Visme vs Articulate 360: Your Detailed Comparison Guide for 2025
In the e-learning industry, Adobe Captivate is a popular software with a feature-rich content authoring toolbox. It empowers instructional designers and course developers to create responsive, interactive courses, software demos and simulations, quizzes and assessments.
Despite its popularity, Adobe Captivate might not be the right fit for your authoring needs—it could be too pricey. Or maybe you're just starting out and don't need all the bells and whistles.
The good news is that there are other options available on the market.
In this article, I've compiled a list for you to discover the best Adobe Captivate alternative, free and paid, to suit your business. I’ll share a brief overview of each tool, analyze their features and compare pricing.
Let’s dive in!
*Disclaimer: The comparisons and competitor ratings presented in this article are based on features available as of May 22, 2025. We conduct thorough research and draw on both first-hand experience and reputable sources to provide reliable insights. However, as tools and technologies evolve, we recommend readers verify details and consider additional research to ensure the information meets their specific needs.
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To give you an idea of how I tested these tools, here’s a quick overview of my process:
This is an article written by a human for humans, no robots were harmed in the making of this article.
And while I was testing and taking notes, I kept coming back to something our design manager at Visme, Alejandra Mariscalez, often says about e-learning:
“The magic of e-learning is all about keeping users interested and fully involved with the content in order for users to really learn and comprehend the information they are taking in, in a more visual and fun manner.”
| Software | Key Features | Ideal for | Collaboration | Ease of Use | Pros | Cons | Pricing |
| Visme | Interactive content creation, data visualization, customizable templates | Designers, marketers, educators | Real-time collaboration | Easy to use | Extensive template library, user-friendly interface, SCORM & xAPI options | More of a content authoring tool than LMS | Free basic plan; paid plans start at $12.25/month |
| iSpring Suite | PowerPoint integration, quizzes, video lectures | Corporate trainers, educators | Team collaboration features | Moderate; familiar to PowerPoint users | Seamless PowerPoint integration, comprehensive features | Requires PowerPoint; desktop-based | Starts at $770/year |
| Articulate 360 | Slide-based courses, interactive scenarios, customizable templates | Instructional designers, eLearning developers | Collaborative authoring | Moderate to advanced | Highly customizable, extensive community support | Steeper learning curve, higher cost | $1,499/user/ year |
| Lectora | Responsive courses, accessibility features, scripting capabilities | Enterprises, compliance training | Team collaboration tools | Advanced | Robust feature set, strong accessibility support | Complex interface, higher price point | Starts at $129/month |
| SoftChalk | Interactive lessons, multimedia integration, LMS compatibility | Educators, instructional designers | Cloud-based collaboration | Easy to moderate | Easy multimedia integration, cloud-based | Outdated interface, limited interactivity | Starts at $662/year |
| Elucidat | Responsive design, templates, analytics | Large organizations, rapid eLearning | Collaborative authoring | Easy to use | Scalable, user-friendly | Premium pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Easygenerator | Cloud-based, templates, quizzes | Subject matter experts, small teams | Real-time collaboration | Easy to use | Intuitive interface, rapid course creation | Limited customization | Starts at $116/month |
| Seismic Learning (Formerly Lessonly) | Training modules, practice scenarios, analytics | Sales teams, customer service | Team collaboration | Easy to use | Focused on sales training, user-friendly | Limited to specific training types | Contact for pricing |
| Litmos | LMS integration, course authoring, assessments | Enterprises, compliance training | Team collaboration | Easy to moderate | Comprehensive LMS features | Limited authoring capabilities | Contact for pricing |
| Omniplex Guide (Nickelled) | Interactive guides, onboarding, tutorials | Customer support, SaaS companies | Collaborative guide creation | Easy to use | Quick guide creation, no coding required | Limited eLearning features | Contact for pricing |
| Camtasia | Screen recording, video editing, interactive quizzes | Educators, trainers, marketers | Limited collaboration | Easy to moderate | Powerful video editing, intuitive interface | Not a full eLearning solution | Starts at €158.35/year |
| isEazy Author | Cloud-based, templates, interactivity | Corporate trainers, educators | Real-time collaboration | Easy to use | Modern interface, responsive design | Limited advanced features | Free basic plan; paid plans start at $89/month |
| Gomo Learning | Cloud-based, responsive design, analytics | Enterprises, mobile learning | Collaborative authoring | Easy to use | Multi-device compatibility, cloud-based | Premium pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Coassemble | Course templates, quizzes, LMS integration | Small to medium businesses, educators | Team collaboration | Easy to use | All-in-one platform, user-friendly | Limited customization | Starts at $50/month |
Here's a quick and detailed look at some of these popular alternatives:
| Feature | Visme | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | User-friendly for both beginners and experienced users | New version is more accessible, but still steeper compared to competitors |
| Interface | Intuitive drag-and-drop interface with flexible layouts | Advanced, feature-rich interface best suited for design pros |
| Online or Download | Entirely web-based—no download needed | Requires software download and installation |
Visme stands out as one of the best Adobe Captivate alternatives. It comes packed with all the features you need to create stunning and effective content for your learners.
Visme is incredibly easy to use, with intuitive features that make content authoring, e-learning, instructional design, training and development a breeze.
With a Visme account, you get unlimited access to thousands of professionally designed templates, a vast collection of design assets, animation and interactivity and advanced customization options.
The Visme editor also offers robust AI-powered tools that streamline the way you create and deliver training. For example, with a detailed text prompt, you can develop training material in seconds using Visme’s AI Designer. And when you're done, you can easily export your creations in SCORM or xAPI format to add them to your LMS.
If you’re looking to gather feedback and insights to improve your training, use Visme's feedback form creator. It allows you to easily create animated, interactive forms and surveys that are perfect for gathering feedback about your course.
Not sure why gathering feedback is important? Take note of what instructional designer Cody Bailey-Crow shares in a video about student feedback.
"Student feedback can be immensely valuable if structured effectively...By categorizing student responses, you get a better sense of what are common student sentiments and which comments are more isolated."
Visme offers a free basic plan. To access more advanced features, you can upgrade to the paid plans:
| Feature | iSpring Suite | iSpring Cloud | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Easy for PowerPoint users | Easy for anyone | Simpler now, but steeper than competitors |
| Interface | Depends on your PowerPoint version | User-friendly and intuitive | Robust tools for experienced designers |
| Platform | Requires download | Fully online | Requires download |
iSpring Suite is a user-friendly Adobe Captivate alternative for creating e-learning courses and assessments. It is integrated into PowerPoint so you can turn existing PPT slides into courses or start from scratch.
Built on PowerPoint, iSpring Suite offers instructional designers an intuitive way to turn existing presentations into eLearning courses—making it a go-to Captivate alternative for PowerPoint users.
iSpring Suite includes features such as a quiz maker, interactive simulations, video lectures, dialogue simulations and dynamic role plays, among others. Users can easily author and publish engaging and interactive e-learning content that can be accessed on any device. You can also convert your PPT slides into SCORM/xAPI courses for your learning management system.
I tested iSpring Cloud, the online version of the tool. From looking at sample courses on the website, the final product is different when you use iSpring Suite and iSpring Cloud.
With iSpring Suite, the course is presented as slides. Meanwhile, with iSpring Cloud, the courses are formatted as scrolling pages. Also, iSpring Cloud has a collaborative environment, while iSpring Suite isn’t.
This is what the iSpring Cloud editor looks like with a sample course template.
This is what the course looks like in Preview mode.
iSpring Suite offers different pricing plans for different categories of users.
Business
Freelancers
Academic
| Feature | Articulate 360 | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Easy to get started, with or without templates | Easier than before, but still complex vs. competitors |
| Interface | Clean block editor; features easy to find | Feature-dense interface for experienced users |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
Articulate 360 is another powerful Adobe Captivate alternative with tons of great features. This version is an upgrade from Articulate Storyline 3, which will no longer be supported after 2024.
With this fantastic tool, you can create engaging and interactive courses and microlearning experiences using a block by block editor. Block types range from simple text to interactive designs for the learner to move things around and learn.
AI powered blocks like image generation and text generation allow for more flexibility over your eLearning development.
Your designs are automatically responsive, allowing courses to adapt and adjust seamlessly across different devices and screen sizes, including desktops, tablets and smartphones.
With the Articulate 360 free trial, I tested the editor with some of the available templates. As you create your course, you can check how it’ll look once it’s finished, helping you make informed decisions regarding layout and flow.
Here’s a screenshot of the editor. It’s simple, clean and not bloated with tons of features. The second image shows what the course looks like in Preview mode.
Articulate 360 doesn’t have a free plan; however, users can try out the tool for 30 days. Paid plans are as follows:
| Feature | Lectora | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Takes time to learn due to complexity and feature depth | Easier than before, but still steeper than others |
| Interface | Somewhat bloated; resembles Microsoft-style editing tools | Powerful, designer-focused interface |
| Platform | Available both online and as a desktop download | Requires download |
Lectora, from ELB Learning, is a user-friendly tool for creating engaging, responsive e-learning courses accessible on any device.
The Lectora course building tool is part of ELB’s Studio Gold Suite. It allows users to either build their course content using the AI course wizard or convert their existing course from PowerPoint, customize it and publish it to any platform.
You can incorporate various elements like text, images, audio, video, quizzes and assessments to create a well-rounded learning experience. And if you’re a course developer adept at coding, you can write custom scripts and include custom libraries, fonts and CSS.
Aside from Lectora, The Studio offers several apps like CenarioVR to create a more immersive learning experience. It also features a game builder with prebuilt templates for developing customized games tailored to your audience.
To try out The Studio, Lectora and the other apps, the free trial grants you access. I signed up and took a look around to see what was possible. I didn’t want to download the software to my computer, so I used the online version.
I chose a Course Starter to explore the editor and found it quite bloated with lots of sections. The way things are organized in the editor reminded me of Microsoft tools like PowerPoint and Word. I didn’t find this editor intuitive or easy to use.
Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like:
Lectora offers a 30-day free trial. Its paid plans are as follows:
| Feature | SoftChalk | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Low—simple and easy to learn | Streamlined, but still more complex than most |
| Interface | Simple, document-style design | Expert-level, feature-packed UI |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
SoftChalk is a platform that allows educators to design quality learning experiences. It is a great alternative to Adobe Captivate, particularly for those who want to create engaging and interactive content without the need for extensive technical skills. Just copy and paste text from a Word document into SoftChalk to automatically convert your content into a web-based lesson.
SoftChalk lets you create and customize courses with interactive lessons, quizzes and activities. Choose from many interactive elements to customize your learning material and create unforgettable learning experiences. The intuitive editor also lets you add multimedia elements like images, videos and audio files to make your content even more engaging.
I wasn’t able to test SoftChalk from the inside. So I scoured their website, watched a number of videos and looked at several review sites to get an idea of what it’s like and give you the descriptions above. Unfortunately, all the available videos are quite old, and I’m not sure what the editor looks like now.
Below is a list of the features I collected from my research.
Academic
Gov/Non-Profit
Commercial
| Feature | Elucidat | Elucidat Create | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Moderate — needs some getting used to | Easier and faster to learn | Newer version easier but still more complex |
| Interface | Many options but not cluttered | Simple, limited features | Pro-level, feature-rich interface |
| Platform | Online | Online | Requires download |
Elucidat is another Adobe Captivate alternative that lets you create, manage and launch training courses for your LMS. Besides the user-friendly interface, it also has pre-built course templates to give you a creative head start and speed up the entire process.
Elucidate comes packed with advanced features like AI-powered authoring, content personalization, brand control and localization tools. With its collaboration tool, you can organize users into roles and departments, set permissions and invite them to comment or work on your project.
Elucidat has two different editors, a comprehensive one with many expert features and another rapid authoring tool called Elucidat Create. I wasn’t able to test either of the editors, but their YouTube channel is quite extensive and you can get a really good idea of what’s possible. It seems like a robust platform, but in review sites, I did see that people would like more creative freedom when creating courses.
Elucidat price options come in four tiers: Pro, Growth, Team and Enterprise. You’ll need to fill out a form to get pricing information.
| Easygenerator | Adobe Captivate | |
| Learning Curve | Medium level with many editing options and different block types | Improved usability, but with a similar learning curve |
| Interface | Simple and uncluttered design with nice and legible fonts | Advanced interface for design with many features for pros |
| Online or Download | Fully online | Needs to be downloaded |
Easygenerator is a software that simplifies and speeds up the process of creating, sharing and localizing e-learning courses. With its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, you can easily create interactive content and assessments in no time.
Plus, with Easy AI, generating unique course content ideas and quizzes takes only seconds. The tool can help summarize lengthy text or improve your existing content.
If your creative juices aren’t flowing yet, there are prebuilt templates you can easily adapt to suit your needs. Thanks to the robust collaboration feature, multiple users on your team can co-author and edit the content in real time, leaving feedback right where it's needed.
Getting the free trial for Easygenerator is super simple, and I was able to test the software’s editor. I like the way it looks, all with a light background and a good, readable font. The editing is done block by block and there are several options to choose from. Furthermore, all blocks have extensive customization options.
Here’s a screenshot of what Easygenerator looks like from the inside.
Easygenerator offers a 14-day free trial. You can upgrade to any of their paid plans below:
| Feature | Seismic Learning | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Takes time to learn | Friendlier now, but still best suited for pros |
| Interface | Colorful, welcoming dashboard with a clean layout | Pro-level interface with extensive design features |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
Seismic Learning is an all-in-one learning and coaching platform designed to enhance sales enablement and training for businesses. With this platform, you can create interactive sales courses and deliver coaching experiences that lead to more closed and won deals. You can also simulate real-life scenarios with video recordings and partner role-plays.
Seismic Learning empowers you to create personalized coaching plans, automated coaching, skill assessments and certifications so that learners have the skills to succeed. What makes the tool even more interesting is that you can easily access features like readiness scorecards and dashboards to analyze and measure training impact.
I was keen to take Seismic Learning for a spin, but there’s no free trial available. I watched the videos on their YouTube channel and concluded that this tool is definitely more suited for enterprise companies rather than individual course creators.
Seismic doesn’t have pricing information on its website; however you can speak to the team to get a demo.
| Feature | Litmos | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Easy enough to get started with the authoring tool | Less difficult now, but still a notable learning curve |
| Interface | Simple, no-frills layout with easily accessible features | Powerful, pro-focused design platform |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
Litmos is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) with a built-in content authoring platform that enables organizations to deliver and manage online courses and training programs. It’s user-friendly and customizable, making it a popular choice for businesses.
Litmos offers a range of features such as course creation tools, gamification and leaderboards, assessment and grading functionality, learner progress tracking and reporting and analytics. Also, users have access to an ever-growing library of 2000+ off-the-shelf courses from Litmos and 80,000+ from GO1. Get supplemental materials like handouts and workbooks to keep learners engaged.
To try Litmo’s free trial offer, you have to go through a few hoops. I signed up, but unfortunately, I wasn’t contacted on time to test the platform. From what I’ve seen in videos and tutorials on the Litmo’s website, the course authoring tool is only one piece of the larger puzzle.
The editing features are simple and you can create interactive scrolling page courses with a navigable index.
Litmos offers a free trial and three paid plans, including:
You’ll need to fill out a form to get pricing details.
Omniplex Guide, formerly Nickelled, is a digital adoption platform. It allows you to create interactive walkthroughs and guides for your web applications without the need for coding. The system integrates seamlessly into your applications, giving guidance to learn and implement faster and more efficiently.
Like Adobe Captivate, you can easily create step-by-step guides and simulations to walk your users through your application. However, it doesn’t support other interactive learning formats like presentations, videos and quizzes.
