Review · Evaluated September 2026
Whale Review 2026: SOP Software With Training Built In
Best SOP Software reviewers · From vendor pricing, help-centre and product pages · Evaluated September 2026
Plain answer
Whale ranks first of nine on our SOP management score (7.35 out of 10). It documents the widest spread of the SOP lifecycle in one tool: capture, approval flows, read assignments, quizzes, review intervals and version history. The catch is price structure: approval flows start on the Advance plan at $499/month billed yearly.
Whale is the best all-round SOP software for teams that want documentation and training in one place, as long as the per-workspace price fits.
Whale describes itself as an SOP platform for teams to document, share and manage standard operating procedures. On its public pages it covers more of the SOP lifecycle than any other tool in this guide: Step Recorder and Video to SOP for drafting, Approval Flows on Advance, Read Assignments and AI-generated quizzes for training, and Experts and Review Intervals for scheduled re-checks.
It does not win any single criterion outright. It ranks first because it scores 6 or higher on all seven, where most tools have one weak row. Its lowest score is audit trail (6): it states SOC 2, HIPAA readiness and GDPR, but we found no regulated e-signature feature.
What is Whale and who is it for?
An SOP platform for documenting, sharing and training on procedures, with capture tools, an AI assistant, quizzes and approval flows.
Operations, customer support and HR teams of roughly a few dozen to a few hundred people that want one system for writing SOPs, getting them approved and checking that people read them. Regulated manufacturers and life sciences teams should look at Dozuki or Qualio.
How much does Whale cost?
| Plan | Price | Billing | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Not published | 1 creator, SOP creation, 20 AI credits a month, 1 training flow, 1 quiz, read assignments, browser extension, SSO login |
| Scale | $249/month billed yearly | Not published | 3 creators (+$29/month per additional creator), 5 training flows, 15 quizzes, 90-day version history, Slack and Zapier |
| Advance | $499/month billed yearly | Not published | 5 creators (+$39/month per additional creator), unlimited training flows and quizzes, 1-year version history, approval flows, enforce SSO |
| Enterprise | Custom, yearly billing only | Not published | Unlimited members, unlimited version history, SCIM, HRIS, API |
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Whale prices paid plans per workspace with a set number of creators, not per viewer. That makes it cheap for large read-only audiences and expensive for a small team: the Scale plan is $249/month billed yearly for 3 creators.
How does Whale score on our seven criteria?
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capture and authoring speed | 20% | 8 / 10 | Step Recorder, Video Screen Recorder, Video to SOP converter and an AI Writing Assistant are all listed. |
| Version control and approvals | 15% | 7 / 10 | Version history on paid plans (90 days on Scale, 1 year on Advance, unlimited on Enterprise); Approval Flows start on Advance. |
| Audit trail and compliance | 15% | 6 / 10 | States SOC 2 certification, HIPAA readiness and GDPR compliance; Experts and Review Intervals prompt periodic re-checks. No regulated e-signature feature found. |
| Training and acknowledgement tracking | 15% | 8 / 10 | Training Flows, AI-generated quizzes and Read Assignments, with completion reporting. |
| Search and findability | 10% | 7 / 10 | Alice, an AI assistant that answers team questions, plus a browser extension for in-context access. |
| Integrations and export | 10% | 7 / 10 | Slack and Zapier on paid plans; SCIM, HRIS and API on Enterprise; listed apps include BambooHR, ADP, monday.com and ClickUp. |
| Pricing transparency | 15% | 8 / 10 | Scale ($249/month) and Advance ($499/month) are published, billed yearly; monthly prices and member allowances on paid plans are not stated on the page we reviewed; Enterprise is custom. |
Total: 7.35 / 10, rank 1 of 9. See how we score.
Where does Whale sit in the SOP lifecycle?
The life of an SOP, and which tools document each stage
A tool is listed under a stage when its own public pages describe a feature for that stage. This shows what vendors document, not how the features perform in use. Sources are on each review.
| Stage | What happens | Tools that document it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Draft | Capture or write the steps | |
| 2 Review | A second person checks it |
|
| 3 Approve | An owner signs off |
|
| 4 Publish | Staff can find the current version | |
| 5 Train | People read, practise, confirm |
|
| 6 Audit | Prove who changed what, when |
|
| 7 Revise | Update and re-approve |
- 1 Draft: Step Recorder, Video to SOP
- 2 Review: Experts and Review Intervals
- 3 Approve: Approval flows (Advance and up)
- 4 Publish: Public share, embed, extension
- 5 Train: Training Flows, quizzes, read assignments
- 7 Revise: Version history up to unlimited
What does Whale document on its public pages?
Capture: Video to SOP, Step Recorder, Video Screen Recorder, AI Writing Assistant.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Share: Alice (an AI assistant that answers team questions), Read Assignments, public share, export and embed, browser extension.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Training: Training Flows, AI-generated quizzes, reporting and completion tracking.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Manage: access permissions, Experts and Review Intervals, version history.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Version history: none on Free, 90 days on Scale, 1 year on Advance, unlimited on Enterprise. Approval flows on Advance and Enterprise.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
States SOC 2 certification, HIPAA readiness and GDPR compliance.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
Named integrations include Slack, monday.com, ClickUp, BambooHR, ADP, Asana, Gmail, HubSpot and Intercom.
Source: usewhale.io · Fetched 27 Sep 2026
What are the strengths and watch-outs?
Strengths
- Covers the most lifecycle stages in one tool: capture, approval, read assignments, quizzes, review intervals
- Published prices for its paid plans
- Review Intervals prompt owners to re-check SOPs on a schedule
Watch-outs
- Approval flows start on Advance ($499/month billed yearly)
- Paid plans are priced per workspace with creator limits, which is a larger first commitment than per-user tools
Who should choose something else?
- Need tracked changes and approvals at a lower entry price: SweetProcess
- Training is the main job and you want e-signatures: Trainual, and see Trainual vs Whale
- You mainly need fast first drafts from web apps: Haiku
Before you buy
Ask Whale which plan includes approval flows and how many creators you will need in year two. Confirm how long version history is kept on the plan you pick (90 days on Scale, 1 year on Advance).
Frequently asked questions
How much does Whale cost?
Whale has a Free plan, Scale at $249/month and Advance at $499/month, both billed yearly, and a custom Enterprise plan. Extra creators cost $29/month on Scale and $39/month on Advance.
Does Whale have approval workflows?
Yes, Approval Flows are listed on the Advance and Enterprise plans, not on Free or Scale.
Can Whale quiz employees on SOPs?
Yes. Whale lists AI-generated quizzes and Training Flows, with limits on Free and Scale and unlimited on Advance and Enterprise.