Report:
The Forrester Wave™: Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms, Q4 2025
How does Forrester define the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market in 2025?
Learning platforms facilitate the development of new skills for critical business use cases. While early iterations were primarily used to deliver and report on compliance training, the market has matured significantly over the past decade. Learning platforms now play an essential role in supporting organizational learning needs. Two primary forces drive innovation: business leaders demanding the ability to connect learning to business outcomes, and the use of generative AI significantly enhancing content creation and learning curation capabilities. The evaluation identifies Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders among 11 key providers based on current offering strength, strategy strength, and customer feedback.
Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms, Q4 2025 in 2025
- Publication Date: 14-Nov-2025
- Document ID: 2cfe6534
- Summary: In our evaluation of learning management system and experience platform providers, we identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps you select the right one for your needs.
- Authors: Katy Tynan, three contributors
How did the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market evolve in 2025?
- GenAI and demands for business value are the two primary forces driving innovation in the learning platform market
- Learning platforms have evolved significantly beyond compliance training to support essential organizational learning needs
- 11 major providers were evaluated across Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders categories
- Vendors must provide tools to navigate the risks and rewards of generative AI
- Deep integration with business applications is critical to connecting learning to business outcomes
- Native support for a variety of use cases beyond traditional HR applications is increasingly important
- The market has matured significantly over the past decade
- Revenue threshold for inclusion was at least $60 million USD in annual revenue from LMS/LXP products
- Evaluation materials were collected through August 26, 2025
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- Broad, enterprise-level support. The vendor natively provides all core functions for this space and has a demonstrated track record for supporting large enterprises.
- A solution available for purchase as a standalone product. The product has its own SKU and pricing. It is not solely available as a free feature within a larger portfolio.
- Substantial revenue in the market. The vendor has at least $60 million USD in annual revenue from its learning management system and experience platform product in the last four quarters.
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients. Forrester clients frequently mention the product as one they are considering prior to a purchase. We have heard about the product from our clients in the form of inquiries, advisories, consulting engagements, and other interactions over the past year. Other vendors mention this vendor as a competitor.
What are the common features of top products in the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms space?
No common features specified.
Scope Exclusions
- Vendors primarily focused on K-16 education sector without sufficient corporate market presence
- Vendors not meeting the $60 million USD annual revenue threshold
- Vendors primarily focused on federal and state government markets rather than broader corporate markets
- Solutions not available as standalone products with their own SKU and pricing
- Vendors without demonstrated enterprise-level support capabilities
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- Broad, enterprise-level support with demonstrated track record for supporting large enterprises
- Solution available for purchase as a standalone product with its own SKU and pricing
- At least $60 million USD in annual revenue from learning management system and experience platform product in the last four quarters
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients through inquiries, advisories, consulting engagements, and other interactions
- Recognition by other vendors as a competitor in the market
Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting
- Deployment strategy — 5%
- Accessibility — 5%
- Deskless worker support — 5%
- Administrator experience — 5%
- Curriculum management — 5%
- Reporting and analytics capabilities — 5%
- Native integration to HR technology — 5%
- Native integration to business apps — 5%
- E-Commerce — 3%
- Extended enterprise support — 4%
- Credential management — 3%
- Content authoring — 5%
- Content quality management — 5%
- Instructor-led training (ILT) support — 2%
- Hybrid program support — 5%
- Learner UX — 4%
- Flow of work — 5%
- Skills assessment and management — 2%
- Content discovery and curation — 4%
- Personalization — 5%
- Social learning — 4%
- Gamification — 5%
- Hands-on learning — 4%
Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting
- Vision — 20%
- Innovation — 20%
- Roadmap — 10%
- Partner ecosystem — 10%
- Adoption — 20%
- Pricing flexibility and transparency — 10%
- Community — 10%
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research covers an evaluation of the 11 most significant learning management system (LMS) and learning experience platform (LXP) providers in the market. It analyzes their current offerings, strategies, and customer feedback across multiple criteria including deployment strategy, accessibility, content management, analytics, integration capabilities, AI features, learner experience, and support for various use cases from compliance training to extended enterprise learning.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: This research should be used by organizations evaluating learning platform vendors to support their organizational learning needs. It is particularly valuable for buyers seeking to: understand how vendors stack up against each other; identify providers that offer strong genAI capabilities with appropriate safeguards; find solutions that integrate deeply with business applications and HR technology ecosystems; and select platforms that natively support multiple use cases including employee development, partner training, customer education, and deskless worker support. The interactive provider comparison tool allows buyers to adapt findings based on their specific priorities.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: Vendors included in this evaluation must provide broad enterprise-level support with all core LMS/LXP functions natively available and a demonstrated track record supporting large enterprises. The solution must be available as a standalone product with its own SKU and pricing, not just as a free feature within a larger portfolio. Vendors must have at least $60 million USD in annual revenue from their learning management system and experience platform product in the last four quarters. Additionally, vendors must have significant mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients, frequently mentioned in inquiries, advisories, and consulting engagements, and be recognized by other vendors as competitors in the market.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Insufficient corporate market presence (e.g., Anthology's Blackboard, primarily focused on K-16 education sector)
- Below the $60 million USD annual revenue threshold (e.g., LearnUpon)
- Primary focus on niche markets rather than broader corporate market (e.g., Meridian Knowledge Solutions focusing on federal and state government)
- Lack of enterprise-level capabilities or track record
- Solution not available as standalone product with own SKU and pricing
- Insufficient mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients
- Not recognized as a competitor by other vendors in the evaluation
Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?
A:
- Provide tools to navigate the risks and rewards of genAI, including safeguards to avoid plagiarism, bias, and other risks while leveraging AI for content creation, curation, personalization, and administration
- Deeply integrate with business applications beyond HR tools, including CRM platforms, marketing automation tools, and business intelligence solutions to connect learning to business outcomes
- Natively support a variety of use cases extending beyond traditional HR applications to avoid procurement rationalization while ensuring capabilities are sufficiently robust to support complex scenarios
- Evaluate vendor positioning (Leaders, Strong Performers, Contenders) and adapt findings based on your organization's specific priorities
- Consider customer feedback indicators, with particular attention to Customer Favorites (double halo) and above-average performers (single halo)
- Assess the vendor's strategy including vision, innovation pace, roadmap transparency, partner ecosystem strength, and community support options
Q: How has the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market evolved in 2025?
A:
- GenAI has tremendous potential to create efficiencies and improve the quality of learning content, with many vendors integrating genAI into authoring tools and using AI for curation, personalization, and administration
- Business leaders are demanding the ability to connect learning to business outcomes, requiring robust integration with CRM platforms, marketing automation tools, and broader business applications
- Organizations need vendors that understand and support a variety of nuanced use cases extending beyond traditional HR applications
- The number of use cases for learning is ever expanding, making organizations wary of supporting and integrating different platforms for each purpose
- Deep integration with business intelligence solutions is essential to facilitate the use of learning data as a driver of insights to the entire organization
Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?
A: Strength of Offering (vertical axis) evaluates the current capabilities and features of each vendor's learning platform, including technical functionality, user experience, integration capabilities, and support for various use cases. It represents what the platform can do today. Strength of Strategy (horizontal axis) evaluates the vendor's future direction and market positioning, including their vision for the market, innovation capacity, product roadmap, partner ecosystem, customer adoption strategies, pricing approach, and community building. It represents where the vendor is headed and how they plan to support customers over time.
Reference
- Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms, Q4 2025, 14-Nov-2025, ID 2cfe6534
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