A learning management system (LMS) is a software application or web-based technology designed explicitly to help users plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process.
Typically used in educational and corporate settings, an LMS allows educators and trainers to create and deliver content, monitor participation, and assess performance. It also allows learners to access learning resources, complete assignments, and interact with peers and instructors.
The system can support various types of content, such as text, video, and interactive courses, and includes features for tracking progress, managing records, and facilitating communication and collaboration among users.
We selected this list of learning management systems based on their compelling features, customer testimonials, reviews in neutral third-party sites, recommendations from industry experts, and our first-hand experiences.
There are several reasons why ProProfs Training Maker made it to the top of our list. But if we have to single out a notable feature in this tool, it is how it automates employee training. The LMS enables users to simplify learner registration, reminders, certification, expiration date setting for user accounts, and more through automation. Similarly, ease of course creation is one of its USPs. You can use existing training materials, such as docs, videos, and presentations, and put together a course quickly. We find its library of self-paced and ready-to-use courses equally valuable. We can easily customize them or deploy them as-is. The LMS supports multiple instructors, desktop & mobile learning, multiple languages, gamification, SCORM & Tin Can.
ProProfs has a great solution with excellent service
Forever free plan for up to 10 learners. Paid starts as low as $1.97/learner/month for 10+ learners. No hidden charges. 15-day money-back guarantee.
Whenever we talk about free and open-source LMS, Moodle LMS should figure at the top. During our trial, we saw this open-source platform can empower users to tailor an entire learning experience to their exact needs effortlessly. Meagan G., a long-time Moodle user, said, “Moodle is beginner-friendly and easy to use and navigate.” Moodle places the creative control firmly in users’ hands. It doesn’t confine users to rigid templates but extends the learning environment through plugins. It can be a great choice for non-profit organizations and schools that are looking to deliver highly customized learning.
Free with no direct support (you’ll need to self-host it and hire an expert to set it up)
LearnUpon is another cloud LMS known for its scalable and secure platform. The LMS is built to scale with any organization's needs. It can handle any number of users, courses, and enrollments, without sacrificing performance or security. To support this functionality, LearnUpon offers multi-portal functionality, bulk user import, automated course enrollment, and course templates that you can use and reuse to save time and ensure consistency. If you are looking for a scalable and secure LMS that can help you deliver engaging and effective online training, then LearnUpon can be the right choice for you.
With LearnUpon, we have one easy, accessible system for all countries and colleagues worldwide.
- Susanne Hederoth, the Adecco Group
$599/month for 50 to 150 users.
In our observation, Blackboard Learn is an underrated LMS in the corporate training circle. It is considered to be primarily designed for educational institutions. But this is only partly true. The LMS also offers corporate learning solutions for businesses. So, in addition to K-12 and higher education, it caters to professional education, government, and associations. A flexible and fully responsive interface, open architecture, and customization can be mentioned. Users can also add or remove features and tools as needed. All this makes it a great choice for professional development, training, and online learning.
Very organized and easy to use, especially when you get so used to it.
- Jondel I., Lead Generation Specialist
Starts from $9,500/year. Free trial available.
360Learning LMS is not just a platform; it's a dynamic ecosystem where learners actively shape their own educational journeys. With a keen focus on user-generated content and peer-to-peer feedback, the LMS empowers learners to become creators and collaborators. This has been corroborated by Étienne Delpit from Safran when he said that 360Learning puts the learners at the heart of the learning process. Users can easily create and share content, fostering a sense of ownership and enriching the learning experience. The platform is driven by a community of learners who inspire and support each other.
$8/registered user/month/up to 100 users a month
Trusted by thousands of global brands to train their employees, customers, and partners, Litmos LMS is cut out for delivering engaging courses and programs. It offers several engaging courses and programs on a variety of topics, including soft skills, compliance, and industry-specific training. These courses are developed by experts and feature interactive exercises, videos, and assessments. Whether you're an L&D expert or just starting out, you can effortlessly create, manage, and deploy training content. Besides, Litmos empowers you to track performance, identify gaps, and continuously improve your training initiatives.
Having the Litmos LMS ensures everyone hears the same message, in the same way.
- Valerie Marsh, Harvest
Starts at $6 per user/month for 150-500 users.
Seismic Learning (formerly Lessonly) is an all-in-one solution for empowering the workforce through learning, coaching, and skills development. You can use the platform to create and manage webinar registrations, deliver engaging training content while also providing personalized coaching. It helps teams learn, practice, and perform better at work, especially those who interact with clients, such as sales and customer service. Seismic Learning's integrated webinar tools make it easy to deliver live training and coaching sessions to remote teams. In this context, M&T Bank’s Jon Storm has this to say: “Seismic has brought together content, technology, and people in a way I never experienced before.”
The vendor hasn’t provided any pricing information.
Cypher Learning is an award-winning LMS that revolutionizes the way businesses, schools, and universities teach and learn. It can be an excellent choice for developing comprehensive content. It offers a suite of tools for course creation, content management, and assessment. Additionally, it offers comprehensive assessment tools, which help in evaluating the learning outcomes effectively. The LMS’ commitment to innovation, coupled with its user-centric design, enables it to remain at the forefront of learning technologies.
Cypher is a robust system with built-in self-support and fantastic customer service.
- Daniel Bates, 21stCentEd
The vendor hasn’t provided any pricing information. However, based on software review sites, it’s free for schools with up to 400 students. For individual teachers with up to 200 students, $0.05 per student per month. For schools with up to 400 students, $0.50 per student per month. Enterprise with 500 or more learners, contact the vendor for a custom quote.
SkyPrep is an excellent choice for customer training. It mitigates the risk of losing customers to unused software, commonly known as shelfware. By implementing an automated external training process, it can equip customers with the necessary resources for effectively utilizing your product. This results in customers realizing enhanced value from your offerings, leading to increased engagement and fostering customer loyalty. The LMS is powered by BoostHQ, a knowledge sharing platform. It helps organizations to share, centralize and discuss internal knowledge. It includes features such as tagging, categorization, commenting, and Q&A, which make it easy for training participants to find and use the information they need.
What made SkyPrep so appealing was the ability to implement our own materials into a trustworthy, easy to use program with excellent support staff.
- Caitlin Brigham, Buffalo Bills
Starts at $199/month.
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The right LMS software can have a positive and game-changing impact across your organization. Such solutions should align with your learning objectives and adapt to your evolving training needs. In short, they are supposed to balance functionality, delightful user experience, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. When selecting an LMS, consider several factors to ensure the chosen system aligns with your specific needs and expected learning outcomes.
Organizational Alignment
User Experience
Learner Portal
Mobile Accessibility
Content Quality & Variety
Content Management
Gamification
Training Delivery
Scalability & Integration
Analytics & Reporting
Security
Customer Support
Cost Considerations
Choose software tailored to the specific requirements of your industry or business. Opt for a system that provides training appropriate for the roles and duties within your company.
The software must be user-friendly and have a straightforward interface. This aspect can improve user interaction and guarantee that employees can efficiently operate the software without the need for significant training.
An easily navigable learning portal is a key resource center for training materials, scheduling tools, progress monitoring, and issue detection. Such a portal improves the overall educational experience and promotes independence among learners.
Today, mobile devices are prevalent, so software needs to be compatible with multiple devices. This compatibility allows learning to occur at any time and place, offering learners greater flexibility.
The success of any training program is significantly influenced by both the diversity and quality of the materials. Ensure the software supports various educational resources that accommodate various learning preferences and styles.
Customizing the training process is essential. This involves adapting the content to meet your organization's specific goals and branding, ensuring that the training remains pertinent and engaging for the participants.
Integrating game elements into training can significantly boost both engagement and enjoyment. This strategy has been shown to increase both course participation and completion rates.
The software should accommodate both synchronous, instructor-led training sessions and asynchronous, self-directed learning. This adaptability will enable you to select a training approach that aligns with your audience’s needs.
As your organization expands, it's crucial that the training software scales effectively to support a larger user base and more intricate training requirements while maintaining its performance. Also, consider seamless integrations with your current systems, including HR and ERP systems. Such integration simplifies the training workflow and improves data uniformity across various platforms.
