An LMS is an all-in-one learning management system, content repository and learner community. Those looking to streamline eLearning processes should review these five best-rated enterprise training solutions for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in Canada.
What we will cover
An LMS is a framework through which eLearning content is delivered and managed. An LMS allows for an anytime, anywhere learning environment, helping SMEs deliver and track eLearning courses and testing.
According to Samelane, the eLearning market value is expected to reach $70 billion by 2030. This marks a massive opportunity for companies hoping to ride this global shift to online learning by providing training and onboarding services of their own.
This article reviews five of the most popular learning management software tools on Capterra Canada, listed in alphabetical order. For this list, we considered software companies with headquarters in Canada, each with an overall rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 stars and capable of course tracking and management. You can find the full methodology below.
1.
- Overall rating: 4.5 / 5
- Ease of use: 4.4 / 5
- Customer service: 4.4 / 5
- Features: 4.2 / 5
- Value for money: 4.3 / 5
Absorb LMS kicks off our list of the best online learning programs. It’s a multilingual cloud-based web tool, and it offers a mobile app that enables organizations to impart knowledge to employees, customers and students. With Absorb, administrators can set specific permissions for each user, as well as create, customize and deploy content through course catalogues.
Here are some of its main features and their applications:
- Billboards showcase strategically placed content, make announcements and raise brand awareness.
- Social tiles connect users to the company’s social media accounts, feeding content into the LMS for them to see and engage with.
- The content is available online and offline, with progress automatically synced once an internet connection is re-established.
- Absorb LMS transcribes and timestamps video lessons automatically using artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), helping students locate specific words within video lessons.
- The list of engagement tools includes built-in leaderboards, dedicated channels for comments and collaboration, and customizable polls with open-ended questions.
Absorb LMS costs
Absorb’s pricing model is based on the number of learners and the purpose (business training and development, external training, both, or course selling). There is a starting package price and from there, an additional fee is added for each registered user. A one-off setup fee will also be charged for training and onboarding. Users can request a free demo as well as a full-featured 21-day free trial.
2.
- Overall rating: 4.7 / 5
- Ease of use: 4.5 / 5
- Customer service: 4.8 / 5
- Features: 4.4 / 5
- Value for money: 4.6 / 5
Axonify is second on our alphabetical list of top business training programs. This multi-language web-based learning management tool, with iOS and Android mobile apps in English and French, specializes in staff training and onboarding.
As such, it enables content creators to:
- Build their content library with text, audio and video uploads.
- Create tasks and checklists, access AI-based task suggestions and templates, monitor progress and flag up overdue tasks.
- Offer gamification solutions with interactive games, surveys, recommendations, scorecards and leaderboards.
- Provide training through timeline views and multiple choice questions, with trainee access to their reward points, answer streak and frequency.
- Access report cards with workforce analytics for participation, certification, confidence and course statistics.
- Award certification for reaching custom checkpoints and milestones.
- Share news and achievements with team-based communities through built-in social media tiles and integrations.
Axonify costs
Users don’t have access to a free trial or a freeware version of Axonify. There are three paid plans, all of which are available with custom pricing: Train, Reinforce and Communicate. The first focuses on conventional learning with tasks, events and exams, while the second comes with rewards and gamification. As for Axonify Communicate, social features are the mainstay, with the option to build dynamic communities and quick links.
3.
- Overall rating: 4.7 / 5
- Ease of use: 4.5 / 5
- Customer service: 5.0 / 5
- Features: 4.7 / 5
- Value for money: 4.7 / 5
One of the few enterprise training solutions on the market dedicated to the mining, manufacturing and industrial sectors, Paelo is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform developed by Global Formation Inc. This multi-language LMS can be deployed on-site and remotely to assign learning material and ensure training compliance.
Apprentices use it to access training videos, procedures, or booklets with self-completion checklists and colour-coded completion progress cards. It also includes 360-degree virtual reality (VR) tutorials for 3D equipment inspections and workplace viewings. Using the Training, Calendar and Management tabs, administrators can edit the content database, user permissions, task lists and progress reports.
Paelo costs
The Global Formation offering includes autonomous and turnkey solutions for businesses in any sector. Interested businesses can request a free demo and a bespoke price quote.
4.
- Overall rating: 4.8 / 5
- Ease of use: 4.7 / 5
- Customer service: 4.9 / 5
- Features: 4.4 / 5
- Value for money: 4.8 / 5
Available in 20 languages, SkyPrep is one of the few corporate learning programs that cater to a global market. In Admin mode, users can configure user properties, add content to the Materials section of the database, create user-specific tests with a randomized question bank, and add tasks and subtasks for their training sessions. They can also dictate the order in which learners can complete their courses, enroll specific users, combine courses into learning paths, and build custom reports.
SkyPrep costs
Available with a 14-day free trial, SkyPrep comes in 3 packages: Lite, Professional and Enterprise. Users interested in small business training programs can opt for the Lite version. It comes with unlimited courses for over 100 active users, custom branding and Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) packages.
5.
- Overall rating: 4.5 / 5
- Ease of use: 4.4 / 5
- Customer service: 4.3 / 5
- Features: 4.2 / 5
- Value for money: 4.3 / 5
Thinkific is another platform that made our list of the best corporate learning programs. The tool allows instructors to create a branded website that they can monetize. The web-based admin-facing platform features drag-and-drop mechanics. Users can add text, videos, quizzes, surveys and various other types of content to the library, either one by one or in bulk. As for engagement analytics, these are also available via the Advanced Reporting dashboard. The learner platform, on the other hand, comes with an overview of courses, discussions, reviews and bundle offers.
Thinkific costs
A free version of Thinkific is available with unlimited students and no transaction fees for one course, administrator and community. Email and chatbot features are also included for 30 days, which would constitute a limited free trial. Upgrading to the Basic package lifts the limit on the number of courses and the bots. It also includes a branded mobile app as an extra perk.
How to choose the right learning management software for your business
There is a lot of work that goes into planning, researching, finding and implementing the right tool for your company. Choosing the right LMS platform boils down to a few criteria specific to company needs, such as:
- Application (employee training, development, onboarding, knowledge retention, general support, etc.)
- The audience (age, size, preferred devices, tech savviness, etc.);
- Types of content supported (multiple-choice, timeline, gameplay, etc.);
- Learning delivery (with real-time interactivity, delayed interactions or both);
- Enrollment, reporting, certification and grading options.
Methodology
To be considered for this report, products had to justify the following criteria as of September 2023:
- The tools in our list justify Capterra’s definition of learning management software: ‘Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide a framework through which learning content is delivered and managed. An LMS allows for an anytime, anywhere learning environment, delivering and tracking eLearning courses and testing. A Learning Content Management System (LCMS) enables an organization to learn content from Courseware authoring tools and presentation of the content to students.’
- All five software companies have headquarters in Canada
- They have the following core features:
- Course management
- Course tracking
- They have a minimum average overall rating of 4.5/5 stars
- All tools have had over 20 user reviews in the past two years (17th September 2021 to 17th September 2023)
From there, the five products with the highest review count were selected for inclusion. The tools in our list also have the highest ratings regarding the following four features —customer support, ease of use, value for money, and functionality.
