Best Course Authoring Software

How Many Course Authoring Software Products Does G2 Track?

Total Products under this Category: 312

Category Stats (Sep 2026)

  • Average Rating: 4.54/5 (↓0.01 vs Aug 2026) The average rating of products in this category, based on all submitted ratings
  • Top Trending Product: Rapport (+2.22%) - Among all products in this category, Rapport recorded the largest rating increase compared to last month

Last updated: September 01, 2026

How Does G2 Rank Course Authoring Software Products?

Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:

  • 30 Analysts and Data Experts
  • 26,700+ Authentic Reviews
  • 312+ Products
  • Unbiased Rankings

G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category.

G2 Grid® for Course Authoring Software

G2 Grid® for Course Authoring Software plotting products by satisfaction and market presence

Highlighted products: Articulate 360, Synthesia, iSpring Suite, Paycom, Absorb LMS, D2L Brightspace, Easygenerator, and 360Learning.

Underlying data: [Grid® JSON](https://www.g2.com/categories/course-authoring/grids.json?focus%5B%5D=articulate-360&focus%5B%5D=synthesia&focus%5B%5D=ispring-suite&focus%5B%5D=paycom&focus%5B%5D=absorb-software-absorb-lms&focus%5B%5D=d2l-brightspace&focus%5B%5D=easygenerator&focus%5B%5D=360learning)

Articulate 360

Articulate 360 is the #1 AI-powered platform for workplace training. Create: Turn knowledge into capability with AI built for learning. Collaborate: Comment, review, and resolve feedback—all in one place. Distribute: Share training wherever your team works, then track engagement and completion in one analytics dashboard. Scale: Translate your training into 80+ languages for effortless global distribution. It’s easy to get started with simple tools, tutorials, and access to a community of 1.5M+ training pros.

Average Rating: 4.7/5.0

Total Reviews: 787

How Do G2 Users Rate Articulate 360?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Articulate 360?

  • Seller: Articulate
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2002
  • HQ Location: New York, NY
  • Twitter: @Articulate
    21,573 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    711 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Instructional Designer, Senior Instructional Designer
  • Top Industries: Hospital & Health Care, E-Learning
  • Company Size: 48% Large, 25% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Articulate 360?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of Articulate 360, enabling seamless eLearning development with a professional touch.
  • Users find Articulate 360's user-friendly courses easy to learn, enhancing trainings and making them interactive.
  • Users love the interactivity features in Articulate 360, enhancing engagement and creating impactful learning experiences.
  • Users value the rapid course creation capabilities of Articulate 360, enabling swift development of engaging eLearning content.
  • Users value the intuitive interface of Articulate 360, enabling quick and easy development of eLearning courses.
Cons
  • Users frequently face bug issues with Articulate 360, causing unexpected freezes and requiring workarounds for functionality.
  • Users find the steep learning curve of Articulate 360 challenging, needing significant time to master its features.
  • Users express frustration with the limited customization in Articulate 360, hindering specific design needs and flexibility.
  • Users often face slow performance issues with Articulate 360, impacting their workflow and efficiency during development.
  • Users express a desire for more options and customization in Articulate 360 to enhance creative potential.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Articulate 360?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Articulate 360?

Synthesia

Synthesia is the world's leading AI video platform for business, trusted by over 90% of the Fortune 100. As AI continues to shape the way we live and work, Synthesia develops products to enhance visual communication and enterprise skill development, helping people work better and stay at the center of successful organizations. Create videos from any input: Type or paste a script, generate one from a prompt, or turn a PowerPoint deck, PDF, Word doc, link, or ready-made template into a polished, publish-ready video in minutes. Present with AI Avatars: Prompt fully customizable avatars into any outfit, setting, and action, choose from a realistic stock avatar library, or create a personal avatar from a single photo that looks and sounds like you. Communicate globally: Deliver consistent, localized content to every market in 160+ languages with built-in AI translation and dubbing, plus a Translation Glossary that locks key terminology so your message stays accurate everywhere. Practice with Roleplay Sessions: People step into a real conversation with an Interactive Avatar that talks, asks questions, and pushes back - then get coached and scored in real time, with their skill uplift measured over time, all in one platform. Engage through interactivity: Add quizzes, clickable moments, and branching paths that turn passive viewing into active learning. Measure real impact: Synthesia’s built-in analytics let you see how your videos perform, who’s watching, where they drop off, and how they engage. Use data-driven insights to refine content and maximize ROI on every communication. Built for enterprise trust: Synthesia is trusted by the world’s leading organizations for its enterprise-grade security and compliance standards, including SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, ISO 42001, and ISO 27001. From HR and L&D to Marketing and Sales, Synthesia enables every team to create on-brand, on-message videos at scale, turning communication into a competitive advantage.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 2,789

How Do G2 Users Rate Synthesia?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 7.6/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Synthesia?

