A good replacement depends on where your requests arrive. If customers already vote on ideas, a public board with a roadmap is the closest swap. If most feedback comes through your app or your support inbox, choose a tool that captures it there. Eight options follow, in no particular order, grouped by how they collect requests.
Feedback boards look alike at first glance: a list of ideas, a vote button and a roadmap. Upvoty's own homepage describes it in those terms, as one place to gather feedback, prioritise it with voting and ship what users want. The differences between the alternatives only show up when you ask where the requests come from and what happens after they're marked as done. Those two questions shape every group below.
Boards, in-app capture or the support inbox
Voting boards with public roadmaps
Fider, FeedBear, Frill and Sleekplan are the nearest relatives to what you're leaving. Customers post ideas, vote on each other's requests and see a roadmap. The differences are in the extras: announcements, changelogs, surveys and how much the board can be styled to match your brand. The simplest of the four is described by its makers as free to use.
Capturing feedback inside your product
Userback starts from the other end. Instead of asking customers to visit a board, it collects feedback through widgets, in-app surveys and session replays, so you see what someone was doing when they reported a problem. That's helpful for software teams where feedback is often a bug report in disguise.
Feedback that starts in support conversations
Productlane, Canny and UserVoice suit teams where requests arrive through support, sales or account managers rather than a public board. One gathers Slack, email and widget messages together; the other two focus on analysing and weighing feedback, with the enterprise option weighting it by revenue.
Closing the loop with the people who asked
Collecting requests is the easy part. The thing to test in any replacement is how requests are collected and voted on, and then how updates reach the customers who asked. A board full of ideas that never hear back does more harm than no board at all, because people can see their request sitting there untouched.
So when you trial a tool, follow one request all the way through. Post it as a customer, vote on it from a second account, merge it with a duplicate, move it to planned, then mark it shipped. Check who gets told at each step and how: by email, in the app or through a changelog. Tools in this category split by who they're built for and how much you set up yourself, so run that same real task through each before you decide.
Feedback is one part of keeping customers; my guide to using AI for customer retention covers the wider picture.
Eight feedback tools in one view
| Tool | Kind of tool | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Canny | Feedback capture and analysis | Prioritising requests by their business impact |
| FeedBear | Feedback and ideas board | Collecting ideas and telling customers what changed |
| Fider | Open feature request board | Letting users vote on product direction |
| Frill | Ideas, roadmap and announcements | A public roadmap plus announcements in one widget |
| Productlane | Support-led feedback | Gathering requests from Slack, email and chat |
| Sleekplan | Boards, roadmap and changelog | A full feedback loop from one small tool |
| Userback | In-app feedback and replays | Bug reports and feedback with session context |
| UserVoice | Enterprise feedback platform | Weighting feedback by revenue in larger companies |
All eight, listed alphabetically
In no particular order of preference. Each line reflects what the vendor says about its own product.
Canny
Best for: Product teams wanting feedback captured, analysed and prioritised in one place, with the vendor tying it to building what drives revenue.
FeedBear
Best for: App makers who want to gather ideas and keep customers informed about product changes; a free plan is named on the vendor's site.
Fider
Best for: Small teams wanting one place for feature requests where users vote on direction; the vendor says it's free to use.
Frill
Best for: Product managers who want an ideas board, public roadmap, announcements and in-app surveys under one roof, per the vendor; a free plan is named.
Productlane
Best for: Companies that hear requests through support; the vendor brings Slack, email and widget conversations together so requests can be prioritised in one place.
Sleekplan
Best for: Teams wanting boards, a roadmap, a changelog and NPS surveys together, with AI the vendor says turns signals into shipped work.
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Userback
Best for: Software teams who want widgets, in-app surveys, session replays and feature portals in one place, as the vendor describes it.
UserVoice
Best for: Enterprise product teams collecting feedback from many places and, the vendor says, weighing it by revenue before closing the loop.
Advice on choosing a feedback board
Start with your customers, not the feature list. If they're happy to visit a board and vote, a public board with a roadmap will do the job and gives them a sense of being heard. If they'd never leave your app to post an idea, capture feedback inside the product instead, and keep the board for your own team.
Think about volume as well. A handful of requests a week can live on a simple board. Hundreds coming through support need a tool that groups duplicates, links requests to the customers behind them and lets you weigh them sensibly. And don't let voting run the roadmap on its own. Votes show what's popular with the people who bothered to vote, not always what matters most to the business. Use them as one signal next to support tickets, sales conversations and your own product plans. For more on this, see my piece on improving customer experience with technology.
Do you make feedback board or feature request software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What is a feature request board?
It's a public or private page where customers post ideas, vote on requests and see what's planned. It replaces scattered emails and spreadsheets with one list.
Should my feedback board be public?
Public boards show customers you listen and cut down duplicate requests. Keep it private if requests often mention client names or sensitive details.
How do I stop voting from deciding my roadmap?
Treat votes as one signal among several. Weigh them alongside support tickets, sales conversations and your own strategy before committing to anything.
How do customers find out a request has shipped?
Most tools notify voters by email or in the app when a request changes status, and some add a changelog. Check this works before you launch a board.
Can I move my existing requests to a new tool?
Many tools accept imports, but votes and comments don't always come across. Ask each vendor what's carried over before you switch.
Is in-app feedback better than a feedback board?
Neither is better in general. In-app capture gets more responses with context, while a board gives customers a place to vote and follow progress.
