adobe-captivate-vs-articulate-360

Adobe Captivate and Articulate 360 are both Corporate Learning Management Systems with a focus on eLearning content authoring. They are both most commonly used by large businesses and enterprises but have some users across company sizes. 

Adobe Captivate focuses on providing more advanced eLearning authoring tools, including support for VR, improved accessibility, and interactive content. Its goal is to facilitate highly engaging and interactive content for creators with the proper experience. In contrast, Articulate 360 provides sub-applications designed to support all levels of creator experience and expertise. This can make Articulate ideal for larger groups with creators across the skill spectrum. 

Features

Adobe Captivate and Articulate 360 differentiate by their ideal skill level, with features tailored to each target audience. 

Adobe Captivate excels at providing knowledgeable creators with the widest range of content creation capabilities. In particular, Captivate prioritizes supporting interactive content, including branching content paths within courses. This focus allows creators to make highly engaging content for end-learners. It also offers strong reporting capabilities within courses. 

Articulate 360 differentiates by making content creation more accessible to a wider range of creators and users. Its sup-applications, such as Storyline and Rise, provide options to serve creators at various skill levels. Rise in particular serves less experienced creators and has a much lower learning curve. Articulate also emphasizes its accessibility across mobile devices and for disabled folks. 

Limitations

Adobe Captivate and Articulate 360’s respective specializations also come with some limitations worth considering. 

Adobe Captivate’s advanced capabilities come with a steep learning curve. Many reviewers argue that the platform is intimidating for beginners and takes time to learn how to make the most of the tool. This curve often means that Captivate is not ideal for rapid eLearning development. Captivate is also priced separately from the rest of the Adobe suite, which limits the cost benefits of bundling some Adobe products. 

In contrast, Articulate 360 may lack some of the more advanced features that Captivate offers. Additionally, collaboration for creator teams within the platform is still limited and difficult to use according to many reviewers. Updates to the product have also been known to create new errors in preexisting courses, so users should be conscious of possible change management that may be necessary. The pricing can also be high if the organization is not making courses at volume. 

Pricing

Adobe Captivate offers 3 pricing systems for new buyers. Users can subscribe to Captivate for $33.99/month, or purchase a perpetual license for $1,299. Students or teachers can purchase Captivate for $399 instead. Adobe also offers a free 30-day trial. 

Articulate 360 is priced differently for companies, freelancers, and academics. For companies, the Teams Plan costs $1,299/user/year, with additional collaboration and support features available. The Personal Plan costs $999/user/year. For academics, the Person Plan costs $499/user/year and the Teams Plan costs $649/user/year.