A Tango alternative that keeps your guides on your machine

stepkeep is a Chrome extension that records a browser task and turns it into a step-by-step guide with annotated screenshots, like Tango. The difference: every guide stays on your machine. There is no account, no upload and no subscription. It costs 59 EUR once and exports PDF, HTML and Markdown files you keep.

Install free See a finished guide PDF · 567 KB
  • On your machine, nothing uploaded
  • 59 EUR once, no subscription
  • PDF, HTML and Markdown
  • Free covers five saved guides and a watermarked PDF
The top of page 1 of the exported PDF: the title Refund process underlined in yellow, the line Northwind GmbH - 2026-09-16, and step 1 with its screenshot.

What Tango does better

Tango is good software and we will not pretend otherwise. If any of these is the reason you use it, keep using it.

  • Walkthroughs inside the software. Guide Me turns a Tango into a live, click-by-click walkthrough in the browser, and Pins put an answer on the very button people ask about. stepkeep makes a document. Nothing of it runs inside the software you documented.
  • A link you can send, and know who opened it. Tango shares by URL or embed, and Pro shows who viewed and completed a workflow. stepkeep has no hosted links and no analytics, on purpose.
  • A shared workspace. A team library, comments, co-editing, roles and version history, with SSO on Enterprise. A stepkeep guide lives in one browser; you share it by sending the file.
  • Desktop apps and AI. Tango Pro captures desktop programs on Mac and Windows and writes step text with AI. Enterprise translates workflows and blurs personal data automatically. stepkeep records browser tabs and nothing else, and has no AI in this version.

Tango and stepkeep, row by row

stepkeep Tango
Where your guides and screenshots live Your browser, on your machine Tango’s cloud, hosted in the United States12
Account needed No Yes, for every plan, including free3
Price Free, or 59 EUR once (Personal), 149 EUR once for a whole company (Team) Free; Pro 15 to 22 USD per user, per month billed annually (20 to 26 USD monthly); Enterprise on request3
Free plan limit 5 guides saved at a time 5 workflows for the whole workspace3
File export on the free plan PDF, with a small watermark None; share by link or embed34
Export formats on paid plans PDF, HTML, Markdown (ZIP with images, or clipboard) PDF, HTML, Markdown3
Blur, boxes and annotations Every plan, free included Pro and Enterprise3
Watches the pages you visit No. The recorder runs only while you record Its privacy policy says it monitors the URLs you visit to suggest guides2
In-app walkthroughs No Yes: on-screen guidance on Pro, Pins and automations on Enterprise35
Hosted links with view insights No, by design Links on every plan, insights from Pro3
Documents desktop apps No, browser only Yes, on Pro, Mac and Windows6
AI writing and translation No AI content on Pro, translation into 15 languages on Enterprise3

Tango’s prices and features checked on on Tango’s own pages. They change. If a cell here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

  1. Tango pricing page, “Secure hosting in Tango cloud” on every plan.
  2. Tango privacy policy, “The Service is hosted in the United States”, and URL monitoring to recommend Tangos.
  3. Tango pricing and plan comparison.
  4. Tango Help Center, “How do I export to PDF?”
  5. Tango Help Center, “What is Guide Me?”, and the Guide product page.
  6. Tango Help Center, “Can I capture desktop Workflows?”

The one row that matters: where the screenshots go

stepkeep
Nowhere. Your browser, on your machine
Tango
Tango’s cloud, hosted in the United States

A screenshot records whatever is on the screen: a customer’s name, an invoice number, a salary field, a colleague’s message in the corner. Tango’s own privacy policy says as much, and asks you to close sensitive windows before you start a capture.

With Tango, those screenshots go to Tango’s cloud. Its privacy policy says the service is hosted in the United States, and that people using it from the EU are transferring their data there for storage and processing.

With stepkeep, they go nowhere. Guides and screenshots are written to your browser’s own storage, in your profile, and the extension makes no network request while recording, while exporting, or on the paid plan. The licence key is checked inside the extension. There is no transfer to assess and no processor to name, because we never receive a screenshot.

Open DevTools on the Network tab and record a task. Count the requests. There are none.

The trade-off is real. No upload also means no hosted link, no view count and no shared library. You share a stepkeep guide the way you share any file.

Moving over from Tango in three steps

On Tango’s free plan there is no file export, so re-recording is the way across. Start with the five guides stepkeep’s free plan keeps.

  1. Keep what you already exported

    On Tango Pro you can download a workflow as PDF, HTML or Markdown, and those files stay yours. stepkeep does not import Tango workflows, so there is nothing to convert.

  2. Record the processes you still use

    Install stepkeep, press record on the tab, and do the task once. Every click, typed field and choice becomes a numbered step with a screenshot. A recording takes about as long as the task.

  3. Export to where your team already looks

    Save a PDF, drop the single HTML file in the shared drive, or paste the Markdown into Confluence, Notion or a ticket.

Which one to choose

Choose Tango if…

  • You want the guide to run inside the software, as a walkthrough or a pinned tip. That is Tango’s strongest feature and stepkeep has nothing like it.
  • You need a link that shows who read it, and a shared library your team edits together.
  • You document desktop programs, or you want AI to write and translate your steps.

Choose stepkeep if…

  • Your data protection officer, a client contract or a works council has already said no to cloud screenshots.
  • You want the free plan to produce a real file, not only a link.
  • You write a handful of guides a month and a per-seat subscription makes no sense.
  • Your IT department controls what gets installed, and a browser extension is the one door open.

Questions about switching from Tango

Is there a free alternative to Tango?

stepkeep has a free plan with no card and no trial clock. It keeps five guides at a time and exports them as PDF with a small watermark. Tango’s free plan keeps five workflows per workspace and has no file export. Paying 59 EUR once removes the limit and the watermark.

Is there a GDPR-friendly alternative to Tango?

stepkeep keeps guides and screenshots in your browser only and makes no network request, on any plan. So we never receive personal data from your recordings. There is no transfer to a third country to assess and no data processing agreement to sign with us. Whether that is enough for your processes is your data protection officer’s call.

Is there a Tango alternative that works offline, without the cloud?

Yes. stepkeep stores every guide and screenshot in your own browser and makes no network request, on any plan. Recording, editing, exporting and the licence check all work with the wifi off. Folge is another pay-once tool that keeps guides local; it is a desktop app rather than a browser extension.

Can I export Tango guides to PDF for free?

Not on Tango’s free plan. Tango’s help centre says PDF export is available on Pro and Enterprise, and its plan comparison lists HTML and Markdown under Pro too. The free plan shares by link and embed. stepkeep exports PDF on its free plan, with a small watermark.

Is tango.us the same as tango.ai?

Yes. Tango moved its website from tango.us to tango.ai, and tango.us now redirects there. The web app where workflows are stored still runs at app.tango.us, according to Tango’s help centre. Guides you find called “Tango (tango.us) alternative” mean the same product.

Where does Tango store my screenshots?

In Tango’s cloud. Tango’s privacy policy says the service is hosted in the United States, and its security page names Amazon Web Services. Users in the EU transfer their data to the US under standard contractual clauses. stepkeep keeps screenshots in your browser and never receives them.

Does stepkeep have anything like Tango’s Guide Me?

No. stepkeep makes a document: a PDF, an HTML file or Markdown that someone reads beside the task. It does not run walkthroughs inside other software. If in-app guidance is what you need, Tango or a digital adoption tool is the right choice.

Record one task today, keep the guide on your machine

Free keeps five guides at a time, which is enough to know. 59 EUR once removes the limit and the watermark.

Install free for Chrome Buy Personal, 59 EUR

14 days to change your mind, no reason needed.