# Best Course Authoring Software - Page 13

  *By [Grace Savides](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/grace-savides)*

   Course authoring software products allow organizations to create engaging and interactive multimedia content for educational purposes. Course authoring software is used to develop training courses and content that can be consumed in either a corporate or more traditional educational setting. Learning content management systems (LCMS), which are course authoring tools built specifically as a tool for educational institutions, are currently included in the scope of course authoring. Organizations use course authoring tools to prepare educational material that can be administered with [learning management system (LMS)](https://www.g2.com/categories/learning-management-system-lms) or [corporate LMS](https://www.g2.com/categories/corporate-lms) software to create unique educational programs for employees or students.

Course authoring solutions are commonly implemented in HR departments and at educational institutions, enabling administrators to create educational content with no programming knowledge. Course authoring solutions can be either cloud-based or installed on-premise, and many follow the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) as a set of standards and specifications for integrating content with LMS software. Additionally, many course authoring products are built on top of [presentation software](https://www.g2.com/categories/presentation) to provide users with a familiar format for creating course content.

To qualify as a course authoring solution, a product must:

- Allow organizations to create multimedia content for educational purposes
- Provide a system through which users can create interactive multimedia content
- Allow users to publish course material to third-party or built-in learning management systems





## Best Course Authoring Software At A Glance

- **Leader:** [Articulate 360](https://www.g2.com/products/articulate-360/reviews)
- **Highest Performer:** [7taps Microlearning](https://www.g2.com/products/7taps-microlearning/reviews)
- **Easiest to Use:** [iSpring Suite](https://www.g2.com/products/ispring-suite/reviews)
- **Top Trending:** [Synthesia](https://www.g2.com/products/synthesia/reviews)
- **Best Free Software:** [Synthesia](https://www.g2.com/products/synthesia/reviews)


---

**Sponsored**

### Bridge

Bridge is an award-winning corporate Learning Management System (LMS) built to help organizations train, develop, and connect their people: whether they’re employees, partners, or customers. From onboarding and compliance to skill-building and leadership development, Bridge makes managing, delivering and measuring training simple and impactful. It’s the all-in-one LMS for companies that want to create engaging learning experiences without extra complexity. Built for mid-market organizations that want a smarter, development-focused LMS. It’s a favorite among Learning and Development teams, HR pros, and leaders who need to boost employee skills, stay compliant, and grow business performance. With Bridge, you can easily customize courses, target the exact skills your team needs, and create training that drives real career development. What sets Bridge apart is its skill-mapping superpower. The platform features a database of over 32,000 skills, all mapped to live labor market data, so you can build a detailed skills taxonomy, track coverage across your team, and spot any gaps instantly. These insights connect directly to Bridge’s training programs—making it simple to deliver learning that lines up perfectly with business needs and employee growth ambitions. Bridge also gives admins the insights they need with powerful reporting tools that track learner progress, monitor completions, and highlight areas that need attention. And with automated training workflows called Learning Journeys, admins can schedule and deliver learning programs in stages—no constant micromanaging required. That “set-it-and-forget-it” convenience keeps learners on track while saving teams time. For learners, Bridge offers a clean, personalized learning experience with tailored course recommendations and reminders that help them stay engaged. Plus, the Bridge mobile app makes it easy for deskless and remote workers to complete training anytime, anywhere—even offline. Ultimately, Bridge stands out among LMS platforms for its balance of simplicity, customization, and accessibility. It’s a modern, user-friendly system built to help companies create a culture where learning is continuous, connected, and part of everyday work.



[Book a Demo](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=324&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=565&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=neighbor_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=565&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=17903&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=324&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fcourse-authoring%3Fpage%3D13&secure%5Btoken%5D=3daabc95733a347dc0ea0c8c2f58b4b167986bf26dd8cae692d538c9447bd70b&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.getbridge.com%2Fg2-corporate-lms%3Futm_source%3Dpartner%26utm_medium%3Dpaid-directory%26utm_campaign%3Dbridge-2026-partner-g2_corporate_lms_p1_na%26utm_content%3Dg2%26utm_term%3Dcorporate-learning-management-system&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url)

---



## Parent Category

[Training eLearning Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/training-elearning)



## Related Categories

- [Corporate Learning Management Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/corporate-learning-management-systems)
- [eLearning Content Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/elearning-content)
- [Sales Training and Onboarding Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/sales-training-and-onboarding)



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## Buyer Guide

### What You Should Know About Course Authoring Software

### What is Course Authoring Software?

For organizations that need to deliver training to their employees, there are numerous providers of premade online courses on common topics that managers could purchase and assign to their teams. But if a company has more specialized training needs, the ability to create a customized course from scratch is a better solution. Course authoring software enables eLearning professionals to build engaging courses incorporating a variety of interactive elements, then publish and distribute them to any number of learners. These products are used by companies for their training needs as well as in academia for professors who are delivering instruction remotely. Custom courses created using course authoring software ultimately helps organizations achieve their learning goals.

Key Benefits of Course Authoring Software

- Enables companies to efficiently create engaging courses
- Reduces the time it takes to create a complete course
- Self-paced training allows more flexibility
- Allows instructors to customize learning content

### Why Use Course Authoring Software?

**Create engaging courses —** Part of making learning “sticky"—meaning the knowledge endures long after someone learns it—is making the process engaging. Course authoring tools offer numerous ways to make eLearning courses more interesting and interactive. Rather than creating courses that rely on slides with plain text and pictures, course developers incorporate video clips, animations, and audio files into a course. Quizzes are incorporated throughout a course to build in accountability for the material. Some platforms offer functionality for learners to navigate through branching scenarios, meaning the content differs depending on choices made by the user.

**Reduce course development time —** Course authoring platforms have built-in tools designed to maximize efficiency as developers make new courses. Content libraries in course authoring software contain a variety of premade elements that developers choose from, including slide templates, images, icons, buttons, and quiz questions. These libraries reduce the time instructors spend searching for elements to use in their courses, helping the course get completed more quickly. Some eLearning platforms also enable users to pre-existing presentation files and use those as a starting point for creating a course so that the developer doesn’t have to start from a blank template. Ultimately, these features make course creation less time-consuming.

**Increase training flexibility —** Digital courses created using course authoring software provide solutions to some of the inconveniences inherent in the in-person training. Courses are distributed using a learning management system (LMS), so learners in different locations can take the same course. The courses are also typically self-paced, so learners are able to complete them on their own schedule. Administrators review results for individual learners as they come in.

**Customize learning content —** One of the biggest benefits of course authoring tools is the ability to create exactly the course needed for a specific purpose. Rather than use an off-the-shelf eLearning course that may not target an organization’s needs, using course authoring software to build a course from the ground up ensures that it targets the exact objectives the instructor wants to cover. Courses are even customized for specific teams or roles, so that the employees get the exact training that they need. For universities, courses enable professors to teach the material in the way that they think works best. Collaboration tools built into course authoring software also allow multiple stakeholders to give feedback on a course before it is finalized to ensure it is customized to meet the needs of all parties involved.

### Who Uses Course Authoring Software?

Course authoring software is used by employees in government, education, and a range of businesses.

**Corporate trainers —** In-house trainers at companies use course authoring tools to create training courses for the business’s employees. Courses might cover HR issues related to compliance or they could be focused on information more specific to the company’s business, like sales enablement.

**Instructional designers and eLearning developers —** Companies that lack the HR personnel needed to develop their own custom courses in-house may turn to third-party instructional designers or eLearning developers, who use course authoring software to make courses for their clients. Typically, instructional designers communicate with their clients about the kind of course the company needs, then they build the course, get feedback on their work, and deliver a final product that is completed by employees. Universities also employ instructional designers to help professors develop materials for their courses, especially online courses.

### Kinds of Course Authoring Software

While most course authoring products have similar core functionality, some are sold as standalone products while others are integrated with an LMS. Using a course authoring tool that is integrated with an LMS means there is a built-in way to distribute the course to learners once it is finished, although those tools may have fewer course authoring features than standalone products that are solely dedicated to creating courses. Standalone products typically enable users to export content to a third-party LMS.

### Course Authoring Software Features

**Course templates —** Course authoring tools often come with included templates so course developers don’t have to start from a completely blank course. Templates include course modules with different layouts that allow developers to change text placeholders and add images, videos, or other elements to meet their needs.

**PowerPoint conversion —** Organizations that have pre-existing PowerPoint files that they have used in the past for training import those files into course authoring software and build an eLearning course using the old presentation as a template, helping save the time it would take to recreate the PowerPoint in the authoring tool.

**Asset library —** In addition to slide templates, course authoring tools often include an online library of elements that users can add to their presentations. These libraries sometimes contain thousands of different elements, including photos, videos, icons, and buttons.

**Quizzes —** Course authors are able to build in periodic quizzes at different points in a course to check the learner’s understanding of key concepts. If a learner answers incorrectly, courses are set up to have them go back and relearn the material, then have them try again to get the right answer before they are allowed to proceed.

**Feedback tools —** These features enable multiple stakeholders to leave comments on a course as it is being developed. Having feedback integrated directly into the authoring tool helps keep the comments organized so they are addressed before the course is published.

**Sharable content object reference model (SCORM) compatibility —** The industry standard for eLearning content is SCORM, a set of technical standards that ensure compatibility between a course and an LMS. Ensuring a course authoring platform is SCORM-compatible means its courses work with a variety of LMS vendors.

#### Additional Course Authoring Software Features

**Character images —** Some products have extensive “character" image collections. These might include a variety of different models of different ages, genders, ethnicities, and professions, each with dozens of photos showing a variety of facial expressions, emotions, and body poses. These character images are used to tell a story within the course or as a visual aid to illustrate a scenario.

**Branching scenarios —** One feature some platforms have for making courses interactive is by the ability to include branching scenarios, in which the course is different depending on choices the learner makes. For example, in a course on workplace harassment, a user might be asked to choose from three options for responding to a coworker who made an inappropriate remark in a meeting. Depending on the option the learner picks, the course could show a different outcome of the situation. These role-play simulations helps learners apply skills and knowledge from earlier in the course to a real-world scenario.

**Video recording —** Built-in video recording functionality enables users to record themselves or their computer screen to add a visual element to their course. These platforms typically also allow users to import videos from other sources.

**Mobile compatibility —** Course materials are automatically reformatted to be compatible with mobile phones and tablets, ensuring that learners complete course modules from any device.

**Analytics —** Course authors track how learners are using the course or their performance on in-course assessments once the courses have been deployed.

### Trends Related to Course Authoring Software

**Remote work —** Companies were already looking for digital alternatives to in-person training before the coronavirus pandemic. The worldwide shift to remote work has only underscored the need for organizations to have robust eLearning programs that are completed anywhere and at any time. Course authoring software developers have increased their emphasis on the mobile device experience to ensure the courses reach people on the devices they use the most.

**Cloud platforms —** While some course authoring products still offer on-premises installations, many vendors have moved their offerings to the cloud. This approach enables vendors to push out frequent updates to their products, adding new features, and fixing security vulnerabilities. Some also offer online content libraries, so course developers have an ever-expanding range of elements to choose from. Courses that are distributed to learners via the cloud are also quickly updated and re-released so that employees have access to the latest material.

### Potential Issues with Course Authoring Software

**Resource investment —** Creating customized courses have benefits for an organization’s training program, but it also takes a substantial investment of resources. Depending on how lengthy or in depth the course needs to be, it may take weeks or months for a course to go from idea to finished product. That includes multiple course drafts and rounds of feedback from different stakeholders. Companies also need to decide whether they have the right people in-house to use course authoring software effectively or if it makes more sense to outsource the work to an eLearning development firm. Another option is using premade online courses, although organizations will have to decide whether those more generic courses will meet their training needs.

**Employee engagement —** The best digital courses are interesting and informative. They hold learners’ attention with animations, videos, and interactive elements. But using those elements well takes practice and the right tools. An authoring tool that lacks strong functionality for creating interactive courses could result in courses that don’t engage learners and fall short of their desired impact. Buyers should ensure an authoring solution has the ability to create engaging courses and that their course developers know how to use the tools to achieve those aims.

**Compliance —** A key part of many training programs is courses to ensure employers maintain compliance with laws and regulations on topics like safety, security, and privacy. Company leaders deploy off-the-shelf solutions, but some might want to develop their own compliance courses using course authoring software. For companies that are developing their own compliance courses, leaders must ensure the courses cover all the required information for a given topic. They should also confirm that the software they use to deploy the courses has adequate tracking and reporting capabilities so that, if necessary, they prove that employees went through the training.

### Software and Services Related to Course Authoring Software

[**Learning management systems**](https://www.g2.com/categories/learning-management-system-lms) **—** Integrations with an LMS is a crucial feature for course authoring products, as completed courses are typically delivered to users through an LMS. Course authoring tools integrate with both [corporate LMS products](https://www.g2.com/categories/corporate-lms) as well as education-focused LMS products.

[**Screen and video capture software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/screen-and-video-capture) **—** For course authoring tools that lack built-in video capture functionality, a screen and video capture product allows a course developer to integrate screencasts of their computer desktop for demonstrations and tutorials.

[**Training management systems**](https://www.g2.com/categories/training-management-systems) **—** Organizations use training management systems to distribute courses to employees and track training completion.




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## Frequently Asked Questions

### How can I assess the user experience of different course authoring tools?

To assess the user experience of different course authoring tools, consider evaluating user reviews focusing on ease of use, customer support, and feature richness. For instance, Articulate 360 is praised for its intuitive interface and extensive resources, while Adobe Captivate is noted for its robust features but has a steeper learning curve. iSpring Suite users appreciate its seamless integration with PowerPoint, enhancing usability. Additionally, look at user satisfaction ratings, where tools like Camtasia and Lectora often receive high marks for their user-friendly design and effective support.



### How do course authoring tools facilitate collaboration among team members?

Course authoring tools enhance collaboration among team members through features like real-time editing, version control, and integrated communication tools. For instance, platforms such as Articulate 360 and Adobe Captivate allow multiple users to work simultaneously on projects, facilitating immediate feedback and updates. Additionally, tools like iSpring Suite offer shared workspaces and commenting features, which streamline discussions and revisions. User reviews highlight that these collaborative features significantly improve project efficiency and team alignment, making it easier to create cohesive learning experiences.



### How do course authoring tools handle multimedia content creation?

Course authoring tools effectively handle multimedia content creation by offering features such as video integration, audio recording, and image editing. For instance, Articulate Storyline allows users to embed videos and audio seamlessly, while Adobe Captivate provides advanced video editing capabilities. iSpring Suite is noted for its user-friendly interface that simplifies the addition of multimedia elements. Additionally, tools like Lectora enable the incorporation of interactive elements, enhancing learner engagement. Overall, these tools prioritize multimedia support, making it easier for creators to develop rich, interactive courses.



### How do pricing models vary among course authoring software?

Pricing models for course authoring software vary significantly. For instance, Articulate 360 offers a subscription-based model starting at approximately $1,299 per year, while Adobe Captivate provides a one-time purchase option around $1,299. In contrast, iSpring Suite operates on a subscription model with pricing starting at $970 per year. Other platforms like Elucidat and Lectora also utilize subscription pricing, with Elucidat starting at $1,200 annually. This diversity in pricing reflects different approaches to software access and user needs.



### How do user reviews reflect the effectiveness of course authoring tools?

User reviews indicate that course authoring tools are effective in enhancing user engagement and simplifying content creation. For instance, Articulate 360 has a high satisfaction rating of 92%, with users praising its intuitive interface and collaborative features. Similarly, Adobe Captivate scores 89%, with reviewers highlighting its robust multimedia capabilities. iSpring Suite, rated at 88%, is noted for its ease of use and integration with PowerPoint. Overall, positive feedback on usability and feature sets reflects the effectiveness of these tools in meeting educational needs.



### How scalable are course authoring tools for growing organizations?

Course authoring tools are generally scalable for growing organizations, with many users noting features that support team collaboration and content management. Tools like Articulate 360 and Adobe Captivate are praised for their ability to handle large volumes of content and users, while platforms such as iSpring Suite and Elucidat offer robust cloud-based solutions that facilitate easy updates and access. User reviews highlight the importance of integration capabilities and user-friendly interfaces, which contribute to scalability as organizations expand.



### What are the most common use cases for course authoring software?

The most common use cases for course authoring software include creating online courses for educational institutions, developing training programs for corporate learning, designing interactive e-learning modules, and producing assessments and quizzes for knowledge evaluation. Users frequently highlight the importance of features like multimedia integration, user-friendly interfaces, and collaboration tools, which enhance the course development process. Popular products in this category include Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, and iSpring Suite, each catering to diverse needs from simple course creation to complex learning management.



### What are the typical implementation timelines for course authoring software?

Implementation timelines for course authoring software typically range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the software and the specific needs of the organization. For instance, products like Articulate 360 and Adobe Captivate often report initial setup times of 1-3 months, while simpler tools like Google Classroom can be implemented in under a month. User feedback indicates that factors such as training, integration with existing systems, and content migration significantly influence these timelines.



### What integrations are commonly supported by course authoring platforms?

Common integrations supported by course authoring platforms include Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle and Canvas, content management systems such as WordPress, and tools for video conferencing like Zoom. Additionally, platforms often integrate with analytics tools for tracking learner progress and engagement, as well as payment gateways for e-commerce functionalities. Specific products like Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, and iSpring Suite frequently highlight these integrations in user reviews.



### What key features should I look for in a course authoring tool?

When selecting a course authoring tool, key features to consider include user-friendly interface, multimedia support, assessment capabilities, collaboration tools, and integration options. Tools like Articulate 360 and Adobe Captivate are noted for their robust multimedia capabilities, while iSpring Suite excels in ease of use. Additionally, features such as analytics and reporting are crucial for tracking learner progress, with platforms like Elucidat offering strong analytics functionalities. Lastly, ensure the tool supports SCORM and xAPI standards for compatibility with various Learning Management Systems.



### What security features should I consider when choosing course authoring software?

When selecting course authoring software, consider security features such as data encryption, user authentication, and compliance with standards like GDPR and FERPA. Products like Articulate 360 and Adobe Captivate are noted for robust security measures, including secure cloud storage and user access controls. Additionally, features like audit logs and customizable permissions are highlighted by users as essential for maintaining course integrity and protecting sensitive information. Look for software that offers regular security updates and has a strong reputation for data protection.



### What types of support options are available for course authoring software?

Course authoring software typically offers a variety of support options, including live chat, email support, and extensive knowledge bases. For instance, Articulate 360 provides 24/7 customer support and a community forum, while Adobe Captivate offers email support and a user community. iSpring Suite is noted for its responsive customer service and comprehensive tutorials. Additionally, some platforms like Lectora provide dedicated account managers for enterprise users, enhancing personalized support.