Comparison · Prices checked November 5, 2026
iorad alternative: Guide Workspace vs iorad
By Jason Ramirez, Your Friendly Developer. Published November 5, 2026. Updated November 5, 2026.
The fast answer
Credit first: if your tutorials can be public, iorad's free plan is genuinely generous — unlimited tutorials and unlimited learners. The wall is privacy. The moment a tutorial must stay private, the cheapest door is Individual at $200 per month for a single creator. Guide Workspace takes the opposite trade: a simple written guide that is private by default because it never leaves your device, with redaction and exports free and no account. If you need interactive click-through tutorials, quizzes, or LMS integrations, iorad is built for that and Guide Workspace is not. One hard limit on our side: Guide Workspace is a beta for practice workflows, training material and SOP drafts — not live customer data.
What each tool is, and is not
Guide Workspace is a free Chrome extension that records your clicks on a supported web page and turns them into a step-by-step guide with screenshots you can edit, redact and export. Guides live in your browser profile. It is not a training platform: no interactive learner modes, no quizzes, no analytics, no cloud sync, and it only works on web pages in Chrome.
iorad is a commercial training platform. It captures browser and desktop workflows and publishes them as interactive tutorials — learners can try the steps, watch, scroll, or take a quiz — hosted by iorad with libraries and integrations for help desks and learning systems. It is not a local file tool: tutorials live in your iorad account, and keeping them private is a paid feature.
How this comparison was made
- Prices: read from iorad's public pricing page on November 5, 2026. USD. Team is $500 per month with one seat included and $50 per month per extra seat, per the same page. Prices can change.
- Free plan scope: from iorad's own pricing FAQ: unlimited tutorial capture, unlimited public tutorials and unlimited learners on Free; paid plans add privacy controls, custom branding, analytics, team collaboration and SSO.
- Feature placement: data masking is listed on the Individual plan card; MP4, Word, Docs and Slides exports are described as plan features, and HTML, SCORM and SharePoint self-hosting packages appear under Enterprise.
- Guide Workspace facts: from its Chrome Web Store listing (public November 4, 2026, version 0.4.0) and its own help page, written by the developer.
- Field counts: the figures about the 43 listed alternatives come from the Scribe alternatives list on AlternativeTo, reviewed November 4, 2026; pricing model, redaction and export placement were checked on each tool's public pages where published.
- Not tested: no speed, reliability or learning-outcome benchmarks are claimed for either product. This is a price, limits and workflow comparison, not a lab test.
Side by side
| Criteria | Guide Workspace | iorad |
|---|---|---|
| Price today | Free. Pro planned at $59 one time, not yet on sale. | Free plan with unlimited public tutorials. Individual $200 per month for 1 creator. Team $500 per month plus $50 per month per extra seat. Educator plan $10 per month. Enterprise custom. |
| Private guides | Private by default: guides never leave your device unless you export a file and share it yourself. | Free tutorials are public. Privacy controls are a paid-plan feature, and Individual is the cheapest private tier. |
| Redact screenshots | Included free. Manual rectangles, baked into the exported pictures themselves, not an overlay. Pledged never to move behind a paywall. | Data masking is listed on the paid Individual plan. It is not among the free plan's listed features. |
| File exports | Included free, forever: HTML export, print to PDF, plus an editable .guide backup. Files live on your device; no watermark. | Paid plans export MP4, Word, Google Docs and Slides. Self-hosted HTML, SCORM and SharePoint packages are Enterprise features. |
| Year-one cost, 1 creator who needs private tutorials | $0 | Individual: $200 × 12 = $2,400. |
| Year-one cost, 5 creators | $0 (one local install each; no shared workspace) | Team: $500 + 4 × $50 = $700 per month = $8,400. |
| Where guides live | In your Chrome profile, on your device. | Hosted by iorad, in your iorad account. Self-hosting is an Enterprise feature. |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| What it can capture | Supported web pages in Chrome. | Browser pages, plus desktop programs through its Mac and Windows apps. |
| Learner experience | A static guide: read it, print it, keep the file. | Interactive tutorials with Try, Scroll, Slide, Watch, Quiz and Do modes, for unlimited learners on every plan. |
| Team collaboration and analytics | None. Single-user, local. | Team plan and up: collaboration, custom branding, SSO and advanced analytics. |
| Maturity | Public beta, version 0.4.0, released November 4, 2026. Practice data only. | Established commercial product aimed at training teams. |
Sources: iorad pricing, checked November 5, 2026 — iorad.com/pricing/personal. Guide Workspace is our own product; its listing is on the Chrome Web Store.
How rare is this combination?
iorad is not the only comparison that matters. Of the 43 tools listed as Scribe alternatives on AlternativeTo, checked November 4, 2026, about 29 are cloud subscriptions that charge per seat or per creator. Only 8 keep everything local with no account, and only about 5 include redaction free and about 5 include full exports free. A few other tools are local too, and this page does not claim otherwise. The point is the combination: local, no account, redaction baked in, and full exports free, all in one Chrome extension. Nearly every other guide tool gives up at least one leg of the four.
