Feature Request Tracking Software: 8 Tools Compared (2026)

Feature requests come from everywhere:

• Customers in support tickets
• Team members in Slack
• Sales calls and demos
• NPS surveys
• In-app feedback widgets
• Social media mentions

Without a system, most of these requests vanish. The same idea gets suggested 15 times. Nobody knows what customers actually want. Product decisions become guesswork.

Feature request tracking software solves this. It gives you a single place to capture, organize, prioritize, and act on feature requests.

This guide compares 8 leading options to help you find the right fit.

What to Look For

Before comparing tools, know what matters:

Essential Features

• Capture: Easy ways to add requests from multiple sources
• Deduplication: Merge duplicate requests, track counts
• Organization: Tags, categories, status workflows
• Prioritization: Voting, scoring, or ranking capabilities
• Integration: Connects to your dev tools (Jira, GitHub, etc.)
• Communication: Notify requesters when shipped

Nice-to-Have Features

• AI summarization for long requests
• Public voting portal
• Roadmap visualization
• Changelog for announcements
• Customer segmentation
• Analytics and reporting

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Quick Comparison

| Tool | Best For | Capture Method | Jira Sync | Price | |------|----------|----------------|-----------|-------| | IdeaLift | Slack/Discord teams | Emoji reaction | Bi-directional | $49/mo | | Canny | Public voting | Portal + widget | Yes | $79/mo | | ProductBoard | Enterprise PM | Multiple sources | Yes | $20/user | | Nolt | Simple voting | Portal | Basic | $29/mo | | Sleekplan | Budget-conscious | Portal + widget | No | $13/mo | | UserVoice | Large enterprise | Portal + SDK | Yes | $899/mo | | Fider | Self-hosted | Portal | No | Free | | Notion | DIY flexibility | Manual | Via Zapier | $10/user |

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1. IdeaLift

Best for: Teams where feature requests happen in Slack, Discord, or Teams

Overview

IdeaLift captures feature requests directly from chat platforms. Instead of asking people to submit requests to a portal, you capture them where conversations already happen.

Key Features

• Emoji capture: React to any Slack/Discord message to capture it
• Thread context: Captures the full conversation, not just one message
• AI summarization: Long threads become clear descriptions
• Bi-directional Jira sync: Push to Jira, get notified when resolved
• Deduplication: AI detects similar requests

Pricing

• $49/month flat (not per-user)
• All features included
• Free trial available

Pros

• Zero-friction capture from chat
• Full conversation context
• AI summarization is genuinely useful
• Flat pricing scales well
• Native Discord support (rare)

Cons

• No public voting portal
• Newer product
• Less robust roadmap/changelog features

Best For

B2B SaaS with active customer Slack channels, developer communities, internal product teams, teams tired of losing ideas in chat.

Verdict: Best-in-class for capturing from chat. If that's where your requests live, this is the answer.

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2. Canny

Best for: Customer-facing voting boards

Overview

Canny is the market leader for public feature request voting. Customers submit ideas, vote on others' requests, and see your roadmap.

Key Features

• Public voting portal: Customers submit and vote
• Roadmap: Show what's planned, in progress, done
• Changelog: Announce shipped features
• Integrations: Jira, Intercom, Slack
• Private boards: For internal teams

Pricing

• $79/month flat
• Higher tiers for more features
• Free trial available

Pros

• Best voting experience
• Clean, modern design
• Good changelog feature
• Transparent roadmap builds trust
• Reasonable price

Cons

• Slack integration is basic (not true capture)
• No AI features
• Requires customers to visit another portal

Best For

B2C products, developer tools, and SaaS products where public feedback makes sense.

Verdict: The gold standard for public voting boards.

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3. ProductBoard

Best for: Enterprise product teams

Overview

ProductBoard is a full product management platform. Feature request tracking is one piece of a larger suite that includes roadmapping, prioritization, and customer segmentation.

