11 Best Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs)

For the first time in history, the global workforce consists of 5 generations, experiencing remote recruitment, hybrid, and remote working opportunities. The acceleration of personal and business software applications has transformed the future of work, providing freedom and flexibility to millions. 

However, these new working conditions have created new software adoption challenges. Faced with the accelerated growth of business applications each year, employees are finding it harder to adapt and adopt new technologies with outdated processes. 

But why is it prevalent today? Traditional methods of onboarding and training are no longer compatible with the modern workplace. In addition, the concept of one-size-fits-all learning is increasingly wasteful and ineffective for organizations.

Today’s modern workforce requires competence and confidence in their tools, which are only possible with proven methods to software adoption. And that’s where digital adoption platforms come into play.

What are the best digital adoption platforms (DAPs) to look out for in 2023?

1. Lemon Learning 
2. Applearn
3. Appcues
4. Whatfix
5. Pendo
6. WalkMe 
7. Userlane 
8. Apty 
9. Spekit
10. Newired 
11. Toonimo

What is a digital adoption platform?

Digital adoption platform (DAP) software is designed to help users get the most out of any web or cloud-based application. It integrates seamlessly with other software (e.g., Salesforce) like a second skin and uses a variety of on-screen interactive prompts (e.g, push notifications, tooltips, etc.) to guide users through their features with complete autonomy. 

Common digital adoption platform use cases include:

🍋 Employee adoption: Facilitate employee engagement and retention directly inside software applications using step-by-step onboarding, training, and support through features, updates, processes, and digital transformation projects. A variety of micro-learning formats and an autonomous learning methodology, allow users to learn and train with confidence.

🍋 Product adoption: Find out where and why users struggle with their software, with user analytics gathered from onboarding and training workflows as well as user feedback. Create data and human-driven decisions to improve workflows and adapt software (e.g., personalized training, new integrations). 

How can a digital adoption platform help your organization?

Are your teams struggling to master their software applications? Are you finding it difficult to hire employees?

Digital adoption platforms improve traditional and ineffective training by facilitating employee engagement. DAPs uncover user performance issues so that organizations can:

• Improve employee onboarding
• Personalize training
• Monitor change management
• Reduce support costs
• Simplify digital transformation

According to Productiv, the average percentage of engaged users across all applications is only 45%, indicating that more than half of all SaaS licenses in an organization aren’t used regularly.

“By 2025, 70% of organizations will use digital adoption platforms across the entire technology stack to overcome still insufficient application user experiences.”
– Gartner, Market Guide for Digital Adoption Platforms, Melissa Hilbert, Maria Marino, Stephen Emmott, 14 September 2022.

What are the main features of a digital adoption platform?

Digital adoption platforms offer a wide range of features and USPs, but should each provide the following at their core:

11 of the Best Digital Adoption Platforms

The following section breaks down 11 digital adoption platforms on the market today, including features and ratings taken from leading review websites including G2, Capterra, and GetApp.

1. Lemon Learning

Best known for:  digital adoption, microlearning, blended learning, dedicated support

Best for:  SMBs, global enterprises, non-profit organizations

Lemon Learning, a leader in digital adoption and change management in Europe, prioritizes employee engagement to enhance software adoption. Organizations deploy Lemon Learning to enhance onboarding, training, and the sustainable implementation of business applications during digital transformation.

Lemon Learning employs a ‘learning by doing’ approach, promoting active learning while working. Organizations can create micro-learning content using a code-free editor, with support from the Lemon Learning team, or a combination of both, as needed.

CIOs, business leaders, product teams, change managers, and others can access detailed user analytics for data-driven decision-making and improvements in training workflows and product experience.

