Beamer is the best changelog tool for most SaaS products: an in-app widget plus a standalone page, free under 1,000 monthly active users. AnnounceKit is cheaper at scale because its Changelog product includes 10,000 MAU before overage starts. Headway is the budget pick at $29 a month flat on Pro, and teams that want feedback and a changelog in one place should look at Canny or Featurebase, both of which include a public changelog on their free plans.
Ten tools for publishing product updates, compared on free limits, the bill at 20,000 monthly active users and feedback features.
The best changelog tool depends on how the vendor counts your usage, because that number drives the bill far more than the headline price. Beamer and AnnounceKit charge by monthly active users (MAU) who load the widget, Featurebase charges per admin seat, Released Hub charges per Jira user, and Headway charges a flat monthly fee. A product with 20,000 active users can pay several times more on one model than another for the same release note.
The second choice is whether the changelog stands alone or sits next to a feedback board. A standalone tool (Beamer, AnnounceKit, Headway, LaunchNotes) focuses on announcements, widgets and email digests. A feedback-first tool (Canny, Featurebase, Frill, Sleekplan, Upvoty) collects feature requests and votes, then uses the changelog to close the loop with the people who asked.
Toolradar data: our roadmapping category lists 31 tools, and 48% of them offer a free or freemium plan, while 52% are paid only. The category also covers roadmap and planning software, so it is wider than changelog tools alone; the category statistics give the full picture.
Methodology: we compared ten tools on vendor pricing pages and FAQs read on October 28, 2026, in US dollars, weighing free-tier limits, the cost at 20,000 MAU, feedback features and white-label options. We did not install the widgets or publish test posts.
Top Picks
Selected by comparing vendor-published plans, free-tier limits and how each tool prices a changelog: by MAU, seat, Jira user or flat fee. How we rate
Standalone changelog with an in-app widget, page and analytics, priced by MAU.
Starting price
$59 /mo (Starter, monthly)
4.8 (22 reviews)
Best for
SaaS teams that want a dedicated changelog widget and a free start under 1,000 MAU.
Modular changelog, feedback and knowledge base products with 10,000 MAU included.
Starting price
$59 /mo (Changelog product)
4.8 (87 reviews)
Best for
Products with a large active audience that want a widget without steep MAU charges.
Simple changelog with a free plan and one flat-priced Pro tier.
Starting price
Free; Pro $29/mo
Best for
Startups that want a changelog page and widget at a fixed monthly cost.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beamer | $59/mo (Starter, monthly) | 4.8 22 reviews | SaaS teams that want a dedicated changelog widget and a free start under 1,000 MAU. |
| AnnounceKit | $59/mo (Changelog product) | 4.8 87 reviews | Products with a large active audience that want a widget without steep MAU charges. |
| Headway | Free; Pro $29/mo | n/a | Startups that want a changelog page and widget at a fixed monthly cost. |
| Canny | Free; Pro from $79/mo billed yearly | 4.5 185 reviews | B2B SaaS teams that prioritize feature requests and announce what shipped to voters. |
| Featurebase | Free (1 seat); Growth $37/seat/mo | 4.7 52 reviews | Teams that want help desk, feedback and changelog in one tool and few admins. |
| Sleekplan | Free; Starter $13/mo billed yearly | 4.8 52 reviews | Indie makers and small teams that want feedback and announcements cheaply. |
| Frill | $25/mo (Startup, monthly) | 4.6 92 reviews | Product teams that want feedback, roadmap and announcements without per-seat charges. |
| LaunchNotes | $833/mo billed annually (Growth) | 4.9 58 reviews | Larger product organizations that need governed release notes across products. |
| Released | Free up to 10 users; $1.10/user/mo | n/a | Jira teams that want release notes generated from the issues they already track. |
| Upvoty | $25/mo (Super, monthly) | 3.6 16 reviews | Small SaaS teams that want voting boards plus a changelog at a low flat price. |
Beamer
Standalone changelog with an in-app widget, page and analytics, priced by MAU.