  • Seller: Synthesia
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2017
  • HQ Location: London
  • Twitter: @synthesiaIO
    28,606 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    852 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: CEO, Owner
  • Top Industries: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  • Company Size: 66% Small, 18% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Synthesia?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users love the ease of use of Synthesia, allowing effortless creation of professional videos in just minutes.
  • Users value the consistently professional quality of Synthesia's videos, enhancing their training efforts significantly.
  • Users love the convenience and ease of use in creating engaging videos with Synthesia's expressive avatars.
  • Users love the realistic avatars in Synthesia, enhancing professionalism and engagement in their video projects effortlessly.
  • Users appreciate the ease of use and comprehensive features of Synthesia, enabling high-quality content creation effortlessly.
Cons
  • Users note the unnatural appearance of avatars, despite improvements, highlighting a need for better realism in design.
  • Users note the limited avatars available on Synthesia, affecting realism and consistency in their video projects.
  • Users find the avatar quality lacking, noting unnatural appearances and inconsistent behaviors in generated videos.
  • Users feel the AI avatars lack naturalness and customization, affecting the overall user experience and content quality.
  • Users find limited customization of AI avatars frustrating, impacting the overall personalization of their content.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Synthesia?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Synthesia?

iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite is the most intuitive PowerPoint-based authoring tool for creating professional eLearning. It allows teams to quickly turn existing slides into interactive courses, reducing both the time and cost of training development. With built-in AI for content generation and translation, along with reliable one-click LMS publishing, teams can deliver engaging, accessible, and globally-ready training without the need for specialized designers or developers. A familiar PowerPoint interface keeps the workflow straightforward. A library of over 310,000 training assets and an integrated AI assistant provide instant outlines, content, visuals, and quiz questions, helping teams move from idea to course faster. For global rollout, built-in AI generates natural-sounding voiceovers and translates entire courses into more than 50 languages in minutes, making localization fast, consistent, and cost-effective. Collaboration is built into the process. Teams can work together during course creation and manage reviews in a single web application, with all stakeholder feedback collected in one place instead of scattered email threads. Published content is delivered as fully compliant SCORM, xAPI, or cmi5 packages that function reliably in any learning management system. Users receive direct support from a dedicated team of product experts that resolves 85% of requests in under two hours. Trusted by more than 61,000 teams, iSpring Suite makes it easy to create training that looks great, works everywhere, and gets done faster. The full capabilities of the platform are available to explore through a free 14-day trial.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 839

How Do G2 Users Rate iSpring Suite?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.5/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind iSpring Suite?

  • Seller: iSpring
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2001
  • HQ Location: Alexandria, VA
  • Twitter: @iSpringPro
    6,522 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    270 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Instructional Designer, President
  • Top Industries: E-Learning, Higher Education
  • Company Size: 45% Small, 32% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About iSpring Suite?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users highlight the ease of use of iSpring Suite, streamlining the creation of interactive e-learning content.
  • Users praise iSpring Suite for its easy creation of engaging courses, enhancing both speed and creativity in design.
  • Users appreciate the intuitive and powerful features of iSpring Suite, enhancing course creation and engaging content delivery.
  • Users love the ease of learning with iSpring Suite, rapidly boosting productivity through familiar PowerPoint integration.
  • Users love the seamless PowerPoint integration of iSpring Suite, making course creation fast and efficient.
Cons
  • Users find the limited features of iSpring Suite restrictive for advanced or branded learning experiences and Mac compatibility issues.
  • Users find limited customization options frustrating, especially for complex content and accessibility features in iSpring Suite.
  • Users often face technical issues with iSpring Suite, particularly with the cumbersome folder structure and file management difficulties.
  • Users find feature limitations in iSpring Suite, seeking more extensive customization and advanced interactive options.
  • Users experience a learning curve due to the multitude of features, requiring time to fully master the tool.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of iSpring Suite?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About iSpring Suite?

Paycom

Paycom is a leading human capital management software provider that helps organizations across the U.S. and internationally automate routine decisions and workflows. Through built-in decisioning logic and full-solution automation, Paycom reduces administrative burden for HR, managers and employees while streamlining HR and payroll processes. Frequently recognized by third party reviewers as one of the best payroll and HR software solutions, Paycom is used by organizations of all sizes across the U.S. and internationally to simplify workforce management and free HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 5,076

How Do G2 Users Rate Paycom?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 8.4/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.5/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Paycom?

  • Seller: Paycom
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 1998
  • HQ Location: Oklahoma City, OK
  • Twitter: @Paycom
    33,252 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    5,537 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: HR Manager, Human Resources Manager
  • Top Industries: Hospital & Health Care, Non-Profit Organization Management
  • Company Size: 20% Medium, 5% Small

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Paycom?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of Paycom, noting its simple interface and straightforward setup process.
  • Users commend Paycom for their knowledgeable and responsive customer support, enhancing the overall experience with the tool.
  • Users value the effective timeclock and payroll processing of Paycom, simplifying employee access and reducing errors.
  • Users appreciate the user-friendly payroll management with streamlined processes that enhance efficiency for HR and employees.
  • Users value the user-friendly technology of Paycom, enhancing payroll processing and time tracking effortlessly.
Cons
  • Users express frustration with Paycom's poor customer support, feeling their concerns are often met with unhelpful responses.
  • Users report a steep learning curve with Paycom, making it challenging to navigate and effectively utilize the system.
  • Users find Paycom's interface not intuitive, requiring excessive steps to accomplish tasks compared to other tools.
  • Users find Paycom's limited features frustrating, leading to dissatisfaction and a desire to revert to previous tools.
  • Users often face navigation difficulty with Paycom, making it harder to find necessary features quickly.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Paycom?

