8 Top eLearning Authoring Tools to Check Out in 2024

Elearning authoring tools have become a necessity for course creators. Creators can design and develop eLearning materials in no time and without any hassle. Here are our top picks for 2024's best authoring tools.

See also: 10 Best online teaching tools for course creators.

What are eLearning authoring tools?

Not every course creator out there is an expert in the field. Some are academics with little experience using eLearning software, whereas others are young professionals setting their hands on the expertise. In such cases, developing entire courses and creating impactful elearning material can be a daunting task for them.

An eLearning authoring tool is a specialized software that helps in developing eLearning content. One can use it to create courses, lesson plans, entire training programs, and assignments. Moreover, these tools help in developing customized content catering to specific requirements.

There are different types of authoring tools varying in terms of deployment and pricing. For instance, SaaS or cloud-based, self-hosted, desktop-based or locally installed, etc. They can be subcategorized into assessment authoring, rapid authoring, and interactive authoring software.

If you are wondering why should you invest in such a tool, here are some of the reasons why: it lets you work collaboratively alongside other creators and SMEs, create content from anywhere, and produce quality content which keeps up with the changing needs.

Often L&D platforms come with their own in-built authoring tools for content creation. However, some are not up to the mark or lack certain features. Consequently, L&D experts have to look elsewhere to meet their needs. With these tools, all you have to do is create and then simply export the final product in SCORM, HTML, or xAPI files and import them to your choice of LMS platform.

Tips for choosing eLearning authoring tools

Depending on what your needs and priorities are, determine which particular type of eLearning authoring tool will suit your requirements. For example, the type of training i.e. whether it is video training, an interactive learning experience, or simulation-based training.

Further features to pay close attention to include mobile friendliness, LMS compatibility since not all are SCORM, xAPI, etc complaint, and scalability i.e. whether it lets you collaborate with other users or not. Not to forget, budget. A lot of the options available for these tools do cover all these basic requirements but tend to charge extra for additional features. Therefore, when deciding, make sure to compare functionality with the price.

List of eLearning authoring tools

1. Articulate Storyline 360

The articulate storyline is a popular authoring tool amongst course creators. Its user-friendly interface makes it suitable for new designers and young freelancers. At the same time, its flexibility and advanced features also make it a great match for big companies.

The tool can be integrated with content library 360 for sourcing high-quality design templates. Additionally, it lets to create interactive content through simulations and screencast features.  However, it too has drawbacks. The collaborative feature is only available on the Articulate 360 Teams plan. Also, it can be a tad pricy in comparison to other options.

Features:

• Collaborative option (only for Articulate 360 Teams plan)
• Supports all video formats
• Translate content into multiple languages
• SCORM, xAPI (TinCan), and AICC compliant
• Customer support via live chat, community forums, user guides, and tutorials.

Pricing: Team plan for $1399 per user/yr and Personal plan for $1099 per user/yr. For academics: personal plan for $549 per user/yr and team plan for $699 per user/yr. Free demo available.

2. Teachfloor

Teachfloor is an online course creator platform. Hence the offered features target those needs and make it a perfect match for collaborative course creators with its multi-author feature. Furthermore, its offered ease of scalability makes it a good fit for small to big companies.

Users can embed the platform with codes from their favorite apps to increase its functionality even further. You can easily create video content and host live courses via Zoom integration. Additional features include a curriculum builder, email automations, customizable branding, and landing pages, and an assignment builder.

The best thing about Teachfloor is that you can create really engaging programs aiming to reach more than 85% of completion rate of them. This can happen, because the platform is designed to give all the necessary tools to apply a collaborative learning methodology.

Features:

• White labeling (Brand, colors, domain)
• Curriculum builder
• Peer-Learning activities
• Multi-author
• SCORM compliant
• Quiz and assignment builder
• Analytics dashboard
• Zapier integration (can connect Teachfloor with other online tools e.g. Google Docs, Trello, etc)
• Customer support via live 24/7 chat

Pricing: Pro plan for $79/yr and $99/mo. Business plan available at custom pricing. 15-day free trial available. No cancellation fee.

