Elabora vs Adobe Captivate
Captivate is Adobe’s desktop authoring tool for Windows and macOS, strong on responsive courses and software simulations, with a WCAG 2.2 AA certification. Elabora is a free desktop app where your AI writes the course from a plan you approve. Pick Captivate for simulations and xAPI; pick Elabora to write faster with AI and pay nothing.
At a glance
| Criterion | Elabora | Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free on your computer, and it will stay free. Reviewers are free too. Online, each author has free quotas for courses on the web and for reviews open at the same time; paid options with larger quotas will come later. | 39.99 USD per month for one person, billed monthly (US store); Teams and Enterprise on quote. |
| Where you build | A desktop app for macOS and for Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). | A desktop app for Windows and macOS (version 13.2, August 2026). |
| Delivery formats | SCORM 1.2 packages, and web publishing on Elabora’s hosting or any web server. | SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC and xAPI; HTML5 packages. |
| Built-in AI | Elabora’s chat with free models (OpenCode), and ✨ buttons for text alternatives and translations. Every change the AI makes can be undone. | Image generation (Adobe Firefly), text rewriting and avatars; 25 generative credits per month on the individual plan. |
| Review | Reviewers comment from a link, free and without an account. Their comments come back into Elabora on the screen, the block or the word of narration; you reply there or hand them to your AI. | Share for review: reviewers comment from a link, with nothing to install. |
| Import | Storyline projects (.story), published Storyline courses and Rise exports, in beta, with a report of what came over and what did not. | PowerPoint slides; Captivate Classic projects in beta since version 13.1 (April 2026). |
| Accessibility | Built-in checks before delivery: WCAG 2.2 AA contrast, axe tests, text alternatives, keyboard use and captions. | Version 13.2 is certified WCAG 2.2 AA, with a published conformance report. |
Each value comes from the vendor’s official page, read on the date shown.
The difference in one minute
Captivate is a full desktop editor. You lay out responsive slides, record software, add interactions and publish to most LMS standards. Since version 13, it also generates images with Adobe Firefly and rewrites texts.
Elabora works from what your learners must be able to do. The AI proposes a plan, you approve it, then it writes the screens; you refine them with the agent or by hand.
What Captivate does better
- Software simulations, a long-standing strength, and Captivate Classic simulation projects can now be brought into the new version (beta).
- More delivery formats. SCORM 1.2 and 2004, AICC and xAPI. Elabora delivers SCORM 1.2 and the web today.
- A certified accessibility level. Adobe certifies version 13.2 for WCAG 2.2 AA and publishes its conformance report.
- Adobe’s ecosystem: Firefly images, and team licences managed in Adobe’s admin console.
Where Elabora differs
- The AI writes the course. Your AI drafts the plan, then the screens, from your documents. Each change becomes a card you review, and one click undoes it.
- Free, with your files. Elabora costs nothing on your computer, and each course is a folder in an open format.
- Scenes and conversations. 3D objects learners operate, and dialogues where characters speak and learners choose their answers.
- Reviews down to the word. Reviewers comment from a link, free and without an account, and their comments land on the block or the word of narration.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Captivate if…
- You build software simulations.
- Your LMS needs SCORM 2004, xAPI or AICC.
- You need a published accessibility conformance report for the authoring tool’s output.
- You already use Adobe’s tools and accounts.
Choose Elabora if…
- You want your AI to draft the plan and the screens, and to undo any change it makes.
- You want 3D scenes and dialogues with characters who speak.
- SCORM 1.2 or a web link is enough for your LMS.
- You want a tool that costs nothing on your computer.
Elabora’s limits today
We list them on every comparison. They are what we work on first.
- One delivery format today: SCORM 1.2 packages and web links. If your LMS needs SCORM 2004, xAPI or cmi5, keep your current tool for those courses for now.
- Importing Storyline and Rise courses is in beta. Some question types, triggers and interactions come over as text with a note, and the import report lists each one.
- A young tool: the first public version came out on 20 October 2026, and Elabora is in beta. Expect fewer tutorials and community answers, and a new version every few days.
- One author per course for now. Co-authoring and shared team spaces come later, with Elabora’s cloud.
- A smaller library: 7 templates and starter blocks, and no stock library of photos or characters.
Questions
- Can Elabora import Captivate projects?
- Not today. Elabora imports Storyline and Rise courses, in beta. A published Captivate SCORM 1.2 package can still be checked with elabora test --package.
- Does Captivate run on a Mac?
- Yes. Adobe’s all-new Captivate (version 13) runs on Windows and macOS.
Try Elabora on your computer. It’s free.
Download Elabora