Elabora vs Lectora
Lectora, from ELB Learning, comes as a Windows desktop app and a browser version, with free reviewers in ReviewLink and output to every major LMS standard. Elabora is a free Mac and Windows app where your AI writes the course from a plan. Pick Lectora for AICC, xAPI and cmi5 and a large asset library; pick Elabora to write with AI at no cost.
At a glance
| Criterion | Elabora | Lectora |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Sold in ELB Learning’s Studio Gold Suite (Lectora Online and Desktop, ReviewLink, Asset Library): from 1,549 USD per year, US prices. |
| Where you build | A desktop app for macOS and for Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). | Lectora Desktop: Windows. Lectora Online: in a web browser, on Windows or Mac. |
| Delivery formats | SCORM 1.2 packages, and web publishing on Elabora’s hosting or any web server. | HTML for the web, AICC, SCORM 1.1, 1.2 and 2004, cmi5 and xAPI. |
| 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. | AI Course Wizard in Lectora Online: a first draft from a topic and a theme. |
| 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. | ReviewLink: unlimited free reviewers invited by email; comments with statuses and priorities. |
| Import | Storyline projects (.story), published Storyline courses and Rise exports, in beta, with a report of what came over and what did not. | PowerPoint 2007 and newer. |
| Templates and media | 7 complete templates of 14 screens each, in English and French, and starter blocks. | Asset Library in the suite: over 160 million stock assets and thousands of templates. |
Each value comes from the vendor’s official page, read on the date shown.
The difference in one minute
Lectora is a classic authoring tool with an accessibility checker, in a desktop version for Windows and an online version for the browser. ELB Learning sells it in a suite with ReviewLink, an asset library and MicroBuilder.
Elabora starts from a brief. Your AI proposes a plan, you approve it, then it writes the screens, which you refine yourself or through the agent.
What Lectora does better
- Delivery formats. HTML, AICC, SCORM 1.1, 1.2 and 2004, cmi5 and xAPI. Elabora delivers SCORM 1.2 and the web today.
- Review at scale. ReviewLink has unlimited free reviewers, with statuses and priorities on comments.
- Assets. The suite’s Asset Library holds more than 160 million stock assets and thousands of templates.
- Two ways to work: the desktop app on Windows, and Lectora Online in a browser.
Where Elabora differs
- The AI writes with you, from your documents, and each change can be reviewed and undone.
- A desktop app on Mac and Windows, free, with your courses as folders in an open format.
- Scenes and conversations: 3D objects learners operate, dialogues with characters who speak, narration with free local voices or ElevenLabs.
- Checks before delivery: contrast, text alternatives, keyboard use, captions, and a test of each package against the rules of common LMSs.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Lectora if…
- Your LMS needs AICC, SCORM 2004, xAPI or cmi5.
- You want unlimited free reviewers with comment statuses and priorities.
- You want a stock library of millions of assets in the same subscription.
Choose Elabora if…
- You want a desktop app on the Mac.
- You want your AI to draft the plan and the screens from your documents.
- You want 3D scenes and dialogues with characters who speak.
- SCORM 1.2 or a web link is enough, and you want a free tool.
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
- Does Lectora run on a Mac?
- Lectora Online works in a browser on a Mac. Lectora Desktop is a Windows app.
Try Elabora on your computer. It’s free.
Download Elabora