Absorb vs Thrive

Canvas

Moodle

Paylocity

Canvas is a modern, cloud-based LMS that helps organizations of all sizes deliver impactful learning. Whether you're teaching students, onboarding new hires, or running a training program, Canvas makes it simple to build, manage, and scale engaging learning experiences.

With hundreds of millions of users around the globe and translated into over 100 languages, more organisations choose Moodle to support their education and training needs than any other system in the world.

One unified platform for HR, Finance, and IT. Connect people, processes, and data. Automate tasks and drive business growth. 

People and Culture Manager

Everyone is knowledgeable and responsive, the online support resources are easy to access and consistently helpful, and Absorb Academy provides excellent training that equips administrators with the skills and confidence needed to effectively manage and maximize the platform.

Admin

One of its strongest aspects is the customer support, which is responsive, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful when issues arise or guidance is needed.

Built to deliver flexible training, the intuitive design and robust features create an engaging learning environment that keeps your employees, customers and partners coming back for more. Tap the scalable LMS that supports integration and security, while offering 24/7 in-house support.

Academic/Education

Access Controls/Permissions

Activity Dashboard

Activity Monitoring

Activity Tracking

Adaptive Learning

Alerts/Notifications

Assessment Management

Assignment Management

Asynchronous Learning

Audio/Video Conferencing

Audio/Video Recording

Bite-Sized Learning

Blended Learning

Built-in Course Authoring

Built-in LMS

Certificates

Certification & Licensing

Certification Tracking

Collaboration Tools

Commenting/Notes

Communication Management

Compliance Management

Compliance Tracking

Contact Management

Content Library

Content Management

Content Sharing

Corporate/Business

Course Authoring

Course Library

Course Management

Course Publishing

Course Tracking

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Questions

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

Document Management

Drag & Drop

eCommerce Management

eLearning Companies

Electronic Forms

Electronic Signature

Employee Engagement

Employee Handbook

Employee Onboarding

Employee Portal

Employee Training

Engagement Tracking

Extended Enterprise Learning

Feedback Management

For Hospitality Industry

For Nonprofits

Gamification

Instructor-Led Courses

Interactive Content

Interactive Learning

Leaderboards

Learner Portal

Learning Management

Learning Paths/Tracks

Media Import

Media Management

Microlearning

Mobile Access

Mobile Learning

Modeling & Simulation

Multi-Language

Multimedia Support

Multiple Question Types

Multi-User Collaboration

Offline Access

Onboarding

Orientation Workflow Management

Peer Learning

Performance Metrics

PowerPoint Conversion

Progress Reports

Progress Tracking

Question Library

Quizzes

Real-Time Analytics

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Reporting

Recommendations

Reminders

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Role-Based Permissions

SCORM Compliance

Self-Enrollment

Self-paced Learning

Self-Service Content Curation

Self Service Portal

Single Sign On

Skills Assessment

Reviews for Absorb LMS come from a wide variety of industries, including computer software (8% of reviewers), information technology and services (7%), and hospital & health care (6%). The most frequent use case for Absorb LMS cited by reviewers is as a learning management system (89% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most reviewers indicate that Absorb LMS delivers strong value for money, with a wide range of features and a straightforward pricing model. However, some reviewers feel the pricing can be high for smaller organizations or limited budgets.

Value for money

Absorb LMS is a learning management system solution with key features that include course management, learner portal, and more.

Absorb

Web-based

iPad

Android

iPhone

Docebo

TalentLMS

Litmos

360Learning

Cornerstone LMS

LearnUpon

Articulate 360

Tovuti

LinkedIn Learning

Adobe Learning Manager

Accord LMS

Basic

Persistent bugs and slow resolution

LMS Administrator

The cost is high for support beyond basics and it's hard to get queries and issues resolved in a timely manner.

49% of reviewers feel negative about Absorb’s bugs and issues. Some users report frequent technical glitches, system limitations, and interface rigidity that complicate daily operations. Reviewers indicate that resolving bugs often requires multiple interactions, with support sometimes providing only generic responses or lengthy wait times for fixes. Some users say unresolved issues can persist for months, impacting workflow and requiring workarounds. They mention that certain upgrades or changes have introduced new problems or removed previous functionality, adding to frustration and additional labor.

Collaborative and responsive team

Learning and Development Digital Specialist

As our L&D is incredibly small (2 of us), we love that Absorb feels like an extension of our own team, rather than an external company.

100% of reviewers feel positive about Absorb’s team. Reviewers appreciate how the Absorb team consistently offers professional, responsive, and collaborative support throughout onboarding and ongoing use. Some users say the team feels like an extension of their own staff, especially for smaller organizations. They indicate that regular communication, creative problem-solving, and a willingness to address unique needs make interactions smooth and productive. Some reviewers find the rollout process notably easy due to the team’s involvement, and they value the team’s dedication to ensuring a positive experience and addressing questions promptly.

