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Best eLearning Authoring Tools for 2025 | Visme

Mahnoor Sheikh
Written by Mahnoor Sheikh
Published at Mar 29, 2024
Edited by: Unenabasi Ekeruke
Reviewed by: Victoria Taylor
Best eLearning Authoring Tools for 2025 | Visme

As more businesses adopt a remote or hybrid work model, the need for innovative online learning platforms continues to grow. That’s why most companies now offer their employees some kind of digital learning.

However, creating an eLearning course or training program is a time-consuming task. According to a study, 53% of course creators spend three months or longer developing a course.

The fix? A good eLearning authoring tool. These platforms allow you to build interactive learning experiences quickly and easily with the help of pre-built course templates, drag-and-drop customization, AI capabilities and other features.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to 10 of the best eLearning authoring tools for creating professional and engaging courses and training materials.

 

Table of Content

*Disclaimer: The comparisons and competitor ratings presented in this article are based on features available as of March 29, 2024. 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.

Quick Read

  • An eLearning authoring tool helps you easily create online courses and training materials. Most eLearning authoring tools let you combine text, images, videos, animations and interactive elements to create engaging learning experiences.
  • The best eLearning authoring tools include Visme, Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline 360, iSpring Suite, Gomo Learning, Elucidat, isEazy Author, Lectora, LearnWorlds and Easygenerator.
  • Visme’s AI-powered platform helps you create interactive eLearning materials and export them in SCORM and xAPI formats to work with your chosen LMS. You can also design and share training materials made in Visme directly using a link, embed projects on your website or download them in various formats like JPG, PNG and PDF.
  • Some of Visme’s top features include a drag-and-drop editor, thousands of editable templates, interactivity and animation, dynamic fields, branding tools, AI tools, built-in graphic assets, data visualization tools, analytics, collaboration and workflows, online whiteboard, integration support and a mobile app to create materials on the go.

 

What Is an eLearning Authoring Tool?

An eLearning authoring tool is software that lets you create online courses and training materials with ease. Most eLearning authoring tools let you combine multimedia like text, images, videos, animations and interactive elements to create engaging learning experiences.

The best authoring tools take the complexity out of eLearning development. With user-friendly interfaces, built-in templates, and drag-and-drop editors, trainers and creators can build professional-quality courses without getting bogged down by technicalities.

Plus, you get powerful features like quizzing, software simulations and learner tracking to make your training programs more impactful.

Most importantly, top authoring tools allow you to publish your courses in formats compatible with any Learning Management System (LMS), such as SCORM and xAPI. So once your course or module is ready, you can seamlessly integrate it into your existing eLearning ecosystem for distribution.

 

10 Best eLearning Authoring Tools

1. Visme

Elearning Authoring Tools - Visme logo

Visme is one of the best eLearning authoring tools out there. It’s incredibly easy to use and comes packed with features like ready-made templates, advanced customization and interactivity to help you create high-quality, engaging learning content in minutes.

Use our content authoring tool to build all kinds of training and development programs, courses and onboarding materials in minutes.  Export them in SCORM or xAPI to add to your learning management system (LMS).

Let’s dive into some of Visme’s features that can help you create stand-out and effective eLearning content for your business or academic training:

Features

  • Easy drag-and-drop interface: Quickly build eLearning courses in Visme’s intuitive editor; just point, click and drop. No coding or design skills needed.
  • Animation and interactivity: Bring your training materials to life with animations, clickable icons and buttons, links, video embeds, hover effects and hotspots.
  • Extensive template library: Browse thousands of pre-built templates for presentations, infographics, videos, playbooks, worksheets, ebooks, case studies and others.
  • Millions of built-in assets: Drag and drop icons, characters, illustrations, shapes, stock photos and videos, audio clips and much more from our searchable asset library.
  • AI-powered capabilities: Use our suite of AI tools to generate original copy and images, edit photos and whip up tailored designs and templates and much more.
  • Branding tools: Easily apply your organization's colors, fonts and logos across courses for brand consistency. Upload and store your assets manually or let the Brand Wizard do the heavy-lifting for you.
  • Data visualization tools: Boring data and dull charts? Not on Visme's watch. Transform lackluster numbers into engaging, interactive data visualizations that drive your learning points home.
  • Workflows and collaboration: With our collaboration features, your team can effortlessly co-author projects in Visme and provide feedback in real-time. Control workflows by assigning tasks and deadlines, tracking progress and more.
  • Online whiteboard: Lead classes, host group discussions, brainstorm and share ideas with learners in real time using Visme’s whiteboard tool. Add icons, arrows, shapes or even images to create sketches, flow charts, plans, etc.
  • SCORM & xAPI export: Save your eLearning materials in xAPI or SCORM format and upload them to your LMS. You can also download Visme projects in other formats like JPG, PNG and PDF, publish and share them with a link or directly on social media/Slack, or embed them on a website with a snippet of code.
  • Presenter Studio: This handy feature lets you record your lectures and presentations with a live speaker view. You can also add notes on the side to keep track of key points. Use the Presenter Studio to create on-demand training videos and webinars.
  • Integration support: Connect Visme with apps like Slack, Google Drive, Google Analytics, YouTube, HubSpot and more to streamline the course creation process.
  • Analytics: Track metrics like views, average time spent and interactions to measure the performance and impact of your training materials shared via Visme.
  • Mobile application: Use Visme’s mobile app to create courses on the go. Your audience can also access your training materials through the app, no matter where they are.

Pricing

Visme offers a free basic plan that you can use for as long as you like.

To access more features, download options and premium templates, you can upgrade to one of the following paid plans:

  • Basic: Free
  • Starter: $12.25/month
  • Pro: $24.75/month
  • Visme for Teams: Contact for pricing

 

2. Adobe Captivate

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Adobe Captivate logo

Adobe Captivate is a top rated interactive training software and authoring tool designed to create engaging eLearning experiences, including software demos, interactive simulations and scenario-based training. The tool offers a vast asset library that includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) components, ready-made slide templates, and a dedicated widget gallery.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Adobe Captivate home page

Captivate’s interoperability with other Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator enables educators and designers to import high-quality graphics and elevate their eLearning materials.

Features

  • Responsive and adaptive design
  • Pre-built layout slides
  • Copy and paste objects and attributes
  • Asset and widget libraries
  • Intuitive interactions panel
  • Accessibility options
  • Closed captions
  • High-quality text-to-speech
  • Native audio editing
  • SCORM and xAPI compliant

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Adobe Captivate pricing

Adobe Captivate offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

Their paid plans are:

  • Individuals: $33.99/month
  • Teams and Enterprises: Contact sales
  • Education: Contact sales

 

3. Articulate Storyline 360

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Articulate Storyline 360 logo

Storyline 360 is part of the Articulate 360 suite. It’s one of the best authoring tools out there for intuitive course creation with advanced customization.

The platform offers an extensive library of slide templates, characters and animations and customizable transitions, making it a great authoring tool for both new and seasoned creators.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Articulate Storyline 360 home page

Take advantage of Storyline 360’s collaboration features, multi-device preview and conditional trigger functionalities to create engaging quizzes and simulations for learners.

Features

  • Responsive design
  • Touchscreen gesture support
  • Content Library 360 templates and characters
  • Collaborative authoring
  • Custom and dynamic interactions
  • Screencasts, simulations and videos
  • Translation and localization support
  • SCORM & xAPI compliant
  • Accessibility options

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Articulate Storyline 360 pricing

Articulate 360 offers a 30-day free trial. The paid plans are as follows:

  • Companies: $1,399/user
  • Freelancers: $1,099/user
  • Academics (Personal): $549/user
  • Academics (Teams): $699/user

4. iSpring Suite

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of iSpring Suite logo

iSpring Suite is an innovative eLearning authoring tool that lets you design courses in a familiar environment—PowerPoint. Convert your existing slide decks, Word docs and PDFs into professional, interactive eLearning or training content.

The downloadable software offers an AI assistant, interactivity features, dynamic role-plays, translation and localization support and a vast library of templates to set you up for training and course creation success.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of iSpring Suite home page

Features

  • PowerPoint-based authoring
  • AI assistant for writing and generating ideas
  • 90,000+ ready-made templates and images
  • Screencasts and talking-head videos
  • Role-play and dialogue simulations
  • Multi-language text-to-speech
  • Quizzes and assessments
  • Mobile-friendly courses
  • Custom Character Builder
  • SCORM and xAPI support

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of iSpring Suite pricing

iSpring Suite offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, you can switch to one of the following paid plans:

Business

  • iSpring Suite Max: $970 per author/year
  • iSpring Suite: $770 per author/year

Freelancer

  • iSpring Suite Max: $690 for a single user/year
  • iSpring Suite: $490 for a single user/year

Academic

  • iSpring Suite Max: $670 per author/year
  • iSpring Suite: $470 per author/year

 

5. Gomo Learning

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Gomo learning logo

Gomo Learning is a cloud-based eLearning authoring platform that helps businesses design highly interactive and responsive online courses that look great across multiple devices.

The tool stands out for its drag-and-drop interface, multi-language and localized content support that enables global learning, and a suite of advanced features like collaboration, resource management and publishing options packed inside an easy-to-use course creator.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Gomo learning home page

Features

  • Responsive and adaptive design
  • Custom theme library
  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Translation and localization support
  • Quizzes and assessments
  • SCORM/xAPI compliant
  • Collaborative authoring
  • Centralized resource library
  • User permissions and single sign-on (SSO)

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Gomo learning pricing

Gomo Learning offers a 21-day free trial and three paid plans for businesses:

  • Small
  • Medium
  • Enterprise

Contact sales to discuss pricing for all three plans.

 

6. Elucidat

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Elucidat logo

Elucidat stands as a powerful eLearning authoring platform known for its ability to create visually stunning, enterprise-level training content.

The tool offers a rich library of ready-made templates, localization and translation support, brand management, multiple export formats, scalable editing and more. All of this helps you design captivating learning experiences for learners distributed across the globe.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Elucidat home page

Elucidat also offers collaborative features and seamless integrations, which make it easier for multiple team members to work on course development together.

Features

  • Customizable templates
  • Responsive design
  • Content personalization
  • Collaborative authoring
  • User permissions and access controls
  • Localization workflows
  • Brand asset management
  • HTML5, SCORM, xAPI & video export
  • Enterprise-level data protection

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of isEazy Author pricing

Elucidat comes with a 14-day free trial. You can upgrade to one of the following paid plans once the trial period is over.

  • Basic
  • Team
  • Enterprise
  • Scale

Contact sales to request pricing for all plans.

 

7.isEazy Author

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of isEazy Author logo

isEazy Author is an award-winning eLearning authoring tool that simplifies creating interactive, multimedia-rich online courses. You can design presentation-style courses or leverage a vertical scroll format ideal for microlearning on smaller devices.

But what makes isEazy Author stand out is its AI-driven course creation. With a single click, you can generate video presentations, voiceovers, tests, quizzes and translations to encourage interactive learning material and save valuable time in the process.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of isEazy Author home page

Features

  • Drag-and-drop course builder
  • Preconfigured slide structures
  • 25+ types of interactive elements
  • Gamification features
  • AI course authoring tool
  • Team collaboration tools
  • SCORM and xAPI compliant
  • Automatic accessibility

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of isEazy Author pricing

isEazy Author offers a forever free plan with limited capabilities. Their paid plans are as follows:

  • Professional: €80/month
  • Business: €202/month
  • Enterprise: Contact sales

 

8. Lectora

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Lectora logo

Lectora is a versatile and powerful eLearning authoring tool that allows creators to design responsive and scalable online courses.

With its comprehensive suite of authoring tools, collaboration features, multi-device publishing, localization and accessibility support, you can craft immersive learning experiences for all kinds of audiences, regardless of where they are or what device they’re using.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Lectora home page

Features

  • AI Course Wizard
  • PowerPoint import and conversion
  • Ready-made course frameworks
  • Mobile-friendly themes and style packs
  • Interactive wireframe templates
  • Collaborative authoring and review
  • Desktop and online authoring
  • Interactivity and animation
  • Branching scenarios for personalization
  • Built-in asset library
  • Localization and translation support
  • Text-to-speech across dialects and personas
  • Export in SCORM, xAPI, AICC and HTML5

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Lectora pricing page

Lectora offers a 30-day free trial to help you get started. You can upgrade to one of the following paid plans after the trial period:

  • Studio Gold Suite: Starts at $117/month
  • Bundle & Save: Starts at $766/month

 

9. LearnWorlds

articulate alternatives - a screenshot of LearnWorlds logo

LearnWorlds is an all-in-one platform offering a suite of eLearning tools, from robust authoring capabilities to a comprehensive course management system.

Its user-friendly SCORM authoring tool allows you to effortlessly create interactive courses that incorporate elements such as quizzes, videos and interactive PDFs.

