Adobe Captivate vs. Khan Academy

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Captivate
Score 6.8 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Captivate is an elearning authoring and course design tool (or LCMS). It supports mobile HTML5 content. Captivate’s users are commonly midsized businesses to enterprises. Adobe Captivate includes some prebuilt assets as well as customizable workflows.
$33.99
per month
Khan Academy
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization headquartered in Palo Alto that offers free online course content for students.N/A
Pricing
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Editions & Modules
Subscription
$33.99
per month
Student & Teacher Edition
$399
one-time fee
Upgrade
$499
one-time fee
Pereptual License
1,299
one-time fee
Learners
Free
Teachers
Free
Districts
Free
Parents
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Considered Both Products
Adobe Captivate
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate outshines all of these other tools -Camtasia, Snagit, Powtoons, After Effects, PowerPoint - when it comes to software demonstrations, simulations and/or training videos that contain software demonstrations ( hybrid video containing software demonstrations). But …
Chose Adobe Captivate
1 common platform for reporting & tracking of completion for mandatory trainings. Ability to create own training and mandatory trainings are available & accessible for all employees + contractors
Chose Adobe Captivate
SWAT (internal LCMS) - more flexible but not common to many and difficult to keep up to date Adobe Connect - great for webinars and online classes with live instructor.
Chose Adobe Captivate
At the time Storyline seemed easier to use, but I was already committed to a project and investing time in learning Captivate for it. I also felt some loyalty to Adobe because I had received free Creative Cloud courses through the Adobe Education Exchange.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I use both. Both have their strengths and weaknesses but they complement each other.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate easily outputs to HTML5 and give you a programming timeline. Lectora does not have a timeline which is a disadvantage when trying to program animations or any other time based interactions. Lectora does have programming capabilities, but at times is difficult to …
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is the best software for the price, functionality, resources, and training.
Chose Adobe Captivate
It's the absolute worst. Bottom of the barrel. I would never select it. The FBI selected it so my consulting agency has to use it for them.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I selected Adobe Captivate because I can add html features and interactivity to my courses.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I've only ever authored in Adobe Captivate.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is a MAC based application that allows for local secure development. A big sell for MAC users.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Captivate is feature-rich and easy-to-use.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I did not select Captivate, it was selected for me. Articulate 360 is easier to use and has a better flow.
Chose Adobe Captivate
I use Camtasia for video editing, however, we have Premier Pro and are now learning to use it. Camtasia and Snagit we use for smaller projects. For bigger projects, we use them all.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Can't touch Authorware. Too bad Adobe killed it. I'd love it if Authorware could be resurrected, modernized and export to HTML5. THat would be the ultimate tool. Animate can do a lot more but it takes a lot more time to build.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate has more availability and content to be able to change around. Again, I like Adobe Captivate more because of all the content that is available and the pre-made options.
Chose Adobe Captivate
While Captivate has some awesome niche features for some circumstances, currently it cannot beat the ease of use with Storyline. Whether it's content, variables, quizes, etc. things are just "easier" in Storyline. Even something as simple as triggering an event when the …
Chose Adobe Captivate
We are looking for easier templates, automated features, simulations, interactivity activities, and collaboration features.
Chose Adobe Captivate
Captivate is more difficult to figure out. However, once you get passed the learning curve it offers more variety and options than Camtasia. It allows for interactions, simulations, and the likes.
Chose Adobe Captivate
There is a lot more editing/customization capability in Captivate. Zoom is incredibly limited with what you can do within the software.
Khan Academy
Chose Khan Academy
I really enjoyed Khan Academy it helped me out when I most needed it. I was able to understand my classes and pass the courses without a problem. I always felt great and knowledgeable after watching their videos. I would totally recommend their services to anyone looking for …
Chose Khan Academy
I personally found Khan Academy much better suited for adult learning of difficult or larger topics. Not so much for smaller changes that can be communicated via email. But it was more engaging and I found the information easier to digest. Change management can be tough but …
Chose Khan Academy
Khan Academy focuses on fundamental science and math, while the other websites publish courses on specific topics in computer science. When in high school, Khan Academy is a lot more useful, since that is the time to firm up the basics, before taking on advanced classes and …
Chose Khan Academy
Khan academy is free, that’s a big plus. Also, it is way less fragmented than Coursera for example. There are a lot of diverse topics I can select from and even if it’s not related to my job, I sometimes look at the history section. One missing feature compared to other …
Chose Khan Academy
The number one reason to choose Khan Academy over other options is price. If you are looking for a special skill or a quick answer YouTube is a great resource. Khan Academy is better suited for those who want to have a pseudo-classroom experience while still learning a subject …
Chose Khan Academy
Khan is better to take shorter learning modules. Coursera is a considerable investment as it is whole college courses. Khan is great to learn certain concepts and refresh learnings or trouble shoot problems. Khan is better for high school students to use to reinforce and …
Chose Khan Academy
easy explained concept as compared to other two service providers. Community is very active at Khan academy especially compared to other two brands, very well use of Artificial intelligence and great work in upgrading the content.

pricing is definitely an area to be considered …
Chose Khan Academy
This is nothing similar to Khan Academy that I know of. It's a complete K-12 education, completely for free. It's not only free but high quality and fun, so much so that I have spent quite a lot of my spare time working through different courses for refreshers or that are of …
Features
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Captivate
9.1
Ratings
7% above category average
Khan Academy
-
Ratings
Course authoring8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
eLearning Content
Comparison of eLearning Content features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Captivate
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Khan Academy
-
Ratings
Multi-Lingual Support7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Structured Learning10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Historical Metrics8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud-Based Content10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automation & Integration7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
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Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
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User Ratings
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
1.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.8
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
2.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe CaptivateKhan Academy
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe Captivate is well suited for software training. Even though we do not use the software simulation recording feature, we simulate the environment with screenshots and then roundtrip into Photoshop to make edits to a screenshot For example, they added 3 new fields and it affects 25 different slides in the course. I dummy up the 3 new fields in Photoshop, copy the layers with the new fields, flatten and save the screenshot and it's instantly updated in Abode Captivate. I then locate the next slide that needs the same new fields added and round trip into Photoshop and then I just select Paste in Place and flatten and save. The alignment is perfect and the screenshots never leave Adobe Captivate. I had a course that I had to do this to with about 25 slides and it was easy peasy.
Read full review
For larger projects, product changes, legislation updates, Khan Academy makes it easy to transfer information in an easy-to-digest manner. The software works really well with adult learning as it keeps users engaged in quick bite-sized lessons. It's more appropriate for larger changes and bigger implementations. It's less appropriate for smaller projects, or minor changes/updates, where quick training sessions would suffice.
Read full review
Pros
  • Easy learning curve. Captivate makes it easy for a new user to pick it up and understand where to begin. Adobe, in general, does this very well and Captivate is no exception. When you begin using Captivate, many of the tasks to create a video come naturally as things are laid out in a way that makes sense.
  • Embedding with LMS (Learning Management Systems). Adobe has made it very easy to deploy your produced video to any of the popular LMS's available. Captivate also gives you a very easy way of including a SCORM score for any quizzes that must be passed at the end of the video in order to proceed to the next video.
  • Capturing Audio has never been easier. With Captivate you can easily add voice-over audio that you can record directly inside of Captivate, or import a pre-recorded audio clip. You can import sounds from other sources for effects in the video and Captivate already includes all of the commonly used sounds for mouse-clicks, error sounds, etc.
Read full review
  • The UI is great and easy to use.
  • There is a broad selection of courses, subjects, and instructors.
  • The classroom integration option is awesome.
Read full review
Cons
  • Templates. There seem to be "themes," but Adobe Captivate has a terrible time saving any sort of object preferences which makes it really difficult when a set of courses need to follow branding guidelines. I have to create a basic course and set up all my colors and whatnot and start every course using that.
  • Ease of use. It is like pulling teeth sometimes to get Adobe Captivate to do things. You may be able to get it to do it, but it'll be like a dozen or more steps which make creating courses incredibly tedious.
  • A bigger focus on software simulation. Adobe Captivate isn't designed for simulation, I get that, and I am happy it does as much as it does. However, it could be better to capture actions and things within a program. For instance, click and drag options and hot-key combinations.
Read full review
  • On my iPad, to change the language of Khan, I need to change the language of my iPad in the settings
  • It can be a bit messy and the category are a bit too generic, not enough per level category
  • Sometimes the quizz are too simple, it would be nice to have an extra difficult one as a bonus
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
We have hundreds of courses that were created in Adobe Captivate. It will take us a while to convert to Articulate. We'll need a license for another year and/or until Adobe comes out with a true update to the software.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
Adobe Captivate does take some getting used to. There are features that are much more convoluted than they need to be, but overall it is a great product with a some excellent features. Being in a pretty small market, Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline dominate the space. They are not the same software, but allow for eLearning authoring. Each has their benefit and their downside, but, for me, Adobe Captivate edges out Storyline.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
It is difficult to get in touch with Adobe Captivate support. With a seemingly limited number of resources, mostly outsourced, getting in contact with someone to help troubleshoot an issue is challenging. Typically wait times are long, and the desired path to resolution is to use an existing knowledge base or a self-help guide. It is certainly not a user-friendly experience.
Read full review
I've only had to seek support one time. There was a glitch in one of my lessons and I submitted an email. The glitch was fixed by support within a few days, but I would've liked for it to be faster. However, I don't have a big complaint there because it is a free service.
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Implementation Rating
I'm only aware of the problems Adobe Captivate had with SumTotal LMS and Upside LMS, requiring extensive contact with both internal and external support staff to fix the problems. We had no problems at all with Articulate.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
While Captivate has some awesome niche features for some circumstances, currently it cannot beat the ease of use with Storyline. Whether it's content, variables, quizes, etc. things are just "easier" in Storyline. Even something as simple as triggering an event when the timeline reaches a certain point. We continue to keep Captivate and Storyline because we're hoping it Captivate will continue building its integration with other Adobe apps and become our and the industry standard.
Read full review
The number one reason to choose Khan Academy over other options is price. If you are looking for a special skill or a quick answer YouTube is a great resource. Khan Academy is better suited for those who want to have a pseudo-classroom experience while still learning a subject or skill. I have used Lynda and Udemy; there is little difference between Khan Academy and those two options.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Adobe Captivate has allowed our instructors to engage students in ways we never have before.
  • Instructors who have used Adobe Captivate in our organization have reported higher levels of engagement with their courses and their students, theoretically leading to improved assessment of student performance.
Read full review
  • It's has helped a lot of my coworkers to grasp some basic finance and computer science stuff when previously they have no idea.
Read full review
ScreenShots