Canvas vs. Skilljar by Gainsight

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Canvas
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Instructure is an educational software company based in Sandy, Utah. It is the developer of the Canvas learning management system, which is a comprehensive software package that competes with such systems as Blackboard Learning System, SumTotal and Saba.N/A
Skilljar by Gainsight
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Skilljar’s Customer Education LMS Platform is a solution to educate, engage, and retain everyone a business interacts with. An external LMS for customer and partner education, it is a Gainsight solution since the 2025 acquisition.N/A
Pricing
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Considered Both Products
Canvas
Chose Canvas
This is much easier to use than Blackboard. Everything is easy to locate. The interface is clean and intuitive, which makes navigation smooth for both instructors and students. Assignments, grades, and messages are all centralized, reducing confusion. Setup is quick, and the …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is much more robust, has more features, and is more accessible. In canvas it can be specified to your specific organization and have its own domain which I do not think that Coursera can do. Coursera is good for sharing a single course or CEU but does not have the same …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is in the experience way better than Google Classroom. Canvas has a more robust agenda system that also allows adding in new personal deadlines. [Assignments] can be submitted past [the] deadline (if allowed),
Chose Canvas
Canvas is more secure, has a cleaner design, and has more features. For the features, they have in common canvas still stacks up against [Smart school] by going for the extra mile. Besidfor e that, [the] canvas looks a lot more [professional] than [Smart school]. I didn't make …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is a stronger platform. I used it as a teacher AND as a student in graduate school, and it is just the most put-together, professional version of a learning management system that I've used or seen. I do assume that Canvas is more expensive than its competitors, which …
Chose Canvas
I believe Canvas is worse than all of them. In my experience, it is harder to use, uglier to look at.
Chose Canvas
Moodle is open source and it is free. So we can implement our own server with Moodle very easily. But it is not very customizable. When we need a new feature, it is very hard to change as we do not have the ability to change. Canvas has been great help in this because we can …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is a powerful learning management tool that combines so many key elements of an actual classroom and allows teachers to mirror their classroom environment into a virtual platform. It is simply amazing what can be done on Canvas. Grading systems/analysis, progress …
Chose Canvas
Canvas takes the better parts of both Skyward and Google Classroom and combines them to work pretty seamlessly - grading, assignments, attendance, document/file sharing - all integrated into one platform. In addition, the internal communication feature makes communication …
Chose Canvas
Canvas was far easier to use, more feature rich, and much better supported. Teachers and students prefer it to the other solutions we've evaluated or used in the past. Anything that kids can use with minimal instruction is a major win for schools.
Chose Canvas
Simple design interface combines with powerful functionality within the platform.
Chose Canvas
How content is delivered using Moodle is not up to the mark when compared to Canvas. The user interface is clunky when compared to a much simple and easy to understand user interface that of Canvas. Configuring Moodle can be quite tedious if one comes from a non-IT background. …
Chose Canvas
I was not part of the team that selected Canvas, however, I used Blackboard as a student and very little as a staff member. Blackboard was especially difficult in navigating organizations or shared sites. I used it to organize mandatory training for students in one of my …
Chose Canvas
Canvas has some unique features that are superior to Google Classroom, but I prefer Google Classroom because of its ease of use. It does have some of the same problems as Canvas though in terms of assigning work to particular students.
Chose Canvas
I have not used any other platforms for this type of experience. I appreciated the thorough introduction that was offered to onboard onto the platform. It made it easy to use right off the bat.
Chose Canvas
Canvas surpasses Blackboard not only visually, but technically as well. It offers more customization options, as well as more features for students and teachers a like in regard to grading, notifications, and uploading files. It also seems to stream videos more successfully, …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is a pricey option, at least when compared to something open source like Moodle. Personally, I don't feel that Canvas has the same ability to customize as Moodle. However, the customer support from Canvas makes it stand out. With an open-source platform, it might be …
Chose Canvas
Canvas is more cost-effective when compared to Blackboard Learn. Canvas has lately worked on features improvement especially in the grade center, for example, moving columns around like an Excel sheet, a feature not found in Blackboard Learn.
