The Best Step-By-Step Guide Creation Apps for 2024. The most ultimate list

Explore the best step-by-step guide creation tools for 2024. Learn about their benefits for educators, businesses, and content creators. Understand key features to look for, including ease of use, customization, collaboration, interactivity, and sharing options. Enhance your instructional content efficiently.

Updated: June 8, 2024

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Creating step-by-step guides has become an essential part of sharing knowledge and instructions in today's digital age. Whether you're a teacher, a business owner, or a hobbyist, having the right tools can make the process of creating clear and effective guides much easier.

In this article, we'll explore the best step-by-step guide creation tools for 2024, designed to help you streamline your instructional content and reach your audience more effectively. Let's dive into the key aspects of these tools, starting with understanding what they are and who can benefit from them. As a bonus, at the end of the article you can find the most complete list of all tools and applications for creating step-by-step guides and tutorials as of 2024

What is a Step-By-Step Guide Creation App?

A step-by-step guide creation app is a specialized software designed to help users create detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for various tasks and processes. These apps offer a range of features, such as templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, multimedia integration, and interactive elements, making it simple to design guides that are both informative and engaging.

The primary goal of these apps is to break down complex procedures into manageable steps, enhancing comprehension and usability for the end-users.

Who Can Benefit from Such Apps?

Step-by-step guide creation apps are versatile tools that can benefit a wide range of individuals and organizations:

  • Educators: Teachers and trainers can use these apps to create lesson plans, tutorials, and instructional materials that are clear and accessible for students.
  • Businesses: Companies can develop training manuals, onboarding documents, and customer support guides to improve employee training and customer service.
  • Content Creators: Bloggers, YouTubers, and online course creators can produce high-quality guides and tutorials to enhance their content offerings.
  • IT Support: IT professionals can create troubleshooting guides and technical documentation to assist users in resolving issues efficiently.
  • Customer Success: Customer success teams can develop comprehensive guides to help customers get the most out of products and services.
  • Onboarding and Employee Training: HR and training departments can design structured onboarding programs and continuous training materials for new and existing employees.
  • Business and Technical Documentation: Organizations can create detailed business process documentation and technical manuals to ensure consistency and clarity in operations and development.

What to Look for When Choosing a Step-By-Step Guide App?

Selecting the right step-by-step guide creation app depends on several key factors:

Ease of Use

Look for an app with an intuitive interface that allows you to create guides without a steep learning curve.

Customization Options

Ensure the app offers sufficient customization features, such as templates, fonts, colors, and multimedia integration, to tailor the guides to your specific needs.

Export and Sharing Options

Check if the app supports various export formats (PDF, HTML, etc.) and easy sharing options to distribute your guides effectively.

Integrations

Look for apps that integrate with other tools and platforms you use, such as CRM systems, project management tools, or content management systems, to streamline your workflow.

Price

Evaluate the cost of the app in relation to its features and your budget. Some apps offer free versions with limited features, while others require a subscription or one-time purchase.

Flexibility

Ensure the app allows for extensive customization in terms of branding, export customization, colors, templates, and formats to fit your specific needs and preferences.

Best step-by-step guide and tutorials creation tools

This ultimate list includes all applications for creating guides and step-by-step tutorials available on the market as of 2024. Applications for individuals, small and medium businesses, and even enterprise. Each of the tools has description, core features, pricing options, pros and cons. Let's start!

List of applications

#1 Folge

Folge app

Folge is a simple, free, and powerful desktop tool that teams can use to create, manage, and share processes and knowledge. If you are looking for a documentation tool that enables you to quickly generate step-by-step instructions and present these in a range of formats, you should take Folge for a spin. Unlike some tools, it offers a robust editor and extensive export options, ensuring high-quality documentation for various needs.

