# Userpilot vs Pendo: which do AI models recommend for digital adoption, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Digital adoption and onboarding. Eight of twelve models named Userpilot first on the direct prompt; two named Pendo. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/customer/digital-adoption-and-onboarding/userpilot-vs-pendo/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Userpilot | 29% | #1 of 11 | 10% | 41 | 12 of 12 |
| Pendo | 10% | #5 of 11 | 36% | 53 | 12 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Pendo, UserGuiding)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, Pendo, Spekit, Whatfix)
- Perplexity Sonar: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, Chameleon, Pendo, Whatfix)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: userpilot first (first choices: Appcues, UserGuiding, Userpilot) (alternatives: Apty, Pendo, Tango)
- Mistral Small: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, Product Fruits, Spekit, UserGuiding, Userlane)
- Llama 4 Maverick: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, Apty, UserGuiding)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, UserGuiding, Whatfix)
- MiniMax M2.5: userpilot first (first choices: Userpilot) (alternatives: Appcues, Chameleon, Pendo, Whatfix)
- Kimi K2: pendo first (first choices: Pendo) (alternatives: Appcues, Chameleon, Userlane, Userpilot, Whatfix)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: pendo first (first choices: Pendo) (alternatives: Userlane, Whatfix)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Whatfix) (alternatives: Pendo, WalkMe)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Whatfix) (alternatives: Appcues, Pendo, Userlane, Userpilot)

## What the models said about Userpilot

- "If your product has a mobile version, you should avoid Userpilot" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Userpilot
- Mid-market pricing ($249/mo) may be expensive for smaller teams" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "some DAPs that are considered good options include: * Userpilot (affordable, no-code builder, precise targeting)" (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt, first choice)
- "It is currently the most recommended for mid-market B2B SaaS teams looking to drive activation and retention." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Pendo

- "you will want to avoid heavy enterprise Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) like WalkMe, Whatfix, and Pendo" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "The big enterprise platforms (WalkMe, Whatfix, Pendo, Apty) are not realistic for limited budgets" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "My top pick for most limited budgets: Start with Pendo's free tier (if under 500 users) or Usetiful free/Plus" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, first choice)
- "I'd generally recommend Pendo if you want the strongest all-around platform" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.