- 4.7 on G2 (21 reviews)
- 5.0 on SourceForge (1 reviews)
- Starting price
- $59/mo (Starter, monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.8 (22 reviews)
Best for: SaaS teams that want a dedicated changelog widget and a free start under 1,000 MAU.
- Pro: Free plan covers up to 1,000 monthly active users.
- Pro: Starter includes 5,000 MAU, the changelog widget, page, boosted announcements and analytics.
- Pro: Unlimited teammates on every paid plan; Free allows 1.
- Con: Each extra 5,000 MAU adds $50 a month, so a 20,000-MAU product pays $209 on Starter.
- Con: Feedback and NPS are paid add-ons, and the free plan shows a watermark.
Beamer's pricing is fair, offering a generous free tier for small teams.
Watch out
Add-ons like Feedback/NPS are included but not explicitly priced if separate
- Starting price
- $59/mo (Changelog product)
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.8 (87 reviews)
Best for: Products with a large active audience that want a widget without steep MAU charges.
- Pro: 10,000 MAU included before overage, double Beamer Starter's allowance.
- Pro: GraphQL API, webhooks, Zapier, Slack and an MCP server on every product.
- Pro: 15-day free trial of every product and add-on, no card.
- Con: Email notifications, white label and custom branding are separate add-ons, so the bill grows.
- Con: Each product includes 3 team members; unlimited seats are a $39 add-on.
AnnounceKit's pricing is on the higher side, especially for smaller businesses.
- Starting price
- Free; Pro $29/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: Startups that want a changelog page and widget at a fixed monthly cost.
- Pro: Free includes unlimited changelogs, widget customization and API access.
- Pro: Pro has no MAU tier on its pricing section, so traffic growth does not raise the bill.
- Pro: Pro adds white label, custom domain, scheduled publishing and private changelogs.
- Con: Only two plans, with no feedback board or roadmap.
- Con: Team management and all integrations are Pro features, not Free.
Headway's pricing is quite fair, offering a robust Free tier that includes essential features like unlimited changelogs and customization.
Watch out
Potential for higher costs with more advanced integrations if not included.
- Starting price
- Free; Pro from $79/mo billed yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.5 (185 reviews)
Best for: B2B SaaS teams that prioritize feature requests and announce what shipped to voters.
- Pro: The changelog is included on Free, Pro and Business.
- Pro: Free covers 25 tracked users and 5 managers, with unlimited feedback.
- Pro: Pro connects feedback to Jira, Linear, ClickUp, Asana and GitHub.
- Con: Pricing rises with tracked users, and the page shows only the starting Pro price.
- Con: Pro is quoted billed yearly; a monthly price is not printed.
Canny's pricing starts with a usable Free plan for up to 25 tracked users.
Featurebase
Support suite with feedback boards, roadmap and a public changelog, priced per seat.
- 4.7 on G2 (52 reviews)
- Starting price
- Free (1 seat); Growth $37/seat/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (52 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want help desk, feedback and changelog in one tool and few admins.
- Pro: The public changelog page and in-app updates are on every plan, including Free.
- Pro: Seat pricing does not grow with your user count.
- Pro: Growth adds email, AI copilot and API, MCP and webhooks.
- Con: A custom domain is not on Free, and removing Featurebase branding is not on Free or Growth.
- Con: The AI agent costs $0.49 per resolution on paid plans if you turn it on.
This pricing is best for startups and growing teams needing robust feedback tools without breaking the bank.
Watch out
Add-on integrations could incur costs
- Starting price
- Free; Starter $13/mo billed yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.8 (52 reviews)
Best for: Indie makers and small teams that want feedback and announcements cheaply.
- Pro: The free Indie plan includes the feedback board and changelog with unlimited subscribers.
- Pro: Starter adds 3 team seats and 10,000 announcement views a month.
- Pro: 30-day trial of Business features with no card.
- Con: Indie caps announcement views at 1,000 and email sends at 500 a month.
- Con: Removing branding and a custom domain need Business at $38 a month billed yearly.
Sleekplan offers a generous free tier, 'Indie', which is great for solo founders.
Frill
Ideas board, roadmap and announcements with unlimited admins on paid plans.
