What users are saying about
11 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.9 out of 100
Based on 11 reviews and ratings
Top Rated
149 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.5 out of 100
Based on 149 reviews and ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Absorb LMS
Absorb is very well suited for any company looking to standardize training for all employees. It is also best suited when paired with a course vendor to pick specific courses aimed towards employees and their interests. This makes orientation very simple. We used to have a 2-hour orientation conference to cover everything these courses can cover.
HRIS & Web Development Specialist, Human Resources
CCMSIHuman Resources, 1001-5000 employees
Adobe Captivate
Captivate is well suited for technical scenario activities. For example, software simulations where demonstration, practice, and assessment are necessary. Captivate does a very good job of creating simulation type activities compared to other solutions. Captivate also does very well with scoring on assessments. Whether you use clicks or questions to score, Captivate has a great ability to score both types. It is less suited for rapid eLearning development. If your company is looking for a solution to build more traditional eLearning such as click-through presentations with some interactivity and the ability to include multimedia elements, then another solution may be more appropriate. Captivate is a great tool for more advanced developers.
Senior Manager, Instructional Design
Cox AutomotiveAutomotive, 10,001+ employees
Feature Rating Comparison
Learning Management
Absorb LMS
9.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Course authoring
Absorb LMS
8.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Player/Portal
Absorb LMS
8.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Mobile friendly
Absorb LMS
7.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Progress tracking & certifications
Absorb LMS
10.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Assignments
Absorb LMS
10.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Compliance management
Absorb LMS
10.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Learning administration
Absorb LMS
9.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Learning reporting & analytics
Absorb LMS
10.0
Adobe Captivate
—
Pros
Absorb LMS
- Clean interface for learners
- Logical organization of courses
- Admin portal is OK
Director Product Marketing & Enablement
Prophix SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees
Adobe Captivate
- Quickly adding in graphics, text, and interactive buttons.
- Has extensive variables and branching for additional customization, beyond the competition.
- Has 360 degree capability which competitors don't offer (I have not used this feature).
- High degree of customization and personalization.
- True responsive screen display on all devices, viewable as you are creating the training. This is different than some competitors - some just shrink the screen, but Adobe Captivate allows actually removing or moving or changing items at different screen sizes.
- If you like Flash, it has Flash output, although it's going away in 2020. Personally, I think this is an outdated technology.
- Many advanced capabilities. I chose this product due to the capabilities.
- Comes with assets, templates, people, head shots, and full body—excellent.
- Adobe Captivate is the authoring tool. It integrates with Adobe Captivate Prime - which I highly recommend if you want to truly take advantage of all of its features in reporting, administration, compliance, and social learning. (I didn't use Prime because you essentially need 100+ students to affordably use Prime.) If you look at my chart of what Captivate is capable of, I can't say that Captivate has a lot of the reporting features because they are part of Prime/SCORM, although, with Captivate's customization, you might be able to do most of them if you are up to it, but I did not.
Founder
Learn About Green LLCE-Learning, 1-10 employees
Cons
Absorb LMS
- Automated creation of manager groups.
- Easier way of seeing who employees report to so we can create manager groups.
HRIS & Web Development Specialist, Human Resources
CCMSIHuman Resources, 1001-5000 employees
Adobe Captivate
- Adobe struggles in its customer support. Knowledgeable Captivate support technicians to teach and troubleshoot would elevate this powerful tool.
- As mobile learning journeys away from Flash, developing strictly in HTML5 is a becoming a must. Captivate has an HTML5 inspector to review your project for potential flash-based issues, but development in HTML5 only is not as intuitive. I waste valuable time and effort making adjustments after the fact.
- Many of my SMEs (subject mater experts) submit drafts in PowerPoint. Captivate has a PowerPoint import option, but transforms each slide into an image, removing any ability to edit the content after import. The issue alone is enough to drive me to alternate authoring tools. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to distribute and teach all of our SMEs to use Captivate.
eLearning Technology Systems Analyst
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagoHospital & Health Care, 1001-5000 employees
Likelihood to Renew
Absorb LMS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate 8.8
Based on 3 answers
There is no doubt in my mind that we will be using Adobe Captivate for years to come. There are so many uses for the software that we are just scratching the surface. The more we use it, the better it gets. This is a great option for anyone looking for an eLearning authoring tool.
Corporate Trainer
Bank of the PacificBanking, 201-500 employees
Usability
Absorb LMS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate 8.0
Based on 2 answers
Adobe Captivate does take some getting used to. There are features that are much more convoluted than they need to be, but overall it is a great product with a some excellent features. Being in a pretty small market, Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline dominate the space. They are not the same software, but allow for eLearning authoring. Each has their benefit and their downside, but, for me, Adobe Captivate edges out Storyline.
Corporate Trainer
Bank of the PacificBanking, 201-500 employees
Support Rating
Absorb LMS
Absorb LMS 9.0
Based on 4 answers
Poor response time and generally poor responses.
Director Product Marketing & Enablement
Prophix SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate 6.7
Based on 30 answers
The support team is good in responding and maintaining communication. Sometimes...well...almost always, you will find yourself having to use a 2nd attempt with more details and easier terminology to get the tech to understand the question or situation. These techs should know English 100% and their product 100% to be on a support team for the USA. I do not get the impression this is true.
IT Manager
Travel Planners InternationalTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 11-50 employees
Alternatives Considered
Absorb LMS
At the time of selection, we went with Absorb as they were one of the few that could handle online transactions for courses. We are in the process of migrating to Skilljar and will be discontinuing our subscription to Absorb in 2018.
Director Product Marketing & Enablement
Prophix SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is an okay software program, but it is not something I'd pick over Articulate Storyline or Articulate 360. I only selected Captivate because it was mandatory for my course plus I wanted to explore it to find out how it worked. But after using it, I didn't find it to be as appealing as I thought. It's not a horrible software tool, it has its perks but it's just not as user-friendly as I'd hoped it would be.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesReturn on Investment
Absorb LMS
- This has been a positive ROI as we can track all course completions for audits as well as cutting costs for travel and training.
HRIS & Web Development Specialist, Human Resources
CCMSIHuman Resources, 1001-5000 employees
Adobe Captivate
- Adobe Captivate has helped us lower training costs without the need for external training.
- The program allowed us to create in house training without the need for third party collaboration.
- End users could communicate about training needs and Adobe Captivate made it easy to update current training modules.
IT Manager
SeedcoHuman Resources, 11-50 employees
Pricing Details
Absorb LMS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Absorb LMS Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Adobe Captivate
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Adobe Captivate Editions & Modules
Edition
Subscription | 33.991 |
---|---|
Pereptual License | $1,2992 |
Student & Teacher Edition | $3992 |
Upgrade | $4992 |
- per month
- one-time fee