10 Best Cornerstone OnDemand Alternatives

ornerstone OnDemand appears as an advanced and feature-packed solution for enterprises and corporations. It can be great for upskilling, continuous training, and partner education. 

However, it is not ideal. Both, large and mid-market businesses, report issues with support, lack of user-friendly options, and basic user and course management features. 

Then, what other LMS software can cater to diverse training needs and are likely to offer better support? We’ve created a list of Cornerstone LMS alternatives that can. 

Read on to know more about them, the flexible or intuitive LMSs as well as direct competitors with a similar array of features.

Why look for Cornerstone LMS Alternative?

But first, let’s have a clear picture of what Cornerstone OnDemand is, and why it is a choice of many corporate actors and organizations. 

Cornerstone LMS brings in powerful administration, reporting, and AI tools for continuous employee development. Besides, it has decent integrations with HR tools and systems, while performance and employee management is a life changer for big companies.

But why do people still seek Cornerstone Learning alternatives? It comes to user experience, bugs, pricing, integrations, and support.

Cornerstone LMS is unintuitive and clunky

First and foremost, Cornerstone LMS is heavy and can be hard to operate, even confusing, especially in the beginning. It can be aggravating even for experienced users as the interface is far from being friendly. 

Cornerstone pricing is pretty high

Another reason to look for a Cornerstone LMS alternative is the pricing. The costs are not public as the LMS vendor tries to adjust plans for business and offer the right tools from its long list.

Yet, this solution may be pricey for small and mid-market companies, as the price for a user may cost from $6 to $8. And, there are more than enough affordable LMSs.  

User and course management 

Other than that, being an employee development software, it provides powerful admin tools and tools for performance management. Yet, when it comes to course and user administration, it becomes clunky. 

Moreover, it isn’t great for editing and duplicating courses, while they’re crucial features for scaling training.

Integrations and support 

Importantly, despite integrations with key HR software, connecting with certain tools can be troublesome. Users underline a number of bugs and errors that can harm the learning experience and management. 

In addition, numerous users report that the support is far from great. For instance, a user can file a ticket for a bug and it won’t be considered for several weeks or months, affecting not only users but training business in the long run. 

Highlight: Being a comprehensive employee development solution, Cornerstone lacks an intuitive interface, can be complex to use, and brings instability for some users in the long run.

Best Cornerstone LMS Alternatives

So, if you are a small or mid-market company looking for stable and intuitive solutions, there is a bunch of decent software. 

In the list below, we will cover some collaborative learning software, customizable platforms, and LMSs with great talent management features or solid integrations. 

1. EducateMe 一 Most intuitive and customizable Alternative
2. LearnUpon 一Alternative with personalized learning portals
3. AbsorbLMS 一 Comprehensive platform for AI-powered upskilling 
4. Lessonly 一 Specialized solution for sales training
5. Degreed 一 Advanced platform for skill Development
6. SAP SuccessFactors 一 Enormous human and talent management platform
7. Bridge LMS 一 Feature-rich training platform for employee development
8. Workday 一 Comprehensive HR Software with talent management
9. Litmos 一 Alternative for Streamlined Corporate Training
10. Docebo 一 AI-Driven LMS for Diverse Training Experiences

#1.EducateMe

EducateMe is the best Cornerstone OnDemand alternative in terms of intuitiveness and adaptability. Its flexible features are ideal for diverse training courses, from onboarding and compliance to upskilling and customer education.

Unlike Cornerstone, EducateMe provides user-friendly course creation and management via its editor, course library features, and boards. EducateMe prioritizes collaboration and social learning, offering discussions, peer reviews, and feedback options. 

Besides, it is a multi-tenant LMS that supports managing multiple groups with separate portals, advanced user roles, and a solid tag system. Lastly, EducateMe's reporting tools provide actionable insights, from scoreboards to feedback collection.

Best for: mid-market companies and agencies to handle specific training, online courses, onboarding, compliance, and upskilling.

Key features of EducateMe:

• Rich content creation. Use a drag-and-drop tool for building courses with diverse formats, live sessions or pre-recorded content, and AI-enhanced quiz creation.
• Engagement tools. Create a collaborative environment with discussion boards, feedback, and peer reviews. Connect tools and automate video meetings.
• Space customization: Own your learning journey by customizing the look of LMS and touchpoints, and customize separate training portals for different teams or departments.
• Advanced analytics. Track learner progress and measure training effectiveness, completion rates, and engagement, having all data in one place. 

Why pick this alternative?

• User-friendly interface with deep customization.
• Flexible learning management and course creation.
• Affordable pricing tailored for small and medium businesses.
• Comprehensive collaboration and reporting features.
• Great support and powerful API solutions.

Possible limitations

• No dedicated mobile app (though mobile-responsive).
• No sales or marketing tools.

#2. LearnUpon

Next, let’s consider LearnUpon. This alternative is another LMS with an intuitive approach to course management, flexible features, and powerful integrations.

Unlike Cornerstone OnDemand, LearnUpon focuses on personalized learning portals that allow companies to create customized learning spaces for specific groups or departments. Just like EducateMe, it is highly scalable. 

