Articulate Implements Subscription Pricing for Their Products

By: Justin Ferriman • November 10, 2016
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articulate-360Did you see the big news from Articulate recently?

They have made some big changes in their products by introducing the new Articulate 360. Their company’s entire branding strategy is now built behind this one umbrella offering.

If you are a fan of Articulate (or even just a previous user of their software), you may be wondering what this means exactly.

First, let me clarify: Storyline still looks to be their flagship product, going under the moniker “Storyline 360”. It looks to have been updated with some new features as well.

They also still offer Studio (now branded as “Studio 360”).

But they have added a new solution to the product-line, called Rise. This new course authoring tool emphasizes ease of use, adaptability to all mobile devices, and a minimalist approach.

In addition, there is Replay 360 (a video creating & editing tool), Peek (a screencasting tool), and Preso (an iPad app for creating informal training from PDF slide decks).

I think I read that there is also a new Articulate Live offering, which is a webinar series for Articulate 360 customers teaching the latest elearning in tips and techniques using Articulate solutions.

Oh, and there is now a Content Library with over 100,000 digital assets that can be used in courses.

Phew… there’s a lot going on.

What This Means For You

As is typical with Articulate they have many products for accomplishing different elearning and training related tasks. The biggest difference though is that they no longer have multiple price-points.

Articulate 360 is subscription based.

If you want to continue using the Articulate 360 line of products, you have to pay them $999 every year. No doubt this is to compete with Adobe’s subscription-based pricing model.

The new change also means you have some new tools at your disposal.

The Rise offering looks pretty interesting – although I personally find the marketing lingo around device compatibility a tad excessive. Multi-device compatibility has been the norm for most offerings for years now. It’s kind of expected at this point.

What is neat about Rise is that it appears to be geared toward the micro-learning space. This is an area that has been growing in the elearning industry and clearly Articulate is looking to capitalize on it.

The “Do It All” Approach

This is a bold move for Articulate. Their previous offerings easily caused confusion and seemed scattered. This subscription service looks to change that perception and make Articulate the “one stop shop” for all things elearning.

This is somewhat of a gamble. I’m sure a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. The “we do it all” approach is a slippery-slope.

You have to execute every element to perfection in order for the entire offering to demonstrate value. If one area falters and alternatives can’t easily be implemented due to the closed ecosystem, then you’re in for some difficult times.

It is way to early to make a call as to whether this new angle for Articulate will pay off, but I can say that history shows they do tend to make some pretty savvy business decisions within the elearning market.

Time will tell.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter