In 2025, product-led SaaS companies recognize that smooth user onboarding and engagement are mission-critical. Every touchpoint -from first login to feature discovery- shapes retention and loyalty. Research shows that interactive, personalized onboarding significantly boosts retention, engagement, and conversion rates. In fact, a strong onboarding flow can mean the difference between a loyal customer and a lost user: “90% of users churn without strong onboarding”. Modern in-app messaging (guided tours, tips, banners, etc.) directly addresses this challenge by delivering help where and when users need it. Tools that leverage rich media, like video and AI-driven guidance, can engage users even more effectively than static text alone. In summary, in-app messaging remains essential in 2025 for onboarding, engagement, and retention - and new AI-powered, video-first solutions (like Saltfish.ai) are pushing the field forward.

This article explores the top 10 in-app messaging tools of 2025 and how they help businesses improve user onboarding, engagement, and retention. It provides a clear overview of each platform -including Appcues, Pendo, Userpilot, WalkMe, Saltfish.ai, and more- covering their best use cases, and pros and cons. The roundup also compares all tools side by side, highlighting why Saltfish.ai’s AI-powered, video-first approach is emerging as the modern alternative for product teams looking to create more engaging and effective onboarding experiences.

1. Saltfish.ai: The Next-Gen Video-First AI Onboarding Platform

Saltfish.ai transforms user onboarding by delivering interactive, AI-generated video experiences that feel like having a friendly guide built into your product. Unlike static pop-ups or tooltip tours, Saltfish’s personalized video touchpoints smoothly engage users with a face‑to‑face walkthrough embedded directly within your app or website – all powered by a one-line widget code, no heavy engineering needed.

Why it stands out: At its core, Saltfish offers a state-of-the-art AI video generator that turns text prompts into polished videos in seconds. You can select or create avatars, write a script, and instantly generate a video tutorial. Even more powerful: flow builder logic lets you branch these videos based on user actions or segments - so users feel guided - and only see what’s relevant to them. The result? Higher activation, lower bounce, and faster time-to-value, customers report up to a 500% increase in activation, 4× faster onboarding, and 16% higher conversions.

What makes Saltfish the game-changer:

1. Video-first, not just video-enabled. Most tools patch video into their UI; Saltfish reimagines onboarding as a video journey, making the user feel welcomed, not interrupted.

2. AI-powered at every step: from script generation to avatar creation to flow logic -Saltfish minimizes production friction and makes updates lightning fast.

3. Rich interactive features out of the box: you can embed CTAs, lead captures, and session replay directly inside onboarding flows, blending storytelling with action.

4. Data-friendly edition. With advanced analytics and session replays included in Growth & above, you’ll know not just who watched, but how users interact with every video.

5. Scales with your success. Transparent plans—from free to enterprise—allow businesses of all sizes to adopt and grow with Saltfish, avoiding hidden fees or surprise overages.

Pros:

• Video-first approach: Users engage with guided video tours (often more intuitive than static tips).

• AI automation: Saltfish can auto-create video scripts and avatars from simple prompts.

• Ease of use: Non-technical teams can generate onboarding videos without writing copy.

• Free tier and lower starting price than many incumbents.

Cons:

• Being new, it has fewer pre-built integrations (though standard embed works broadly).

• Focused on video – if a user’s device blocks video or auto-play, fallback is simpler.

• Currently web-only (no native mobile SDK yet).

In short, Saltfish.ai isn’t just another onboarding tool, it’s a modern evolution in product guidance: AI-made, video-driven, and engagement-optimized. Whether you're a SaaS platform, mobile app developer, or e-commerce team, Saltfish offers enriched user-first experiences with compelling ROI.

2. Appcues

Appcues is a mature product adoption platform that lets non-technical teams build in-app flows. It supports modal pop-ups, tooltips, checklists, banners, and multi-channel campaigns (including email and push notifications) from one dashboard. In other words, Appcues helps product and growth teams run automated, behavior-driven plays to convert and retain users: “Turn live customer behavior into automated in-app, push, and email plays that grow revenue through conversion, adoption, and expansion”. It’s trusted by many SaaS companies to guide users to key features and value.

Best use case: Appcues is ideal for SaaS products that need a robust set of in-app experiences (tours, checklists, etc.) along with multi-channel follow-up. It excels when teams want detailed analytics and integration (e.g. using CRM or analytics data to trigger guides).

Pros:

• Enterprise-grade features and analytics (track completion, segment audiences, integrate with many tools).

• Supports multiple channels (in-app + email + push) from one platform.

• Highly customizable experiences (flows, checklists, resource centers).

Cons:

• Costly for small teams (pricing starts high and grows with usage).

• No video/AI content – primarily static web elements (modals, tooltips).

• It can be complex to learn and implement compared to simpler tools.
  
  
  

3. Pendo

Pendo is a comprehensive Product Experience platform known for combining product analytics with in-app guides. It lets product teams track feature usage and build in-app messages, tooltips, and walkthroughs without code. Pendo’s strength is its analytics-first approach: you get deep insights (heatmaps, funnels) along with the ability to nudge users (or survey them) in-app.

Best use case: Large B2B or enterprise SaaS teams that need rich product usage data alongside onboarding help will find Pendo valuable. It’s often used by product managers to instrument apps at scale and then automatically surface guides where needed.

Pros:

• Full-featured analytics + guidance in one product.

• Free tier (500 MAU) suitable for small teams or trials.

• Robust segmentation and experiment A/B testing on guides.
  
  
  

Cons:

• Very expensive at scale (pricing often quoted in mid-to-high five figures annually).

• Complex to set up and manage (better for companies with dedicated product ops).

• Focuses more on analytics and feedback; some users find the guide-building UI less intuitive.

• Not video-centric – primarily text-based walkthroughs.
  
  
  

4. Userpilot

Userpilot is a no-code in-app onboarding and product adoption tool. It lets teams quickly build interactive walkthroughs, tooltips, checklists, and resource centers to help users discover features. The platform emphasizes personalization: you can trigger flows based on user behavior or persona. As they say, Userpilot “helps product teams deliver personalized in-app experiences to increase growth metrics at every stage of the product journey”.

Best use case: SaaS products (especially B2B) looking for a balance of power and ease-of-use. Userpilot works well when you want segmented onboarding (e.g. show different tours to admins vs users) and track which features users try.

Pros:

• Intuitive no-code editor for building tours, checklists, surveys.

• Good user behavior tracking and goal completion analytics.

• Flexible triggers and segmentation for targeted guidance.

Cons:

• Can become expensive as MAUs grow (similar pricing to Appcues for overlapping features).

• Primarily designed for web/SaaS (no mobile SDK).

• No built-in AI video or avatar functionality – content is still text and visuals.
  
  
  

5. Chameleon

Chameleon is an AI-powered product adoption platform. It brands itself as “the deepest product adoption platform” and uses AI to speed up content creation. For example, Chameleon can auto-generate in-app campaigns or interactive demos just by “talking” or describing your needs. It also has the ability to create embedded banners, checklists, and interactive product tours. Many teams like Chameleon for its emphasis on native, subtle UI elements that don’t feel like jarring pop-ups (e.g. embedded banners, checklists).

Best use case: Startups and mid-market companies that want advanced features (like AI-created flows and interactive demos) and are willing to pay for a modern approach. Chameleon shines when you need both a robust feature set and a bit of AI “content copilot” to accelerate setup.

Pros:

• AI-assisted content: can auto-generate onboarding flows or demos by description.

• Rich interactive demo feature (unlimited sandbox walkthroughs) on all plans.

• “Native” in-app experiences (banners, checklists) that blend into the UI.

Cons:

• Pricing starts high ($333/mo) for even a modest number of MAUs.

• Premium focus means a steeper learning curve to leverage all features.

• Still no video-recording – relies on live in-app elements and AI copy, not user-specific videos.
  
  
  

6. WalkMe

WalkMe is a heavyweight Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) focused on large enterprises and employee onboarding. It overlays guidance on virtually any software (web or desktop) to ensure users complete tasks. WalkMe is known for its powerful feature set: in-app walkthroughs, contextual help, automation of workflows, and analytics. It’s often used by organizations with complex software stacks (CRM, ERP, HR systems, etc.) that need comprehensive training.

Best use case: Large companies needing global employee onboarding, training, and change management. WalkMe is ideal when you need to ensure compliance (e.g. in financial software) or push adoption across legacy apps.

Pros:

• Extremely comprehensive: supports any application (web/mobile/desktop) and complex workflows.

• Advanced automation (e.g. pop-ups, auto-complete actions) and enterprise integrations.

• Strong analytics and compliance features for large-scale deployments.

Cons:

• Very expensive – even “starter” usage can run ~$9k/year, with most customers spending much more.

• Steep implementation and maintenance (often requires dedicated admins and months of setup).

• Overkill for simple web apps – its complexity is best justified only at scale.
  
  
  

7. UserGuiding

UserGuiding is a no-code onboarding and self-service platform targeting SMBs. It lets teams create product tours, checklists, hotspots and a built-in resource center (knowledge base + updates) without engineering help. The platform highlights ease-of-use and affordability. In fact, UserGuiding advertises itself as “simpler, more affordable” than tools like Appcues or Pendo. Notably, it also includes some AI features (like an AI assistant for self-service) and surveys out of the box.

Best use case: Smaller B2B tech companies or startups that want an all-in-one onboarding and support widget. It’s great for teams who need basic guides plus in-app help centers but have limited budgets.

Pros:

• Very affordable entry price with scalable plans (promises “best value” for SMBs).

• No-code editor for guides, plus built-in modules: resource center, AI chat assistant, product update page.

• Easy to set up; many templates and white-labeling options.
  
  
  

Cons:

• Lacks some advanced targeting/analytics of higher-tier DAPs.

• Primarily for web apps (no native mobile support).

• While it has AI features, the AI assistant is relatively basic compared to full conversational bots.
  
  
  

8. Product Fruits

Product Fruits is a newer Digital Adoption Platform that focuses on user and employee onboarding with an AI twist. It’s fully no-code and offers AI-driven features (they call it “Product Fruits AI”) to generate tours, announcements, and help content automatically. Essentially, it provides standard DAP tools (tours, tooltips, checklists, in-app announcements, feedback widgets, and a knowledge base). The website touts it as a way to quickly create onboarding flows without a developer.

Best use case: Small to mid-size SaaS or startup teams needing a straightforward, budget-friendly DAP. Particularly useful if you like the idea of AI-assisted content (for example, auto-generating a “Welcome tour” or “Feature hint”).

Pros:

• Relatively affordable plans (Starter at $96/mo).

• Built-in AI tools (“Copilot”) to help author tours, surveys and announcements.

• Generous features even on entry plans (unlimited tours, checklists, knowledge base).

• Helpful for both product and employee onboarding with a single tool.

Cons:

• Being smaller and newer, it has fewer third-party integrations than incumbents.

• UI and support team are less mature than older vendors.

• As a web-based tool, no native mobile app support yet.
  
  
  

9. Intercom (Product Tours)

Intercom is widely known as a customer messaging and support platform, and “Product Tours” is its add-on for onboarding. Essentially, Intercom provides live chat, chatbots, email campaigns, and a help center, and the Product Tours feature adds in-app walkthroughs and checklists. It’s not a standalone DAP; you must be on Intercom’s support suite to get it. On the pricing side, the Proactive Support Plus bundle (which includes Product Tours, Posts, Checklists, etc.) costs about $99/month on top of your Intercom seat fees.

Best use case: Startups or small businesses already using Intercom for support who want simple onboarding tours without adopting a separate product. It’s convenient if you’re already in the Intercom ecosystem.

Pros:

• Seamless integration with Intercom chat and help center – consistent user experience.

• Lower barrier if you already pay for Intercom (no separate DAP implementation).

• Includes multi-channel features (email, push) as part of the suite.

Cons:

• Onboarding capabilities are limited compared to dedicated DAPs (basic tours and tooltips only).

• You can’t use Product Tours without a main Intercom plan (so it’s not standalone).

• Pricing can add up when you need many seats or high message volume.

• Not focused on video; mainly text/image tours.
  
  
  

10. Whatfix

Whatfix is an enterprise digital adoption platform that emphasizes user onboarding and in-app training. It offers typical DAP features (interactive walkthroughs, hotspots, tooltips, NPS surveys), plus a unique “Mirror” mode: a sandbox environment where users can practice in a simulated app. This makes it powerful for internal training (e.g. teaching employees to use a new CRM). Whatfix is also known for its advanced analytics and the ability to distribute training as micro-learning videos and PDFs.

Best use case: Large organizations needing both employee training and customer onboarding. Useful when you want to provide in-app self-help and practice environments for complex apps.

Pros:

• Comprehensive features including simulated training environments (Mirror) and personalized walkthroughs.

• Strong analytics and audience segmentation for guidance.

• Good for cross-platform (web, desktop, mobile).

Cons:

• High cost: quotes only by sale, usually enterprise-tier budgets.

• Complex setup for advanced features.

• Limited customization flexibility for some UI elements (branding might be rigid).
  
  
  

Comparison Table

Ready to elevate your onboarding process? Try Saltfish.ai and see how an AI-powered, video-first approach can transform your user engagement.

FAQs

• What is Saltfish.ai? Saltfish.ai is an interactive AI video platform for user onboarding and engagement. It generates personalized video walkthroughs (with virtual avatars) that you can embed in your app or site. Instead of text pop-ups, Saltfish delivers guided tours through AI-generated videos, making the user journey more engaging.
  
  
  

• What makes Saltfish different from Appcues/Pendo/etc.? The key difference is Saltfish’s video-first, AI-driven approach. While traditional tools like Appcues and Pendo rely on static tours, banners, and text tips, Saltfish creates AI-powered interactive videos for onboarding. This means users can watch a brief tutorial video at their own pace inside the app. Saltfish automates content creation (via AI scripts and avatars) and focuses on engagement. In short, Saltfish provides modern, personalized video experiences, whereas most competitors are centered on UI-driven guides and metrics.