Chose Canvas
The Canvas interface is easier for students to use and navigate. It is also cleaner so students enjoy using the tool more than Sakai. Canvas was easier for our IT department to implement. Training faculty on how to use Canvas was easier than Sakai. The analytics in Canvas are …
Chose Canvas
Canvas's ease of use and ease of administration were huge deciding factors in the decision to use Canvas as our preferred LMS. We found that on average Canvas took 1/3 the clicks to accomplish the same tasks as Blackboard, and the structure of data in Canvas is far superior to …
Chose Canvas
I believe Canvas out does all of these because of its robustness. It allows for more design opportunities including HTML and HTML5 and has many built-in features that are not offered by all of the other LMSs. Some of those features are discussions, assignments, pages, quizzes, …
Skilljar by Gainsight
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
While I wasn't involved in the selection process of Skilljar Customer Education Software, I do believe its ease of use, overall feature set, and reporting and analytic capabilities make this LMS product stand out against many options on the the market.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Ease of use for an administrator and small team, ability to customize without having to pay for professional services, level of service from the vendor.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar is easier to implement and maintain at scale. Needs to have better reporting and analytics
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar provides stronger customization features, more code snippet options, more styling tools, and more effective integrations. These include Credly, Salesforce, and SCORM. Additionally, the catalog is all part of the same system, making it easy to manage. The analytics …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
I briefly used Litmos and Skilljar is easier to use and offers greater functionality. The Skilljar interface is fantastic.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Litmos had constant bugs that were needing to be fixed, upload limits that were small, inability to download content uploaded or track that content.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
There is absolutely an ecosystem of products and solutions required to support and enable end users - one can think of them as an orchestra. Each part does a specific job or task and each has a varying degree of ease of use and compatibility. Skilljar is the container that …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Compared to other LMS it has great features, plus a faster learning curve and is very easy to manage. Other platforms could be cheaper but are pretty limited, and others have way to much features that we were not going to use and with a very high cost, so complex that the …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar is a full-suite, comprehensive solution that has helped us scale a growing company, in ways that other LMS platforms could not.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
The processing time to upload and get the lessons ready on Skilljar is much lesser compared to a lot of the other LMSes out there. The in-depth reporting that Skilljar provides is definitely worth every penny. Internally, the data and analytics provided by Skilljar helps plan …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar customer education software is well suited for all industry without having any issue to use for this or that place. Very easy to make as per our need compared to other application. And not seen so easy to use Tool for education and very easy to delay and increase …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar Customer Education Software has a solid reputation and has more integration possibilities tan Absorb LMS and Docebo Learning.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Great Sales pitch. Ease of use tool was needed for our small team. I also had great references from others who used the tool. Also, I really appreciate their blogs, customer involvement, and research. Overall we have been very happy with the results in our first year. …
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
We looked at other companies that used Skilljar and how they used it. We liked what we saw! Sadly, some of the other vendors we contacted did not get back to us, which immediately flagged them as providing poor pre-sales support.
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Far simpler than successfactors, well suited for small companies
Chose Skilljar by Gainsight
Skilljar Customer Education Software is easier to use and can do a lot more in fewer clicks than Cornerstone. Cornerstone was a clunky system with the focus not on learning like their other suites and the UI was not user-friendly. Spent my time on the admin work than I do now …
Features
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Canvas
9.8
Ratings
18% above category average
Skilljar by Gainsight
7.5
Ratings
0% above category average
Course authoring9.90 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.80 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Player/Portal9.90 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Learning content9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly9.90 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.90 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Assignments9.90 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Compliance management9.80 Ratings4.90 Ratings
Learning administration9.90 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics9.90 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Social learning9.90 Ratings4.30 Ratings
Gamification9.60 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.80 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Customer Training Tools
Comparison of Customer Training Tools features of Product A and Product B
Canvas
-
Ratings
Skilljar by Gainsight
7.0
Ratings
0% above category average
Customer Feedback Collection00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Customer Training Library Curation00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
User Permissioning00 Ratings6.40 Ratings
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CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
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User Ratings
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.3
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CanvasSkilljar by Gainsight
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have a school you can let teachers easily create new deadlines which [automatically] get shown in the calendar. Teachers can also [temporarily] hide deadlines [until] they've given the explanation about the tasks. [Besides] that the teacher can also choose what should be uploaded, should it be a link, file, pdf, link,...
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Skilljar is fantastic for structured onboarding processes. If you're
looking to streamline and standardize the onboarding experience for your
customers, especially for software or complex products, this platform
is a gem. It allows you to create step-by-step courses guiding users
through functionalities, reducing confusion and accelerating their
learning curve.When you need versatility in content delivery, Skilljar is spot-on.
Whether it's video tutorials, interactive quizzes, downloadable
resources, or live webinars, the platform accommodates various formats.
It's perfect for accommodating different learning styles and ensuring
engagement.
For scenarios that demand highly complex simulations or immersive
learning experiences, Skilljar's capabilities might fall short. While it
supports interactive elements, extremely sophisticated simulations
might require additional specialized software or platforms.
Read full review
Pros
  • Learning management - Even as the educational landscape rapidly shifts due to current events, Canvas is a great LMS for providing a consistent learning environment for students.
  • Mobile accessibility - Students can access their courses on Canvas from a variety of devices, including their smartphones.
  • Rich content - Instructors have the ability to create dynamic and engaging content for their courses.
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  • Unlimited courses, learning paths, quizzes, pages, plans, and certifications
  • Ease of use for students, administrators, and content creators
  • Customer Success and Service are top notch. The CSMs are genuinely committed to helping you achieve your metrics and goals
  • Asking for and listening to customer feedback for enhancements
  • Developer Center where people with little to no coding experience can learn how to use and apply HTML templates and code snippets to customize your site
Read full review
Cons
  • Their integration with Big Blue Button was a bust for distance learning. Would be great to see them collaborate with Zoom or Google Meets.
  • Their "feature request" process is slow and cumbersome at times because it relies on user "up votes" to get ideas addressed by the developers.
  • They seem to have a lot of turn-over with their staff. We get a new Customer Success Manager far more frequently than with other vendors.
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  • Would love to see parent/child courses so that when something is updated in the parent course that change is automatically reflected in the clones of that course.
  • Features that allow for the translation of content to allow access to content across languages.
  • Re-onboarding process when the usage of Skilljar changes hands within out company in order to address knowledge gaps.
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Likelihood to Renew
Several factors contribute to my "10" rating. First, our university just made an enormous switch to Canvas, after we were with Blackboard for almost a decade. So garnering buy-in was critical, and not something we took lightly. After nearly 18 months (start to finish) of training faculty, educating stakeholders, and migrating courses, I am not looking to make a change again anytime soon. But I am happy with the result and the product overall and that is also demonstrated in my rating.
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I like what you are using and how we are doing it. Also, changing systems is a lot of work
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Usability
The functions in Canvas are well integrated and consistent across the application, and mostly intuitive. Overall navigation and setup is streamlined through integrated features and navigation. The feedback we've gotten from our program participants is that it is easy to learn to use. It also integrates well with third party software like Google Docs and Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing software
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The overall usability is great as the software is very easy to learn and navigate. After just 1 week of "playing" around in the system I felt very comfortable using it and teaching others to use it as well. Customers have also mentioned Skilljar is a much better than out previous vendor
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Support Rating
I do not personally use Canvas support since we have a central office that helps us. However, our central office always has the answers we need and are always able to solve our issues - so I would assume that get great support from the Canvas team on their end. They also offer great training, which uses materials directly from Canvas
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The support team is great at Skilljar. Not perfect, but that can't be expected. Everyone I've worked with has been friendly, attentive, and fairly quick to respond/act. They also have a pretty sturdy set of Knowledge Base articles as well to self serve.
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In-Person Training
The training sessions were broken down into several days as well as different levels depending upon the knowledge of the user
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
The online tutorials and videos are very clear and addressed the issues/questions that I had about using the system.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Once you purchase and sign the contract there is nothing to install or hardware to buy. You can almost immediately start using it and have courses up and going within weeks. We signed in December and had pilot courses online ready to go for the start of school in January
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Do a good job of preparing your internal teams (IT, Salesforce, etc.) about the work they will have in the process
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Alternatives Considered
Canvas is in the experience way better than Google Classroom. Canvas has a
more robust agenda system that also allows adding in new personal
deadlines. [Assignments] can be submitted past [the] deadline (if allowed),
this isn't allowed by Google [Classroom], If you're too late you can't
submit anything anymore. In Classroom [assignments], presentations/theory, and [announcements] are all put in 1 feed instead which gets confusing way
faster.
Read full review
Skilljar provides stronger customization features, more code snippet options, more styling tools, and more effective integrations. These include Credly, Salesforce, and SCORM. Additionally, the catalog is all part of the same system, making it easy to manage. The analytics tools are also more robust, and the customer service is much more helpful and responsive
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Teachers have consolidated their content onto one platform which has decreased reliance of students on so much support staff assistance to access content.
  • Canvas has helped make technology transitions more seamless for the school community.
  • Once teachers have set up their page, Canvas really takes care of it all- they have much more time to focus on content creation and synthesis rather than the actual learning management system.
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  • Having Skilljar is improving retention—customers who completed recommended training made up 85% of our Q2'23 renewals.
  • Customers who completed the recommended training make up 84% of our healthiest accounts and we've seen a 15% decrease in support ticket volume.
  • Since launching Skilljar, we've seen a 16% increase in active users.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Skilljar by Gainsight Screenshots

Screenshot of the Skilljar Dashboard, where all needed tools are accessed through a single interface.Screenshot of The training portal, which is the URL where published courses will be located, and where trainees can register for, access and complete training.

This URL can be set up as a custom domain using a website, like training.yoursite.com. Or a Skilljar domain can be used, like yoursite.skilljar.com. The look of the training portal can be customized to match a company's brand and colors.Screenshot of some of the analytics to measure  and track learner progress, in the analytics suite where content success is analyzedScreenshot of content that can be offered with Skilljar’s authoring tools. Multiple learning pathways based on user role, skillset, or use case can be created, as well as native video and audio with embedding from external hostsScreenshot of the built-in assessment & certifications engine that enables users to showcase their expertise, along with built-in assessment tools and verifiable badges and certificates.