7 Best Canny Alternatives in 2026 (With Honest Comparison)

Canny is the go-to product feedback tool for many teams. Public voting boards, roadmaps, changelogs—it does a lot.

But it's not perfect for everyone. Maybe:

• The pricing doesn't fit ($79/mo minimum)
• You need better Slack/Discord integration
• A public board doesn't suit your customer base
• You want more AI-powered features

Whatever your reason, this guide covers 7 legitimate Canny alternatives with honest assessments of when to choose each.

Quick Comparison

| Tool | Starting Price | Best For | Slack/Discord Capture | |------|---------------|----------|----------------------| | Canny | $79/mo | Public-facing feedback boards | Limited | | IdeaLift | $49/mo | Slack/Discord-first teams | Native (emoji capture) | | ProductBoard | $20/user/mo | Enterprise product teams | Zapier | | Nolt | $29/mo | Simple public voting | No | | Fider | Free (self-hosted) | Budget-conscious teams | No | | Sleekplan | $13/mo | Startups wanting value | Limited | | UserVoice | Custom | Enterprise, large scale | Limited | | Notion | Free-$10/mo | DIY flexibility | Manual |

1. IdeaLift – Best for Slack/Discord-Heavy Teams

Price: Starting at $49/month

What It Does

IdeaLift focuses on capturing feedback from where your team already communicates—Slack, Discord, and Microsoft Teams. Instead of asking customers to visit a separate portal, you capture ideas with emoji reactions.

How It Works

1. Customer posts feedback in Slack
2. Anyone reacts with 👽 (or configured emoji)
3. Feedback is captured with full thread context
4. AI summarizes long conversations
5. One-click sync to Jira, GitHub, or Linear

Strengths

• Native chat integration: No Zapier needed for Slack/Discord
• Zero-friction capture: Emoji reactions are effortless
• Thread context: Captures full conversation, not just single message
• AI summarization: Long threads become clear descriptions
• Bi-directional sync: When Jira ticket closes, Slack gets notified

Weaknesses

• No public voting board (capture-focused, not voting-focused)
• Newer product, smaller community
• Less robust roadmap/changelog features than Canny

Best For

Teams where most feedback happens in Slack or Discord. Developer communities, internal product teams, B2B companies with dedicated customer channels.

Canny vs IdeaLift

| Factor | Canny | IdeaLift | |--------|-------|----------| | Public voting | ✅ Core feature | ❌ Not focus | | Slack capture | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Native + AI | | Thread context | ❌ No | ✅ Full threads | | Jira sync | ✅ One-way | ✅ Bi-directional | | Price | $79/mo | $49/mo |

Choose IdeaLift if: Feedback lives in chat, not portals.

---

2. ProductBoard – Best for Enterprise Product Teams

Price: $20/user/month (scales with team size)

What It Does

ProductBoard is a full product management platform—feedback collection is just one piece. It includes roadmapping, prioritization frameworks, and customer segmentation.

Strengths

• Comprehensive: Feedback + roadmap + prioritization in one
• Customer segmentation: See feedback by segment, revenue, etc.
• Integrations: Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce, Jira
• Prioritization scores: Built-in impact/effort frameworks
• Enterprise features: SSO, permissions, audit logs

Weaknesses

• Price scales fast: $20/user × 10 users = $200/mo
• Complexity: Overkill for smaller teams
• Learning curve: Takes time to set up properly
• No native Slack capture: Requires Zapier

Best For

Product teams at 50+ person companies with budget for proper tooling and need for customer segmentation.

Canny vs ProductBoard

| Factor | Canny | ProductBoard | |--------|-------|--------------| | Price (5 users) | $79/mo flat | $100/mo | | Price (20 users) | $79/mo flat | $400/mo | | Public voting | ✅ Core | ⚠️ Available | | Roadmapping | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Advanced | | Segmentation | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Detailed |

Choose ProductBoard if: You need the full product management suite, not just feedback.

---

3. Nolt – Best Simple Alternative

Price: Starting at $29/month

What It Does

Nolt is a lightweight feedback board—similar to Canny but simpler and cheaper. Public voting, status updates, no frills.

Strengths

• Simple: Easy to set up, easy to use
• Affordable: $29/mo vs Canny's $79/mo
• Clean UI: Minimalist, focused
• Custom domain: Your branding
• Anonymous voting: Optional

Weaknesses

• Very basic: Limited integrations
• No Slack capture: Manual entry only
• Limited analytics: Basic voting counts
• No AI features

Best For

Small teams wanting a public feedback board without Canny's price tag.

Canny vs Nolt

| Factor | Canny | Nolt | |--------|-------|------| | Price | $79/mo | $29/mo | | Features | Many | Focused | | Integrations | Good | Basic | | Setup time | Moderate | Quick |

Choose Nolt if: You want a simpler, cheaper Canny.

---

4. Fider – Best Free Option (Self-Hosted)

Price: Free (open source, self-hosted)

What It Does

Fider is an open-source feedback board you can host yourself. It provides core voting board functionality without monthly fees.

Strengths

• Free: No subscription costs
• Open source: Fully customizable
• Self-hosted: Data on your servers
• Core features: Voting, comments, status updates

Weaknesses

• Self-hosted: Requires technical resources
• Limited integrations: Manual or DIY
• No support: Community only
• Basic features: No AI, limited automation

Best For

Technical teams with hosting infrastructure who want to avoid SaaS fees.

Canny vs Fider

| Factor | Canny | Fider | |--------|-------|-------| | Price | $79/mo | Free | | Hosting | Managed | Self-hosted | | Setup | Easy | Requires DevOps | | Support | Included | Community |

Choose Fider if: You're technical, budget-conscious, and want ownership of data.

