Microlearning is a popular addition to various kinds of corporate training because it’s convenient, fast, and helps with knowledge retention.
Many microlearning platforms have emerged in recent years, helping companies offer a more concise and focused approach to employee training and development.
This article explores the best microlearning platforms on the market and how they deliver knowledge in easily digestible nuggets of information.
Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of February 12th, 2024.
What are microlearning platforms?
Microlearning platforms are learning management systems (LMSs) that can create and deliver bite-sized learning in the form of brief and highly targeted educational content.
Microlearning is a training methodology that focuses on providing learners with small nuggets of information that don’t typically need longer than three to ten minutes to consume.
Usually combined with frequent repetition, microlearning aims to counteract the effects of the so-called forgetting curve, which states that learners will forget, on average, 90% of material within one month.
According to Nikos Andriotis, an e-learning specialist formerly with TalentLMS, “Rather than learning planned upfront, top-bottom style, microlearning promises contextualization in learning.
It means that every day [work-related] situations carrying learning opportunities with them (challenges, problems) can trigger learning if supported with appropriate e-learning infrastructure (a modern LMS with mobile microlearning-oriented functionality).
And that’s so cool!”
What Andriotis points to is that microlearning programs coupled with mobile and social learning capabilities have the potential to enhance contextualized (embedded) learning in the workplace.
Training platforms achieve these types of microlearning experiences through easily digestible snippets of factual information known as learning pills.
These pills can take on various formats, such as short how-to videos, infographics, flashcards, quizzes, microlessons, and more.
By also including mobile and social learning features and functionalities (chat rooms, forums, leaderboards, offline access to training content, etc.), microlearning LMSs can help boost learner autonomy, promote self-paced learning, and foster a learning-centered company culture.
Let’s now go over the top ten best microlearning platforms on the market today.
10 best microlearning platforms on the market right now
These are the top 10 best microlearning platforms currently available on the market.
| Software | Best for | Top feature |
| Docebo | Learner-generated microlearning content | Discover, Coach & Share |
| iSpring Learn | Microlearning content creation | Content authoring toolkit |
| EdApp | Reinforcing knowledge retention | Brain Boost spaced repetition feature |
| LearnUpon | Training multiple audiences | Customizable learning portals |
| Tovuti | Monetizing training content | Built-in e-commerce module |
| 7taps | Speeding up micro-content creation | Pre-designed content creation canvas |
| OttoLearn | Learner engagement through gamified experiences | Gamification features |
| TalentCards | Online and offline training in the field | Mobile-friendly learning cards |
| Axonify | Training with off-the-shelf content | Microlearning content marketplace |
| eduMe | Course completion and performance tracking | Robust reporting and analytics features |
Let’s go over each of them in more detail and find out why.
1. Docebo
Docebo is an all-in-one cloud-based learning management system with microlearning, social, and mobile learning capabilities.
Docebo Shape is the platform’s AI-powered microlearning content creation tool. It lets users convert internal and external knowledge sources (i.e., case studies, online articles, PowerPoint presentations, or white papers) into learning pills in different formats.
And since it’s AI-powered, Docebo Shape does this in minutes instead of hours. It can also automatically translate this content into multiple languages for a broader learner audience.
In terms of microlearning course creation and customization, Docebo includes interactive elements such as quizzes and assessments, as well as gamification elements like leaderboards, badges, points, and custom certificates.
These elements help boost learner engagement and promote knowledge retention.
Docebo’s branded and white-labeled mobile app enables on-the-go learning.
The app is available on iOS and Android and allows for offline learning. Through its Discover, Coach, & Share feature, users can capture, upload, and distribute micro content like videos and images across the organization using their mobile devices.
Coupled with Docebo’s other social learning features like discussion boards, forums, Q&A threads, screen recording, leaderboards, etc., learners can also become facilitators of microlearning experiences.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- AI-powered microlearning content creation tool that streamlines training content creation.
