Elabora vs Mindsmith
Mindsmith and Elabora both put AI at the heart of course writing, and both let your own AI agent work on courses through MCP. Mindsmith is a web app with credits, live co-editing and dynamic SCORM. Elabora is a free desktop app that keeps each course as files and works with the AI subscription you already have.
At a glance
| Criterion | Elabora | Mindsmith |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Free plan; Professional 39 USD and Business 65 USD per author per month (468 and 780 USD per year); Enterprise on quote. |
| Where you build | A desktop app for macOS and for Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). | In a web browser. |
| Delivery formats | SCORM 1.2 packages, and web publishing on Elabora’s hosting or any web server. | SCORM 1.2 and 2004 on every plan, static or dynamic; xAPI on Enterprise; links, HTML and PDF. |
| Your files | Each course is a folder of readable files on your computer, in an open format with public schemas. The core that reads it is open source (Apache-2.0). | Lessons live in your Mindsmith workspace; exports are SCORM, HTML and PDF. |
| 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. | Mindsmith Agent: a storyboard, then a lesson, from your request and files; 2,000 to 5,000 credits per author per month on paid plans. |
| Your own AI agent | Works with your own agent: Claude Code in the Claude app, Codex in the ChatGPT app, or any AI through the elabora command and its MCP server, to read and edit courses. | MCP server: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Copilot can read, create, edit and publish lessons. |
| 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. | Review links for people without an account. |
| Working together | One author per course, on their computer. Reviewers comment through a link. | Live co-editing on Business and Enterprise. |
| Import | Storyline projects (.story), published Storyline courses and Rise exports, in beta, with a report of what came over and what did not. | PDF, Word, PowerPoint, text and SCORM packages; Storyline import in beta. |
| Accessibility | Built-in checks before delivery: WCAG 2.2 AA contrast, axe tests, text alternatives, keyboard use and captions. | The learner’s side is built to meet WCAG 2.2 AA; VPAT on request. |
Each value comes from the vendor’s official page, read on the date shown.
The difference in one minute
Mindsmith is a web app. Its agent turns your request and files into a storyboard, then a lesson; your team edits it live and shares it as a link or a SCORM package that can update itself in the LMS. AI work uses credits, included in each plan.
Elabora is a desktop app. Your AI, Claude Code, Codex or Elabora’s free chat, proposes a plan and writes the screens in a folder on your computer. Each change becomes a card you review, and one click undoes it.
What Mindsmith does better
- Live co-editing on Business and Enterprise.
- Dynamic SCORM: the package in the LMS shows the version you last published.
- More delivery options: SCORM 1.2 and 2004 on every plan, xAPI on Enterprise, HTML and PDF.
- An MCP server that publishes, and that reads learner results for your AI.
- Accessibility: its learner side is built to meet WCAG 2.2 AA, with a VPAT on request.
Where Elabora differs
- Files you keep. Mindsmith lessons live in your Mindsmith workspace; an Elabora course is a folder in an open format, readable without Elabora.
- Your AI subscription, no credits. Elabora uses the plan you already have, or free models.
- Richer screens: 3D objects learners operate, dialogues with characters who speak, narration with free local voices or ElevenLabs.
- Free on your computer, with free reviewers. Online, each author has free quotas for courses on the web and for reviews open at the same time.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Mindsmith if…
- Your team co-edits lessons live, in the browser.
- You want dynamic SCORM packages, so that LMS courses update when you publish.
- You need xAPI (Enterprise), or want learner-level results read by your AI through MCP.
Choose Elabora if…
- You want your courses as files on your computer, in an open format.
- You already pay for Claude or ChatGPT and want that agent to write the course, with no credits to count.
- You want 3D scenes and dialogues where characters speak, with free local voices.
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 my AI agent work in both?
- Yes. Mindsmith has an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Copilot that reads, creates, edits and publishes lessons. Elabora works with Claude Code and Codex in their apps, and with any AI through the elabora command and its MCP server.
- Do both import Storyline?
- Both have it in beta. Mindsmith also imports SCORM packages, PDF, Word and PowerPoint; Elabora imports Storyline and Rise courses, and uses your documents as sources for the AI.
Try Elabora on your computer. It’s free.
Download Elabora