Top 3 Badgr Alternatives: In-depth Comparison and Honest Review

Digital credentialing softwares only appear the same at the first look. Each product we’ve tried fits different use cases better, and that applies to Badgr as well. 

This platform turned out to be pretty unique in its approach: building a “skills ecosystem” with shareable digital badges and learning progression.

As Badgr puts this scenario first, you’ll most likely need something more versatile for your digital credentialing needs. 

Here we present you with the top 3 Badgr alternatives that work even better.

Discovering Badgr Alternatives — What You Need to Know

To be considered an apt replacement for Badgr, these alternatives needed to have essential features, in one form or another:

• Shareable digital badges — to boost both badge recipient and issuer on social media and spread the word;
• Putting digital credentials into context — instead of displaying them separately, each Badgr alternative needs to present the earned badges intertwined and create a story about the recipient’s career/learning progress;
• Labor market insights — presenting the users with a way to look into the global workforce and compare their skills to those desirable to employers.

All of the Badgr alternatives contain features such as these, expanded and improved; instead of Badgr, you can use:

• Virtualbadge.io;
• Sertifier;
• CertifyMe.

But first, let’s quickly review Badgr and see why and in which cases you might need a replacement.

Taking a Look at Badgr: the Good and the Bad

If you’ve already used Badgr and don’t need to hear more about it, feel free to skip to Badgr alternative No. 1 — Virtualbadge.io.

Here, we’ll discuss a couple of pros and cons of using Badgr and how it does (or doesn’t) benefit your case.

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As mentioned, Badgr puts particular emphasis on learning:

• Stackable achievements — Badgr users stack badges they earn in their Backpack, acting as an online folder to sort and display achievements;
• My Pathways — This part of the Badgr platform connects the dots and creates learning pathways for badge recipients:

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On the other end, badge issuers who belong to an academic institution, or a company that values internal specialization and improvement, benefit from a neat and interactive display of their employees’/students’ achievements.

The holistic view of learning is accompanied by real-time information about job opportunities for badge owners and in-depth analytics about users.

But, Badgr comes with some flaws:

1. It is not so easy to use  — Although the platform comes with a fair amount of automation, you can’t exactly run through it.
   Badge owners need to access the Advanced settings and paste JSON codes to add the badges — turning a simple action into an inconvenient process, at least for people who don’t want to mess around with code.
   Pathways might complicate the situation further: they are suitable for showing progress but unnecessarily complex if you only want to award certificates and badges and call it a day.
2. Better for internal use  — Do you belong to a company that wishes to track (and award) employee progress? Or an educational institution offering students a platform to collect, display and put their digital certificates into context? Badgr is a solid choice. 

However, consider using something else if you value the business side of digital credentialing, want to make money off it, or take the most straightforward route to award the badges. 

Badgr Pricing

The Free plan is decent, but the costs of Badgr Pro are hidden, and you need to get their quote for it:

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Now, let’s take a look at digital credentialing platforms that can replace Badgr and make up for its flaws. 

Badgr Alternative No. 1: Virtualbadge.io — A Complete Digital Credential Solution

If you need to issue professional, aesthetically pleasing digital certificates and badges fast — Virtualbadge.io is just the right thing.

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Virtualbadge.io is a scalable digital credentialing platform. It helps the users award course participants and recognize the achievements of students and employees.

Solutions are specially tailored for the following user categories:

• Online academies and educational institutions;
• Individual education providers: coaches and trainers;
• Businesses and enterprises.

From individuals selling their courses and educators doing their job online to employee recognition, career, and education advancement: one solution fits all.

In addition to certificates and badges, Virtualbadge.io has the following features:

• Open API; 
• Full Whitelabelling;
• Built-in Mailing tool:

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Why Should You Choose Virtualbadge.io?

• Effortless UX — Ease of use is one of the strongest suits of Virtualbadge.io: certificate and badge designer is convenient and intuitive. You won’t need onboarding to figure it out; instead, you can immediately start issuing digital credentials and get recognition while recipients share their skills and achievements.
  Here’s what a designer tab looks like:
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We keep improving Virtualbadge.io day after day: our newest addition provides the users with two ways to save their certificates.

The first one, the usual image format, can be printed and saved as a physical copy:
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Or save it as a Complete PDF certificate that reveals more possibilities for users: 
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Provided links and unique QR codes ensure certificate authenticity, and these printables can now act as scannable documents.

• An additional marketing channel — An organic one, at that. Virtualbadge.io encourages the course participants to share their accomplishments online with their social media audience. This way, certificate recipients get to attract the attention of recruiters interested in their skills, and your brand reputation continues to grow. 