Key Features

• Multi-source capture: Email, Intercom, Zendesk, etc.
• Customer insights: Segment requests by customer value
• Prioritization: Built-in scoring frameworks
• Roadmapping: Multiple views and formats
• Jira sync: Two-way integration

Pricing

• $20/user/month (Essentials)
• Higher tiers for more features
• Adds up fast with larger teams

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set
• Customer segmentation is powerful
• Good integrations
• Modern, intuitive UI

Cons

• Per-user pricing gets expensive
• Learning curve
• Overkill for smaller teams
• Slack capture requires Zapier

Best For

Series B+ companies with dedicated product teams and budget.

Verdict: Best full-suite option if you can afford it.

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4. Nolt

Best for: Simple, affordable voting

Overview

Nolt offers the core Canny experience at a lower price. Public boards, voting, status updates—no frills.

Key Features

• Voting boards: Customers submit and vote
• Custom domain: White-label option
• SSO support: Enterprise login
• Basic integrations: Webhooks, limited native

Pricing

• $29/month
• Simple pricing model

Pros

• Half the price of Canny
• Clean, focused experience
• Quick to set up
• Custom domain included

Cons

• Very basic features
• No Slack capture
• Limited integrations
• Smaller ecosystem

Best For

Small teams wanting public feedback without Canny's price.

Verdict: Good budget alternative to Canny.

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5. Sleekplan

Best for: Maximum features at minimum price

Overview

Sleekplan offers voting, roadmap, and changelog at startup-friendly prices. Good feature density for the cost.

Key Features

• Voting boards: Customer feedback portal
• Roadmap: Public roadmap view
• Changelog: Release announcements
• Widget: Embed in your app
• SSO: Included on all plans

Pricing

• $13/month (Indie)
• $29/month (Pro)
• Very affordable

Pros

• Lowest price for full features
• Widget included
• SSO on all plans
• Good value proposition

Cons

• Less polished UI
• Smaller company
• Basic integrations
• No Slack capture

Best For

Bootstrapped startups watching every dollar.

Verdict: Best value for money if budget is tight.

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6. UserVoice

Best for: Large enterprise

Overview

UserVoice is the OG feature request platform. Built for enterprise scale with in-app widgets, NPS, and compliance features.

Key Features

• In-app widget: Capture feedback inside your product
• Mobile SDKs: iOS and Android support
• SmartVote: AI-assisted prioritization
• Enterprise security: SOC 2, HIPAA
• NPS tracking: Built-in satisfaction surveys

Pricing

• $899/month starting
• Enterprise pricing

Pros

• Enterprise-grade security
• Scales to large user bases
• Mobile SDKs
• Deep analytics

Cons

• Very expensive
• Dated UI
• Long sales cycle
• Overkill for most teams

Best For

Enterprise companies (1000+ employees) with compliance requirements.

Verdict: If you're enterprise and need SOC 2, this is proven.

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7. Fider

Best for: Self-hosted, free

Overview

Fider is open-source feature request software you can host yourself. Free forever—just pay for hosting.

Key Features

• Voting boards: Core functionality
• Comments: Discussion on requests
• Status updates: Track progress
• Self-hosted: Your servers, your data

Pricing

• Free (open source)
• You pay for hosting

Pros

• No subscription cost
• Full data ownership
• Open source (customizable)
• Good for privacy-sensitive teams

Cons

• Requires DevOps to deploy
• No support (community only)
• Limited features
• No integrations

Best For

Technical teams with hosting capability who want to avoid SaaS costs.

Verdict: Best free option if you're technical.

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8. Notion

Best for: DIY flexibility

Overview

Notion isn't feature request software—it's a flexible database. But many teams build DIY tracking systems that fit their exact workflow.

How Teams Use It

1. Create a database: Title, Description, Status, Votes, Requester
2. Add views: Kanban by status, table for triage, calendar for roadmap
3. Share with team or make public
4. Manually manage workflow

Pricing

• Free for personal
• $10/user/month for teams

Pros

• Total flexibility
• Low cost
• Already using it (probably)
• No vendor lock-in

Cons

• No automation (without Zapier)
• No native voting
• Manual everything
• Requires discipline to maintain

Best For

Very early-stage teams who hate SaaS sprawl.

Verdict: Good if you're already in Notion and want to avoid another tool.

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Feature Comparison Matrix

| Feature | IdeaLift | Canny | ProductBoard | Sleekplan | Nolt | |---------|----------|-------|--------------|-----------|------| | Slack capture | ✅ Native | ⚠️ Basic | ⚠️ Zapier | ⚠️ Basic | ❌ | | Discord capture | ✅ Native | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Public voting | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | | Roadmap view | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Changelog | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ❌ | | AI features | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Jira sync | ✅ Two-way | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | | Flat pricing | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | | Self-hosted | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |

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Decision Framework

By Primary Need

| Your Situation | Best Tool | |----------------|-----------| | Requests in Slack/Discord | IdeaLift | | Want public customer voting | Canny | | Need full PM suite | ProductBoard | | Very tight budget | Sleekplan or Fider | | Enterprise + compliance | UserVoice | | Want total flexibility | Notion | | Simple public board | Nolt |

By Company Stage

| Stage | Recommended | |-------|-------------| | Pre-seed | Notion or Fider | | Seed | IdeaLift or Sleekplan | | Series A | IdeaLift or Canny | | Series B+ | ProductBoard or Canny | | Enterprise | ProductBoard or UserVoice |

By Integration Priority

| Need | Best Tool | |------|-----------| | Slack-native | IdeaLift | | Discord-native | IdeaLift | | Intercom | Canny or ProductBoard | | Jira (two-way) | IdeaLift or ProductBoard | | Zendesk | ProductBoard or UserVoice |

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Implementation Checklist

Week 1: Setup

• [ ] Choose tool based on this guide
• [ ] Set up account and basic configuration
• [ ] Define status workflow (New → Under Review → Planned → Building → Shipped)
• [ ] Import existing feature requests (export from current location)

Week 2: Capture Paths

• [ ] Set up Slack/Discord capture (if applicable)
• [ ] Add in-app widget or link to feedback portal
• [ ] Train support team on escalation process
• [ ] Announce to customers (if public portal)

Week 3: Process

• [ ] Schedule weekly triage (30 min, same time each week)
• [ ] Define prioritization criteria
• [ ] Set up notification templates (for status changes)

Week 4: Close Loops

• [ ] Send first batch of notifications to requesters
• [ ] Publish first changelog entry
• [ ] Review what's working and adjust

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Common Mistakes

1. Choosing Based on Features, Not Fit

ProductBoard has the most features. But if you're a 5-person team, you're overpaying for complexity you won't use.

2. Ignoring Where Requests Actually Come From

If 80% of requests come through Slack, a portal-only tool won't capture them. Match the tool to your reality.

3. Not Defining a Process

A tool without a process is just another place for requests to die. Define who triages, how often, and what happens next.

4. Never Closing the Loop

The most powerful thing you can do: tell customers when their request ships. Most teams skip this. Don't.

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Conclusion

Feature request tracking software ranges from free and DIY (Notion, Fider) to enterprise-grade (UserVoice, ProductBoard).

The right choice depends on:

1. Where requests come from: Chat → IdeaLift. Public portal → Canny.
2. Your budget: Tight → Sleekplan. Flexible → ProductBoard.
3. Your scale: Small → Nolt. Enterprise → UserVoice.

Start with the problem: "Where are requests getting lost today?"

Then pick the tool that captures them with the least friction.

Losing requests in Slack? Try IdeaLift free →

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Related posts:

• How to Track Feature Requests Without Losing Your Mind
• Best Product Feedback Tools Compared
• The Complete Guide to Product Feedback Management