Credly vs. Certopus: Why Certopus is a More Affordable Credly Alternative

Introduction

Are you looking for an trusted and affordable alternative to Credly? Compared to Credly's high prices and limited features, Certopus offers a cost-effective option with more capabilities. This blog compares Credly and Certopus. We have analyzed the features and pricing of both services, explaining why Certopus is a superior yet more affordable choice for digital credentials. If you're seeking an alternative to Credly, read on to learn why Certopus is the best option in 2023.

What is Credly?

Credly is a platform for digital credentials that allows users to create, issue, manage, and share digital credentials. It provides services such as badge design, issuing and management, and verification. Despite its popularity, Credly has a number of significant limitations that make it a less desirable option for issuing digital credentials like certificates and badges.

How much does Credly cost?

As one of the early players in the digital credentials industry, Credly has been a popular choice for organizations looking to issue and manage digital credentials. However, it's no secret that Credly's pricing model has been a cause for concern for many users. Credly's pricing has been non-transparent, making it difficult for potential users to get a clear understanding of how much it will cost them. However, based on feedback from existing Credly users regarding it's pricing, it appears that pricing is quite expensive, which can be a cause for concern for small or medium-sized organizations with a limited budget. Additionally, with limited features, Credly may not be the best fit for larger enterprises either.

Credly Pricing (As reported by few Credly Users):

Annual fee for 500 badges: $2,500

Annual fee for 1,000 badges: $4,500

Annual fee for 2,500 badges: $7,500

Annual fee for 5,000 badges: $10,000

Annual fee for 10,000 badges: $20,000

Credly vs. Certopus

We will compare Credly and Certopus head-on based on multiple factors to help you make an informed decision about which digital credentials platform is right for your organization. From pricing and features to customer support and ease of use, we will cover it all. The factors which we will compare are:

Onboarding / Trial

Digital Credentials Options

White Labelling & Branding

Design Templates

Credential Claiming, Sharing & Wallet

Pricing

Onboarding / Trial

Credly: Credly's onboarding experience is one area where it falls short. There is no option for self-onboarding or a free trial to test out the platform's features before committing to it, unlike some of its competitors. Furthermore, there are very limited resources available to help users get started, which can be discouraging for those who prefer a more hands-on approach. The only option is to contact Credly's team and get onboarded, which can be a time-consuming and occasionally difficult process. This lack of user-friendly onboarding can be a significant barrier for organizations looking for a simple and intuitive digital credentials platform.

Certopus:

Certopus provides a smooth onboarding experience that is user-friendly and intuitive. Users can get a sense of how Certopus works and whether it is the right fit for their organization by using self-onboarding options and a free trial with 50 credentials credits to test out the platform's features. Certopus also offers a variety of resources to help users get started, such as guided walkthroughs, tutorial videos, one-on-one product demos, a knowledge base, and live chat support. This all-inclusive approach means that all users, whether free or paid, have equal access to support and resources. Overall, Certopus' emphasis on providing a positive onboarding experience distinguishes it from its competitors and makes it an appealing option for organizations that value simplicity and ease of use.

Digital Credentials Options

Credly:

While Credly has been successful in the digital badge market, it doesn't focus much on the range of digital certificate and micro-credentials options that are available with its competitors. Furthermore, their support for Open badges is unclear. On the public credential page of digital badges, images lack metadata to be compliant with Open badges standard, which makes it difficult for users to comply with the standard. Users have to generate metadata using their API, which can be a challenging and time-consuming process. Overall, Credly's limited digital credential options and unclear support for Open badges make it a less attractive option for organizations looking for a more comprehensive and user-friendly digital credentials platform.

Certopus:

In contrast to Credly, Certopus is a versatile and user-friendly digital credentials platform that offers a wide range of digital credential options. Certopus is widely used for issuing digital certificates, digital badges, micro-credentials, licenses, and more. The platform is transparent about its security compliance and uses bank-level secure HMAC-SHA256 and industry-standard IPFS protocol-based robust file verification for credentials. Moreover, Certopus is compliant with Open Badges standard for digital badges, making it easier for users to comply with the industry-recognized standards. With a comprehensive range of digital credential options and transparent security compliance, Certopus is the ideal platform for organizations looking for a secure and versatile digital credentials solution.

White Labelling & Branding

Credly:

Another area where Credly badly falls short is in branding and white labeling options. Digital credentials are a crucial extension of an organization's brand, and issuers relying on Credly are missing out on key marketing and brand-building opportunities. Unlike other digital credentials platforms like Certopus, Credly doesn't offer any options for white-labeling or branding credentials pages. Credly enforces it’s own identity in digital credentials issued using it despite the expensive price tag making it less value for money.

