Top 8 Gamified Learning Platforms for Your Online Courses

The landscape of learning has undergone a profound transformation in the past decade, embracing interactive methodologies that make learning not just beneficial but genuinely enjoyable. At the heart of this educational evolution is gamification or gamified learning, a dynamic approach that infuses elements of game design into the learning process. 

But what exactly is a gamified learning platform? Imagine a digital environment where learners earn points for completing modules, badges for mastering skills, and climb leaderboards through interaction and achievement. This isn’t just a game, but a strategic learning experience designed to motivate, engage, and solidify knowledge retention through the mechanics (and psychology) of gaming.

The beauty is that gamification not only offers benefits for your learners, but also for your business. Gamification creates a sticky learning environment where users are more likely to return, complete courses, and even advocate for your offerings, and in a world where customer engagement rules, lower churn rates mean a healthier, more robust business model.

Of course, not every creator has the budget to commission a development team to craft a bespoke educational game. This is where gamified learning platforms come into play, offering a cost-effective solution to transform your online courses into engaging, interactive experiences. 

We’ve curated a list of the top 8 platforms for incorporating gamification into your online learning initiatives. From versatile plugins that integrate seamlessly with your WordPress site to standalone platforms brimming with features, our guide is tailored to cover every need and budget.

Points

Badges

Progress Bars

Choose Your Own Adventure

Quizzes

Leaderboards

Surprises & Prizes

Cost

AccessAlly

$$

Xperiencify

$

Captain Up

?

TalentLMS

$$-$$$

Thinkific

$

Mambo.io

?

EdApp

$

BadgeOS

*

*

Free

* Available at additional cost.

1. Access Ally

AccessAlly is the leader in turning WordPress sites into fully-fledged, monetized educational platforms. This robust and scalable plugin is a comprehensive solution that integrates a built-in Learning Management System (LMS) with advanced gamification features. 

Designed to empower educators, coaches, and digital entrepreneurs, AccessAlly makes it easy to create, sell, and promote online courses, coaching programs, and memberships. It comes packed with integration options as well, ensuring a seamless blend with your existing workflow and tools.

AccessAlly shines for individuals and organizations who want to maintain full ownership over their content and website, coupled with an eye towards scalability. It’s the perfect match for those who value the autonomy of their digital real estate, ensuring that their educational offerings are not just another course on a crowded platform but a standalone brand experience.

Whether you’re a solo educator embarking on your first course creation journey or a large institution planning to offer a diverse range of learning experiences, AccessAlly’s adaptability makes it a formidable choice. It stands out particularly for users employing a drip content strategy. Thanks to its sophisticated automation capabilities, scheduling automatic content unlocks based on time elapsed or the completion of prerequisites is not just possible but effortlessly simple.

• All-In-One Solution: With AccessAlly, there’s no need for additional plugins to unlock its full potential. From gamification to payment processing and intricate membership management, everything is bundled into a single, powerful package.
• Customization and Scalability: Tailor your courses and membership sites to match your brand and scale with your growing audience, without worrying about switching platforms.
• Advanced Gamification Features: Engage and motivate learners with points, badges, leaderboards, and personalized learning paths, enhancing retention and completion rates.
• Comprehensive Integration Options: Seamlessly connect with a wide array of marketing, sales, and CRM tools to streamline your operations and enhance user experience.

While AccessAlly offers a ton of features and unparalleled flexibility, it’s important to consider:

• Learning Curve: The comprehensive nature of AccessAlly means there’s a learning curve involved. However, the investment in time to master its features pays off in the creation of a truly customized and engaging learning environment.

Key Gamification Features Provided

Gamification transforms learning into an immersive and interactive experience. AccessAlly leverages this powerful engagement tool by offering a suite of gamification features designed to motivate learners and enhance their educational journey. 

• Points and Credits System: Learners can earn points or credits as they progress through courses that can then be used to unlock additional content, access special courses, or obtain discounts, making them a powerful incentive for course completion and engagement.
• Visual Progress Tools: AccessAlly provides visual cues and progress bars that help learners track their advancement through courses. This visual representation of progress is incredibly motivating and helps users gauge their achievements and remaining steps.
• Badges to Award Users: Customizable badges can be awarded for completing courses, modules, or specific achievements. These badges act as milestones and recognitions of the learner’s efforts, contributing to a sense of accomplishment and encouraging continued progress.
• Choose Your Own Adventure: This innovative feature allows learners to make choices that influence the direction of their learning journey, leading to personalized outcomes and experiences. It adds an element of interactivity and personal investment in the course material.
• Quizzes: Interactive quizzes not only serve as a learning reinforcement tool but also add a competitive edge to the learning process. Quizzes can be used to unlock further content, contributing to a sense of achievement upon passing.
• Leaderboard: Leaderboards foster a sense of competition and community among learners. Seeing where they stand in relation to peers can motivate learners to engage more deeply with the material to improve their ranking.
• Surprises and Prizes: Creators can include surprises and prizes, adding an element of unpredictability and excitement. These rewards can be tied to course milestones or achievements.
• Reporting Dashboard: AccessAlly’s reporting dashboard provides valuable insights into learner progress, engagement levels, and more, enabling the fine-tuning of courses for maximum engagement and effectiveness.