Guide Workspace is best for private, simple, written guides
Best for a solo operator, trainer or consultant who needs a written guide that stays private by default, with redaction and exports free and no account to manage. Not for interactive training, not for teams, not for desktop apps, and not for live customer data while it is in beta.
iorad is best for training programs at scale
Best for training and enablement teams publishing interactive tutorials with try-it modes and quizzes, for unlimited learners, inside help desks and learning systems — and, at $10 per month, its Educator plan is a fair route for teachers. Not for a solo creator who just needs one private written guide: $200 per month is a steep door for that.
The worked example: one year, real prices
Take a solo freelancer documenting a client's onboarding process. The tutorials cannot be public, so iorad's free plan does not apply: Individual is $200 per month, $2,400 for year one, for exactly one creator. On Guide Workspace the same drafting work is $0, because the guide never leaves the freelancer's device in the first place. Planned Pro is $59 one time, if it launches at all.
A five-creator training team on iorad pays $500 plus four extra seats at $50: $700 per month, $8,400 for year one. That buys interactive tutorials, libraries, collaboration and analytics — a real training platform Guide Workspace does not try to be. If your program needs it, the money is buying something real. If it does not, it is a steep subscription for written guides you already have free.
The exports pledge, in writing
Full exports are free, and they stay free. The self-contained HTML export, print to PDF and the editable .guide backup are in the free extension, and they will never move behind a paywall, never gain a watermark to pay to remove, and never be replaced by a hosted link that stops working when you stop paying. Your exported files live on your device, not on our server — there is no server.
This pledge exists because taking your guides with you is where hosted tools hold the leverage: with iorad, hosting a tutorial on your own server is an Enterprise feature. A guide you made should be a file you own from the start.
“But iorad is free and unlimited”
For public tutorials, yes — iorad's own FAQ says free includes unlimited capture, unlimited public tutorials and unlimited learners, and that is a genuinely strong free plan. Read the next line of the same FAQ, though: paid plans are what add privacy controls. Free and unlimited applies to work the whole internet may read. If everything you document can be public, iorad Free is hard to beat. If it cannot, the comparison is $200 per month against a local tool that never uploads anything at all.
On the beta concern: you are right to be careful, and we will not talk you out of it. Guide Workspace was tested with made-up information. Use it with sample data, check every picture, and cover anything private before sharing. If a workflow involves real customer records, it does not belong in this beta.
Guide Workspace Pro: $59 one time, only if enough people want it
Pro would add power features for weekly guide builders. It will never gate exports: full local exports stay free either way. Join the waitlist to be counted and to get one email if Pro launches.
How to choose
- Your tutorials can be public and you want them interactive: iorad Free is generous — unlimited tutorials and learners, with try-it modes and quizzes.
- Your guides must be private and you work alone: install Guide Workspace free; private by default, because nothing is uploaded.
- Your workplace bans cloud capture tools: Guide Workspace has no account and no server, and your library and exports keep working offline.
- You run a training program with a team, branding and analytics: iorad Team is built for that; budget $500 per month plus $50 per extra seat.
- You teach: look at iorad's $10-per-month Educator plan before paying Individual prices.
- You handle real customer data: use neither this beta nor any tool without checking its data handling; Guide Workspace's beta is for practice data.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free iorad alternative?
Yes. Guide Workspace is a free Chrome extension that records step-by-step guides with screenshots, including redaction and exports at no cost. It makes simple written guides, where iorad makes interactive hosted tutorials.
How much does iorad cost?
Checked November 5, 2026: Free covers unlimited public tutorials; Individual is $200 per month for one creator; Team is $500 per month plus $50 per extra seat; an Educator plan is $10 per month. Guide Workspace charges nothing; its planned Pro is a single $59 one-time payment.
Is iorad really free and unlimited?
For public tutorials, yes — iorad's own FAQ promises unlimited capture, unlimited public tutorials and unlimited learners on the free plan, with no credit card or time limit. Privacy controls, branding, analytics and collaboration are the paid layer.
Does iorad charge per learner?
No. Every iorad plan, including Free, provides unlimited learner access, and its pricing is based on creators. That is a fair policy, and this page credits it.
Can I keep an iorad tutorial private for free?
No. Privacy settings such as invite-only are paid features, and Individual at $200 per month is the cheapest private tier. Guide Workspace guides are private by default because they live only in your Chrome profile.
Does Guide Workspace make interactive tutorials or quizzes?
No. Guide Workspace produces a static written guide with screenshots that you can read, print and keep as a file. If learners need to click through a simulation or take a quiz, iorad is the right tool.
Is Guide Workspace ready for real customer data?
No. It is a public beta tested with made-up information. Use it for practice workflows, training material and SOP drafts, check every picture, and cover anything private before sharing an export.
Start with the free version
Install Guide Workspace, run one practice workflow, and see the guide it builds. Comparing other tools as well? See Guide Workspace vs Scribe, vs Tango, vs Guidde and vs MagicHow.