The Forrester Wave™: Customer Success Platforms, Q4 2025

Customer Success Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2025

Key features and pros and cons of top Customer Success Platforms products:

Gainsight - Leaders

Pros:

Earned high marks for expansion opportunity identification and operational capabilities
CRM-embedded widgets that surface opportunity data and enable CS and sales collaboration on success plans
Correlation analysis helps teams identify which processes drive growth and which signals predict outcomes
Journey orchestrator improvements support scaled motions
Superior innovation led by Atlas AI agents to support renewals, adoption, and community moderation
Expanded intelligence to surface risk

Cons:

Onboarding and revenue forecasting capabilities are on par relative to others in this evaluation
Limited cost transparency in pricing
Some customers need ability to expand Gainsight data into other tools

Totango - Leaders

Pros:

Clear vision centered on customer-led growth with focus on value realization as guiding principle
Highest scores possible in 4 of 7 Strategy criteria: Roadmap, Innovation, Vision, and Pricing Flexibility and Transparency
Roadmap is specific and milestone driven, includes value-level agreements to align vendor and customer outcomes
Strong innovation focuses on AI-powered product development and postsale revenue intelligence
Differentiated pricing model based on revenue under management rather than seats or users
Stands out for retention and scaling capabilities
Automated presentation generator that uses customer data and success plans to build presentations
Collaborative customer portal and AI-driven recommendations of next best actions

Cons:

Onboarding and implementation capabilities are on par relative to others in this evaluation
Key gaps remain in multithreaded engagement and AI-driven workflow optimization
Many reference customers were unaware of AI capabilities and expressed need for more guidance to use them
After a year of major shifts including merger with Catalyst, acquisition of Parative AI, and leadership change, company is working to stabilize and refocus strategy

ChurnZero - Strong Performers

Pros:

Well-aligned strategy with distinct viewpoint connecting vision, innovation, and roadmap
Focus on AI as customer growth driver grounded in customer needs
Roadmap built around four pillars tied to customer pain points
Differentiated adoption strategy includes benchmarking approach comparing customers across CX maturity pillars
Superior AI-driven revenue forecasting capabilities to identify churn risks and growth signals
Strong expansion opportunity capabilities with CRM-embedded widget to support cross-functional collaboration
Intuitive UI and data flexibility
Strong support from vendor including senior leadership involvement

Cons:

Innovation is on par relative to others in this evaluation
Scaling capabilities are on par with basic AI account summaries
Next-best-action recommendations slated for late 2025
AI-enhanced predictive workflow automation is an area for improvement
Some customers expressed need for more depth in onboarding capabilities and more advanced AI features

Planhat - Strong Performers

Pros:

Vision to unify customer journey on single platform designed for adaptability and speed of delivery
Top notch project management capabilities for onboarding and implementation
Enables users to create multiple onboarding journeys for different geographies or business units
Service delivery best-practice templates support resource planning and project budget revenue tracking
Revenue forecasting and management capabilities provide insight into renewal workflow progress and AI playbook recommendations
Modern UI, flexible data handling, and quick time to value after implementation
Clear pricing with CSMs part of standard packaging

Cons:

Innovation strategy on par relative to others in this evaluation
Roadmap lacked delivery timeline specifics
Account multithreading not as comprehensive as others in this evaluation
Customizing the platform, particularly reporting, can be complex

ClientSuccess - Contenders

Pros:

Excels at project management for customer onboarding and implementation
Increased visibility into project status and alignment across teams
Support for time tracking and resource planning for professional services
Easy to implement and use
Customer adoption strategy centered on training, education, and library of online content

Cons:

Progress toward broader vision of natively integrated CX suite appears limited with few notable developments beyond recent acquisitions
Platform's support for core CS workflows appears limited
Relies on simplified design that lacks depth found in more advanced solutions
Customers mentioned limitations with key features such as surveys and customer goal planning
Did not provide reference customers for this evaluation
Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process

HubSpot - Contenders

Pros:

CS workspace is intuitive and easy to navigate with highly configurable interface
Strong UX
Workflow and automation capabilities allow users to build complex workflows with prebuilt actions
Top scores for partner ecosystem, learning academy, and 24/7 support
Simplicity and ease of use

Cons:

As newer entrant, platform is playing catch-up
CS workspace still maturing relative to more established offerings
Falls short in areas critical to mature CS practices including revenue forecasting, retention, and expansion capabilities
Reference customers noted their organization was already using the CRM, which strongly influenced decision

Vitally - Contenders

Pros:

Solid support for expansion capabilities through event-triggered alerts and workflows
AI-assisted identification of buying signals and opportunities
Docs feature and shared workspace links facilitate collaboration with customers on goals, plans, and business reviews
Simplicity in building automation, playbooks, and dashboards

Cons:

Vision positions CS teams as growth engine instead of cost center - reflects well-established industry mindset rather than novel shift
Innovation strategy centers on developing AI agent capabilities - addresses needs customers have voiced before
Product roadmap lags those of others in this evaluation
Partner ecosystem not as robust
Absence of dedicated customer portal places it behind others
Revenue forecasting and reporting fall short, relying primarily on health-score-driven probability
Customer service was variable
Only one reference customer responded to Forrester's outreach

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2025?

A: Gainsight, Totango

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

A: Leaders in The Forrester Wave evaluation demonstrate the strongest current offerings combined with the strongest strategies. In this Customer Success Platforms Q4 2025 evaluation, Leaders are vendors whose platforms reflect the shift toward strategic clarity and commercial accountability in customer success. They enable teams not just to manage customer relationships, but to deliver measurable value, drive post-sale revenue growth, and use AI as a force multiplier. Leaders scored highest across both the Current Offering and Strategy categories, demonstrating superior capabilities in areas such as revenue forecasting, retention optimization, expansion enablement, and AI-powered automation, while also showing clear vision, strong innovation, well-defined roadmaps, and robust partner ecosystems.

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

A: https://www.forrester.com/policies/forrester-wave-methodology/

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Customer Success Platforms in 2025

Customer Success Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2025

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2025?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

Reference