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The range of LMS systems is vast. How do you find the right match? In this blog, we will compare the 10 most commonly used LMS systems so you don't have to!
If you want to offer online training or even start a whole learning program, a Learning Management System (LMS) is essential. As the name suggests, this is a computer program (or system) with which you can offer and manage online training/e-learning. It's e-learning software. In some systems, you can only offer e-learning, while in others, you can also develop it yourself. The 'management' part is about gaining insight into the progress of the learning process. This way, you can, among other things, see how your participants are performing and who has access to which training.
Many different providers use an LMS system. Think of teachers, entrepreneurs, or HR managers. Naturally, they do not always have the same needs for an LMS, with the same functionalities and options. However, the terms 'LMS' or 'online learning platform' are often used in these industries, even though something else may be meant.
In short, "Learning Management System" is a very broad term.
Therefore, there are also a huge number of LMS systems. The advantage of this is that there is most likely one that closely matches your specific needs. However, it is quite a task to find that exact system. You have to compare the best online learning platforms with each other for this. And that can take quite some time.
To help you out, we compare below the 10 most used LMS systems, so you no longer have to do it yourself. Thank us later ;-)
Pluvo is an all-in-one learning environment with which you can easily build and manage your learning experience yourself. You develop e-learning through the authoring tool. Managing and offering it is done in Pluvo's LMS. With LTI, you can even integrate external e-learning into your platform.
The software has almost every functionality that the heart of a true e-learning developer desires. The authoring tool provides a wide range of options to make your e-learning as interactive as possible. Think of: videos, images, audio clips, different types of quiz questions, etc. The LMS itself also contains many options, such as file sharing, chatting, discussions, awarding certificates or creating personal learning journeys.
With Pluvo, you can ensure an optimal learning experience for every learner. You can offer your academy in Dutch, German, English, French, Polish, Spanish, and Czech. And even more convenient: you can set the platform language per user.
Furthermore, Pluvo offers a range of useful services. For example, every new user gets a free assistance session, where they will be helped with setting up their training and questions about e-learning. Additionally, you can always ask a quick question via the chat, where you can expect an answer within 5 minutes. In addition to this, Pluvo offers:
In terms of price, Pluvo is very flexible and accessible to everyone. You can use the LMS system completely for free. As you grow and want to give more students access to your training, Pluvo will grow with you. The costs adjust to the size of your own academy. You can choose from 5 different types of subscriptions, or request a customized quote. The most popular subscription costs €95 per month, billed annually.
Try Pluvo for free!
Easygenerator is also a company from The Netherlands, based in Rotterdam. With this software, you can bring e-learning to your own academy in various ways. You can create online training yourself by dragging and dropping various elements, just like a page builder. You can also import PowerPoint files from existing training. Finally, you can choose from one of the existing e-learning templates that you can launch right away or continue working on yourself.
However, Easygenerator has a light-LMS, which means that the system offers slightly fewer options than most other systems. For example, it is not possible to view extensive reports on the progress of the learning process or to create multiple training sessions or groups. If this is important to you, it is not recommended to use this system.
You can then automatically translate the content into more than 75 different languages. Handy if you want to reach learners from all over the world ;-)
This company can assist you if you send a chat message or fill out a form. They also offer e-books, guides, webinars, and course templates for support.
Regarding costs, you can choose from three different subscriptions. The cheapest subscription costs €96 per month and the next subscription costs €479 per month. You can also arrange a custom subscription. You can try the platform for free, but only in the form of a free trial. Compared to other providers such as Pluvo, there are fewer options to tailor a subscription that fits your personal situation. This means that there is a chance that you will get unnecessary functionalities that you have to pay for, or the opposite.
Find out more information about Easygenerator.
At StudyTube, you can not only create and manage your own training courses, but also choose from a library of existing e-learnings.
They make a distinction between the terms 'Learning Experience Platform' and 'Learning Management System'. With an LEP (LXP), the focus is more on the user experience. It is about how the learner uses the system. StudyTube's LXP contains various options. For example, an employee can indicate their interests, which the learning offer adapts to. In addition, learners get insight into the progress of their own learning process and they see the environment entirely in the style of your organization.
The LMS is more about the experience of the e-learning developer, so of you. In this place, you manage and administer all the trainings in the system yourself. You can set when someone gets a certificate, send reminders and view reports with data about the quality of your trainings.
An online training library is also offered, with a ready-made training offering from various providers. You can directly add these e-learnings to your own academy, but they are not organization-specific.
At StudyTube, you can receive personal guidance during the implementation and adoption of your academy. In addition, there is a helpdesk for quick questions and the possibility to outsource your training.
However, StudyTube is less transparent about the prices of its products compared to other providers. You only get more insight into the costs once you have requested a demo.
Find out more information about StudyTube.
ANewSpring, also a Dutch company, calls their system a 'Learning Journey Platform'. This means that the learning experience adapts to the behavior and preferences of the learner (so-called adaptive learning). The software contains many functionalities that are similar to those of other providers.
ANewSpring uses a distinctive approach when it comes to service to help their customers get started.
In addition to providing support themselves, ANewSpring has a number of service partners and technical partners who are willing to help you. On the website, you can choose from English and Dutch partners from all over the world, so that you can be helped in the right way, and in the right language, when developing and implementing e-learning.
ANewSpring offers two different subscriptions: one for trainers and one for organizations. If you choose to purchase the version for trainers, you must also purchase licenses. Each participant you give access to your training requires one license, worth 15 euros per year. You must purchase at least 5 licenses, making the cheapest subscription at ANewSpring 75 euros per year. If you choose to purchase the version for organizations, the billing is done in consultation. The possibilities for personalizing the subscription are again relatively limited compared to those of some other providers.
Find out more information about ANewSpring.
