5 Free Customer Feedback Tools That Don't Suck
You know that sinking feeling when you sign up for a “free” tool?
First, they want your credit card (just in case). Then you discover the free plan limits you to 10 feedback items. Total. Not per month - total. Or maybe it’s “free” for 14 days, then surprise! That’ll be $99/month, please.
That’s not free. That’s a trial.
If you’re serious about collecting customer feedback, you need tools that actually work on their free plans. This is especially important for solo founders or teams just starting to build their feedback processes.
We spent weeks testing every feedback tool claiming to have a free plan. Most were useless, either so limited you couldn’t actually use them, or designed to push you to paid plans as fast as possible.
But we found 5 that are legitimately free. As in, you can actually run your feedback program on them without hitting a paywall in week two. No credit cards, no surprise emails from sales, no “your free trial is expiring!” panic.
Why Real Free Plans Matter
Think about how most products start. You’ve got an idea, maybe a rough MVP, and you’re testing five different versions to see what sticks.
Paying $99/month for feedback tools? For each experiment? That’s $495/month just to find out if people care about what you’re building. And half those experiments will fail - that’s the nature of building products.
This is why real free plans matter. Not 14-day trials that stress you out. Not “free” plans limited to 10 responses. But actual free tiers that let you validate ideas without bleeding money on tools for products that might not exist next month.
Good free plans let you experiment freely, validate quickly, and only pay when something actually gains traction. That’s how product development should work.
What Makes a Free Plan Actually Usable?
Useless free plans have:
- 10 feedback items per month (or lifetime!)
- No custom branding options
- “Powered by” badges bigger than your logo
- Essential features locked (like, you know, seeing who submitted feedback)
- 14-day “free” trials that auto-charge your card
Usable free plans have:
- Enough capacity for real use (think hundreds, not tens)
- Core features included (voting, comments, basic organization)
- Reasonable branding (small “powered by” is fine)
- No sneaky time limits
- Room to actually grow before needing to pay
Here are 5 that pass the test.
The 5 Best Free Feedback Tools
1. UserJot - A Free Plan That’s Actually Fair
Full disclosure: this is UserJot’s blog, so naturally we’re talking about our own tool. But there’s a reason our free plan looks the way it does.
When we were researching feedback tools, we kept running into the same problem: free plans that felt like tricks. Either they were so limited you’d hit the ceiling in days, or they were clearly designed to frustrate you into upgrading.
We get it - companies need to make money. Free users can’t freeload forever. But there’s a balance between sustainable business and actually helping early-stage teams. Our free plan tries to find that balance.
Free tier includes:
- Unlimited posts and users (yes, really)
- 2 feedback boards
- Public roadmap
- Changelog
- 3 admin seats
- No time limit, ever
Real limitations:
- Small “Powered by UserJot” link (bottom corner, not obnoxious)
- 2 board limit (but each board can have unlimited posts)
- 1 integration on free plan
When to upgrade: When you need a custom domain ($29/month), more boards, or you’re doing well enough that $29/month isn’t a big decision anymore.
Why it actually works: We’ve seen startups run their entire feedback program on our free plan for over a year. Some upgrade when they grow, others stay free forever. Both are fine with us.
The 2-board limit and single integration keep things sustainable for us, while unlimited users and posts keep things usable for you. It’s a compromise, but one that actually works for both sides.
2. Canny
Canny is probably the most well-known feedback tool. Their free plan looks decent at first, until you understand the catch.
Free tier includes:
- 25 tracked users (here’s that catch)
- Unlimited boards
- All basic features
- Roadmap access
- Mobile apps
Here’s the thing about “tracked users” - it’s not just people who sign up. Anyone who votes or comments counts. So your enthusiastic user who comments on 5 ideas? That’s 1 of your 25. Hit that limit and boom, nobody else can engage.
Real limitations:
- Only 25 people can ever interact with your feedback
- Canny branding (tasteful but present)
- No custom domain
- Limited analytics
- You’ll outgrow this fast
When to upgrade: The second you have any traction. Going from free to paid is $99/month. That’s a 99x price increase overnight.
Why it works (briefly): If you’re in validation mode with a tiny user base, 25 engaged users might be enough to get started and learn what you need.
But here’s the reality: we’ve talked to dozens of teams who hit that 25 user limit in their first week. One day you’re collecting great feedback, the next day new users can’t vote and you’re scrambling to justify $99/month to your co-founder.
3. Fider
Fider is open source, which means you can run it completely free if you handle the hosting yourself.
Free tier includes:
- Everything (if self-hosted)
- Unlimited users
- Basic but solid voting features
- Email notifications
- OAuth support
- API access
The interface is basic but functional. No fancy animations or designer touches, just straightforward feedback collection.
Real limitations:
- No roadmap features at all
- No changelog system
- Very basic functionality
- Requires technical knowledge to set up
- You’re on your own for hosting, updates, backups
Cloud option: If self-hosting sounds like a nightmare, they offer managed hosting for $49/month. Still way cheaper than most.
Why it works: If you have technical skills (or a technical co-founder who owes you a favor), you can run Fider forever for the cost of a $5/month Digital Ocean droplet. We know startups that have been running Fider for years.
