This page compares both tools on features, pricing approach, enterprise readiness, language support, security, and AI capabilities. Everything here is based on publicly available information from official websites, published documentation, and verified review platforms. Where we could not confirm a feature, we say so.

Quick Comparison

What Is Knowby?

Knowby is an enterprise guidance platform based in Australia and New Zealand. It helps organizations create step-by-step visual guides using AI-powered video analysis. When you upload a video, Knowby’s AI transcribes the audio and segments the visual content into structured steps – an approach they describe as transcription-based rather than generative, meaning the AI works from your existing content rather than creating new text.

Knowby positions itself as a simple, affordable solution at $3 per user per month with no minimum user requirements and a 30-day free trial. The platform supports 130+ languages through auto-translation and offers features including task scheduling, form fields within steps, QR code sharing, and approval workflows. It serves industries beyond manufacturing, including logistics, healthcare, agriculture, and construction.

Knowby’s customer base includes names like Moet & Chandon, Merck, Fonterra, and DairyNZ. The company was founded in 2019 and has received seed-stage funding.

What Is Manual.to?

Manual.to transforms videos into step-by-step visual manuals using AI in 60 seconds. The fastest way to try it: go to manual.to, upload a video, and get a complete multilingual manual – no account needed, no credit card, nothing. The AI transcribes audio, analyzes the visual content, structures it into steps, and delivers a shareable guide with a link and QR code. That first manual is free.

For teams that want to keep going, a 7-day free trial unlocks the full platform: team workspace, smart search, usage analytics, version control, approval workflows, checklists with data logging, QR code export, and integration with tools like SharePoint, SAP, and MS Teams. The platform supports 200+ languages with text-to-speech – meaning a worker in any country can hear instructions read aloud in their language.

Manual.to works for a three-person coffee bar and for a 50,000-person manufacturer. It scales from simple, quick guides to enterprise-grade governance with SSO/SAML integration via Microsoft EntraID, dedicated EU hosting, ISO 27001 compliance, and audit-ready analytics showing who read what instruction and when. It is a Microsoft Partner available on Microsoft AppSource.

Founded in 2016 and recognized by Deloitte Private as one of the fastest-growing companies in EMEA, Manual.to is trusted by 100,000+ people at organizations including P&G, Volkswagen, Audi, Dupont, Barilla, ArcelorMittal, Aperam, Orange, CEVA, ABB, NHS, Umicore, Lonza, and Puratos. The team brings 100+ years of combined implementation experience across manufacturing, retail, healthcare, logistics, and pharmaceuticals.

Industries served include manufacturing, retail and hospitality, pharmaceuticals, materials, and logistics. Use cases range from maintenance and operations to onboarding, health and safety, knowledge retention, quality control, and product manuals.

Where the Platforms Differ

Both tools help you create work instructions. The differences become clear when you look at what happens after those instructions are created – how they are governed, secured, translated, and delivered at scale.

Which Platform Fits Your Team?

There is no single “best” tool – only the right tool for your specific situation. Here is an honest guide based on what each platform does well.

Understanding the Details

AI-Powered Content Creation

Both platforms use AI to turn video into work instructions. Manual.to’s AI transcribes audio, analyzes visual content, structures the result into steps, and generates a complete, multilingual visual manual in 60 seconds – including step segmentation, visual frames, and publishable content in 200+ languages. The output is a shareable guide with a link and QR code, ready to distribute.

Knowby uses what they describe as a “transcription-based” approach: the AI transcribes audio and analyzes visuals to segment content into steps, staying strictly faithful to the source material without generating new text. Knowby positions this as a safety feature – particularly for health and safety documentation where accuracy is non-negotiable.

In practice, Manual.to’s AI also stays faithful to the source video – it transcribes and structures what is actually shown. The difference is that Manual.to additionally formats, translates, and structures the output into a complete, publish-ready guide in one step. Both approaches serve the same goal: turning expert knowledge captured on video into clear, accessible instructions.

Language & Accessibility

For organizations with multilingual workforces, language support can determine whether instructions actually get followed. Manual.to supports 200+ languages with text-to-speech – meaning a worker can hear the instruction read aloud in their native language. This matters on factory floors, in warehouses, and in healthcare settings where reading a screen may not be practical.

Knowby supports 130+ languages with auto-translation. Both numbers are strong. The difference is in text-to-speech availability and the total language count, which can matter for organizations operating in regions with less commonly supported languages.

Enterprise Security & Compliance

This is where the platforms diverge most clearly. Manual.to offers SSO/SAML integration with Microsoft EntraID, dedicated EU hosting for GDPR compliance, and ISO 27001 certification. For organizations in regulated industries – or any company with a security-conscious IT department – these are often prerequisites, not nice-to-haves.

Knowby offers OAuth 2.0 for authentication and hosts on Google Cloud Platform in Sydney and Melbourne. Their security documentation mentions SOC 2. Organizations with strict EU data residency requirements or enterprise SSO mandates should verify whether Knowby’s current infrastructure meets those specific needs.

Pricing Philosophy

Knowby deserves credit for transparent pricing: $3 per user per month, no minimum users, no hidden fees. It is one of the most accessible price points in the work instruction software category. For small teams and organizations just getting started with digital instructions, this is a genuine advantage.

Manual.to’s pricing is available on request. This reflects the enterprise-oriented model where pricing depends on deployment scale, hosting requirements, support level, and integration needs. Manual.to offers a 7-day free trial to let teams evaluate the platform before any commercial discussion.

When evaluating cost, it is worth looking beyond per-user price to total cost of ownership: Does the platform meet your IT security requirements out of the box? Does it support your compliance needs without additional tools? Can it scale across sites and languages without incremental infrastructure? The cheapest per-user price is not always the lowest total cost.

Company Maturity & Support

Manual.to was founded in 2016 and has grown to serve 100,000+ users across organizations like P&G, Volkswagen, and NHS. The company is recognized by Deloitte Private as one of the fastest-growing in EMEA and presents itself as software plus a team with 100+ years of combined implementation experience.

Knowby was founded in 2019 and has received seed-stage funding. The company is smaller and earlier in its growth journey. For some teams, this means more agile support and direct access to founders. For enterprise buyers with strict vendor assessment processes, company maturity and financial stability may be evaluation criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Manual.to and Knowby both convert video into step-by-step instructions, but they differ in scope and scale. Manual.to’s AI transcribes, structures, and generates a complete multilingual visual manual from a single video in 60 seconds – supporting 200+ languages with text-to-speech, enterprise security (SSO/SAML, ISO 27001, dedicated EU hosting), and Microsoft ecosystem integration (Teams, SharePoint). It works for teams of any size: anyone can generate a free AI-generated manual on manual.to without an account, and paid plans scale from small teams to global enterprise rollouts. Knowby focuses on video segmentation at $3/user/month with 130+ languages and a 30-day trial, making it a lightweight option for small teams with simpler needs. If you need a platform that starts free, scales with you, and produces publish-ready multilingual manuals from video, Manual.to is the more complete solution. If you need a simple, affordable step-by-step guide tool for a small team, Knowby is worth evaluating.