Waybook vs Whale
We give Waybook and Whale the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. Waybook grades higher on value for money. Whale grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Waybook
SOP, onboarding and training playbook for growing teams
Whale
SOP documentation and employee training platform with AI
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAWaybookVery good | 3.2GPAWhaleVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCore is $99 a month for 20 members billed annually, with extra members $5 each. Fill the seats and that's fair, with unlimited documents and the AI writer included. But Pro costs twice as much, $198, and that's where approvals, the audit log and SSO sit. | CScale is $249 a month billed yearly, or $399 monthly, and that includes just 3 creators, with extras from $29 each. That's well above where the SOP tools it competes with start. Enforced SSO and the video editor need Advance at $499. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, only a 7-day free trial. That's short for a tool you have to fill with your own SOPs before you can judge it. The pricing page doesn't say whether the trial asks for a card. | BFree forever for up to 10 members, with the step recorder, screen recorder, video-to-SOP converter and checklists. But it's 1 creator and 20 Playbook items across the whole workspace, with no PDF or Word export and no version history. |
| Features | AUnlimited subjects, documents and steps, learning paths with tests and due dates, and reports on who has completed what. Waybook Ask answers questions from your own published docs, and a Chrome extension turns clicks into SOP steps. Approvals and the audit log wait on Pro. | AAI drafts and polishes SOPs and gives each one a health score, a recorder turns a process on screen into a step-by-step guide, and videos get transcribed into written SOPs. Training flows, AI quizzes and read assignments with due dates roll it all out. Alice answers questions from your own content. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. You add video, checklists and tables to a step with a slash command, and there's a template library for SOPs, policies and training to start from. | BNo rating on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. You can import the PDF and Word documents you already have and turn them into editable SOPs, and staff can open one from a link or a QR code. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension. It connects to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, BambooHR, Loom and Google Docs, and Pro adds Waybook MCP for AI assistants. | AWeb, iPhone, Android and a browser extension. It connects to Slack, Zapier, Google Drive, OneDrive, HubSpot, Salesforce and BambooHR, and Scale adds Whale MCP access. API access is Enterprise only. |
| Best for | SOPs and onboarding for teams of 20 or more | SOPs and staff training with an AI helper |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Waybook and Whale. How we grade
Where they differ
- Waybook starts at $99 per month for 20 members, billed annually ($119 billed monthly). Whale starts at $249 per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly).
- Whale has a free plan. Waybook does not, though it has a free trial.
- Waybook also covers screenshots and diagrams.
- Whale also covers screen recording.
At a glance
| Waybook | Whale | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per month for 20 members, billed annually ($119 billed monthly) | $249 per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free Forever: up to 10 members, 1 creator and 20 Playbook items across the workspace, with 20 AI credits a month. No PDF or Word export, version history or insights. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Waybook Limited | Whale BV |
| Price read from | waybook.com | usewhale.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Waybook
- Companies of 20 or more documenting SOPs and onboarding new hires in one place
- Teams that need a record of who has read and acknowledged a policy
- Compliance training with deadlines, tests and completion reports
Whale
- Companies documenting SOPs and training staff on them in one tool
- Frontline and warehouse teams opening instructions by QR code or phone
- Organizations with many readers and only a few content creators
- Nonprofits, which get a 20% discount
Worth knowing
Waybook
- There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial, and every plan is priced for a minimum of 20 members.
- Approvals, the audit log, SSO and directory sync, enforced 2FA and custom domains need Pro, which costs twice as much as Core.
- Core limits the glossary to 5 terms, and self-serve pricing stops at 500 seats; larger teams are sent to sales.
- The pricing page says SSO and directory sync carry minimum seat requirements that depend on the identity provider.
Whale
- The Free plan is capped at 10 members, 1 creator and 20 Playbook items, and has no PDF or Word export, version history or insights.
- Paid plans start at $249 a month billed yearly with 3 creators; extra creators on Scale cost $29 each a month, or $39 on monthly billing.
- Enforced SSO and the video editor need Advance, and API access, SCIM provisioning and approval flows are Enterprise only.
- Vendor pages disagree on members: the plan cards say limited on Scale and Advance, while the machine-readable pricing file says unlimited.
Key features
Waybook
- Subjects, documents and steps
- Every plan allows unlimited subjects, documents and steps. A step can hold video, images, checklists, tables, callouts, code, maps, PDFs and web embeds, added with a slash command.
- Learning paths, tests and tracking
- Learning paths put documents and tasks in a guided order for a role, with tests, fixed due dates and reports on who has completed what. Recurring due dates need Pro.
- Search and Waybook Ask
- Search covers every title and step, and Waybook Ask answers questions in plain English from the workspace's own published documents, respecting each member's permissions.
- AI writer, templates and flow charts
- The AI content writer is unlimited on every plan, alongside a template library for SOPs, policies and training and interactive flow charts with decision points.
- Waybook Shots
- A Chrome extension that captures a workflow on screen and turns each click into a step of an SOP, which can be shared by link, embedded in Waybook or exported as PDF.
- Approvals and audit trail
- Pro adds approval stages that block publishing until signed off, document verification with review dates, confirmation steps, full version history and an audit log.
Whale
- AI SOP writer and importers
- AI drafts new procedures, polishes wording and gives each SOP a health score, and existing PDF and Word documents can be imported and turned into editable SOPs.
- Step and screen recorders
- The Step Recorder captures a process on screen as a visual step-by-step guide, and recorded or uploaded videos are transcribed by AI into written SOPs.
- Ask Alice
- Members put questions to Alice, an AI assistant trained on the workspace's own content, to find an SOP or learn how to do something. Asking Alice does not use AI credits.
- Training flows and quizzes
- Training flows assign content by team and role, and AI generates quiz questions from Whale content. Scale includes 5 flows and 15 quizzes; Advance removes the limits.
- Sharing where work happens
- SOPs are shared by link, QR code or read assignment with a due date, opened in the iOS and Android apps, and consulted from the CoPilot browser extension.
- Insights and access control
- Paid plans add knowledge-use and team performance insights, user groups, user roles and version history. Approval flows are limited to Enterprise.
Plans
Waybook
Core$99
per month for 20 members, billed annually ($119 billed monthly)
Extra members $5 each a month ($6 on monthly billing). Unlimited documents, AI writer, tests, learning paths, mobile app and a glossary of up to 5 terms.
Pro$198
per month for 20 members, billed annually ($238 billed monthly)
Extra members $10 each a month ($12 on monthly billing). Adds approvals, document verification, audit log, SSO, custom domain and Waybook MCP.
EnterpriseCustom
Priced on request. Adds dedicated support, setup consultation, custom reporting, bespoke integrations, a custom email sender and IP whitelisting.
Whale
Free$0
Up to 10 members, 1 creator and 20 Playbook items, with the step recorder, screen recorder, video-to-SOP converter and checklists.
Scale$249
per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly)
3 creators included, with extra creators from $29 each a month, unlimited documentation, 5 training flows, AI quizzes and Whale MCP access.
Advance$499
per month, billed yearly ($799 billed monthly)
5 creators included, with extra creators from $39 each a month, adding the video editor, AI voiceovers, enforced SSO and granular permissions.
EnterpriseCustom
Priced on request with yearly billing only. Adds approval flows, automatic redaction, SCIM user provisioning, HRIS integrations and API access.
Ways to pay less
Waybook
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
The pricing page marks annual billing as saving 17%: Core is $99 a month instead of $119, and Pro $198 instead of $238, each for 20 members.
Whale
- Annual discount
Save about 37% with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as saving 37%: Scale is $249 a month instead of $399 billed monthly, and Advance $499 instead of $799.
- Nonprofit
20% off for nonprofits
Whale's pricing FAQ says nonprofits get a 20% discount on all of its subscriptions.