- Branded and white-labeled mobile app with offline e-learning capabilities that facilitates access and improves learning flexibility.
- Discover, Coach, & Share feature that lets learners have a proactive role in the corporate training and microlearning strategy.
- Gamification and interactive elements for better learner engagement and knowledge retention.
- Social learning capabilities for better team collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Robust analytics and custom reporting capabilities for employee performance and training program tracking.
What users like
- Docebo offers a personalized and engaging learning experience, allowing companies to retain learners for longer.
- The support team is nice and efficient, particularly the chat feature.
- It’s an intuitive LMS that’s easy to learn and manage while still being very customizable.
What users don’t like
- The high customization and the number of available features can make the platform complex.
- From a learner’s point of view, courses displayed in catalogs just show if you are enrolled or not.
- The tool’s customization doesn’t give full control over what features are visible or not.
Best suited for
Docebo is best suited for getting learners to capture and share microlearning content from their mobile devices.
2. iSpring Learn
iSpring Learn is a cloud-based LMS for employee training, compliance training, and onboarding.
It includes mobile and social learning capabilities, as well as webinar and custom certification features.
iSpring Learn includes an authoring toolkit for microlearning content creation in the form of how-to videos, slides, quizzes, surveys, and dialog simulations.
It also leverages gamification in the form of leaderboards, badges, and custom certificates.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Microcourse creation capabilities through the platform’s content authoring toolkit.
- Mobile learning with offline and online learning capabilities.
- Gamification elements for better learner engagement.
- Interactive elements like quizzes and assessments for performing knowledge checks.
- Automated notifications to let learners know about new courses and deadlines.
What users like
- The admin portal features make it fairly simple to organize content.
- iSpring Learn tends to stand out for its simplicity, good customer support, and stability.
- It is easy to set up and assign courses, quizzes, and learning paths.
What users don’t like
- There’s no way to administer learning programs from a mobile device.
- Navigation can require a bit of a learning curve.
- It can take a lot of manual work to get insights from reports.
Best suited for
iSpring Learn is best for creating microlearning content through its authoring toolkit.
3. EdApp
EdApp is a learning management system with microlearning features and an integrated AI-powered microlearning content authoring tool.
It includes gamification features and mobile learning with push notifications and offline access. Admins have access to analytics capabilities for tracking learner progress and training program performance.
EdApp has built-in social learning in the form of discussion forums and an 80+ template library for course design.
The tool’s Brain Boost spaced repetition feature automatically repeats key insights in less than 10 minutes every day until learners are sure to know them.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- AI-powered microlearning content creation for quick delivery of information.
- Brain Boost spaced repetition feature to increase knowledge retention.
- Push notifications to improve course completion rates.
- Online course library with over 80 customizable templates.
- AI translation in over 100 languages for a broader learning audience.
What users like
- There is a great starting library of learning, as well as the AI creation tool.
- The analytics feature makes it easy to see what areas need improvement.
What users don’t like
- You can’t do complex animations between slides.
- The lack of a dedicated desktop preview option can be a drawback for some users.
Best suited for
EdApp is a good choice for improving knowledge retention through spaced repetition.
4. LearnUpon
LearnUpon is a cloud-based LMS with a complete suite of features designed to create, assign, track, and measure employee training programs.
Instructional designers can design and supplement their microlearning courses with badges, custom certifications, quizzes, and surveys.
The tool also allows instructors to embed multiple file types into a single micro module, create separate learning portals, and make content available on-demand.
In addition, LearnUpon’s mobile app offers offline learning, white-labeling, and multilingual support.
The tool can track learner progress, gather feedback, and offer social learning capabilities like forums, chat rooms, and instant messaging. These features help learners share micro-content among themselves and foster collaboration.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Mobile learning with online and offline learning capabilities.
- Microlearning course design and deployment for on-demand access.
- Gamification and interactive elements for increased learning engagement.
- Customizable learning portals for different audience training.
- Learner progress tracking capabilities that help with better decision–making regarding the learning experience.
