Elucidat Review 2025: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Cloud-Based eLearning Authoring Platform
Jacky In today’s rapidly evolving digital learning landscape, organizations are constantly seeking efficient tools to create engaging, scalable eLearning content. Elucidat has emerged as a fully cloud-based and powerful authoring platform, designed to allow any user to produce high-quality digital learning, on a global scale, on any device. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Brighton, England, this innovative platform has positioned itself as a game-changer in the eLearning authoring space.
Elucidat works best for large learning teams and the world’s biggest organizations, helping them produce and manage high-quality digital learning, at scale. Unlike traditional desktop-based authoring tools, Elucidat operates entirely in the cloud, enabling seamless collaboration and eliminating the technical barriers that often slow down content creation processes.
The platform’s core philosophy centers around democratizing eLearning content creation, making it accessible to both technical experts and non-technical subject matter experts. With a smart yet simple interface, streamlined workflows, and tools that do the heavy lifting, you can produce training 4x faster and deliver the ‘wow’ factors to learners – quicker and easier than ever before.
What sets Elucidat apart is its focus on enterprise-level scalability and collaboration. The platform addresses real challenges faced by large organizations: the need for consistent branding across multiple courses, efficient translation workflows for global audiences, and the ability to rapidly update and deploy content across various learning management systems.
Key Features of Elucidat
Authoring and Content Creation
Elucidat boasts a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) interface, allowing you to visually build your courses without programming knowledge. This intuitive approach empowers both instructional designers and subject matter experts to create engaging content seamlessly.
The platform offers several powerful content creation features:
PowerPoint Import: Transform your presentations into vibrant elearning courses with ease. PowerPoint upload streamlines your processes, saving you time and effort. This feature significantly reduces the time needed to convert existing presentation materials into interactive eLearning experiences.
AI-Powered Content Creation: Revolutionize course content with AI-driven content creation. Feed in your source material, and watch as AI swiftly creates a detailed course for you. The AI capabilities extend to automatic generation of course introductions and summaries, making content development more efficient.
Template Library: The platform provides an extensive collection of pre-built templates that help even novice authors create professional-looking courses quickly. Elucidat comes with an extensive library of pre-built templates that helps even novice authors create great-looking course easily.
Built-in Recording: Directly capture screen and camera footage within Elucidat. This feature simplifies creating video content for your elearning courses.
Collaboration Features
One of Elucidat’s strongest advantages lies in its collaboration capabilities. Being fully cloud-based also streamlines collaboration. It’s easy for multiple authors to work on the same project at the same time. Stakeholders can also log comments within the authoring tool on specific parts of a page using the review feature.
The collaboration features include:
- Real-time Multi-user Editing: Multiple team members can work on the same project simultaneously without conflicts
- Review and Feedback System: Stakeholders can add contextual comments directly within the authoring interface
- Role-based Permissions: You choose the access levels for each author, for production and approval stream – agile and in real time.
- Asset Management: The asset library provides a centralized repository for storing and managing all your course materials, from images and videos to audio files and documents.
Localization and Translation
For global organizations, Elucidat offers robust internationalization features:
Auto-Translation: Expand your elearning reach with Auto-Translate. Effortlessly convert courses into 75 languages, saving time and money.
Parent/Child Course Management: Parent/child courses allow authors to create a Parent course from which to manage child projects that have variations, like different languages. Any updates you make in the Parent course will apply to your child projects so that you can easily manage and update multiple localized courses.
Translation Workflow: The platform includes comprehensive translation management tools, including translation glossaries and import/export capabilities.
Publishing and Deployment
As a next generation authoring tool, Elucidat’s authoring platform produces high-quality, SCORM compliant HTML5 elearning content. Supporting most elearning formats, as well as advanced xAPI data reporting and mobile responsive content.
Key deployment features include:
- SCORM Compliance: Supports SCORM 1.2, 2004, and xAPI standards
- Mobile Responsive Design: All content automatically adapts to different screen sizes and devices
- LMS Integration: Seamless integration with major learning management systems
- Rapid Release: If you need to make any further changes, simply update your course and click Rapid Release – your course will then update instantly (without having to re-upload!).
