14 Best Feature Request Tools for SaaS in 2026

Why This Comparison is Different

Most feature request tool comparisons focus on features. This guide focuses on workflow—because the real question for SaaS teams is: "What happens after customers vote?"

What makes this guide useful for SaaS teams:

• Voting → Roadmap → Shipped workflow – Which tools connect the entire journey (not just collect votes)
• Auto-notify voters – Do customers get notified when you ship their request?
• Anonymous voting – Can customers vote without creating an account? (Critical for participation)
• Real pricing at scale – What happens when you go from 100 to 1,000 voters?
• Prioritization frameworks – RICE, ICE, MoSCoW scoring or just vote counts?

Full disclosure: ProductLift is a feature request tool where requests automatically become roadmap items and notify voters when shipped. Yes, it's on this list, but we'll be honest about where specialized tools have more advanced features.

Why SaaS Teams Need Different Feature Request Tools

SaaS feature request management is fundamentally different from traditional product feedback:

1. Requests Should Automatically Become Roadmap Items

In traditional tools, feature requests live in a separate "ideas" bucket:

• Customer submits request → Gets 200 votes → Sits in backlog forever
• You decide to build it → Manually create roadmap item
• You ship it → Manually email everyone who voted (or forget)

Modern SaaS workflow (ProductLift's journey model):

• Customer submits request → Gets 200 votes → Automatically appears on roadmap
• You mark it "In Progress" → All 200 voters get notified
• You ship it → Changelog created → All 200 voters notified automatically

Same item, same votes, complete history. No manual syncing between tools.

2. Anonymous Voting Drives 3-10x More Participation

Most feature request tools require account creation to vote. This kills participation:

• With login required: 5-10% of visitors vote (high friction)
• With anonymous voting: 30-50% vote (one-click, no barriers)

Tools with anonymous voting: ProductLift, Upvoty. Most others require login: Canny, Productboard, Aha!, UserVoice.

3. Prioritization Should Use Data, Not Just Votes

Vote count alone is misleading. 200 votes from free users ≠ 20 votes from enterprise customers:

• Vote-only prioritization: Build what's most popular (often the wrong thing)
• RICE/ICE scoring: Reach × Impact × Confidence / Effort
• Revenue-weighted: Enterprise customer vote = 10x free user vote
• Segment-based: Filter by plan type, industry, user cohort

Tools with advanced prioritization: ProductLift (RICE/ICE/MoSCoW + Stripe MRR weighting), Productboard (custom scoring), Aha! (strategic alignment). Tools with vote-only: Canny, Nolt, Frill.

4. Feature Requests Shouldn't Live in Email/Slack Chaos

SaaS teams get feature requests from 5+ channels:

• Support tickets (Zendesk, Intercom)
• Sales calls (Salesforce notes)
• Slack messages ("Can we add X?")
• Email ([email protected])
• Social media (Twitter replies)

Without a feature request tool, you're tracking this in spreadsheets (or worse, not tracking it). You need:

• Central repository: One place for all requests, regardless of source
• Duplicate detection: AI merges "Add SSO" with "We need SAML login"
• Vote on behalf: Add customer votes from sales calls/support tickets

Bottom line: Generic feedback tools treat requests as static. SaaS teams need requests that travel through a journey (Requested → Planned → In Progress → Shipped) with automatic notifications at each stage.

Quick Picks by Use Case

What SaaS Teams Should Look For

✅ Must-Have Features

• Public voting board – Customers can see, vote, comment on requests
• Easy submission – Customers can submit requests without friction
• Duplicate detection – AI or manual merging of similar requests
• Status tracking – Planned/In Progress/Shipped workflow
• Admin management – Mark requests as duplicate, spam, or merge

🚀 SaaS-Specific Features

• Anonymous voting – Vote without account (drives 3-10x more participation)
• Roadmap integration – Requests automatically become roadmap items
• Auto-notify voters – Email voters when status changes or shipped
• Vote on behalf – Add customer votes from sales calls/support tickets
• Changelog connection – Ship feature → Link to original request → Notify voters

📊 Prioritization Capabilities

• Vote count: Simple popularity contest (everyone has this)
• RICE/ICE scoring: Frameworks that balance impact vs effort
• Revenue weighting: Weight votes by MRR/LTV (enterprise vote = 10x free user)
• Segment filtering: See what Enterprise vs Starter plan customers want
• Internal scoring: Team can add effort/impact scores invisible to customers

