Overview

Driver.js handles both guided sequences and smaller moments of direction: a tour can move through multiple steps, while a highlight can focus a single page element and pair it with a popover. Clickable pulsing hints offer another way to call attention to interface details. That range makes it useful for onboarding, tutorials, feature adoption, form guidance and contextual help without requiring a separate product for each interaction.

The library is MIT-licensed, dependency-free and described as about 5 KB. It works with vanilla JavaScript or any framework or library, and can be installed through npm, pnpm or yarn, or loaded from a CDN. Configuration can be applied globally, per step or while a tour is running, offering useful control without tying the experience to one framework.

Key features

Tours and focused highlights: Multi-step tours support guided onboarding, while a single-element highlight with a popover is better suited to explaining one control without a full walkthrough.
Hints: Clickable pulsing beacons open popovers and can appear with an optional page overlay. They are a lighter-touch way to surface help than taking users through a sequence.
Flexible configuration: Settings can be defined globally, for individual steps or during a running tour, so developers can tailor behavior at different levels.
Framework independence: Compatibility with any framework or library, as well as vanilla JavaScript, makes Driver.js a practical fit for varied web stacks.

The main architectural constraint is that only one Driver.js instance can be active on screen at once. Applications planning overlapping guides need to coordinate them rather than run separate instances simultaneously.

Pricing

Free — 0.00 USD per free. The plan includes unlimited projects, personal and commercial use, and no attribution requirement. For developers building tours or contextual guides, that removes project-count and commercial-use restrictions from the stated plan. Driver.js is also open source under the MIT license.

There is no paid tier in the stated pricing model to weigh against this plan. The practical trade-off is instead the library's one-active-instance limit, which matters for products that need concurrent guides.

Platforms

Driver.js is marked for Android, iOS and web, with in-app tours and contextual guides supported. Its implementation is a JavaScript library, so framework compatibility and web development are its clearest fit; the platform listing also includes mobile platforms.

The maker cites accessibility, major-browser support and mobile-device support among its product characteristics. That breadth is useful for interfaces serving varied devices, while the single-active-instance constraint still applies.

Who it's for

Driver.js is best for developers who want to build their own onboarding, feature guidance or contextual help directly into a product, especially when they value a small, dependency-free library and an MIT license. Its framework flexibility makes it suitable for projects that use different JavaScript stacks.

It is less suited to teams that need multiple independent guides visible at once. Teams looking for a more managed alternative can compare options in User Onboarding Software, Customer Onboarding Software or Product Adoption Software.

Pros and cons

Pro — No project cap in the free plan: Unlimited projects and personal and commercial use make it suitable for broad use without a stated project ceiling.
Pro — Small and dependency-free: At about 5 KB with no dependencies, it adds relatively little weight or dependency overhead to a JavaScript application.
Pro — Multiple guidance patterns: Tours, single-element highlights and clickable hints cover both structured walkthroughs and brief contextual prompts.
Con — One active instance: Only one instance can be on screen at a time, so products with overlapping guides must manage when each appears.

Alternatives

Wakeline is worth considering for teams that want defined usage allowances and teammate support: its free plan includes 3 flows, 1,000 monthly active users, 1 teammate and community support.

Candu may suit teams seeking overlays with a free tier that allows 3 live experiences and unlimited user licenses. Its free plan is overlays-only.

Clew is an option for self-hosted use; its free plan includes 1 site, 1 team seat, up to 3 published tours, tours and tooltips, 1 month of analytics history and docs support.

Guidez may fit teams looking for a free plan with usage and environment allowances: Hobby includes 100 monthly active users, 1 team member and 1 environment.

Guida.js is another free, MIT-licensed web option, described as about 4.8 kB minified and gzipped with zero external dependencies.

Usertour is an alternative with a public, MIT-licensed core and self-hosting through Docker.

Guide.js is another free web option.

React Joyride is another free option for the web.

Verdict

Choose Driver.js if you want a compact, MIT-licensed JavaScript library for building tours, highlights and hints without a project cap or framework lock-in. Its low-overhead approach is its strongest case; look elsewhere if your product needs more than one active guidance instance on screen at a time.

	Driver.js	Shepherd
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
No-code builder	—	No

Driver.js vs Shepherd

Driver.js

Shepherd