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Absorb LMS is a learning management system designed to help enterprises scale training programs. The platform caters to a wide range of industries, such as healthcare, compliance, customer education, and more. Absorb LMS offers features to enhance the lear...Read more about Absorb LMS
recommendations
DigitalChalk is the LMS you want and the PARTNER you deserve. We are the LMS you want. We offer a full-featured LMS that industry experts such as Brandon Hall and Talented Learning consistently rank among the best in the industry. We give you everything y...Read more about DigitalChalk
recommendations
Acorn Performance LMS (PLMS) is the dynamic AI-powered platform for Learning and Development (L&D) experiences synchronized to business performance. Corporate learning is broken. Acorn is the antidote. It’s the only solution that guides learners step by st...Read more about Acorn
recommendations
Trakstar Learn's cloud-based e-learning platform provides a simple, training solution for employees working from home, in the office, or in the field. We make it easier for business leaders to enable customers, contractors, their employees, and other key p...Read more about Trakstar Learn
recommendations
360Learning is a collaborative LMS tool that helps businesses author and conduct interactive learning experiences so learners can practice, demonstrate, and repeat until the team masters the skill. 360Learning helps teams automate compliance, train custome...Read more about 360Learning
recommendations
BRIDGE is a learning management system and performance platform that consolidates HR tools into one platform, allowing companies to streamline new hire onboarding, compliance training, skill building, performance conversations, and more. BRIDGE offers tra...Read more about BRIDGE
recommendations
Thinkific is an online course platform that allows entrepreneurs, businesses, and creators to build, market, and sell online learning experiences. The platform caters to a range of industries, from education and training to coaching and consulting. The pla...Read more about Thinkific
recommendations
LearnUpon is a learning management system (LMS) designed to provide a streamlined and engaging learning experience for diverse audiences. The platform offers a variety of features, including course creation, training delivery, learner engagement, learning ...Read more about LearnUpon
recommendations
Travitor makes it easy to create, deliver, and track training. Plus get hundreds of top-rated courses in Compliance, Business, Safety, and Personal Development included. Help your teams do great work with featured courses like Harassment Prevention for E...Read more about Travitor
recommendations
Workleap is for HR teams that need to solve HR challenges. We help you make your people happier and more productive with the easiest employee experience technology to launch, manage and love. Period. Tackle the challenges of hybrid, remote and distributed...Read more about Workleap
recommendations
Kallidus Learn is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) featuring certification and compliance management, a built-in course library and SCORM compliance. The system is suitable for large and midsize organizations in a variety of industries and is...Read more about Kallidus Learn
recommendations
iTacit is a workforce app designed to simplify communication and improve engagement between employers and teams. This solution is suitable for organizations in various industries including healthcare, government, banking, manufacturing, plus more. It can b...Read more about iTacit
recommendations
Ziiva's suite of Prosperity software systems is designed to help businesses manage their employee training programs. It is suitable for businesses of all size and kind to deliver an end-to-end learning management solution. Prosperity Corporate provide...Read more about Prosperity LMS
recommendations
SkyPrep LMS is a cloud-based learning management solution that offers a platform to training administrators for creating, managing and selling training courses. Key features include custom branding, automated learner enrollment and blended learning. SkyP...Read more about SkyPrep
recommendations
The KMI LMS is a cloud-based learning management solution used in a wide range of industries including health care, distribution, oil & gas and finance. While adaptable to many workflows and business models, the KMI LMS is best suited to extended enterpris...Read more about KMI LMS
recommendations
Brightspace is a learning management system designed to transform the learning experience. It supports unique learning journeys and empowers organizations across various sectors to create personalized educational experiences. The platform simplifies the p...Read more about Brightspace
recommendations
Transform your organization's learning experience with Tovuti LMS, the all-in-one learning platform that makes training effortless and impactful. L&D professionals love how our AI assistant, Dizi, creates professional courses in minutes instead of weeks, ...Read more about Tovuti
recommendations
Brainier LMS is a learning management system developed for companies of all sizes. Businesses in hospitality, insurance, banking, consulting, training, property management, real estate, telecommunications and various other industries can adapt the platform...Read more about ClearCompany Learning
recommendations
Adobe Learning Manager an award-winning cloud-based learning management system (LMS) that addresses personalized learning experiences at scale for customers, partners and employees alike. Learning Manager is a headless learning platform that allows for o...Read more about Adobe Learning Manager
recommendations
Syberworks is a hybrid learning management (LMS) solution that caters to small and midsize businesses across industries such as medical products, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. The solution helps businesses to deliver and manage on-the-job, classroom o...Read more about SyberWorks Training Center
recommendations
Your employees don’t have time to waste on an LMS they don’t use, and neither do you. That’s why Looop removes the redundancies built into today’s learning solutions to give you an LMS that delivers guaranteed performance at the speed, scale and quality yo...Read more about Looop
Kahoot! is a learning management system (LMS), which helps schools and higher education institutions create games, interact with students via online sessions, streamline remote learning processes and track class progress via formative assessments. Professi...Read more about Kahoot!