⚡ Integration & Workflow

• Dev tool sync: Push requests to Jira/Linear/GitHub as tickets
• Support tool integration: Intercom, Zendesk, Help Scout
• Stripe integration: Auto-fetch customer MRR/plan for prioritization
• Slack notifications: Team gets notified of new high-priority requests
• API & webhooks: Automate workflows, custom integrations

1. ProductLift – Best Request → Roadmap → Ship Workflow

What ProductLift Does Well

• Journey model: Feature request → Roadmap item → Changelog entry. Same item, complete history.
• Anonymous voting: Customers vote with one click (no login required)
• Auto-notify voters: Ship feature → All voters get email automatically
• Prioritization frameworks: RICE, ICE, MoSCoW, Impact-Effort scoring built-in
• Stripe integration: Auto-weight votes by customer MRR (enterprise customer = higher priority)
• Vote on behalf: Add customer votes from support tickets or sales calls
• Duplicate detection: AI suggests similar requests to merge
• Internal comments: Team discusses requests privately
• 22 languages: International customers can submit/vote in their language
• Flat pricing: $14/mo per admin, unlimited customer votes

The Workflow That Closes the Loop

Traditional feature request workflow (separate tools):

1. Customer submits feature request → Canny/UserVoice ($80-200/mo)
2. Gets 200 votes → You manually create roadmap item in Productboard ($200-500/mo)
3. You ship it → Manually create changelog in Beamer ($50-100/mo)
4. Manually email voters (or use Canny's clunky notification)

Cost: $330-800/mo. Time: 20-30 minutes per shipped feature.

ProductLift workflow:

1. Customer submits request → Automatically votable on feedback board
2. Gets 200 votes → Already on your roadmap (same item)
3. Mark as Shipped → Changelog auto-created → 200 voters auto-notified

Cost: $42-420/mo. Time: 30 seconds.

Where ProductLift Falls Short

• Simpler than Productboard: No customer research portal or objectives linking
• No Zapier yet: Roadmap feature, but not available today
• No GitHub integration: Has Jira/Azure DevOps, but not GitHub
• No Intercom integration: Can't pull requests from Intercom conversations

Why SaaS Teams Choose ProductLift

SaaS teams ($0-5M ARR) choose ProductLift because:

• Saves time: Automatic workflow = no manual syncing between tools
• Saves money: $42-420/mo vs $300-800/mo for separate tools
• Customer transparency: Customers see their request travel from submission → roadmap → shipped
• Anonymous voting: 3-10x more customer participation vs login-required tools
• Predictable pricing: Flat rate, no per-voter traps as you scale

Pricing

• $14/mo per admin – Unlimited feature requests, unlimited customer votes
• Includes roadmap, changelog, KB—no add-ons
• 14-day free trial, no credit card required

Who should use ProductLift: SaaS teams who ship weekly and want requests → roadmap → shipped workflow automated.

Who should look elsewhere: Teams needing Intercom/GitHub integration, or enterprises needing advanced customer research portal.

Try ProductLift Free →

2. Canny – Best Public Voting Board

What Canny Does Well

• Clean public boards: Beautiful, customer-facing voting interface
• GitHub integration: Best-in-class sync with GitHub issues
• Intercom integration: Collect requests from support conversations
• Roadmap included: Move requests to roadmap, show customers what's coming
• Changelog included: Announce shipped features
• AI features: Auto-categorize requests, detect duplicates
• Vote on behalf: Add votes from sales calls/support

Why SaaS Teams Choose Canny

Early-stage SaaS teams choose Canny for:

• Free plan: 25 tracked users is enough for the earliest-stage startups
• GitHub-native workflow: If you live in GitHub, Canny's integration is unmatched
• Simple setup: Public voting board running in 30 minutes
• Modern UI: Customers love the clean design

The Tracked User Pricing Trap

Canny's pricing page shows $19/mo (Core) and $79/mo (Pro), but those are the starting prices for ~100 tracked users only. The cost scales with your user count:

• Free: 25 tracked users
• 200 users: $49/mo Core, $129/mo Pro
• 700 users: $175/mo Core, $379/mo Pro
• 1,250 users: $275/mo Core, $579/mo Pro
• 2,500 users: $399/mo Core, $829/mo Pro

That's a 21x price increase on Core from the advertised $19/mo as you grow. Many SaaS companies hit this wall and switch to flat-pricing tools.

Why SaaS Teams Leave Canny

• Pricing anxiety: Growth = higher bills. Teams fear adding customers to platform
• No anonymous voting: Customers must create account (reduces participation 3-10x)
• English-only: No localization (dealbreaker for international SaaS)
• No prioritization frameworks: Just vote count sorting, no RICE/ICE
• Manual workflow: Requests don't auto-become roadmap items

What Users Say

"Canny looked cheap at $79/mo but at 700 users we were paying $379/mo. Switched to ProductLift—$42/mo flat for our 3-person team with all features included." – SaaS Founder

Who should use Canny: Early-stage SaaS (<25 tracked users) with GitHub workflow serving English-only markets.

Who should look elsewhere: Growing SaaS, international products, teams needing predictable pricing or anonymous voting.

3. Productboard – Best for Advanced Customer Research

What Productboard Does Well

• Insights portal: Aggregate requests from support, sales, research, social media
• Custom prioritization: Build your own scoring formulas with weighted criteria
• Objectives linking: Connect requests to strategic OKRs (requires Pro)
• Customer segmentation: Filter by plan, industry, revenue, custom segments
• Portal customization: Advanced white-label branding
• Integrations: Deep sync with Jira, Salesforce, Zendesk, Intercom

Why SaaS Teams Choose Productboard

Growth SaaS ($1M-$50M ARR) with dedicated product teams choose Productboard when they need:

• Research at scale: Track 1,000s of feedback pieces, surface insights
• Strategic alignment: Link requests to company OKRs
• Complex prioritization: Custom scoring beyond RICE (add your own criteria)
• Sales/support integration: Pull requests from Salesforce notes, Zendesk tickets

Why SaaS Teams Avoid Productboard

• Expensive: Pro tier ($59/maker) required for objectives. 10-person team = $590/mo
• Steep learning curve: Takes weeks to implement properly
• No changelog: Need separate tool (Beamer, ProductLift, etc.)
• Overkill for simple needs: If you just need voting + roadmap, this is too much
• No anonymous voting: Customers must create account to vote

Pricing Reality

• Starter: Free – Limited features, good for exploring
• Essentials: $19/maker/mo (annual) – Basic only, no objectives or advanced scoring
• Pro: $59/maker/mo (annual) – Most teams need this
• Enterprise: Contact Sales – SSO, advanced security

A 10-maker team pays $590/mo on Pro = $7,080/year.

Who should use Productboard: SaaS product teams at $1M+ ARR with complex customer research needs and budget.

Who should look elsewhere: Early-stage SaaS, teams needing simple voting, or anyone wanting integrated changelog.

4-8. Mid-Tier Feature Request Tools

FeatureBase – Modern All-in-One

💰 Price: Free tier, paid from $49/mo | ⭐ G2: 4.9/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Modern UI with AI features (duplicate detection, content generation). Includes requests, roadmap, changelog, help desk. Growing fast, good free tier.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Newer player (less proven at scale). Pricing increases at higher tiers. Some features locked behind premium. No anonymous voting.

Aha! Ideas – Enterprise Feature Request Platform

💰 Price: $39/user/mo (Ideas), $59/user/mo (Roadmaps) | ⭐ G2: 4.3/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Enterprise SaaS ($10M+ ARR) need Aha!'s complete suite with strategy mapping and goal tracking. Powerful prioritization.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Steep learning curve ("weeks of training"), dated UI, expensive ($195-295/mo for 5 users), too complex for simple request management.

UserVoice – Enterprise Legacy Player

💰 Price: $1,333/month ($16,000/year) minimum (enterprise only) | ⭐ Trustpilot: 2.8/5 (⚠️)

Why SaaS teams choose it: Enterprise SaaS with compliance needs. Trusted by Fortune 500. Advanced analytics. 30-day free trial available. No per-seat charges.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Expensive ($1,333-2,000+/mo), sales-driven pricing, long sales cycle just to get quote. Trustpilot 2.8/5 is concerning. No self-serve signup.

Frill – Budget-Friendly Option

💰 Price: $25/mo flat | ⭐ G2: 4.7/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Affordable alternative to Canny. Flat $25/mo (no per-user pricing). Includes requests, roadmap, changelog. GitHub/Jira integration.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: English-only (dealbreaker for international SaaS). No internal comments. No knowledge base. Simpler feature set.

Nolt – Simple & Beautiful

💰 Price: $25/mo flat | ⭐ G2: 5.0/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Beautiful UI, simple feature voting. Perfect for tiny SaaS teams who just need basics. $25/mo flat, no complexity.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Too simple—no API, no Jira, no prioritization scoring, English-only. Teams outgrow it quickly.

9-14. Budget & Specialized Tools

Upvoty – Cheapest Option with Anonymous Voting

💰 Price: $15/mo flat | ⭐ G2: 4.6/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Cheapest tool with anonymous voting. $15/mo flat. Basic voting + roadmap. Good for bootstrapped startups.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: No AI, no prioritization frameworks, no Jira, no knowledge base, no changelog. Outgrow it fast.

Fider – Best Open Source

💰 Price: Free (self-hosted) | ⭐ GitHub: 3K+ stars

Why SaaS teams choose it: Open source, self-hosted, free. Full control over data. Good for privacy-focused or technical SaaS teams.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Requires DevOps time (server, backups, security). Basic features (no RICE scoring, no roadmap integration). You're responsible for uptime.

FeedBear – Solid Core Features

💰 Price: $49/mo | ⭐ G2: 4.8/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Solid voting + roadmap + changelog. Simple, works well. Good for small SaaS teams.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Limited integrations. No AI features. No advanced prioritization. No anonymous voting.

Sleekplan – Satisfaction Surveys Built-In

💰 Price: $15/mo | ⭐ G2: 4.7/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Feature requests + CSAT/NPS surveys in one tool. $15/mo flat. Good value.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: No private boards, no AI, no anonymous voting, English-only.

Feature Upvote – Minimalist Approach

💰 Price: $29/mo | ⭐ G2: 4.8/5

Why SaaS teams choose it: Simple, focused on core voting. No feature bloat. Easy setup.

Why SaaS teams avoid it: Too minimal—no roadmap, no changelog, no integrations. Just voting.

Trello/Notion – DIY Feature Requests

💰 Price: Free-$10/user/mo | ⭐ G2: 4.4-4.7/5

Why SaaS teams use it: Pre-revenue startups create public board using Trello or Notion. $0 cost, full control.

Why SaaS teams outgrow it: Manual everything—no voting, no auto-notifications, no analytics. Works for 2-3 person teams, breaks at scale.

Feature Comparison

Pricing Reality

*Fider is free software but requires server costs ($10-50/mo) and DevOps time.

Key Insight: Canny's advertised $19-79/mo prices are for ~100 users. At 1,000 users, you're paying $250-529/mo. Flat pricing (ProductLift, Frill, Upvoty, Nolt) stays predictable regardless of user count.

Which Feature Request Tool Should You Choose?

🚀 Early-Stage SaaS (<$100K ARR)

Choose ProductLift ($42/mo for 3 admins) if you want requests → roadmap → changelog automated workflow.

Choose Canny (free) if you have <25 tracked users and live in GitHub.

Choose Upvoty ($15/mo) if you need anonymous voting on tightest budget.

Choose Frill ($25/mo) if you need GitHub/Jira integration + flat pricing.

📈 Growth SaaS ($100K-$1M ARR)

Choose ProductLift ($140/mo for 10 admins) if you want integrated workflow and predictable pricing.

Choose Productboard ($295-590/mo) if you have budget and need advanced customer research.

Choose FeatureBase ($49+/mo) if you want modern all-in-one with AI features.

🏢 Scale SaaS ($1M+ ARR)

Choose Productboard ($590-1,180/mo) for enterprise customer insights and strategic alignment.

Choose Aha! ($195-590/mo) if you need complete product suite with strategy mapping.

Choose UserVoice ($1,333-2,000/mo) for enterprise compliance and Fortune 500 features.

🎯 Specific Scenarios

Need anonymous voting: ProductLift > Upvoty (only two options)

Need automatic workflow (request → roadmap → ship → notify): ProductLift (only option)

GitHub-centric team: Canny > Frill > Productboard

Jira-native team: ProductLift > Canny > Frill > Productboard

International SaaS (multilingual): ProductLift (22 languages) only option

Need MRR-based prioritization: ProductLift (Stripe integration) only option

Need RICE/ICE scoring: ProductLift > Productboard > Aha!

Bootstrapped, minimal budget: Fider (free, self-host) > Upvoty ($15) > Frill ($25)

Related Comparison Guides

Explore more tool comparisons to find the right software for your team:

• Best Feedback Tools for SaaS — Complete feedback platforms compared
• Best Feature Voting Tools — Let customers vote on features
• Best Idea Management Software — Turn ideas into product decisions
• Best Customer Feedback Management Software — Centralize all customer feedback
• Productboard Pricing 2026 — Pricing of a top feature request platform

Browse all comparison guides