# Pendo Review Pendo analytics, guides, usage counting and publishing. Canonical page: https://quillwell.com/guides/software/pendo/ Updated 2026-11-05 Publisher: Quillwell Guides (https://quillwell.com/guides/about/). Editorial standards: https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/ ## The short answer - Pendo is worth evaluating when the same team needs product analytics and in-app guides. Price the specific modules and data access you need rather than assuming every capability is included. - [Pendo Free](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) lists analytics and guides for up to 500 monthly active users; paid plans require a quote. Counting across apps can depend on your contract. - Assign an owner for identification, tagging, publishing and the product action used to measure success. ## Translate the suite into a quote [Pendo pricing](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) describes pricing by MAUs and functionality. Free includes product analytics, in-app guides, branded roadmaps and branded NPS surveys for up to 500 MAUs. Request the paid price and list the analytics, feedback, replay and guide features required in the proposed plan. Its plan matrix lists analytics and guides in Base, adds session replay in Core, and includes sentiment and orchestration in Ultimate. Confirm entitlements and add-ons in the quote. [Pendo’s Guides comparison](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/40690798780827-Understand-the-Guides-product-and-plan-differences) separately gates embedded and cross-app guides, task lists, guide experiments and automation to Guides Pro. Basic Guides includes web and mobile guides, scheduling and ordering. Ask which version and formats are included in the specific bundle. [Pendo Free’s documentation](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/6069107464091-Pendo-Free) says third-party integrations require an upgrade and historical event data is accessible in the Free UI for one year. Include integration and retention needs when deciding whether Free covers the job. [Pendo defines MAUs](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/6837988357659-Monthly-active-users-MAU) as unique visitors active in the last 30 calendar days, based on developer-configured Visitor IDs. Changing ID format can temporarily create new visitors. Anonymous counting depends on settings and plan. [Multi-app billing](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/41201762050075-Troubleshoot-MAU-metrics-for-a-multi-app-subscription) can be application-level or subscription-level. Ask which model applies and reconcile a sample user across products. Do not multiply the Free allowance by app count. [Pendo’s help article](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/15968607780123-MAU-limits) describes sampled reporting above the threshold on paid and Free plans; Free also restricts creation of new guides, NPS surveys and segments. Its [pricing FAQ](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) says paid functionality continues without interruption. Ask Pendo to reconcile the reporting treatment and contract terms for your plan. ## From a product question to a tag Start with a product action, such as completing a first project, and identify the screens and events that represent it. [Pendo’s events documentation](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/23335876011803-Events-overview) describes retroactive Page and Feature tagging: rules can be applied to collected data after tagging. Retroactive tagging is not collection before installation. Pendo’s [mobile documentation](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360033609651-Tag-Pages-in-your-mobile-app) says SDK collection begins after installation. Check retention, missing historical periods and whether your action requires an explicit event. Compare the eligible cohort with the users who finish the action. A completed guide measures exposure or progress through the guide; it does not establish that the guide caused the product action. ## Control the guide and its maintenance [Pendo staging](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360032203991-Stage-your-guide) lets internal teams test guides before broad release. Its [guide delivery instructions](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/35428244709659-Test-and-deliver-your-guide) cover testing, segmentation, scheduling and publishing. Agree who can approve the audience and who can publish. [Role permissions](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360058639932-Roles-and-permissions) include a specific staging configuration permission and Data Sync controls. Ask for the actual roles in the quote and test them with the people who will maintain the work. After a UI release, check the target element and eligibility with a synthetic account. Keep an owner and a rollback plan for the guide, not just the initial launch. ## Inspect what can leave Ask for a representative event and visitor export, the applicable retention window and the entitlement needed to access it. [Pendo’s permissions](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360058639932-Roles-and-permissions) describe Data Sync exports, but access to an export is not proof that guide definitions can be imported elsewhere. Keep the guide text, targeting rules, ID map and metric definitions separately. Trial a rebuild before retiring a production journey. ## When another scope fits better [Chameleon](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/chameleon/) is worth assessing when the immediate job is targeted experiences and you already have an analysis stack. [Appcues](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/appcues/) and [Userpilot](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/userpilot/) are useful candidates for an onboarding-led evaluation; check each plan’s mobile and data terms. Use the [Pendo alternatives comparison](https://quillwell.com/guides/compare/pendo-alternatives/) to decide which parts of the suite actually need replacing. ### Other product onboarding software we checked **** [UserGuidingOnboarding guides with user identification and audience data.](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/userguiding/) Investigate when a documented quota boundary matters. [The product onboarding software guide](https://quillwell.com/guides/product-onboarding-software/) ## Common questions ### Does Pendo Free include guides? [Pendo pricing](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) lists in-app guides and product analytics for up to 500 MAUs on Free. ### Does tagging recover data from before installation? Pendo describes retroactive tagging of collected data; its [mobile documentation](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360033609651-Tag-Pages-in-your-mobile-app) says collection begins after SDK installation. ### Are multiple apps always counted once? No assumption is safe: [Pendo documents](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/41201762050075-Troubleshoot-MAU-metrics-for-a-multi-app-subscription) application-level and subscription-level billing models. Confirm yours. ## Sources and scope We read the linked vendor pricing and documentation on November 5, 2026. We have not run these products or tested their support, implementation or migration. Plan entitlements and account-specific terms need confirmation. Sponsorship never changes this page. [How we research](https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/). ## Sources 11 vendor pages, checked November 5, 2026 [Pendo: Plans and pricing](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) Checked 2026-11-05. Free allowance, paid quote and pricing model. [Pendo: Monthly active users](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/6837988357659-Monthly-active-users-MAU) Checked 2026-11-05. Visitor ID, rolling window and anonymous counting caveat. [Pendo: MAU limits](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/15968607780123-MAU-limits) Checked 2026-11-05. Sampling and Free creation limits above threshold; counting varies by contract. [Pendo: Multi-app MAU metrics](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/41201762050075-Troubleshoot-MAU-metrics-for-a-multi-app-subscription) Checked 2026-11-05. Application versus subscription-level billing depends on subscription. [Pendo: Events overview](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/23335876011803-Events-overview) Checked 2026-11-05. Page and Feature tagging and retroactive data. [Pendo: Tag Pages in your mobile app](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360033609651-Tag-Pages-in-your-mobile-app) Checked 2026-11-05. Mobile SDK collection begins after installation. [Pendo: Roles and permissions](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360058639932-Roles-and-permissions) Checked 2026-11-05. Staging and Data Sync permissions. [Pendo: Stage your guide](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/360032203991-Stage-your-guide) Checked 2026-11-05. Staging for guide testing. [Pendo: Test and deliver your guide](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/35428244709659-Test-and-deliver-your-guide) Checked 2026-11-05. Guide testing, segmentation, scheduling and publishing. [Pendo: Guides product and plan differences](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/40690798780827-Understand-the-Guides-product-and-plan-differences) Checked 2026-11-05. Guides versus Guides Pro feature gates. [Pendo: Pendo Free](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/6069107464091-Pendo-Free) Checked 2026-11-05. Free retention and integration limits. ### Images in the header [Guide segment and controlled rollout settings](https://support.pendo.io/hc/en-us/articles/35428244709659-Test-and-deliver-your-guide) Pendo's own image from support.pendo.io, fetched November 5, 2026. Figures in it are the vendor's examples, not our results. [Suggest a correction or send a vendor fact update](https://quillwell.com/guides/request/?type=correction&page=/software/pendo/)