Absorb LMS vs. SumTotal Talent Development

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Absorb LMS
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Absorb LMS aims to empower organizations to train employees with the skills needed to stay modern and relevant in today's fast-paced world. The LMS software focuses on aligning learning needs with business demands.N/A
SumTotal Talent Development
Score 7.5 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
The SumTotal Core Platform (formerly elixHR) is a human resource information system (HRIS) integrable with the SumTotal Talent Expansion Suite of software: SumTotal (LMS), and the SumTotal Work workforce management and payroll system. All SumTotal software is now offered and supported by Skillsoft since the October 2014 acquisition.N/A
Pricing
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Considered Both Products
Absorb LMS
Chose Absorb LMS
I joined a company already using Absorb so I did not pick Absorb but given the chance- I would pick Absorb over any other LMS I have worked with in my career. Absorb is powerful enough to do what I need it to do, but organized well enough that the features and functions I don't …
SumTotal Talent Development

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
7.5
43 Ratings
8% below category average
SumTotal Talent Development
-
Ratings
Course authoring7.332 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library7.937 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal7.839 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly6.726 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications7.941 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments7.835 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management7.632 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration8.142 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics7.239 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning6.915 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification6.615 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning8.527 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
1.9
1 Ratings
123% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
3.3
1 Ratings
84% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings3.01 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
6.7
3 Ratings
20% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings8.53 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings3.01 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
3.0
1 Ratings
92% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
7.2
3 Ratings
6% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.52 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
8.2
2 Ratings
3% above category average
New hire portal00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
8.8
1 Ratings
7% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
8.2
2 Ratings
2% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
7.0
1 Ratings
12% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Absorb LMS
-
Ratings
SumTotal Talent Development
7.9
2 Ratings
2% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.52 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Small Businesses
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.4 out of 10
OnPay
OnPay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.4 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Intellum
Intellum
Score 9.0 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(45 ratings)
7.5
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(5 ratings)
6.0
(5 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(1 ratings)
2.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(35 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Absorb LMSSumTotal Talent Development
Likelihood to Recommend
Absorb Software Inc.
Absorb is a great LMS for most applications. It was fairly easy to learn to configure and looks very professional. Our employees adopted the system fairly quickly and we had mostly positive feedback. The base Absorb platform provides basic reporting, so if you are going to need more customized reporting, then you will need to purchase the additional module for Absorb Analyze. The Manager Experience is still evolving, and managers may want to have more ability to do things in this part of the system than what is currently available. There is a connector that can be purchased from ADP to connect it with Absorb's LMS, although our company chose to develop our own API connector. We are currently using third-party course authoring software. The Absorb Amplify courses are good if you want to add immediate content to the system, although the courses are very basic.
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SumTotal
Very good for learning and development and training of employees. For Applicant tracking, recuirement, onboarding, and enablement, I prefer SAP SuccessFactors or Skillate. I also found that the SumTotal app is not very friendly on android and crashes sometimes and it is not optimized for mobile. Hence I end up never using it.
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Pros
Absorb Software Inc.
  • Usability - Both the User and Admin Experience is so simple and intuitive. The admin tools are clearly defined and laid out, yet the functionality makes it still powerful.
  • Integration - We used the Scheduled Data Imports and Exports to connect with our HRIS tool. After the initial configuration, it has worked reliably and gives me all the custom data I need to make assignments and reporting a breeze.
  • Design - I know it's covered a little bit in the Usability above, but the site just looks fantastic. There are a lot of options to customize and fit your branding requirements and all of the thumbnails/posters/billboards/etc give a very visual and appealing look to the LMS. Much better than I've seen in other products.
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SumTotal
  • Assign complete learning plans to users so they don't have to spend time searching for courses.
  • Export learner's transcripts so managers can easily see their employee's progress.
  • Embed Social Media feeds that are relevant to their business.
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Cons
Absorb Software Inc.
  • At the moment you are unable to schedule recurring sessions that are different durations and/or cadence to each other. For e.g. if you have 3 ILC sessions and the time between session 1 and 2 is 1 week but 2 and 3 is 2 weeks, then this can't be recurring. Meaning individual ILC sessions need to be set up and users having to enroll in 3 sessions instead of 1.
  • Auto enrolment for ILC sessions would be great. Would allow us to automatically new employees in to the required onboarding training without us having to do a manual file upload via FTP
  • Custom messaging options. In addition to the messages that can already be sent out, it would be great if custom messaging could be sent out to address a certain subject that is not covered in the existing messaging.
  • The option to send out resources at certain intervals after a training has taken place. We send out learning boosters for our programmes at 2 day, 2 week, 2 month intervals. This is a manual task as there is no way to automate this via Absorb.
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SumTotal
  • Reporting
  • Mass importing of manual checks to be issued in California
  • Ability to fund pay cards immediately
  • Perform gross-up calculations within the payroll system automatically
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Likelihood to Renew
Absorb Software Inc.
We have no plans to move away from Absorb at this time. It has all of the functionality we are looking for in a learning management system and we have a lot of info stored in our LMS system for trainings including all of our current and past employee transcripts. It is also getting easier to manager with being able to connect the LMS to ADP to update employee reporting/department/location/etc. We don't have a need or reason to move away from Absorb at this time.
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SumTotal
I have transitioned from a position who supported the product to a position where I use the product. I continue to be impressed with the robustness of the product and how efficient it is. It is a user friendly software that can be used to navigate and accomplish tasks to meet organizational requirements.
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Usability
Absorb Software Inc.
It's a great place to house our trainings and keep things interesting for our associates.
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SumTotal
I do not find SumTotal to be intuitive. I feel we need to adjust our needs to meet the functionality available in the tool.
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Support Rating
Absorb Software Inc.
We cannot speak highly enough for the Elite Support service. Having a dedicated partner to help us through multiple projects, multiple upgrades, and multiple custom configurations has been absolutely key. Our CSM really has been like an extra team member and we know we can rely on him for anything we need. His product expertise and friendly professionalism is unrivaled!
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SumTotal
We have our own IT support to assist in SumTotal issues, however, we have had to log in cases directly. Support is mediocre at best.
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Online Training
Absorb Software Inc.
I meet and do training with my absorb support every week. and I have all my questions answered! it's great
Read full review
SumTotal
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Absorb Software Inc.
We were very disappointed with D2L and Workday's ability to customize what or how content is shown to users. The platforms can be robust but the onboarding time for new administrators is much longer than Absorb. Workday's current offering (2023) for external learners is unacceptable for our use case and much more manual then Absorb's solutions. Workday does not have the ability to create engaging content or notifications to the user and the UI is pulled directly from the HCM with very little flexibility between the modules on look, feel or layout. While Thinkific was good for external users and monetization, it also lacked flexibility for multiple different demographics. EdApp while having a good mobile presence and quick turnaround for course creation, it's offerings for other engagement factors fell short of Absorb. Moodle can be a great LMS, but all of the features require you to plan and (potentially)code your requirements into the platform. This required time that we didn't have and to administrate the platform required additional personnel and resources for any changes we wanted to have after go live. We didn't have the time nor other organization resources available when launching so it couldn't be considered.
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SumTotal
When I came to my company, they had been using a "light" LMS called Articulate. It was cheap and bare bones; i.e. not a lot of features, really just a platform to launch eLearning from and not real interface for student to utilize. When I began to overhaul the training department, this was one of the first things I changed. Articulate would only run courses built in their software, and the software was not 508 compliant. In addition, we had no ability to create learning plans, house transcripts, customize the interface, or manage the students. I made the choice to select and LMS that was a true LMS with all of the features that were critical to our clients' needs. Thus far, SumTotal has been able to support all of our needs, except one; mobile learning that is media rich
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Return on Investment
Absorb Software Inc.
  • After using the Absorb LMS system, we've seen a reduction in the number of employees reaching out for troubleshooting or help requests when taking the training.
  • We've seen an increase in departments storing webinars to be used for future training and storage of information.
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SumTotal
  • Clean front-end user interface for easier course catalog management.
  • Reporting has been more difficult than previous LMS.
  • Audience building has more variables making it more difficult to manage.
  • Slower overall client turnaround due to admin side interface.
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ScreenShots

Absorb LMS Screenshots

Screenshot of a company's unique identity with a training interface that is custom-designed for the brand.Screenshot of A company's image and values with a training interface that is tailored to the brand's specific needs.Screenshot of Assembling courses that offer a diverse set of formats, including instructional videos, quizzes, and assessments.Screenshot of Gives Learners a thorough understanding of the course material using Absorb's rich course details page, accessible from the course catalog dashboard.Screenshot of Learners' progress insights to make data-driven decisions with the advanced reporting capabilities of Absorb LMS.

SumTotal Talent Development Screenshots

Screenshot of SumTotal Learning Management: Deliver the learning your organization needs including skilling/upskilling/reskilling, career planning & development. All delivered with our engaging learner experience across all modalities (desktop, tablet & mobile) and in the flow of workScreenshot of SumTotal Onboarding: Foster learning before day one with our robust onboarding solution. Build culture, complete necessary paperwork and begin the path to productivity for all your new and returning employees.Screenshot of SumTotal Performance: Performance management that meets the needs of today’s forward-thinking organizations. Align the goals and performance of your entire workforce with those of the broader organization for better business outcomes.Screenshot of SumTotal Succession: Make succession planning an organizational strength. SumTotal allows you to better understand your workforce now and better plan for your future with our intuitive succession planning tools.Screenshot of SumTotal Recruiting: A modern recruiting solution that delivers a powerful candidate experience, recruiter productivity, job matching and internal mobility.Screenshot of SumTotal Compensation: SumTotal makes compensation planning easier and less time consuming. Build a pay for performance culture that meets your organizations goals and objectives while keeping you competitive in the ever-changing marketplace.