- 4.3 on SourceForge (67 reviews)
- 4.9 on G2 (25 reviews)
- Starting price
- $25/mo (Startup, monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (92 reviews)
Best for: Product teams that want feedback, roadmap and announcements without per-seat charges.
- Pro: Unlimited admins, tracked users and widgets on every paid plan.
- Pro: Announcements support scheduling, boosting and comments alongside the ideas board.
- Pro: 14-day free trial, no card required.
- Con: Startup caps the board at 50 active ideas; Business at $49 lifts it.
- Con: White labeling starts on Growth at $149 a month.
Frill's pricing is fair for startups, with the Startup plan at $25/month offering a good entry point.
- Starting price
- $833/mo billed annually (Growth)
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.9 (58 reviews)
Best for: Larger product organizations that need governed release notes across products.
- Pro: Growth includes announcements, roadmap, feedback, in-app widget and an AI writer.
- Pro: SSO and JWT on Growth, and 5,000 emails a month sent through LaunchNotes.
- Pro: Premium adds multiple pages, full white labeling and concierge design.
- Con: Growth costs $999 a month on monthly billing and includes only 2 users.
- Con: Premium is custom priced and billed annually.
This makes it quite expensive for smaller teams or startups, especially compared to more budget-friendly alternatives.
- Starting price
- Free up to 10 users; $1.10/user/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: Jira teams that want release notes generated from the issues they already track.
- Pro: Free covers up to 10 Jira users with AI-generated release notes and public roadmaps.
- Pro: Publishes to Confluence and Slack and links Jira issues automatically.
- Pro: 30-day free trial on paid plans.
- Con: Paid plans bill every licensed user on your Jira site, not only editors.
- Con: The free plan carries a Released Hub watermark; removing it needs Standard.
This makes it an excellent value for teams of all sizes looking to centralize feedback and roadmaps without breaking the bank.
Watch out
AI token limits could lead to overage if not managed.
- Starting price
- $25/mo (Super, monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 3.6 (16 reviews)
Best for: Small SaaS teams that want voting boards plus a changelog at a low flat price.
- Pro: Unlimited boards and tracked users on every plan.
- Pro: Super includes the changelog, a custom domain and all integrations.
- Pro: 14-day free trial on every plan, no card.
- Con: The $15 Power plan does not list a changelog.
- Con: Super covers 1 project; unlimited projects need Hyper at $49.
Upvoty's pricing is quite generous, especially the POWER tier at $15/month for unlimited boards and users on one project.
Other Roadmapping tools worth considering
More published tools from our Roadmapping category, ordered by our category ranking. They are not part of the editorial picks above.
What a changelog tool does
A changelog tool publishes release notes in three places at once: a hosted public page, an in-app widget (a bell or sidebar that shows a badge when something new ships) and email digests to subscribers. It replaces a hand-edited "What's new" page with posts that can be categorized, scheduled and measured.
Most tools add reactions or comments on each post, so product teams see which updates land. The feedback-first tools go further: a user votes on a request, the team ships it, and the changelog post notifies every voter. That loop is the main reason to buy Canny or Featurebase instead of a standalone tool such as Beamer.
Jira-centric teams have a third option. Released Hub runs inside Jira as an Atlassian Marketplace app and drafts release notes from Jira issues, which suits teams whose release process already lives there more than teams publishing marketing-style announcements.
The bill at 20,000 monthly active users
Take a SaaS product with 20,000 users who open the app each month and a team that only needs a changelog widget and page, on monthly billing. The totals below are our arithmetic on list prices read on October 28, 2026.
Beamer: Starter includes 5,000 MAU, and Beamer adds bundles of 5,000 MAU at $50 a month each, so 20,000 MAU means Starter plus three bundles: $209 a month. Moving to Pro (10,000 MAU) plus two bundles comes to $219, so the cheaper path is Starter unless you need Pro features such as segmentation.
AnnounceKit: the Changelog product includes 10,000 MAU and charges $25 for each extra 5,000, half Beamer's bundle rate, so 20,000 MAU costs the product price plus two overage blocks: $109 a month, about half of the Beamer figure.
