Productboard is a powerful product management platform built for larger teams that need advanced prioritization and customer research tools. While they now offer a free Starter plan, the per-maker pricing on paid plans means costs add up fast. A 20-person product team on the Pro plan spends $14,160 per year (billed annually), and Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales. For many SaaS companies, that budget simply does not exist.
This guide covers every Productboard pricing tier in detail and calculates the real cost at different team sizes. We also expose the hidden costs that push teams to higher plans and compare it head-to-head with ProductLift.
Productboard uses per-maker pricing. A "maker" is any team member who creates or manages content in Productboard. This includes product managers, designers, engineers with write access, and stakeholders who need to set objectives. Viewer seats are free, but anyone who needs to do actual work pays.
Starter is Productboard's free entry point, introduced to let small teams and solo product managers try the platform without committing. However, the 50 feedback note limit is restrictive and most teams will outgrow it quickly. It works as a trial-like experience but is not viable for ongoing product management.
Essentials is Productboard's lowest paid tier. At $19/maker/month (annual billing), it is more accessible than before, but it still strips out features that most product teams consider essential. The 250 feedback note limit and single Objective cap mean growing teams will hit ceilings fast.
Pro is where Productboard starts to deliver on its promise. Most teams need this tier because multiple Teamspaces, more Objectives, and unlimited feedback notes are fundamental to real product management workflows. The problem is that upgrading from Essentials to Pro triples your per-maker cost ($19 to $59), and you must pay for a minimum of 2 makers.
"Started at Essentials but had to upgrade to Pro for more Objectives -- cost tripled." -- Productboard user
Enterprise unlocks the features that growing organizations need for security and governance, including SSO and Salesforce. Pricing is no longer listed publicly -- you must contact their sales team. The 5-maker minimum means this plan is aimed at mid-to-large product organizations.
The per-maker model means every person on your product team who needs write access multiplies your bill. Here is what Productboard actually costs at common team sizes.
| Team Size (Makers) | Starter (Free) | Essentials ($19/mo) | Pro ($59/mo, min 2) | Enterprise (Contact Sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 maker | $0/mo | $19/mo | N/A (min 2) | N/A (min 5) |
| 3 makers | $0/mo | $57/mo | $177/mo | Contact Sales |
| 5 makers | $0/mo | $95/mo | $295/mo | Contact Sales |
| 10 makers | $0/mo | $190/mo | $590/mo | Contact Sales |
| 15 makers | $0/mo | $285/mo | $885/mo | Contact Sales |
| 20 makers | $0/mo | $380/mo | $1,180/mo | Contact Sales |
| Team Size (Makers) | Starter (Free) | Essentials ($19/mo) | Pro ($59/mo, min 2) | Enterprise (Contact Sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 maker | $0/yr | $228/yr | N/A (min 2) | N/A (min 5) |
| 3 makers | $0/yr | $684/yr | $2,124/yr | Contact Sales |
| 5 makers | $0/yr | $1,140/yr | $3,540/yr | Contact Sales |
| 10 makers | $0/yr | $2,280/yr | $7,080/yr | Contact Sales |
| 15 makers | $0/yr | $3,420/yr | $10,620/yr | Contact Sales |
| 20 makers | $0/yr | $4,560/yr | $14,160/yr | Contact Sales |
A 20-maker team on the Pro plan pays $14,160 per year. Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales. While the per-maker costs have come down from previous years, the maker model still means costs scale linearly with every new team member.
Productboard's Essentials plan looks affordable at $19/maker (annual), but it is missing features that most product teams consider essential. Unlimited feedback notes, multiple Teamspaces, and more than 1 Objective are all Pro-only. Teams almost always start on Essentials, realize they need Pro within a quarter, and watch their bill triple overnight -- from $19 to $59 per maker. Plus, Pro requires a minimum of 2 makers, so your minimum Pro cost jumps to $118/month.
"Most teams use less than 20% of Productboard's features but pay for 100%." -- Product manager
Every team member who needs to contribute (not just view) requires a paid maker seat. This creates a perverse incentive to restrict who can participate in product decisions. Engineering leads, designers, customer success managers, and executives who should be involved get locked out unless you pay for more seats.
"The per-maker pricing makes it hard to involve the whole team." -- Productboard user
Productboard gates features aggressively across tiers:
Each gated feature represents a potential forced upgrade. Productboard knows which features teams will eventually need.
Regardless of which plan you choose, Productboard does not offer:
Each gap means another tool subscription. A knowledge base alone can cost $50-$300/month depending on the tool. A changelog tool adds another $50-$100/month.
Productboard has earned its reputation for good reasons:
For large product organizations with the budget to invest in Pro or Enterprise, Productboard is a capable platform. The question is whether the per-maker cost structure makes it the right choice for your specific team size and needs.
Here is how Productboard compares to ProductLift at different scale points.
| Feature | Productboard | ProductLift |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per maker/month | Per admin/month |
| Free plan | Starter (50 feedback notes) | No |
| Starting paid price | $19/maker/month (annual) | $14/admin/month |
| Tracked users/voters | Unlimited (viewer seats free) | Unlimited |
| 3 seats, annual | $684-$2,124/yr | $504/yr |
| 5 seats, annual | $1,140-$3,540/yr | $840/yr |
| 10 seats, annual | $2,280-$7,080/yr | $1,680/yr |
| 20 seats, annual | $4,560-$14,160/yr | $3,360/yr |
| Knowledge base | Not available | Included |
| Changelog | Limited | Full changelog |
| Feedback boards | Included | Included |
| Public roadmap | Included | Included |
| Prioritization | Excellent (Pro+) | RICE, ICE, MoSCoW |
| White-label | Not available | Included on all plans |
| SSO | Enterprise only (Contact Sales) | Included on all plans |
| Anonymous voting | Not available | Included |
| Stripe integration | Not available | Included |
| Team Size | Productboard Pro (Annual) | ProductLift (Annual) | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 makers/admins | $2,124 | $504 | $1,620 |
| 5 makers/admins | $3,540 | $840 | $2,700 |
| 10 makers/admins | $7,080 | $1,680 | $5,400 |
| 20 makers/admins | $14,160 | $3,360 | $10,800 |
At 10 makers, switching from Productboard Pro to ProductLift saves over $5,400 per year. At 20 makers, the savings exceed $10,800 per year. That is enough to fund another hire or a significant portion of your tool stack.
For a full feature-by-feature breakdown, visit our Productboard alternatives comparison page.
Productboard is a strong product management platform with excellent prioritization and customer research tools. It is worth the price for large, well-funded product teams that use the full feature set. For smaller teams that primarily need feedback collection and roadmaps, the per-maker cost is hard to justify.
Productboard now offers a free Starter plan with 50 feedback notes, 1 Teamspace, 1 Objective, and 1 Product Portal. The cheapest paid plan is Essentials at $19/maker/month (billed annually) or $25/maker/month billed monthly. However, Essentials is limited to 250 feedback notes and 1 Objective. Most teams upgrade to Pro at $59/maker/month within a few months.
Yes. Productboard now offers a free Starter plan. It includes 50 feedback notes, 1 Teamspace, 1 Objective, 1 Product Portal, and 20+ integrations. It is a good way to test the platform, but the 50 feedback note limit means most teams will quickly need to upgrade to Essentials ($19/maker/month annual) or higher.
ProductLift charges $14/month per admin with all features included. A 10-admin team pays $1,680/year with ProductLift versus $7,080/year with Productboard Pro. ProductLift also includes a knowledge base, changelog, white-label branding, and SSO on every plan.
Yes. The Essentials plan is missing features most teams consider essential, forcing an upgrade to Pro at 3x the cost ($19 to $59 per maker). Every contributing team member needs a paid seat. Features like SSO and Salesforce require the Enterprise plan (Contact Sales), and Pro requires a minimum of 2 makers.
A maker is any user who creates, edits, or manages content in Productboard. This includes product managers, product owners, designers with write access, and any stakeholder who needs to create objectives or manage features. View-only users (contributors and viewers) are free but have limited functionality.
No. All makers in an organization must be on the same plan. You cannot have some makers on Essentials and others on Pro. If even one team member needs a Pro feature, your entire team must upgrade.
Productboard has a startup program that offers discounted pricing for qualifying early-stage companies. The discount is time-limited (typically 12 months) and eligibility requirements include funding stage and company size. After the discount period ends, you pay full price.
Yes, but you will lose access to objectives, customer segmentation, and advanced prioritization. Many teams find that once they have built workflows around Pro features, downgrading is not practical. This is a common lock-in concern.
Productboard is designed for product management, not just feedback collection. If your primary need is gathering user feedback, publishing a roadmap, and maintaining a changelog, a purpose-built tool like ProductLift delivers those features at a fraction of the cost.
Choose Productboard if:
Choose ProductLift if:
Productboard is a powerful tool for large product organizations with the budget to match. But for SaaS teams that need feedback management, a public roadmap, changelog, and knowledge base without enterprise-level costs, ProductLift delivers all of those features for a fraction of the price. No per-user traps and no feature gating.
Start a free ProductLift trial to see how much your team can save.
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Did you know 80% of software features are rarely or never used? That's a lot of wasted effort.
SaaS software companies spend billions on unused features. In 2025, it was $29.5 billion.
We saw this problem and decided to do something about it. Product teams needed a better way to decide what to build.
That's why we created ProductLift - to put all feedback in one place, helping teams easily see what features matter most.
In the last five years, we've helped over 3,051 product teams (like yours) double feature adoption and halve the costs. I'd love for you to give it a try.
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