However, it offers fewer course authoring tools, employee management features, and AI capabilities compared to Cornerstone.

Best for: onboarding, compliance training, and partner training programs.

Why pick this alternative?

• Customization and learning portals. With LearnUpon, you will benefit from opportunities to customize the look of LMS and its learning spaces.
• Automation tools. LearnUpon brings great automation, enabling businesses to streamline repetitive tasks such as enrollments, reporting, and user management
• Features for engagement. LearnUpon leaves room for including gamification elements. They include badges and certifications.
• Integrations. LearnUpon is great at connecting with other tools, whether it is an HRIS system, CRM tool, or an integration with your product.

Possible limitations

• Not as advanced course authoring, 
• Can be difficult to edit the course after publication.
• No mobile app.

Read more: Best Partner Training Software

#3. Absorb LMS

Seeking a Cornerstone Learning Alternative that is more comprehensive? 

Absorb LMS is a feature-rich learning management system that combines targeted training, employee development, and performance management tools. It provides powerful reporting, decent gamification, and smart rules for management.

Similar to Cornerstone OnDemand, Absorb brings in AI-powered tools like Intelligent Assist to create personalized learning paths and close the skill gaps of the employees. 

Simultaneously, it is a bit more intuitive but planning features are less advanced than Cornerstone’s. The integrations are on point allowing connecting HCM and CRM for HR teams and using content partners for course scaling.

Best for: upskilling, compliance training, and continuous workforce development.

Why pick this alternative?

• AI-powered learning paths. Absorb LMS brings personalized course recommendations based on skills assessments for upskilling.
• Extensive content library. There is a huge source for upskilling and reskilling with over 20,000 pre-made courses covering diverse training needs.
• Mobile app. Via Absorb, you can provide mobile learning with an app.

Possible limitations:

• High pricing and possible unexpected costs.
• Still not very intuitive compared to other options.

Pricing: Available upon request.

Read more: Best Enterprise LMS 

#4. Seismic Learning (Lessonly)

Cornerstone may be used for partner and sales training, so why not resort to a specific platform for it?

Seismic Learning (or Lessonly) is a sales training platform with excellent sales content management, planning, and training delivery tools. Its intuitive design and centralized content repository are great for actors who want to simplify onboarding and sales training processes.

Unlike Cornerstone OnDemand, Seismic is ideal for sales enablement, providing interactive content, automation, coaching options, and rep gap analysis. Nevertheless, its course management are customization are far from being advanced.

Best for: sales training, rep coaching, and simple onboarding.

Why pick this alternative?

• Interactive sales enablement. With Seismic, you can create interactive modules with videos and live sessions to simulate situations.
• Aura Copilot. Seismic has a great AI tool to help you find data, automate tasks, and create content.
• Performance analysis. Seismic Learning provides role-based dashboards, reports, and graphs with insights. 
• Integrations and partners. Despite decent communication and sales integrations, it offers a good network of partners and experts to help with sales enablement.

Possible limitations:

• Reporting tools can be clunky.
• Integration options are more restricted compared to Cornerstone.

Read more: Best Sales Training Software

#5. Degreed

Degreed is a skills-focused LXP platform designed to help organizations pinpoint, develop, and track workforce capabilities. 

Compared to Cornerstone OnDemand, Degreed has a greater focus on skill gap analysis and informal management through personalized learning paths and curated content. 

Moreover, it offers decent automation, integrations, and analytics tools to measure progress and ensure alignment with organizational goals. What about engagement? There are strong gamification and newsfeed options for your workforce to engage.  

Best for: skill development, reskilling, and upskilling.

Why pick this alternative?

• AI-powered coach. Degreed supports management and skill analysis with AI helper that offers prediction and recommendations. 
• Personalized learning paths. It allows you to create custom plans and training paths for employees to upskill.
• Label harmonization. Degreed gives you tools to manage and normalize skill labels across systems.

Possible limitations

• Its vast library, newsfeed, and interface can be complex to handle for users.
• Issues with reporting tools.

#6. SAP SuccessFactors

What if you want to find a solution to streamline human resources and talent management operations rather than the learning process itself?

SAP SuccessFactors is a feature-packed talent and human capital management system to create personalized learning experiences and align workforce development with business goals. 

If compared to Cornerstone OnDemand, which combines several approaches, SAP SuccessFactors pays more attention to employee goals and performance management. Notably, it offers excellent AI-powered intelligence and supports skills-driven development greatly. Yet, it lacks features to create and manage training.

Lastly, its onboarding and mobile learning tools streamline HR processes and provide employees with paths to develop their skills.

Best for: onboarding, workforce management, and continuous performance management within big organizations.

Why pick this alternative?

• Guided onboarding journeys. With this platform, you can easily deliver personalized onboarding courses with digital forms and e-signatures.
• Compliance training automation. SAP Success Factors helps you to determine and organize mandatory training workflows.
• Performance management tools. Tracks goals and enables dynamic team evaluations.

Possible limitations:

• A huge variety of products suits mostly big organizations.
• Overreliance on integration with other SAP tools.
• Lack of content and course management.