Headway: Pro is a flat fee with no MAU tier on its pricing section, so the same product pays its standard price at any audience size. Featurebase: billing is per seat, so two product managers on Growth cost 2 x $37 = $74 a month, whatever the traffic. Released Hub: a Jira site with 50 users on Standard costs 50 x $1.10 = $55 a month before any volume discount, because every licensed Jira user is billed.
Key Features to Look For
In-app widget (Essential)
A badge or sidebar inside your product is where most users see an update. Check how the widget counts users, because MAU-priced tools bill every unique person who loads it.
Standalone changelog page (Essential)
A hosted page with its own URL that search engines can index. Check whether a custom domain is included or reserved for a higher plan, as on Featurebase Free.
Email digests and subscribers (Essential)
Users who never open the widget still read email. Sleekplan's free Indie plan caps email sends at 500 a month, and AnnounceKit sells email notifications as an add-on.
Segmentation (Important)
Show enterprise-only updates to enterprise accounts and hide them from free users. Beamer adds basic segmentation on Pro and advanced segmentation on Scale.
Scheduling and private posts (Important)
Scheduled publishing lines a post up with a launch; private changelogs keep internal releases out of view. Headway puts both on Pro.
White label (Important)
Removing the vendor's branding matters for customer-facing pages. Beamer's free plan carries a watermark, and AnnounceKit sells white label as a separate add-on.
API and AI drafting (Important)
An API lets release pipelines post updates automatically. AnnounceKit includes a GraphQL API and an MCP server on every product; Released Hub drafts notes from Jira issues.
Pick the pricing model before the tool
-
Small audience, no budget: start on Beamer Free under 1,000 MAU, Headway Free, or the free tiers of Canny, Featurebase and Sleekplan.
-
Large audience, changelog only: compare AnnounceKit and Beamer at your real MAU, including overage blocks, before looking at features.
-
Feature requests drive your roadmap: choose a feedback-first tool so each shipped request notifies its voters automatically.
-
Release process lives in Jira: Released Hub bills per Jira user and drafts notes from issues, which can undercut MAU pricing for a small Jira site.
-
Enterprise with several products and brands: LaunchNotes and the enterprise tiers of AnnounceKit and Beamer add SSO, SLAs and security reviews.
Evaluation Checklist
Count monthly active users who would load the widget, not total sign-ups.
Check what happens at the limit: automatic upgrade, overage blocks or a hard cap.
Confirm whether the free plan keeps the vendor's watermark or branding on your page.
List who will write posts and check seat limits on each plan.
Ask whether email digests are included or an add-on, and how many sends a month you get.
Test the widget on your own app during the trial before committing to annual billing.
Pricing Overview
Free
Beamer under 1,000 MAU with a watermark, Headway Free, Canny Free with 25 tracked users, Featurebase with 1 seat, Sleekplan Indie.
$0
Flat or small-team plans
$13-$37/mo
MAU-based changelog
Beamer and AnnounceKit: in-app widget, page and analytics, with cost rising as monthly active users grow.
From $49/mo billed annually
Enterprise release comms
LaunchNotes Growth and Premium: multiple pages, SSO and JWT, concierge design on Premium.
$833/mo billed annually, or custom
Pricing Comparison
| Tool and plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | What sets the price |
|---|---|---|---|
Beamer Starter | $59 | $49 per month | 5,000 MAU, then $50 per 5,000 |
Beamer Pro | $119 | $99 per month | 10,000 MAU |
AnnounceKit Changelog | $59 | About 20% less | 10,000 MAU, then overage per 5,000 |
Headway Pro | $29 | Not shown | Flat; Free plan available |
Canny Pro | Not shown | From $79 per month | 100+ tracked users; Free for 25 |
Featurebase Growth | $37 per seat | $29 per seat per month | Admin seats; Free for 1 seat |
Sleekplan Starter | Not shown | $13 per month | 3 seats, 10,000 announcement views |
Frill Startup | $25 | Not shown | 50 active ideas |
Released Hub Standard | $1.10 per Jira user | Not shown | All licensed Jira users; Free up to 10 |
LaunchNotes Growth | $999 | $833 per month | 1 page, 2 users |
Prices checked on October 28, 2026 on Beamer pricing, AnnounceKit pricing, Headway pricing, Canny pricing, Featurebase pricing, Sleekplan pricing, Frill pricing, Upvoty pricing, Released pricing and LaunchNotes pricing. "Not shown" means the page did not print that billing option. Taxes and add-ons are extra.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Budgeting on the headline price when MAU bundles can more than triple the Beamer Starter bill at 20,000 monthly active users.
- ×
Counting total sign-ups instead of monthly active users who actually load the widget.
- ×
Choosing a seat-priced tool for a team of ten writers, where per-seat charges add up faster than MAU.
- ×
Buying a standalone changelog, then a separate feedback board, when one feedback-first tool covers both.
- ×
Leaving the vendor's watermark on a customer-facing page because white label sits on a higher plan.
- ×
Picking Released Hub for a large Jira site without noticing that every licensed Jira user is billed.
Expert Tips
- →
Pull your real monthly active user count from analytics before requesting quotes.
- →
Post on a regular schedule and tag each update by product area so users can filter what matters to them.
- →
Link each changelog post to the feedback request it closes, so voters see their input shipped.
- →
Use segmentation to keep plan-specific updates away from users who cannot use the feature.
- →
Export your post history before switching tools; changelog archives also carry search value.
Red Flags to Watch For
-
Automatic upgrades at the MAU limit with no spending cap or warning.
-
A free plan whose watermark cannot be removed without a large jump in price.
-
No custom domain on the plan you can afford, which leaves the changelog on the vendor's URL.
-
Email digests sold as an add-on when most of your audience reads updates by email.
-
Pricing pages that show only annual rates, which hide the monthly cost of trying the tool.
The Bottom Line
Beamer is the default changelog for a SaaS product that wants a polished widget and a free start, while AnnounceKit is the better buy once monthly active users pass 10,000 because its included allowance is larger and its overage cheaper. Headway keeps the bill flat for budget-minded startups.
If feature requests already drive your roadmap, start with Canny, Featurebase or Sleekplan, which all include a changelog on their free plans, and compare them in Canny vs Featurebase or Canny vs Frill. For the planning side, see our product roadmap tools guide; for in-app tours and messages beyond release notes, see in-app messaging tools and product adoption software. Teams leaving Beamer can browse Beamer alternatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best changelog tool for a SaaS product in 2026?
Beamer is the best fit for most SaaS products, with an in-app widget, standalone page and a free plan under 1,000 monthly active users. AnnounceKit costs less at higher MAU, and Canny or Featurebase suit teams that want feedback and a changelog together.
How much does a changelog tool cost?
List prices run from free plans and $13 a month for Sleekplan Starter billed yearly, through a flat fee for Headway Pro, to $109-$209 a month for AnnounceKit or Beamer at 20,000 monthly active users on our arithmetic. LaunchNotes Growth costs $833 a month billed annually.
Is there a free changelog tool?
Yes. Beamer is free under 1,000 monthly active users with a watermark, Headway Free includes unlimited changelogs, and Canny, Featurebase and Sleekplan include a changelog on their free plans.
What does a changelog cost at 20,000 monthly active users?
On monthly billing, our arithmetic gives $209 a month for Beamer Starter plus three 5,000-MAU bundles, and $109 for AnnounceKit Changelog plus two overage blocks. Seat-priced Featurebase and flat-priced Headway do not change with MAU.
Should the changelog be part of my feedback tool?
If you collect feature requests, yes: a feedback-first tool notifies voters when their request ships. If you only announce releases, a standalone tool such as Beamer or AnnounceKit offers richer widgets and segmentation.
Can I generate release notes from Jira?
Released Hub runs inside Jira, links issues automatically and drafts AI release notes. It is free up to 10 Jira users, then billed per licensed Jira user.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Changelog and Release Notes Tools in 2026", updated October 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-changelog-tools
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