- Who's who after the renames and mergers
- For customer education teams
- For course creators and community builders
- For enterprise L&D and HR teams
- Nine academy platforms in one table
- Each learning platform in a line
- Advice for customer success leads comparing academies
- Check the date on any comparison you read
- Frequently asked questions
Start by checking names. Several customer education platforms have merged or rebranded, so an older comparison may describe products that no longer exist under those names. Then decide whether you're building a customer-facing academy or training your own staff, because many platforms are built for one job and not the other.
Customer education software doesn't look the way it did a couple of years ago. If you're moving off Skilljar, you'll find it now carries the Gainsight name, that Northpass's old web address sends visitors to that same product, and that WorkRamp's address now shows a product called Learn:Up, formerly WorkRamp.
So the shortlist you'd have built from an older review may already be out of date. Below are nine alternatives, in no particular order, grouped by the kind of buyer they're built for, after a short guide to who's who now.
Who's who after the renames and mergers
Three changes matter if you're comparing options today. First, the product you're leaving is now presented under the Gainsight brand. Second, Northpass no longer appears as a separate product: its domain redirects to that same Gainsight-branded platform, so it isn't a real alternative any more. Third, WorkRamp's site now carries the Learn:Up name, with the headline noting the old one.
None of this tells you whether a product is good or bad. It does mean that a review or comparison written more than a year ago may describe a product that's since changed owner, name or focus. Before you shortlist anything, open the vendor's own page and check who owns it and what it's called now.
The second check is about audience. A customer academy teaches people outside your company how to use your product. A staff training system teaches your own employees. Several tools below are built for one and not the other, and a few try to do both.
For customer education teams
These two are closest to the job a customer academy does. Thought Industries is a customer education platform built around its Academy product for course content and its Lens product for quick answers, so customers and AI agents get the same product guidance. Intellum covers customers, partners and employees on one platform, with AI agents and connectors, which suits companies that run partner and customer training side by side.
For course creators and community builders
Some customer education teams want something closer to a course business: a branded academy, community spaces and, sometimes, the option to sell training. LearnWorlds is built for learning businesses that build, deliver and scale training programmes. Thinkific pairs a drag-and-drop course builder with community and payments. Disco focuses on cohort-based programmes, mixing learning, community tools and AI automation in one place.
These platforms come from the course-creator world, so check how each one handles single sign-on, your product's user accounts and reporting back into your customer success tools. If you'd like more options in this family, see my guide to the best online course platforms.
For enterprise L&D and HR teams
The third group is mostly built for training employees, with customer education as one use among several. Docebo joins skills intelligence, learning and knowledge. Absorb LMS is an AI-powered enterprise LMS. LearnUpon describes itself as an agentic learning platform. Learn:Up (formerly WorkRamp) adds AI role plays and coaching to its LMS, which suits sales and support training as much as customer courses.
If your real need turns out to be staff training rather than a customer academy, my roundup of the best LMS for corporate training goes deeper on that side.
Nine academy platforms in one table
| Tool | Built for | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Absorb LMS | Enterprise LMS | AI-powered learning management for larger organisations |
| Disco | Cohort academies | Cohort programmes with community built in |
| Docebo | Enterprise LMS | Skills intelligence alongside learning and knowledge |
| Intellum | Enterprise learning | Educating customers, partners and employees together |
| Learn:Up (formerly WorkRamp) | LMS with AI coaching | Training with AI role plays and coaching |
| LearnUpon | Agentic LMS | A learning platform built around AI agents |
| LearnWorlds | Course platform | Building and selling training as a learning business |
| Thinkific | Course platform | Courses, communities and payments in one builder |
| Thought Industries | Customer education | Customer academies plus quick product answers |
Each learning platform in a line
Alphabetical, one line each.
Absorb LMS
Best for: Organisations shopping for an AI-powered enterprise learning management system, which is exactly how the vendor describes its own product.
Disco
Best for: Academy builders running cohort-based programmes who want learning, community tools and AI automation together on one platform.
Docebo
Best for: Large enterprises joining skills intelligence, learning, knowledge and AI agents, with the vendor saying it shows who is ready and what to build next.
Intellum
Best for: Companies that teach customers, partners and employees from one platform with AI agents and MCP connectors, pitched by the vendor as proving results in business numbers.
Learn:Up (formerly WorkRamp)
Best for: Training teams that want AI role plays and coaching built into the learning platform; the product's own headline says it was formerly WorkRamp.
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LearnUpon
Best for: Learning teams ready to move from a classic LMS to a platform built around intelligent agents, which the vendor frames as going beyond the limits of the LMS.
LearnWorlds
Best for: Learning businesses that build, deliver and scale training programmes and want an LMS made for that kind of business.
Thinkific
Best for: Course creators who want a drag-and-drop builder, payments, community spaces and LMS tools in what the vendor calls an all-in-one course platform.
Thought Industries
Best for: Customer education teams running an academy plus quick answers through the vendor's Academy and Lens products, so customers and AI agents get the same product guidance.
Advice for customer success leads comparing academies
Decide who the learners are before you look at features. If they're customers, put the customer-education specialists and the course platforms side by side, and judge them on how learners sign in, how courses link to your product and how completion data reaches your success team. If they're mostly employees, the enterprise group will feel more familiar. And if you need both, ask each vendor to show you a customer academy and a staff programme running from one account, because that's where tools built for one audience tend to show their seams.
Check the date on any comparison you read
This category has changed names faster than most. Before you trust a review, a comparison grid or a colleague's shortlist, check when it was written and whether the products in it still trade under the same names. A five-minute look at each vendor's own home page will tell you who owns it today, what it's called and who it's built for, and that's a better starting point than any older ranking.
Do you make customer education or LMS software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Northpass?
Its web address now redirects to a Gainsight-branded customer education product, so it no longer shows up as a separate platform. Check the vendor's own site for the current position before you plan around it.
Is Learn:Up the same company that used to be WorkRamp?
Its own headline says it was formerly WorkRamp, and WorkRamp's address now shows the Learn:Up name. Older reviews will use the old name.
What's the difference between a customer education platform and a corporate LMS?
A customer education platform is built to teach people outside your company how to use your product, often through a branded academy. A corporate LMS is built mainly to train your own employees. Some tools cover both, but most lean one way.
Can a course platform work as a customer academy?
Often, yes, especially if you want branded courses and a community. Check single sign-on, how learners link to their product accounts and how completion data reaches your customer success team.
How do I check whether a comparison is out of date?
Look for the date it was written, then open each vendor's own home page to confirm the product's current name and owner. If a name in the comparison redirects somewhere else, treat the rest of it with care.
Are these platforms ranked?
No. They're listed in no particular order and grouped by the type of buyer they're built for.