What users like
- Their multi-tenant portals are easy to set up.
- The platform’s intuitive user interface can simplify course, exam, and survey administration.
- Good and responsive customer support.
What users don’t like
- It would be nice to have bulk actions for removing users.
- The quizzing tool covers pretty much all needs, but for certain niche use cases, it misses the mark by not being as customizable.
- The current way learning paths function could be drastically improved to allow learners to navigate more easily through a combination of courses.
Best suited for
LearnUpon is a good choice for its customizable learning portals if the aim is to train multiple audiences.
5. Tovuti
Tovuti is an e-learning platform for the design, creation, delivery, and tracking of e-learning courses.
The LMS offers multilingual support for diverse audiences and the ability to add bite-sized content to video material. Tovuti also includes over 40 plug-and-play gamified and interactive features alongside social learning capabilities.
The platform provides over 2,000 native and API integrations, as well as an integrated e-commerce system for companies looking to sell their e-learning courses and content.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Built-in e-commerce capabilities for an extra revenue stream.
- Microlearning content creation with a resource library.
- Plug-and-play gamification and interactive elements for better engagement.
- Tracking and reporting capabilities for better e-learning performance.
- Multilingual support that helps with training a diverse workforce.
What users like
- Its interface is clean and very easy to navigate with multiple training functions.
- The infrastructure is very reliable, and all data entered into the platform is safe.
- It offers many predesigned content options to manage online courses.
What users don’t like
- Tovuti LMS is a very comprehensive tool that can easily confuse inexperienced users.
- The response rate to solve incidents can be slow, it would be helpful to have a chat to communicate errors.
- The batch import of CSV files can sometimes generate errors.
Best suited for
Tovuti is best suited for selling course modules and microlearning content for companies looking to monetize their training.
6. 7taps
7taps is a mobile-first and desktop-friendly platform designed specifically to create and deliver microlearning content.
Companies can use the tool for frontline staff training, performance support, sales enablement, or training reinforcement. Instructional designers can use 7taps to design audio, video, quizzes, polls, embedded links, and flashcards.
The tool includes a pre-designed canvas to create microlearning content, launch drip learning campaigns, and automate delivery.
7taps also tracks content performance in terms of open and complete rates, letting admins know the performance of their content.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Mobile-friendly capabilities allow e-learning content to be created and consumed on smartphones and other devices.
- SCORM content capabilities for creating and delivering more engaging micro-content.
- Text-to-video feature that’s available in over 40 languages.
- Quiz creator that helps with knowledge retention and engagement.
- Reporting capabilities that let trainers know their content’s performance.
What users like
- You can work right in your web browser and are not required to download and install any software.
- It can be quick and easy to create micro-content on it.
- Content is presented in an attractive social media-like format.
What users don’t like
- At the moment, you are unable to do translations.
- It doesn’t include branding and white-labeling capabilities.
Best suited for
7taps is best suited for quick and easy microlearning content creation and deployment.
7. OttoLearn
OttoLearn is a learning management system focusing on gamification.
It’s designed to boost knowledge retention, engagement, and performance through various gamified experiences. These include customizable leaderboards, badges, and contests, among others.
The aim is to celebrate milestones so that learners feel motivated to continue.
Coupled with adaptive learning and spaced repetition capabilities, OttoLearn aims to identify knowledge gaps in individual learners and help them practice those areas in a fun and gamified way.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Robust gamification features designed to boost engagement and learner performance.
- Content Studio for microlearning content creation and management.
- Analytics dashboard for determining the effectiveness of training programs.
- Adaptive training algorithms to uncover knowledge gaps and improve retention
- Spaced repetition for practicing skills and methodologies.
What users like
- It’s a whole new way of gaining knowledge in a fun, engaging, and time-sensitive fashion.
- It’s fast, easy to use and convenient.
What users don’t like
- It lacks synchronous learning capabilities such as instructor-led training.
