SmartBuilder Overview
SmartBuilder is a capable but complex elearning authoring tool for Windows or Mac. This program has everything you need to create a complete elearning course with multimedia, texts, interactions, quizzes and export to SCORM, xAPI. However, its features are not as easy-to-use as other similar authoring software we’ve reviewed such as ActivePresenter or Storyline 3. Added to that, Its price is slightly higher than what it brings (begins at $1399 annually).
Further to our review, SmartBuilder lacks of screen recording utility and does not has a built-in video editor which is more and more common nowadays. When switching from page to page in the work space, SmartBuilder responding time is a little bit slower than we expected in an offline tool.
Pros
- Easy to download and install.
- Come along with SmartTracker, a cloud-based platform to share your lessons with others.
- Has various kinds of ready-to-use interactions, shapes, character library, course templates and quiz templates to speed up your content creation.
- Support SCORM and xAPI.
Cons
- Lacks of screen recording and video editing tool.
- Adding actions and events into the courses can be much easier.
- Some important features are not available in “authoring preview mode”.
- License price is too expensive compared to what it offers.
- No free edition, only free trial within 30 days.
Pricing Details
SmartBuilder license price begins at $1399 per license/ per year where you get fully access to all the authoring tool plus free training , hosting for uploading lesson and so on. If you purchase more than 5 license, the price went down to $1259 only. For non-profit organization, SmartBuilder license price is $1299 and you’ll need to contact their support team.
How to use SmartBuilder?
To use Smart Builder for the first time, you need to register an account on their homepage and download the installation package to your computer to get started. The process will take a few minutes without any interruption. Other tabs in your account profile are some more useful resources for tutorials and where you can store your courses, keeping track of learners, user control and your license status, your company profile etc. I am not going into detail about these tabs here. You can easily figure out all these stuff yourself.
After the installation is finished, you will be reminded about 30 days trial. Your trial starts after the installation complete. Take a quick look at this overview to see what you can do with SmartBuilder.
Bottom line
SmartBuilder is no doubt a powerful authoring tool that you can give it a try. However, if you are looking for a rapid authoring software to speed up your elearning creation, it is not a wise choice to go. There are dozen of more simple-to-use authoring tools you can easily find on the net now. Don’t forget to follow us to receive more valuable post notifications in the future!
Good luck!
Elearning Supporter 