Strengths of Elucidat
Ease of Use
Elucidat is easy on the eye and the interface is very friendly. The platform’s user-friendly design makes it accessible to users with varying technical backgrounds. Elucidat really impressed me with how simple it was to just hop in and get started without a lot of learning and familiarization with the tool.
Multiple users have praised its intuitive nature: Having never used an authoring tool before, I have found Elucidat to be very intuitive to use and has allowed me to create a lot of engaging content in a short period of time.
Collaboration Excellence
The collaborative features consistently receive high marks from users. The collaborative tool. Being able to communicate with our clients throughout the development process is extremely helpful. Since it’s cloud-based, there aren’t tons of files and folders to keep track of – everything is right there when you need it.
Scalability for Enterprises
Elucidat is designed to help teams scale up their corporate elearning production. Authors can easily set up company templates and share and re-use these across their teams. This scalability makes it particularly valuable for large organizations with distributed teams.
Mobile Responsiveness
The courses we create with Elucidat look great on any screen size and you’re able to see how your course looks on all devices as you’re creating it. The platform’s automatic responsive design ensures consistent learning experiences across devices.
Quality Support
User reviews consistently highlight the quality of Elucidat’s customer support. I think one of the most important aspects is the support team that they have working for them. Any questions I have or any issues I run into while creating a course are quickly and efficiently handled by their support team.
Proven ROI
Organizations report significant efficiency gains: We’ve seen a 45% improvement in development efficiency since introducing the platform. Another user reported: Cost Saving: In this year alone, we will save 60K plus. The saving is seen in reduction of training labor hours needed to produce and present trainings.
Weaknesses of Elucidat
Pricing Concerns
Some potential disadvantages of Elucidat include its higher cost compared to some other authoring tools. The pricing model can be challenging for smaller organizations. Elucidat operates on a subscription-based pricing model, which might be considered expensive for individual users or small teams with low course development needs.
One user noted: The only con for us was pricing: the cost was outside of our budget and ended up going with a competitor.
Limited Customization
Compared to more flexible tools like Articulate Storyline, Elucidat has some design limitations. There is a lack of flexibility with Elucidat as compared to some of the other authoring tools, such as Articulate Storyline.
While Elucidat offers a solid set of pre-built templates and interactions, some users might find it restrictive for highly creative designs. Compared to advanced eLearning authoring tools with complete freedom, Elucidat’s structure might limit the ability to achieve highly customized visual experiences.
Technical Limitations
Users have reported specific technical constraints:
- There are some limitations in Elucidat, the foremost of which – for me – is the inability to click-zoom on images; for a modern online product this feels extremely restrictive.
- Also the limit of size on the files to be uploaded (such as GIFs, 12mb)
- Its hard to manage the objects in a page and can’t modify the color palette in text input.
Learning Curve and Backend Complexity
Despite its user-friendly front-end, some users find challenges: The back end can be a bit difficult to use at first, but you get used to it after a while. Also, template customisation is limited as of the time of this review.
Branding Limitations
For users on lower-tier plans: On lower paid plans, when the course made on elucidat opens up, it shows up “elucidate.com” branding. This is very irritating.
Book a demo limitations
Pricing Plans of Elucidat
Elucidat employs a subscription-based pricing model with customizable plans designed to scale with organizational needs. Elucidat offers fully customizable pricing plans that scale as you do. The platform typically offers three main tiers:
- Team Plan: Designed for smaller teams getting started with collaborative authoring
- Professional Plan: Level up with features that are ideal for a growing team.
- Enterprise Plan: Easily scale and meet the demands of your global organization.
Unlike many competitors, Elucidat doesn’t publish standard pricing on their website, instead opting for custom quotes based on specific organizational needs, number of users, and required features. This approach allows for more tailored pricing but can make initial cost evaluation challenging.
For comparison, The Articulate 360 suite has an inclusive subscription model, giving users access to the authoring tools, review app, content library, and training for $1,399 annually per user. Elucidat’s pricing is generally positioned at a premium to this benchmark, reflecting its enterprise focus and advanced collaboration features.
The platform does offer free trials, allowing organizations to evaluate the tool before making a financial commitment. Book a Tailored Demo and Start Your Free Trial Today.
Who Should Use Elucidat
Ideal Candidates
Large Enterprises: Elucidat is best for enterprise organizations that create vast amounts of elearning content. Tailored for the demands of large-scale operations, it’s perfect for companies aiming to train thousands of employees with impactful elearning.