Absorb LMS

Absorb is an agentic AI-powered learning platform designed to deliver results for all learners — employees, partners, and customers alike. With AI agents that handle the heavy lifting across administration, content creation, and learner guidance, Absorb goes beyond traditional LMS capabilities to actively drive learning outcomes at scale. Seamless integrations across your tech stack, native content authoring, and advanced reporting and analytics simplify learning management while AI handles the routine. Personalized learning paths, automated workflows, and white-labeled experiences let your team focus on high-impact learning initiatives rather than managing the system. Absorb helps organizations improve time-to-productivity, ensure compliance, and scale training programs efficiently — whether you’re onboarding employees, training partners, or educating customers.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 959

How Do G2 Users Rate Absorb LMS?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Absorb LMS?

  • Seller: Absorb Software
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2003
  • HQ Location: Calgary
  • Twitter: @AbsorbLMS
    1,463 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    675 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Instructional Designer, Training Manager
  • Top Industries: Hospital & Health Care, Non-Profit Organization Management
  • Company Size: 45% Medium, 37% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Absorb LMS?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users find Absorb LMS to be easy to learn and customize, with excellent support enhancing their experience.
  • We value the outstanding customer support from Absorb LMS, making our transition smooth and our experience enjoyable.
  • Users commend the outstanding customer support from Absorb LMS, praising their helpfulness and expertise throughout the learning process.
  • Users commend the excellent support from Absorb LMS, highlighting knowledgeable and helpful team members throughout their learning journey.
Cons
  • Users find the limited features of Absorb LMS can hinder functionality and ease of use in content development.
  • Users find the limited customization options in Absorb LMS cumbersome and time-consuming to navigate effectively.
  • Users express concern over the missing features in Absorb LMS, limiting administrative control and customization options.
  • Users find the learning curve challenging, especially without adequate support and guidance from Absorb resources.
  • Users are frustrated by the inadequate reporting, requiring manual updates and lacking advanced filtering options for courses.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Absorb LMS?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Absorb LMS?

D2L Brightspace

Learning That Transforms Lives D2L Brightspace is a powerful, flexible learning platform designed to put learners first. Whether you’re supporting students, employees, or members, Brightspace helps you create personalized, engaging, and measurable learning experiences that drive success. Built for Your World Brightspace adapts to the needs of every learning environment: K–12: Empower teachers and inspire every learner Higher Education: Deliver personalized learning at scale Corporate: Drive business results through smarter learning Associations: Turn training into a competitive advantage Training Providers: Deliver scalable, high-impact learning programs Modernize with Confidence Easily digitize your courses and adopt intuitive tools designed to enhance engagement, accessibility, and outcomes—no technical background required. Scale Personalized Learning Automate routine tasks, unlock actionable insights, and build learning paths that adapt to each learner’s needs. Brightspace helps you save time while improving outcomes. Support Advanced Learning Models From mastery-based progressions to competency-based learning, Brightspace has the power and flexibility to support even the most advanced online and blended strategies. A True Partner in Your Success More than a platform, Brightspace comes with a team dedicated to helping you succeed. From onboarding to optimization, we align our support and services to your goals—every step of the way.

Average Rating: 4.4/5.0

Total Reviews: 669

How Do G2 Users Rate D2L Brightspace?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.5/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind D2L Brightspace?

  • Seller: Desire2Learn
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 1999
  • HQ Location: Kitchener, ON
  • Twitter: @D2L
    23,447 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    1,260 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Instructional Designer, Teacher
  • Top Industries: Higher Education, Education Management
  • Company Size: 45% Medium, 40% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About D2L Brightspace?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users find D2L Brightspace to be user-friendly, with an intuitive interface that enhances personalized learning experiences.
  • Users appreciate the user-friendly interface of D2L Brightspace, making navigation and setup effortless for both teachers and students.
  • Users appreciate the flexible feature diversity of D2L Brightspace, enhancing engagement and usability for both trainers and students.
  • Users value the intuitive and visually appealing design of D2L Brightspace, enhancing their teaching and learning experience.
  • Users appreciate the ease of learning with D2L Brightspace, highlighting its user-friendly interface and effective tools.
Cons
  • Users note limited features in Brightspace, leading to inefficient workflows and inconsistencies across different tools.
  • Users find limited customization options frustrating, as it complicates their ability to adapt the platform to specific needs.
  • Users find the complexity of configurations overwhelming, making tasks unnecessarily time-consuming and confusing.
  • Users experience navigation issues due to complex structures and excessive clicks needed to access discussions efficiently.
  • Users find the user interface cluttered and unintuitive, making navigation and accessibility frustrating and challenging.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of D2L Brightspace?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About D2L Brightspace?

Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based e-learning authoring solution designed to help organizations streamline and enhance their learning development processes. This innovative software enables users to create interactive e-learning content efficiently, catering to a wide range of educational needs. With a focus on accessibility and user-friendliness, Easygenerator empowers subject matter experts to transform their knowledge into engaging online courses without requiring extensive technical skills. The target audience for Easygenerator includes educational institutions, corporate training departments, and individual educators looking to develop and distribute e-learning materials. Its versatility makes it suitable for various use cases, such as onboarding new employees, providing ongoing professional development, or delivering compliance training. Organizations can leverage Easygenerator to create tailored learning experiences that meet their specific objectives, ensuring that learners receive relevant and impactful education. Key features of Easygenerator include its intuitive interface, which allows users to design courses with ease, and the auto-translation capability that supports over 75 languages. This feature is particularly beneficial for global organizations seeking to deliver consistent training across diverse geographical locations. Additionally, Easygenerator offers personalized support services to assist users throughout the course creation process, ensuring they can maximize the platform's potential. The inclusion of an AI assistant further enhances the user experience by providing real-time guidance and suggestions, making course development even more efficient. Easygenerator stands out in the e-learning authoring category by prioritizing user empowerment and collaboration. The platform facilitates knowledge sharing among teams, enabling multiple contributors to work on course content simultaneously. This collaborative approach not only speeds up the development process but also enriches the learning materials with diverse perspectives. By combining these features with a commitment to continuous improvement and user feedback, Easygenerator delivers a robust solution that meets the evolving needs of modern learning environments.

Average Rating: 4.7/5.0

Total Reviews: 174

How Do G2 Users Rate Easygenerator?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.5/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.0/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Easygenerator?

  • Seller: easygenerator
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2013
  • HQ Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • Twitter: @easygenerator
    1,459 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    243 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Top Industries: Hospital & Health Care, Construction
  • Company Size: 44% Medium, 43% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Easygenerator?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users find Easygenerator to be extremely easy to use, enabling quick mastery and efficient course creation.
  • Users find Easygenerator's intuitive design empowering, enabling quick and efficient course creation with excellent support.
  • Users find Easygenerator's user-friendly course creation exceptional, enabling engaging and interactive training efficiently.
  • Users value the responsive customer support that provides immediate assistance when needed, enhancing their experience.
  • Users highlight the innovative interactive content features, enhancing engagement with quizzes and AI-generated scenarios.
Cons
  • Users find Easygenerator lacks design flexibility, making it challenging to create tailored content and ensure accessibility.
  • Users find the platform not intuitive, leading to challenges with reporting and content creation features.
  • Users find limited customization frustrating, wishing for more options and flexibility in tailoring their projects.
  • Users find limited editing options frustrating, especially for sharing images and organizing course content effectively.
  • Users find the limited language support challenging, as translations require significant editing and are not always accurate.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Easygenerator?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Easygenerator?

360Learning

360Learning is the AI-driven enterprise LMS that closes skills gaps by capturing internal expertise with collaborative learning Academies. Legacy systems force L&D teams to choose between scale and relevance. 360Learning eliminates this trade-off. Using agentic AI, we transform the expertise that runs your business into scalable learning for your entire organization - upskilling employees, customers, and partners from one platform. The platform merges enterprise LMS and LXP capabilities including agentic automation, adaptive coaching, a multimodal AI content builder, and the market’s #1 rated mobile app. Our ecosystem of 50+ partners includes an SAP Silver Partnership and Workday Design Partnership, ensuring learning connects to your broader business strategy. Over 2,500 companies, including Heineken, Equinox, Michelin, Merlin, and Cisco, trust 360Learning as their enterprise LMS. Rated #1 AI LMS by eLearning Industry and backed by dedicated implementation, support, and services teams, we help L&D become a growth lever, not a cost center. Founded in 2013. $240M raised. Teams across North America and Europe.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 612

How Do G2 Users Rate 360Learning?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.2/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind 360Learning?

  • Seller: 360Learning
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2013
  • HQ Location: New York
  • Twitter: @360Learning
    10,748 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    498 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: CEO, Chef de projet formation
  • Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  • Company Size: 53% Medium, 28% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About 360Learning?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users find 360Learning to be easy to use, making content creation and learning management straightforward for everyone.
  • Users value the ease of course creation with 360Learning, enhancing engagement and providing a tailored learning experience.
  • Users value the exceptional customer support from 360Learning, enhancing their overall experience and ensuring smooth implementation.
  • Users find the admin experience smooth with easy enrollment, efficient dashboards, and valuable AI assistance.
  • Users value the engagement features of 360Learning, enhancing collaborative learning and interactive experiences for learners.
Cons
  • Users note limited features, which can make finding specific tools challenging despite responsive support.
  • Users experience a noticeable learning curve during setup, which can slow down initial usage of 360Learning.
  • Users find limited customization in organizing content, which hinders their ability to efficiently manage training resources.
  • Users find the missing features in 360Learning limit functionality, particularly in course enrollment and interactivity options.
  • Users find the learning curve steep for 360Learning, with complexity affecting user experience and support efficiency.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of 360Learning?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About 360Learning?