Supportive and accessible client assistance

96% of reviewers feel positive about Absorb’s client support. Some users report that support has become highly responsive, with prompt communication and helpful guidance for both administrators and end users. Reviewers appreciate having a dedicated contact, clear response guidelines, and proactive feedback channels. They say the support team is accessible, collaborative, and open to suggestions for improvement. Some reviewers find the team helpful during migrations and integrations, while others value the availability of training sessions and consistent follow-up to ensure their needs are met.

E-Learning and Development Officer

I also appreciate the flexibility of the reporting tools, which allow us to track completion rates, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.

What I like best about Absorb LMS is its intuitive user experience and powerful AI-driven course creation tools, which make it easy to quickly build engaging, professional learning content while reducing development time.

Senior Digital Learning and IT training Officer

The categorical structure simplifies configuration, and the quick-access tabs at the top provide a more efficient alternative to navigating through multiple layers of course settings.

Family Strengthening Program Specialist

Features like automatic reassignment of training save staff time and helps make sure resource families stay up to date with necessary training to remain compliant with program standards.

The platform continues to evolve with new features, such as Analyze BI, giving us even greater insights into learner engagement and organizational performance.

The reporting features did not always provide the level of detail or customization needed and the assignment functionality felt somewhat limited, making it harder for admins.

Talent Management

Having to manually check if any retiring courses have current progress enrollments, and sending out an email to the user to tell them that they need to complete it or it will not be accessible any more.

Not only that, but since implementation, Absorb are constantly reflecting on their options and updating and upgrading all the time, with outstanding levels of communication; my favourite is their "Ideas Portal" where customers can suggest changes or updates to their platform, and you can chat with product and tech specialists and put forward a case, where they'll then let you know if it's a likely candidate for their roadmap.

This allows each team member to easily add and assign users to specific program trainings and track their progress.

Any initial challenges, bugs and issues were addressed promptly, either through quick resolutions or by providing suitable workarounds tailored to our organization’s learning needs.

You can create something that actually feels like a polished, cohesive environment rather than a generic LMS, which matters for engagement and professionalism.

Sr. Director of Learning and Development

My goal is to become a "super" admin and utilize features that we have access to but have not implemented, like new content creation with Create.

VP, Talent Operations

Their license structure doesn't allow us to re-use licenses from past users, which is hard with our industry's turnover.

Director of Learning and Development

There are grids that allow for many ad hoc reports, but sometimes the fields included are not what I need causing me to have to run multiple reports and merge them together.

It would be helpful to have configurable notifications or alerts so admins can stay informed without having to manually check for updates.

Overall, the LMS has represented a valuable and cost effective solution for supporting both compliance training requirements and ongoing development for staff.

Absorb also offers the ability to run instructor led courses, which is a huge benefit for our trainers.

The admin-side workflow and the learner side workflow is highly intuitive and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and manage tasks efficiently.

Sr. Technical Writer

The Absorb Create tool allows you to customize training content in an engaging manner while not having to spend days upon days to create a ten-minute course.

Learning and Development

This customization empowers our teams to upskill effectively while streamlining the onboarding process for new hires, allowing them to transition into their roles more quickly.

Instructional Designer II

Able to customize dashboards, splash screens, and content icons.

Org. Development Speciailist

It’s flexible, supports a wide range of learning formats, and integrates well with existing systems.

Director of HR

The reporting capabilities provide valuable insight into training completion and compliance.

Business System

It has allowed us to speed up training and give our team the training and understanding to do what we do better.

IT Manager

Any technical errors we met during implementation were resolved within 24 hours and often were user error rather than a system glitch.

Office Manager

E.G., automatic AI and AI translation in wide range of languages.

Tracking resource family training is also very important for audit purposes and Absorb makes that easy.

My company has not had an L&D team for very long and have adapted to Absorb as the new learning tool really well due to its ease of use with 1200 unique logins the first month.

Learning and Development Specialist

Overall, my experience with Absorb LMS has been very positive. When we first implemented the platform, we encountered several challenges and limitations where the system didn't always work the way we needed it to.

Learning and Development Manager

The lack of AI integration and some features feel "clunky" or outdated.

The system is user-friendly, reliable, and supports a wide range of learning needs across the organization.

Learning and Development Officer

Adding the option to put in an organisational training calendar would have been helpful.

Manager of Learning and Development

I've long been curious about whether we could integrate Absorb into a UI designer that would give us more control.

Training Specialist

I do wish there were a way to download Create content to a PowerPoint format to make it easier to share with external clients before launching a new training.

Overall, Absorb has significantly improved how we manage, track, and deliver training across our organization.

I find the system intuitive to use, and the administrative tools make it easy to manage learners, create and assign courses

Platform Administartor

I felt confused at times due to the details being explained where not sufficiently explained based on the required data.

Absorb vs Thrive Comparison (2026)

Absorb

Thrive

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives