I'm on the hunt for a product tour or onboarding walkthrough tool but I'm not thrilled with the options I've found so far. I've been checking out the usual suspects, but I keep stumbling upon a few recurring problems:
1. Pricing often increases per user, which feels excessive for something as basic as UI popups.
2. Many tools are managed through external dashboards instead of in the code itself, meaning if we stop paying the high monthly fees, we lose all our guides.
3. There's no real version control or code review available for onboarding content, which makes managing updates tricky.
4. Tours tend to break when there's a UI change, and unless a user reports it, we don't even know there's an issue.
I'm curious if anyone has found a tool that has a dashboard but still allows you to keep your work. I'm not looking to pay the high prices of bigger names, and the cheaper options often require too much effort for what they offer. What are people actually using, and what has worked or not worked for you?
5 Answers
I totally understand your frustration! I’ve looked into all the big players and smaller tools like Shepherd, but they often either lack features or cost an arm and a leg. It’s super challenging to find the right balance.
You should try out Flook.co! They offer no-code onboarding tours, tooltips, and popups without needing a developer. Just so you know, I’m the founder, but I genuinely think it could help you out!
If you're looking to avoid expensive solutions, consider building a custom one. Even though that might seem daunting, it could be more tailored to your needs in the long run.
Great question! A lot of people are shifting away from heavy tours and are now favoring simpler contextual nudges. The focus is more on guiding users to their first win rather than explaining every single feature, and that seems to work much better!
I remember being frustrated with this too. Here’s a link to an article I wrote on the topic that might still be relevant: [Best Product Onboarding Software](https://productonboarding.com/articles/best-product-onboarding-software). It's worth a look!

I get that, but creating a custom solution isn’t always simple, especially with dynamic content and ensuring everything works as intended. I’ve also tried some solutions like Shepherd, and it took a ton of work to set everything up!