Brianna ParkerPendo is a customer analytics platform for product adoption headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Todd Olson, Erik Troan, Rahul Jain, and Jennifer Kaelin founded the company in 2013. The platform has robust software usage analytics, in-app guidance, and user feedback capabilities.
Teams can leverage these features to deliver better product experiences to their customers or employees. In 2021, Pendo had a $2.6 billion valuation. However, inflation and economic uncertainty threaten its profitability and long-term IPO goal. In June 2023, Pendo laid off around 100 employees, or 12% of its staff. [1]
Pendo is a comprehensive product experience platform. It tracks user engagement data, which helps product managers make informed investment decisions to improve products. Pendo offers Pendo Engage and Pendo Adopt that help companies deliver the best software experiences. In 2022, Pendo recorded a 40% increase in customers paying over $100,000 yearly and added 17 new Fortune 500 clients. Pendo was recognized as a leader in The Forrester New Wave: Digital Adoption Platforms in Q4 2022 and won 25 awards in 2022.
Over 8,700 companies use Pendo, including Verizon, Morgan Stanley, LabCorp, OpenTable, Salesforce, and Zendesk. However, the startup faces stiff competition from Atlassian, ProductPlan, Smartsheet, VMware, Wrike, Glassbox, Zoho, and FullStory. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of Pendo’s top competitors and alternatives:
1. Atlassian
Year founded: 2002
Headquarter: Sydney, Australia
Atlassian is an Australian software company founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. The firm offers Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Jira Align, which power workflows for nearly 125,000 customers. In 2022, Atlassian employed 8,813 people but laid off 500 employees in March 2023. [3]
Atlassian offers an extensible DevOps platform powered by Jira Software. It connects ITOps, engineering, and business teams to accelerate innovation and improve application health. In 2023, Atlassian was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for DevOps and a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave: Integrated Software Delivery Platforms. The firm released Jira Product Discovery to help product teams prioritize ideas and align stakeholders across the product journey. Atlassian is the top Pendo competitor and alternative. [4]
2. ProductPlan
Year founded: 2013
Headquarter: Santa Barbara, California
ProductPlan is a roadmap software solution developed by Jim Semick and Greg Goodman. The platform simplifies product roadmapping and enhances collaboration and transparency. According to Gartner, ProductPlan has 4.5 stars out of 5 from 76 ratings.
ProductPlan is the world’s leading roadmap software. The platform helps product managers communicate and align strategies with all stakeholders and standardize processes organization-wide. Thousands of companies use ProductPlan, including Microsoft, Amazon, PwC, Southwest Airlines, PBS, Nike, Intuit, and Alaska Airlines. ProductPlan is one of the best alternatives to Pendo for product roadmapping. [5]
3. Smartsheet
Year founded: 2005
Headquarter: Bellevue, Washington
Smartsheet is an enterprise work management platform. Product teams can manage projects, automate processes, scale workflows, collaborate on tasks, and monitor progress in a single, centralized location. In December 2022, the company employed around 2,500 people.
Smartsheet offers a spreadsheet-like interface with Gantt charts, file sharing, and workplace automation. The firm recently acquired Outfit and added over 400 product enhancements. In 2023, Smartsheet was recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave: Collaborative Work Management Tools. Smartsheet is a formidable competitor for Pendo. [6]
4. VMware, Inc.
Year founded: 1998
Headquarter: Palo Alto, California
VMware is an American cloud computing and virtualization tech company. The firm offers PivotalTracker, which simplifies project management. In May 2022, Broadcom agreed to acquire VMware for $61 billion.
VMware’s PivotalTracker offers robust features to help product managers organize project initiatives, create and prioritize tasks, and visualize progress. In September 2023, the company integrated security and operational efficiency into end-user computing. The firm is also exploring the use of generative AI in streamlining digital operations. VMware is one of the top competitors for Pendo. [7]
5. Wrike
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Wrike is an all-in-one work management platform. It consolidates all work in a single location to help teams and organizations plan, collaborate, manage, and execute projects. In August 2023, Wrike served over 20,000 customers, including Estée Lauder, Hootsuite, Nielsen, Ogilvy, Siemens, and Tiffany & Co.
Wrike provides a comprehensive project management solution with versatile features and an intuitive interface. In August 2023, a Forrester Consulting study revealed that organizations using Wrike gained a 396% return on investment (ROI) over three years. This ROI represents a 3-year net present value of $9.78 million. Wrike is one of the best alternatives to Pendo. [8]
6. Glassbox
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: Petah Tikva, Israel
Glassbox is a digital experience intelligence (DXI) provider. The DXI platform captures, visualizes, and analyzes digital journeys across websites and mobile apps. So, product, UX, marketing, IT, and analytics teams can use the insights to improve experiences. As of August 2023, Glassbox served hundreds of global companies across industries.
Glassbox visualizes insights into customer behavior to help companies improve their digital experience. In August 2023, the company won the Customer Experience Innovation Award in the 6th annual MarTech Breakthrough Awards program. Glassbox is a worthy competitor for Pendo. [9]
7. Zoho
Year founded: 1996
Headquarter: Chennai, India
Zoho is an Indian tech giant specializing in computer software and web-based business tools. The company offers Zoho Sprints and Zoho Projects to help teams simplify product, project, and work management. In Q1 2023, Zoho Sprints received ISO 9001 certification. [10]
Zoho Sprints stands out from the competition thanks to its intuitive design and focus on agile methodology. In Q1 2023, Zoho launched new features and enhancements for Zoho Sprints. Users can now set up recurring items, add replies to comments, collaborate through Zoho Writer, and sync default priority levels with Zoho Projects. Zoho Sprints is one of the best alternatives to Pendo.
8. FullStory
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: Atlanta, Georgia
FullStory is a data and digital experience intelligence (DXI) platform. Product, engineering, marketing, and customer support teams can use the solution to transform unstructured and unindexed information into actionable DXI. According to G2, FullStory has a 4.5-star rating out of 5 from 347 reviews.
FullStory helps companies deliver the best digital experiences across their websites and apps. In September 2023, FullStory unveiled product enhancements powered by its patented privacy-first Data Engine. The new capabilities proactively guide and align users’ business decisions with actionable insights. FullStory is one of the best alternatives to Pendo. [11]
9. Asana
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Asana is a mobile and web work management platform. It helps companies streamline business operations and processes, including project and product management. In Q4 2022, Asana was named a Leader in the Forrester Wave: Collaborative Work Management Tools report. [12]
Asana serves over 135,000 customers in over 200 countries. The company recently enhanced its products with generative AI features powered by OpenAI’s models, which convert human input and respond in text, images, or audio. According to Asana founder Dustin Moskovitz, users can integrate AI into work management workflows to optimize workflow automation and improve decision-making. Asana’s investment in generative AI increases its competitive advantage over Pendo. [13]
10. Amplitude Inc.
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Amplitude is a digital analytics software company. It offers an analytics solution designed for modern product teams. In August 2023, the company launched AI-powered Ask Amplitude platform-wide. [14]
Amplitude is one of the leading behavior-tracking software firms. Product teams can use Ask Amplitude to construct queries by stating them in natural language. First, the digital assistant uses semantic search to find relevant content inside the user’s Amplitude instance. Then, it leverages large language model prompts to convert the question into a JavaScript object notation definition to be passed to the query engine. Amplitude is an innovative alternative to Pendo.
11. Broadcom
Year founded: 1991
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Broadcom is a global technology firm. The company specializes in automation, monitoring, and security. In 2022, Broadcom employed around 20,000 people.
Broadcom offers Clarity PPM, an all-in-one project and portfolio management solution. The platform provides robust features to help users track team activities, streamline workflows, and improve operational efficiency. On TrustRadius.com, Broadcom Clarity has a 7.5-star rating out of 10 from 18 reviews. Broadcom Clarity is one of the best alternatives to Pendo. [15]
12. Citrix Systems Inc.
Year founded: 1989
Headquarter: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Citrix is a cloud computing company that provides Podio, a project management platform. Podio offers team collaboration tools and consolidates content, conversations, and processes in a single solution. In 2022, Citrix had around 9,000 employees.
The main competitive advantage of Podio is its integration with other Citrix productivity tools, such as ShareFile and Citrix Content Collaboration. In September 2023, Citrix’s development team refined Citrix Endpoint Management to support Android 14 before its release in October 2023. Citrix Podio is one of the top competitors for Pendo. [16]
13. Sopheon
Year founded: 1993
Headquarter: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sopheon is a global enterprise software and services company specializing in InnovationOps. The company offers Accolade and Acclaim software. In August 2023, Sopheon integrated its Acclaim Products with Pendo to help managers improve products and drive growth. [17]
Sopheon helps product and project teams accomplish tasks and drive innovation at scale. The company serves hundreds of blue-chip customers with over 137,000 users in 50 countries. In August 2023, Sasol selected Sopheon’s Accolade to automate its innovation processes and portfolio management in Germany. Sopheon is one of the best alternatives to Pendo for InnovationOps. [18]
14. ClickUp
Year founded: 2017
Headquarter: San Diego, California
ClickUp is a productivity and project management platform. It helps organizations manage projects, track tasks and progress, share data, and set goals. In 2022, ClickUp served over 8 million users across 1.6 million teams.
ClickUp consolidates project management, doc collaboration, whiteboards, spreadsheets, and goals in a single interface. PMs can customize ClickUp’s features to fit their unique project management needs. In March 2023, Fast Company named ClickUp in its Most Innovative Companies list. ClickUp is one of the top competitors for Pendo. [19]
15. Craft.io
Year founded: 2015
Headquarter: Tel Aviv, Israel
Craft.io is a product management platform. The solution has user-friendly, Excel-like table functionality for viewing, sorting, and editing item properties. According to Gartner, Craft.io has 4.2 stars out of 5 from 7 ratings.
Craft.io offers best-practice templates and product management capabilities, including strategic planning and feedback management, prioritization, and roadmapping. In June 2023, Products That Count named Craft.io one of the Best Products for Product Managers. Craft.io is a worthy alternative to Pendo for product management. [20]
References & more information
- Eanes, Z. (2023, Jun 13). Raleigh software unicorn Pendo lays off 12% of workers. Axios
- Pendo (2023, Feb 28). Pendo Ends Fiscal Year with Record Growth in Enterprise Customers as the Product-Led Movement Expands Beyond Software. Pendo.io
- Barrett, J. (2023, Mar 7). Atlassian to axe 500 jobs with the heaviest of hearts. The Guardian
- Atlassian Corporation (2023, Aug 3). Atlassian Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Results. Business Wire
- Cognetta, S. (2023, Sep 29). Falling into Product Management—Jim Semick, Co-Founder of ProductPlan. Try Exponent
- Smartsheet Inc. (2023, Mar 14). Smartsheet Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2023 Results. Business Wire
- Njuguna, B. (2023, Sep 26). VMware integrates security and operational efficiency into end-user computing. Silicon Angle
- Wrike (2023, Aug 23). Wrike Delivered 396% Return on Investment in 2023 Total Economic Impact Study. Business Wire
- Glassbox (2023, Aug 17). Glassbox Wins 2023 MarTech Breakthrough Award. Market Screener
- Neethinila, R. (2023, Apr 28). Zoho Sprints 2023 – Q1 Updates. Zoho.com
- FullStory (2023, Sep 14). FullStory Introduces New Features That Connect Digital Experience Data across the Organization to Unlock Key Insights Faster and Accelerate Revenue. Business Wire
- Asana (2023, Mar 8). Asana Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Revenues. Asana.com
- Novet, J. (2023, Jun 24). Why billionaire Dustin Moskovitz keeps buying up shares of his software company Asana. CNBC
- Gillin, P. (2023, Aug 10). Amplitude adds AI features to simplify business intelligence queries and data governance. Silicon Angle
- TR Reviews (2023, May 22). What is Broadcom Clarity? TrustRadius.com
- Montoya, A. (2023, Sep 26). Citrix Endpoint Management is ready for Day 0 Support for Android 14! Citrix.com
- Sopheon (2023, Aug 1). Sopheon Announces Integration with Pendo’s Product Experience Platform. Globe Newswire
- Sopheon (2023, Aug 16). Sasol Selects Sopheon to Manage Sustainable Specialty Chemicals Innovation. Globe Newswire
- ClickUp (2023, Mar 2). ClickUp Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the Most Innovative Companies for 2023. ClickUp.com
- io Team (2023, Jun 21). Craft.io Wins 2023 “Best Product for Product Managers” Award. Craft.io
- Featured Image bypath digital
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