How do you choose an LMS?

Now that you know you are in good company and making the right purchase decision...how do you choose an LMS provider? There are so many on the market today. You may be making your decision from quick word-of-mouth or a simple Google search. This could have led you to choose Litmos. While Limos is an LMS, this might not be the best option for you. Just read a few comments from Litmos customers:

1. “There are still some bugs in the system that requires attention and there could be some more additional features that help with user friendly aspect of the LMS. Also their help guide needs to be updated with new screen shots and explanations.”
2. “The content in Litmos Heroes is not sorted or categorized so our users need to utilize the search functionality in order to locate courses they want to take.”
3. “The account executive oversold the product and promised things the LMS could not do. Not great communication or follow-through.”
4. “The integration with other systems is not as efficient, the personalized reports can improve, I feel that they are very limited or difficult to create, some modules of the program are not so intuitive, in the security module, configuring the privileges of the users can cause a bit of confusion.”
5. “The Customer Support is not very good. We had an issue with many of the Litmos provided videos not playing and found out weeks later that those particular videos had been dropped. The ones that were they were replaced with were okay but not as good as what we lost and it took too long to find this out. We also had an access issue supposedly due to an unpaid bill but we had the paid receipt and provided numerous times before access was granted again.”

What LMS options do you have?

We’ll give you five powerful LMS Litmos alternatives to consider. Just like the statistic above, you don’t want to become the third of companies searching for a new LMS this year. Making the correct choice the first time, will save you the headache and time of switching LMS providers down the road.

Litmos LMS alternatives

Now that you know what to consider in an LMS provider, let’s take a closer look at some great Litmos alternatives.

1. Continu

Continu, launched in 2012, offers a simple cloud-based interface. Their goal has always been to provide an LMS that is easy to use, doesn’t overcomplicate the implementation process and keeps up with changing technology.

Continu’s Learning Tracks is how administrators create courses, facilitate onboarding flows, quizzes, and more. This system is also an authoring tool which means companies can create training materials directly onto this platform without the aid of third parties.

Key features:

• Track assigned and completed courses
• Tag content by national or international office locations
• Assign and track course completion
• Download, export and share reports
• Support for blended learning
• Mobile-friendly
• Scalable platform

Integrations:

Slack, Okta, Nelogin, Workday, Scorm, Google, YouTube and Vimeo

Noted customers:

Eventbrite, Lyft, Dollar Shave Club, Warner Music Group, Stuart Weitzman

Cost:

Subscription-based.

2. Schoology

Schoology is a learning management system and social networking platform. It offers a blended learning format with lessons easily taught via classroom or online. To get users up and running quickly, Schoology offers an easy administrative interface with features like content development, scoring lessons, attendance per course, and reporting functions.

Key features:

• Create standards-compatible courses/content
• Flexible interfaces for sharing, tracking and getting insights
• Global Learning Community gives resources/methods from International instructors
• Performance-based analytics for quick updates
• Versatile course creation and management tools
• Calendars, messaging, and personal/shared content
• Transform classroom courses into a 1:1

Integrations:

Google, One Drive, Blackboard Colloborate, NBC Learn, Atomic Learning, eSchoolPlus, Respondus, and more.

Noted customers:

Park Hill School District, Mount Pleasant School District, Wheaton College, Arizona State University

Cost:

Two plans are available: Basic and Enterprise. Basic is free. Enterprise, you must call for price quote. Free product demo also available.

3. Canvas LMS

If one of your biggest needs in an LMS is flexibility, Canvas is a good option. It provides a customizable interface and design for better learning. There is a built in communication tool which allows teachers to interact with their students online. Plus, Canvas can be used across various devices to get notifications, submit assignments, and interact with other users. There is also an interesting features that lets a user connect Canvas with their personal social media accounts.

Key features:

• Facilitators can provide feedback, combine blogs, wikis, and more for students
• SpeedGrader function has ability to record audio/video during grading
• Open source software that has APIs, security audits, and feature discussions
• Can add new technology to existing courses without IT support
• Hosted on Amazon Web Service making it fast to load
• All changes, migrations, and updates done in real-time
• Scales up to demand with automated peak load management

Integrations:

Twitter, Delicious, Skype, Diigo, SMS, YouTube, LinkedIn, CAS, SAML, Diigo, Adobe Connect, and more

Noted customers:

San Jose State University, Utah State University, Pittsburg State University, Del Mar College

Cost:

SMB and Enterprise pricing information is available only upon request. Contact the company for more details. Free trial is also available.

4. Bridge LMS

Bridge LMS is a SaaS solution to help businesses make corporate training more effective. Some of the key features include strong course creation, robust reporting, and several integrations with other programs. Bridge LMS is also fully scalable making it ideal for both large and small companies, It is also easy to use from creating courses to editing courses to analyzing what is working and what needs to be tweaked. Bridge LMS has multilingual support for companies who span different countries.

Key features:

• End-to-end framework from authoring to feedback and to reporting
• Standard business solutions in the form of key integrations
• Course building tools from basic to technical to professional levels
• Comes with 20 customizable courses built in
• Instant overview of enrollment and pass rates
• A central index for personal courses
• Manual/Auto CSV report

Integrations:

Lynda, OpenSesame, Shopify, and more

Noted customers:

Tesla, Slack, William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty, TimeInc.