With Omniplex Guide, you’re providing users with a live experience that enhances experiential learning. This makes it a great tool to scale up product training and engage your users by providing them with the support they need to use your platform effectively.
I didn’t get access to the tool. But their YouTube channel has good videos available to watch and get to know the platform. Here’s a good example:
There are no pricing details published on their website. You’ll need to request a demo or contact them to get a quote.
| Feature | Camtasia | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Steep for beginners without video editing experience | More accessible now, but still challenging to master |
| Interface | Feature-rich, but not very simple | Intuitive, pro-level interface |
| Platform | Requires download | Requires download |
Like Adobe Captivate, Camtasia is equipped with a screen recording and video editing tool that helps educators and trainers create instructional videos and tutorials.
With Camtasia, you can record your screen, add voiceover, music and sound effects and edit your videos with a variety of tools and effects. It also offers pre-made templates and features like annotations, callouts and transitions to make your videos more interactive and engaging.
Camtasia makes for a great Adobe Captivate alternative for those who need a simple and user-friendly tool for creating video-based tutorials, training videos and other types of educational content.
Below are the pricing options for Camtasia:
| Feature | isEazy Author | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Low to moderate. Some features differ from similar tools | Easier now, but still comes with a learning curve |
| Interface | Always in dark mode, regardless of system settings | Feature-rich interface for experienced designers |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
isEazy Author is another great Adobe Captivate alternative. The tool makes creating interactive, e-learning courses a breeze. You can design courses with horizontal or vertical navigation that are responsive across all devices.
The best part about isEazy Author is its AI-powered course creation. You can create PPT and video presentations with voiceovers, subtitles, automatic translations, games and exercises.
It also offers basic and advanced interactivity that makes learning enjoyable like hotspots, linked images, infographics and assessments. You have the ability to export your content to any LMS and track learner activity and performance within the same interface.
isEazy Author has a free trial, which is easy to access and test.
When you start, you have the option to create a full course with over 20 slides that will display in horizontal view. Alternatively, you can create an express course, which has a vertical scrolling view.
I tested the regular course editor to see what it’s like. The interface is simple enough, although some tools are hidden behind others and need a bit of time to get used to.
This is what the editor looks like on the inside. It resembles other tools where you can create slide presentations for horizontal viewing.
isEazy Author offers a forever-free plan with limitations. Their paid plans are as follows:
G2: 4.8/5 (2)
Capterra: N/A
| Feature | Gomo Learning | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | More complex than most tools; slower learning for beginners | Easier than before, but still not beginner-friendly |
| Interface | Complex UI with varying views based on actions | Pro-grade interface packed with features |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
Gomo Learning is a cloud-based eLearning authoring tool that empowers businesses to develop interactive and responsive online courses. Like Adobe Captivate, it’s easy to use and allows users to create media-rich courses without needing programming skills.
You can simply choose from their prebuilt themes, screen templates and quizzes to get started. Use their drag-and-drop elements to customize your courses.
Gomo offers collaborative working, multi-language support and localized content options, making it the perfect fit for businesses with a global network of learners.
To make your course dynamic, there’s a suite of advanced features such as interactivity and animation, prebuilt and customized themes, quizzes and assessments, team management and a centralized resource library.
I tested Gomo Learning with the free trial and found that the tool is quite advanced. It’s definitely not a simple tool and seems like it needs some getting used to. That said, it’s also pretty powerful and comprehensive, allowing you to build courses how you want them.
This is what the authoring tool looks like from the inside. Inside the canvas is a sample course you can check out and analyze.
Gomo Learning offers a 21-day free trial along with three paid plans as follows:
Get in touch with sales to discuss pricing.
| Feature | Coassemble | Adobe Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Easy and straightforward, even for beginners | Easier than before, but still takes time to learn |
| Interface | Modern design with rounded corners | Pro-level interface built for experienced designers |
| Platform | Fully online | Requires download |
The last Adobe Captivate alternative is Coassemble, an easy-to-use learning management system for creating and delivering online courses and training programs. It offers features such as course authoring, learning paths, assessments and reporting.
You can build your course from scratch, generate it with AI or transform any document into micro-learning content.
You don’t need technical design skills to create professional courses since it provides dozens of pre-made course templates across different categories.
Customize the look and feel of your course to match your brand’s visual identity—apply your colors, logo, typography and other branded elements. You can easily structure your content, add interactive and multimedia elements and create fun exercises to enhance the learning experience.
Getting started with Coassemble is very different from the other platforms. I pressed the Get Started button, and it opened into an AI course generator straight away. It prompted me to add a company URL and write a prompt for a course. In a few minutes, Coassemble had generated a course about how to write a blog post with a quiz and all. At the end, it asked if I wanted to create a free account and when I did, I was redirected to a new workspace with the first course it created for me.
The editor itself is modern with rounded corners, which makes it friendly and easy to understand. This is what it looks like:
Coassemble offers a free plan. Their paid plans are as follows:
Still have questions? In this section, we've put together a list of frequently asked questions about Adobe Captivate alternatives.
There isn’t a single replacement for Adobe Captivate. However, there are several alternatives you can use, including Visme, Articulate Storyline, Lectora Inspire, iSpring Suite, Camtasia, Elucidat, ActivePresenter, Adapt elearning and more. We’ve highlighted the unique features and benefits of these tools in this article.
Is Adobe Captivate still available? Well, Adobe Captivate is not going away. The company continues to support and update the software and release new versions. However, Adobe has discontinued the sales of perpetual licenses and shifted to a subscription model.
No, there is no free version of Adobe Captivate. However, Adobe does offer a free trial version that you can use to test the software before committing to a purchase.
The trial version gives you access to all the features of the software for a limited time. Once the trial period is over, you might want to check out Adobe Captivate’s price and features before you purchase a license to continue using the software.
Yes, Captivate and Storyline are both popular eLearning authoring tools used to create interactive and engaging online courses. They both offer a wide range of features, such as customizable templates, multimedia support, quiz and assessment creation, xAPI and SCORM compliance.
Captivate began as a screen recording utility called Flashcam, developed by Nexus Concepts in 2002. eHelp Corporation later acquired Flashcam and transformed it into RoboDemo, an eLearning authoring tool with broader functionalities.
In 2003, Macromedia acquired eHelp Corporation and with it, RoboDemo. Then, in 2005, Adobe acquired Macromedia and rebranded RoboDemo as Adobe Captivate.
The newest version of Adobe Captivate is the 12.3 update, released on April 2, 2024.
Both Adobe Captivate and Captivate Classic help you create e-learning courses and training materials that are compliant. The new Adobe Captivate has a modern and intuitive user interface that speeds up your course development while automating tasks and handling alignment issues.
Adobe Captivate is a powerful e-learning authoring tool that allows users to create engaging and interactive e-learning courses, simulations and quizzes. It is best used for creating software simulations, product demos, compliance training and soft skills training.
No, Adobe Captivate is not part of Adobe Creative Cloud. However, it is bundled as part of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite, which includes other software such as Adobe Framemaker, Adobe RoboHelp, Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Captivate.
There you have it: a complete list of free and paid Adobe Captivate alternatives. All the tools we talked about in this article have their own strengths and are great for different use cases.
But if you’re looking for a feature-rich, cost-effective and user-friendly alternative to Adobe Captivate, Visme is your best bet. First off, it has a free plan and you can get a paid plan for less than the price of Adobe Captivate.
Our intuitive, AI-powered platform makes it easy for anyone to create interactive eLearning courses and export them in LMS-ready formats like SCORM and xAPI. It offers access to millions of free graphic assets and thousands of professionally designed templates for creating presentations, infographics, videos, manuals, printables, whiteboards and other training materials.
And the best part—Visme comes loaded with a full suite of AI-powered tools that streamline content creation, along with features like team collaboration, animation and interactivity, data visualizations, custom branding and dynamic fields.
Don't just take our word for it. Try it out for yourself. Or, book a demo to see firsthand how Visme can supercharge your training and development programs.
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