3. ELB Learning

If you are a small or medium-level course developer or freelancer, then ELB Learning might be a good fit for you. The tool offers exceptional ease of use with its responsive and interactive design. Furthermore, it comes with a wide range of editing options if you struggle with editing. And for when you run out of creative ideas, ELB Learning has you covered with its course templates. The only problem is it only offers SCORM compliance on their highest paid plan.

Features:

• Course templates
• Flexible integration (especially with Camtasia and Snagit)
• SCORM, xAPI, HTML, AICC, and cmi5 compliant
• Customer support via online chat (only during office hours), online community, FAQs, and blog.

Pricing: Silver suite for $899/yr, Gold suite for $1299/yr, and Platinum suite for $1599/yr. Free trial available.

4. Gomo

Gomo is a cloud-based eLearning authoring tool. With it, you can host content both online and offline on their app. Overall, it is a more flexible authoring tool in comparison with desktop-based ones. Interestingly, users get plenty of templates and themes to choose from and create their content easily. Hence why it is a good fit for young eLearning content developers. It also works great for more prominent companies. However, it has a few cons. Some users find the interface complex and inflexible for customization.

Features:

• Course templates and themes
• Multi-author
• Multi-SCO for creating content translations
• HTML5, SCORM, xAPI (TinCan) compliant
• Mobile-friendly

Pricing: Price upon request. Offers three pricing plans - small, medium, and enterprise.

5. iSpring Suite

Ispring suite is another easy-to-use eLearning authoring tool with a special focus on training and onboarding content. For people looking to avoid any technical faff, then it is perfect for them. Its overall outlook is similar to PowerPoint making it a relatively familiar tool in terms of navigation. On the flip side, it lacks a lot of features in comparison to other eLearning authoring tools. Moreover, it only works as a local installation (no cloud installation) with limited transferability.

Features:

• Local installation
• PowerPoint interface
• offers 24 different training formats
• Additional features: Text-to-speech ($397), content library ($397), and online collaboration tool ($770)
• Customer support via 24/7 live chat, online community forums, and blog.

Pricing: For the basic plan - $770 per author/yr and for the Max plan -$970/yr.

6. Adobe Captivate

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Adobe captivate is one of the most recognizable brands when it comes to eLearning authoring tools. Its interactive and user-friendly interface lets you create quality training courses, videos, etc. The application offers much flexibility and users can even customize their backgrounds using the green screen feature. Since it is a desktop authoring application, there is no collaborative working feature. On the downside, the interface can be slow and requires powerful computers to use.

Features:

• Mobile-friendly
• Create quizzes, puzzles, storyboards, and virtual reality content
• PowerPoint integration
• HTML5, SCORM, AICC, xAPI compliant
• Customer support via email, help center, and community forums.

Pricing: Subscription-based, $33.99/mo and $407.88/yr. For additional features - $29.99/mo.

7. Articulate Rise 360

Articulate Rise 360 is a web-based authoring tool that has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. Moreover, users do not have to be experienced authors of this tool as it comes with a range of in-built lessons, course templates, screencasts, and custom learning blocks. Additionally, it lets users clone eLearning courses for multi-author use and share them with other Rise 360 authors. While it offers a range of templates to help creators, it can also become a problem for others as it can limit customizability.

Features:

• Multi-author use
• Control user access
• AICC, SCORM, xAPI (TinCan) compliant
• Easy-to-update
• Can easily translate content
• Customer support via online chat, community forum, and blog.

Pricing: Team plan for $1399 per user/yr and Personal plan for $1099 per user/yr. For academics: personal plan for $549 per user/yr and team plan for $699 per user/yr. Free demo available.

8. Evolve

Evolve is another great resource for freelancers and small to medium companies creating eLearning content. What makes it stand out is its handy collaboration feature which lets multiple users work alongside each other. Moreover, it offers different types of admin access for teams for a controlled experience. However, it offers a limited range of features and only exports HTML5 files.

Features:

• Multi-author
• simulation building
• Customizable theming options
• Admin access for teams
• White labeling with complete brand control
• Customer support via live chat, FAQs, and blog.

Pricing: Offers 3 pricing options - standard for $576/yr, agency for $756/yr, and enterprise on demand. Comes with a 21-day free trial.

Elearning authoring tools are must-have applications for any course creator looking to make their life easy. This was our little take on the top eLearning authoring tools of 2024. So, did we miss something? Let us know in the comments.

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