Gainsight is a well-regarded Customer Success Platform, known for being a comprehensive product that can provide a wealth of insights to Customer Success teams that use it. However, for small to mid-sized CS teams that need an intuitive solution that can be used quickly and efficiently, Gainsight may not be ideal.

When analyzing many of Gainsight’s most recent and popular G2.com reviews, paired with internal competitive research, we found that these three areas were frequently criticized by users:

• Complexity and Usability: Gainsight’s steep learning curve and the need for a dedicated and knowledgeable administrator could be daunting for smaller teams or businesses without the resources for such a role.
• Performance and Efficiency: Slow load times and inefficiency in handling large data sets could prompt users to seek faster and more lightweight solutions.
• Cost and Pricing Transparency: The high starting price, including the necessity for additional investment to unlock more features, might be a barrier for cost-sensitive organizations.

Pair the steep cost of Gainsight with a lengthy implementation time (up to three or more months), and you may find yourself questioning if your investment was worth it.

For small to mid-sized Customer Success teams, you need a CSP that doesn’t restrict your team’s ability to get the most value out of it — which is why you may want to consider one of these Gainsight alternatives.

1. Vitally

Vitally is a CSP used by businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises often in the B2B SaaS space. It’s a cloud-based, single interface platform for CSMs to manage all of their customer data, track customer progress, and automate tasks.

When analyzing and comparing real user reviews of Vitally, we determined these main reasons why customers may consider it as a top alternative to Gainsight.

1. Ease of Use: Vitally users highlight the ease with which they can create views with different traits and filters, offering a more intuitive user interface that would appeal to those who find Gainsight complex or clunky.
2. Automated Processes: Vitally has an extensive library of automation playbooks, offering a more user-friendly approach to automation compared to Gainsight, which could require a more manual effort.
3. Responsive Customer Support: The dedicated account managers at Vitally are noted for being instrumental in smooth onboarding and readily available for assistance. This could be a significant advantage for those who feel Gainsight’s support is lacking or too slow.
4. Organizational Tools: Users appreciate Vitally’s capabilities in organizing and reporting data, which could be seen as a more straightforward alternative to Gainsight’s extensive and sometimes overwhelming feature set.
5. Focused Functionality: Vitally provides key functionalities needed by CS teams without the pricing and plan complexity that comes with Gainsight. When you purchase Vitally, you get access to all features regardless of your plan.
6. Onboarding and Tracking: Vitally is praised for its ability to manage customer onboarding, health scores, and documentation. It has strong core functionalities that Gainsight users may desire.
7. Adoption and Improvement: Vitally is recognized for its ongoing development and for taking on the burden of automation from Customer Success teams, which is beneficial for high-growth companies.

Try the interactive product tours at Vitally Academy for a hands-on look at some of these features.

The Verdict on Vitally vs. Gainsight

Vitally is a strong alternative for Customer Success teams who are currently using or considering Gainsight, but are seeking a CSP that is simple to use, has intuitive automation features, and provides the essential functionalities without the need for extensive customization or a steep learning curve. The last thing growing businesses need is high maintenance, high cost software eating their time and budget.

When you need a CSP that empowers your team to be productive and do their best work with their accounts, you can’t go wrong with Vitally.

2. Planhat

Planhat is a CSP that helps businesses structure, manage, and interact with their customer data. It provides a unified view of all customer data from various sources, including CRM systems, support tickets, and marketing automation platforms.

When analyzing and comparing user reviews of Planhat, we determined these main reasons why customers may consider it in their search for a CSP.

1. Multi-Product Hierarchy and Asset Support: Planhat supports multi-product hierarchies with up to four levels (company, end-user, asset, and project), which is ideal for businesses with complex product offerings.
2. Project and Task Management: Planhat offers a Kanban board view (called Board View) that may provide better visualization over pipelines and task management than Gainsight.
3. Dedicated CSMs On All Plans: Planhat provides a dedicated account manager on all plans, which is a valuable resource for businesses that need help getting started or using Planhat to its full potential. You may get this level of support and attention using Gainsight.
4. Robust Automations: Planhat offers a wide range of automation features, including cross-object filtering, triggers, and custom equations.

The Verdict on Planhat vs. Gainsight

Planhat has a number of strengths, including unlimited users across all plans, a dedicated CSM on all plans, and robust note-taking capabilities with templatizing. 

However, Planhat also has some weaknesses, such as:

• No Revenue Integrations: Planhat doesn’t have any revenue integrations, which can be a major limitation (and perhaps a dealbreaker) for businesses that need to track revenue data in Planhat.
• Customer Portal Limitations: Planhat’s customer portal is only available on higher tier plans and has some limitations, such as the inability to tag other users or leave comments.
• Note-Taking Limitations: Planhat’s note-taking capabilities are not as robust as some other CSPs in this roundup.

For organizations evaluating a switch from Gainsight, Planhat could be a viable alternative if user-friendliness and responsive support are of utmost priority, but keep in mind the weaknesses we laid out.

3. Catalyst

Catalyst is a well-rounded CSP noted for its affordability (similar to Vitally’s pricing structure) and ease of use. Though it may not have the most extensive list of integrations, its customers overall seem to enjoy the product experience.

