Articulate 360

Nov 09, 2016

lawrence jacobson
By lawrence jacobson

I am confused by this new Articulate 360 and what it means for Articulate Storyline. Does this mean that no further development will occur on Articulate Storyline 2, standalone version? Will there ever be an Articulate Storyline 3? What about people who bought a platinum licence with an upgrade option who do not want to go to Articulate 360? Will they get a refund on the upgrade portion or will they be forced to go to 360 if they want to benefit from their upgrade purchase?

While I see that there is benefit, especially for new customers, to 360, I am still not sure that it is worth mine and my company's money to take a perpetual licence and change it to a subscription for what I perceive to only be minor feature enhancements.

I am open to be shown why the expense would be worth my while?

269 Replies
lawrence jacobson
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 3:13 pm (UTC)

I just had my own questions satisfactorily answered by Articulate support. Development will continue on the standalone software and at some point enhancements and upgrades to Storyline 2 will be released. Knowing this I am more excited about 360 and will look at slowly acquiring licences for my team because we cannot afford to all move over to 360 right away.

Will try out the trial version shortly and report back once I have some feedback.

Brian Gil
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 7:08 pm (UTC)

Hi everyone,

We’ve seen a few questions on pricing, subscription delivery model, and the plan for perpetual products, and wanted to give you some insight into our approach.

Value of Articulate 360

With Articulate 360, we set out to address every aspect of the course development process. In addition to eight content authoring applications (including new versions of Storyline and Studio), Articulate 360 has a robust library of course assets, an app for reviewing projects with stakeholders, and live webinar training with industry experts. As a whole, this solution is meant to make it easier, faster, and cheaper for customers to create multi-device courses, source high-quality assets, finish project reviews, and grow their skills as course developers.

If you compare pricing for Articulate 360 to other solutions that offer all of these features, it’s quite competitive.

Comparison Matrix

To help our existing customers transition to Articulate 360, we’re offering deep discounts (we encourage you to contact sales for help getting an exact quote for your situation). And we are fully aware that to keep your subscription in year two, we’ll need to provide ongoing value. In short, we’re on the hook to make sure you stay happy with Articulate 360! We’re confident that we can do that.

The absolute best way to get a sense for the value of Articulate 360 and whether it’s right for you is to use it. We encourage you to get a free trial to assess it for yourself. (And if you were in the beta, we encourage you to get the trial to play with Rise!)

Subscription vs Perpetual Licenses

We also understand that there are some people who would prefer to continue using their existing Articulate software. Some people may also prefer to buy a perpetual license rather than buy a subscription that gives them continuous product updates.

For these folks, we will still provide perpetual licenses of Storyline and Studio. You can buy perpetual Storyline 2 licenses here: https://www.articulate.com/p/storyline-2 and perpetual Studio 13 licenses here: https://www.articulate.com/p/studio-13.  

We will release the next perpetual versions of Storyline and Studio next year. Just a note that these products will NOT include integration with the web apps in Articulate 360 such as Content Library and Articulate Review. We truly haven’t set a firm release date for the next perpetual versions of Storyline and Studio (we’re not being coy!) but it will be in 2017. We’ll share news of it in the community when we have a firmer date.

Again, we know Articulate 360 may not be right for everyone. We’ve also heard from so many folks that it’s exactly what they needed. We’ll continue listening and doing the best we can!

Matt Garratt
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 9:15 pm (UTC)

I'm pretty underwhelmed. While there are some differences, the courses creation options are not as comprehensive as the free Adapt Learning software.

Training and Review system are add ons, but if Adapt is considered in the pricing ranges quoted above, it should actually be $0 to $900 year, $0-$1997 year...

Install is much simpler though. I'm impressed you can start using it right out of the browser. Worth the subscription cost though?

Fraser M
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 9:19 pm (UTC)

I've been a huge supporter of Articulate for many years. (I was even on the
beta test team for Storyline)  I would like to purchase Storyline 360, but I don't want Studio, Replay, Peek, and Preso which I know with 100% certainty that I will never use?  There are a ton of customers of yours that also feel this way.  I would hate to go to McDonalds and ask for a Big Mac and be told I would also need to pay for a Quarter pounder, McRib, McFish, and Chicken nuggets which I don't want.  I really think Articulate is going to need to reevaluate its pricing model.

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 9:59 pm (UTC)

Hi Helena,

Articulate 360 has everything you need to source assets, author courses, collaborate with stakeholders, and grow your e-learning skills - so Peek, Preso, Quizmaker, Studio etc. are all included. That way you don't have to choose which product to purchase, but instead have access to the tools you need at the moment you want to create. If you're still looking to have just one particular tool, we'll continue to sell and support the stand alone perpetual licenses of Storyline 2 and Studio '13. 

 

Kevin Brierton
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 10:03 pm (UTC)

The eLearning eco system your trying to build here is actually a great idea. Your execution in presenting and trying to convince people to move to a subscription based pay model at $1300 year is embarrassingly ridiculous and will hurt your brand. You limit your audience to wealthy large corporations whom will move to cheaper option as soon as a competitor offers the same products at a much cheaper price. I have been designing eLearning for over 15 years and have used numerous web authoring tools. I love Storyline 2 because it’s easy to use and train people to use. I don’t think you can convince businesses to pay a yearly subscription just for easier mobile ready content. Adobe Captivate and Dreamweaver do it and yes, it is complicated, but it will get better in future upgrades. My prediction is that some will pay your outrageous subscription price and a year from now wonder why it’s so expensive and move to another program. In summary, from what I’ve seen of your Articulate 360 suit, there is no reason for anyone to pay your subscription price because the value added is just not there.

Emily Ruby
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 10:04 pm (UTC)

Hi Helena,

You can take a look at Preso here, and Peek here. The 360 subscription will include all of the products, including Studio 360. As Brian stated above, we will be releasing the perpetual products next year, so if you want to stick with that you can. 

But feel free to play around with the new Apps in a free trial!

Adam Hain
over 7 years ago11/09/16 at 11:22 pm (UTC)

I have taken a look at the new apps and new version of storyline and I do think there are some great things added (Rise, Review).  Whether this is needed for you or is worth the yearly fee is up to your institution.  

However, the significant upgrades to SL2 (mobile development especially) should really be made available to SL2 customers, subscription or not, as an upgrade - and hopefully not next year.  Love the product, just want to be able to use the most current version. 

Wessel van Heerden
over 7 years ago11/10/16 at 5:34 am (UTC)

Hi again. I am a e learning developer from South Africa. Remember, the whole planet does not revolve around America. I live in a country where our currency is 13.5 to the dollar. That means you must multiply $999 times 13.5 to pay for your course, and it becomes VERY expensive and unfordable, specially when it is a yearly subscription. I love Articulate, but sjoe will not be able to subscribe. I am also not a company but a freelance designer. What must I do? Evene $555 for a single person yearly is to much.

Christian Schade
over 7 years ago11/10/16 at 8:14 am (UTC)

That it is real big disappointment for me and also my other colleagues here at Olympus. Once we decided and convinced our sup that we need SL 2 as an alternative to captivate, we even get more (PMP2). And now you coming out with 360 (and its price) and that SL3 update will happen sometime next year!

Are you sure that this is really fullfilling customer needs?

Desiree Moore
over 7 years ago11/10/16 at 1:56 pm (UTC)

I think all of these tools are amazing, specifically Review and Rise. I really do wish that there was the option to pick and choose what products are right for our individual companies needs. We don't have much of a need for the entire package but those two programs would be fantastic to add to our arsenal. We just might not be able to sell the full package to our company heads at that price.

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