- Pendo Free covers up to 500 monthly active users with analytics, in-app guides, roadmaps and NPS.
- Paid plans are Base, Core and Ultimate, priced by monthly active users and features; prices are by request.
- Core adds session replay; Ultimate adds sentiment surveys, orchestration, Listen and data sync.
- Reviewers often mention cost growing quickly with usage, so forecast MAUs carefully.
Pendo is one of the few product adoption platforms with a genuinely free tier, but its paid plans are priced by request. That makes it easy to start and harder to forecast. This guide explains what each plan includes, how monthly active users drive the price, what else to budget for and how to negotiate.
How Pendo pricing works
Pendo says its pricing combines two things:
- The number of monthly active users (MAUs) you track.
- The functionality you choose, via plan tier and add-ons.
Paid plans show “request pricing” rather than list prices, so you will need a conversation with sales for a quote.
Pendo plans compared
| Plan | Included (per Pendo’s pricing page) | MAU limit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pendo Free | Product analytics, in-app guides, Pendo-branded roadmaps and NPS | Up to 500 | Free |
| Base | Product analytics, in-app guides | Custom | On request |
| Core | Base + session replay | Custom | On request |
| Ultimate | Core + sentiment surveys, orchestration, Listen, data sync | Custom | On request |
Checked against Pendo’s pricing page in October 2026.
Pendo Free in detail
Pendo Free is unusually generous for the category:
- Product analytics to see which features people use.
- In-app guides to onboard and announce.
- Roadmaps and NPS, with Pendo branding.
- Up to 500 monthly active users.
It is a strong fit for early-stage products, internal pilots and teams evaluating Pendo before committing.
Base, Core and Ultimate
- Base is for teams that need analytics and guides beyond the free limit.
- Core adds session replay, useful for understanding why users get stuck.
- Ultimate adds sentiment surveys (such as NPS and CSAT), orchestration, Listen for feedback management and data sync to your data warehouse.
Add-ons
Pendo lists add-ons including session replay, sentiment, journey orchestration and Listen for Free and lower tiers. Add-ons are useful when you need one capability without the whole Ultimate bundle, but they add up. Compare the cost of two or three add-ons with the next tier.
Pendo also promotes newer products, such as AI-powered offerings and predictive features. Check how these are priced if they interest you.
What affects your Pendo bill
- MAU volume: the biggest driver. Estimate active users 12 to 24 months ahead, not just today.
- Plan tier: session replay and feedback capabilities sit in higher tiers.
- Add-ons: targeted, but cumulative.
- Number of products and environments: confirm how multiple apps, staging environments and employee-facing apps are counted.
- Contract length: multi-year terms may bring discounts but reduce flexibility.
What reviewers say about Pendo’s value
Themes summarised from public reviews on G2 and Capterra, October 2026.
- Praise: ease of setting up analytics and guides without engineering, retroactive analytics, and having feedback, roadmaps and analytics in one place.
- Concerns: cost grows quickly as usage scales, paid pricing requires a sales conversation, and some note limitations in guide design and a learning curve for non-technical users.
The takeaway: Pendo can be excellent value at small scale and when you use its breadth, but costs need managing as you grow.
How Pendo compares on price with alternatives
| Tool | Free option | Published entry price | Pricing basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pendo | Pendo Free (500 MAUs) | No (request pricing) | MAUs and features |
| Userpilot | 14-day trial | $299/month (2,000 MAUs) | MAUs and plan |
| UserGuiding | 14-day trial | $249/month | Plan tier |
| Chameleon | 14-day trial | Pro from $750/month (5k MTUs) | Monthly tracked users |
| Product Fruits | Free trial | $111/month billed annually | Plan tier |
| Appcues | Free trial | No (MAU-based) | MAUs and plan |
Prices as listed on vendor websites in October 2026.
Pendo is the only tool in this group with a permanent free tier, but one of the few without published paid prices. If predictable budgeting matters more than starting free, a published-price tool may suit you better.
Pricing scenarios by stage
These scenarios show which Pendo plan typically fits each stage. They are illustrations based on Pendo’s published plan contents, not quotes.
Early-stage startup (under 500 MAUs)
- Needs: see which features get used, run a welcome guide and NPS.
- Likely plan: Pendo Free.
- Cost: free.
Growing SaaS company (thousands of MAUs)
- Needs: analytics and guides beyond the free limit, plus session replay to debug onboarding drop-offs.
- Likely plan: Core, or Base with a session replay add-on.
- Tip: compare the add-on price with the Core tier.
Scale-up with a product operations team
- Needs: feedback management, sentiment surveys, orchestration and warehouse data sync.
- Likely plan: Ultimate.
- Tip: negotiate multi-year terms and MAU headroom for growth.
Company guiding employees too
- Needs: guidance for internal tools as well as the customer-facing product.
- Ask Pendo how its employee-software offering is priced alongside your product plan.
Hidden costs to plan for
- Implementation time: reviewers describe setup as complex for non-technical teams; budget a few weeks of product and engineering time.
- Content and analysis time: someone needs to own guides, surveys and reporting.
- MAU growth: a successful launch can push you into a higher tier mid-contract.
- Add-ons: easy to accumulate as needs grow.
Is Pendo Free enough?
Pendo Free is probably enough if:
- You have fewer than 500 monthly active users.
- You mainly need to see feature usage and run simple onboarding guides.
- Pendo branding on roadmaps and NPS is acceptable.
You will likely need a paid plan when:
- You exceed 500 MAUs.
- You need session replay, unbranded surveys or feedback management.
- You want data sync to your warehouse.
How to budget and negotiate
- Forecast MAUs realistically and ask how overages are handled mid-contract.
- Prioritise capabilities: do you need session replay and sentiment now, or next year?
- Compare tiers vs add-ons: sometimes the next tier is cheaper than several add-ons.
- Compare with published-price tools such as Userpilot (from $299/month) or UserGuiding (from $249/month). See Pendo vs Userpilot.
- Ask about annual and multi-year terms and price protection at renewal.
- Clarify counting rules for apps, environments and employee-facing use.
Questions to ask Pendo sales
- How exactly is an MAU defined and counted?
- What happens if we exceed our MAU commitment?
- Which add-ons would we need for our use case, and what do they cost?
- How are staging environments and multiple apps billed?
- What is the maximum price increase at renewal?
Alternatives to compare
If Pendo’s paid plans don’t fit your budget, compare Pendo alternatives, including Userpilot, Appcues, Chameleon, UserGuiding, Userflow and Product Fruits. Startups should also read the best onboarding tools for startups.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pendo free?
Pendo Free is free for up to 500 monthly active users and includes product analytics, in-app guides and Pendo-branded roadmaps and NPS surveys.
How does Pendo calculate price?
Pendo says its pricing combines the number of monthly active users you track with the functionality you choose.
What is the difference between Pendo Core and Ultimate?
Core includes product analytics, in-app guides and session replay. Ultimate adds sentiment surveys, orchestration, Listen and data sync.
What counts as a monthly active user?
Generally, a unique user who is active in your product during the month. Confirm Pendo's exact definition, and how it treats multiple apps or environments, before you sign.
Can we buy just one extra feature without upgrading?
Pendo offers add-ons such as session replay, sentiment, journey orchestration and Listen for lower tiers, so you can add specific capabilities without moving to Ultimate.
Arjun writes about in-product onboarding, activation and the tools SaaS product and growth teams use to help users reach value faster.
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