Both Whatfix and ScreenSteps help employees follow processes and complete work accurately. But they go about it in very different ways.
Whatfix focuses on in-app guidance—helping people click through tasks in a single system.
ScreenSteps focuses on operational guidance—helping people follow complex business processes that often cross multiple systems.
Quick Summary
Whatfix is best when:
- You need to guide users through a single application (e.g., Salesforce)
- You're focused on digital adoption and feature discovery
- You have a team that can maintain walkthroughs and flows
ScreenSteps is best when:
- Processes cross multiple systems and require business context
- You want employees to be self-sufficient and follow procedures independently
- You need to make rapid updates without relying on IT or developers
- You want built-in tools like Clarify AI and ScreenSteps Sidekick for fast authoring and access
Whatfix was built to guide users through an application. When you launch a new tool or feature, Whatfix can pop up walkthroughs, tooltips, and highlights that show users where to click.
ScreenSteps was built to help people become more independent in their work. It helps employees find and follow digital guides that explain not only what to click, but also what to do when a process crosses into a different system, involves a judgment call, or requires checking a policy.
This is where the difference shows up fast.
When a process changes in Whatfix, you need someone on the enablement or IT team to update the flow, test it, and republish. Each change has to go through review and deployment. That might take days—or weeks if priorities shift.
When a process changes in ScreenSteps, the person who knows the process best can open the article, update the screenshot or step, and publish instantly.
One organization with a single author created 230 guides in just over a week. That kind of agility is impossible with Whatfix’s build-and-deploy model.
Whatfix lives inside one system. It’s great when your workflow is confined to a single tool like Salesforce or Workday. But most processes don’t stop there. They start in one application, move through two or three more, and rely on data from multiple systems.
ScreenSteps guides people through complete processes that span multiple applications, without requiring separate flows for each system. Agents can move from a CRM screen to a back-office app to an email without losing context.
Whatfix requires a trained author or developer to record steps, add conditions, and test variations. You can’t just hand it to a subject matter expert and expect them to run with it.
ScreenSteps was designed for subject matter experts. They can capture screenshots, write steps, and publish updates themselves. There’s no separate build environment, no coding, no waiting for a technical resource.
That’s how ScreenSteps keeps pace with change instead of falling behind it.
Whatfix does a good job of surfacing in-app help, but doesn’t manage organizational knowledge. If a policy changes or a process needs an explanation, there’s nowhere to give employees the broader context.
ScreenSteps combines digital guides, courses, and change notifications. When something changes, you update the article once, and employees automatically see the new version. You can track who’s viewed it and confirm that people have followed the new steps.
Standing up Whatfix requires developers or a small dedicated team to build and maintain flows. Every change request adds to their queue.
ScreenSteps runs on the time and knowledge you already have. The same team that owns the process can own the documentation. That means lower people costs, faster updates, and fewer bottlenecks.
Let’s say your credit union updates its ACH process.
In Whatfix, the operations team sends the new steps to the Whatfix authoring team. The author rebuilds the in-app flow, tests it in the sandbox, deploys it, and waits for QA sign-off. Two weeks later, employees see the updated walkthrough.
In ScreenSteps, the ACH expert edits the guide directly, replaces one screenshot, and republishes. The new version is live before lunch. The team gets notified automatically. By the afternoon, everyone is following the new process.
Schedule a demo with ScreenSteps to explore how teams clarify complexity and empower expert employees with trusted answers at their fingertips.