Replace / Appcues
Best free Appcues alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Appcues is Driver.js (or Shepherd) with Intro.js, self-hosted on Railway. In-app product tours you ship. Driver.js is MIT; Shepherd is AGPL-3.0 (commercial license also offered) — Appcues, Userpilot, or WalkMe without the guide seat.
Estimated save $2,400 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Appcues compares
| Appcues | Driver.js / Shepherd | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- Driver.js
MIT product-tour / focus library — the published Appcues / Userpilot path
- Shepherd
AGPL-3.0 tour library (commercial license for commercial use)
- Intro.js
AGPL-3.0 onboarding library (commercial license for commercial apps)
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Appcues alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Appcues is Driver.js (or Shepherd) with Intro.js, self-hosted on Railway. In-app product tours you ship. Driver.js is MIT; Shepherd is AGPL-3.0 (commercial license also offered) — Appcues, Userpilot, or WalkMe without the guide seat.
- Is it free?
- The Driver.js / Shepherd licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Appcues seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Appcues?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Driver.js / Shepherd stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Appcues links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Driver.js / Shepherd stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: these are front-end libraries, not a hosted dashboard. Ship Driver.js (preferred) or Intro.js from your app. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway if you need a static host for a demo. Product analytics stays on /stacks/posthog-insights.
- What does this replace?
- Appcues / Userpilot / WalkMe. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $2,400 a year.
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