Alison

Overview

The catalogue spans more than 6,000 courses across 10 categories, and Alison says its courses are CPD UK accredited. Learners can work at their own pace, with no time limit to finish; completed courses can lead to Certificates or Diplomas. Career resources include psychometric assessments, a Career Ready Plan, Career Guide, résumé builder, job listings and course recommendations.

Alison also offers learning management software for organisations, from a capped Free LMS to paid LMS+ plans. The company was founded in Ireland in 2007 and is headquartered in Mount Carmel, Loughrea. It reports more than 50 million learners and 15 million graduates across 193 countries.

Compare it with other options in MOOC Platforms and Online Course Marketplaces.

Key features

Courses, credentials and career tools

Free access to thousands of courses makes Alison a practical choice for exploring subjects or building skills without a course fee. Free learning includes advertising; Premium is offered to remove ads. Certificates and Diplomas provide a completion credential, but Alison's course accreditation does not by itself establish that a particular credential meets an employer's requirements. Career tools add useful job-search and self-assessment resources alongside study.

Offline study

Downloads support learning away from a connection, but only English courses can be used offline, and downloads require the Alison app. Quizzes, assessments and certificates still need internet access. Downloads are for personal use and cannot be shared or distributed, so offline access is not a way to circulate course materials.

Organisational learning

The Free LMS supports up to 10 users per organisation, with access to more than 6,000 courses and basic assignment and reporting tools, without software, content or implementation fees. That cap makes it a useful low-risk starting point for a small team, but not a fit for larger groups. LMS+ removes user limits and adds groups, co-branded certificates, ad-free learning, reporting and Content Hub storage; tests and storage remain plan-specific quotas. Organizations can invite learners, assign courses, manage groups and control roles and permissions. Alison also offers an API, though the customer's technical team must assess compatibility with its systems.

Pricing

The learner plans are separate from the business LMS plans. The free plan includes self-paced courses, with Certificates and Diplomas available; advertising is part of free learning. No refund policy is stated.

• Free — 0.00 USD per free: Course access and self-paced learning, with certificates and diplomas available. Best for learners comfortable with ads and online-only assessments.
• Single Course Download — 1.00 USD per once: One course download for personal offline use. Choose it for occasional offline study rather than paying monthly for broader downloads.
• Unlimited Offline Access — 5.00 USD per month: Unlimited course downloads while the subscription is active. It suits regular offline learners, but does not remove the English-only or internet-dependent assessment limits.

For organisations, Free LMS is free for up to 10 users, with 6,000+ courses and basic assignment and reporting. Paid LMS+ plans use monthly billing and offer larger quotas and additional features:

• LMS+ Starter — 99.00 USD per month: 3 complimentary certificates per month, 30% off bulk certificate purchases and 500 MB of Content Hub storage per month. A small organisation can use it for basic paid LMS+ features, but it has no stated psychometric-test quota.
• LMS+ Growth — 249.00 USD per month: A free trial is available. Includes up to 180 psychometric tests, 10 complimentary certificates and 3 GB of Content Hub storage per month, plus 40% off bulk certificate purchases. It suits teams needing assessments and more storage than Starter.
• LMS+ Enterprise — 599.00 USD per month: Up to 600 psychometric tests, 20 complimentary certificates and 5 GB of Content Hub storage per month, plus 50% off bulk certificate purchases. Larger quotas make it the better fit of these plans for organisations with heavier training needs.

LMS+ has no seat licenses, user limits or usage tiers, but monthly test, certificate and storage allowances still apply. No trial duration or renewal terms are stated.

Platforms

Alison is available on the web, Android and iOS. Offline learning is app-only; the Alison App requires Android 7 or higher or iOS 15.6 or higher. Even with a downloaded course, quizzes, assessments and certificates require an internet connection.

Who it's for

Alison is best for independent learners who value free, self-paced study, can tolerate ads and do not need every course activity offline. Its career resources are a useful extra for people connecting learning with job search. For organisations, Free LMS fits groups of up to 10; LMS+ is aimed at teams that need unlimited learners, management tools and larger training quotas. It is a weaker choice for anyone who needs ad-free study without a paid option or offline access to non-English courses and assessments.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Large free catalogue: More than 6,000 courses across 10 categories give learners plenty of subjects to explore without a course fee.
• Flexible pace and credentials: There is no time limit to complete courses, and completion can lead to a Certificate or Diploma.
• Free organisational entry point: Free LMS includes course access and basic assignment and reporting for up to 10 users without software, content or implementation fees.
• Offline options: A one-time course download or monthly unlimited-download plan can help learners study offline, within the English-only and app-only limits.

Cons

• Ads on free learning: Learners who want an ad-free experience need the Premium option.
• Offline is partial: Only English courses can be downloaded, and quizzes, assessments and certificates still need internet.
• Free LMS is small-team only: The 10-user cap pushes larger organisations to a paid plan.
• Paid LMS quotas matter: Monthly tests, certificates and storage are capped, even though learner counts are unlimited.

Alternatives

Choose edX if a free audit track with limited course access and no graded assignments or certificate better suits your goals. Khan Academy is another free option on web and mobile. Pick Brilliant if its free allowance of two lessons or practice sets per day is a better match. Great Learning offers more than 1,000 self-paced free courses, with certificates available for a nominal fee. OpenClassrooms offers free-access courses online. DataCamp provides a free first chapter of every course, plus limited practice and project access. freeCodeCamp is another free learning option. FutureLearn offers limited access to short-course materials.

Verdict

Alison is a strong fit for self-directed learners who want a broad free catalogue, flexible pacing and career tools, or for small organisations that can work within the Free LMS's 10-user limit. Its main advantage is the range of learning and organisational options around a free core. Look elsewhere if ads are a deal-breaker, offline access must include assessments, or your organisation needs more capacity than the free tier provides.