SaaS companies need reliable, efficient, and fast ways to onboard new customers. SaaS onboarding software can drastically reduce the time and resources spent on customer onboarding.
The best onboarding tools for SaaS companies will allow you to quickly and easily create custom product tours and on-screen guidance to show new customers how to use your application.
In this blog, we’ll cover the importance of user onboarding for SaaS products, what onboarding tools are available, and highlight the features you should look at when evaluating what SaaS user onboarding software is right for your SaaS product.
What is Onboarding in Saas?
Onboarding is the process of introducing new users to an application and helping them get acquainted with how it works.
After completing onboarding, customers should:
- Be able to complete basic tasks in the application,
- Recognize the value the application provides, and
- Begin regularly using the software.
Read More:- The Definitive Guide for Using Onboarding
Why is User Onboarding Important?
Using onboarding is the key to improving your product adoption. If people don’t use your software, they won’t renew their subscription. Thus onboarding and adoption are the keys to decreasing or preventing churn.
When you sell a product that people don’t know how to use, you have to offer some onboarding for customers to be successful. When people buy a car, most of them already know how to drive because they learned using someone else’s car or previously owned a vehicle themselves.
For SaaS products, no one has used your product before buying it, so you have to teach them how to use it and get the value out of it. For more tips on the importance of driving product adoption through onboarding, check out our detailed guide on product adoption for SaaS products.
What is SaaS Onboarding Software?
SaaS onboarding software is a part of a growing solutions category called digital adoption platforms. Individual features may vary, but in general, a DAP provides on-screen guidance, user communication tools, and analytics. DAPs serve two main markets: enterprises and SaaS products. Companies will use a DAP to help with the onboarding and implementation of enterprise applications like an ERP, CRM, or HCM system. SaaS products use a DAP primarily for user onboarding and product adoption.
Read More:- Walkthrough Software: Why You Need It and How Interactive Walkthroughs Help Users
Top SaaS Onboarding Software Solutions in 2026
To determine the best SaaS onboarding software, you’ll find it helpful to examine user reviews and ratings. As the leading software review site, G2 can offer valuable insights on which platforms could work best for you.
As of July 2020, the Highest-rated Digital Adoption Platforms or SaaS Onboarding Tools are:
- Apty
- Appcues
- Intercom
- Whatfix
- Pendo
- Userguiding
- Spekit
- Userpilot
- EdCast My Guide
- HelpHero
- UserIQ
- Gainsight PX
- Userlane
- Chameleon
- Toonimo
- WalkMe
- Inline Manual
- Newired
SaaS Customer Onboarding Software Comparison
As we’ve already mentioned, Digital Adoption Platforms tend to focus on either enterprise software or SaaS products. Some platforms work for both. We’ve categorized the top platforms in the table below:
| Onboarding Tools Focused on Enterprise Software Adoption for Employees | Tools focused on SaaS User Onboarding | Onboarding Tools for both Enterprises and SaaS Products |
| Whatfix
Spekit Edcast My Guide Newired |
Appcues
Intercom Pendo Userguiding Userpilot HelpHero UserIQ Gainsight PX Chameleon |
Apty
Userlane Toonimo WalkMe Inline Manual |
You’ll want to pick a SaaS customer onboarding tool that focuses on SaaS products or both SaaS and enterprises. You’ll also want to ask about pricing options. Frequently as startups, SaaS companies are looking for the best bargain.
Make sure you invest in a platform that’s both affordable and feature-rich. Customer onboarding is one of the most important functions for a SaaS product. Don’t skimp on your onboarding tool. You need to deliver the best user experience possible.
Feature to Look for in SaaS Onboarding Software
There are several factors to consider when choosing the right onboarding tool to use in conjunction with your SaaS product. Things like functionality, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness are naturally some of the most sought after features.
Before you decide, let’s take a look at some of the features you should be sure to consider when doing your SaaS user onboarding tool research.
A. Easily Accessible Guides
You never know when your users will have questions or need guidance. Having an onboarding tool that implements easily accessible guides will save time and cut costs. These guides should be available 24/7, making it easy for users to find solutions at any time of the day. Extended availability allows for continued work and the ability for users to expand their knowledge base continually.
B. Segmentation
Not all roles are equal when it comes to onboarding. Users have different needs. Segmentation by a user’s native language or their user role can dictate what content they see and the method in which it is delivered to them. Finding an onboarding tool that allows for segmentation will give users a better experience while also enhancing their overall onboarding outcomes.
C. Custom Walkthroughs And Product Tours
SaaS onboarding software with a code-free editor will allow for easy content creation and streamlined walkthroughs and product tours. Having a software with this capability will significantly cut costs without cutting quality. Look for an easy code-free editor so you can create and publish new tours and walkthroughs in a matter of minutes. Teams can pair walkthroughs with AI video summaries to reinforce product tours using real demo or webinar content.
Read More:- Tips for Using Product Tours to Reveal Your ‘Aha Moment’
D. Advanced Analytics
Perhaps one of the most effective tools within onboarding software is advanced analytics. Having the ability to track and measure how people are using your onboarding content will give you the insight necessary to optimize your process. These analytics hold the power to pinpoint weak areas and offer solutions to improve user engagement.
E. Communication Capabilities
Open lines of communication are crucial to success. When choosing onboarding tools, look for options that allow for in-app communication with users. This feature will let you remind users to complete the onboarding process as well as solicit their feedback regarding content. With this feature, you’ll be able to help keep users on track while also building rapport and generating valuable first-hand feedback to improve the user experience.
What is the Best SaaS Onboarding Software?
When you evaluate the features and user ratings, Apty comes out on top as the best SaaS onboarding software.
Apty outranks the competition by:
- Being rated as highest for satisfaction on G2,
- Offering the easiest and fasted editor for creating and publishing walkthroughs, and
- Having a proven track record of reducing support tickets and costs.
What our SaaS Clients Have to Say:
“Apty helps us empower our Customers”
“Apty is an intuitive and robust Digital Adoption platform with very powerful capabilities. Our customers have been able to successfully navigate through and use our product without raising support tickets or making frantic calls to us for help. This is a dream tool for every SaaS product that wishes to empower their customers.” – Recent G2 Review
What are the Benefits of Apty’s SaaS Onboarding Software?
User onboarding is time-consuming and expensive. Companies have to devote resources to individual training and onboarding sessions or invest heavily in video and support content development. Apty allows companies to significantly reduce costs by using on-screen guidance and guided product tours to get users up and running quickly.
To learn more about reducing the time and money you spend on creating onboarding and support content, check out this blog post on using the COPE method for developing content with Apty. The blog post shows how Apty helps learning and development teams create content quickly to train new employees on enterprise software.
Still, the same principles apply to producing content for new SaaS customers.
In addition to cost savings, Apty also helps SaaS companies provide a better user experience. Apty is available 24/7, so users can start their onboarding on their schedule. With Apty, customers can begin using new software on the first day without any additional training.
By accelerating the onboarding process, Apty helps your users recognize the value of your application sooner and decreases the chance they’ll cancel or stop using the product.
Understand Your Options for SaaS Onboarding Tools
When it comes to choosing an onboarding tool for your SaaS products, be sure to do your due diligence, and fully understand your options. A thorough and engaging onboarding experience will have more significant long-term effects that can decrease churn and increase user engagement and customer satisfaction.
Investing in software that is a good fit for users is critical to long-term success for both the user and your SaaS product.