Adobe Captivate vs. Adobe Learning Manager vs. Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Captivate
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Captivate is an elearning authoring and course design tool (or LCMS). It supports mobile HTML5 content. Captivate’s users are commonly midsized businesses to enterprises. Adobe Captivate includes some prebuilt assets as well as customizable workflows.
$33.99
per month
Adobe Learning Manager
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Adobe Learning Manager is a Learning Management System developed by Adobe Inc. that offers personalized learning at scale to employees, partners and customers alike. Compliant with GDPR guidelines, SOC2 TYPE 2 and FedRAMP Certifications, Adobe Learning Manager integrates with Adobe Experience Manager Sites, Adobe Commerce, Marketo Engage with out-of-the-box components and any other application through Open APIs, offering hybrid learning programs and detailed analytics.…N/A
Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Viva Goals (formerly Ally, or Ally.io) was a Strategic Goal-Planning & Execution Management software. Ally.io became a Microsoft brand after the October 2021 acquisition, and is slated for retirement December 2025.
$48
per year per user
Pricing
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Subscription
$33.99
per month
Student & Teacher Edition
$399
one-time fee
Upgrade
$499
one-time fee
Pereptual License
1,299
one-time fee
No answers on this topic
Microsoft Viva - Learn Module
$48
per year per user
Microsoft Viva - Insights Module
$48
per year per user
Microsoft Viva - Topics Module
$48
per year per user
Microsoft Viva Suite
$108
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesYesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Considered Multiple Products
Adobe Captivate
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate outshines all of these other tools -Camtasia, Snagit, Powtoons, After Effects, PowerPoint - when it comes to software demonstrations, simulations and/or training videos that contain software demonstrations ( hybrid video containing software demonstrations). But …
Chose Adobe Captivate
1 common platform for reporting & tracking of completion for mandatory trainings. Ability to create own training and mandatory trainings are available & accessible for all employees + contractors
Chose Adobe Captivate
SWAT (internal LCMS) - more flexible but not common to many and difficult to keep up to date Adobe Connect - great for webinars and online classes with live instructor.
Chose Adobe Captivate
At the time Storyline seemed easier to use, but I was already committed to a project and investing time in learning Captivate for it. I also felt some loyalty to Adobe because I had received free Creative Cloud courses through the Adobe Education Exchange.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I use both. Both have their strengths and weaknesses but they complement each other.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate easily outputs to HTML5 and give you a programming timeline. Lectora does not have a timeline which is a disadvantage when trying to program animations or any other time based interactions. Lectora does have programming capabilities, but at times is difficult to …
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is the best software for the price, functionality, resources, and training.
Chose Adobe Captivate
It's the absolute worst. Bottom of the barrel. I would never select it. The FBI selected it so my consulting agency has to use it for them.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I selected Adobe Captivate because I can add html features and interactivity to my courses.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I've only ever authored in Adobe Captivate.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is a MAC based application that allows for local secure development. A big sell for MAC users.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Captivate is feature-rich and easy-to-use.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I did not select Captivate, it was selected for me. Articulate 360 is easier to use and has a better flow.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I use Camtasia for video editing, however, we have Premier Pro and are now learning to use it. Camtasia and Snagit we use for smaller projects. For bigger projects, we use them all.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Can't touch Authorware. Too bad Adobe killed it. I'd love it if Authorware could be resurrected, modernized and export to HTML5. THat would be the ultimate tool. Animate can do a lot more but it takes a lot more time to build.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate has more availability and content to be able to change around. Again, I like Adobe Captivate more because of all the content that is available and the pre-made options.
Chose Adobe Captivate
While Captivate has some awesome niche features for some circumstances, currently it cannot beat the ease of use with Storyline. Whether it's content, variables, quizes, etc. things are just "easier" in Storyline. Even something as simple as triggering an event when the …
Chose Adobe Captivate
We are looking for easier templates, automated features, simulations, interactivity activities, and collaboration features.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Captivate is more difficult to figure out. However, once you get passed the learning curve it offers more variety and options than Camtasia. It allows for interactions, simulations, and the likes.
Chose Adobe Captivate
There is a lot more editing/customization capability in Captivate. Zoom is incredibly limited with what you can do within the software.
