Choosing the right eLearning authoring tool in 2025

eLearning authoring tools are used to create digital learning content, such as interactive courses, quizzes, simulations, and webpages that contain multimedia. These tools help learning designers create digital learning courses without the need for advanced programming skills.

With so many options available, selecting the right tool for your project can be overwhelming. To make an informed choice, you need to consider key factors such as interactivity, mobile responsiveness, cloud collaboration, LMS compatibility, customisation, ease of use, and accessibility.

Let’s break them down.

Interactivity

All eLearning authoring tools offer some level of interactivity—think branching scenarios, self-marking quizzes, sliders, hotspots, drag-and-drop activities, interactive videos, simulations, or gamification.

However, not all tools are created equally. Some offer highly customisable interactivity (e.g., Articulate Storyline), while others have pre-built, limited options (e.g., Articulate Rise). Identify the level of interactivity your course requires before choosing a tool.

 

Accessibility

Ensuring your course is WCAG 2.2 compliant is crucial for inclusivity. Some tools, like Lectora, offer robust accessibility support, while others require careful selection of compliant features (think Storyline). Before choosing a tool, review its accessibility capabilities and ensure it aligns with your learners' needs.

Customisation

Some tools are highly customisable – think Articulate Storyline, Lectora, and Evolve, while others rely on pre-built templates (like Articulate Rise). If your project requires unique designs and complex interactions, opt for a more customisable tool rather than a structured, template-based one.

Ease of use

A steep learning curve can slow down production. Consider your team's level of experience and whether your clients need to make updates internally. If internal updates are on their wish list, you will need to select a tool that aligns with their capability.

Mobile responsiveness

If your project requires a mobile first approach, it’s critical to select a tool that will ensure your content is optimised for all devices. With mobile learning on the rise, selecting a tool that offers responsive design, without extra effort, is an easy way to future-proof your investment.

Cloud-based collaboration

For remote teams or large-scale projects, a cloud-based authoring tool allows multiple designers to collaborate in real time. Articulate Rise and Evolve excel in cloud-based collaboration, while Articulate Storyline and Lectora require desktop installations (though Lectora Online offers cloud collaboration as an alternative).

LMS compatibility

Most authoring tools support SCORM and xAPI standards, enabling seamless integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS). If you’re hosting your course on a website rather than an LMS, look for a tool that exports HTML5 content. Articulate Storyline, Rise, Lectora, and Evolve all support SCORM/xAPI, and HTML5 export options.

---

Our top 4 authoring tool picks

While there is no perfect solution, here’s a comparison of our favourites, together with a brief summary of how they stack up across key factors:

Articulate Rise

Articulate Rise is a cloud-based eLearning authoring tool designed for ease of use, enabling users to easily create responsive, mobile-friendly courses without programming skills. It follows a structured, pre-built block-based format, making it best suited for straightforward, linear courses rather than highly interactive learning experiences.

Criteria	Rating	Notes
Interactivity	***	Limited to built-in interactions (e.g., quizzes, drag-and-drop, timelines).
Accessibility	*****	Able to achieve WCAG 2.1AA standards.
Customisation	**	Template-based, so customisation options are somewhat limited.
Ease of use	*****	Extremely intuitive and user-friendly, even for beginners.
Mobile responsiveness	*****	Fully responsive with seamless mobile and tablet adaptation.
Cloud collaboration	*****	100% cloud-based, allowing multiple authors to collaborate in real time.
LMS compatibility	*****	Exports SCORM/xAPI for LMS integration. Also supports HTML exports.

Articulate Storyline

Articulate Storyline is a powerful, desktop-based authoring tool often compared to PowerPoint but with much greater interactivity and customisation capabilities. It’s ideal for creating complex eLearning experiences, including simulations, branching scenarios, and game-based learning. The downside of Storyline is that it is produces traditional slide-based content, rather than a modern web-centric experience.

Criteria	Rating	Notes
Interactivity	*****	Highly interactive with support for branching, variables, and triggers.
Accessibility	****	Good accessibility features, but not all features are accessible – you’ll need to do your research be selective with your approach.
Customisation	*****	Fully customisable; allows for advanced interactivity and animations.
Ease of use	****	More complex learning curve, especially for beginners.
Mobile responsiveness	**	Not fully responsive but offers mobile-friendly HTML5 output.
Cloud collaboration	***	Desktop-based, but integrates with cloud storage for review with online feedback features.
LMS compatibility	*****	Strong SCORM, xAPI, and AICC support. Also supports HTML export.

Lectora

Lectora is a robust authoring tool known for its strong accessibility compliance, flexibility, and ability to create highly customised courses.

Criteria	Rating	Notes
Interactivity	****	Supports branching, scenarios, and variables, but isn’t as advanced as Storyline.
Accessibility	*****	Is mostly able to achieve WCAG 2.1AA compliance.
Customisation	*****	Highly customisable, allowing full control over design and interactions.
Ease of use	***	More complex than Rise but easier than Storyline.
Mobile responsiveness	****	HTML5-based, but requires manual optimisation for mobile, which can be time consuming.
Cloud collaboration	****	Lectora Online offers cloud collaboration, though not as seamless as Rise.
LMS compatibility	*****	Strong SCORM, xAPI, and AICC support. Also supports HTML export.

Evolve Authoring

Evolve is a cloud-based authoring tool focused on modern, highly responsive, web-centric course design. It provides more interactivity than Articulate Rise while maintaining a user-friendly, block-based approach.

Criteria	Rating	Notes
Interactivity	****	More interactive than Rise, offering a wide range of interactive features.
Accessibility	****	Decent but not as comprehensive as Lectora. Evolve can achieve WCAG 2.1AA compliance.
Customisation	*****	Good customisation while maintaining a structured design approach.
Ease of use	***	More complex learning curve, especially for beginners.
Mobile responsiveness	*****	Fully responsive with excellent mobile support.
Cloud collaboration	*****	100% cloud-based with real-time collaboration.
LMS compatibility	****	Supports SCORM and xAPI, but may require additional testing for HTML export.

---

Final verdict:

Which one to choose?

It depends entirely on your needs. Here’s a high-level summary:

• For rapid, mobile-friendly course development: Articulate Rise is the best option.

• For highly interactive, complex courses: Articulate Storyline offers the most flexibility.

• For strong accessibility features: Lectora is the top choice, although WCAG 2.1AA compliance can be achieved with all tools reviewed. You just need to understand each tool’s limitations and which features should be avoided to achieve accessibility standards.

• For a balance between interactivity, accessibility, and responsiveness: Evolve is a solid alternative. Evolve is also great for a large catalogue of courses that benefit from a templated approach.