The Definitive Guide to Productboard Alternatives in 2023

As a product manager on the hunt for the right product management tool, you probably bumped into Productboard. In actuality, if you are searching for Productboard alternatives already, it means you are already over it (or at least trying to).

We get it. It’s a tough breakup. You thought it would be more flexible to fit your teams’ processes, right? Ideation is dearly missed so you turn to other tools for creating feature specs. You wish it were able to track software development - instead, you have to rely on integrations that create silos in your teams.

While you’re licking your wounds, let us reassure you: you’ve come to the right place. We will list all (or at least we’ll try) Productboard alternatives with features, pricing, and snarky commentary included. Before the enumeration, let’s see if it’s truly time to wave goodbye to Productboard.

What is Productboard best for?

If you’re a product manager, Productboard is easily one of the best tools you can get. Here are a few things that Productboard does well:

• Roadmapping. Add features and subfeatures, set your milestones, and adjust everything by dragging items around. If you have a project jam-packed with tasks, the roadmap view can get a little overcrowded.
• Feedback management. You can link features to feedback, plus you can use other tools to funnel feedback, making sure no insight gets lost. 
• Prioritization. Productboard lets you create your own custom scoring system and use different prioritization techniques. Everything looks and feels sleek and very user-friendly.

This sounds like a PM’s dream product management tool, right? Let’s see now the flipside.

• Lack of customization. Want to add a new entity (e.g. Bugs)? Looking to tailor Productboard to fit your company’s hierarchy and teams? Trying to add objectives and key results? You’ll be disappointed.
• Limited ideation. If you’re a heavy Productboard user, you’re probably already using Miro or integrating FigJam. Even though the function is key to a PM’s work, Productboard falls short.
• Integration matters. More apologetic voices will say that software development can be handled by integrating the likes of JIRA. Harsh reviews claim that Productboard is nothing but JIRA in disguise without some of its capabilities.

Productboard is a fully-fledged opinionated tool. This means that if your process matches Productboard’s “thinking”, you’ll have a field day, but if you want something more custom, you’ll start googling Productboard alternatives. Oh wait… 

It’s high time we get down to the meat of this article.

What Productboard alternatives are out there?

First off, we highly advise you to double-check if you need an opinionated or an unopinionated tool before you delve deeper into the following list. Otherwise, you might end up with a Productboard replacement that causes similar pains in the long run.

As for the rankings, we use the following criteria:

• PM friendliness: Is it built with the product manager in mind or does it also happen to cater to them? The more 🟢🟢, the friendlier.
• Prioritization: Does it come with common prioritization techniques and/or does it allow you to set your own criteria? The more 🟢, the more and better options you have.
• Feedback handling: Does it help you organize customer feedback? The more 🟢, the better your options.
• Roadmapping: Can you build your product roadmap using known techniques and/or can it help you design your own? The more 🟢, the better your options.
• Ease of learning: Does it come with a shallow or a steep learning curve? The more 🟢, the easier it is to learn.
• Pricing: Although most apps charge based on different models and have different tiers, most can be compared on a per-user basis. The more 💰, the more it’s going to cost you.

Work management with some product management on the side

These solutions weren’t designed with primarily you, the product manager, in mind. While they can excel at project management, this also means that they can only partially serve as Productboard replacements.

1. monday.com

Pro: Versatile, with templates for various use cases.

Con: PM features like roadmaps are somewhat limited.

Pricing: Start free, then pay $8/seat/month.

The skinny: Monday.com is a highly customizable tool. Still, product management is not one of its fortés.

2. Airtable

Pro: Versatile and customizable with great data organization.

Con: Limited automation, plus it’s pretty complex for beginners.

Pricing: Free to start, paid plans start from $20/user/month.

The skinny: If you love Excel, you’ll love Excel on steroids. The learning curve can be an issue.

3. Coda

Pro: Highly customizable with a focus on documents and spreadsheets.

Con: Less specialized in product management, a bit harder to learn.

Pricing: Try for free, pricing starts at $10/Doc Maker/month.

The skinny: Coda is versatile and pretty awesome for managing docs and tasks, but PMs will miss key features.

4. ClickUp

Pro: An all-around product management tool with customizable workflows.

Con: Feedback management is iffy.

Pricing: Free to start, paid plans from $7/user/month.

The skinny: ClickUp is insanely feature-rich but has performance issues and doesn’t always fulfill all PM needs.

All-in-one specialized product management tools

Designed with the PM in mind, these tools cover most if not all your product management needs. This also means that the following compilation contains the product management software that can replace Productboard.

1. Aha!

Pro: Specialized in roadmapping and product strategy.

Con: Steeper learning curve plus the UI is quite outdated.

Pricing: Starts at $59/user/month, but for full feature unlock it will get very pricy.

The skinny: Aha! is a specialized tool for PMs with powerful functions. The trade-off? Your product and dev guys will work in silos due to the lack of software management capabilities.

2. ProdPad

Pro: Focused on product management, great for idea management and roadmapping.

Con: Does not have extensive task management features.

Pricing: Starts at $24/editor/month, you get charged $24 for Roadmaps, Ideas, and Feedback separately.

Skinny: Ideal for product-focused teams, but less suitable for broader project management, plus the pricing can get tricky.

3. craft.io

Pro: Designed for product management with roadmaps and prioritization.

Con: Limited task management features and integrations.

Pricing: Starts at $19/editor/month.

The skinny: Craft.io is a fully-fledged product management tool but its integration features can be somewhat lacking.

4. Rapidr

Pro: Streamlined product management and collaboration.

Con: Limited in project management beyond product-related tasks.

Pricing: Starts at $49/startup (5 members).

The skinny: Rapidr is a new player on the block that covers several PM needs. Functionality (e.g. integrations) might feel limiting at times.

5. ProductPlan

Pro: Specialized for roadmapping and prioritization features.

Con: Feedback management non-existant.

Pricing: Starts at $39/editor/month.

The skinny: Roadmapping is a strong suit of ProductPlan, but you’ll need another tool for handling feedback.

6. Harvestr

Pro: Customer feedback and product management integration, good prioritization options.

Con: May not be a comprehensive product management tool.

Pricing: Start for free. $79/editor/month.

The skinny: Harvestr is feedback-centric but also in an early stage, so key features can be lacking.

7. Chisel

Pro: Product management and collaboration features.

Con: UX/UI issues, integrations are not exhaustive.

Pricing: Free version available. Starts at $49.

The skinny: Chisel is versatile but might need supplements for specialized needs.

All-in-one generic product management tools

Product managers are part of these tools’ audience. This means that you’re likely to find many features you need and more, like internal documentation, project management, and the like.

1. Airfocus

Pro: Prioritization features and roadmap planning, customizable workspace with few limits.

Con: Limited reporting capabilities, steep learning curve.

Pricing: Starts at $69/editor. Discount for early-stage startups.

The skinny: Trade in a shallow learning curve and powerful integrations for a sleek UI and flexibility that hardly anyone does better in the niche.

2. Notion

Pro: Highly customizable for various use cases, including product management.

Con: Requires significant setup and lacks some specialized features.

Pricing: You can get started for free, premium features start at $8/user/month.

The skinny: Notion is versatile from the get-go but may need customization for dedicated product management.

3. Fibery

Pro: Flexible with customizable workspaces and integrations.

Con: Takes time to set up, the learning curve is steeper than usual.

Pricing: Start for free, paid features from $10/user/month.

The skinny: Easily the only tool that scales with your org while covering all your PM needs without forcing you into silos.

4. GoodDay

Pro: Project and product management tool with great flexibility.

Con: Integration and certain PM features like prioritization are lacking.

Pricing: Try for free, then starts at $4/user/month.

The skinny: Attempts to be a good all-arounder for project and product management, but you might find it to be falling short for specific tasks.

5. Shortcut

Pro: Okay product management capabilities…

Con: … that often lack depth.

Pricing: Free version available, starts at $8.50/user/month.

The skinny: Navigation and performance issues, plus limited PM features can overshadow its flexibility.

6. Targetprocess

Pro: Strong prioritization and roadmapping features.

Con: High degree of complexity, tough to get started.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

The skinny: Targetprocess is an optimal, versatile tool for enterprise project management that requires a bit of learning and customization along the way.

Specialized product management tools

These tools are not made to replace Productboard, but they might cover one (or two) crucial steps in your PM workflow. If you manage to integrate into your main project management tool (and are willing to compromise on having silos), the following apps can be a good addition.

1. Roadmunk

Pro: Specialized in roadmapping and product planning.

Con: Limited in broader project management features.

Pricing: Starts at $19/user/month.

The skinny: Ace your roadmaps. Brace when it comes to other PM needs.

2. LoopedIn (formerly Productstash)

Pro: Roadmapping and feedback management features for the win.

Con: Small user base and potential for fewer integrations.

Pricing: Free plan available, pro features start at $12/user/month.

The skinny: LoopedIn covers some of the most important PM bases but lacks integration features.

3. Alchemer

Pro: Surveys and feedback collection with good integration potential.

Con: In-depth product development is limited.

Pricing: Starts at $55/user/month

The skinny: Maxes out feedback handling, but you will have to rely on other tools, inherently creating silos.

4. Pendo

Pro: Customer feedback and product usage analytics.

Con: More suited for user engagement than full product management.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

Skinny: Pendo is great for feedback management and product analytics but not a comprehensive product management tool.

5. Cycle.app

Pro: Streamlines feedback management, easy-to-use interface.

Con: Feedback and backlog management can get overwhelming with a lot of pieces of feedback to handle.

Pricing: $130 base + $50/maker/month.

Skinny: Use it to turn product feedback into customer engagement with a pleasant user experience.

App combinations

The following two sets of apps are here to show that Productboard can be also replaced by multiple solutions that actually function well hand-in-hand. Silos and less transparency might ensue, so proceed with caution.

1. Google Docs + Sheets

Pro: Fast and secure sharing, collab features, extremely shallow learning curve.

Con: Formatting and flexibility options are lacking compared to similar suites (e.g. Office 365).

Pricing: Starts at $5.75.

The skinny: Can cover pretty much every aspect of your workflow, but you will reach the ceiling pretty fast.

2. Word + Excel

Pro: Extremely widespread, easy to adapt, versatile tools for building your own process.

Con: Integration options and overall clunkiness leave plenty of room for improvement.

Pricing: Starts at $6.

The skinny: A comprehensive suite of business tools, it does almost everything - up until you need to work with software outside of its offering.

The PM’s take

I personally like to start with simple tools. If you have a very small team and on the early phase, I’d go with some generic tool like Coda or Notion. You still have one point of access to features, roadmaps and some feedback in this case. With growth these tools might be not good enough, since you need more in-depth features like proper feedback management. In this case I’d consider Fibery or Airfocus due to flexibility. If you need something heavy, stay with Productboard. And for god’s sake, avoid Aha! at any cost.

Michael Dubakov, CEO at Fibery

Wrap up

With 22 different product management tools to boost your PM arsenal, we hope you can see a bit more clearly. Here’s a summary that brings all the pieces together:

Productboard remains a strong option for PM use cases - but we firmly believe that some of its alternatives will make you never look back.

And if in doubt, scroll a bit to the bottom until you see “Psst”.