Runbook vs Trainual
Runbook vs Trainual: a training, SOP and onboarding platform compared with a lightweight tool for recurring team checklists, audit trails and flat CHF pricing.
Last checked . Prices and features change; see the sources at the end.
Trainual is a platform for training, documentation and SOPs, onboarding, and more recently operations (meetings, goals, KPIs) and performance reviews [1]. Its pricing page says it "is best suited for companies with 25 - 1000 employees" [1]. It suits growing companies that want to train staff, document roles and track who completed which training.
Runbook solves a different, smaller problem: running recurring checklists, such as releases, month-end close, maintenance or opening routines, and keeping an append-only record of who checked what and when. Runbook has no training, quizzes, document editor or AI. It is new, priced flat per organisation in CHF, and hosted in the EU.
These tools overlap only partly. Many teams use a training/SOP tool alongside a checklist tool.
Prices and features were checked on 2026-11-04 on Trainual's official pricing page and may have changed since. Trainual is a trademark of its owner. Runbook is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Trainual.
At a glance
| Runbook | Trainual | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Recurring checklists with audit trail | Training, documentation & SOPs, operations, performance [1] |
| Plans | Free, Team, Business | Core, Pro, Premium, Enterprise [1] |
| Published prices | Free CHF 0. Team CHF 19/month or CHF 190/year. Business CHF 49/month or CHF 490/year | Not published: "Pricing and plans vary depending on the size of your team and the features you need" [1] |
| Billing basis | Flat per organisation | Not published [1] |
| Setup fee | None | "A one-time implementation fee of $1,000 applies". Implementation support is listed as "Required" on every plan [1] |
| Free plan / trial | Free plan (1 user). Team plan 14-day trial, no card | No trial listed. Demo offered instead [1] |
| Target size | Free 1 user, Team up to 10, Business up to 30 | "Best suited for companies with 25 - 1000 employees" [1] |
| Quizzes / tests | No | Testing, tracking & reporting. AI can create quizzes [1] |
| SOP / document editor | No (checklist templates only) | Yes, AI-assisted documentation, flowcharts, screen recording [1] |
| E-signatures | No | Not on Core. 300/year on Pro. Unlimited on Premium and Enterprise [1] |
| Recurring checklist runs on schedule | Yes (Team and Business) | Not listed on pricing page |
| Audit trail / export | Append-only event log per run, CSV and JSON | Training completion tracking. CSV/PDF report exports [1] |
| API | REST API on all plans (10 / 100 / unlimited API runs per month), GitHub Action | "API access & custom integration support" shown for Enterprise only [1] |
| SSO | No | Shown as not included on Core and Pro. Premium and Enterprise columns show no dash (checkmark images not machine-readable; confirm with Trainual) [1] |
| Mobile app | No (responsive web) | "Mobile app & Chrome extension" listed [1] |
| AI | No | AI search, AI-assisted content and quiz generation [1] |
| Hosting | EU (Swiss-run) | Google Cloud, per Trainual's FAQ (region not stated) [1] |
Key differences
Training vs doing
Trainual helps people learn how work should be done: training paths, tests, e-signatures for policies, roles and responsibilities, and org charts [1]. Runbook helps a team do a specific recurring job and prove it: each run is a fresh copy of the checklist, items can be assigned with due dates, and the run can't be completed until all required items are checked.
Buying process and price
Trainual doesn't publish prices, offers a demo instead of a trial, and charges a one-time $1,000 implementation fee [1]. Runbook publishes flat prices (CHF 19/month for up to 10 users), has a free plan, and offers a 14-day Team trial without a card. Because Trainual's prices are not published, we cannot calculate example-team costs for it.
Team size
Trainual names 25–1000 employees as its best fit [1]. Runbook's plans stop at 30 users, so it is aimed at small teams.
Integrations
Trainual lists HRIS and payroll integrations, Slack, SSO, and Zapier/webhooks (in its FAQ). API access is shown only on Enterprise [1]. Runbook offers email, Slack, Teams and signed webhooks (Team and Business) and a REST API on every plan, including a GitHub Action that can gate a deploy on checklist completion.
When to choose Trainual instead
- You need to onboard and train employees, with training paths, tests and completion tracking [1].
- You want a central SOP and policy library with AI-assisted writing and screen recording [1].
- You need e-signatures, org charts or role/responsibility mapping [1].
- You want operations and performance-review features in the same platform [1].
- Your company has 25 or more employees and you're comfortable with a guided implementation [1].
When Runbook fits better
- You need recurring checklists done reliably, with an append-only audit trail and CSV export, not a training system.
- You're a small team (up to 30 people) and want published, flat pricing and a free plan.
- You want no setup fee and to start without a sales call.
- You want to trigger or gate checklists from CI (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Forgejo).
- You prefer EU hosting, passwordless sign-in and no trackers.
FAQ
How much does Trainual cost?
Trainual's pricing page doesn't publish plan prices. It says pricing varies with team size and features, and that a one-time implementation fee of $1,000 applies. The plans are Core, Pro, Premium and Enterprise. This was the information shown on 2026-11-04.
Can Runbook be used for employee training?
Not really. Runbook has no quizzes, training paths or document editor. You can use a Runbook checklist for onboarding steps, such as "create accounts" or "hand over laptop", with an audit trail of who did each step. Training content itself belongs in a tool like Trainual.
Does Trainual have a free trial?
None was listed on the pricing page on 2026-11-04. Trainual offers a demo instead. Runbook has a free plan for one user and a 14-day Team trial with no card required.
Can I use both Trainual and Runbook?
Yes. They solve different problems. A common split is to document and train in a training/SOP tool, and run the recurring operational checklists, with sign-off and audit trail, in Runbook.
Sources
- Trainual pricing page (plan comparison and FAQ): https://trainual.com/pricing (checked 2026-11-04)
- Runbook: https://runbook.metastic.ch (Runbook's own plans and features, as of 2026-11-04)