Best suited for
OttoLearn is a good choice for companies wanting to use gamification to increase knowledge retention.
8. TalentCards
TalentCards is a mobile microlearning service designed for delivering bite-sized content for employees on the go. Its focus is on compliance training, safety procedures, and new product knowledge.
Instructional designers can create and manage content using a web interface while learners engage with the content via Android or iOS mobile apps.
The tool implements so-called learning cards that can be filled with images, text, video, audio, and embedded links.
TalentCards also provides some gamification and simple interactive elements like multiple-choice quizzes and assessments for occasional knowledge checks.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Mobile learning with offline learning capabilities for on-the-go training.
- Learning cards that bring quick bits of information to the point of need.
- Content customization with text, images, video, and audio.
- Gamification and interactive elements for increased learning engagement.
What users like
- Customer support is fast.
- Good mobile app performance, regardless of the screen size.
What users don’t like
- There are times when the mobile app does not refresh.
- The design options are a bit limited. Some users go to Canva and Photoshop to create more animations and nicer cards.
Best suited for
TalentCards is best suited for mobile learning if the aim is to train fully mobile employees on compliance, safety, and other related procedures with learning cards.
9. Axonify
Axonify is a microlearning platform with a focus on training frontline employees.
The platform includes a content marketplace with over 800 microlearning topics. These topics cover a wide array of industries from banking, hospitality, healthcare, retail, grocery, and more.
It also includes an AI-powered content creator and editor. Instructional designers can change already-existing content or design their own from scratch using branding features.
Axonify helps deliver e-learning and training content in a more personalized and methodical way, such as spaced repetition.
The tool also makes use of social learning features like communication channels and a social media-like timeline that has comments and reactions.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Content marketplace with over 800 microlearning topics spanning several industries.
- AI content creator with voiceover capabilities in over 70 languages.
- Over 16 game-like mechanics to increase learner engagement.
- Personalized learning experiences for better engagement and knowledge retention.
- Collaboration features that help improve communication between learners.
What users like
- The tool’s daily questions adapt to the learner’s answer history and use reinforcement to combat the forgetting curve.
- It only takes five minutes per day and the repetitive nature makes it easy to remember the course material.
- Axonify introduces a topic through training modules and level one questions and reinforces that information with levels two and three analytical questions.
What users don’t like
- The reporting and analytics features are less intuitive than other features.
- It can be daunting at the beginning because of the many features.
- Reports are not structurally (organogram) based and require manual intervention.
Best suited for
Axonify is great for frontline worker training through the use of off-the-shelf microlearning content.
10. eduMe
eduMe is a mobile-based training system for freelancers and frontline employees. Companies can use it to train, onboard, and upskill a remote workforce.
It has a content creation tool for building microlearning courses, surveys, and quizzes.
In terms of delivery and access, you can provide access directly to the platform, across integrated tools like Microsoft Teams or Workday, or via text to their smartphone. There’s also the possibility to access content via QR codes spread across the work environment.
eduMe includes robust reporting and analytics features that track completion and pass rates and provide real-time insights into group and individual performance.
G2 Rating
Top Features
- Microlearning content creation tool for the design of interactive content formats and TikTok-style lessons.
- Mobile learning capabilities for training while on the job.
- Interactive elements such as quizzes and assessments that help with knowledge retention.
- Robust reporting and analytics to identify knowledge gaps and monitor performance.
What users like
- How easy it is to create and publish courses.
- It can be integrated with other internal tools your business operates to place the learning content for the best visibility.
What users don’t like
- The least helpful thing about eduMe right now is the inability to organize the content easily on the eduMe dashboard.
- It’s difficult for learners to sign in or register with the platform.
Best suited for
eduMe is best suited for training frontline employees and monitoring performance.
Benefits of using a microlearning platform
Microlearning, by its very nature, is short, speedy, and to the point. Learners can complete their training at any time and from anywhere, either in the office, at home, or in the field.
A microlearning platform can facilitate this type of training and provide a series of benefits of its own.
It can reduce learning costs
Microlearning can reduce learning costs in several ways.
Instead of spending significant amounts of time, money, and energy on lengthy training materials, organizations can create short modules that address specific objectives or learner needs.
Companies don’t need to rely as much on trainers or hosting expensive in-classroom events or conferences.
It can improve learner engagement
Bite-sized and interactive content can captivate and engage learners. Shorter modules better align with schedules, making it more fun to learn.
In a study on the effects of microlearning on learner confidence published in the Journal of Dairy Science, it was found that 78% of employees felt more confident in correct task completion after the microlearning training.
Alongside quizzes, videos, and gamification elements, microlearning can foster a more dynamic and participative learning environment.
It can even lead to more learner autonomy.
Microlearning can put employees in the driving seat of their training and professional development by making content accessible on-demand and in their moment of need, such as when they encounter a work-related problem and need a quick solution.
It matches the modern learner
Microlearning is generally tailored to the preferences of today’s millennial and Gen-Z workforce.
It better mimics the short-form content and multimedia consumption habits brought on by social media.
This makes microlearning better positioned to integrate with the daily routines of today’s learners, improving knowledge acquisition and retention.
How to choose the best microlearning software for your needs
Given the benefits mentioned above, choosing the right microlearning software is worth investing some time and effort in.
When on the market for such a tool, keep in mind the following factors.
Key features to look for
Several key features can greatly increase the effectiveness of the microlearning program.
These include:
- Mobile learning: The ability to access e-learning content from one’s mobile device can greatly improve and streamline the training process.
Mobile learning improves flexibility, allowing learners to access content and complete courses whenever they have some time to spare.
It also fits in better with how today’s workforce consumes content of any kind, not just for training purposes. Look for LMSs with mobile learning capabilities. - Content authoring: E-learning content authoring for microlearning purposes is a must. Being so short and to the point, this type of content oftentimes applies to specific circumstances unique to each workplace.
Companies and employees need to have a tool that’s able to create microlearning content to address those specific scenarios. - Gamification: The ability to infuse content and course modules with game-like elements (i.e. leaderboards, badges, points, rewards, custom certificates, etc.) makes the learning experience more engaging and fun.
- Social learning: Microlearning content plays well with social learning and collaborative features. Being so short and easily consumable, learners can share knowledge between themselves, ask and answer questions, and act as experts wherever they can. Think of features like forums, chat rooms, instant messaging, leaderboards, and the like.
Consider the platform’s flexibility
Think about how well the tool can integrate with your existing tech stack.
LMS third-party integrations help provide microlearning content across multiple platforms, enhance personalization, or enable salespeople and other frontline employees.
Choose an easy-to-use solution
The ease of use of a microlearning tool greatly impacts its adoption by all stakeholders, be they learners, admins, or trainers.
The number of features or the flexibility the tool offers means very little if your people aren’t inclined to use the platform.
Check for tools with user-friendly UIs, intuitive dashboards, and easy-to-use features. Go on reputable review sites like G2 or Capterra and see what other users have to say.
If possible, also give these tools a try – many offer free trials – and check first hand.
Consider the platform’s reporting capabilities
Customizable reporting capabilities are critical in managing microlearning programs and broader L&D strategies.
Analytics helps keep an eye on key e-learning metrics like engagement and completion rates, while reports provide insights into how your programs are doing.
Without these capabilities, organizations will operate in the dark, never knowing what works, what doesn’t, why, and what areas need improvement for process optimization and e-learning program success.
The Bottom Line on Microlearning Platforms
In today’s highly digital professional development world, microlearning platforms have positioned themselves as indispensable tools.
From dynamic engagement strategies for modern learners to cost-efficient training solutions, these platforms reshape how companies impart knowledge.
By embracing microlearning as an approach to continuous education, companies better align themselves with the ever-evolving landscape of learning and development.
Book a demo with Docebo today and start your microlearning journey for better performance and success.