What is Appcues Used For? (Best Features, Use Cases, and Pricing Included)

What is Appcues?

Appcues is a no-code product adoption platform for web and mobile apps that helps teams create personalized experiences and onboarding flows.

You can guide users through your product, send personalized emails when they complete key actions, and create push notifications to bring them back to your app and engage them better.

What is Appcues used for?

Teams in startups or mid-market SaaS companies use Appcues for:

• User onboarding
• Feature adoption
• Trial conversion
• User feedback
• Self-serve support

What are Appcues’ top use cases and features?

Appcues’ use cases focus on five core challenges companies face: user onboarding, feature adoption, trial conversion, user feedback, and self-serve support.

However, these core challenges act as umbrella terms and they might be too broad to do them justice. In this section, we’ll break down these use cases into manageable chunks and look at how each use case offers unique features to enhance the product experience👇 

1- Appcues for user onboarding

Appcues’ top use case comes from user onboarding features. These features allow you to provide personalized, in-app guidance that helps new users understand and engage with your product more effectively.

Key features for this use case include:

• Launchpads: Launchpads are interactive menus embedded within your app, offering users quick access to content such as flows and links to external resources like blogs or documentation. It’s a strength point for users who want self-guided onboarding, though it relies on well-organized content to be truly effective.

• Automated multi-channel workflows: These workflows enable you to guide users through onboarding using a sequence of messages across multiple channels, such as in-app prompts and emails. It's a highly scalable solution and ideal for keeping users engaged during critical first interactions. However, overuse or poor targeting may lead to message fatigue.

2- Appcues for feature adoption

To drive feature adoption, Appcues offers tools that highlight new or underutilized features. This use case focuses on driving engagement with specific parts of your product to increase long-term value.

Key features include:

• Push notifications for mobile apps: Many competitors don’t offer mobile support, so Appcues gets extra points for that. You can send push notifications to inform them about new features or encourage engagement. It’s a strong tool when timing and relevance are on point, but may be seen as intrusive if overused.

⚠️ Push notifications are offered as an add-on in the Starter tier, which will increase the cost of your subscription.

• Interactive walkthroughs: Walkthroughs lead users step-by-step through new or complex features in real-time. These contextual guides reduce user friction and allow you to highlight functionality right when it’s needed. Keep in mind that it requires a thoughtful setup to avoid overwhelming users.

3- Appcues for trial conversion

Converting free trial users into paying customers is crucial, and Appcues provides features that encourage users to complete key actions during their trial period. These features are: 

• Checklists: Checklists give users a visual guide to what they need to complete during their trial to unlock value—like setting up integrations or completing onboarding steps. They create a sense of progress and encourage users to take meaningful actions.

• Automated emails: Automated emails help reinforce product value by following up on in-app behavior with targeted messages. You can nudge users toward completing tasks or highlight features they haven’t explored. When well-integrated, these emails boost conversion rates, but if they feel generic or too frequent, they risk being ignored.

⚠️ Checklists and automated emails are not available in the Starter tier unless you purchase it as add-ons, which will increase the cost of Appcues.

4- Appcues for user feedback

Appcues helps you gather insights seamlessly within your app experience and understand user satisfaction. 

Key features for this use case include:

• Automated NPS follow-up: After collecting Net Promoter Scores (NPS), Appcues can trigger follow-up flows based on user responses. For example, detractors may be directed to provide more context, while promoters can be invited to share testimonials.

⚠️ NPS surveys and follow-ups are offered as an add-on in the Starter tier, which will increase the cost of your subscription.

• Surveys: Appcues lets you create and deploy in-app surveys that collect quick, contextual feedback. Whether it's a simple rating or open-ended questions, surveys provide insight into user sentiment at key moments.

5- Appcues for self-serve support

Self-serve support features help reduce dependency on support teams by giving users the tools they need to solve problems independently. 

Here’s how Appcues focuses on this use case:

• Resource centers: Resource centers are always-available widgets that house helpful articles, videos, or guides. They offer users instant access to support without leaving the app. This feature empowers users and reduces support tickets, but it requires up-to-date, well-organized content to be effective.

⚠️ Resource centers are offered as an add-on in the Starter tier, which will increase the cost of your subscription.

• Pins: Pins are subtle icons or tooltips that can be attached to UI elements to offer persistent, contextual help. You get two options: buttons and icon with tooltip. They work well for explaining interface components without overwhelming the user. Plus, they are lightweight and user-friendly, though their visibility can be overlooked if not visually distinct enough.

How much does Appcues cost?

Appcues has three pricing plans: Start, Growth, Enterprise. However, it is important to keep in mind that pricing is based on the number of monthly active users (MAUs) your company has. For 1,000 MAUs (the minimum number required), the pricing is as follows:

• Start: $300/mo, paid annually.
• Growth: $750/mo, paid annually.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

For 2,000 MAUs, the price of the Start plan increases to $375/mo, while the Growth plan increases to $850/mo. As you can see, the price increases differently across plans. So… how does that compare to the Enterprise pricing plan?

According to Vendr, a software pricing transparency platform, the average cost for Appcues is $15,234 per year, which means that the Enterprise plan can cost $1,269 per month on average. Pricing can be as high as $45,340 per year, which brings the monthly cost to $3,778.

If you’re only using the core features of Appcues, this can be a huge hit to your budget. 🔨

Actually, Appcues’ existing customers bring up this issue often in their reviews.

For example, a user on Reddit points out despite using one of their cheaper plans, they still pay around $1,000 per month.

Moreover, many valuable features are still not accessible with that price point. This is especially a valid concern for small- to mid-sized businesses who are just starting out with their user onboarding and product adoption.

Another user on G2 criticizes how buggy the tool is for the price their company is paying. As a small-business, being charged extra for the core features that should have been included in the plan but didn't even work properly is a big problem. 🚩

What are the pros of Appcues?

✅ Great customer support: When talking about Appcues, many users often mention how extensive their customer support is.

One user on G2 reports that templates and educational materials are a great addition to the live chat. Another user is also happy with how fast the support agents respond to their queries.

✅ Integration options: Users can integrate a lot of third-party tools like HubSpot to support their product, including marketing. This user uses HubSpot integration to track events, trigger emails, and connect with their customers where they are.

✅ Simple setup: You can get started on Appcues easily by adding the Chrome extension and the SDK to your app’s source code. This process is low-code, which is very user-friendly. 

✅ Multiple channel access: Appcues is often listed in “top best” lists because it supports mobile and web apps and environments, such as Native Android, Native iOS, and React Native.

A user on G2 also points out that Appcues “covers most common scenarios” for both mobile and web users. 

What are the cons of Appcues?

❌ Outdated and clunky UI: One of the biggest cons of Appcues is its outdated and clunky UI. Flows and testing of other elements are “spotty,” UI can lag behind several seconds and UI elements are said to be “dated.”

❌ Cost and licensing structure: The Starter plan might be convenient and affordable.

However, the final cost of Appcues will depend on the features you add to the base product. Users mention that they need to upgrade sooner than expected because their plan does not cover certain features like the number of segments they can target.

Especially for small businesses, pricing is not affordable even with low-tier plans. 

❌ Limited customization: While the base app might be suitable for small businesses that can do well without customization, that’s not the case for the Enterprise customers. After paying close to or more than $1,000 per month, this user thinks that customizing themes is limited and still does not match their branding. 

Another user reports that the level of customization is not easily visible to them and it takes a while to set up their own personal cues. 

❌ Implementation: Appcues has a no-code builder to help you build onboarding flows easily. However, a user on G2 notes that no-code experience does not always easily translate into reading elements easily.

Other parts of implementation also are dependent on your engineering team, which might be a big setback if you don’t have a large team to dedicate to these tasks.

❌ Reporting: Although Appcues has a very robust analytics feature, some users find it frustrating to work with.

A user on G2 reports that reporting and analytics are limited in some areas, while another user thinks that metrics fall short of their expectations. Apparently, visualization is not up to their standards either, which can make data analysis a hassle.

A better alternative to Appcues: UserGuiding

Whether Appcues is not as efficient as it used to be, you need a more budget-friendly alternative, or are just window shopping for tools with similar capabilities, you’re in the right place.

UserGuiding is a no-code product adoption tool that helps you create self-serve experiences and minimize support needs. You can create interactive product tours, checklists, knowledge bases and more. 

🚀 Best return on investment (ROI) without the high costs? UserGuiding is the best choice.

UserGuiding’s key features include:

• Product tours
• In-app and NPS surveys
• Onboarding checklists
• Hotspots, modals, and tooltips
• AI assistant
• Knowledge base
• Resource center
• Segmentation
• Product analytics
• In-app announcements
• Localization

UserGuiding offers all the core onboarding you’d expect (guided tours, tooltips, checklists, and resource centers), all manageable without writing a single line of code. 

So… why is UserGuiding a better choice? 

🎯 What sets UserGuiding apart from Appcues is how much easier and faster it is to get started. You can launch interactive onboarding experiences in minutes, thanks to its intuitive Chrome extension and straightforward UI.

🎯 While Appcues gives you more room for complex setups, UserGuiding keeps things simple: ideal for teams that don’t want to deal with steep learning curves or heavy technical overhead.

🎯 UserGuiding also shines in how accessible its features are. For example, user segmentation is built-in and easy to apply, with no need for engineering support. Appcues offers deeper targeting, but it often requires more technical setup and configuration.

🎯 On the analytics side, UserGuiding delivers actionable insights that help teams iterate quickly and without the bloat. Appcues has more advanced analytics capabilities, but many users find them overkill for day-to-day needs.

🎯 Another key advantage: pricing. UserGuiding is much more affordable than Appcues, especially for early-stage companies. You get access to core features without having to upgrade to higher tiers or pay extra for support.

On top of these, UserGuiding offers many essential features, such as:

• Knowledge bases and resource centers: UserGuiding provides a built-in knowledge base and resource center, so your users can access help articles, onboarding checklists, and product tours directly within the application.

This self-service approach enhances user experience and reduces reliance on external support channels.

With resource centers, users can access their interactive onboarding material and user guides anytime they need. 

• Product updates (Changelog): The Product Updates feature allows teams to communicate new features and updates to users effectively, fostering better feature adoption and user engagement.

• Survey template library: UserGuiding offers a gallery of six survey templates, including options for NPS, feature feedback, and churn surveys. This variety allows teams to gather diverse insights without the need for third-party integrations.

Appcues’ survey template is limited to NPS, which can be a setback if you want to include different templates for different segments.

• AI assistant: UserGuiding's AI Assistant is a standout feature that sets it apart from Appcues. You can customize the AI's persona to align with your brand's voice, ensuring a consistent user experience.

Beyond answering queries, the AI Assistant can guide users to specific actions, enhancing feature adoption and reducing support calls.

It is also easily accessible via an in-app widget and provides users with immediate assistance without disrupting their workflow.

How much does UserGuiding cost?

Similar to Appcues, UserGuiding offers a tiered pricing system. It has three plans for different needs:

• Starter: Starts from $174 per month, billed annually. This plan is the best value option for startups and small businesses that need all product adoption features like user guides, product tours, checklists, and segmentation and reporting at a reasonable price.
• Growth: Starts from $349 per month, billed annually. This plan is a great fit for fast scaling small businesses or mid-market companies that need to track their data more extensively on top of all the product adoption capabilities. It includes A/B testing, goal tracking, and premium integrations.
• Enterprise: Custom priced, billed annually. This plan is best suited for enterprises or mid-market businesses with a large number of active users. It includes security compliance (SOC2 & GDPR), unlimited surveys, audience segmentation, customizable themes for branding, and migration support when needed.

In short…

UserGuiding does come with a few trade-offs. It may not offer the same visual polish or enterprise-level flexibility as Appcues, and some features (like A/B testing or advanced integrations) are more limited. But for many teams, that’s a worthwhile exchange for speed, simplicity, and value. 

In fact, UserGuiding includes built-in checklists, NPS surveys, AI-assistant, and in-app messaging out of the box—features that often come at an additional cost with Appcues.

If you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that helps you launch effective onboarding flows fast (without breaking the bank), UserGuiding is a scalable alternative to Appcues.