Comparison

Appcues vs Shepherd.js

On the evidence we track, Shepherd.js leads this comparison with a composite score of 52/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Appcues full profile →Shepherd.js full profile →

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Appcues40

★Shepherd.js52

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Appcues	Shepherd.jsLeader
vioscaleAI score	40 / 100medium · 70%	52 / 100low · 47%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	-
Modelpricing.model	freemium	-
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✗	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	2	-
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	-	4.3
Soc2security.soc2	✓	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=shepherd.js&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	834
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	13,814
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	16
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	14
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	JavaScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US, EU	-
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	-

Score

vioscaleAI score

Appcues40 / 100medium · 70%

Shepherd.js52 / 100low · 47%

Pricing

Free tier

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js–

Model

Appcuesfreemium

Shepherd.js–

Price level

Appcueslow

Shepherd.js–

Transparent

Appcues✗

Shepherd.js–

Integrations

Count

Appcues2

Shepherd.js–

Security

Disclosure policy

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js–

Gdpr

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js–

Scorecard

Appcues–

Shepherd.js4.3

Soc2

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js–

Vulnerabilities

Appcues–

Shepherd.jsCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=shepherd.js&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

Appcues–

Shepherd.js834

Github stars

Appcues–

Shepherd.js13,814

Activity

Commits last 30d

Appcues–

Shepherd.js16

Release

Cadence days

Appcues–

Shepherd.js14

History

Appcues–

Shepherd.js20 items

Language

Primary

Appcues–

Shepherd.jsJavaScript

Market

Availability

AppcuesAvailable worldwide · Popular in US, EU

Shepherd.js–

Content

Faq

Appcues6 items

Shepherd.js–

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for digital adoption platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Digital Adoption Platforms
Capability	Appcues	Shepherd.js
Capabilities
Interactive dom element targeting walkthroughs	-	✓
No code visual builder chrome extension	-	-
In app user onboarding checklists	-	✓
Nps and in app survey collection	✓	-
User drop off and completion analytics	-	-
Knowledge base help widget embed	-	-
Amplitude mixpanel analytics sync	-	-
Salesforce hubspot CRM sync	-	-
Zendesk intercom helpdesk sync	-	-
SOC2 type ii	-	-
ISO 27001	-	-
Pricing model	-	-

Capabilities

Interactive dom element targeting walkthroughs

Appcues-

Shepherd.js✓

No code visual builder chrome extension

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

In app user onboarding checklists

Appcues-

Shepherd.js✓

Nps and in app survey collection

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js-

User drop off and completion analytics

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

Knowledge base help widget embed

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

Amplitude mixpanel analytics sync

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

Salesforce hubspot CRM sync

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

Zendesk intercom helpdesk sync

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

SOC2 type ii

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

ISO 27001

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

Pricing model

Appcues-

Shepherd.js-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Appcues

Appcues enables businesses to build and deploy contextual in-app messages based on user behavior. It provides a no-code builder for creating modals and messages that guide users through onboarding, promote feature adoption, and improve retention.

Independently observed

Shepherd.js

Leader

A JavaScript library for building guided tours and onboarding experiences within web applications. Emphasizes accessibility, framework compatibility (React, Angular, Vue, Ember), and customizable styling.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Appcues

SubscriptionFree tier

Subscription-based pricing scaled to monthly active users, number of installations, and published experiences. Free trial available without credit card.

Start-
- 100 published experiences
- 36 months of reporting history
- Priority support and services support
- All experience types, features, and integrations included
Spark-

as of 2026-08-19verify ↗

Shepherd.js

Leader

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Appcues	Shepherd.js
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	-

Platforms

Web

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Appcues✓

Shepherd.js–

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Appcues

2 total

ActiveCampaign
Zapier

Independently observed

Shepherd.js

Leader

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Appcues or Shepherd.js: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.