Looking for the best changelog tool to manage your software updates?
A changelog is a record of all the changes and modifications made to a software application. Sometimes a changelog is also interchangeably referred to as ReleaseNotes. Some companies prefer to use both Changelogs & Release Notes while others may use any one of them.
Changelog forms an essential component of any software development process, as it helps product managers, founders and developers keep track of changes made to the product and communicate these changes or product updates to users.
With the right changelog tool, you can easily manage your software updates, keep your users informed, and improve your product management & development workflow.
There are many different changelog tools available, each with its own set of features and benefits.When choosing a changelog tool, it's important to consider your specific needs and requirements, as well as the features and benefits of each tool.
Here we will list down a comprehensive list of 30 best tools which you can consider when deciding on implementing a changelog.
Also read : How to write Release Notes- 10 best Release Notes Examples
When it comes to managing software releases, changelogs are an essential part of the process.
They help product managers, developers and users keep track of changes, bug fixes, and improvements made to the software.
However, creating and maintaining changelogs can be a daunting task, especially for large projects with frequent updates.
That's where changelog tools come in handy. In this section, we'll explore the criteria for selecting the best tools and provide an overview of the top options available.
When choosing a changelog tool, there are several factors to consider. Here are some of the most important ones:
If you are looking for a changelog tool in 2024 here are the list of the best changelog & release notes tool you should consider
Productlogz is an easy to set-up & easy to use product changelog tool which allows you & your team members to create & publish changelog & releasenotes seamlessly. With its' rich text editor and collaboration tools, editors can format and allow multiple users to contribute to the changelog. It also allows integration with popular project management tools like Jira.
With its' embeddable pop up & interactive dropdown widget, you can allow users to view changelogs when they most active on the platform thereby increasing user activation on new features & enaggement.
Pros:
Cons:
Cannot send changelog email notifications for now but will be introduced soon
Pricing : Productlogz Changelog is avaliable to use for free with its advanced features available under its very affordable payment plan starting from 19$/ month.
Conclusion: Productlogz emerges as an accessible and collaborative product changelog tool, offering a rich text editor, seamless setup, and integration with popular project management tools like Jira. Despite a current limitation on sending changelogs through emails, the platform's affordability, starting at $19 per month, makes it a compelling choice for teams seeking effective changelog & release management
Frill is a feedback management, roadmap & changelog software and refers to its changelog feature as announcements. Frill allows you to input images into your announcements making it more interesting for customers to read and visualize.
Pros:
Pricing: Frill's changelog is available on all plans which are payment plans and starts at $25 per month.
Conclusion: Frill's versatile "announcements," feature offers engaging elements like image integration and emoji reactions. However, Frill has room for improvement with the absence of integrations for automation, advanced formatting options, announcement pop-up widgets, and features for team collaboration.
GitHub which is utilized by over 50 million developers worldwide, offers a free changelog tool. Although it has a free changelog tool but lacks in customization & user notification features
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You can use GitHub's for free to create and publish changelogs.
Conclusion: GitHub's is convenient, but users should consider its limitations and explore alternatives for more robust changelog solutions.
Olvy is a product feedback managemnt tool which also offers a changelog tool. It's changelog tool comes with a number of features like collecting tickets from project management tools, white lable option, custom domain support and email notifications to all users.
Cons:
It's plans have limitations with tracked users and unique visitors/ month.
Pricing: You can get started with Olvy for free but with only 10000 unique visits a month and 25 issues/ tickets. Above that, you will have to subscribe to its payment plans which starts at 48$/ month.
Conclusion: Olvy, features a robust changelog tool with custom domain support, emoji reactions, and the ability to collect tickets from project management tools. While it offers a free tier with limitations, subscription plans start at $48 per month, providing expanded features and increased usage allowances.
Notion, a widely used multipurpose note-taking tool, can also be used as a changelog tool, although some companies transition away as they scale. While initially appealing for release notes, Notion falls short in certain aspects.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You can start with a free tier of Notion , but if you are chosing a workspace plan, it can cost you upto 8$/ member/ month
Conclusion: Notion offers versatility but faces limitations such as a lack of custom domains and slow-loading public pages. While it excels in collaborative features, it may not be the ideal choice for dedicated release notes, and workspace collaboration costs can escalate, starting at $8 per member per month.
Beamer, a changelog tool, offers standalone pages and in-app widgets for user updates, including features like NPS ratings and push/in-app notifications. However, its pricing and limitations may require some consideration.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: While Beamer serves well for starting release notes, its high cost and additional charges for essential features may pose challenges. The $99/mo. plan offers fewer features compared to competitors, emphasizing the importance of evaluating pricing and features. Beamer's free plan includes a watermark and is limited to 1,000 monthly visitors, with the Starter and Pro plans priced at $49 and $99 per month, respectively.
if you are considering Beamer you should carefully assess all the above factors and explore alternatives like Productlogz for a more comprehensive and cost-effective solution.
Headway, introduced in 2016, initially gained popularity for its generous free tier and the ability to create a public changelog page or in-product widgets. However, it faces limitations compared to other changelog tools.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: The free plan offers unlimited changelog posts and basic customization. The Pro plan, priced at $29 per month, unlocks additional features like changelog scheduling, white labeling, custom domains, and integrations. However, users should note the absence of features like feedback management and public roadmaps, requiring additional software for these functionalities.
Conclusion: Headway, faces limitations with no updates since 2020, lacking critical features for SaaS teams. While its free plan offers some features, if you are seeking a more comprehensive and actively developed changelog tool you may find the listed alternatives more suitable.
Composer-changelogs, an open-source dependency manager for PHP, provides the ability to create changelogs through the Composer plugin. While it lacks the ease of adding imagery and branding, it offers a 100% free changelog solution.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: its free to use
Conclusion: Composer-changelogs, though lacking in much of customization, collaboration and imagery and branding features, provides a cost-effective changelog solution through the Composer plugin. Its free nature makes it economical, but you should be aware of its limitations when selecting this tool
Changelogfy allows mangement of public changelogs, user feedback collection, and sharing roadmaps. Its changelog feature allows embedding update widgets in your app, collecting reactions, and tracking user feedback to enhance product development awareness.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: The free plan provides a changelog with limited features. For unlimited feedback boards, custom domains, changelog labels, and scheduling, users can opt for the Essentials plan, prices starting at $19 per month.
Conclusion: Changelogfy provides a robust solution for changelog management, user feedback, and transparent roadmap sharing. While offering valuable features, user reviews suggest a less user-friendly UX. If you are user experience compared to features, you may want to chose alternatives as above.
ReleaseNotes is a release notes management software that allows you to publish product updates & release in a user friendly format. It has the optin to embed releasenotes widget and also place release banners for your website.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You can start with their free plan showcasing upto 5 Releasenotes. Plans start at 29$ a month and may also require an additional purchase of 19$/ month / 1000 subscribers.
Conclusion: ReleaseNotes provides user-friendly release notes management with embeddable widgets and release banners, but lacks in-depth feedback tools and customization options. Plans start at $29 per month, with potential additional charges for subscribers.
AnnounceKit is a changelog app designed for crafting and distributing feature announcements through various channels and notifications, including in-app widgets, email, and Slack. While positioning itself as a central hub for product announcements, the platform is not very affordable.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: The Essentials plan, priced at $89 per month, includes labels, widgets, email notifications, and basic branding. For user segmentation and feature requests, users can opt for the Growth plan at $149 per month.
FeatureOS, formerly Hellonext, offers feedback boards, roadmaps, and changelogs. Users can leverage labels for categorizing product and feature announcements, with additional features like changelog scheduling and in-app widgets for effective communication.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: featureOS offers the Take Flight plan at $79 per month, billed monthly, providing access to the changelog app along with other features.
Canny has a changelog app and also allows feedback collection, public roadmaps, and feature announcements in a unified platform. It also has enterprise-grade features include segmented announcements, post blocking, email white labeling, and SOC 2 compliance.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Canny's free plan provides access to changelog software, while the Growth plan, priced at $400 per month, offers additional features like multiple integrations, user segmentation, custom domains, and private roadmaps.
When implementing a changelog tool for your SaaS product, there are some best practices that you should keep in mind:
Easily collect & Prioritize feedback from users. Build & Ship features that Users actually want.