Analytics and reporting capabilities are vital for monitoring the impact of training programs. The LMS you choose should offer comprehensive details on user advancement, rates of course completion, and other crucial metrics, enabling you to make well-informed choices regarding upcoming training approaches.
Considering the critical nature of training data, the software should comply with rigorous security and confidentiality protocols. This measure safeguards the privacy of employee details and training content against unauthorized access.
Evaluate the quality of the vendor's support carefully. Ensure they provide extensive services such as software training, a reliable help desk, and continual technical support. Effective customer service plays a significant role in the successful deployment and sustained use of the software.
Assess the overall cost of ownership. This encompasses the initial installation and subscription fees and any extra charges for additional features, support, and future updates. An economical solution should fit within your budget and offer a solid return on investment.
By carefully evaluating these criteria, you can easily select an LMS that meets your organizational needs and enhances your workforce’s learning experience.
Different LMS providers follow different pricing models. That said, most vendors adopt six standard pricing systems. Understanding these models can help you make an informed choice for your organization.
Pay Per Learner
Pay Per Active User
Pay As You Go
Subscription-Based
Free/Open Source
Pay Per Course
In this pricing model, you pay a flat fee based on the number of learners who sign into the product rather than simply buying it. You’re charged regardless of usage.
You’re charged for only users who actively use the LMS during a billing cycle.
It is directly linked to your LMS usage pattern. The price increases only with a peak in usage. You aren’t charged for inactive users.
You pay a fixed license fee for a certain period and add as many learners as you want. Generally, the price is tiered based on the features on offer.
You don’t pay anything to access the LMS. But you will incur costs in the software’s setup, customization, hosting, and maintenance. Upgrades must be coded or need IT support to install newer versions.
Users pay only for the courses in which they need to enroll learners. They can select a specific course based on their learning requirements and the need for certification.
This plan is suitable for enterprises that know how many learners they need to train. Calculating monthly or yearly expenses becomes easier.
Businesses that have temporary employees, contractors, or high employee turnover.
It works best for organizations with inconsistent training demands. As a result, the final bill will fluctuate from one period to another.
This plan is beneficial for anyone who does not have their own IT or does not want to use their IT and dev resources to maintain their LMS.
This model is preferable if you want the freedom of LMS customization independent of the provider. However, you should be ready to accept limited features.
Such LMS plans are best for delivering compliance training, such as sexual harassment, OSHA, DEI, etc., where learners must be certified regularly to meet industry compliance.
In conclusion, most LMS providers offer two main pricing models: monthly/yearly subscription plans and cost-per-user plans.
The subscription plans include all features and functionalities offered by the LMS and are priced according to the number of users and the duration of the subscription.
The cost-per-user plans are charged depending on the number of users and the features used. You can add or remove features that suit your needs.
For small businesses, choosing a flat-rate subscription plan, billed either monthly or annually, can be the most advantageous. This model is ideal due to small businesses’ generally smaller user base and simpler training needs, allowing them to benefit from predictable costs without the complexity of per-user charges.
In contrast, for medium to large-sized businesses, a per-user pricing model often proves more suitable. This approach scales with the number of users, which is beneficial for larger organizations with more intricate training requirements and a need to manage costs more flexibly. This plan can also be billed monthly or annually, providing flexibility to accommodate diverse budgeting needs.
Ultimately, it is important to have a clear understanding of the training goals, the business size, and the budget before deciding which pricing model is best suited for your organization. For more on LMS pricing, read: How Much Does LMS Software Cost? Comparison of Pricing Plans
Investing in a learning management system is essentially investing in your employees' development. Effective LMS software enhances the learning environment and promotes a culture of ongoing improvement that propels your organization.
To fully leverage the benefits of these tools, thoroughly assess your specific needs, review the various options available, and remain informed about emerging trends in the field.
By doing so, you can select and deploy a platform that meets and exceeds your organizational objectives, ultimately boosting the proficiency and productivity of your workforce.
This strategic approach will ensure that your investment in training tools is impactful and aligned with long-term business goals.
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