Adobe Learning Manager
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
I don't know that there's been another product. They were already using it like in beta or something when I started. So it predates my experience. I've been there for one year.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Even though we didn't get to utilize Captivate to its fullest potential, I have found nothing that comes close in comparison.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
It directly helps us with commerce.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
We have long used open source learning management platforms, such as Moodle. However, the "free" cost ends up being misleading, since the costs of installation, customization, and web hosting are often difficult to calculate. A SaaS scheme is more controllable and allows you to …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Adobe Learning Manager stacked up very well against the other major LMS system we had considered, which was Vision by Grace Hill. Adobe offered a more dynamic, visual learning experience that Grace Hill could not. Grace Hill, however, was less costly and did offer similar …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
In initial trailing the product we had experience with canvas LMS and Adobe Learning Manager stood out in terms of integration of the different connectors it was offering across the portfolio when trying to select the best and also making the learning easy for the internal …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
The user experience of Adobe Learning Manager is more complete. I have no experience with other LMS software. However, some colleagues have clarified to me that Adobe Learning Management provides a more inclusive experience compared to similar software. The graphical interface …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Adobe Learning Manager does provide an Intuitive user experience which is the most important thing for corporate learners. Centralized content management, sharing the content across groups, tracking the course progress, and the power of handling different types of course …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
The free trial, the competitive price point, and the sales rep were the main determinators in choosing this software.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
360 keeps up the Adobe learning manager. It even outclasses it in certain parts, but with a huge stalwart tech giant like Adobe, it is hard to keep up. Many of the features are present, but there's always that final touch missing. And it is always trying to play catchup.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
One of my prior employers used SumTotal's LMS solution. It was extremely expensive to implement and required a great deal of customization. It was a lengthy implementation, and by comparison, Adobe Learning Manager was a breeze to set up and get up and running.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
In a lot of ways, ALM has a very different feel from other LMS's, and has more of an internal training feel than a class feel. I would definitely recommend this for skills and compliance training, it is less well suited to a classroom feel. For a licensing course, it has its …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
It is one-stop solution for all LMS needs. To train the employee on a regular basis we need something reliable, and good reputation.
  1. The cost is effective as compared to other
  2. The UI and software stability is nice.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
There is no comparison. ALM is in a class all by itself.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
We chose it to replace Absorb. I think it’s better overall and has more features.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Adobe Learning Manager is more business focused than Canvas and Blackboard. It is also more user friendly than SuccessFactors and Cornerstone. iSpring is the only other LMS that is comparable.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Rippling is mostly an HRIS that now has an LMS component. It's truly meant for one-a-year compliance training as learners cannot return to the courses and review them unless they are re-assigned. It has good features like automatic enrollment, but it doesn't give us the ability …
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
I prefer Adobe Learning Manager to Cornerstone OnDemand as the latter is mostly focused on performance management and does not support the needs of small and medium businesses.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Creating content has been easier in articulate.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Comparable, but Adobe Learning Manager is double the price.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
Adobe Captivate Prime is on par with the other LMS products that I have used.
Chose Adobe Learning Manager
We considered Absorb LMS and Saba Cloud but found that Adobe Captivate Prime had better service and support but was also easier to integrate and deploy with our other services. The fact that we had a team member familiar with the platform also made it easy for us to pick Adobe …
Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Chose Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Microsoft Viva comes with Teams. The Monday board is helpful too, but I just like Microsoft Viva better
Chose Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Ally was preferred over the alternatives due to the following:
  • Quick turnaround by reps
  • Detailed product demo
Chose Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Again, Ally ranks very high and this is because they continuously work towards improving their software, platform and solutions. I believe that they have been very innovative and are adding important layers to help keep an OKR program culture relevant and beneficial to its …
Chose Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Ally and Sigma are very different tools. However, they are both integral to my team's daily work and success. One of their common strengths is the responsiveness of their support team. I always feel that my questions are being answered in a clear and informed way. Another …
Features
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Captivate
9.1
Ratings
6% above category average
Adobe Learning Manager
7.6
Ratings
8% below category average
Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Course authoring8.00 Ratings8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal8.00 Ratings7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification8.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings6.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning00 Ratings9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
eLearning Content
Comparison of eLearning Content features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Captivate
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Adobe Learning Manager
-
Ratings
Microsoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Multi-Lingual Support7.00 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Structured Learning10.00 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Historical Metrics8.00 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud-Based Content10.00 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automation & Integration7.00 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Small Businesses
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Coda
Coda
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Infosec Skills
Infosec Skills
Score 9.9 out of 10
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Coda
Coda
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Infosec Skills
Infosec Skills
Score 9.9 out of 10
AITalent LMS
AITalent LMS
Score 9.3 out of 10
Coda
Coda
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
1.8
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.8
(0 ratings)
3.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
2.7
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.5
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.6
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(0 ratings)
5.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Learning ManagerMicrosoft Viva Goals (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe Captivate is well suited for software training. Even though we do not use the software simulation recording feature, we simulate the environment with screenshots and then roundtrip into Photoshop to make edits to a screenshot For example, they added 3 new fields and it affects 25 different slides in the course. I dummy up the 3 new fields in Photoshop, copy the layers with the new fields, flatten and save the screenshot and it's instantly updated in Abode Captivate. I then locate the next slide that needs the same new fields added and round trip into Photoshop and then I just select Paste in Place and flatten and save. The alignment is perfect and the screenshots never leave Adobe Captivate. I had a course that I had to do this to with about 25 slides and it was easy peasy.
Read full review
It's good if you have a good use case for that feed. I do know that you have to incorporate it in a process in isolation. It's not you don't realize the full value, so you have to incorporate it into an overall improvement process. I would say the pro cases are marketing optimization with respect to campaigns. And I would say that the areas it's not well suited is in distilling attribution. So if you were to take all of the improvements that it suggested, the numbers exceed revenue, which isn't real, but that's a hard problem to solve. Nobody's really solved that problem well. So distilling the attribution piece would be good. And it is well suited for marketing campaigns in the ideation phase of so
Read full review
I believe Ally.io to be one of the best OKR software tools available and it can be deployed easily to small, medium, large enterprises. The tool is easily scalable and its implementation can be deployed without necessarily having a pilot test. I can not find scenarios where it would not be appropriate.
Read full review
Pros
  • Easy learning curve. Captivate makes it easy for a new user to pick it up and understand where to begin. Adobe, in general, does this very well and Captivate is no exception. When you begin using Captivate, many of the tasks to create a video come naturally as things are laid out in a way that makes sense.
  • Embedding with LMS (Learning Management Systems). Adobe has made it very easy to deploy your produced video to any of the popular LMS's available. Captivate also gives you a very easy way of including a SCORM score for any quizzes that must be passed at the end of the video in order to proceed to the next video.
  • Capturing Audio has never been easier. With Captivate you can easily add voice-over audio that you can record directly inside of Captivate, or import a pre-recorded audio clip. You can import sounds from other sources for effects in the video and Captivate already includes all of the commonly used sounds for mouse-clicks, error sounds, etc.
Read full review
  • Rich and engaging learning experiences that capture employees' attention.
  • Is multi-device capable so our teams can take classes where it's most convenient for them during the day, especially if they don't have an assigned static workstation?
  • Allows us to personalize compliance training based on where our employees are at in the organizational chart, competencies, and requirements.
Read full review
  • AI Copilot
  • Task reminder
  • Calendar event reminders
  • Helps me make more efficient and quicker social media post pushes that we do weekly
Read full review
Cons
  • Templates. There seem to be "themes," but Adobe Captivate has a terrible time saving any sort of object preferences which makes it really difficult when a set of courses need to follow branding guidelines. I have to create a basic course and set up all my colors and whatnot and start every course using that.
  • Ease of use. It is like pulling teeth sometimes to get Adobe Captivate to do things. You may be able to get it to do it, but it'll be like a dozen or more steps which make creating courses incredibly tedious.
  • A bigger focus on software simulation. Adobe Captivate isn't designed for simulation, I get that, and I am happy it does as much as it does. However, it could be better to capture actions and things within a program. For instance, click and drag options and hot-key combinations.
Read full review
  • High initial set-up cost and licensing fees for all employees at one go
  • Once a courses been enrolled by employee, there's no function to remove those courses by themselves.
  • Mobile version not working very well and some contents not able to load, e.g. Leaderboard, Level.
Read full review
  • UI/UX can be improved on further--this has been highlighted to them. It is understandable, as they are still growing.
  • Different filters for view options are missing at this point. As a result, it becomes difficult to get customized reports/views. For example, the tree view of OKRs does not show the entirety of the tree on one page; it keeps breaking to the next page. This has also been highlighted and they are working on a release for the same.
  • Permissions for making changes at different levels (company, team, and individual) should be worked on to ensure that individuals cannot add goals at the company level.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
We have hundreds of courses that were created in Adobe Captivate. It will take us a while to convert to Articulate. We'll need a license for another year and/or until Adobe comes out with a true update to the software.
Read full review
It wasn't user friendly enough for me. I had a difficult time navigating it and didn't want to waste too much time trying to figure it all out. If it were more clear cut and to the point I think it would be more worthwhile for someone like me.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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For shorter learning courses it is probably very capable and gets the job done very nicely. It can be engaging while keeping the users motivated with the gamification features. There are some technical challenges while doing longer courses. But they can be fixed with further updates to the platform and is a promising front.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
On a few occasions, I've logged in to issue a test to a staff member and my course would just spin. I've had to reschedule several test attempts due to this. In my opinion, the issue was not resolved by Adobe
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No answers on this topic
Performance
No answers on this topic
The performance of Adobe Captivate Prime is also extremely good. The user interface is fast and easy to load. The complexity is not nearly as bad as some of the other programs on the market. Speed was not impacted.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
It is difficult to get in touch with Adobe Captivate support. With a seemingly limited number of resources, mostly outsourced, getting in contact with someone to help troubleshoot an issue is challenging. Typically wait times are long, and the desired path to resolution is to use an existing knowledge base or a self-help guide. It is certainly not a user-friendly experience.
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I think they have a competent, friendly and "resolving" team. I have only ever been met with a willingness to assist any and every query I have come across. Roy who is one of the technical people is amazing, and so is my Customer Success Manager, Hema! I do not know what I would do without them.
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No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
Training by my staff was quick. Could have been a bit longer. Had to pick up on things myself
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I'm only aware of the problems Adobe Captivate had with SumTotal LMS and Upside LMS, requiring extensive contact with both internal and external support staff to fix the problems. We had no problems at all with Articulate.
Read full review
Trial period was great, and It let me plenty of time to try the different feature of the platform. However, when we decided to move forward, the ADOBE team was slow and not reactive at all. Actually after 2 years, I am still waiting for answers which is quite unacceptable.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
While Captivate has some awesome niche features for some circumstances, currently it cannot beat the ease of use with Storyline. Whether it's content, variables, quizes, etc. things are just "easier" in Storyline. Even something as simple as triggering an event when the timeline reaches a certain point. We continue to keep Captivate and Storyline because we're hoping it Captivate will continue building its integration with other Adobe apps and become our and the industry standard.
Read full review
We have long used open source learning management platforms, such as Moodle. However, the "free" cost ends up being misleading, since the costs of installation, customization, and web hosting are often difficult to calculate. A SaaS scheme is more controllable and allows you to forget about all the technical problems and focus on what is important: training
Read full review
Ally was preferred over the alternatives due to the following:
  • Quick turnaround by reps
  • Detailed product demo
  • Ease of use in comparison other tools
  • Clarity in terms of how Ally.io could resolve Crayon's existing issues
Read full review
Scalability
No answers on this topic
The product's overall scalability and flexibility is extremely good. I wish that the other products our company uses were this flexible! The product is easy to deploy across multiple departments and teams as needed.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Adobe Captivate has allowed our instructors to engage students in ways we never have before.
  • Instructors who have used Adobe Captivate in our organization have reported higher levels of engagement with their courses and their students, theoretically leading to improved assessment of student performance.
Read full review
  • Apple built its own LMS (The Grove) on top of the Adobe Learning Manager with Saba, so overall it was a great experiment.
  • Adobe Learning Manager is really useful for bringing learners together in one place, under a unified solution.
  • Customer satisfaction equals more learners with an appetite to learn.
Read full review
  • It definitely helps the product team stay focused on the quarterly objective and not get distracted by other "noise."
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ScreenShots

Adobe Learning Manager Screenshots

Screenshot of the platform for all learning needs.Screenshot of guided learning journeys.Screenshot of gamification.Screenshot of actionable insight from analytics.Screenshot of learning that’s engaging.Screenshot of measurable analytics.