#7. Bridge LMS

Next, there are not so many balanced solutions like Bridge LMS.

Bridge LMS combines training, performance management, and skill development into a unified solution. Besides, what sets it apart from Cornerstone OnDemand is greater employee engagement and simplicity. 

In particular, Bridge will surprise users with flexible learning pathways and powerful video tools for content creation. Other than that, it offers feedback management, performance reviews, and a mobile app to handle mobile training. 

Bridge’s intuitive platform supports partner training, employee onboarding, and continuous learning.

Best for: onboarding, partner training, advanced and interactive training, and continuous employee development.

Why pick this alternative?

• Advanced course creation. Create subaccounts, use libraries of content, and record and share interactive training videos.
• Performance management. Bridge LMS allows you to handle performance reviews, set goals for employees, and gather peer feedback.
• Decent reporting. Track how your learners are doing, including enrollments, engagement, and custom reports.

Possible limitations

• It is an expensive solution (in particular, for small companies).
• Lacks advanced customization.

#8. Workday

Here is another traditional software to manage HR operations and workflow that can be a good alternative to Cornerstone.

Before all, Workday is a robust HR and talent management platform and thus appears as a hub for training distribution rather than creation. 

When comparing Workday to Cornerstone, the latter is good at training content creation and advanced engagement tools. Workday shines with skill improvement management and great reporting capabilities. 

Importantly, Workday’s learning features may feel limited for organizations that will want to create specific training or own content production.

Best for: simple onboarding, continuous learning, talent management, and workforce analytics.

Why pick this alternative?

• Learning experience. It allows you to curate content, add quizzes, launch learning campaigns, and use peer-generated content.
• Comprehensive analytics. Workday, being an HR software, offers valuable insights to drive talent and organizational decisions.
• Career management tools. Workday provides HR specialists with tools to encourage mentorship and provide skill-building opportunities.

Possible limitations

• Lack of course authoring and content creation tools
• Limited customization and steep learning curve.

#9. Litmos

Unlike the options before, Litmos provides a light and intuitive solution for corporate training with a strong focus on content delivery and automation. 

Compared to Cornerstone OnDemand, Litmos is much easier to deploy and use. Besides, it offers great features to scale courses. They include a course library, course editor, and integrations. A good addition is its AI automation which can help with enrollment, assessments, and content creation. 

Best for: simple training programs, scalable training, as well as compliance and onboarding.

Why pick this alternative?

• Extensive course library. Litmos offers 80,000+ pre-built training courses that can be used by organizations.
• Content authoring tools. The platform allows you to develop SCORM-compliant courses and add pre-recorded content.
• eCommerce tools. If you want to sell courses, it provides basic eCommerce capabilities.
• AI assistant. Use an AI to develop training playlists, support video assessment, and recommend content.

Possible limitations

• Lacks Cornerstone’s depth in learning analytics and advanced customization.
• No mobile app.
• Users report errors and bugs.

10. Docebo

Lastly, Docebo is the key CornerStone OnDemand alternative. It is one of the most advanced AI-powered with diverse features for training delivery and talent management. 

Why is it at the end of the list, then? It has similar issues and is not far more intuitive. 

Compared to Cornerstone OnDemand, Docebo emphasizes learner engagement with gamification and AI-driven recommendations. 

Also, Docebo makes the course creation and management easy thanks to advanced automation, a drag-and-drop editor, and a comprehensive content library. In addition, it offers pretty robust analytics and solid eCommerce tools.

Best for: continuous development, scalable corporate training.

Why pick this alternative?

• AI-powered recommendations. Docebo considers AI capabilities as one of the key features and allows for providing learning paths based on learner behavior.
• Excellent gamification. Another benefit of Docebo is that you can boost engagement with badges, points, and leaderboards.
• Extensive content marketplace. To deliver divest programs, you can use a significant marketplace filled with video, audio, and other media content from 150+ content providers. 

Possible limitations

• It is not user-friendly.
• Reporting is inflexible.
• Pricing is pretty high.

Wrapping Up: What is the Best Cornerstone OnDemand Alternative?

So, now you know that while Cornerstone is great in talent management, it falls short in user-friendliness, stability, and course management. Thus, the choice of the best alternative will significantly depend on your needs, budgets, and type of training delivery. 

• If you are to go for intuitiveness and scalable training, look towards EducateMe, LearnUpon, and Litmos first. They offer intuitive designs, flexible content creation tools, and scalable features. They are great for mid-sized businesses and organizations to handle onboarding, compliance, and customer or partner training.
• For Engagement and Performance Management, think about Bridge LMS, Absorb LMS, and Degreed. They excel in skill development, combining tools for training, skill assessments, and performance tracking.
• For Advanced AI and Talent Management, such comprehensive software as Docebo, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors will be more appropriate. They are to answer enterprise-level training needs and offer AI-driven tools and comprehensive analytics but lack flexible content creation.

If you are still in doubt and want to have a flexible solution with great integration capabilities, try EducateMe or book a demo to learn more about how it can help your business.