Trainual is a cloud-based learning management system. The solution serves various industry verticals and allows organizations to automate training and onboarding process. It helps in organizing training modules in a centralized system. The solution pr...Read more about Trainual
LearnWorlds is a cloud-based, all-in-one LMS designed to help businesses create, sell and market online courses. It is suitable for entrepreneurs, eLearning companies, corporate trainers, educational organizations, SMEs and large enterprises or individual ...Read more about LearnWorlds
Easygenerator is a cloud-based e-learning authoring solution. The tool allows users to create e-learning courses from scratch without the need for previous course creation experience. Key features include drag-and-drop course creation, EasyAI (an AI assist...Read more about Easygenerator
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Buyers Guide
This detailed guide will help you find and buy the right cloud lms software for you and your business.
Last Updated on January 27, 2025If you’re in the market for a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) which is accessible from any Web-enabled device, you’re not alone. A survey conducted by Capterra in 2015 found that 87 percent of LMS users rely on a cloud-based system.
But just because something’s popular doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for you and your organization. That’s why we’ve created this buyer’s guide to help you understand everything you need to know about cloud-based LMS software.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
What Type of Online LMS Buyer Are You?
Pros and Cons of a Cloud-Based LMS
How Much Does Cloud LMS Software Cost?
Common Features of an Online LMS
What Is Cloud LMS Software?
If knowledge is power, then consider LMS software to be the electrical grid that delivers that power to your business or school. These systems allow managers, trainers and teachers to administer more flexible digital e-learning courses through computers or smartphones, using premade or self-created teaching materials.
With an LMS, you can test learner knowledge with customized assessments, track worker certifications, measure learner engagement and more.
Courses in LearnUpon LMS
Cloud LMS software, also called Web-based or SaaS (software-as-a-service) LMS software, is software deployed through a Web browser. Unlike on-premise systems, which users host and maintain on their own servers, cloud platforms are hosted and maintained by the software vendor.
Buyers pay a subscription fee—typically monthly or annually—to access cloud-based LMS software. As long as you have a web-enabled device and an Internet connection, you can access your account from anywhere in the world.
Cloud-based products are popular for a few common reasons. First, the subscription pricing that typically accompanies a cloud product offers lower up-front costs to buyers (though that subscription fee does recurr monthly or annually, depending on the contract). Second, because the software is hosted online or "in the cloud," remote access is a breeze. And finally, software updates are pushed out automatically (whereas with an on-premise system, buyers typically have to manually install upgrades themselves).
However, organizations with a large or resource-rich IT department sometimes prefer on-premise solutions so that they can manage the software on their own servers. Additionally, for some businesses, the larger up-front and smaller recurring costs may be appealing. (Either way, the cost of on-premise and cloud-based systems tends to converge over the life of the software.)
What Type of Online LMS Buyer Are You?
Buyers of cloud-based LMS software typically fall into one of two categories:
Education professionals. Schools and universities are increasingly relying on cloud-based LMS platforms to deliver lessons and assignments to students. If you’re considering cloud-based LMS software for your school, some features to look out for include:
Social learning functionality, such as class forums and student blogs to increase engagement
Responsive design to cater your courses to varying screen sizes on tablets and phones
Corporate trainers. Within the corporate sphere, cloud-based LMSs allow trainers to develop their workforce and also get external groups such as channel partners or customers up to speed.
If you’re a buyer in this category, look for extended enterprise functionality that allows for custom branding to tailor the e-learning experience to different learner audiences, while gamification features such as badges and leaderboards can increase course participation.
Some corporate LMSs also offer integrated content authoring, but there are standalone tools for this as well.
Pros and Cons of a Cloud-Based LMS
Having a cloud-based LMS carries a number of benefits over an on-premise system, but also some drawbacks:
Pros | Cons |
Reduced IT costs Because the software is hosted on the vendor’s servers, there is no need for buyers to pay for their own servers or IT staff to maintain them. This can be a huge cost-saving measure, especially for small organizations. | Lack of customization Though cloud systems have some options to customize the solution to individual needs, these pale in comparison to tailored on-premise platforms that can look vastly different from client to client, and which better integrate with proprietary solutions. |
Added flexibility Cloud-based LMS software accessible through a web browser means your learners can choose where and when they can take their e-learning courses, instead of being forced to use the software during operating hours at one location. | Connectivity dependency If your users have a stable internet connection, your cloud-based LMS is good to go. But if that connection is weak and unstable, or you experience an outage, you won’t be able to access the system. On-premise systems don’t need an internet connection. |
How Much Does Cloud LMS Software Cost?
Cloud LMS software is typically priced on a per-user basis, meaning your monthly or annual fee depends on how many users you have in the system. This price can vary widely from $5/user for small organizations to $0.50/user for large ones.
A common misconception is that cloud-based software is cheaper than on-premise options. Although the upfront cost for cloud-based software is certainly less, the cost of both types of systems ends up being around the same over time when you factor in recurring expenses.
Example on-premise vs. SaaS software cost
Common Features of an Online LMS
The most common features of LMS software are found universally in both on-premise and cloud-based solutions. These include:
Learning management | The core functionality of any LMS helps educational or business organizations create, store, organize and administer learning materials. |
Certification / compliance management | Tracks and manages compliance training, as well as certification programs that some industries may require for performing certain jobs. |
Facilitates live, remote training sessions, typically led via video. | |
Proficiency reporting / testing | Facilitates the administration of tests to gauge users' learning of the course material. Allows for reporting of test scores to identify proficiencies or gaps in learning. |
Content authoring | Allows users to create or "author" their own course content, which is in turn delivered through the LMS. |