LMS Pricing Guide

An ultimate guide of everything you need to

know.
Why does pricing matter?
Pricing is the deciding factor for many organisations when
selecting a learning management system.
An LMS is a long term commitment. Think of it as more of an
investment, rather than a purchase.
The search
Finding the right LMS can be difficult as the features and
functionalities an organisation wants often come with their own
price tag.
Even something marked as free inevitably costs something in
time, resources or lost opportunities/revenue.
Cloud Hosted Pricing
Models
 Pay-per-learner
Pay a fixed figure for a certain number of users. As the
number of users increase, the price per user lowers.
 Pay-per-active-user
Add an unlimited number of users into an LMS but only
be charged for those who log on during the billing period.
The catch? The system is still prepaid.
 Pay-as-you-go
The cost is minimal during off-peak times but substantial
when a rush of users access the system.
Locally Hosted Pricing
Models
 Subscription/Licencing Fee
Purchase a periodic licence (monthly or annually).
Differently priced plans are available which will typically
offer more functionalities with each price increase.
 Single Payment
Also known as perpetual licencing. This model involves
paying a one-time fee to download the LMS.
Internal costs for maintenance, updates etc.
 Freemium
The LMS itself is free and can be distributed and
modified at the organisations will.
The costs come from customisation, maintenance,
integrations etc.
Hidden
Costs
 Maintenance
An LMS requires constant, ongoing maintenance for
bugs, updates and upgrades.
 Training and Support
Basic support isn’t always included in the price packet –
neither is in-person/on-premises training, advanced and
priority support or access to a dedicated customer
success manager.
 Content Creation
Access to content creation tools may bear costs, as will
getting the supplier to create content.
 Implementation
These costs vary depending on cloud or locally hosted
systems. They can range from hardware installation to
integrations with third party software.
Conduct Due
Diligence
Define non-negotiable features and
integrations
Find what’s necessary, unnecessary and nice-to-have.
 Determine the intended number of
users
Many pricing models are based on the amount of users.
Calculate the time users will spend in
the system
Like user numbers, many pricing models factor in how
long users will be in the system.
 Know how many courses need to be
uploaded
Some models will centre more on the space needed for
storage which affects the number of courses that can be
uploaded.
You can learn more about this topic by
checking out the full article:

https://acornlms.com/resources/lms-pricing-
comparison-guide