---

5. Sleekplan – Best Value

Price: Starting at $13/month

What It Does

Sleekplan offers feedback boards, roadmaps, and changelogs at a fraction of Canny's price. Good feature set for the cost.

Strengths

• Affordable: $13/mo starting, $29/mo for pro
• Full-featured: Voting, roadmap, changelog included
• In-app widget: Embed feedback board in your app
• SSO: Even on lower tiers
• API access: For customization

Weaknesses

• Less polished: UI not as refined as Canny
• Smaller community: Less ecosystem
• Limited advanced features: No AI, basic analytics
• Slack integration: Basic, not native

Best For

Startups wanting Canny-like features at startup-friendly prices.

Canny vs Sleekplan

| Factor | Canny | Sleekplan | |--------|-------|-----------| | Price | $79/mo | $13-29/mo | | Features | More | Enough | | UI polish | High | Medium | | Widget | ✅ | ✅ |

Choose Sleekplan if: Budget matters more than polish.

---

6. UserVoice – Best for Large Enterprise

Price: Custom pricing (typically $500+/mo)

What It Does

UserVoice is the OG feedback platform, built for large organizations with complex needs. It includes feedback portals, NPS, and product analytics.

Strengths

• Enterprise scale: Built for large user bases
• In-app feedback: SDKs for web and mobile
• Analytics: SmartVote, satisfaction tracking
• Support integration: Zendesk, Salesforce
• Compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, enterprise security

Weaknesses

• Expensive: Enterprise pricing
• Complex: Overkill for smaller teams
• Dated UI: Not as modern as newer tools
• Long sales cycle: No self-serve

Best For

Large companies (1000+ employees) with dedicated product ops teams.

Canny vs UserVoice

| Factor | Canny | UserVoice | |--------|-------|-----------| | Price | $79/mo | $500+/mo | | Scale | SMB/Mid | Enterprise | | Self-serve | ✅ | ❌ | | Security | Good | Enterprise |

Choose UserVoice if: You're enterprise-scale with enterprise budget.

---

7. Notion – Best DIY Alternative

Price: Free for personal, $10/user/mo for teams

What It Does

Notion isn't a feedback tool—it's a flexible database and documentation platform. But many teams build DIY feedback systems in Notion.

How to Build Feedback in Notion

1. Create a database with fields: Title, Description, Status, Votes, Submitted By
2. Share public link for submissions
3. Add views for different statuses (Kanban board)
4. Manually update when features ship

Strengths

• Flexible: Build exactly what you need
• Cheap: $10/mo or free
• Already using it: No new tool to adopt
• Full control: Custom workflows

Weaknesses

• Manual: No automation without Zapier
• No native voting: Requires workarounds
• Limited integrations: DIY everything
• No notifications: Manual follow-up

Best For

Very early-stage teams who want to avoid another tool, or teams who live in Notion already.

Canny vs Notion DIY

| Factor | Canny | Notion DIY | |--------|-------|------------| | Price | $79/mo | $10/mo | | Setup time | 1 hour | 2-4 hours | | Automation | Built-in | Zapier/manual | | Maintenance | None | Ongoing |

Choose Notion if: You're scrappy and want to avoid SaaS sprawl.

---

Decision Framework

Choose Canny if:

• Public voting board is core to your strategy
• You want a polished, established tool
• You're in the $79/mo budget range

Choose IdeaLift if:

• Feedback lives in Slack/Discord
• You need AI summarization for threads
• You want bi-directional Jira sync
• Public voting isn't important

Choose ProductBoard if:

• You need full product management suite
• You have 10+ people on product team
• Customer segmentation is critical

Choose Nolt or Sleekplan if:

• Budget is the priority
• You need basic voting boards
• You don't need advanced features

Choose Fider if:

• You want free and self-hosted
• You have DevOps resources
• Data ownership matters

Choose UserVoice if:

• You're enterprise-scale
• You need compliance certifications
• Budget isn't a constraint

Choose Notion if:

• You're very early stage
• You want maximum flexibility
• You're okay with manual processes

---

Making the Switch from Canny

If you're migrating away from Canny:

Export Your Data

Canny allows CSV export of feedback, votes, and user data. Download before canceling.

Migration Paths

To IdeaLift:

1. Set up Slack/Discord capture
2. Import historical data (contact support)
3. Notify users of new submission process

To ProductBoard:

1. Import Canny CSV
2. Map fields to ProductBoard schema
3. Set up new integrations

To Sleekplan/Nolt:

1. Manual recreation (smaller scale)
2. Or CSV import if supported

Communicate to Users

If you have a public board, notify users: "We're moving our feedback system to [new tool]. Your existing votes have been migrated. Submit new ideas at [new URL]."

---

Conclusion

Canny is a solid product, but it's not the only option. The right choice depends on:

• Where your feedback lives: Chat → IdeaLift. Public portal → Canny/Nolt.
• Your budget: Tight → Sleekplan/Fider. Flexible → Canny/ProductBoard.
• Your scale: Startup → Nolt/Sleekplan. Enterprise → ProductBoard/UserVoice.
• Your needs: Simple voting → Nolt. Full PM suite → ProductBoard.

Don't pay for features you won't use. And don't skimp on tools that could transform your product process.

Capture feedback from Slack/Discord? Try IdeaLift free →

---

Related posts:

• ProductBoard Alternatives: 7 Options Compared
• How to Track Feature Requests Without Losing Your Mind
• The Complete Guide to Product Feedback Management