When analyzing and comparing user reviews of Catalyst, we determined these main reasons why customers may find it as a suitable alternative to Gainsight.

1. One-Stop Solution: Catalyst is described as a one-stop shop for Customer Success management, similar to the centralized information management that users appreciate in Gainsight.
2. Efficiency in Operations: Some customers have described Catalyst as a time-saver and an efficiency booster, helping them quickly identify where customers are in their journey.
3. User Interface and Experience: Catalyst is praised for its intuitive interface and ease of navigation, which is a significant advantage for users who find Gainsight’s interface complex.
4. Strong Set of Playbooks: Catalyst’s playbooks are a powerful tool for automating Customer Success workflows.

The Verdict on Catalyst vs. Gainsight

Catalyst offers a simplistic product interface, strong customization capabilities, and attentive customer support, which can appeal to users dissatisfied with Gainsight’s overcomplexity or support.

However, potential Catalyst users should consider some of its limitations, which include:

• Pop-Ups and Navigation Issues: Some users find the number of pop-ups and the necessity to click through many tabs inconvenient, which may also be a concern for Gainsight users looking for streamlined workflows.
• System Limitations: Users have noted system limitations and performance issues with Catalyst, which are concerns also echoed by some Gainsight users.
• Custom Object Limitations: Catalyst has a custom object limitation of five, which could be problematic for users needing extensive customization, and make it difficult to get a complete view of customer data.

Additionally, some customers have expressed dissatisfaction with the weak SFDC integration and a poor non-admin user experience. Despite this, Catalyst may be a compelling alternative to Gainsight for small to mid-sized CS teams.

4. ChurnZero

ChurnZero is an attractive CSP for businesses that are serious about reducing churn and improving Customer Success. It also boasts an extensive list of integrations and customization options.

When analyzing and comparing user reviews of ChurnZero, we determined these main reasons why customers may find it as a strong alternative to Gainsight.

1. Customization and Personalization: ChurnZero offers a high degree of customization and personalization, including churn scores that can be adjusted to suit different business needs. This could be attractive for Gainsight users seeking to fine-tune their Customer Success metrics.
2. Vast Integrations: ChurnZero boasts a plethora of integrations, allowing users to consolidate customer data from various systems into one platform – a key need for users who appreciate Gainsight’s integration capabilities.
3. Automation Models: ChurnZero provides automated touch models to manage low-revenue, low-touch customers, similar to Gainsight’s automation features but with an emphasis on simplicity and ease of use.
4. Powerful Reporting: ChurnZero provides a variety of powerful reports and dashboards that can help Customer Success teams track key metrics and identify areas for improvement.

The Verdict on ChurnZero vs. Gainsight

ChurnZero is an adept CSP that can help businesses reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value (LTV).

However, ChurnZero can also be expensive and time-consuming to implement, and some users have found the user interface to be difficult to use — a similar criticism of Gainsight. This is worth considering if you’re weighing either of these CSP options, especially if you’re a small business where budget constraints and time-to-value (TTV) are of utmost importance.

5. Totango

Totango is a CSP used to increase retention, identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and improve customer engagement. Although it may not have the strongest automations and integrations, users appreciate its UI and have noted it’s easier to use compared to Gainsight.

When analyzing and comparing user reviews of Totango, we determined these main reasons why customers may find it as a compelling alternative to Gainsight.

1. Out-Of-The-Box Structured Components: Totango comes with a wide range of pre-built components, such as dashboards, reports, and workflows. This can save users time and effort when initially setting up Totango.
2. Pre-Built CS Templates: Totango also comes with a wide range of pre-built templates, such as email campaigns and automation workflows. This can also save you a lot of time and effort when managing your Customer Success processes.
3. Customization: Totango offers a flexible and customizable platform, which can be valuable for users seeking to tailor their workflows, similar to Gainsight’s customizable solutions.

The Verdict On Totango vs. Gainsight

While Totango offers a range of user-friendly features, automation capabilities, and cost-effective pricing that could serve as a decent alternative to Gainsight, potential adopters should also consider some of its limitations, which include: 

• Integration Challenges: Totango has its own set of integration challenges, especially with other CRMs and the lack of direct integration with Salesforce. This is noted across several recent customer reviews. A lack of reliability in your CRM integration can lead to data syncing issues.
• Real-time Notifications: Users are missing out on real-time notifications and the nuanced control over data attributes that Gainsight may offer more robustly.
• Complexity and Overwhelm: Just as some users find Gainsight complex, Totango can also become overwhelming with its numerous SuccessBlocs and options for segmentation. This clunky user experience can be a turn off for CS teams that prioritize simplicity.

Choosing an Alternative That’s Best For You

While Gainsight brings a lot to the table in terms of features and customization, it can be a daunting product for small to mid-sized CS teams, or high-growth CS teams looking for an easy to use solution that helps them scale. This is where a Customer Success Platform like Vitally shines.

Not only do you get access to a suite of automations, playbooks, and templates for setting up your CS processes quickly, but you get our fantastic Customer Success and Support teams to help you along the way.

‍If you’re looking for a cost-effective CSP that grows as you grow, book a personalized demo with a Vitally expert today!