10 Best eLearning Authoring Tools (Both Free & Paid)

The trend of acquiring new and in-demand skills online will continue in the coming years. However, if you are looking to expand into this sector and utilize the ever-growing demand for quality online learning content, we suggest that you first lay down strong foundations. And what is better than using the best eLearning authoring tools for that.

With coming months demanding a stay at home from citizens, it is suggested that we use E-Learning software to hone our personalities.

What are E-learning Authoring Tools?

While using eLearn software for improving your skills, did you also think, “Hey, this is something that I/my business can also do?” If you did, then eLearning authoring tools are just what you want. They are the bedrock upon which you can design your subject curriculum and then fill them with animations, images, suitable graphics and more.

Such e-learning software also provides the option of including quizzes, concept review tests and more. Basically, with free eLearning authoring tools, even a layman (not in terms of subject knowledge) can design a professional online learning course.

Whats Are The Different Types of E-Learning Authoring Tools?

There are 3 different categories of e-learning authoring software which stand out during elearning authoring tools comparison. They are as follows:

1. Standalone Authoring Tool

A standalone eLearn software is meant for designing a complex course replete with animations and interactive utilities such as drag and drop functionality. Unfortunately, such eLearning development tools usually involve a steep learning curve.

2. PowerPoint Based eLearning Authoring Software

In these types of eLearning authoring software, users can convert their PowerPoint presentations into eLearning courses, video lectures, interactive quizzes and much more. Moreover, since many users are familiar with the interface of PowerPoint, designing this using the best authoring tools involves a less steep learning curve.

3. Cloud-Based eLearning Authoring Tools

Cloud-based course authoring software provides ease of accessibility. You can start designing courses on your PC, safely back it to the cloud and resume designing on any other device. All this without compromising on the quality of the interactiveness of your skill improving course.

Benefits of Using eLearning Software

Online learning software has emerged as quite a trend these days. Open source elearning authoring tools ensure that both students and working professionals can upskill themselves from the comfort of their homes. In addition to this, the best elearning software also offers the following benefits.

• Free elearning software caters to the learning speed of an individual. You can pace a particular course as per your own grasping and understanding level with the option of accessing the content from anywhere and at any time.

• Elearning development tools expose you to courses, which you might have previously not even heard about. This might include a new language, coding skill, drawing technique, communication tools, etc.

• With elearning software tools, you can scale a particular course to be taught to your entire workforce or specific departments under the employee development programme. Hence, the best elearning tools ensure that your employees possess all the in-demand market skills and contribute to a business’s growth.

List of 10 Paid & Free E-Learning Authoring Tools for Teachers & Instructional Designers

This list is a healthy mix of paid & free eLearning authoring tools. These tools would help you develop interactive and informative courses.

• Adobe Captivate
• Articulate Storyline
• Gomo
• domiKnow
• EdApp
• Moovly
• AdaptiveU
• Elucidate
• CourseLab
• IsEazy

Best eLearning Authoring Tools with Free Trial

• Adobe Captivate: 30-Days Free Trial
• Articulate Storyline: 60-Days Free Trial
• Gomo: 21-Days Free Trial
• DominKnow: 14-Days Free Trial
• Elucidate: Free Trial

Here’s we have listed the best eLearning authoring tools available for free trial and demo.

• Adobe Captivate

Best for: Ready to go slides feature help craft your course structure quickly

Adobe Captivate elearn software needs no introduction. This eLearning authoring software is suitable for designing your courses as it provides ready to use interactive slides. Moreover, it also houses a vast asset store from which users can download royalty-free images, themes, audio, video and much more.

Features of Adobe Captivate Course Authoring Tools

• Compatibility with VR headsets for a truly immersive learning experience.
• You have the option of uploading videos from YouTube and Vimeo and then add overlays at different points in the video.
• The eLearning authoring tool features enhanced workflows, which allow you to club your slides into modules and modules into a single menu list.
• The click and replace feature helps trainers swap existing content or image with a different one.
• Wide theme options to choose from to make your online modules more engaging and interactive.

