10 Best In-App Messaging Software for SaaS Teams

The quick answer

Quick answer: if you also need live chat and support, Intercom is the obvious in-app messaging software: banners, tooltips and in-app chats are included on every plan, and product tours, surveys and targeted in-app messages come with its Proactive Support Plus add-on at $99 a month for 500 messages. For no-code product messages such as modals, slideouts, banners and tooltips, Appcues, Userpilot and Chameleon are the main choices. For mobile apps, OneSignal gives unlimited in-app messages free for up to 1,000 monthly active users, and Customer.io includes unlimited in-app messages from $100 a month alongside email. Product Fruits, UserGuiding and PLG OS are the lower-cost picks. Prices are as of October 2026, checked on each vendor's own site.

What in-app messaging software does

In-app messaging software shows messages to logged-in users while they are using your product, instead of in their inbox. For a SaaS product, the useful message types are:

• Modals and pop-ups for important announcements or a welcome message.
• Banners for release notes, maintenance notices and upgrade prompts.
• Tooltips and hotspots that point at one element on the screen.
• Slideouts and chat-style messages that feel less intrusive than a modal.
• Mobile in-app messages shown inside an iOS or Android app, often from the same tool that sends push notifications.

Two features decide whether in-app messages help or annoy: targeting (who sees a message, based on their plan, role and behavior) and frequency control (how often one person sees anything). For examples of messages that move activation, see our list of in-app messages that lift activation.

In-app messaging software compared

1. Intercom

Who it is for: SaaS teams that want in-app messages and live support in the same Messenger.

Pricing: Intercom's published pricing lists Essential at $29 per seat a month, Advanced at $99 and Expert at $139, with Fin AI Agent charged at $0.99 per outcome. All plans include unlimited live chat, in-app chats, banners and tooltips. The Proactive Support Plus add-on is $99 a month for 500 messages and covers product tours, surveys, in-app messages, mobile push and carousels; extra messages are charged per unit. Source: Intercom pricing.

Strengths: in-app messages, the Messenger, the help center and Fin AI Agent are one platform, so a message can lead straight into a support conversation.

Limits: the add-on is metered by message, so a broad campaign to many users uses up the 500 included messages quickly. Our list of Intercom alternatives covers other options.

2. Appcues

Who it is for: product and growth teams that want no-code in-app messages plus behavioral email and push from one tool.

Pricing: Start (up to 3,000 MAUs), Grow and Enterprise are quoted. The Spark plan for teams of 25 or fewer is $3,600 a year for up to 1,000 MAUs plus a one-time $250 implementation fee, with up to 10 published experiences. Sources: Appcues pricing and the Spark plan.

Strengths: modals, tooltips, slideouts, banners, checklists and surveys built without code, with in-app messaging, behavioral email and push notifications from one platform. Every plan includes every experience type and integration.

Limits: each plan caps published experiences (10 on Start and Spark), so a team that runs many small announcements hits the cap.

3. Userpilot

Who it is for: teams that want to target messages by product usage and measure the result in the same tool.

Pricing: Starter is $299 a month for up to 2,000 MAUs; Growth starts at $849 a month and adds 100,000 free emails a month, session replays and advanced analytics. Enterprise adds mobile engagement. Source: Userpilot pricing.

Strengths: flows, spotlights, banners, embeds and checklists on every plan, with segmentation and usage trends.

Limits: mobile in-app messages are listed only on Enterprise, and Starter allows up to 10 segments.

4. Chameleon

Who it is for: design-led SaaS teams that want in-app messages styled exactly like their own product.

Pricing: Startup starts at $279 for 2,000 MTUs. Pro is from $750 a month billed monthly and Growth from $1,250 a month billed annually, each for 5,000 MTUs. Source: Chameleon pricing.

Strengths: tours, modals, tooltips, embeddables, microsurveys and checklists, plus HelpBar (a search bar users open inside your app) on Growth.

Limits: Pro allows at most 20 live experiences, and HelpBar and interactive demos need Growth.

5. Pendo

Who it is for: larger product organizations that want in-app guides tied to product analytics.

Pricing: Base, Core and Ultimate are quoted by MAU volume, and all include product analytics and in-app guides. Pendo Free still works for existing accounts, while new teams are pointed to Novus, a separate AI product in free beta. Sources: Pendo pricing and Pendo Free.

Strengths: guides can target users by any tracked behavior, and Core adds session replay to see what happened after a message.

Limits: no public prices for new customers.

6. Product Fruits

Who it is for: startups that want banners, pop-ups and a newsfeed for announcements without a large budget.

Pricing: Starter is $111 a month billed annually for 1,500 MAUs, with Pro at $187 and Business at $374. A free trial needs no credit card. Source: Product Fruits pricing.

Strengths: modals, pop-ups and banners for release notes, maintenance alerts and feature announcements, plus a newsfeed where users catch up on updates.

Limits: Starter supports one language for localized messages.

7. UserGuiding

Who it is for: small teams that want banners, guides and a product updates page in one tool.

Pricing: Starter is $2,988 a year and Growth $5,988 a year, billed yearly from 2,000 MAUs, with a 14-day free trial. Source: UserGuiding pricing.

Strengths: guides, hotspots, banners, surveys, NPS, a knowledge base and product updates are included.

Limits: active guides, hotspots, checklists and banners are capped on Starter and Growth.

8. OneSignal

Who it is for: mobile-first products that already send push notifications and want in-app messages from the same SDK.

Pricing: Free covers unlimited mobile push and in-app messaging for up to 1,000 monthly active users and 10,000 emails a month. Growth starts at $19 a month, with mobile push at $0.012 per monthly active user and in-app messaging included with mobile push. Professional and Enterprise are custom. Source: OneSignal pricing.

Strengths: in-app messages reach all active app users, including people who never opted in to push.

Limits: it is built for mobile and web push campaigns, not for product tours or contextual tooltips inside a web app.

9. Customer.io

Who it is for: teams that run lifecycle messaging from product data and want in-app messages next to email and push.

Pricing: Essentials starts at $100 a month and Premium at $1,000 a month; Enterprise is custom. Every plan includes unlimited push and in-app messages. Startups that raised under $10M can apply for a free year. Source: Customer.io pricing.

Strengths: one workflow can send an email, then show an in-app message if the user has not taken the next step.

Limits: pricing grows with profiles and email volume, and it is a messaging platform rather than an onboarding builder.

10. PLG OS

Who it is for: product teams that want message components rendered in their own UI through an SDK. Full disclosure: PLG OS is our product.

Pricing: a free tier covers 100 monthly tracked users and one component; Starter is $49 a month and Growth $149 a month. Source: PLG OS pricing.

Strengths: in-app banners, modals, a notification top banner and announcement banners, in the same SDK as feedback surveys and onboarding components.

Limits: components are embedded by developers, and the free tier allows a single component.

How to choose in-app messaging software

Decide first whether messaging is part of support or part of onboarding. If users need to reach a person from the message, Intercom keeps everything in one place. If the goal is announcing features and guiding users to the next step, a product adoption tool such as Appcues, Userpilot or Chameleon gives more message formats and better targeting by product usage. Our onboarding checklist software comparison covers the same vendors for setup tasks.

Then check where your users are. Mobile apps are better served by OneSignal or Customer.io, which send push and in-app messages from one SDK. Web SaaS products need tools that target by page and element.

Last, set rules before you send. Every in-app message competes for the same attention, so cap how many messages one person sees per session and check each audience before launch. Our in-app announcement audience validation checklist lists what to confirm.

FAQs

What is in-app messaging software?

In-app messaging software shows modals, banners, tooltips and chat-style messages to users while they are inside your web or mobile app, targeted by who they are and what they have done.

What is the difference between in-app messages and push notifications?

Push notifications reach users outside the app, on their lock screen or desktop, and need opt-in. In-app messages appear only while someone is using the product, so they reach every active user, including those who declined push.

Is there free in-app messaging software?

OneSignal's Free plan includes unlimited in-app messaging for up to 1,000 monthly active users, and Intercom includes banners, tooltips and in-app chats on every paid plan. PLG OS has a free tier with one component for 100 monthly tracked users.

Which in-app messaging tool is best for SaaS onboarding?

For onboarding inside a web app, Appcues, Userpilot and Chameleon offer the widest range of message types with targeting by product usage. Our list of user onboarding tools compares them with more than 20 other options.