freelancers
• New features are extremely rare, and product development seems to be halted

Pricing

Upvoty has quite a tricky pricing plan, with their starter plan costing $15 a month, allowing for 150 trackable users and 1 board.

Most of you will have more users in a flash, so you'll need to upgrade to the 2nd plan, costing $39/month while still limiting users. For unlimited users, you'd have to go with the Unlimited plan costing you $75/month.

Conclusion

Upvoty is a good choice for medium-sized teams looking to understand their customers needs. Altough, their pricing will likely push you to their highest plan of $75/month. And at this price, there are more cost-effective alternatives.

Want more options? Check out these top Upvoty alternatives →

9. Sleekplan

Sleekplan is a budget-friendly and comprehensive product feedback solution suitable for smaller teams. Unlike other tools in this list, Sleekplan lets you send satisfaction surveys to your users.

What Sleekplan has that Productboard doesn't?

• CSAT and NPS satisfaction surveys
• Customizable feedback and survey widgets
• Changelog for closing the feedback loop

Drawbacks

• Few integrations
• Run by a solo founder, so customer support might not be good
• Few customization options
• The design might feel outdated

Pricing

Sleekplan offers a free plan, but we recommend Featurebase's since it offers more essential features.

Their paid plans start at $13/month and go up to $38/month, making it a nice, affordable alternative.

Conclusion

Sleekplan is ideal for small teams looking for a comprehensive feedback solution and satisfaction surveys. It's budget-friendly and comes with an in-app survey widget and an impact weight calculator.

Check out the best Sleekplan alternatives →

10. Frill

Frill is a Productboard alternative that consists of a voting board and an in-app widget. While it doesn’t have many features, it’s pretty easy to use.

What Frill has that Productboard doesn't?

• Feedback widgets for collecting feedback straight from your website
• Changelog for closing the feedback loop
• Supports translations into any language

Drawbacks

• No dedicated dashboard view for managing and moderating feedback
• Limited filtering system
• No bulk editing
• No duplicate post-detection system
• Can't segment and prioritize your feedback data by customer attributes
• Slow feedback portal, taking over 5 seconds to load on mobile

Pricing

Frill offers a 14-day free trial, with their plans starting at $25/month. However, it only lets you manage 50 active ideas at once.

To unlock most of the features and remove limits, you'd need to upgrade to the second plan costing you $49/month and $539 per year.

Conclusion

Frill is a straightforward altenrnative to Productboard that's best for collecting feedback and votes. It's perfect for small teams looking for simplicity.

Want more? Check out these top Frill alternatives →

11. Aha!

Aha! is an all-in-one product management suite. It offers tools for developing product roadmaps, collecting customer feedback, and managing feature requests. Their unique modular design lets you select only the specific features that best fit your team's needs.

What Aha! has that Productboard doesn't?

• It's better for feedback collection
• A user-story mapping tool
• A design mock-up tool
• More integrations

Drawbacks

• Can't segment and prioritize your feedback data by customer attributes
• Users have reported that Aha! is not very intuitive for beginners, resulting in a steep learning curve
• Aged UI/UX
• No Changelog for closing the feedback loop

Pricing

Aha! has split its pricing into separate "modules". To gather customer ideas, prioritize them, and make roadmaps, you'll need two modules. These are "Roadmaps" and "Ideas", costing $59 and $39 per user each month. So, all together, it's $98 per user each month.

So, let's say you have a team of 5 people. The cost of using Aha! for a year would be $5,880.

Read more in detail about Aha!'s pricing here →

Conclusion

Aha is an all-in-one product management suite, that's perfect for large companies that want to handpick what they get. It's a big tool with an aged UI, making it complicated to operate.

They have a crispy seat-based pricing that starts at $98/month per user to collect feedback and create roadmaps.

Check out the top affordable Aha! alternatives →

The Takeaway

With so many different Productboard alternatives, it's crucial to find the one that aligns with your needs from the beginning. Otherwise, you'll spend the same amount of time migrating to a different provider later on.

If your focus leans towards gathering and managing user feedback at a reasonable cost, Featurebase is a strong choice.

Choosing the right software can make you more efficient and better equipped to collect valuable user feedback. This way, you can build a better product that your customers love. 💙