2025 RightFit Solution Grid: Best LMS Shortlisting Tool

Find Your Best LMS Match With Our RightFit Grid

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Why is a Shortlisting Tool Helpful for LMS Buyers?

Five years ago, how would you have described your ideal learning tech stack? Did it resemble your current ecosystem? Was AI anywhere on your radar?

This is just a quick reminder that change is the only constant in the learning tech world. Innovation never rests. Neither do the vendors behind all those advances.

Of course, it doesn’t help that more than 1000 diverse learning solutions are competing for your attention. Evaluating your options is an overwhelming task. And as technology continues to shift, the software selection process only gets more challenging.

That’s why we developed our annual RightFit Grid shortlisting tool — an interactive map that cuts through the noise. This free grid makes it easier to focus, so you can build a list of qualified solutions and explore each one more closely.

This shortlisting tool is a natural extension of our work at Talented Learning, where we specialize in understanding today’s enterprise learning landscape and anticipating what’s ahead. To accomplish this, we continuously meet with vendors and track relevant tech advances.

We also evaluate buyer success across key use cases — customer, partner and employee learning, as well as associations and training content businesses. And we capture all that intelligence in this free shortlisting tool.

Our 2025 grid maps 60 award-winning platforms on a simple 2×2 matrix. Each vendor’s position reflects its reported ability to address essential buyer criteria, including use case support, functionality, scalability, cost and relevant services.

By using this interactive shortlisting tool, you can streamline the earliest stages of your software purchasing process. At the same time, you’ll dramatically increase the odds of a successful match. So whether you’re choosing your first learning system or your tenth, this grid will help you save precious time, avoid costly mismatches and achieve better LMS selection results.

How Does This Shortlisting Tool Work?

Most industry maps emphasize a single “best” position — usually located in the upper right corner. But in the real world, that’s not how LMS buying happens. That’s why our approach is different.

The RightFit Grid is not about rankings, hype or paid placement. Each vendor in this shortlisting tool offers an award-winning solution with a clear target market, strong client relationships and proven results. In other words, every solutions is perfect for a specific segment of the market.

With learning management systems, there is no one-size-fits-all winner — only the right fit for the right buyer. That’s why our shortlisting tool is more than a generic LMS showcase. Instead, it profiles solutions by fit and function, so anyone can use it to make better buying decisions.

This year’s grid maps 60 leading learning systems along two key dimensions:

• Breadth of Purpose (X-Axis):
  Some vendors aim to serve all needs, while others specialize by use case, industry, region or innovation focus. Solutions range from all-purpose platforms (left) to highly specialized applications (right).

• Complexity, Cost and Scalability (Y-Axis):
  Numerous vendors offer extensive professional services and global scale — while others focus on affordable, low-service, regional solutions. You’ll find simple, cost-effective options (bottom), as well as highly sophisticated, enterprise-grade solutions with many capabilities (top).

The result? A 2×2 matrix that helps you clearly compare learning systems by product differentiation and buyer requirements. Each quadrant in this shortlisting tool includes vendors with similar characteristics, and solutions are mapped according to their relative functionality, cost and scalability.

Start Identifying the Right Vendors

Find your best match now. Get the RightFit Grid shortlisting tool now…

How to Navigate the RightFit Grid

This shortlisting tool is designed to simplify your LMS selection process. Use it to pinpoint enterprise learning solutions that most closely match your needs based on scope, complexity, budget and training priorities. Because the grid is interactive, you can click on any vendor logo to see more details and start narrowing the field.

Below are profiles of each quadrant in this learning systems shortlisting tool. Descriptions include vendor characteristics and the types of buyers they serve best:

• “Powerhouse” solutions (top left)
• “Contender” solutions (bottom left)
• “Luminary” solutions (top right)
• “Innovator” solutions (bottom right)

TOP LEFT QUADRANT:
“POWERHOUSE” LEARNING SYSTEMS

Vendor Characteristics

Powerhouse learning systems are all-purpose LMSs, best for medium-to-large global organizations with complex requirements and training workflows that support any combination of employees, customers or partners. When migrating from another solution(s), these choices require significant support services from the vendor.

• Target Use Case: Employee, Customer, Partner, Association, Training Business, in any combination.
• Learning System Type: LMS.
• Feature Strength: Broad, diverse, deep set of features that can be configured differently for diverse groups.
• Integration Strength: High. Full API. Many pre-built integrations, often with automation workflow.
• Cost: Medium-high to high modular pricing.
• Scalability: North American to global reach.
• Implementation: Full-service. Third-party implementations at the high-end. Excel at data and content migration.
• Incremental Services Provided: Content development, third-party content, managed administration and advisory services.
• Administrator Support: Primarily 24/7/365 support. High-end includes multi-language support.
• Learner Support: Primarily online help and agents.

Buyer Characteristics

Powerhouse buyers are experienced and they recognize the mission-critical nature of solutions they purchase. Their brands are often regional or global leaders in their industry. Usually these are independent or semi-independent training groups in multiple regions, or they serve diverse learning audiences through a shared, centralized LMS. Often, consolidation of multiple LMSs into one is a key business driver for a new solution.

• Buying Experience: Strong. Typically replacing a 3rd- or 4th-generation LMS.
• Buying Point: Anywhere. Executive, HR, T&D, marketing, customer support, channel or product groups.
• Use Cases: Employee, partner, customer audiences, in any combination. Association and non-profit are secondary use cases.
• Scalability: Regional and global audiences and business groups with localized learner and administration needs.
• Process Flexibility: Low to medium. Often business processes are complex, historically embedded and difficult to change. The LMS must adapt and scale.
• Learner Support: Typically provided via internal help desk, but increasingly, support via agentic AI is expected.
• Appetite for Risk: Low. Enterprise LMS is a mission-critical application.
• Price Sensitivity: Medium.

BOTTOM LEFT QUADRANT:
“CONTENDER” LEARNING SYSTEMS

Vendor Characteristics

Contenders are all-purpose LMSs. They are best for small-to-medium organizations with more localized operations and straightforward requirements for training any combination of employees, customers or partners. These implementations require minimal vendor support to deploy, other than access to the solution, online help and support.

• Target Use Cases: Employee, Customer, Partner, Association, Training Business, in any combination.
• Learning System Type: LMS.
• Feature Strength: Broad. Functionality leans heavily toward employee needs vs. external audiences.
• Integration Strength: Medium but growing. Focus on productized integrations.
• Cost: Low to medium. All functionality is included in one price.
• Scalability: Regional to global. No global services. Help and documentation are typically in English.
• Implementation Approach: Self-service to light-touch, assisted setup services.
• Services Provided: Self-service to lighter-touch services.
• Administrator Support: Ranges from Monday-Friday to 24/7.
• Learner Support: In-app help.

Buyer Characteristics

Contender solution buyers are often at the beginning of the learning systems journey. Their requirements tend to be straightforward, and they are primarily interested in automation and cost savings within their training functions.

• Buying Experience: Low to medium. Typically replacing 1st- or 2nd-generation LMS.
• Buying Point: Anywhere. Executive, HR, T&D, marketing, customer support, channel or product groups.
• Use Cases: Employee, partner, customer audiences in any combination. Association and non-profit are secondary.
• Scalability: Mostly regional solutions with limited global audiences.
• Process Flexibility: Medium to high. Few or no existing standards, so they’re open to staying within the bounds of LMS capabilities.
• Learner Support: Typically provided by internal staff. Ease-of-use is expected.
• Appetite for Risk: Medium. Minimal vendor-switching costs and scope.
• Price Sensitivity: High. Cost is often the final determining factor.

TOP RIGHT QUADRANT:
“LUMINARY” LEARNING SYSTEMS

Vendor Characteristics

Luminary solutions are specialty learning systems. These are best for medium-to-large scale organizations focused on global partner/channel or customer education, or for businesses that sell training content. Requirements are complex and mission-critical, including a need for vendor expertise, guidance and support. For example, businesses that sell learning certifications want the best, most innovative feature set so they can maximize revenue.

• Target Use Case: Specialists in customer, partner, training provider, association, special projects or learning operations.
• Learning System Type: LMS, TMS, LXP, e-commerce or mobile app.
• Feature Strength: Narrow, but extraordinarily deep in the area of focus.
• Integration Strength: High for their primary use case, but not broad-based.
• Cost: Medium to high. Value, efficiency and cost savings justify the premium.
• Scalability: Often regional. Varying levels of global reach.
• Implementation Approach: Full-service.
• Services Provided: Advisory capabilities in use case strategy, content creation, analytics and managed administration.
• Administrator Support: Ranges from Monday-Friday to 24/7.
• Learner Support: Online help and bots. Also, live learner chat or email support.

Buyer Characteristics

Luminary buyers seek business impact and value. They realize they could meet their requirements with powerhouse or contender solutions. However, they are willing to pay more to get the most advanced feature set designed for their use case.

• Buying Experience: Medium to high. Typically working with a 2nd or 3rd learning system.
• Buying Point: Customer support, customer services, channel sales, member education, executives.
• Use Cases: Customer and partner, training business, association, learning operations.
• Flexibility: High. Open to adjusting business processes to succeed. All efforts focus on the business.
• Learner Support: Rely on vendor to provide.
• Appetite for Risk: Medium to high. Leveraging learning as a competitive advantage and open to creative innovation so they can outpace competitors.
• Price Sensitivity: Low to medium. Usually thrilled to pay for competitive differentiation and measurable success.

BOTTOM RIGHT QUADRANT
“INNOVATOR” LEARNING SYSTEMS

Vendor Characteristics

Innovators are specialist learning vendors with a better mousetrap, or they’re pushing the envelope with learning methods or delivery in ways others haven’t tried. Innovators are usually startups looking to hit it big with great ideas. They often grow into luminaries or are acquired by powerhouse vendors.

• Use Case Support: Unique concepts or approaches that augment any solution or the learner experience for one or more audience types.
• Learning System Type: AI simulators, turnkey industry solutions, mobile apps, microlearning, learning experience.
• Feature Strength: Narrow, but solves a unique problem uniquely.
• Integration Strength: Low to medium required, but often a way to share data with organization LMS.
• Cost: Low.
• Scalability: Low to medium.
• Implementation Approach: Medium touch to help buyers reach proficiency. Client success is paramount for growth.
• Services Provided: Setup, deployment and assistance are necessary for buyer success.
• Administrator Support: Monday-Friday, working hours.
• Learner Support: Online help, bots.

Buyer Characteristics

Innovator solution buyers are not looking for an LMS. They either already have an LMS and want to augment it, or they want to approach their training challenges in a new, asymmetrical way. Often startup organizations, special project teams, non-profits and deskless workers use these solutions as their first learning application.

• Buying Experience: Low. Typically, an organization’s 1st learning solution.
• Buying Point: Individuals, HR/training, often new to learning systems.
• Use Cases: Non-profit, NGO, association, community learning, small business.
• Flexibility: High. Open to new methods that achieve desired change.
• Learner Support: Rely on vendor to provide.
• Appetite for Risk: Medium-high. Rolling the dice on a novel approach, but typically don’t invest heavily.
• Price Sensitivity: High. Will accept higher risk to work with solutions that aren’t yet proven. Cost is the tradeoff.

Get Started With This Shortlisting Tool

Which learning systems are best for you? Let our RightFit Grid be your guide…

Need More Than a Shortlisting Tool to Find an LMS? Let’s Talk.

Make the most of your purchasing time and budget. Schedule a free 30-minute phone consult with me, John Leh, and learn how to make the RightFit Grid shortlisting tool work for you…

*NOTE TO SALESPEOPLE: If you want to sell us something, please DO NOT book a consult. You’ll be wasting a free spot others need, so I won’t stay on the call. Instead, contact me  through normal channels. Thanks.