Building vs Buying an E-Learning Platform: Which is the Best Option?

Struggling with the pressing build or buy question for your e-learning platform? All the organizations go through this transition! 

Both approaches have their own pros and cons. Building your e-learning platform is perfect for a unique branding experience. Also, it’s great if you have a long-term scalability plan. But the long time-to-market and cost make you think twice! 

Alternatively, buying is right if you need a quick, tested, and affordable solution. The wrong decision could be an expensive mistake! 

Let’s take a closer look and choose what’s best for your business!

Building Your E-Learning Platform

When faced with this build or buy dilemma, consider the pros and cons. As an entrepreneur, you will think organizations are building their online platforms. 

From SalesForce to JetBlue Airways, all have a sustainable training solution. These are largely big players in their domains with years of expertise. 

So, building right for you as well?

Well, that’s not true! Ask why you need a learning solution in the first place. 

Pros 

• Full Control & Ownership 

One of the main custom development benefits  is complete control. That’s what is called proprietary ownership or legal right to use the platform.  

• Customization

Whether it’s the interface or features, you are the ultimate decision-maker. Want to offer multi-learner VR-based learning? You might need real-time VILT interaction, games & simulation features. Or do you prioritize cohesive branding experience?Then, building from scratch might be the solution! 

• Scalability

A scalable platform evolves as the business grows. Whether it’s new users, exciting content, peak traffic loads or downtime. Now, the tech stack plays a key role in scalable platforms. Lastly, custom development helps you to stay off limiting contracts or vendor demands.

Cons

• High Budget

From research to marketing, building from scratch is expensive. E-learning platform development costs are $50,000 to $100,000.

• Long Time To Market

Time to market is the period between the initial conceptualization and the actual purchase. The TTM is huge when you build from scratch.

• Demands Technical Expertise

Building from scratch involves tailoring to unique learning needs. And you need a  skilled tech team or development agency.

• Maintenance Cost

Be it a security patch, bug fix, or performance update, maintenance is ongoing. For custom-built platforms, this means a series of manual updates. Running these updates is tedious for businesses.

• Might Not be a Proven Framework

The building approach is more experimental. Unlike pre-built platforms, there’s no tried-and-tested framework for a solution.

Factors to Consider When Building an E-Learning Platform

Here are the key points to keep in mind while building from scratch:

• Approach: Build internally Vs. Freelancing Vs. Development Agency

If you are building from scratch, your development method matters. Have a skilled in-house development team? Zero in a UX design with your tech team, and get started!

• Developer Cost

The development rates vary significantly across the globe. For instance, developers from Western Europe and North America demand a substantial cost. In contrast, the Asian and Eastern counterparts charge low rates per hour.

• Tech Stack

What kind of e-learning platform do you visualize? Your choice of tech stack depends on that. The tech stack includes languages, frameworks, API, databases, etc. The choice of tech stack decides how well you can integrate with external tools. Well, that decides your business growth!

• Project Complexity

Complex UIs, personalized learning paths, and gamified learning makes your platform complex. Eventually, this influences your costs, resources, and timelines, 

• Extensibility & Scalability

Your e-learning business is definitely going to evolve. Adapting to a growing user base, learning needs, and technologies is part of this growth. Designing a scalable platform from the start helps to deal with it better.

Considering these factors helps businesses to offer a seamless learning experience.

Buying an E-Learning Platform

If you need a cost-effective and quick approach, buying is the right one for you!  Each platform caters to different learning needs and goals.

Your e-learning platform cannot have every feature. That’s where research kicks in! 

List your organization’s priorities and business model.

Virtual academies, corporate training, or internal training portals? 

Now, you know what exactly you’re looking for!  Thus, you focus all your efforts on energy on content creation.

Businesses often choose to build their own platform. Next, they invest all their resources (time and money) in building it from the ground up. Result? You don’t have enough budget for content creation.

With a store-brought platform, you reduce the risk. You can break the entire implementation process into bite-sized tasks. From customization to the final launch, everything gets streamlined.

Pros

• Fast Deployment

Pre-built or off-the-shelf solutions would be up & running within days or weeks. The quick setup & launch are perfect for agile businesses. Say goodbye to extensive research, long development cycles, or project delays. 

• Cost-Effective

Buying an e-learning platform is an affordable option. For example, pre-built e-learning scripts range from $1400 to $2000.  This is perfect for mid-size and large businesses with a limited budget.

• Customization Options

Off-the-shelf platforms have long been synonymous with limiting customizations. But modern learning platforms offer deep customizations. These white-labelled solutions provide enough freedom to brand your platform. And just the way you want!

• Proven Framework

Typically, buying an e-learning platform means you’re embracing a proven industry framework. Pre-built UI components, desirable features, and premium add-ons productive systems.

• Maintenance & Support Included

Vendors offer hands-on maintenance & upgrades, keeping everything up-to-date! No need to manually schedule the upgrades. Most e-learning platforms offer free training & support.

Cons

• Reliance on the Provider

Imagine reaching out to your e-learning provider for every minuscule change. This could mean long development cycles & limiting vendor contracts. But, an open-source code like Pinlearn offers 100% freedom. You enjoy complete ownership over your platform!

• Licensing & Additional Costs

Licensing is a stumbling block when purchasing an e-learning platform. Some vendors come with renewals, maintenance costs, and hidden transaction charges. Fortunately, solutions like Pinlearn come with a one-time cost.

Factors to Consider When Buying an E-Learning Platform 

Finally, are you buying an e-learning platform or giving it thought? You can’t miss out on these guiding signposts. Figuring out the right e-learning solution is a maze!

Consider these missing pieces to find your way:

• Features & Functionalities

Course creation, live classes or quiz modules? What features best define your platform?

You might not get all the features ticked.  Ensure the platform matches 90% of your critical features and most of your essential features.

• User Experience

Attention spans are getting shorter than ever! Hence, ease of use is critical. Choose an intuitive and beginner-friendly platform. It impacts engagement and learning progress and motivates them towards outcomes.

• Compatibility & Integration

Online learning is a cohesive experience. You need tons of integrations to streamline your workflows. There’s LMS, CMS, video conferencing, emails, and more. Your e-learning platform must easily integrate with different tools. 

• Mobile-responsive

A mobile-responsive design makes learning adaptive across all screens. Ensure your platform is optimized for different screens, layouts, etc. 

• Cost

While basic LMS costs a few hundred dollars, enterprise solutions are more expensive. Doing the math is crucial. The cost depends on features, user experience, scalability, etc.

So, should you splurge or not to splurge? Dig deeper into the setup fees, hosting and user fees, and customization costs.

• Analytics & Reporting

Look for progress reports, assessments, course lists, and revenue statistics in the platform. Thus, you can track, tweak, and streamline your business flows.

When Should You Build or Buy an E-learning Platform?

Now, you have got a fair idea of the upsides and downsides of both. Let’s cut to the chase and explain ideally when you should build or buy.

Build an e-learning platform if:

• You have a niche-specific training need.
• There’s a unique target audience to serve. 
• The look and feel of the platform matters — you need a customized interface
• You have adequate time and resources to invest in long development cycles.
• You are planning to expand across multiple regions, modules, or even multi-tenancy.

Buy an e-learning platform if:

• You need a quick e-learning solution to get your platform up and running
• You lack adequate resources for building from scratch.
• Sophisticated features like Single Sign-On, integrations, local payment gateways, etc.
• You’re building a complex e-learning platform
• You need a proven framework with expertise in unique learning needs.
• There’s a large user base or possibility of future growth.
• You are curious to test your idea before the big launch
• You prioritize customer support, security fixes & feature upgrade

Building vs Buying an E-Learning Platform: Comparison Table

Let’s summarize all the points so far:

Why is Pinlearn the Right Choice to Buy an E-Learning Platform?

In pursuit of the right e-learning solution? Maybe you’re building compliance training software, or an expert eager to share knowledge with the world. Pinlearn is a powerful answer for every learning need!

Here’s why it’s the perfect educational software:

• Easy, Intuitive Interface

Pinlearn is beginner-friendly and can be easily used by tutors and students. From creating and selling courses to hosting a live session, tutors don’t need to be a tech wizard. Moreover, it’s highly adaptive to align with your business.

• Scalable

Planning to scale your e-learning business globally? Be assured you have picked the e-learning solution. Add analytics, multi-language support,or manage user roles with minimal effort and cost.

• Build Unique Brand

Whether you want to boost your existing branding or weave a new identity, Pinlearn is all you need. It’s 100% customizable and open source can be easily tailored to your needs. 

• One-time Cost, No Hidden Charges

Once you purchase the clone script, there’s no recurring or hidden charges. Pinlearn offers a premium product at an affordable one-time cost.

• Integrations & Analytics

Scaling and growing your e-learning business shouldn’t come at a cost! That’s exactly what Pinlearn proves! From integrating Stripe gateway to SendGrid drip campaigns, you can easily streamline workflows.

Final Verdict: Build or Buy; Choose What’s Right For Business

So, should you build or buy your e-learning platform?

Well, that’s your choice and depends on your platform goals and customizations. If you have adequate resources and a scalable budget, you can build from scratch. 

Otherwise, clone scripts like Pinlearn could script your challenges to win a success story! We at Pinlearn simplify building an e-learning platform at an affordable price. Reach out to us and put an end to your build vs. buy e-learning dilemma!

FAQ-Related to Building vs Buying an E-Learning Platform

1. What is the cost to build an e-learning platform?

The e-learning platform development cost comes to $50,000 to $100,000. This depends on several factors like features, hourly rates, third-party integrations, location, etc.

2. How to build an e-learning platform?

Here’s an actionable roadmap for development:

• Define a profitable niche & target audience
• Perform market research 
• Choose a monetization strategy
• Decide your essential & advanced features
• Choose the right platform
• Promote & Launch your platform
• Scale your e-learning platform 

3. Which are the problems of building an e-learning platform from scratch?

Here why custom development could be challenging:

• Longer Time-To-Market
• High Budget
• Maintenance burden
• Security risk
• Technical expertise

4. When should you buy an e-learning platform?

Buying an e-learning platform is better if you:

• Need a quick and agile approach
• Don’t have an adequate tech team, resources, or budget
• Need maintenance updates, customer support & training
• Need to validate your business idea before launch. But, you want to do away with extensive rounds of testing.