Key features list ⚙️

• In-app, interactive walkthroughs
• Code-free editor for easy in-house content creation 
• Supported content creation with a dedicated project manager, pedagogical engineer, and technical manager
• Import existing LMS content 
• Support including project governance, workshops, and on-site support 
• Adaptive and personalized learning
• Advanced user analytics
• Learning by doing and micro-learning methodology
• Ready to use guides for leading market solutions
• Multi-language deployment (35+)

Rating ⭐

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2. AppLearn

Best known for:  In-app training, LMS

Best for:  Organizations implementing HCM, ERP, CRM, Finance, and ITSM software

AppLearn is an LMS providing frictionless communication to software users. Organizations can set up online exams and tutoring to test their learners. It offers a blended learning or completely virtual approach to training.

3. Appcues

Best known for: User segmentation and survey implementation

Best for: Product teams

Appcues is a digital adoption platform designed primarily for product teams developing the customer satisfaction journey. Teams can gather employee and customer insights into feature usage and user experience for improvement.

Appcues focuses heavily on onboarding by providing in-app guidance, feedback collection, and personalized workflows. The DAP contains a code-free editor to build and measure user onboarding workflows.

4. Whatfix

Best known for: Digital adoption, onboarding 

Best for: Larger organizations

Whatfix is ​​a digital adoption platform offering personalized employee onboarding with contextual content. Using in-app interactive guides and multiformat content, users can solve queries with independence. It also offers a real-time chat support feature.

Whatfix offers data analytics in ready-made reports and dashboards to help improve content workflows.

5. Pendo

Best known for: Product analytics, product experience, product engagement

Best for: Product Management, Customer Success, Customer Support, Engineering, Marketing, Sales and UX teams, IT, HR

Pendo is an ideal product experience platform for product teams looking to gather and analyze user behavior for product development. Teams can use segmented user analytics to understand which features require development and how user experience can be improved.

6. WalkMe

Best known for: User digital adoption, onboarding, and training 

Best for: Larger organizations requiring customization

WalkMe is a DAP focused on delivering employee onboarding, training, in-app support, change management, and customer journey analysis. WalkMe offers a code-free editor to build a knowledge base that supports self-guided learning.

WalkMe features include tooltips, walkthroughs, and push notifications to guide users through software. The DAP is ideal for larger organizations trying to provide visibility to their business leaders.

WalkMe’s complex customizations require technical knowledge for integration.

7. Userlane

Best for: Simple software walkthroughs 

Best known for: User digital adoption, employee and customer onboarding, training

Userlane is a DAP for organizations implementing a range of new software and change management projects that require simple in-app guidance.  

Userlane’s code-free editor allows authors to create simple and scalable guides and announcements that improve user productivity.

8. Apty

Best known for: employee onboarding, training, and productivity

Best for: companies seeking custom and scalable adoption

Apty is a digital adoption platform ideal for companies seeking scalable adoption. Organizations can link their existing LMS content to the platform as well as export in-app-built content.

Apty specializes in survey implementation and analysis and integrates with a vast range of analytics software including Google forms, Microsoft forms, and Mixpanel.

9. Spekit

Best known for: Digital adoption, just-in-time training, and sales enablement

Best for: Sales teams, Salesforce users

Spekit is a learning and sales enablement digital adoption platform. It primarily helps sales teams improve their use of CRMs and other day-to-day sales enablement tools.

Spekit features automated user onboarding, in-app training, self-paced learning, and built-in user analytics.

10. Newired

Best known for: Contextual guidance

Best for: Enterprise Market, Private and Public Companies

Newired is a digital adoption platform focusing on contextual guidance for in-app support. Organizations can design and optimize user workflows for onboarding training and customer care.

11. Toonimo

Best known for: Employee training

Best for: Mid to large organizations

Toonimo is a digital adoption platform providing user onboarding and user training with personalized and interactive walkthroughs. It uses audio-visual guidance to train software users.

Toonimo can import existing LMS content into the platform to create a digital knowledge base for learners.

There are a wealth of digital adoption solutions available. However, the best digital adoption platform is the one able to meet your specific needs and organizational challenges. Are you considering digital transformation? Contact us to learn more about the Lemon Learning platform, and we’ll answer any of your questions.