LearnWorlds also offers powerful marketing and sales tools, enabling you to promote and monetize your courses effectively. With its built-in analytics and reporting features, you can gain valuable insights into learner engagement and course performance.

Best eLearning Authoring Tools

Features

  • AI Assistant
  • Flexible course creation
  • Multimedia integration
  • Interactive video and live sessions
  • Marketing and sales tools
  • Course monetization
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Learner management
  • SCORM and HTML5 support
  • White-label website to host courses

Pricing

LearnWorlds offers a 30-day free trial and the following paid plans:

  • Starter: $24/month
  • Pro Trainer: $79/month
  • Learning Center: $249/month
  • High Volume & Corporate: Contact sales

 

10. Easygenerator

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Easy Generator logo

Easygenerator is an online eLearning authoring software designed for enterprises. It's goal is to help L&D teams easily create accessible, localized and interactive courses and training programs for employees spread across the globe.

The platform’s newest feature—EasyAI—helps you create high-quality courses faster. Generate ideas, brainstorm, create assessments, summarize, simplify and more. Additionally, the auto-translation feature powered by Amazon AWS enables you to localize your training materials across 75+ languages.

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Easy Generator home page

Features

  • EasyAI course creation assistant
  • Pre-made, customizable templates
  • AWS-powered auto-translation
  • High-quality text-to-speech
  • Question-based outline builder
  • Video recorder and editor
  • Accessibility options
  • SCORM & xAPI compliant
  • PowerPoint import
  • Collaborative authoring

Pricing

Elearning Authoring Tools - an image of Easy Generator pricing

Easygenerator offers a 14-day free trial. You can upgrade to one of the following paid plans once the trial period is over.

  • Pro: $108/month
  • Team: $541/month
  • Enterprise: Contact us

 

Elearning Authoring FAQs

There are dozens of popular authoring tools in the market. Some of the best ones include Visme, Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline 360, iSpring Suite, Gomo Learning, Elucidat, isEazy Author, Lectora, LearnWorlds and Easygenerator.

No, SCORM is not an authoring tool. SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. It’s a set of technical standards that regulate how eLearning content is packaged and delivered to learning management systems (LMS). You can use a SCORM-compliant authoring tool to create courses and training materials that integrate with your LMS.

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a platform used to distribute and manage eLearning content. An authoring tool is used to create eLearning content, such as presentations, quizzes, assessments, videos, simulations and other course materials. Most authoring tools let you export your eLearning content and integrate it with an LMS for distribution and tracking.

Visme is a great example of an authoring tool that lets you create highly interactive and engaging courses and training materials. Use features like pre-built templates, drag-and-drop editing, AI-powered tools, collaboration, data visualization, brand management, and SCORM and xAPI export formats to build immersive learning experiences.

No, eLearning is not the same as LMS. eLearning refers to the delivery of education and training through electronic means, whereas a Learning Management System (LMS) is a platform through which eLearning content is distributed to learners.

 

Create Engaging eLearning & Training Content with Visme

Designing effective courses and training materials that actually engage and upskill your learners often boils down to using the right eLearning authoring tool.

This is where Visme comes in. Our AI-powered platform not only helps you create interactive eLearning materials but also enables you to publish, share and track their performance. You can also easily export your projects in SCORM and xAPI formats to add to your preferred LMS.

But Visme is more than just an eLearning authoring tool. It’s a visual content creation hub that lets you collaboratively build all kinds of infographics, documents, presentations, printables, social media visuals and more using an intuitive, drag-and-drop editor.

Better yet, it’s packed with features like templates, interactivity, custom animations, dynamic fields, analytics, branding tools, AI tools, data visualization tools and a built-in library of free graphic assets like icons, stock photos, videos and audio clips.

Try it for yourself by signing up for free. Or learn more about how Visme can help training and development teams author and distribute amazing eLearning content.

*Disclaimer: The comparisons and competitor ratings presented in this article are based on features available as of Mar 29, 2024. 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.

Mahnoor Sheikh
Written by Mahnoor Sheikh

Mahnoor is a freelance writer and content strategist for B2B SaaS brands (and a toddler mom). She loves to talk about marketing, sales, branding and visual design. When she’s not working, she’s chilling at home (or the beach), cooking gourmet dinners for her family or traveling the world. She’s currently based in Antalya. Connect with her on LinkedIn or check out her website.

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