Price

AccessAlly plans range from $99–$149 per month, depending on the features you need.

Reviews

Capterra Rating: 4.4

G2 Rating: 4.8

2. Xperiencify

Xperiencify is designed to keep learners motivated and actively engaged within your course content through a blend of entertainment, education, and interactive learning. Xperiencify simplifies the process of creating and managing courses, making it a good choice for educators seeking an effective yet straightforward platform to gamify their online courses.

Xperiencify is a good choice for course creators who prioritize learner engagement and retention through gamification. It’s particularly suitable for entrepreneurs, educators, and digital creators looking for a platform that combines ease of use with powerful engagement tools. It offers:

• Simplified Course Creation Process: Xperiencify boasts an intuitive course builder that simplifies the process of creating engaging and interactive courses.
• Advanced Community, Forum, and Chat Tools: The platform encourages learner engagement and community building through its integrated social tools, fostering a sense of belonging and support among users.
• Referral Program for Content Creators: Xperiencify includes marketing features like referral programs that incentivize content creators to expand their audience base and increase course enrollments.

But you also need to consider: 

• No Private Courses: Currently, the platform does not support the creation of private courses, which might limit creators who wish to offer exclusive or specialized content.
• Limited Customization Capabilities: While Xperiencify excels in gamification, it offers limited customization options for courses and site design, which may be a drawback for creators looking for a highly branded experience.

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Points System: Xperiencify incorporates a dynamic points system that rewards learners for completing tasks and engaging with course material, encouraging interaction and progress.
• Rewards: Beyond points, the platform allows creators to offer tangible rewards and incentives for course milestones, enhancing motivation and commitment to learning.
• Intelligent Custom Countdowns: These countdowns create a sense of urgency and promote action among learners, improving completion rates by leveraging psychological triggers.
• “Use It or Lose It” Courses: This unique feature introduces the concept of courses or content that becomes unavailable after a certain period, pushing learners to engage with the material before it’s too late.
• Personalization for a Unique Learning Experience: Xperiencify offers personalized learning paths and content, catering to the individual needs and preferences of each learner, making each journey unique.

Price

Xperiencify is free until you publish your course; then plans range from $49–$299 per month based on the number of courses and students you serve. 

Reviews

Capterra: no reviews yet

G2: no reviews yet

3. Captain Up

Captain Up stands out as a cloud-based gamification platform for user engagement and loyalty management. Designed to maximize user retention, Captain Up incentivizes and rewards users for engaging with content. As a versatile loyalty management software, it offers a robust suite of gamification tools tailored to enhance user experience across various industries and platforms — and the results look more like a game than any of the other platforms.

Captain Up is a good solution for brands and organizations seeking to boost user engagement and retention through gamification. It caters to a wide range of industries, and even creates onboarding programs for large organizations.

Captain Up:

• Includes a Social Engagement Layer: Captain Up integrates social elements into its gamification strategy, encouraging collaboration and interaction among users.
• CRM Integrations: The platform seamlessly integrates with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, allowing businesses to track and analyze user behavior for targeted engagement strategies.
• Supports Multiple Languages: With support for multiple languages, Captain Up ensures that businesses can engage with users globally, breaking down language barriers and reaching diverse audiences.
• Analytics: Captain Up offers robust analytics capabilities, providing valuable insights into user behavior, engagement patterns, and performance metrics.

But Captain Up is Not Dedicated to Online Learning: While Captain Up offers gamification solutions suitable for various industries, it lacks some features of a dedicated LMS.

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Badges: Create and award badges to users for completing tasks, achieving milestones, or demonstrating specific behaviors. 
• Leaderboards: The platform incorporates leaderboards to showcase user rankings based on various criteria, such as points earned or tasks completed. 
• Points: Users accumulate points through various actions, such as completing courses, participating in discussions, or achieving specific goals. 

Price

Captain Up does not provide pricing information on their website; you must request a demo. 

Reviews

Capterra rating: no rating yet

G2 rating: 4.3

4. TalentLMS

TalentLMS is a gamified learning platform, empowering users to build engaging and effective training courses. As a cloud-based solution, it offers flexibility and accessibility, allowing educators and businesses to create and deliver courses from anywhere, at any time. 

TalentLMS is a good gamified learning platform for businesses, educators, and training professionals seeking a versatile and user-friendly solution. Because of its monetization features, it may be a good option for entrepreneurs.