Pricing of Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate eLearning authoring software offers a free 30-day trial. The paid version is available in the following two plans:

1. Captivate – ₹ 26076.
2. Captivate License – ₹ 78936

Platforms Supported: Windows and iOS

• Articulate Storyline 360 (60-Days Free Trial)

Best for: Designing courses with same degree of interactiveness across mobile devices

Articulate Storyline 360, one of the best elearning authoring software, lets you design creative courses and publish them in a few steps. The eLearning authoring software allows you to tweak the course based on the screen size. This is considered one of the best eLearning tools for playback, as it automatically removes sidebars while watching a video.

Features of Articulate Storyline 360, one of the Best Authoring Tools

• The software offers advanced touch gestures. Viewers can easily swipe and zoom in while watching your course.
• One of the best eLearning authoring tools, Articulate has an inbuilt library that offers a wide variety of ready to use templates, characters, audio, video and much more.
• The software offers different course designers to collaborate on a single project.
• The eLearning software tool for course design makes use of powerful text rendering for enhanced readability across devices.
• Option of replacing fonts across all your slides with one click.

Articulate 360-course authoring software pricing: This eLearning authoring software is priced at ₹95402.46 per user per year.

Platforms Supported: Windows and macOS

• Gomo (21-Days Free Trial)

Best for: Cloud based multi device learning support

Gomo is an HTML5 based eLearning development tool which is suitable for individuals as well as companies to help them develop interactive learning content. You don’t need to install any program for using Gomo that makes this one of the best elearning authoring software. Gomo offers enhanced integration with third party LMS, social media sites and much more.

Features of Gomo Online Learning Software

• This eLearning authoring tool can also be used to track your course’s impact, such as watch time, no. of comments, etc.
• Gomo has an easy to use drag and drop interface for you to easily and quickly design interactive courses.
• Automatic detection of screen size-mobile or tablet and automatic adjustment without compromising on the resolution of the content.
• This best learning software makes it easy to manage your courses, and you can view the entire structure at any stage.
• Gomo eLearning authoring software features pre-set templates for the creation of engaging online learning courses.

Pricing of Gomo: This free eLearning authoring tool offers a 21-day free trial. The price of the paid version is available under the following three plans:

1. Small – ₹59366.50
2. Medium – ₹ 169346
3. Enterprise – Available on request

More details regarding the pricing structure is available on request at techjockey.com.

Platforms Supported: Cloud-support

• dominKnow (14-Days Free Trial)

Best for: Cloud based eLearn software for collaboration

dominKnow e-learning software helps you develop efficient workflows to collaborate with different team members on the same project. This best learning management software also supports content creation for devices with different screen sizes such as desktop, tablet and mobile phones. dominKnow learning software lets you publish your online course as SCORM, xAPI, web-based version, etc.

Features of dominKnow Elearning Authoring Tool  

• dominKnow helps you create content that is accessible and compliant with certain standards such as WCAG, WAI-Aria etc.
• The online learning software provides the option of creating content in different languages.
• The library of this software offers several stock assets and templates to be used to create interactive content.
• The software’s authoring tool Claro helps create HTML5 based content that adjusts automatically to different screen sizes.
• This best eLearning software for mac allows users to include screen captures and GIFs in their courses easily.

Pricing of dominKnow

1. Solo – ₹73222.67 per user per year
2. Team – ₹ 109741
3. Business – ₹ 183048

Platforms Supported: Windows

• Elucidate (Free Trial Available)

Best for: Building interactive training materials

Elucidate eLearning authoring tool is ideal for both seasoned experts and beginners for developing training material at scale. The eLearning software supports the fast development of eLearning projects and crowd sourcing of the same for wider reach.

In addition, elucidate is a preferable tool for producing business-critical training data.

Features of Elucidate eLearning Authoring Tool:

• Easy updating of content in few clicks across multiple courses
• Option to create content in localized or multi-language versions
• Weblinks for launching eLearning courses
• SOC and IOC certified hosting
• Secured authentication for your learning material

Price: Elucidate offers different paid plans, prices of which are available on request.

Platforms Supported: Web-based

Best Free eLearning Authoring Tools for Mac & Windows

1. EdApp – Free Version & Paid
2. Moovly – Free Version & Paid
3. AdaptiveU – Free version & Paid
4. CourseLab – Free Version & Paid
5. IsEazy – Free Version & Paid

• EdApp

Best for: Mobile based course for employee development

EdApp, counted amongst the best eLearning authoring software, has a built-in reward system to make lessons more engaging for your viewers. This elearning development tool also offers analytics and insights into how many people subscribed to your course, their watch time and more.

In addition, edApp features pre-set templates for you to quickly create a course, even if you are a beginner.

EdApp Free ELearning Software Features

1. The software features built in courses for you to work upon, modify and republish.
2. It supports course development in more than 100 languages.
3. EdApp features a free library with customizable components to be used for course designing.
4. The software has an inbuilt authoring tool for designing courses even if you have no coding knowledge.
5. The software converts your text intensive ppts into interactive training lessons in a few minutes.

Pricing of EdApp Course Authoring Software: EdApp elearning authoring tool offers a free version with limited features. The cost of paid plans starts from ₹143.21 per user per month. There are other two plans as well available:

1. Plus – ₹ 216
2. Enterprise – Available on request

• Moovly

Best for: Creating trainer videos, promo videos, explainer videos

Moovly is one of the best authoring tools available currently. You don’t have to download anything, just open your browser and start creating interactive lessons on Moovly. This eLearning authoring software features several templates, which you can modify as per your own requirement.

Moovly ELearning Software Features

1. Moovly learning software makes use of a drag and drop interface to add interactive media.
2. The software has a powerful sharing feature. You can restrict the number of people that would see the study material on it or share publicly across social media platforms.
3. Moovly eLearning authoring tool has a rich library which offers ready to use stock photos, audios and videos.
4. You can access your projects from any device and work on them.
5. Once you have completed a project, you can share it via email, social media platforms or third-party applications.

Pricing of Moovly: Moovly free eLearning software version is available. It also has a paid plan, starting from ₹3598.71 per month. The other two plans are:

1. Max – ₹ 7257
2. Enterprise – Available on request

For more details, please connect with us. Our sales team representative would help you with further pricing details.

Platforms Supported: Windows and macOS

• AdaptiveU

Best for: Producing knowledgeable content in a matter of seconds.

AdaptiveU is one of the best elearning tools that corporations can adopt for employee training. With this elearning authoring software, you can send bulk invites to different employees for the same course.

At the same time, this elearn software for course creation lets you share specific content with a certain group. It also provides reports to track your progress and print them in different formats.

AdaptiveU eLearning Software Features

1. The software lets you track the learning progress of students on a daily basis.
2. You have the option of sharing links of other educators or pin them for reference.
3. The software provides each user with a customizable subdomain URL.
4. You can ask viewers to mention key takeaways from your course which doubles up as feedback.
5. Admins have the ability to design learning courses as per the skill set and experience of their team members.

Pricing of AdaptiveU elearning authoring tool: AdaptiveU offers a free version with limited features. The price of the paid version starts from ₹146.89 per user per month.

Platforms Supported: Cloud-based

• CourseLab

Best for: Frame-based/action-based animations

CourseLab eLearning authoring tool supports WYSIWYG interface for producing qualitative learning material for internet publishing, learning management systems and such devices.

The software offers a visual frame timeline and multipurpose object panes for better usability and layout. In addition, CourseLab’s scenario feature helps develop multi-object interaction in a single click.

Features of CourseLab Software:

• Frame-based and action-based animations
• Embedded rich-text editor for font embedded
• Module templates with default font settings
• Special effects in playing mode
• Cascading rules for evaluation and scoring
• Frame strip and module structure panes

Price: CouseLab is available in two plans, freeware and a paid version. Details are available on the official website.

Compatible Platforms: Windows, Linux and macOS

• isEazy

Best for: Learning content development as a fresher

isEazy offers a variety of interactive resources for creating dynamic learning content in a gamified manner. The authoring tool supports the easy creation and sharing of eLearning courses, helping organizations customize their learning materials.

In addition, it supports real-time, flexible editing with drag and drops functionality and slide templates.

Features of isEazy:

• Slide templates to quickly design your course
• Quickly move, edit and delete items
• Allows you to create duplicate slides & projects for reuse
• Different types of interactive multimedia content
• Direct links for sharing content or publishing them on websites
• Content development and communications management

isEazy Price: There is available a free trial version along with paid plans starting at 5129.

Compatible Platforms: Cloud-based

Conclusion

Most e learning software solutions support preset templates and customizable interface is what most users prefer. However, not just preset templates, by choosing any of the above mentioned elearning authoring tools, you can ensure that your lessons are knowledgeable and creative.