LMS Advisor vs Absorb LMS: which one fits your training?

What is in the box

Absorb’s core LMS covers courses, curricula, instructor-led sessions, a learner app, departments and groups, a built-in store and a set of reports. Around it sit the add-ons: Absorb Create for authoring, Absorb Analyze for a report builder and BI dashboards, Absorb Amplify for the content library, Absorb Skills, Absorb Engage, Absorb Infuse and Absorb Aura for AI agents. SAML single sign-on is described as an additional feature with an additional fee, and the integrations page says connectors typically require purchase.

LMS Advisor is one product. Authoring, interactive video, SAML and SCIM, proctoring, the Test Center, certificates, AI and the HR and CRM connectors are all in it. There is no library and no report builder, and we say so on every page, so a buyer compares one quote against Absorb’s base plus the add-ons they would need.

Exams and proctoring

Absorb’s assessment learning object has three question types, reusable question banks, randomized order, a timed assessment and an attempt limit. Its Course Proctor feature puts a person in the room: a course editor, supervisor or admin enters credentials or an eight-digit code on the learner’s device before a weighted assessment starts. That suits a supervised classroom and does nothing for a remote exam.

LMS Advisor runs proctoring in software, per exam: periodic webcam snapshots, AI face monitoring for no face or a second face, fullscreen lockdown, logged tab switches and copy or paste, ID photo capture, device lock and violation limits that can end an attempt. The question bank has 14 types with pools, difficulty levels, negative marking and nightly item analysis, and the Test Center examines candidates who are not enrolled anywhere, with an appeal step.

Standards, identity and integrations

Absorb uploads SCORM 1.2 and 2004, xAPI and AICC packages, without multi-SCO support, and acts as an LTI 1.3 consumer. LMS Advisor runs SCORM 1.2 and 2004, xAPI with a built-in LRS and cmi5, and acts as an LTI 1.3 tool with grade passback, the opposite role. If you need the LMS to launch publisher tools, Absorb has that direction; if a campus LMS needs to launch your exams, we have it.

Absorb provisions users just in time through SAML attributes and does not state SCIM or native two-factor authentication. LMS Advisor provisions users and groups over SCIM 2.0 from Okta, Entra ID and OneLogin and adds passkeys and app-based two-factor authentication. On HR connectors Absorb is broader, with ADP, Workday, Dayforce, UKG Pro and SAP SuccessFactors; LMS Advisor syncs BambooHR, Zoho People and Keka and takes CSV uploads from anything else.

Selling, hosting and certification

Absorb’s store is built in, commission-free and connected to over 70 payment gateways with subscriptions, multi-currency and automatic tax, once Absorb support enables it. LMS Advisor sells through your WooCommerce store with our plugin and has no checkout of its own. Absorb runs only in its AWS cloud and holds SOC 2 Type 2. LMS Advisor runs in our cloud or on your own server, where your own controls apply, and holds no attestation.