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Is Virtualbadge.io *Really* A One-size-fits-all Solution?

If we’re nitpicking — existing certificate and badge templates probably aren’t elaborate enough for some tastes. 

Settings allow plenty of creativity, but Virtualbadge.io cannot replace complex designers such as Canva — read how we compare to Canva to learn what we mean. 

If your aesthetic needs are particular, it’s easy to upload a pre-designed form as a background and build on it. Problem solved!

You can always see for yourself: we’d love it if you took advantage of our 7-day free trial (it applies to each plan) or asked us anything you’d like to know.

Virtualbadge.io Pricing

Pricing plans adjust to any budget and grow along your wants and needs:
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Badgr Alternative No. 2: Sertifier — Built With Educators in Mind

Sertifier is our second contender: much like Badgr, this digital credentialing software is built with academic institutions in mind, helping them distribute digital certificates and badges to participating students.

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Why Should You Choose Sertifier?

• Rich integration capabilities — Sertifier enables integration via APIs and has a rich API library. Learning Management Systems and e-learning platforms can connect with ease, and custom integrations are possible as well. Zappier and Pabbly documentation are a bonus; shortly put — whatever you use, you can integrate.
• Comfortable mobile use — Sertifier has a dedicated mobile app, Verified. In addition to storing and verifying digital certificates and badges, this mobile app helps generate professional and accurate CVs on autopilot. It is available on AppStore and Google Play Store.
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Further is another mobile-first solution — a personalized content library enabling users to discover and learn new skills on the go.

• Sertifier is free for students.

Sertifier Cons

• It has limited use cases — Sertifier is what people call a one-trick pony; while Badgr can be used in the business world to some extent, Sertifier is tied to the world of learning. While it is an excellent Badgr alternative for academic/educational institutions, it is even less flexible for other purposes.
• Pushy ads — Sertifier advertises its mobile apps in a way that ruins user experience and makes the interface look less professional:
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• Not a unified platform — Downloading multiple different apps to use one platform is a hassle and adds additional steps where they aren’t necessary. 

Sertifier Pricing

The pricing is based on unique recipients, and each plan has a week-long free trial. However, Sertifier is quite expensive; in fact, it is the most costly Badgr alternative on this list:
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Badgr Alternative No. 3: CertifyMe — Design Aficionados’ Pick

Educators, event marketers, and HRs can use CertifyMe for digital credential creation and management — a pool of use cases bigger than Badgr’s:
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Why Should You Choose CertifyMe?

• Ease of use — CertifyMe has an interface reduced to essentials. Although a bit unsightly, it leaves no place for mistakes, even for first-time users:
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• Built-in Canva integration — As we’ve shown above, the CertifyMe certificate designer consists of nothing but basics. Luckily, there’s Canva integration to bridge the gap between simplistic tools and the need for advanced design capabilities:
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Note that this is the only Badgr alternative with Canva integration — meaning that you’ll have access to elaborate design tools.

• Plenty of instant sharing buttons — an impressive amount of social sharing buttons, covering all corners of the internet:
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CertifyMe Cons

• Individuals can’t try the free version — If you aren’t using CertifyMe on behalf of some organization, business, or enterprise, you won’t be able to test the tool and use the 50 free credentials they promise:
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• No pre-made templates — You need to make certificates and badges from scratch.

CertifyMe Pricing

CertifyMe has a money-back policy within 11 days of purchase, no questions asked, and four pricing tiers:

• Basic — $5/month;
• Supreme — $25/month;
• Premium — $50/month;
• VIP — $150/month.
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Note that the plans also vary in the number of admin accounts, APIs, integrations, and white-labeling availability.

Final Thoughts: Which Badgr Alternative To Choose?

Here’s how to make the pick:

• Choose Sertifier if you belong to an academic institution that needs a way to award the students with digital certificates. Mobile apps are handy, but Sertifier is quite pricy and could benefit from less intrusive ads.
• Opt for CertifyMe if the design is your thing, and Canva integration is what you need to create digital certificates that hit the spot. However, there are no templates you can quickly adapt and get the job done fast.
• Win with Virtualbadge.io if you need it all, and need it right away: shareable digital credentials that introduce you to the world with the power of social media. Accompanied by in-depth analytics and mailing tool, Virtualbadge.io is easy to use and scalable.

While you’re thinking about it, take Virtualbadge.io for a free spin — or help yourself to our classically beautiful, free certificate templates!