Gainsight CS vs. Pendo.io

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gainsight CS
Score 8.5 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Gainsight’s customer-centric technology aims to drive the future of customer success. The company’s Customer Cloud offers a set of solutions focused on customer success, product experience, revenue optimization, customer experience, and customer data, that together are designed to enable businesses to put the customer at the center of everything they do. The vendor states that companies that use Gainsight grow net retention by up to 33 percent. Learn how leading companies like Okta, SAP Concur,…
$2,500
Per Company Per Month
Pendo.io
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Pendo.io is a product engagement platform with features for in-app analytics, surveys and feedback, and guidance.N/A
Pricing
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Editions & Modules
Subscription
$2,500
Per Company Per Month
Free
Free
Team
Contact sales team
Pro
Contact sales team
Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Considered Both Products
Gainsight CS
Chose Gainsight CS
We had briefly looked at Pendo awhile back before we had decided to purchase Gainsight. Gainsight provided us more of what we needed with everything in one place. It had a more developed product for what we needed.
Pendo.io
Chose Pendo.io
I'm not 100% sure why we went with Pendo.io. The organization has been using Pendo.io for over 4 years and it's so ingrained in our company that it would be really hard for us to move to another product. I have loved working with Pendo.io and don't want to move anytime soon.
Chose Pendo.io
Google Analytics shows a high overview of how a page is performing. Unable to track individuals performing each action.
Chose Pendo.io
We evaluated a few Pendo competitors. In the end, Pendo provided the tools at the right price point for our business needs.
Chose Pendo.io
This option was cheaper, but it showed. We selected Pendo for their wide range of diverse features and their superior understanding of the data that drives ROI. In addition, we love that the Pendo team holds frequent webinars that help to train end users and add value to the …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Gainsight CS
7.1
164 Ratings
19% below category average
Pendo.io
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions7.1164 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Gainsight CS
7.7
205 Ratings
10% below category average
Pendo.io
-
Ratings
API6.9122 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com7.9204 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Marketo7.749 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Eloqua8.219 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Data Extraction / Integration
Comparison of Customer Data Extraction / Integration features of Product A and Product B
Gainsight CS
6.8
205 Ratings
23% below category average
Pendo.io
-
Ratings
Product usage8.5194 Ratings00 Ratings
Help desk / support tickets5.2165 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Success Management
Comparison of Customer Success Management features of Product A and Product B
Gainsight CS
6.3
217 Ratings
26% below category average
Pendo.io
-
Ratings
NPS surveys7.9170 Ratings00 Ratings
Sponsor tracking4.6160 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer profiles6.2194 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated workflow7.9208 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal collaboration5.1195 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer health scoring7.0210 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer segmentation5.2177 Ratings00 Ratings
CSM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CSM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Gainsight CS
7.2
215 Ratings
12% below category average
Pendo.io
-
Ratings
Customer health trends6.9197 Ratings00 Ratings
Engagement analytics7.1174 Ratings00 Ratings
Revenue forecasting7.9107 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboards6.7212 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Small Businesses
Intercom
Intercom
Score 8.7 out of 10
ChurnZero
ChurnZero
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CustomerSuccessBox
CustomerSuccessBox
Score 9.5 out of 10
Whatfix
Whatfix
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Webex Experience Management (discontinued)
Cisco Webex Experience Management (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
Whatfix
Whatfix
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(222 ratings)
8.6
(91 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.8
(14 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(24 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(134 ratings)
9.7
(4 ratings)
Online Training
5.5
(2 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.3
(6 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Gainsight CSPendo.io
Likelihood to Recommend
Gainsight
Well suited for: consolidated and organized note taking tracking stakeholders contact information if properly configured - identifying and categorizing risk categories less appropriate setting up customer journey takes quite a bit of work to implement and make use of - want best practices baked into the product - "customer journey wizard" reporting is robust but clunky to set up reports and get meaningful data
Read full review
Pendo.io
Pendo is very well suited for startups and mid size product companies who are looking for -
  • Help in user experience building
  • Measuring the impact of a feature on the requirement phase itself
  • Advanced analytics to get a sense of how the product is working
  • Insights about necessary changes that are required to make the product better
Read full review
Pros
Gainsight
  • Gainsight's Data Designer is a powerful tool that allows you to create new tables/data sets from different sources (Create a new table by merging Snowflake, SFDC and Gainsight data that you can use for reporting or be the engine of calls to actions)
  • The health score is great! with good data and the right workflows in place, you can easily create automated health scores by your desired segmentation
  • Journey Orchestrator is the best 1:M outreach tool I have seen from any CSP. Very flexible and comprehensive. Can also support surveys! JO can be used for all segments, not just your digital segments!
  • Gmail/Outlook integration - Our CSMs love that you can send an email and attach it to the gainsight account. You can also create a meeting note in Gainsight and email it to your customers!
  • Calls to Action/Playbooks are very customizable, interoperable with SFDC and a great way for CSMs to keep on top of their work and also a great tool for reporting outcomes and CSMs work throughout the year
Read full review
Pendo.io
  • Track usage across our platform (new and existing features) - where each customer clicks, how long they stay at certain areas within the software, etc.
  • To promote new features.
  • To train customers on how to use new features.
  • To survey our customers within the software.
Read full review
Cons
Gainsight
  • Sometimes tying Salesforce Data into Gainsight objects can be challenging. (I don't believe this is a true Gainsight limitation)
  • I would love to see the ability to create a dashboard directly from JO Analytics, to help save time recreating measure the program analytics already provide. (Since the JO program analytics aren't extensible to everyone, a dashboard needs to be created )
Read full review
Pendo.io
  • I find the reporting and analytics to be a little light. They could improve custom reporting capabilities.
  • Would like to see the capabilities of the Pendo tagging tool built into the platform. (don't launch a separate product). I find the tagging tool does a much better job at selecting the components to be tagged than the platform does.
  • Sometimes takes a while to refresh counts when adding a new tag.
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Likelihood to Renew
Gainsight
Gainsight offers a level of support that I've not experience before. They will work with you to come up with a solution to a problem - or help match you with another client that has a similar setup as you to get their feedback. Also the functionality that we have built within the software works for us. It's 'easy' to use (once you get the hang of it) and our users rather enjoy working in the software.
Read full review
Pendo.io
We have had an excellent experience with Pendo. When we've had questions or concerns, Pendo is very quick to respond and communicate with us. We have experienced top-notch customer support and customer engagement. We have actually modeled some of our implementation and product processes after Pendo's examples.
Read full review
Usability
Gainsight
I give it this score based on the implementation at my current employer. I don't know if it could be higher based on if the implementation went better, or if there is something on the vendor side that could help. If this were asked at my previous employer, I would have given it a score of 9 or 10.
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Pendo.io
Overall, Pendo provides a smooth interface, especially with the most recent update, and I couldn't imagine using or learning any other platform so product focused. From the moment I log into Pendo, I know where I'm going and what I'm looking for and I'm able to find that, through the interface, in as little time as possible. This helps keep me focused on doing other tasks at work so I'm not overburdened with hunting things down in the system
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Performance
Gainsight
There are some times when it can take almost a minute to load some of our reports or the rules engine. Within a rule it can also take time to load the actions as they each load one at a time when scrolling. The ability to scroll without waiting would be ideal
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Pendo.io
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Gainsight
The CSMs are very hands-on and helpful, both Elaine and Lane have provided a lot of guidance and value over the years. Support is responsive and will jump on things as needed. The thought leadership and community is probably the most valuable part of our support from Gainsight.
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Pendo.io
They've been great anytime that we have needed help with something. They also have some really great help articles. We're able to figure most things out through their articles, but when we've had to call in they've been very helpful and we haven't had any problems. I'd highly recommend working with them.
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Online Training
Gainsight
The online videos are very good for basic tasks in the platform, but it isn't very descriptive or helpful trying to make your own specific variables fit the simple example that is typically used. Typically, I'll watch a video, try on my own and still have to get help from support or Customer Success team
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Pendo.io
The training schedule was well thought out and tailored to meet our needs. Chantelle stayed with us through the whole implementation and made sure that we were good to go.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Gainsight
I was not part of the implantation (I took over later). However, based on what was passed to me, the tool was not well implemented at our org. I think this had to do with complexity, wrong person assigned in our org, and org buy-in. I think it would have been very successful if we had a better assignment process internally.
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Pendo.io
Use Segment to install and cut developers out of the work cycle!
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Gainsight
Our Salesforce admin is constantly pushing us to adopt more of the features of Salesforce. However, we find that Gainsight is a stronger tool for customization and enhanced interdepartmental communications. Timeline makes it easy to understand where we stand in a customer lifecycle, which is far superior to reviewing an activity history related list in Salesforce.
Read full review
Pendo.io
WalkMe is an industry leader, but they charge an arm and a leg. Working with them you get a lot of support and CSM time, but is it really worth that price tag? Pendo.io was an easy choice for that simple reason.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Gainsight
  • We increase account coverage by more than 20% through the tools within Gainsight CS to generate actions for our CSMs to prioritize accounts.
  • Now that we are using Success Plans, we are seeing 65-75% of customer outcomes realized within a 12-month period. This was something we weren't able to track before.
Read full review
Pendo.io
  • We have had an ROI in reduced support contacts.
  • We have had increased NPS scores due to our ability to target messaging for the right reasons to the right audience members rather than blanket distribution of information.
  • Delayed deployment in certain environments (being worked through) has led to a delay in one business area, but it is not public facing yet so we aren't heavily impacted by that yet.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Gainsight CS Screenshots

Screenshot of Get notified when your sponsor moves with our social media tracker - Sponsor TrackingScreenshot of Get more face time with your customers with 60 second videos - GsnapScreenshot of Automate Calls-to-Action on customer risks, opportunities and lifecycle events, better prioritize tasks with AI-driven priority scoring and follow a step-by-step playbook to deliver a consistent, best-in-class customer experience.Screenshot of Our collection of best practice-based solutions can be deployed within your Gainsight instance to help you move quickly and realize value fasterScreenshot of Design dynamic, multi-step customer journeys that blend human and digital touchpoints to deliver personalized engagement at scale. Analyze data at every step and adjust to each customer's behavior to more effectively deliver the outcomes your customers desire.Screenshot of Organize your team’s activities around your customer's key objectives. Collaborate directly with customer stakeholders to realize their desired outcomes and demonstrate how your efforts translate to results.