The 7 Best Changelog Tools for Developers (2026 Comparison)

Finding the Right Changelog Tool

Choosing a changelog tool is more important than it sounds. Your changelog is often the first place users check after an update, the first thing investors look at to gauge shipping speed, and a key part of your developer experience.

Here's our honest comparison of the top changelog tools in 2026.

1. ShipLog — Best for AI-Powered Generation

Price: Free / $19 Pro / $39 Team

ShipLog is purpose-built for developers who want AI-powered changelog generation with deep GitHub integration. It analyzes your commits and PRs, then generates categorized, human-readable entries automatically.

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Best for: Developer tools, SaaS products, open source projects

2. Beamer — Best for Non-Technical Teams

Price: Free / $79 Pro / $159 Scale

Beamer is the original changelog/notification tool. It's feature-rich but expensive and designed more for product managers than developers.

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Best for: B2C products, marketing teams

3. Changelogfy — Best Budget Option

Price: Free / $49 Pro

Changelogfy offers basic changelog management with a clean interface.

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Best for: Small projects with simple needs

4. Release Drafter (GitHub Action) — Best Free CI/CD Option

Price: Free (open source)

Release Drafter is a GitHub Action that automatically drafts release notes based on PR labels.

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Best for: Open source projects using GitHub Actions

5. Headway — Best for In-App Announcements

Price: Free / $29 Pro / $99 Business

Headway combines changelogs with in-app announcements and feedback collection.

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Best for: Products that want changelog + feedback in one tool

6. Canny — Best for Changelog + Roadmap

Price: Free / $79 Starter / Custom

Canny is primarily a feature request tracker but includes changelog functionality.

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Best for: Products that need roadmap management too

7. Keep a Changelog (Manual) — Best for Purists

Price: Free

The Keep a Changelog format (keepachangelog.com) is a simple markdown convention for maintaining changelogs manually.

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Best for: Developers who prefer manual control

Comparison Table

Our Recommendation

For most developer teams, ShipLog offers the best combination of AI automation, developer experience, and value. The free tier is generous enough for open source projects, and the Pro plan at $19/month is a fraction of what you'd pay for Beamer or Canny.

If you need more than just changelogs (roadmap, feedback), consider Canny or Headway. If you want zero cost and full control, Release Drafter + manual markdown is a solid choice.

Try ShipLog free →