Folge is the only privacy-first application that stores all your data offline on your machine. It features auto annotations that recognize elements you click on in your tutorials and automatically fill in step titles. Along with seven export formats, Folge also supports online exports, allowing you to share guides and tutorials as web pages, widgets, and even with native Confluence integration.

While writing this article, I discovered that among all the applications available now, only Folge and Flowshare offer local data storage and value your privacy. Other applications only allow you to host data on their servers.

Key Features:

  • Comprehensive Screen Capture: Capture entire screens, specific windows, or selected areas with precision.
  • Advanced Editing Tools: Utilize a variety of annotation tools, such as arrows, text, and shapes, to enhance clarity.
  • Flexible Export Options: Export guides in multiple formats, including PDF, HTML, Word, PPT, Markdown, JSON, Online guides, Confluence, Widgets.
  • Offline Functionality: Operate completely offline with local storage, ensuring data security and accessibility.
  • Absolute cross-platform and cross-application support: Folge works on Windows and Mac with any applications or website. Folge doesn't need any browser extensions to work with websites. Install Folge once and work with anything.

Use Cases:

From internal IT support and team onboarding to customer success and business documentation, Folge is used by over 1,000 users for a range of different use cases.

Pricing:

Folge offers a free version with core features, alongside a one-time purchase option for lifetime access to advanced features and future updates. This pricing structure provides a cost-effective solution for both individual and business users. Folge is the only solution on a market that offers application for creating step-by-step guides for one-time price without any hidden costs. You can start using Folge for free right now

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Extensive customization and editing tools
  • Multiple export formats, both offline and online
  • Fully offline functionality with full security and privacy
  • Works with any browser, website, or desktop application
  • Automated annotations with local AI processing for privacy
  • Any export format can be highly customizable, with branding, colors, and other options

Cons

  • Doesn't support recording video at the moment
  • Not possible to add audio instructions
  • No Linux version

Folge Reviews:

“We are leveraging Folge to help simplify the creation of training documentation for both our clients as well as for our internal team. It's fantastic!” (Read Full Review)

“Folge works as a tool should. It gets out of the way and allows me to succeed in what I'm trying to accomplish. The beauty in Folge is that it works behind the scenes. You turn it on and then just work. It will be there documenting along the way.” (Read The Full Review)

“The ability to take screenshots, number them, and mark them up from either within the app, or import is great. As an IT Manager, being able to produce these quickly and effortlessly is essential, and Folge comes through with flying colours.” (Read The Full Review)

“I spent less than 30 minutes on the trial before deciding to purchase Folge. Coming from a previous software application that has been discontinued, and most competitors being either limited or very expensive, Folge was the natural choice for me.” (Read The Full Review)

Read all 77+ reviews of Folge

#2 Scribe

Scribehow app

Scribe is a tool designed to quickly create step-by-step guides by capturing your screen activities. It focuses on automated guide generation, customizable annotations, and versatile sharing options. However, its features and functionality may not be as extensive compared to more robust alternatives.

In my opinion, Scribe is one of the most solid solutions on the market, and it is not overloaded with unnecessary features. However, it can become costly for a team of two or more people, and I recommend looking at cheaper alternatives such as Folge.

Key Features:

  • Auto-Capture Processes: Quickly create guides by capturing any web, desktop, or mobile process.
  • AI-Driven Customization: Use Online AI to generate titles and descriptions; includes basic customization with company branding.
  • Sensitive Information Redaction: Manually or automatically redact sensitive data.
  • Versatile Sharing: Share guides via links, email, embedding, or export to formats like PDF and HTML.

Pricing:

Scribe offers a free plan with basic features, a Pro Personal plan at $29 per user per month, and a Pro Team plan at $15 per user per month (minimum 5 users). Custom pricing is available for enterprise plans, which include advanced security and team management features.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Quick and easy guide creation
  • AI-driven automation for efficiency
  • Flexible sharing and export options
  • Effective privacy controls for sensitive data

Cons

  • Limited customization and advanced features in the free version
  • Dependence on browser extensions for full functionality
  • Higher pricing compared to some alternatives
  • Works with desktop applications only in paid plans

#3 Tango

Tango app

Tango is a web-based application designed for creating detailed step-by-step guides through screen capture. It enables users to document workflows easily and offers annotation and sharing tools. Although Tango provides essential features for guide creation, it lacks the depth and offline capabilities of some other tools.

I find that Tango differs from all other alternatives by having an interactive walkthrough that can be used if you have an extension installed. However, some users find it buggy and unreliable. In my opinion, having screenshots and a manual is more than enough to navigate even the most complicated workflows

Key Features:

  • Workflow Capture: Document processes directly from your browser with ease.
  • Annotation Tools: Enhance screenshots with text, arrows, and highlights.
  • Sharing Options: Share guides via URL, email, embedding, or export as PDF.
  • Security Features: Automatically redact sensitive information to protect privacy.
  • Online guidance
  • Analytics

Pricing:

Tango offers a free plan with up to 25 captures per month. The Pro plan, at $20 per user per month (billed annually), includes unlimited captures, advanced editing features, and priority support. Enterprise pricing is available on request, offering enhanced security and administrative features.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • User-friendly for capturing workflows
  • Robust annotation tools
  • Multiple sharing and export options
  • Effective privacy controls for sensitive data

Cons

  • No desktop application, limiting offline use
  • Higher pricing for premium plans
  • Limited advanced features in the free version

#4 Dubble

Dubble app

Dubble is an online platform focused on streamlining the creation of step-by-step guides through browser-based screen captures. It offers powerful features for editing and annotating screenshots, making it a useful tool for documentation and tutorials. Dubble stands out with its ability to create guides directly in the browser, ensuring easy accessibility and use.

In my opinion Dubble is a great tool, but its video-first approach doesn't let users to fully benefit from screenshots and annotations.

Key Features:

  • Browser-Based Workflow Capture: Easily create guides by capturing screen activities within your browser.
  • Advanced Annotation Tools: Edit and enhance screenshots with text, arrows, and highlights.
  • Flexible Sharing Options: Share guides via links, email, embedding, or export them as PDF.
  • Privacy and Security: Blur sensitive information and store guides securely in the cloud.

Pricing:

Dubble offers a free plan with unlimited guides and basic features. The Pro plan is priced at $8 per user per month, billed annually, and includes advanced functionalities such as video and audio recordings, collaboration tools, and watermark removal. Custom pricing is available for Enterprise plans, which provide enhanced integrations and administrative controls.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • User-friendly for capturing workflows in the browser
  • Robust annotation and editing tools
  • Multiple sharing and export options
  • Effective privacy and security features
  • Video guides available

Cons

  • No desktop application, limiting offline capabilities
  • Higher pricing for premium features
  • Advanced functionalities only available in the Pro and Enterprise plans

#5 Iorad

Iorad app

Iorad specializes in empowering users to quickly create interactive tutorials without any prior technical expertise. Its browser-based interface is geared towards capturing and detailing complex processes in a simple, visual format that's accessible globally. However, the lack of a dedicated desktop application may hinder users who require offline capabilities.

I find that Iorad is an excellent tool for individual users, but when you want just some extra features or customization, the price becomes unbelievably high even for medium-sized businesses.

Key Features:

  • Instant Capture: Automatically captures actions as you work, simplifying the tutorial creation process.
  • Interactive Editing: Easily edit captured steps to refine instructions and enhance clarity.
  • Integration Options: Seamlessly integrates with popular platforms like Zendesk and Salesforce for direct tutorial publication.
  • Text-to-Speech Conversion: Converts written instructions into spoken word to accommodate different learning styles.