Cost:

Individual and Enterprise pricing information is available only upon request. Please contact the company directly for a quote. You can also get a demo of the service and there is a free trial plan available up to 90-days.

Does your organization need a powerful learning management system? Are they already using Bridge LMS? Here's a list of Bridge LMS alternatives that can help skyrocket employee development.

5. Firmwater

Frimwater is a cloud-based learning management system built with training companies and businesses who sell learning materials. Although, it could also be used for corporate training and e-learning in-house, this is not the overall goal of this company. Using Firmwater, companies can easily set up their training content and then develop branded portals for their users. Plus, these portals can be made accessible by all users or just a section of users.

Key features:

• Create sites effortlessly for clients
• Sell your courses online either individually or as bundled packages
• Brand, customize or create personalized domains
• In-depth reporting combined with SCORM allows for interactive content creation
• Assign courses by geography, department, and title
• Fast system with little degradation
• Quick authoring, distributing, and profiting from content and courses

Integrations:

Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline & Studio, dominKnow Claro, Lectora, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio

Noted customers:

TPC Training, Channel Enablers, EKO Group, Inc., Lactation Education Resources, Shepell

Pricing:

Firmwater has several pricing tiers. The pricing is $295 per month for the Bronze package, $695 per month for the Silver package, $995 per month for the Gold package, and $1,495 per month for the Platinum package. There is also a 14-day free trial with no credit card needed to begin.

6. LearnUpon

LearnUpon is growing quickly as a viable option for learning management systems today. Why? Because customers love the easy set up, quick learning curve, and the very responsive customer service. The other nice feature is its flexibility. LearnUpon can adapt to the needs of a small, medium, large or global corporation. Some of the key features are more than a dozen functions like course content creation, certifications, branding, gamification, eCommerce, mobile learning, and strong reporting.

Key features:

• Easy to begin creating content from scratch
• Implement online exams, surveys, quizzes, and certificate programs
• Can create various users groups and assign different roles for facilitators
• Several reports for analysis
• Great security with date backed up several times per day
• Translate into several languages and also adapt messaging for each language
• Support available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Integrations:

Webhooks, Salesforce, QuickBooks, Shopify, Google Analytics, Stripe, LinkedIn, Twitter, PayPal, and more

Noted customers:

Tripadvisor, PING, Allstate, Yokohama, Intuit Quickbooks, Twilio, Vauxhall

Pricing:

LearnUpon offers several pricing tiers. The Bronze level is $399 per month, The Silver level is $799 per month, The Gold level is $1,399 per month, and the Enterprise you must call for pricing. There is also a free trial and demo with no setup charges or fees.

7. iSpring Learn LMS

iSpring is a fairly easy learning management system to use. It is also great for both learning on-the-go via mobile devices or on a desktop in the office. For facilitators or analysts of corporate training, course statistics can be downloaded anytime even via mobile. Creating new learning tools is simple as well as organizing them in convenient e-folders. Plus, iSpring lets you add users into groups or organizations for a multi-tiered approach to training.

Key features:

• Several ways to create custom materials and content
• Reporting/statistics allows for tracking of user progress either individually or by group
• Sell your elearning content or link to online payment options
• Integrates with PowerPoint for visually-pleasing presentations
• Make changes or upload new content via desktop or mobile
• Preview mode lets you look at content before going live
• Free iSpring app available on Apple or Google

Integrations:

PowerPoint, Moodle, LearnDash, Intuition Rubicon, xAPI,

Noted customers:

IBM, P&G, GE, DELL, AT&T, Motorola, Harley Davidson, CISCO, Intel, DUPONT, Texas Instruments

Pricing:

iSpring offers two pricing packages, There basic package runs $770 per year and their Full Service package runs $970 per year.

8. Absorb LMS

Absorb LMS is a learning management system that offers an HTML5-based user interface that works well with companies’ various hardware platforms. This technology works on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Absorb LMS gives self-guided lessons that have tasks, video, quizzes, documents, surveys, exams, and more. The learning materials enable users to access only the materials like or are required by the company. Companies can buy a standard version or upgrade with an add-on called Mercury Module. While Absorb LMS offers an extensive list of features, it is also a bit pricey and may not work for smaller companies.

Key features:

• Learner interface
• Online course assembly
• Question banks
• Global resources
• Scheduled reporting
• Department level branding

Noted customers:

GAP, Airbnb, Johnson & Johnson, New York University, and Swarovski

Integrations:

Microsoft Azure, Twitter, PingFederate, Okta, BambooHR, OneLogin, Salesforce Sales Cloud, G Suite, Workday Human Capital, SharePoint, UltiPro, Google Analytics, Oracle TBE, PayPal, Facebook, ADP GlobalView® HCM, Degreed, FoxyCart, Identity Services, Dayforce Ceridian HCM, Oracle HCM Cloud

Cost:

Call for pricing. There is a 30-day cancellation policy.

Looking to swap from Absorb LMS to a modern learning platform? Check out our list of Absorb LMS alternatives to choose from.

Which Litmos alternatives is your choice?

When choosing an LMS option, there are several Litmos alternatives to consider. Remember to first write down which features are most important for your training needs. Then compare these to the choices we’ve presented here. This will help you make an educated decision on the best LMS for your company.

If you have recently chosen an LMS or switched providers, we’d love to hear your feedback. What key features are most important to you? What led you to select your LMS partner?