Quick summary
OnboardingHub and Arrows both help SaaS teams onboard customers. The core difference is platform dependency. Arrows is built specifically for HubSpot. OnboardingHub works with any tech stack.
OnboardingHub gives you a visual guide builder, a branded customer portal, progress analytics, and document collection. Pricing starts at $99/month on Starter and scales through published tiers, with a 14-day free trial. You don't need any specific CRM to use it.
Arrows creates onboarding plans, mutual action plans, and client portals that live natively inside HubSpot. Every task, status update, and milestone syncs directly with your HubSpot CRM records. It's a great product, but only if HubSpot is your system of record.
If you run HubSpot and want your onboarding data inside your CRM, Arrows deserves serious consideration. If you want flexibility, visual onboarding content, and no CRM lock-in, OnboardingHub is the better fit.
What is Arrows?
Arrows is a HubSpot-native onboarding and client management tool. It was built from the ground up to work inside the HubSpot ecosystem.
The product focuses on three main areas: onboarding plans, mutual action plans for sales, and client portals. For this comparison, we're focused on the onboarding plan feature, which is the most direct overlap with OnboardingHub.
What Arrows does well
HubSpot integration depth. This is Arrows' biggest strength, and it's genuine. Onboarding plans sync bidirectionally with HubSpot. When a customer completes a task in Arrows, the corresponding deal or contact record updates in HubSpot automatically. When your CS team updates something in HubSpot, Arrows reflects it. Your CRM is always current without anyone copying data between systems.
Onboarding plans tied to deals. Arrows lets you attach onboarding plans directly to HubSpot deals. When a deal closes, an onboarding plan can trigger automatically. This creates a smooth handoff from sales to customer success without manual intervention.
Task-based onboarding. Arrows organizes onboarding into phases and tasks. Each task can have an assignee (your team or the customer), a due date, and instructions. Customers see a clean checklist interface where they complete their assigned items.
Templates. You can save onboarding plans as templates and reuse them across customers. This helps teams maintain consistency, especially as they scale from handling a few onboardings per month to dozens.
Client-facing portal. Customers access a portal where they see their tasks, mark items complete, and track overall progress. The experience is clean and focused on what the customer needs to do next.
Where Arrows falls short
Requires HubSpot. This is the fundamental constraint. If you use Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, or any other CRM, Arrows isn't an option. If you're evaluating CRMs and might switch later, building your onboarding around a HubSpot-only tool creates a dependency that's hard to unwind.
No visual guide builder. Arrows uses a task-based approach. You create phases and tasks, not visual content flows. If your onboarding involves walkthrough content with images, embedded video, and detailed instructions, Arrows' task format is limiting. You can add descriptions to tasks, but you can't build a rich, visual onboarding experience.
Limited document collection. You can request information from customers through tasks, but there isn't a structured file upload flow built into the onboarding experience. Collecting documents typically happens through task descriptions asking customers to attach files.
No ongoing free plan. Arrows' paid plans are clearly published, and teams typically evaluate through their sign-up/demo flow.
What is OnboardingHub?
OnboardingHub is a platform-agnostic onboarding tool built for SaaS teams. It doesn't depend on any specific CRM or tech stack.
The product centers on a visual guide builder. You create onboarding flows with drag-and-drop content blocks, share them through a branded customer portal, and track progress with step-level analytics.
What OnboardingHub does well
Visual guide builder. Build onboarding experiences by dragging and dropping content blocks: text, images, video, iframes, and file uploads. Each step can be as simple or detailed as you need. The result is a polished, branded walkthrough, not a task checklist.
Platform independence. OnboardingHub works with any CRM, any tech stack, and any workflow. You're not locked into a single vendor's ecosystem. If you switch CRMs next year, your onboarding tool keeps working.
Customer-facing portal. Customers get a clean, branded portal where they work through onboarding at their own pace. They see their progress, know what's next, and can pick up where they left off. It feels like part of your product.
Document collection. File upload steps are built directly into your guides. When you need customers to submit documents, logos, or configuration files, they do it as a natural part of the onboarding flow. No separate forms or email threads.
Progress analytics. You see completion rates at the guide and step level. You know where customers get stuck, how long each step takes, and which onboarding flows perform best.
Transparent pricing tiers. Plans start at $99/month on Starter, with higher tiers as you scale. A 14-day free trial lets you start building and testing guides before you commit any budget.
Where OnboardingHub falls short
No native HubSpot integration (yet). HubSpot integration is on our roadmap, but it's not available today. If you need your onboarding data to sync directly into HubSpot deal records in real time, Arrows does this out of the box. OnboardingHub's API and webhooks can bridge the gap, but it requires setup.
No deal-triggered automation. OnboardingHub doesn't auto-create onboarding guides when a CRM deal closes. You manage the process through the OnboardingHub interface or API. This is less automated than Arrows' HubSpot-triggered onboarding plans.
Feature comparison in detail
Visual guide builder vs. task-based plans
This is the biggest philosophical difference between the two products.
OnboardingHub treats onboarding as a content experience. You build visual guides with rich content: step-by-step instructions with images, embedded walkthrough videos, detailed explanations, and interactive elements. Customers follow a guided path that looks and feels like a product tour.
Arrows treats onboarding as a project plan. You create phases with tasks, assign them to people, and track completion. The customer experience is closer to a shared checklist than a guided walkthrough.
Neither approach is wrong. They serve different onboarding styles. If your onboarding is mostly "follow these steps and complete these tasks," Arrows' model works. If your onboarding involves teaching, explaining, and guiding customers through a new product experience, OnboardingHub's visual approach fits better.
CRM integration
Arrows' HubSpot integration is its defining feature. Onboarding data flows into your CRM automatically. CS managers see onboarding status directly on deal and contact records. Reports in HubSpot reflect onboarding progress without any data syncing work.
OnboardingHub doesn't have native CRM integrations today. You can use the API and webhooks to push onboarding data into your CRM, but it requires development work or a tool like Zapier. HubSpot integration is planned. For now, this is a gap.
If CRM integration is your top priority and you're on HubSpot, Arrows has a clear advantage here.
Customer-facing experience
Both tools give customers a portal. The difference is what customers do there.
In OnboardingHub, customers follow a visual guide. They read instructions, watch videos, upload files, and mark steps complete. The experience is guided and self-serve. Most customers can complete onboarding without asking your team a single question.
In Arrows, customers see a task list organized by phases. They check off completed items and track progress against the overall plan. It's clear and functional, but it's a checklist, not a walkthrough.
If your customers need hand-holding and detailed instructions, OnboardingHub's content-rich approach helps them succeed independently. If your customers are sophisticated and just need to know what to do next, Arrows' task format is efficient.
Document collection
OnboardingHub handles document collection as a native part of the onboarding flow. You add a file upload step to your guide. Customers upload their documents right there, in context, as part of the onboarding process. You see what's been submitted and what's outstanding.
Arrows handles documents through task descriptions and attachments. You can create a task that says "Upload your logo" and the customer can attach a file. But it's not a structured upload flow. You're working within the constraints of a task management interface.
For teams that collect multiple documents during onboarding (contracts, brand assets, configuration files, compliance documents), OnboardingHub's structured approach is easier to manage.
Templates
Both products support templates, and both do it well.
OnboardingHub lets you save any guide as a template. When you onboard a new customer, start from a template and customize it for their specific needs. Templates include all content, steps, and structure.
Arrows lets you save onboarding plans as templates. When a new HubSpot deal triggers onboarding, Arrows can apply the right template automatically. If you're on HubSpot, this automation is a real time-saver.
Analytics and reporting
OnboardingHub gives you step-level analytics. You see which steps customers complete, where they drop off, and how long each step takes. This data helps you optimize your onboarding content over time.
Arrows gives you plan-level and task-level analytics. You see completion rates, overdue tasks, and time to complete. Because Arrows data lives in HubSpot, you can also build HubSpot reports that combine onboarding metrics with other customer data.
Both tools provide useful data. Arrows has an edge if you want onboarding metrics alongside CRM data in a single reporting tool. OnboardingHub has an edge if you want deep insight into the onboarding experience itself.
Pricing comparison
OnboardingHub pricing starts at $99/month on Starter, with Growth ($199/month), Pro ($399/month), and Enterprise tiers as needs grow. A 14-day free trial lets you get started with no credit card required. You can see how pricing compares across onboarding tools.
Arrows publishes tiered pricing and plan limits on its pricing page. Check their current pricing page for the latest details.
The pricing model difference matters depending on your volume. If you onboard a small number of high-value customers, both tools are affordable. If you onboard dozens or hundreds of customers per month, OnboardingHub's published pricing tiers becomes significantly more cost-effective.
Total cost of ownership
Price per month is only part of the equation. Consider setup time, maintenance, and ecosystem costs.
OnboardingHub has low setup costs. You can build your first guide in minutes. No CRM dependency means no integration maintenance.
Arrows' setup is fast too, assuming you're already on HubSpot. But you should factor in HubSpot's cost as well. If you don't already use HubSpot, adopting Arrows means adopting HubSpot too. That's a much larger decision and a much larger cost.
Who should choose Arrows
Arrows is the right choice in specific situations. Here's when it makes sense.
Your business runs on HubSpot. Not just uses HubSpot, but runs on it. Your sales team lives in HubSpot. Your CS team reports from HubSpot. Your leadership dashboards pull from HubSpot. If HubSpot is your single source of truth, Arrows keeps onboarding data where everything else lives.
You need CRM-triggered onboarding. You want an onboarding plan to start automatically when a deal closes in HubSpot. No manual steps. No copying customer details between systems. The handoff from sales to CS is fully automated.
Task-based onboarding fits your model. Your onboarding is a clear sequence of tasks: set up your account, configure your settings, invite your team, complete your first project. Customers don't need detailed visual guides. They need a checklist.
You value CRM reporting over onboarding analytics. You want to see onboarding metrics in HubSpot alongside deal value, customer segment, and lifecycle stage. Arrows' data integration makes this possible without extra work.
You're committed to HubSpot long-term. If you're planning to stay on HubSpot for years, the platform lock-in isn't a downside. It's a feature. Deep integration beats shallow compatibility when you're not going anywhere.
Who should choose OnboardingHub
OnboardingHub is the right choice when platform independence and visual onboarding matter more than CRM integration depth.
You don't use HubSpot. If you're on Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, or no CRM at all, Arrows isn't an option. OnboardingHub works with any stack.
You might switch CRMs someday. CRM migrations happen. If you build your onboarding around a CRM-locked tool, you'll have to rebuild it when you move. OnboardingHub stays with you regardless of your CRM choice.
You want visual onboarding content. You care about the customer experience. You want to create polished, branded onboarding flows with instructions, screenshots, video walkthroughs, and interactive elements. Not just a task list.
You need document collection. You collect files from customers during onboarding: contracts, logos, credentials, compliance forms. OnboardingHub handles this natively with structured file upload steps.
Published pricing fits your budget. You want transparent plans that start at $99/month and scale through clear tiers as needs grow. A 14-day free trial lets you prove the concept first.
You want to start fast. Build your first onboarding guide in minutes. Share it with customers today. No CRM setup required. No implementation project. No sales call.
Common questions
Can I move from Arrows to OnboardingHub?
Yes. Since the two tools use different approaches (task plans vs. visual guides), it's not a data migration. You'll recreate your onboarding content in OnboardingHub's guide builder. Most teams complete this in a few hours. The bigger decision is whether you need the HubSpot integration that Arrows provides. If you do, moving away from Arrows means building that integration yourself through OnboardingHub's API.
What about the planned HubSpot integration?
We're working on native HubSpot integration for OnboardingHub. We don't have a specific release date yet. In the meantime, our API and webhooks let you push onboarding data to HubSpot programmatically. It's not as smooth as Arrows' native integration, but it works.
Can I use Arrows without HubSpot?
No. Arrows requires a HubSpot account. It's not a standalone product. This is by design. Arrows builds on HubSpot's infrastructure for user management, deal tracking, and data storage.
Which tool has better customer support?
Both OnboardingHub and Arrows are known for responsive support. Your experience will depend on plan level and timing. We'd recommend reaching out to both teams during your evaluation to gauge responsiveness.
What if I'm on HubSpot but want visual guides?
This is the one scenario where neither tool is perfect on its own. You could use OnboardingHub for the customer-facing onboarding experience and manually keep HubSpot updated. Or you could use Arrows for CRM integration and supplement it with external content (Loom videos, help docs) for the guided experience. Neither is ideal. If this is your situation, evaluate both tools with a trial and see which trade-off feels more manageable.
The verdict
The choice between OnboardingHub and Arrows comes down to one question: how central is HubSpot to your business?
If HubSpot is your operating system and you want onboarding data living in your CRM automatically, Arrows is a strong choice. Its integration depth is real, and it saves CS teams hours of manual data entry every week.
If you want platform independence, visual onboarding content, structured document collection, and published pricing tiers, OnboardingHub is the better fit. It works with any tech stack and gives you more control over the onboarding experience your customers see.
Both products are well-built and well-supported. They just solve the problem differently. Try OnboardingHub's 14-day free trial to see if the visual guide approach works for your team. If HubSpot integration is the deciding factor, give Arrows a trial too.
For more context, check out the best Arrows alternatives or see how onboarding software pricing compares across the market.