Learndash is a bit different from the other LMS systems. It is actually a plug-in for WordPress. What you can do is create a subdomain within your website. Here, you can launch your online course using the Learndash plug-in. You can then create e-learnings, quizzes, certificates, reports, and assignments, among other things. Learndash offers you a lot of possibilities, but it will probably take some extra time to get the hang of using the plug-in. Additionally, you have to set up and configure the LMS yourself, rather than having it done for you as with a ready-made LMS system. You also have to update the plugin yourself.
The headquarters of Learndash is located in the United States. Therefore, the customer service is not in Dutch, which makes it less personal. Despite this, Learndash does offer some useful services, such as webinars and tutorial videos to help you get started.
To use the Learndash plugin on your website, you have to pay. The costs can vary, but on average, a yearly subscription costs about 185 euros for one website (converted from dollars to euros). If you want to purchase the plugin for multiple websites, you get a discount. Additionally, you still have to pay for any other plugins and for hosting your website itself.
Find out more information about Learndash.
Although Articulate is not an LMS, we'll mention what you can do with it and why people use it. Articulate is a software developer that has released various e-learning development tools. It can be compared to Adobe, where Photoshop and Indesign, for example, fall under. Similarly, Articulate also has different versions: 360, Storyline, and Rise, each with different functionalities. If you use these tools, you have endless possibilities. However, this can also make e-learning development time-consuming. Online, there are many tutorials and workshops available to help you get started
Articulate offers options for various users, including freelancers, companies, and academic institutions. As a company, you pay €1367 per year. If you're a freelancer or academic institution, you can choose between a personal plan or a team plan. If you opt for the team plan, your package includes more possibilities.
Find out more information about Articulate.
iSpring got two products. iSpring Suite is a plug-in for PowerPoint that allows you to develop e-learning. With this, you can create scenarios, quizzes, and simulations. iSpring Learn is the LMS where you can hang your training. You can also get insights into the statistics of the learning process and schedule learning activities in a calendar.
The iSpring team can provide technical support for setting up your LMS. You can also ask your questions via chat.
The headquarters are located in America, which means that the contact will be less personal than when dealing with a Dutch party.
You always pay per participant per month. On average, you pay about 3 euros per participant per month. The more participants, the more features and services you have at your disposal. In addition to the three packages offered by iSpring Learn, you can request a custom quote starting from 500 participants.
Find out more information about iSpring Learn and iSpring Suite.
Procademy offers, just like some other providers, a library of trainings that you can add to your own academy. Moreover, there is even the possibility to sell the trainings that you have developed to other companies in the Procademy shop. The software also allows you to create your own e-learnings. Furthermore, Procademy is suitable for giving online lessons through a virtual classroom, creating tests and quizzes, and obtaining insight into the knowledge level of your learners.
Procademy has two "standard" options to choose from. There is also a possibility for a custom quote. The price is per participant. In the first option, the participant gets access to the entire academy, and therefore multiple e-learnings. You then pay between 10 and 20 euros per participant per year, depending on your own situation. In the second option, participants get access to a single e-learning. You then pay 10 euros per participant per year.
Find out more information about Procademy.
Hubper allows you to build and manage your own learning activities. In addition, like StudyTube and Procademy, you get access to a library of non-organization-specific training courses that you can import into your own academy. Besides, you can also import e-learnings from other libraries or applications into your own academy in Hubper.
All training courses can be translated into, among others, Spanish or German, for all your non-Dutch participants.
Hubper offers three packages: the starter package, the growth package, and the enterprise package. The biggest advantage between the smallest and the middle package is the possibility to integrate with other apps and platforms. Like StudyTube, Hubper is less transparent about the costs, as prices are only made visible after requesting a demo.
Find out more information about Hubper.
At Flowsparks, you can use the authoring tool to develop online training. During this development process, you are helped with didactics through certain "learning formats". These are fixed e-learning recipes that are already filled in terms of structure. You add the substantive knowledge yourself.
You can also apply gamification to your learning activities, for example by working with badges or levels. In this blog about gamification in e-learning, you can learn more about the benefits of this.
Regarding services, you can ask for advice on your e-learning. You can also choose to outsource the development of your training entirely or work on it in co-production.
Flowsparks has a very unique way of determining the price. On the website, you can select the features you need. You also set how many people you want to offer the e-learning to. This information is sent to Flowsparks. Based on this, you will receive a customized quote. Just like with Pluvo, this increases the chance that you will subscribe to a plan that matches your needs in terms of price and functionality.
Find out more information about Flowsparks.
If we may give you some tips, we definitely recommend trying out multiple platforms or tools. As you have read, many platforms offer similar features. Think carefully about the factors that set them apart.
Can you choose a subscription that fits your needs in terms of price and functionality? Then look for a provider with many different packages, such as Pluvo. Do you need high-quality and personalized service? Then you probably want to work with a Dutch party. Do you want to be able to add non-organization-specific training to your academy? Then you can choose a provider with an e-learning library/catalog. Or of course, a platform that allows connections to external training. Do you value being able to develop training quickly? Then do not choose Articulate or Learndash. These systems have many possibilities but are complex and time-consuming.
In addition, the best tip is actually: talk to the employees. Experience what it's like to work with them. What gives you a good feeling? Although a completely objective comparison, as we have made in this blog, can be very useful, a "subjective click" with the company can also say a lot.
If you're curious about the LMS system of Pluvo or any of our services, please feel free to contact us.
Probeer nu ook Pluvo en haal alles uit je opleidingen. Al meer dan 1000 kandidaten maken succesvol gebruik van Pluvo.
PLUVO. Entrepotdok 63A, 1018 AD Amsterdam
Bel +31 20 560 5000 Mail info@pluvo.co