The community is helpful, the software is stable, and there’s something satisfying about owning your entire stack. Plus, if Fider the company disappears tomorrow, your installation keeps running.
4. Sleekplan
Built by a solo founder in Germany, Sleekplan offers more features than you’d expect at this price point.
Free tier includes:
- 1 admin seat (but unlimited end users)
- 500,000 pageviews/month (that’s a lot)
- All core features - feedback, roadmap, changelog
- GDPR compliant by default
- Clean, modern interface
The interface won’t win design awards, but it’s clean and functional. Everything is where you’d expect it to be. No hunting through menus to find basic features.
Real limitations:
- Sleekplan branding (removable on paid plans)
- Just 1 admin - so no team collaboration
- No custom domain
- Basic analytics only
- Solo founder = bus factor risk
When to upgrade: When you need team features or your own domain. At €13/month, it’s one of the cheapest upgrades available.
Why it works: That 500,000 pageview limit is huge. Most free plans limit users or posts, but Sleekplan limits pageviews - and sets the bar so high you’ll probably never hit it. The solo admin limit is annoying but workable for small teams.
5. ProductBoard
ProductBoard is an enterprise product management tool (their typical contracts are $50k+/year) that happens to offer a free tier.
Free tier includes:
- 1 maker seat
- 50 feedback notes per month
- Basic collection features
- Portal access
- The satisfaction of using the same tool as Zoom and Zendesk
The interface is powerful but complex. This is a tool built for product managers at large companies, and it shows. Expect a learning curve.
Real limitations:
- Only 50 notes per month (that’s 1-2 per day)
- No roadmap features
- No real analytics
- No integrations
- Feels like a demo, not a real free plan
When to upgrade: Honestly? You probably won’t. If you need more than 50 notes/month, you probably need more than ProductBoard’s basics. Their paid plans start at $19/user/month but you’ll want the $59/user/month plan for actual features.
Why it works (barely): If you’re in pure research mode - doing customer interviews, collecting initial feedback - 50 notes might be enough for a few weeks.
But honestly, this free plan exists so ProductBoard can say they have one. It’s not designed for actual ongoing use.
Comparison Table
| Tool | Users | Items | Roadmap | Changelog | Real Limitation | Actually Usable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UserJot | Unlimited | Unlimited | ✅ | ✅ | 2 boards only | Yes, indefinitely |
| Canny | 25 tracked | Unlimited | ✅ | ✅ | 25 user limit kills it | For 2-4 weeks |
| Fider | Unlimited | Unlimited | ❌ | ❌ | Self-host complexity | If you’re technical |
| Sleekplan | Unlimited | Unlimited | ✅ | ✅ | 1 admin only | Yes, for solo founders |
| ProductBoard | Unlimited | 50/month | ❌ | ❌ | 50 notes is nothing | For research only |
Making Free Plans Work
Start right:
- Pick based on your real constraint (users, features, or technical ability)
- Set up completely before inviting users - first impressions matter
- Seed with 5-10 initial ideas so it doesn’t look empty
- Make submission dead simple - every click loses users
Maximize value:
- Use those integrations wisely (you usually only get one)
- Export your data monthly (just in case)
- Build feedback habits before you need paid features
- Plan your upgrade path from day one
Know when to upgrade:
- UserJot: When you need more than 2 boards or custom branding matters
- Canny: Before you hit 20 users (leave buffer room)
- Fider: When hosting becomes a distraction from building
- Sleekplan: The moment you need a second admin
- ProductBoard: Just… pick something else
The Hidden Costs of Free
Let’s be honest about something: free tools aren’t really free. They cost time to set up, effort to maintain, and mental energy to work around limitations.
We’ve seen teams spend 10 hours trying to make a limited free plan work when a $29/month tool would have saved them 9 of those hours. At some point, free becomes expensive.
But we’ve also been the team that literally couldn’t afford $29/month. Where free tools were the difference between getting user feedback and flying blind. That’s why real free plans matter.
Which Free Tool Should You Actually Pick?
For most startups: UserJot. We built it to be usable free forever. 2 boards is plenty for early stage, and unlimited users means you won’t hit a wall.
For tiny validation projects: Canny works until you hit 25 users. Just have an upgrade plan ready.
For technical teams: Fider is unbeatable if you can handle the setup.
For solo founders: Sleekplan is perfect. One admin is fine when it’s just you.
For research projects: ProductBoard works if you’re doing user interviews, not ongoing feedback.
The Truth About Our Free Plan
Since we’re being transparent - yes, we hope some free users upgrade eventually. But we also know plenty won’t, and that’s genuinely fine.
Some of our favorite success stories are teams that used our free plan for a year, built a great product, then upgraded when they raised funding. Others are still free two years later. Both make us happy.
We built the free plan we wished existed when we were starting out. Not a trial, not a teaser, but something actually useful. Because every product team deserves decent tools, not just the ones with budget.
Looking for more options? Check out our guides for specific use cases: top 10 feedback tools with public voting, best tools for B2B SaaS, or feedback tools for solo founders.