Based on usage data, The majority of Elucidat’s customers for the training category fall in the company size of 10,000+ employees (10 companies), 1,000 – 4,999 employees (6 companies), 5,000 – 9,999 employees (5 companies).
Collaborative L&D Teams: Organizations where multiple stakeholders need to contribute to content creation, including subject matter experts, instructional designers, and reviewers, will find Elucidat’s collaboration features invaluable.
Global Organizations: Companies requiring multi-language content and consistent branding across different regions will benefit from the platform’s localization and brand management features.
Rapid Content Creators: For organizations prioritizing speed and collaboration, Elucidat is an excellent option. Teams that need to produce content quickly without sacrificing quality will appreciate the streamlined workflows.
Industries Served: Top industries that use Elucidat for training are Outsourcing (3), Financial Services (3), Consulting (3).
Not Recommended For
Individual Users and Freelancers: The pricing model and enterprise-focused features make it less suitable for individual instructional designers or freelancers.
Small Businesses: Enterprise plans have variable pricing based on features and the number of users, which can be costly for large organizations with extensive eLearning development needs. Small businesses with limited budgets may find better value elsewhere.
Creative Control Seekers: You don’t have as many options as other authoring tools. Elucidat isn’t quite a blank canvas where you can just do anything your imagination comes up with. Designers who need complete creative freedom may find the platform restrictive.
Basic Content Needs: Organizations with simple, linear content requirements might find Elucidat’s advanced features unnecessary and cost-prohibitive.
Download and Installation
One of Elucidat’s key advantages is that it requires no installation process. Do everything on your browser. Yep, you don’t need anything else to create your e-learning courses. As a fully cloud-based platform, users simply need:
System Requirements
- Modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- Reliable internet connection
- No specific operating system requirements (works on Windows, Mac, and Linux)
Getting Started Process
- Account Setup: Organizations typically begin with a demo consultation to understand their specific needs
- Free Trial Access: Book a Tailored Demo and Start Your Free Trial Today.
- Onboarding Support: The onboarding and support are fantastic.
- Training Resources: In order to give you the opportunity to use Elucidat at its fullest, we developed a training and coaching path capable of rapidly transforming your team into a pro and real Rockstar in building e-learning courses.
The cloud-based nature eliminates common IT challenges such as:
- Software installation and maintenance
- Version control issues
- Compatibility problems across different operating systems
- File sharing and backup concerns
Users can access their projects from any device with an internet connection, making it ideal for distributed teams and remote work environments.
Conclusion
Elucidat represents a mature, enterprise-focused solution in the crowded eLearning authoring tool market. While it’s less customizable than tools like Storyline or Captivate, Elucidat delivers simplicity, scalability, and the ability to get up and running quickly.
Overall Assessment
Strengths Summary: The platform excels in collaboration, ease of use, scalability, and mobile responsiveness. Its AI-powered features and robust localization capabilities make it particularly valuable for global enterprises. The quality of customer support and proven ROI for large organizations are significant advantages.
Weaknesses Summary: Higher pricing, limited design flexibility, and some technical constraints may deter smaller organizations or those requiring extensive customization. The platform’s enterprise focus means it may be overkill for simpler content needs.
Market Position
Companies in this segment have a wide range of products and services, a focus on product innovation, and a well-defined business roadmap. Examples of companies in this segment include Lectora, Elucidat, and Easygenerator. Elucidat is positioned in the “Cutting Edge” category alongside established players, indicating its mature feature set and market recognition.
Final Recommendation
Elucidat is highly recommended for large enterprises (1,000+ employees) that prioritize collaboration, scalability, and rapid content deployment. Organizations with global reach, complex workflow requirements, or significant eLearning production volumes will find substantial value in the platform.
For smaller organizations or those with limited budgets, alternatives like Articulate Rise or iSpring Suite may provide better value. Individual designers seeking maximum creative control might prefer tools like Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate.
Rating: 4.2/5 Stars
Elucidat earns high marks for innovation, collaboration features, and enterprise scalability, with points deducted for pricing accessibility and design flexibility limitations. For its target market of large enterprises, it represents an excellent investment in long-term eLearning capability and efficiency.
