Product Fruits vs Appcues: Value-Focused Onboarding Platform Comparison

Product Fruits and Appcues both help SaaS companies with onboarding, but they sit at different price points. Appcues is the established player with premium pricing. Product Fruits positions itself as the value option that still delivers on features. Product Fruits starts around $96/month for up to 1,500 MAUs, while Appcues runs $249/month (annual) or $299/month. Both offer 14-day trials.
This comparison breaks down the trade-offs so you can pick the right platform for your situation.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Product Fruits | Appcues |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Best value DAP | Category pioneer |
| Pricing | Most cost-effective | Premium tier |
| Built-in Knowledge Base | Yes | No |
| Mobile Support | No | Yes (iOS, Android) |
| AI Features | AI-assisted content | Limited |
| Free Trial | 14 days | Yes |
| Companies Using | 1,200+ | Thousands |
Platform Overview
Product Fruits
Product Fruits positions itself as "the most cost-effective digital adoption platform" while offering comprehensive functionality. The platform has gained traction by delivering enterprise-level features at accessible pricing, trusted by over 1,200 companies worldwide.
Key Positioning: Maximum features at minimum price
Standout Claim: Best value in the digital adoption platform market
Appcues
Appcues pioneered the no-code approach to user onboarding and remains one of the most recognized names in the space. With strong brand recognition and an extensive integration ecosystem, Appcues is often the default consideration for product teams.
Key Positioning: Premium, proven, pioneering
Standout Claim: First mover with most mature platform
Feature Comparison
User Onboarding Elements
Product Fruits Offers:
- Product tours and walkthroughs
- Tooltips and hotspots
- Checklists with progress tracking
- Announcement modals and banners
- In-app surveys (NPS, CSAT, CES, custom)
- Built-in knowledge base
- Resource center/help widget
- AI-assisted content creation
- Deep styling customization
- Changelog/announcements feature
Appcues Offers:
- Product tours
- Tooltips and hotspots
- Onboarding checklists
- Modals and slideouts
- Banners
- NPS surveys
- Basic analytics
Key Difference: Product Fruits includes a built-in knowledge base and AI-assisted content creation that Appcues doesn't offer natively.
Knowledge Base and Self-Service
This is Product Fruits' significant advantage.
Product Fruits:
- Built-in knowledge base
- Searchable help center
- Article management
- Resource center widget
- Integrated with onboarding flows
- Reduces support ticket volume
Appcues:
- No native knowledge base
- No resource center (requires third-party)
- Relies on external documentation tools
Verdict: Product Fruits wins decisively for self-service support. Teams can build comprehensive help systems without additional tools.
AI Capabilities
Product Fruits:
Product Fruits offers AI-powered onboarding that can generate feature tours within seconds. Pick a template, choose which features to highlight, and let the AI create a complete tour. The AI writer also helps with microcopy, suggesting improvements for clarity and engagement. There are optimization hints that analyze performance data and recommend ways to improve completion rates. All of this works in the no-code builder, so non-technical folks can use it without trouble.
Appcues:
Appcues sticks with traditional manual creation through their visual builder. You get complete control over everything, but it takes more time and content creation skills. They're good at A/B testing once flows exist, but building them still requires manual effort.
Verdict: Product Fruits has a clear advantage on AI features. If you want to move fast and generate content quickly, it helps. If you prefer full manual control or don't trust AI-generated content, this might matter less to you.
Mobile Support
This is where Appcues has an unbeatable advantage.
Appcues:
Full mobile SDK support for iOS, Android, and React Native. You get feature parity with web, so you can build tours, tooltips, checklists, and surveys designed specifically for mobile. The platform respects mobile conventions and touch interactions. If you have both web and mobile apps, Appcues lets you handle onboarding across all of them.
Product Fruits:
Web only. No native mobile support at all. Your mobile web experience will work (it's responsive), but if you're building native iOS or Android apps, Product Fruits simply won't help.
Verdict: If you have mobile apps, Appcues is your only option between these two. This alone can justify the price difference.
Analytics
Product Fruits:
- Flow completion metrics
- User engagement tracking
- Survey response analytics
- Goal tracking
- User journey insights
Appcues:
- Flow engagement metrics
- Checklist completion rates
- NPS response tracking
- Basic funnel tracking
Both platforms provide adequate analytics for measuring onboarding performance, though neither matches dedicated analytics platforms.
Survey Capabilities
Product Fruits:
- NPS surveys
- CSAT surveys
- CES surveys
- Custom surveys
- Multiple question types
- Conditional logic
Appcues:
- NPS surveys
- Limited to NPS on lower tiers
- Basic survey functionality
Verdict: Product Fruits offers more comprehensive survey capabilities out of the box.
Pricing Comparison
Product Fruits Pricing
Product Fruits has established itself as a budget-friendly option in the onboarding tool market, with transparent pricing that scales based on monthly active users. According to 2025 pricing analysis, Product Fruits offers three distinct plans designed to accommodate companies at different growth stages.
Core Plan - $79/month (up to 1,500 users)
This plan targets startups and small teams just beginning their digital adoption journey. It includes all essential features such as unlimited tours, beacons, tooltips, checklists (limited to 3), announcement modals, newsfeed, life ring button, feedback widget, basic analytics, and public knowledge base. The plan provides comprehensive functionality for teams establishing their first onboarding flows without requiring significant budget allocation.
Boost Plan - $139/month (up to 1,500 users)
Designed for growing businesses ready to expand their capabilities, the Boost plan adds NPS surveys, custom events, AI writing assistance, and additional advanced features. This tier unlocks the platform's AI-powered content creation capabilities that differentiate Product Fruits from competitors.
Pro Plan - Starting at $149/month (up to 1,500 users)
The Pro tier includes enterprise-grade features, advanced customization options, priority support, and unlimited usage of all platform capabilities.
Scaling Characteristics:
Product Fruits uses a MAU-based pricing model that adjusts as your user base grows, with pricing increasing for higher MAU tiers (e.g., $96/month for 1,500 MAUs scaling to $336/month for 20,000 MAUs). All plans include 14-day free trials, deep styling customization, and the platform's differentiating built-in knowledge base. While initially more affordable than competitors, some users note that Product Fruits can become expensive as Monthly Active User limits are exceeded, though it remains competitive at all scales compared to premium alternatives like Appcues.
Appcues Pricing
Appcues employs premium positioning with pricing that reflects its market-leading status and comprehensive mobile capabilities. According to 2025 pricing data, Appcues offers three tiers with significant feature differentiation between levels.
Essentials - $249/month when billed annually (2,500 MAUs)
The entry tier provides essential onboarding capabilities but with notable limitations. It includes 3 team seats, restricting collaboration to small teams. The 5 user segments maximum creates significant constraints for companies wanting to personalize experiences across different customer types, use cases, or subscription tiers. Core UI patterns including tours, tooltips, modals, and banners provide basic functionality, while basic analytics offer limited visibility into performance metrics. Email support provides assistance but without priority treatment or dedicated account management.
Growth - $879/month (2,500 MAUs)
The Growth plan represents a substantial price increase but unlocks critical capabilities for sophisticated onboarding programs. It expands to 10 team seats, allowing larger product and growth teams to collaborate. Unlimited segments removes personalization constraints, enabling advanced targeting strategies. Checklists and launchers become available at this tier, along with A/B testing capabilities for systematic optimization. Premium integrations provide deeper connectivity with marketing automation, CRM, and analytics platforms. Based on Vendr intelligence for negotiated contracts, a 15,000 MAU Growth plan with both SSO and Connect add-ons lists at $70,300 but typically negotiates down to $22,000-$36,000, indicating significant flexibility in enterprise pricing.
Enterprise - Custom pricing
The Enterprise tier offers unlimited seats, advanced security features including SSO and SAML authentication, dedicated support with assigned customer success managers, and access to mobile SDKs for iOS, Android, and React Native applications. Pricing requires custom quotes based on specific requirements and usage projections.
Verdict: Product Fruits delivers significantly better value for budget-conscious teams, particularly those focused exclusively on web applications. The price difference becomes substantial as teams scale—Product Fruits offers more MAUs at lower entry price points ($79-139/month for 1,500 MAUs vs $249/month for 2,500 MAUs). For teams prioritizing cost efficiency while maintaining comprehensive feature access, Product Fruits provides comparable capabilities (excluding mobile) at dramatically lower investment. However, Appcues' premium pricing becomes justified for companies requiring mobile app onboarding, as Product Fruits offers zero capability in this area regardless of price advantage.
Integration Comparison
Product Fruits Integrations
- Segment
- Google Analytics
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
- HubSpot
- Intercom
- Zendesk
- Slack
- Zapier
Appcues Integrations (20+)
- Segment
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Slack
- Amplitude
- Mixpanel
- Intercom
- Heap
- Zendesk
- Microsoft Teams
- And more...
Verdict: Appcues has a broader integration ecosystem, particularly for enterprise CRM systems like Salesforce.
Implementation and Ease of Use
Product Fruits Implementation
- Simple JavaScript snippet
- No-code builder
- AI-assisted content creation
- Quick time to first flow
- Good documentation
- Responsive support
Appcues Implementation
- Single line of code
- Chrome extension for building
- Visual flow builder
- Established documentation
- Community resources
- Appcues Academy
Both platforms are accessible to non-technical users, with similar implementation complexity.
Use Case Comparison
Choose Product Fruits If:
-
Budget is a priority - Most cost-effective comprehensive platform
-
You need built-in self-service - Knowledge base and resource center included
-
AI features matter - AI-assisted content creation is integrated
-
You want all-in-one - Surveys, knowledge base, onboarding in one tool
-
You're web-only - No mobile app means the limitation doesn't affect you
-
You're growing quickly - Better value as you scale MAUs
Choose Appcues If:
-
You have mobile apps - Only option with native mobile support
-
You need specific integrations - Particularly Salesforce and enterprise tools
-
You prefer established vendors - Appcues has longer track record
-
Community resources matter - Larger user community and more content
-
You're already in the ecosystem - Existing Appcues investment or expertise
Feature Availability Comparison
| Feature | Product Fruits | Appcues |
|---|---|---|
| Product Tours | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tooltips | ✅ | ✅ |
| Checklists | ✅ | ✅ (Growth+) |
| Modals/Banners | ✅ | ✅ |
| NPS Surveys | ✅ | ✅ |
| CSAT/CES Surveys | ✅ | ❌ |
| Knowledge Base | ✅ | ❌ |
| Resource Center | ✅ | ❌ |
| AI Content | ✅ | Limited |
| Mobile Apps | ❌ | ✅ |
| A/B Testing | ✅ | Growth+ |
| Salesforce | ❌ | ✅ |
Market Position
Product Fruits
- Growing challenger brand
- Focused on value proposition
- 1,200+ companies
- Strong in European market
- Rapidly adding features
Appcues
- Established market leader
- Pioneer of no-code onboarding
- Thousands of customers
- Strong brand recognition
- Mature platform
Real User Perspectives
What Users Love About Product Fruits
- "Incredible value for what you get"
- "Knowledge base feature saves us a separate tool subscription"
- "AI content suggestions actually work"
- "Customer support is very responsive"
- "Easy to get started, lots of features to grow into"
What Users Love About Appcues
- "Mobile support is essential for our business"
- "Integration with Salesforce works perfectly"
- "Documentation and community are excellent"
- "Been around long enough to trust them"
- "The flows look professional out of the box"
Common Criticisms
Product Fruits:
- "No mobile app support limits us"
- "Smaller company, less brand recognition"
- "Fewer integration options"
Appcues:
- "Price increases quickly as you scale"
- "Many features locked behind expensive tiers"
- "No knowledge base requires additional tools"
- "Segment limits on lower tiers are frustrating"
Decision Framework
| Your Priority | Recommended Choice |
|---|---|
| Best value | Product Fruits |
| Mobile apps | Appcues |
| Built-in knowledge base | Product Fruits |
| Salesforce integration | Appcues |
| AI features | Product Fruits |
| Established vendor | Appcues |
| All-in-one platform | Product Fruits |
| Enterprise CRM | Appcues |
Switching Considerations
Moving from Appcues to Product Fruits
If you're considering the switch:
- Rebuild flows using Product Fruits builder
- Migrate knowledge base content to built-in system
- Reconnect available integrations
- Plan for loss of mobile capabilities if applicable
- Calculate savings for budget comparison
Moving from Product Fruits to Appcues
If you're upgrading:
- Export knowledge base content for external tool
- Rebuild flows in Appcues
- Gain mobile app capabilities
- Access broader integration ecosystem
- Budget for higher costs
The Verdict
Product Fruits is the better choice for budget-conscious teams that want comprehensive features—including knowledge base and AI assistance—in a single platform, and don't need mobile app support.
Appcues is the better choice for teams with mobile apps, those requiring specific enterprise integrations like Salesforce, or organizations that prefer established vendors with extensive communities.
Quick Decision:
- "We want the most features for our budget" → Product Fruits
- "We have a mobile app" → Appcues
- "We need a built-in knowledge base" → Product Fruits
- "We use Salesforce heavily" → Appcues
- "AI-powered content creation excites us" → Product Fruits
- "We prefer established market leaders" → Appcues
The price difference is significant—Product Fruits consistently delivers more value per dollar. However, Appcues' mobile support is a genuine differentiator that can't be replicated.
Looking for more comparisons? Check out our guides on UserGuiding vs Appcues and Userpilot vs Appcues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Product Fruits cheaper than Appcues?
Yes, Product Fruits positions itself as the most cost-effective digital adoption platform with significantly lower pricing than Appcues, which starts at $249 per month for the Essentials plan and $879 per month for the Growth plan.
Does Product Fruits have a built-in knowledge base?
Yes, Product Fruits includes a built-in knowledge base with searchable help center, article management, and resource center widget, which saves you from purchasing a separate documentation tool. Appcues does not offer a native knowledge base feature.
Which platform supports mobile apps, Product Fruits or Appcues?
Appcues supports mobile apps with native iOS, Android, and React Native SDKs. Product Fruits is web-only and does not support native mobile app onboarding, making Appcues the only choice if you have mobile apps.
Does Product Fruits have AI features for creating onboarding content?
Yes, Product Fruits includes AI-assisted content creation for product tours, automated copy suggestions, and AI-powered optimization hints. Appcues has limited AI features and relies primarily on manual flow creation.
What survey types do Product Fruits and Appcues support?
Product Fruits supports NPS, CSAT, CES, and custom surveys with multiple question types and conditional logic. Appcues primarily offers NPS surveys, with limited survey functionality on lower-tier plans.
