Quick answer. Choose Skilljar if the academy is only for customers and partners and your team lives in the CRM. It is built for that one job, and Gainsight now owns it. Choose Docebo if the same system must also train employees, resellers and other groups, at large scale. Docebo is the broader suite and usually the heavier rollout. Vendr's deal data puts both around $40,000 a year, so the choice is about audience and effort more than price.
What each one is
Skilljar runs training for people outside your company: product academies, certification tracks and partner courses. Since Gainsight's April 2025 purchase (GeekWire), its name on the price list is "Skilljar by Gainsight". Its plans include unlimited seats and courses. Professional adds a second academy site and admin SSO. Enterprise adds a third site (Gainsight's price page).
Docebo is an enterprise learning suite. One platform runs staff training, customer education and partner portals. Its pricing page speaks to very large programs, mentioning Fortune 500 firms and 30m+ learners.
The buyer is different too. Skilljar's is usually a customer education lead at a B2B software company. Docebo's is often an L&D or HR team that also owns an "extended enterprise" portal for outsiders.
How each charges (4 Nov 2026)
| Skilljar | Docebo | |
|---|---|---|
| Public price | No (three plans, "Let's talk pricing") | No |
| What you pay for | Yearly plan fee plus active learners | Active learner usage |
| How learners are counted | Someone who takes a lesson, counted once a month | You choose: monthly active, yearly active or registered active |
| Priced add-ons | $10k for Content Syndication; $25k and up for the Data Connector; $10k and up for a 5-language pack | Some integrations may need an add-on or services |
| Vendr median | $38,972 a year (235 purchases, $23,000-$99,951) | About $42,000 a year (147 purchases, about $21,300-$110,900) |
Sources: skilljar.com/customer-lms-pricing and docebo.com/pricing. Vendr figures are past deals, not quotes.
One thing to note: Docebo lets you pick how users are counted. For a customer academy where most people visit once, a monthly-active count can cost very differently from a registered count. Model both.
Differences that matter for customer education
- Focus. Skilljar does one audience well. Docebo spreads across many, so its customer portal is one feature among a lot.
- Reporting. Reviewers of both say reports are limited. Skilljar's usual fix is the $25k Data Connector. Docebo admins say they combine several reports by hand.
- Owner. Skilljar is part of Gainsight, which also owns Northpass and a CS platform. That's useful if you already run Gainsight CS. It's a concern if you want to avoid one vendor holding your whole post-sale stack.
- Setup. Docebo reviewers describe setup and customization as complex. Skilljar reviewers mention needing support for some bulk changes, a smaller kind of friction.
What reviewers say
Skilljar (search-result summaries of its G2 and SoftwareFinder reviews):
- Built-in reports are thin, and deeper analysis means exporting.
- Detailed changes need technical skills, and some bulk actions go through support.
Docebo (AWS Marketplace, SoftwareFinder):
- Initial setup and custom reports take real work.
- Unused licences can't simply be moved to someone else.
- Older and newer screens feel different, and course search is cluttered.
How to choose
- Who are the learners? Customers and partners only: Skilljar. Staff too, in one system: Docebo.
- How big is it? Tens of thousands of learners across regions: Docebo is built for that. A focused product academy: Skilljar.
- Already on Gainsight? Skilljar fits the suite. Not on Gainsight and don't want to be: weigh that.
- Ask both for a quote on the same learner count, and ask Docebo to price each counting method.
When an academy isn't the gap
Academies reach the customers who choose to study. Plenty of new B2B accounts never will. They want their account set up and working, and they won't take a course to get there.
Cor (getcor.ai), an AI onboarding agent for B2B software, handles that group one account at a time. Obi, Cor's AI agent, works directly with every new customer. Together they plan the setup; then Obi gets on a live call, watches the customer's screen and steers them through it, and checks in on its own between sessions. Plans run from $750 a month (Launch) to $1,750 (Growth) and custom (Scale), billed as a platform fee plus credits, with unlimited seats (getcor.ai). Cor has no courses, certificates or partner program, so it doesn't replace Skilljar or Docebo. It sits beside them for the first weeks of each new account.
FAQ
Skilljar vs Docebo: which is better for customer education?
For a customer and partner academy only, Skilljar is the more focused tool. If you also train employees in the same system, Docebo.
How much does Skilljar cost?
There's no list price. You pay a yearly plan fee and a charge for learners active each month; past deals on Vendr sit at a $38,972 median (estimate).
What are the best Skilljar alternatives?
For a full academy, look at Thought Industries or Intellum. Trainn is a smaller option that prints its prices. Northpass won't take you away from Gainsight, which owns it too.
How does Continu compare with Docebo and Skilljar?
Continu's pricing page lists Growth (under 1,000 monthly active users), Professional (1,000 to 5,000, adds external audiences like customers and partners) and Enterprise (5,000+), with no prices. Implementation is 10% of the first-year contract. It covers employees and outsiders in one system, closer to Docebo than to Skilljar.
Does Docebo publish prices?
No. Vendr's median is about $42,000 a year (estimate).
How we checked: all three pricing pages and Vendr were read on 4 Nov 2026.