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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Absorb LMS

    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Absorb LMS aims to empower organizations to train employees with the skills needed to stay modern and relevant in today's fast-paced world. The LMS software focuses on aligning learning needs with business demands.N/A

    Cornerstone OnDemand

    Score6.4 out of 10
    N/ACornerstone OnDemand is a cloud-based application for talent management. Cornerstone offers suites for recruiting, training, performance monitoring and planning, learning, and HR data management. It is scaled for enterprises.N/A
    Pricing
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredRequired
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Considered Both Products
    Absorb Software Inc.
    Chose Absorb LMS
    We vetted several web-based systems, but I don't recall all of the names.
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    Absorb LMS in far superior to any other LMS platform I have used - in capability/functionality, user-friendliness, and customer service.
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    Absorb LMS was better priced that Cornerstone on Demand and is so much more user-friendly. Cornerstone was difficult to use, the fonts were very small, whereas Absorb LMS has larger fonts and more color to the platform, making it more visually appealing and user-friendly. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    We used Cornerstone Learn at my previous organization and it seemed like there were way too many issues from an administrative standpoint. I haven't had many issues at all with Absorb LMS, which makes me think Cornerstone was just expensive junk. Prior to moving to Absorb LMS …
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    The main reason is the prompt support and useful features
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    Although Cornerstone was also suited for a global audience as well, Absorb is more user friendly than Cornerstone from a learner and admin perspective. The look of the Cornerstone platform was outdated with small font buttons with labels that were not intuitive. Cornerstone …
    Incentivized
    Chose Absorb LMS
    Absorb LMS offered the best e-commerce for what we origionally wanted, however, we stayed due to their CSM support and anticipated/ongoing additon of features. Additionally we were drawn to the Create feature and gamification options, along with the Collaboration features.
    Incentivized
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Chose Cornerstone OnDemand
    I wasn't involved in the selection at my current company. However, at my previous company, Absorb was a very close contender due to their modern and vibrant portal features, but we decided to stick with Cornerstone because of ease of configuration for our compliance training …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cornerstone OnDemand
    Cornerstone OnDemand is definitely at the top of my list. I would say that Cornerstone is probably my second or third choice of Learning management systems. However, my opinion may change once we implement our Performance system as the systems will be integrated. I have heard …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cornerstone OnDemand
    We're currently entertaining alternatives as other HRIS systems have LMS features, but other learning system competitors do not have comparable capabilities for hosting and monitoring learning. Other systems have better integration capabilities, but Cornerstone has a stronger …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cornerstone OnDemand
    Considering all five Learning Management Systems that I have been the admin for, Cornerstone OnDemand is my favorite; especially for corporate organizations. I believe they offer a complete package. I always keep my eye on new solutions and some are doing some interesting …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    97 Answers
    86%
    Would buy again
    60 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    86 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    50 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    98 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    65 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    85%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    35 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    72 Answers
    74%
    Implementation went as expected
    35 Answers
    Features
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    8.9
    90 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.3
    186 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Course authoring8.073 Ratings4.8137 Ratings
    Course catalog or library9.478 Ratings8.3184 Ratings
    Player/Portal9.182 Ratings8.0171 Ratings
    Learning content8.963 Ratings8.2146 Ratings
    Mobile friendly7.567 Ratings8.7134 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications9.985 Ratings7.8167 Ratings
    Assignments9.974 Ratings8.0180 Ratings
    Compliance management9.969 Ratings7.1161 Ratings
    Learning administration9.787 Ratings6.4183 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics8.685 Ratings6.2182 Ratings
    Social learning8.044 Ratings7.0115 Ratings
    Gamification6.939 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.461 Ratings00 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.7
    131 Ratings
    5% above category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings7.968 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.8113 Ratings
    Compliance tracking and reporting00 Ratings7.4124 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.9
    113 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings7.794 Ratings
    Subordinate goal setting00 Ratings8.097 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.4105 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.893 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings7.6108 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.4