Litmos

Litmos is the Learning Acceleration Platform, helping organizations build human capability in the AI era across their workforce, partners, and customers. Backed by a proven success model and decades of real-world best practices, Litmos helps more than 11,000 organizations across 150 countries build, activate, and evolve human capability at the speed of AI. Learn more at www.litmos.com.

Average Rating: 4.3/5.0

Total Reviews: 680

How Do G2 Users Rate Litmos?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 8.6/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.3/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Litmos?

  • Seller: Litmos
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2007
  • HQ Location: San Ramon, California
  • Twitter: @Litmos
    7,867 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    232 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Training Manager, Training Coordinator
  • Top Industries: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  • Company Size: 51% Medium, 34% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Litmos?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of Litmos, highlighting its user-friendly interface and effective account management support.
  • Users praise Litmos for its excellent customer support and user-friendly interface that enhances the learning experience.
  • Users appreciate the user-friendly interface of Litmos, enabling easy navigation and seamless integration with HR systems.
  • Users value the simplicity and ease of use in Litmos for creating and managing course content effectively.
  • Users find Litmos intuitive and user-friendly, making course creation and navigation easy for everyone involved.
Cons
  • Users find the poor reporting of Litmos limits tracking course completions and complicates data retrieval.
  • Users find the reporting features inadequate, lacking clarity on course completions and requiring too many steps for information.
  • Users find the inadequate reporting of Litmos frustrating, hindering their ability to track progress and completions effectively.
  • Users note the limited customization options in Litmos, hindering the ability to tailor content to their needs.
  • Users experience feature issues with report generation and user export limitations, impacting their overall efficiency.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Litmos?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Litmos?

Intrepid by VitalSource

Intrepid is an applied learning platform that helps organizations build real capability through practice, collaboration, and personalized coaching. Where most platforms stop at content delivery and completion tracking, Intrepid structures learning around real work so skills develop, performance improves, and impact is measurable. Learning and development teams, enablement leaders, and HR professionals use Intrepid to run high-stakes programs including leadership development, employee onboarding, sales enablement, and workforce upskilling. Learners don't just consume content. They apply skills through structured assignments, peer interaction, and personalized coaching that builds proficiency over time. AI is embedded across the experience to personalize practice, scale feedback, and extend learning into real work. AI-powered simulations, roleplays, and adaptive coaching interactions allow learners to practice conversations, decisions, and real-world scenarios with contextual feedback that evolves with each response. Human connection stays at the center. Intrepid supports cohort-based, blended, and self-paced programs from one platform, and integrates with LMS, HRIS, and analytics systems to extend your existing ecosystem without replacing what already works. Key capabilities: Applied practice: Structured assignments, projects, and AI-powered activities grounded in real work scenarios. Collaborative learning: Cohort discussions, peer feedback, and shared workspaces that build accountability and connection. Personalized coaching: Human and AI coaching embedded throughout; adaptive, contextual, and tied to each learner's performance. Flexible delivery: Cohort, blended, and self-paced formats that scale across global teams without losing program integrity. Capability intelligence: Analytics and AI insights that surface skill signals, engagement patterns, and readiness indicators leaders can act on. Ecosystem integration: Connections with LMS, HR, and analytics platforms for user sync, reporting, and data continuity. Intrepid is built for enterprise organizations that need learning to show up in performance, not just in completion reports. Backed by an NPS of 61 and a 4.8/5 customer support rating.

Average Rating: 4.5/5.0

Total Reviews: 18

How Do G2 Users Rate Intrepid by VitalSource?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Intrepid by VitalSource?

  • Seller: VitalSource
  • Year Founded: 1999
  • HQ Location: Raleigh, NC
  • Twitter: @vitalsource
    1,744 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    472 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Company Size: 76% Large, 14% Small

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Intrepid by VitalSource?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Intrepid by VitalSource?