TalentLMS:

• Makes it Easy to Sell Courses: TalentLMS includes built-in features for course monetization, making it simple for creators to sell their courses and generate revenue.
• Built-in Course Authoring Tools: The platform offers intuitive course authoring tools that enable users to create interactive and engaging courses without the need for advanced technical skills.
• Flexible and Scalable: TalentLMS is suitable for users at various stages of their course creation journey, from beginners to experienced professionals, offering scalability to accommodate growth.

However, it May Not Be the Right Solution for Beginners: While TalentLMS is user-friendly, its robust feature set may be overwhelming for those just starting in the course creation business, especially if they are looking for a more basic solution.

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Points: TalentLMS incorporates a points system that allows learners to earn points for completing courses, modules, quizzes, and other learning activities. These points can be accumulated to unlock rewards or achieve higher levels within the platform.
• Badges: Badges serve as visual representations of progress and accomplishment, motivating learners.
• Levels: TalentLMS offers a leveling system where learners progress through different levels as they complete courses and earn points. 
• Leaderboards: The platform features leaderboards that display the top performers based on points earned, course completion, or other criteria. 
• Rewards: Course creators can offer rewards, such as discounts, certificates, or special privileges, to learners who achieve specific goals or milestones. 
• Gamification Widget: TalentLMS includes a gamification widget that displays learners’ progress, points, badges, and other gamification elements in a visually appealing and interactive format. 

Price

Pricing tiers range from $49–$459 per month based on the number of learners and features. However, the highest plan limits you to 1,000 learners, which could limit your growth. 

Reviews

Capterra rating: 4.7

G2 rating: 4.6 

5. Thinkific

Thinkific bills itself as an all-in-one platform designed to empower creators to build and sell online courses effortlessly. While it doesn’t feature native gamification elements, Thinkific has the ability to integrate with third-party apps like Pointagram, allowing users to incorporate gamification into their courses. 

Thinkific might be the right choice for creators who want to start an online course with a gamification component but don’t have the bandwidth to invest heavily in a specialized gamified learning platform. It caters to those who seek simplicity and ease of use in course creation and delivery, offering a user-friendly interface and intuitive tools to get started quickly. Thinkific is particularly suitable for first-time creators who may benefit from Thinkific Academy’s resources and courses tailored to guide them through the course creation process.

Thinkific offers:

• Free Plan: Thinkific offers a free plan, allowing users to test the platform’s features and functionality before committing to a paid plan.
• Thinkific Academy: Courses and resources are available for first-time creators, providing the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the online course space.
• Ease of Use: Thinkific’s intuitive interface and course builder make it easy for creators to design and launch their courses without any technical expertise.

But remember, it has No Built-in Gamification Features or Rewards: One of the drawbacks of Thinkific is the need to use third-party add-ons to add gamification functionality. 

Key Gamification Features Provided (via add-ons)

• Virtual Coins: Learners earn virtual coins for completing courses, quizzes, or other designated tasks. These coins can be accumulated and used to purchase rewards or unlock additional course content.
• Shop: The shop feature allows learners to redeem their earned virtual coins for rewards, such as discounts on future courses, exclusive content, or physical merchandise.
• Certificates: Upon completing a course or achieving specific milestones, learners are awarded certificates to acknowledge their accomplishments. These certificates serve as tangible proof of their learning achievements and can be shared or displayed as badges of honor.
• Assessments: Thinkific offers assessment tools to evaluate learner progress and understanding. Creators can create quizzes and assessments to gauge learner knowledge retention and provide valuable feedback for improvement.

Price

Thinkific offers a free tier, and their pricing tiers range from $49–$199 per month depending on the features you need. 

Reviews

Capterra rating: 4.4

G2 rating: 4.6

6. Mambo.io

Mambo.io is an open-source gamified learning platform that offers solutions for customer loyalty, employee engagement, and training/e-learning. It follows a customizable and scalable approach, to enhance employee engagement or amp up your corporate training.

Mambo.io is best for corporate training and development, providing customizable tools and features tailored to meet the unique needs of larger organizations. 

• Custom and Off-the-Shelf Development: Mambo.io offers both custom development services and off-the-shelf solutions.
• Define, Track, and Reward Any Behavior: The platform allows organizations to define, track, and reward any desired behavior, whether it’s completing training modules, achieving sales targets, or fostering collaboration among team members.

But be aware that:

• Limited Personalization: The platform’s personalization capabilities may be limited compared to some other solutions, potentially restricting the level of brand customization available.

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Leaderboards: Mambo.io includes leaderboards to showcase top performers based on various metrics, such as points earned, challenges completed, or achievements unlocked. 
• Marketplace: The platform features a marketplace where users can redeem points for rewards, such as gift cards, merchandise, or access to exclusive content. 
• Points: Mambo.io utilizes a points-based system to reward users for desired behaviors and achievements. Points can be earned through completing challenges, participating in training modules, or reaching predefined milestones.
• Challenges: Challenges can range from completing training modules to achieving sales targets, providing users with clear objectives and incentives to participate.

Price

Mambo.io does not list its prices publicly. You must request a demo. 

Reviews

Capterra rating: no reviews yet

G2 rating: 4.6

7. EdApp

EdApp is a cloud-based SCORM authoring tool and mobile learning platform designed to add gamification to the way organizations deliver training and education. With a focus on mobile learning, EdApp enables them to access courses anytime, anywhere. It includes in-built games that make learning feel like playing. 

EdApp caters to businesses, educational institutions, and training providers seeking a combination of microlearning and gamification to drive learner engagement and retention. It’s designed more for internal trainings rather than e-commerce style courses. 

EdApp may be perfect for your organization if you need:

• Combination of Microlearning and Gamification: EdApp offers a winning combination of microlearning and gamification, delivering bite-sized content and engaging activities to maximize learning outcomes.
• Templates and Course Library: The platform provides templates and a course library, allowing organizations to quickly create and deploy professional-looking courses without the need for extensive design or development resources.

But be aware:

• Learning Curve Can Be Difficult: Some users may find the learning curve for mastering EdApp’s features and functionalities to be challenging, especially if they are new to mobile learning or gamification concepts.

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Leaderboards: Leaderboards can display rankings based on various criteria, such as points earned or course progress, encouraging users to strive for the top spot.
• Real Prizing: EdApp offers real prizes (like gift cards to popular retailers) as an incentive for learners to engage with the platform and motivate them to complete courses. 
• Custom Achievements: Create custom achievements or badges to recognize and reward learners for specific accomplishments and add a personal touch. 

Price

EdApp offers an unlimited free tier, with paid tiers starting at $2.95 per active user per month. 

Reviews

Capterra rating: 5.0

G2 rating: 4.7

8. BadgeOS

BadgeOS is a dedicated WordPress gamification plugin. Unlike other platforms, BadgeOS focuses solely on gamification, requiring users to integrate it with a separate LMS plugin to create and deliver courses. BadgeOS offers a wide range of add-on features to gamify your learning environment however you like.

BadgeOS might be the right gamified learning platform for WordPress users who want to integrate gamification seamlessly into existing online courses. It’s particularly good for those who use LearnDash or another LMS plugin that doesn’t have built-in gamification. BadgeOS is good for educators and businesses looking for a gamification solution that integrates with their existing WordPress setup.

It offers:

• Large Variety of Triggers: BadgeOS offers a wide range of triggers that can be used to reward users, including course completions, quiz scores, and community engagement. This flexibility allows creators to tailor their gamification strategy to suit their specific learning objectives.
• Integrations with Many Other WP Plugins: BadgeOS seamlessly with various WordPress plugins, extending its functionality and allowing for enhanced customization and integration with other aspects of your website.

But be aware:

• Need Add-ons to Create Courses: One of the main drawbacks of BadgeOS is that it requires a separate LMS plugin to create and deliver courses. 
• Many Features Require Add-ons: While the basic gamification features are included in the main BadgeOS plugin, many additional features require additional plugins — some free, some paid. Having many different plugins can more easily create bugs and problems in your tech setup. 

Key Gamification Features Provided

• Ranking System: BadgeOS includes a ranking system that allows users to earn different levels or ranks based on their achievements and participation. This adds a competitive element to the learning experience and motivates users to strive for higher rankings.
• Customizable Badges: BadgeOS allows creators to design and customize badges to reward users for their achievements and accomplishments. 
• Shareable Badges: Users can share their earned badges on social media platforms or display them on their profiles, promoting engagement and social recognition. 
• Achievement Widget: BadgeOS provides an achievement widget that displays users’ earned badges, ranks, and achievements on their profile or dashboard, encouraging further engagement and participation.

Price

The base plugin for BadgeOS is free; some of the add-ons are also free, while others are premium and require a fee. 

Reviews

Capterra: no reviews

G2: no reviews

Which Gamified Learning Platform Is the Best?

When it comes to choosing the best gamified learning platform for your needs, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Your decision should be guided by your educational or training goals, your audience’s preferences and expectations, and your own business or personal requirements.

Finally, evaluate your budget and payment options. Some platforms may offer flexible pricing plans or payment integrations that align with your financial constraints and preferred payment methods. Think too about how you want to grow and scale in the future; while a free or very low-cost platform might be appealing today, will it support your needs as you grow? 

Ultimately, the best gamified learning platform is the one that meets your unique needs and requirements. For a comprehensive comparison of online course platforms, you can explore AccessAlly’s comparison tool. This resource provides valuable insights into the features and capabilities of various platforms, helping you make an informed decision based on your specific requirements.