Before discussing Pendo and its alternative tools, we must understand what product analytics is and how it works.
Product analytics is the data showing how and which of your users interact with the product. It helps to track, visualize and analyze user interaction data.
The critical role of a product analytics tool is to answer questions such as, “Are users using the product in the intended way?”, “What is the general flow for certain users?” etc.
Pendo is a popular product analytics tool, but it has its drawbacks. In this article, we'll dive into Pendo and showcase a few alternatives that might suit you better.
- What is Pendo used for?
- Pendo Pricing
- Alternatives to Pendo
- Things to Look For in an Analytics Tool
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pendo used for?
Pendo is a product analytics tool that enables product managers to proactively engage with customers and understand how their product is being used. Also, yes, tools like Pendo are better to be used by a PM and not the best choice for solopreneurs or small teams.
It also has many features that help you provide personalized user onboarding and in-app training, which is an added feature of Pendo. Furthermore, these features are available on mobile too.
Pendo Pricing
Pendo offers multiple pricing plans tailored to fit the needs of businesses of all sizes. The tool provides a free program that allows users to analyze up to 500 monthly active users and two guides. For companies with larger user bases, its plans start at $7,000/year for up to 2,000 monthly active users.
Alternatives to Pendo
Pendo is a great product analytics tool that helps you track customer behaviour and optimize user experience. It is however a very costly tool. Hence it is worthwhile to check other alternatives.
Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics is a robust and user-friendly product analytics alternative to Pendo. It is a straightforward and affordable analytics tool that prioritizes user privacy.
Pros of using Simple Analytics
- Simplified UI - Using tools that are easy to navigate around is always preferred over complex ones. Simple Analytics offers a straightforward user interface that makes analysis easier. Working with it is, therefore, a smooth activity.
- Affordable Pricing- Simple Analytics is exceptionally cost-effective. They offer both product and web analytics tools at a reasonable price. They have plans starting at $9/month. It packs the tools and features from the most expensive tools for a friendly price.
- Automated Event Collection- Another feature that makes Simple Analytics stand out in its product category is automated event collection. While you must manually set additional tags for other tools, Simple Analytics does the job for you. Once you link it to your website, it lets you track the metrics of all action buttons just by hovering over them.
- Mini Websites- As a business with an online presence, you often get featured in the conversation of your users. You might get a mention on Twitter or a feature on a website. While most tools let you know where you got a mention, they don’t deliver the specifics. Simple Analytics stands out here. It gives you the specifics of your feature and helps you track it through a mini website.
Cons of using Simple Analytics
The user interface of Simple Analytics is made to look simple and easy to understand so everyone, be it the founder or marketing teams, can use it easily. Product Managers may need a few more screens, but that is something that can be quickly built with goals.
Pricing of Simple Analytics:
Simple Analytics is one of the most cost-efficient tools available in its segment. The product is perfect for businesses. It caters to companies and has plans for individuals and businesses. Therefore it ensures that the best features are available at a very reasonable price.
The pricing of Simple Analytics starts at a low $9/month, making it a pocket-friendly tool for businesses of all sizes.
FullStory
FullStory is a digital experience analytics platform that allows you to track user behavior and interactions on their websites or mobile applications. It also provides real-time analytics and insights that help companies to improve customer experiences and identify potential issues.
Pros
- Provides session replay and usage heatmaps
- Auto captures product metrics and events
Cons
- Still expensive to most businesses
- UI can be hard to navigate
Pricing of FullStory
FullStory offers three plans, but the pricing isn’t mentioned on their pricing page; however, according to a Capiche and this Twitter thread, the pricing can range in-between $247/month to $850/month based on requirements.
They also have a startup program that reduces the price to ~ $1000/year.
Kissmetrics
Kissmetrics is a product analytics tool that primarily focuses on even analytics. The provided solutions mainly target the analysis of customer behavior. It also focuses on providing data discovery and visualization support on its platform and also tracks keywords. In addition, Kissmetrics is also used for funnel analysis and goal tracking.
Pros
- Advanced tracking and segmentation capabilities
- Offers powerful automation and engagement tools
- Provides customer journey mapping and funnel analysis
- Easy to integrate with other platforms and tools
Cons
- It can be expensive for small businesses
- The steep learning curve for new users
- Limited reporting capabilities
Pricing
Kissmetrics offers three pricing plans: a Silver plan that starts at $299/month, a Gold plan that starts at $499/month, and a custom Platinum plan. Unfortunately, the price of the enterprise plan is private.
Woopra
Woopra is a customer analytics tool designed to track user journeys from start to end. The data provided by Woopra can be used to understand user journeys, analyze trends and improve user retention. It also comes with additional automation to help engage users in real time.
Pros
- Generous free plan
- Supports multiple single-click integrations
Cons
- Poor data retention policy
- Unclear GDPR compliance
Pricing
Woopra offers many plans with varying prices. It has a generous free plan, but if you move to the paid options, most will feel expensive. It starts with the pro plan for $999/month for 5 million actions in the Pro plan. The Enterprise plan goes beyond that, but its pricing is undisclosed.
You can contact the Woopra team and get a quote with pricing depending on the actions tracked per month. For companies requiring even more actions, tailored options are available.
Things to Look For in an Analytics Tool
Selecting a tool for product analytics is a crucial decision. You might ask what could possibly go wrong when choosing one, yet you can miss out on a lot. Therefore, be sure to go through this checklist before making a choice. You're good to go if the tool provides these:
- Ease of Use: Regardless of your chosen product, it must be simple to use. You shouldn’t spend your precious time on a complex web analytics tool that takes time and experience to get familiar with.
- Accuracy: Getting an accurate picture of what’s happening on your website is important. Inaccurate data might lead to misjudged decisions that impact your business.
- Straightforward UI: Most of the time, you don’t need 75 custom dashboards (looking at you, Google). A straightforward overview of what’s happening on your website will give you the insights you need instantly. Look for a tool that gives you the insights you need without too many distracting bells and whistles.
- Lightweight: Your website is your storefront on the internet. Providing the best possible experience to your visitors matters. Installing an analytics script has an impact on your page speed. Choose an analytics tool that doesn’t slow your website down. This not only affects your visitors’ experience. Google will notice this as well.
- Privacy: The world is moving in a direction where privacy is becoming increasingly important. Google Analytics has been declared illegal in multiple EU countries. You don’t want to get caught up in this mess. Take privacy or compliance with regulation into account.
- Integration: To get a complete picture of your business, the tool should be able to integrate with other devices you use, such as your CRM or dashboarding tools.
- Pricing: Consider the tool's pricing and ensure it aligns with your budget. Take advantage of some companies' free trials or basic versions to ensure the product suits your needs before committing to a paying plan.
Although this checklist can assist you in getting started, there may be other factors for your organization that you need to consider.
Feel free to try Simple Analytics if you want a tool that checks these boxes. It provides the insights you need in a straightforward dashboard while being 100% GDPR compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Pendo gather data?
Pendo gathers information by monitoring page views and events from website visitors. Pendo acquires valuable data, including the URL, browser language, version, and page title.
Can Pendo send an email?
The option to send targeted emails to particular user groups, such as team members and visitors, is offered by Pendo. These emails can be tailored depending on various factors, like your audience's interests, connected accounts, or designated tags, ensuring a successful connection with them.
Does Pendo keep any data?
Yes! Pendo logs and keeps track of all changes and actions to ensure thorough data storage.
What is Simple Analytics used for?
Simple Analytics is a privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative that gives you the insights you need without collecting personal data. If you care about the privacy of your users and want an intuitive dashboard with the most important website insights, Simple Analytics might be the tool you are looking for.
Is Simple Analytics GDPR compliant?
Yes, Simple Analytics is an analytics tool that is fully GDPR compliant. In addition, it corresponds with EU-based servers and ensures user data is secure and confidential.