Pricing:

  • Starter Plan: Priced at $200 per month, suitable for small teams needing basic tutorial capabilities.
  • Pro Plan: At $500 per month, it adds premium features like analytics and full branding customization.
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for comprehensive needs including multiple team management and advanced support.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Intuitive capture and edit functionalities
  • Supports a variety of integrations
  • Offers text-to-speech to enhance guide accessibility
  • Flexible pricing tiers tailored to different organization sizes

Cons

  • No offline access due to web-only platform
  • More advanced features are expensive
  • Reliance on internet connectivity could limit accessibility in remote areas

#6 Guidde

Guidde app

Guidde is a digital adoption platform designed to help users create interactive guides and tutorials to onboard customers, employees, or students. With Guidde, users can create step-by-step guides that simulate real-life experiences, making it easier for users to learn and adopt new software, systems, or processes. The platform aims to reduce friction and increase user engagement, ultimately driving business results. In my opinion Guidde relies too much on AI magic and videos

Key Features:

  • Interactive Guides: Create step-by-step guides that simulate real-life experiences
  • AI-Powered Annotation: Automate guide creation with AI-powered annotation
  • Personalization: Create personalized guides for each user
  • Real-Time Analytics: Track user progress and behavior in real-time
  • Custom Branding: Customize guides with your brand's logo, colors, and fonts

Pricing:

The Starter plan starts at 9 per user/month (billed annually), while the Growth plan starts at 19 per user/month (billed annually). The Enterprise plan is custom-priced for large teams and organizations. While Guidde's pricing may seem steep for small teams or individuals, its features and benefits may justify the cost for larger organizations.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Interactive guides increase user engagement, AI-powered annotation saves time, and real-time analytics provide valuable insights.
  • Custom branding and personalization options enhance the user experience.
  • The platform is scalable and suitable for large teams and organizations.

Cons

  • The pricing plans may be too expensive for small teams or individuals.
  • The platform's features may be overwhelming for some users.
  • Guidde's AI-powered annotation feature may not always be accurate.

#7 Flowshare

Flowshare app

Flowshare is a workflow management tool designed to help teams streamline their workflow, automate repetitive tasks, and increase productivity. According to their website, Flowshare aims to simplify workflow management by providing a customizable and scalable solution for teams of all sizes. With Flowshare, teams can create custom workflows, automate tasks, and track progress in real-time.

I find Flowshare to be one of the most interesting privacy-first tools on this list. However, unlike Folge, Flowshare is only available for Windows. Folge supports both platforms, and you can use Folge on Windows and Mac with just one business license.

Key Features:

  • Unlimited Capture: Record any web or desktop application workflow without restrictions.
  • Advanced Editing: Edit screenshots and descriptions, including bulk blurring and cropping.
  • Custom Branding: Add your logo and customize fonts and colors for branded guides.
  • Various Export Formats: Export guides in multiple formats like PDF, Word, HTML, and more.
  • Integration Options: Seamlessly integrate with platforms like WordPress and LMS systems.

Pricing:

FlowShare offers a free plan with basic features for up to 15 steps per guide. The Professional plan costs $40 per user per month, providing advanced features such as custom branding and multiple export options. For larger organizations, the Enterprise plan includes additional support and custom integrations, with pricing available upon request.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Unlimited guide creation for up to 15 steps per guide in free version
  • Extensive editing and customization options
  • Supports multiple export formats
  • Integration with various platforms
  • Not a browser extesion, but a real Windows app

Cons

  • Only available on Windows, no support for Mac or Linux
  • Higher cost for premium features compared to some alternatives
  • Free version is quite limited in functionality
  • Advanced features locked behind higher-tier plans

#8 MagicHow

Magichow app

MagicHow is a versatile application designed for creating interactive, step-by-step guides and tutorials. It offers both web and desktop versions ( desktop only in paid plans ), providing flexibility for users who prefer working online or offline. MagicHow aims to streamline the documentation process with its intuitive interface and advanced customization options, making it an ideal tool for various instructional needs.

Key Features:

  • Interactive Guide Creation: Easily document workflows with interactive steps.
  • Real-Time Collaboration: Collaborate with team members on guide creation.
  • Customizable Templates: Use and modify templates for consistent documentation.
  • Multimedia Integration: Embed videos and images to enrich guides.
  • Desktop and Web Versions: Flexibility to work offline with a desktop app or online via the web app.

Pricing:

  • Free Plan: Includes basic features with limited functionalities.
  • Advanced Plan: $5 per user per month, includes advanced editing tools, increased storage, and priority support.
  • Business Plan: $13 per month and unlocks desktop capturing.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Intuitive interface for creating interactive guides
  • Supports both web and desktop versions ( only in Business Plan) for flexible use
  • Real-time collaboration features
  • Customizable templates for consistent documentation
  • Multimedia integration capabilities

Cons

  • Higher cost for premium features compared to some alternatives
  • Free version has restricted functionality
  • Advanced features are only available in higher-priced plans
  • Desktop version only available for specific operating systems

#9 Guidejar

guidejar app

Guidejar is an advanced tool designed for creating interactive product demos and step-by-step guides. It simplifies the process with AI-powered features, allowing users to quickly capture workflows and customize them with annotations, multimedia, and branding. Guidejar offers both browser-based and desktop applications, ensuring flexibility and convenience for different user preferences.

Key Features:

  • Interactive Guide Creation: Easily create detailed, interactive step-by-step guides.
  • Real-Time Collaboration: Work with team members simultaneously on guide creation.
  • Custom Branding: Add logos and customize colors to align with your brand.
  • Multimedia Integration: Embed videos, forms, and images to enhance guides.
  • AI-Powered Enhancements: Utilize AI for paraphrasing, translating, and voiceovers.
  • Help center generation

Pricing:

  • Free Plan: $0 per user per month, includes 5 guides and basic features.
  • Premium Plan: $10 per user per month (billed yearly), includes unlimited guides, advanced editing, and AI features.
  • Premium+ Plan: $16 per user per month (billed yearly), adds desktop capture and video export.

Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Supports both browser and desktop applications
  • Advanced AI-powered features for enhanced guides
  • Customizable branding and multimedia integration
  • Real-time collaboration capabilities

Cons

  • Free version has limited functionality
  • Premium features can be expensive
  • Advanced options only available in higher-tier plans
  • Desktop app limited to Mac and OSX only, and is available in the most expensive plan

Most complete list

Here is the most complete list of applications for creating step-by-step guides and tutorials I have found. Some are big, some small, and abandoned, but they all try to achieve one thing—allow you to create step-by-step guides and tutorials by clicking through your workflows.

Want your app in this list? Email me!

List of all applications
Tool nameURL
Folgehttps://folge.me
Scribehttps://scribehow.com
Tangohttps://tango.us
Dubblehttps://dubble.so
Instructiohttps://instructio.app/
Ioradhttps://www.iorad.com/
Guiddehttps://www.guidde.com/
FlowSharehttps://getflowshare.com/
MagicHowhttps://www.magichow.co/
GuideJarhttps://www.guidejar.com/
Gydehttps://gyde.ai/
Archbeehttps://www.archbee.com/
Snackwyzehttps://snackwyze.com/
Uphinthttps://uphint.com/
Riviahttps://www.rivia.ai/
Flowsterhttps://flowster.app/
Stepsyhttps://stepsy.co/
Drivewayhttps://driveway.app/
Wizardshothttps://www.wizardshot.com/
Floikhttps://www.floik.com/
Minervahttps://www.minervaknows.com/
Supademohttps://trysupademo.com/
Foliohttps://www.folio.la/
Holoibhttps://holoib.com/
Glitterhttps://www.glitter.io/
Motionshothttps://www.motionshot.app/
Whalehttps://usewhale.io/
GlueTrailhttps://www.gluetrail.com/
Krotohttps://www.kroto.one/
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