Certopus:

Certopus offers a range of branding and white labelling options to its users. With the professional subscription, users can host their credentials on their own domain by simply setting up a CNAME, and the white-labelled credential pages have no Certopus branding. Credential emails can also be white labelled using SMTP functionality. In addition to this, users can customize the look and feel of the credential pages by setting their brand colors, logos, favicons, and meta keywords for SEO purposes. Certopus also provides users with the option to create a dedicated white-labelled verification portal, which is not available on Credly. These branding and white labelling options give users the flexibility to showcase their brand and create a seamless user experience, which adds value for money to the product.

Design Templates

Credly:

When it comes to issuing digital credentials, Credly falls short in terms of design options. Credly's credential designer tool is not user-friendly and lacks modern features. There are no professional pre-made templates for users to choose from, and custom variables and attributes which is a very crucial feature is not supported. As a result, users may have to invest additional time and resources into designing and creating their digital credentials or hire graphic designers. This can be a significant additional expense on top of the already expensive annual fees charged by Credly.

Certopus:

Certopus offers a modern and user-friendly credential editor with a variety of pre-made design templates, allowing users to quickly create professional-looking digital credentials. Certopus, unlike Credly, supports text and image-based custom variables/attributes, giving issuers more flexibility in creating and customising credentials. Certopus also supports dynamic QR codes, which can be useful for tracking and verifying credentials. Certopus can significantly reduce the time and cost overheads associated with the credential issuance process with these design resources, making it a more cost-effective solution for organizations of all sizes.

Credential Claiming, Sharing & Wallet

Credly:

There is one significant disadvantage to issuing digital credentials through Credly which cannot be ignored. Once a credential is issued, the recipient must have to create a Credly account in order to claim and view it or showcase their reward/achievement. This can be seen as a disadvantage for issuers because it focuses on Credly rather than their own organization. By requiring recipients to create an account on Credly, the effectiveness of the digital credential and the issuer's branding can be reduced. This has the potential to reduce the overall value of digital credentials in the eyes of recipients, ultimately undermining the credential issuer's goals.

Certopus:

Certopus's frictionless credential viewing, sharing, and claiming process is one of its most notable features. Unlike Credly, recipients of Certopus digital credentials do not need to create an account in order to view or share their credentials. Credentials can also be directly accesed from the delivery email, making the process more seamless and user-friendly. Certopus also provides white labelling options for public views of credential wallets, enhancing an organization's brand presence and overall professional appearance. This streamlined approach to digital credential management distinguishes Certopus from its competitors and demonstrates Certopus' commitment to providing a top-quality user experience.

Pricing

Credly:

Annual fee for 500 badges: $2,500

Annual fee for 1,000 badges: $4,500

Annual fee for 2,500 badges: $7,500

Annual fee for 5,000 badges: $10,000

Annual fee for 10,000 badges: $20,000

Certopus:

Certopus Basic Annual - 3,000 Digital Credentials - $149.99

Certopus Standard Annual - 15,000 Digital Credentials - $399.99

Certopus Professional Annual - 30,000 White labelled Digital Credentials - $749.99

With the pricing in front of you, you can decide which solution is superior in terms of features and value for money. So, make a wise choice. By using Certopus, you not only reduce your burn, but you can also utilize your budget in other areas to improve the quality of your programs and services.

Conclusion

When choosing a platform to issue digital credentials, it's important to weigh the costs and benefits of each option. While Credly has its strengths, such as its badge-focused approach, it may not provide the level of customizability, branding, and ease of use that many organizations require. On the other hand, Certopus offers a wide range of features and capabilities, including support for various types of credentials, a user-friendly interface, and robust security measures, all at a more affordable price point. Ultimately, we hope that this comprehensive comparison guide to help you choose between Credly and Certopus for your digital credentials.

Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ )

Do Credly provide free trial?

Credly does not provide a free trial. To start using Credly, you need to contact their sales team to discuss pricing and onboarding options. This means that there is no way to test the platform or its features without committing to a paid plan.

What is Credly acclaim?

Credly Acclaim is a digital credentialing platform that allows organizations to issue and manage digital credentials.

What is the top Credly alternative for issuing digital credentials?

Certopus is a top alternative to Credly, providing an all-in-one digital credential management platform with features such as digital certificates, badges, and micro-credentials. Certopus has white labelling and branding features. Also, pricing of Certopus is way more affordable than Credly.

Need more information?

Schedule a demo to learn more about Certopus for your business use-case, or if you have any questions, please contact us. We would be delighted to assist you. Finally, if you're on social media, follow us to remain informed about our latest developments and to learn more about digital certificates.

💡

Sign Up!

Recommended Articles:

Maximizing Profits: The Benefits of Incorporating Digital Credentials into Your Training Program

Discover how digital credentials can increase profits, engagement, credibility, visibility, flexibility, career opportunities and cost savings for your training program