isEazy Author

isEazy Author is the #1 AI-powered authoring tool for creating professional, interactive and accessible e-learning courses in minutes. Built for speed and simplicity, it combines intuitive editing with advanced AI to help any team design high-quality training with minimal effort. Why choose isEazy as an authoring tool?  isEazy accelerates content production, you can create professional and accessible e-learning courses up to ten times faster. Leverage the power of AI to craft immersive and interactive courses in seconds. Seamlessly meet accessibility standards automatically while maintaining engagement, efficiency, and budget. Foster collaboration across stakeholders. Effortlessly distribute and share your courses in minutes. Who is isEazy Author for? isEazy Author is designed to make it easy for any professional, internal trainer or business unit to create engaging and dynamic courses that engage their audience. It is currently used by: - Training and HR Departments - Content designers / Agencies - Business area and sales schools - Companies that want to conduct training - Content factories - Educational sector - Freelancers. You’ll be impressed by some of its advantages: Easy Editing Thanks to its slide editing system and its agile and user-friendly interface, isEazy Author makes it very easy to create e-learning courses on your own. It also offers a wide selection of standard templates and ready to-use resources for professional results, effortlessly. Create courses faster with AI Accelerate your production processes and create courses up to ten times faster. Use AI to translate content, generate voiceovers and subtitles, build exercises and games, create avatars, or automatically produce assessments and interactive elements. Go further with AI Autopilot: complete courses with AI AI Autopilot introduces a new way to create training. Start from a simple idea or upload your existing documentation, and let Autopilot generate a complete course structure aligned with pedagogical best practices, your brand’s visual style and the most effective interactive resources. Intuitive editing and real-time collaboration isEazy Author’s slide-based editor and clean interface make it easy for anyone to design e-learning content. Multiple users can collaborate simultaneously, personalise templates, and apply brand logos, fonts and colours in seconds—no installation required. Engaging learning through 25+ interactive elements Inspire learners with videos, infographics, branching scenarios, timelines, hotspots, quizzes and games such as Trivia. You can also integrate external content to enrich your experiences even further. Flexible publishing and distribution isEazy Author offers you different distribution options based on your needs and objectives: you can publish and share your course by direct link, export it in PDF or easily embed it in your intranet or corporate website. You can also download your SCORM or xAPI package and integrate it into your LMS or use our own training environment, Author Go. Automatically create accessible courses Meet WCAG 2.1 AA, up to 80% AAA and Section 508 requirements effortlessly. You don't need to be an expert, isEazy Author +25 preconfigured interactive resources and accessible games, as well as contextual help during editing to make the process easier. Plus, you don't have to give up adding your organization's colors, typography, and style to your courses. Dual mode enables users to switch between accessible and original versions anytime.

Average Rating: 4.9/5.0

Total Reviews: 21

How Do G2 Users Rate isEazy Author?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.7/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.8/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 10.0/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 9.7/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind isEazy Author?

  • Seller: isEazy
  • Year Founded: 2002
  • HQ Location: Madrid, Madrid
  • Twitter: @isEazy
    1,163 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    193 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Top Industries: E-Learning
  • Company Size: 77% Medium, 23% Small

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of isEazy Author?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About isEazy Author?

LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is an online course platform and corporate LMS that helps training businesses deliver professional learning programs from one flexible setup, whether they're launching a new academy, scaling customer training, or connecting learning into an existing tech stack. Most learning management software is built for one use case. LearnWorlds is built for training businesses that have several. A single platform for branded academies, B2B client programs, corporate education, and paid learning, with user groups, roles, ecommerce, reporting, and automation tools that let you configure each program differently without starting from scratch. AI content creation, integrations like HubSpot and Stripe, and scheduled reporting mean less time on the work that doesn't need a human, and more time on the work that does. When you outgrow a basic online course platform or a standard learning management solution, the problem is rarely just course creation or course authoring. Every new client brings new learner groups, access rules, seats, reports, certificates, stakeholder visibility, and rollout work. LearnWorlds gives training businesses the delivery, reporting, commerce, and operational control to run programs across multiple client organizations without rebuilding from scratch or adding more manual work. One core offer, adapted for every client, built on: - Branded academies - User roles and access rules - Certificates - Ecommerce, analytics, and scheduled reports Teams can configure repeatable training experiences that serve different clients, cohorts, partners, customers, employees, members, and paid learners. Most training teams already have the content, it just lives across documents, slide decks, notes, and existing materials. LearnWorlds AI helps turn that knowledge into course-ready material, including outlines, activities, assessments, pages, emails, and visuals, while allowing teams to refine specific sections and keep content consistent across the academy. LearnWorlds helps commercial training businesses launch new clients faster, prove impact clearly, support more complex delivery models, and scale operations without scaling headcount.

Average Rating: 4.7/5.0

Total Reviews: 381

How Do G2 Users Rate LearnWorlds?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.6/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind LearnWorlds?

  • Seller: LearnWorlds
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2014
  • HQ Location: Limassol, Greece
  • Twitter: @LearnWorlds
    2,948 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    195 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: CEO, Owner
  • Top Industries: E-Learning, Professional Training & Coaching
  • Company Size: 87% Small, 11% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About LearnWorlds?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users rave about the exceptional customer support from LearnWorlds, always responsive within twenty-four hours.
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of LearnWorlds, noting its intuitive interface and straightforward setup process.
  • Users value the feature diversity of LearnWorlds, enabling customization and fulfilling various needs with ease.
  • Users praise LearnWorlds for its excellent support, highlighting fast responses and personalized assistance from the team.
  • Users highlight the outstanding customer support of LearnWorlds, appreciating the personalized and timely assistance provided.
Cons
  • Users find limited features frustrating, particularly regarding payment options and user management flexibility.
  • Users find limited customization options frustrating, particularly for multilingual setups and mobile usability issues.
  • Users note the missing features in LearnWorlds, particularly key integrations and bulk edit options for better functionality.
  • Users find the platform not intuitive, facing confusion initially, especially with mobile navigation and multilingual setup.
  • Users find LearnWorlds not user-friendly, struggling with integration costs, editing frustrations, and a poor mobile experience.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of LearnWorlds?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About LearnWorlds?

D-ID

D-ID is a sophisticated software solution that specializes in creating advanced Interactive Visual Agents, which are hyper-realistic, AI-powered digital humans designed to facilitate real-time, face-to-face conversations. This innovative technology allows organizations to enhance their customer interactions by integrating these digital agents into various platforms, including enterprise websites, mobile applications, and internal systems. The primary use cases for D-ID's technology include automating customer service, onboarding new users, guiding product selection, and delivering information in a more natural and human-centered manner. Targeted at a diverse audience, D-ID serves organizations across multiple sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, public sector entities, media networks, and rapidly growing digital platforms. The versatility of D-ID's solutions makes it suitable for businesses looking to improve customer engagement and streamline communication processes. By deploying these digital agents, organizations can ensure that they provide timely and relevant information to their users, thereby enhancing the overall user experience. One of the standout features of D-ID is its AI video generation platform, which allows users to convert text, audio, or cloned voice inputs into high-quality videos featuring lifelike talking avatars. This capability is particularly beneficial for creating engaging content that can be used in various contexts, such as marketing, training, and internal communications. Users can also create personalized digital avatars directly within the platform, enabling a more tailored approach to video content creation. Furthermore, D-ID's recent acquisition of simpleshow enhances its offerings by incorporating a widely adopted explainer video creation tool. This integration provides users with a seamless workflow for producing informative and engaging explainer videos, which can be particularly useful for training and compliance purposes. Supporting over 120 languages, D-ID enables enterprises to create personalized, multilingual content without the traditional costs and constraints associated with video production. D-ID also offers flexible deployment options, including API integration, self-service creation tools, and mobile applications, allowing organizations to scale their intelligent communication efforts efficiently and securely. By adding a human, interactive layer to digital experiences, D-ID empowers businesses to leverage conversational AI and localized video content, ultimately transforming the way they engage with their customers and stakeholders. Organizations use D-ID to build AI-powered training experiences, customer support assistants, sales enablement videos, onboarding programs, knowledge-sharing content, and interactive product demonstrations for global audiences while maintaining a personalized experience. The platform combines conversational AI, large language models (LLMs), real-time speech, expressive digital humans, and enterprise-grade video generation to deliver natural, engaging interactions across every stage of the customer and employee journey. With support for Agentic AI workflows and interactive AI video experiences, D-ID helps enterprises transform static content into dynamic conversations that improve engagement, knowledge retention, and operational efficiency. Whether deployed for Learning & Development, customer experience, marketing, HR, or internal communications, D-ID enables organizations to create secure, enterprise-ready AI video experiences that integrate seamlessly with existing enterprise systems and support modern digital transformation initiatives.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 130

How Do G2 Users Rate D-ID?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 8.7/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind D-ID?

  • Seller: D-ID
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2017
  • HQ Location: Tel Aviv
  • Twitter: @D_ID_
    15,597 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    152 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: CEO
  • Top Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Education Management
  • Company Size: 85% Small, 9% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About D-ID?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users highlight the ease of use of D-ID, making video creation simple and efficient, even for beginners.
  • Users commend the high quality and user-friendliness of D-ID, enhancing their video creation experience significantly.
  • Users praise the high-quality, realistic avatars from D-ID, enhancing their video content with engaging, human-like features.
  • Users praise the high quality and ease of use of D-ID's avatars, making it a top choice in the industry.
  • Users highlight the top-notch quality and ease of use of D-ID for creating interactive videos effortlessly.
Cons
  • Users are frustrated by the watermark limitation and lack of options for cartoon and animal avatars.
  • Users find D-ID's pricing expensive, with added costs for credits if videos don't meet expectations.
  • Users feel that D-ID has pricing issues, wishing for more affordable options and fewer additional costs for features.
  • Users find the unnatural movements of characters to be limiting and detracting from the overall video quality.
  • Users find D-ID's AI limitations troubling, including inconsistent outputs and issues with features and service reliability.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of D-ID?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About D-ID?

7taps Microlearning

Your LMS assigns training. 7taps delivers it. For the people who never log in like: warehouse teams, field technicians, store staff, contractors, that distinction is everything. 7taps sends training directly via email, SMS, Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, or QR code. No app. No login. Two minutes on their phone, and you can see exactly who finished. Intuit trained 4,000 people with no LMS logins. Wave Utilities hit 98% completion. Other teams cut course production time by 92%. Used at all top 5 Fortune 500 companies. Courses are short tap-through experiences that open instantly in any browser on any device. Courses can be built from scratch, generated by AI from a document, URL, or topic, or converted from existing SCORM content. 7taps Copilot drafts a structured course in minutes. AI video and audio generation produces narrated courses without a recording studio. Courses update live. Edit once, it's changed everywhere, for everyone. Courses can be grouped into Learning Paths with sequential unlocking, delays between steps, deadlines, and completion records. Learning Space gives every person one place to find all their assigned courses, accessible with just an email code, no account needed. Analytics track open rates, completion rates, quiz scores, and individual status across every delivery channel. Data exports as CSV or PDF. xAPI integration sends completion data to any external learning record store. For shared devices, Kiosk Mode resets between users. Connects to 40+ HR systems including Workday, Dayforce, BambooHR, Personio, and UKG for automatic roster sync. Single sign-on for both authors and learners. Custom domain, custom email sender, and custom fonts for white-labeled deployments. SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO certified.

Average Rating: 4.8/5.0

Total Reviews: 284

How Do G2 Users Rate 7taps Microlearning?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.8/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.7/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 7.8/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind 7taps Microlearning?

  • Seller: 7taps Inc
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2020
  • HQ Location: West Palm Beach, US
  • Twitter: @7tapshq
    608 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    35 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Instructional Designer, Founder
  • Top Industries: E-Learning, Higher Education
  • Company Size: 45% Small, 29% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About 7taps Microlearning?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users find 7taps Microlearning to be exceptionally easy to use, facilitating quick course creation and effective learning experiences.
  • Users appreciate the user-friendly interface and rapid course creation of 7taps, enhancing their learning experience.
  • Users find 7taps Microlearning to be intuitive and easy to use, making course creation quick and enjoyable.
  • Users love the copilot feature of 7taps Microlearning for its ease and effectiveness in creating tailored content.
  • Users benefit from the time-saving capabilities of 7Taps, allowing quick creation and tracking of engaging microlearning content.
Cons
  • Users find limited customization options challenging, requiring them to create new modules instead of modifying existing ones.
  • Users express disappointment over limited features in 7taps Microlearning, wishing for more customizable options and better reporting.
  • Users wish for more flexible learning path creation in 7taps Microlearning, impacting accessibility for learners without emails.
  • Users find the pricing to be high, making it less accessible for beginners wanting to get started.
  • Users express frustration with limited image customization and lack of flexibility in modifying content and templates.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of 7taps Microlearning?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About 7taps Microlearning?

SkyPrep

Train smarter and faster with SkyPrep, the LMS without the mess. Simplify onboarding, product training, and compliance while keeping learners engaged. With an intuitive interface, powerful features, and exceptional support, SkyPrep makes training effortless and effective for employees, customers, and partners. Beyond its user-friendly design, SkyPrep offers a wide range of features, including AI-powered content creation tools, support for any file type, integrated assessment builders, and advanced reporting. Plus, its built-in course library provides instant access to ready-made training content, helping organizations accelerate learning and drive results. Discover more of our powerful, innovative features to elevate learning: Generative AI – Quickly turn existing documents, manuals, policies, or training materials into fully structured, interactive courses in minutes. SkyPrep Perform - Streamlines performance management with goal setting, structured reviews, continuous feedback, and employee progress tracking in one centralized platform. Content authoring – Seamlessly create, edit, and publish engaging training content in one place. Social learning and document management - Deliver personalized learning while fostering collaboration with built-in social learning and document management tools. Learner engagement - Build an interactive and engaging learning experience with intuitive design, gamification, and knowledge checks. Customization - White-label your platform by customizing URLs, color schemes, logos, login pages, email notifications, and themes to align seamlessly with your branding. Performance tracking - Define and manage core skills and competencies, assign point values and prerequisites, track progress with detailed reports, and set skill levels. Course library - Prebuilt, ready-to-assign training courses on key topics like compliance, safety, leadership, and business skills. Outstanding support - SkyPrep delivers a personalized customer success model designed to help every customer maximize value and overcome challenges with ease. Bring your training to life with SkyPrep for a more engaging, streamlined learning experience.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 92

How Do G2 Users Rate SkyPrep?

  • Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 9.2/10)
  • Content Creation: 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)
  • Quality of Support: 9.2/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
  • Content Libraries: 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.2/10)

Who Is the Company Behind SkyPrep?

  • Seller: SkyPrep
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2012
  • HQ Location: Toronto, Canada
  • Twitter: @SkyPrep
    473 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    26 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Project Manager
  • Top Industries: Hospital & Health Care, Construction
  • Company Size: 57% Medium, 24% Small

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About SkyPrep?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users praise the ease of use of SkyPrep, noting its straightforward setup and efficient course management features.
  • Users commend SkyPrep for its exceptionally straightforward setup, enabling quick and hassle-free implementation of training programs.
  • Users value the efficient course creation capabilities of SkyPrep, making training easy and effective across various formats.
  • Users value SkyPrep for its efficient organization and seamless integration, enhancing content management and accessibility for training.
  • Users commend SkyPrep for its intuitive design, which simplifies training management and enhances user efficiency.
Cons
  • Users find the limited features of SkyPrep restrict their functionality and complicate user interactions.
  • Users find the course management process cumbersome due to large file uploads and an awkward interface.
  • Users find difficult navigation frustrating, as it hampers access to information and complicates the overall experience.
  • Users report feature issues causing confusion during setup due to a lack of guidance and outdated resources.
  • Users find SkyPrep's inadequate reporting problematic, citing difficult navigation and missing features for efficient information access.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of SkyPrep?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About SkyPrep?

Grace Savides
GS
Researched and written by Grace Savides
Updated October 3, 2024

Learn More 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.

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.