    118 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings7.692 Ratings
    Plan weighting00 Ratings7.279 Ratings
    Manager note taking00 Ratings7.468 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.380 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings8.095 Ratings
    Rater nomination workflow00 Ratings7.363 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings7.892 Ratings
    Workflow restrictions00 Ratings7.084 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.881 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings7.3112 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.8
    57 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.048 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.048 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings7.851 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings8.448 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Absorb LMS and Cornerstone OnDemand
    Feature
    Absorb LMS
    -
    Ratings
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    7.2
    65 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.844 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.840 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media00 Ratings6.437 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.337 Ratings
    Customized Application Form00 Ratings7.839 Ratings
    Resume Management00 Ratings6.442 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.739 Ratings
    Candidate Search00 Ratings6.440 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings7.540 Ratings
    Collaboration00 Ratings7.835 Ratings
    Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings7.237 Ratings
    Email Templates00 Ratings7.558 Ratings
    User Permissions00 Ratings7.859 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings7.454 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings7.662 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Small Businesses
    Tovuti LMS
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    iSpring Learn
    Score9.6 out of 10
    ClearCompany
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Bridge Learning Platform
    Score7.4 out of 10
    PeopleFluent
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (92 ratings)
    8.5
    (256 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    9.9
    (37 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (37 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.5
    (78 ratings)
    6.6
    (36 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.1
    (114 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.5
    (4 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Absorb LMSCornerstone OnDemand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Absorb Software Inc.
    My (internal) project build team consisted of three people - one with experience setting up an LMS previously, and two with no experience. I have experienced 'out of the box' builds before and they are rarely intuitive and/or easy to navigate and set up. This was not the case with Absorb LMS. The eLearning modules and face-to-face support provided was thorough and there was a lack of unneccessary complexity to setting up the platform. My novices now know there way around every inch of the platform and love using it. This was not our first LMS, but it may well be our last. The functionality (from reporting for admins to ease of access for learners) far exceeds our previous experiences and we have a product that looks great, works seemlessly and that we are very proud of.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    I feel Cornerstone OnDemand is a great solution for companies that have a large amount of compliance training that needs to be assigned and closely tracked. The features of dynamic groups (based on specific user criteria) allows you to target very specific audiences. The assignment functionality gives you great flexibility on when the assignment runs and how often, and also provides many options for due dates (static date or dynamic date - x days from hire date, date assigned, etc.). This has allowed us to have a clear and consistent user experience for both our newly hired employees and our seasoned employees.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Absorb Software Inc.
    • Customizing the user interface was fairly simple and our learners WANT to use the platform because it looks so nice.
    • Admins have so many tools at their fingertips to pull reports, create new users, author new courses, and more!
    • Absorb LMS has been the solution to so many problems we had experienced in our previous LMS: ease of use, course library, course authoring, tracking, reporting, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • Automatic recurring assignments are easy to get that refresher training out without needing to assign it fresh each time.
    • Reporting 2.0 makes it easy to write and share your reports with just selected filters. Making it easy for people receiving it to just change what they need to see.
    • Learning Admin Console makes it easy to peek at what is going on in your portal and open up connected reporting when needed.
    • Success Center is a great resource for getting peer answers to questions and learning about the releases and suggesting changes that should be added to the roadmap.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Absorb Software Inc.
    • The "And" and "Or" rules for self + automatic enrollment could be spelled out more to clarify who we're enrolling into courses
    • The thumbnail and poster "Upload photo" section is confusing. There should be a "Favorites" folder where we can easily find most commonly used posters and thumbnails
    • more education around Absorb analyze essentials
    • How the Featured courses section ranks courses is confusing on the back-end. I need to switch the primary one to second place to feature the new one first. But if the previous one now becomes second place, what happens to the old course that was in second place? I've noticed the order you select on the back-end for this isn't always reflected on user side
    • Same comment as Featured Courses but for appearance of billboards. Hard to position each in the right order
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • Sometimes finding the right answer to your support question can be a bit more difficult than it should be.
    • I would like to see more OSHA related courses.
    • At times, the administrative interface seems to need to be updated, but the tradeoff honestly might be the absolute rock-solid stability of the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Absorb Software Inc.
    We love the ability to have a user-friendly system that integrates well with our different HR interfaces (we have 3 systems that feed data/employees into the system). It makes it easy to track course completions and report out on metrics enterprise-wide. In addition, the ability to provide consistent education to staff who are geographically dispersed is a huge incentive for us, and Absorb LMS does this seamlessly.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    As long as pricing stays reasonable, we will likely stay with Cornerstone for at least one more contract renewal. It would be a large task to migrate all of our content to a new system. However, the LMS landscape is diversifying with new startups that are showing some real innovation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Absorb Software Inc.
    It is very intuitive, not just from an admin perspective to manage courses and track completions, but also from a learners' perspective. It is very easy to find courses, search for courses, and track personal course progress. The interface is well designed, which makes it simpler for our audience to navigate the portal and find what they are looking for
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Easy to use, easy to learn, lots of support during the learning process. There are a few parts of the system we don't use and I'm hesitant to begin using because other clients have said they're difficult and cumbersome (certifications) or outdated (libraries)
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Absorb Software Inc.
    We have never had any major issue with Absorb's availability. Any outages that have occurred have been planned an communicated. Any small issues that occur within the Absorb platform have been addressed efficiently and quickly by support and the development team
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    I haven't really had any major availability problems. The service is practically impeccable but it is true that at times, due to server and latency problems, the application has been slower. But these have been specific issues that have resolved themselves.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Absorb Software Inc.
    Absorb LMS's performance is very reliable and consistent. Pages load quickly. Report are generated within a reasonable amount of time (even with significant amounts of data), etc. Nothing seems to slow it down.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Pages do not load quickly. Often times any action or selection of a box, drop down, check, pretty much ANY Javascript interaction causes the whole entire page to load/reload/start doing something in the background. This makes a nightmare for having to mass edit courses or upload ILT sessions. It's the one of the archaic web designs they use that really bugs me as an admin and makes working in the portal at times intolerable and insufferable
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Absorb Software Inc.
    [...] is a ROCK star- having her as part of our support team has been a game changer. She is a true problem solver at heart and has an unique ability to retain who we are as a company and match that with what can help us most. She has been a game changer for our internal admin team and is supporting us through a business review to help guide us in the best direction on our constant growth.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    Its always important to have support when you are facing problems and when you are the main admin of the organization. Cornerstone Support is very supporting when you have not found the answer in the help guide. its very useful to have a team support to guide you.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Absorb Software Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    we use also to admin all our training in person events and sessions. Its easy to admin this kind of trainings and automatize some processes we have. Also de user experience and the integration with other systems helps to the employees to use more. All modules integrated oriented to develop people is the principal reason to have CSOD. The training administration is very complete and allows to automate many processes.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Absorb Software Inc.
    Absorb was able to provide an initial training of the platform, covering all our basic needs. Additionally, there are Absorb learning modules available for further learning that can be accessed at anytime. There is also the ability to review Absorb's extensive resource library to find the answers to questions/troubleshooting. Beyond that, we opted for the Premier Support so our organization has access to a dedicated Customer Success Manager.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The online modules are pretty good. You can access them at any time, which we have done. You learn a lot in the beginning, but having the ability to retake short lessons when you are working on those items was very helpful.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Absorb Software Inc.
    The implementation of Absorb went very seamlessly. We previously had the Oracle LMS and importing user data and getting the new system up to speed was painless. The smooth transition helped leaders and staff gain confidence early in the application/company and we have had a successful partnership with Absorb since.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The implementation was pretty difficult. We felt they (Cornerstone) didn’t properly allocate the resources to complete our implementation in the timetable we wanted.

    For example, we worked on Workday and SSO integrations - work that we had specifically contracted for in advance. When we were ready to work on that project, they didn’t have the people ready to help us, so it took a lot longer than necessary. That was my biggest pain point.

    The implementation approach we went with was a self-led implementation. We would speak to the implementation manager once per week, and self-trained. We met with implementation manager to discuss issues, review things that we’d learned for 1 hour. We found that wasn’t enough. Other things would come up outside that one hour window that we couldn’t get answers to. We didn’t have anyone to ask about those things and we had to wait to ask during our weekly meeting.

    The advantage of the self-led implementation approach was that it was really inexpensive – significantly less than the implementation cost for the other systems that we looked at. I also liked that we could pace ourselves. There were however big roadblocks. We would have to make sure the right resources were available. We had an implementation/project manager with a lot of experience and felt that the person was knowledgeable but missed on a few things.

    In hindsight, I would still go with the self-led implementation, but knowing what I know now, I would ask for the integration person to be available more. I would work that into the contract. With single sign-on, we needed deep linking to build direct links through a Single Sign-On tool, e.g. when someone gets an email, it directs them to training. But it has to go through SSO to get them to the correct link. Deep linking wasn’t turned on in our system and they had to activate it. We encountered little things like that – sequencing pre-requisites which were problematic. We tried to troubleshoot ourselves.

    I recommend you consider contracting for some extra implementation hours and determine when they are going to be available. Work it into the contract that you have the ability to call tech support during implementation. In addition to weekly implementation meetings, they have technical webexes – 4 every week, but 2 didn’t apply to us – one as we were using SSO. The challenge is they were not always relevant – we had specific questions that didn’t fall into those categories
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Absorb Software Inc.
    All sites provided at least a basic LMS platform, and Talent was probably the closest in terms of features and like-for-like comparison. Ultimately, none of the others had the same level of course creation and it would either have meant outsourcing or spending a significant amount of time building the courses which was not ideal as we would still be paying for the service during this time. Absorb had the best course creation software of all evaluated which is why we chose it, although it was also by far the most expensive of those evaluated.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    The user experience is a lot better than using SumTotal as an admin CSOD makes working easy. Without having workarounds. Reporting is a lot better than both platforms. Reporting in CSOD is complex however easy to manage and create when you understand the data points collected
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Absorb Software Inc.
    Seems very expensive for limitations we have experienced.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    It is important to be familiar with the terms and annual increases in licenses and other aspects of the contract. I recommend analyzing this from the beginning and the permanence is relevant because Cornerstone updates its modules and brings out new features that may allow you to leave a module to acquire another
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Absorb Software Inc.
    We have already scaled our LMS from a couple hundred users to 1000 users and have plans to scale even larger. We use the LMS across multiple internal departments. countries and user types. Absorb has made it easy to integrate and scale and we will continue to scale in the near future.
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    It's a great product with some pieces that are set but many things that can be customized as needed for individual needs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    Absorb Software Inc.
    I believe this question speaks to additional professional service hours that we had built into our contract to work with a set of staff members for purposes of changes or enhancements to our specific instance of Absorb. Again, I have nothing but positive things to say regarding our dealings with people at all levels of the organization. The PMs, the technical experts, the help desk staff are all friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and efficient
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    As I have said before, I have no doubt that the services of the Cornerstone sales people were very good. In particular, our salesperson spent a lot of time in contact with us to make the process go smoothly. Perhaps being a large company in some cases the times were slowed down but it is something normal to take into account.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Absorb Software Inc.
    • Lighter administrative load, we went from 20-30 support tickets per month to 1 or 2.
    • Our course setup and configuration time now takes less than 5 minutes. In our previous system it took us close to 15 minutes to publish a course.
    • We have been able to push administrative responsibilities to department level administrators, because of the ability to have department level admins, who only have access and control of their department users and content.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cornerstone OnDemand
    • We are in the process of trying to increase employee engagement through content expansion. We are in the early stages of this.
    • The Edge Import Tool, in conjunction with Reporting 2.0, has done a great job of helping to automate/semi-automate tasks for huge time savings.
    • Maintaining compliance. Achieved through dynamic/automated groups, assignments, communication, and reporting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Absorb LMS Screenshots

    Screenshot of a company's unique identity with a training interface that is custom-designed for the brand.Screenshot of a company's image and values with a training interface that is tailored to the brand's specific needs.Screenshot of the course creation workflow, that offer a diverse set of formats, including instructional videos, quizzes, and assessments.Screenshot of Absorb's course details page, accessible from the course catalog dashboard, used to give learners an understanding of the course material.Screenshot of learners' progress insights, used to make data-driven decisions with the reporting capabilities of Absorb LMS.Screenshot of course creation with Create AI Beta.

    Cornerstone OnDemand Screenshots

    Screenshot of A personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee dataScreenshot of With Cornerstone Learning, go beyond compliance and training - truly develop an engaged and collaborative workforce.Screenshot of Cornerstone Recruiting takes care of all talent acquisition needs and provides candidates with an amazing experience.Screenshot of With Cornerstone Performance, benchmark your people's performance, align them with your strategy, and provide feedback that matters.Screenshot of Cornerstone HR offers a personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee data.Screenshot of With Content Anytime, quickly deliver hundreds of eLearning courses covering key soft-skills such as communication, time management, leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence.