An LMS demo proves only what the vendor does live, on your own file, while you watch. Anything shown on a pre-built demo account is a claim, and anything said out loud is a promise. That difference decides which platform you sign for, often for twelve months that renew on their own. This guide gives you 21 questions in seven groups, what a strong answer shows on screen, what a weak one sounds like, a 14-day free trial script and the red flags that end an evaluation early.
If you haven’t settled how a learning management system works yet, that’s five minutes well spent before you book any of these calls.
Key Takeaways
- Send your script and one real file 48 hours before the call. A vendor who can’t run your tasks live has told you something no slide will.
- Score each answer 2 if you saw it on your data, 1 if you saw it on a demo account, 0 if you only heard it. Twenty-one questions give a maximum of 42.
- “Free trial” covers two different things: a self-serve account you drive, and a sales-managed evaluation that some vendors run “AS IS” with no fixed end date.
- Ask for the export, the notice window and the renewal cap during the demo cycle. Docebo’s agreement needs 60 days’ written notice, LearnUpon’s needs 30.
Before the first call, put one policy document you already own through an AI LMS and keep the result. It gives you a baseline for question 4 that no vendor chose.
Send Your Script Before the LMS Demo
Every vendor keeps a demo account built to look good. The courses are finished, the reports have months of data and the learners never get stuck. That account can’t fail, which is why it can’t prove anything to you.
So change who picks the tasks. Email the vendor 48 hours ahead with the questions below you care about most, one real policy PDF, and one SCORM package from your current system if you have one. Ask for a learner login and an admin login in the same environment, so you see both sides.
Then run the call like a test:
- Give the rep the first 10 minutes for their overview, and keep the rest for your script.
- Ask the person with the keyboard to do each task, not describe it.
- Mark each question: seen on your data, seen on their account, or said.
- Record the call if they agree, so a colleague can check your marks.
If a vendor won’t load your file before the call, count that as your first answer. The demo is one step of a longer process, and how to choose an LMS puts it in order.
Learner View: Questions 1 to 3
Start with the learner. A rollout people hate lands on you, not the vendor.
1. “Invite me as a new learner by email, and let me reach my first assigned course on my phone.”
- Strong answer on screen: the invite arrives in your inbox, you log in on a phone, and the assigned course shows its due date.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Learners love our interface,” followed by a “preview as learner” button inside the admin screen.
2. “I stop halfway through a lesson. Show me where I land tomorrow on a laptop.”
- Strong answer on screen: the same account opens on a second device at the exact lesson, with progress kept.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Progress is saved automatically,” with no second device in sight.
3. “My course is overdue. Show me what I receive and what my manager sees.”
- Strong answer on screen: the reminder email or notification, and the manager’s view of the overdue learner.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Notifications are fully configurable in settings.”
Building a Course: Questions 4 to 6
This is where your own week goes, so test the build with your material, not theirs.
4. “Turn the policy PDF we sent into a short course with a five-question quiz, while we watch.”
- Strong answer on screen: the file goes in, a draft comes out, someone fixes a wrong line, and the course is published before the call ends.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Here’s one our team built earlier.”
If AI drafts the course, ask what it drafted from. Then ask whether a person has to approve it before learners see it.
5. “The policy changed. Edit one paragraph and show me what happens to people who already finished.”
- Strong answer on screen: the edit, the republish, and a choice about whether finished learners retake it, with their old record kept.
- Weak answer sounds like: “You’d just upload a new version.”
6. “Import our SCORM package, finish it as a learner, and show me the record it wrote.”
- Strong answer on screen: the upload, the launch, a status and score landing in the report, and the SCORM versions the player accepts named out loud.
- Weak answer sounds like: “We’re fully SCORM compliant.”
That phrase hides real gaps. Moodle’s own SCORM documentation says SCORM 2004 isn’t supported natively. Cornerstone’s Course Asset Connector takes SCORM 2004 in its 3rd edition only. If your package’s version is a mystery, what a SCORM file contains tells you where to look.
Reporting: Questions 7 to 9
If you’ve already promised your director a monthly report, these three decide whether you can deliver it.
7. “Show me who in one team hasn’t finished the compliance course due Friday, and remind them from that screen.”
- Strong answer on screen: a filter by team and due date, a list of names, and a reminder sent in two clicks.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Reporting is very flexible, and you can export anything to Excel.”
8. “What event sets a course to complete here, and can I change it per course?”
- Strong answer on screen: the setting itself. Last page reached, quiz passed at a mark you choose, or the status a package sends back.
- Weak answer sounds like: “When the learner finishes it.”
Two platforms can show two completion rates for the same people and both be right. Get this sentence in writing, and read how LMS reporting works report by report.
9. “Build the report my director asked for and schedule it monthly, without your solutions engineer taking over.”
- Strong answer on screen: the rep, or you, builds and schedules it in a few minutes.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Our services team can create custom reports for you.”
Admin and Automation: Questions 10 to 12
Most of your hours after launch go here, on joiners, leavers and permissions.
10. “Add a new hire by CSV or from our HR system, and show me the course assignment happen without anyone clicking.”
- Strong answer on screen: a rule by department, role or start date enrolls the new user on its own.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Admins can bulk-assign in seconds.” That’s still you, every week.
11. “Someone leaves. Deactivate them and show me their completion records afterwards.”
- Strong answer on screen: a deactivated account whose history still appears in reports and exports.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Don’t worry, that’s handled.”
Then ask how that person counts on the bill. Continu defines a monthly active user as “any unique user who logs into or interacts with Continu during a calendar month.” That’s a different bill from a registered-user count.
12. “Create a manager who sees only their team’s results, then log in as that manager.”
- Strong answer on screen: a second login that sees one branch of your org chart and nothing else.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Custom roles are available on our higher tiers,” with no tier named.
Integrations and SSO: Questions 13 to 15
Your IT team will ask these later. Get the answers now, with a plan name attached.
13. “Log in through our identity provider, not a password, and tell me which plan that’s on.”
- Strong answer on screen: an SSO login through a test identity provider, and the plan named in writing.
- Weak answer sounds like: “SSO is supported.”
Footnotes live here. 360Learning’s pricing table lists “Single sign-on (SSO)*” with an asterisk the page never defines. Ask what the asterisk means before your IT team does.
14. “Show each of the two integrations we need moving real data, not a logo.”
- Strong answer on screen: an event in one system produces a record in the other, with direction and timing stated.
- Weak answer sounds like: a count.
Docebo describes “hundreds of pre-built and custom integrations” on one page and “400+ secure integrations” on others. 360Learning says “80+ more” on its homepage and “50+” on its features page. Named connectors are what you’re buying, and the six jobs an LMS integration does help you name yours.
15. “Open the API documentation. Which endpoints cover users, enrollments and completions, and what’s the rate limit?”
- Strong answer on screen: the docs open, with a stated limit per tier.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Our API is fully open.”
Limits do get printed when a vendor is asked. Docebo’s Enterprise tier, for example, allows 100 API calls per minute and includes 2 sandbox environments.
Data Export and Exit: Questions 16 to 18
You’ll leave this platform one day, maybe at the first renewal. These questions price the exit before you enter.
16. “Export every learner’s completion history, with dates and scores, to a file I can open right now.”
- Strong answer on screen: a download during the call, and the file open in a spreadsheet.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Raise a ticket and we’ll send it over.”
Some vendors charge for it. Absorb’s terms cover a scheduled data export up to six hours of service, then $200 an hour, as of September 2026.
17. “Export one of our courses in a format another LMS can import.”
- Strong answer on screen: a package downloaded, and an honest list of what won’t survive the move.
- Weak answer sounds like: an export built for backup, not for moving in. CYPHER Learning, for example, names one course export format, Common Cartridge, and says it’s for backups.
18. “On the day the contract ends, what happens to our data, and which clause says so?”
- Strong answer on screen: a clause with an export window and a deletion date.
- Weak answer sounds like: “We’ve never had a customer lose data.”
If the vendor’s trial terms already say trial data can be deleted at expiry, ask what the subscription agreement says.
Commercial: Questions 19 to 21
Ask these on the demo call, not the procurement call. The rep who wants the next meeting answers faster.
19. “Walk back through what you just showed me. Which features are in the quote you’ll send?”
- Strong answer on screen: each demoed feature mapped to a line in a named tier.
- Weak answer sounds like: “We’ll put together a package that fits.”
Continu prints its implementation fee as “10% of the first-year contract value.” That’s the kind of line that surfaces late if you don’t ask. What an LMS actually costs shows the pricing models side by side.
20. “Who counts as a user, and what’s the smallest contract you’ll sell?”
- Strong answer on screen: the user definition and the floor, in one sentence.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Pricing depends on your needs.”
LearnUpon, for example, publishes floors of 100 users for employee training, 150 for associations and 300 for customer education.
21. “What’s the renewal term, the notice window and the cap on a renewal increase?”
- Strong answer on screen: the clause, quoted.
- Weak answer sounds like: “Our customers renew happily.”
Here’s what quoted clauses look like. Docebo’s master agreement (section 12.2) renews for 12 months, needs 60 days’ written notice and caps the increase at up to 10%. LearnUpon’s terms renew for 12 months on 30 days’ notice and let fees change on 30 days’ email notice. SkyPrep allows up to 15% at renewal.
Which LMS Free Trial Are You Actually Getting?
An LMS free trial comes in two kinds, and the difference changes what you should build in it.
Self-serve trials give you an account you drive. 360Learning offers a 30-day free trial on its Team plan. iSpring LMS runs 30 days with no card, though the form asks for your phone number. MoodleCloud’s trial lasts 28 days with up to 1GB of storage and 50 users.
Sales-managed evaluations are set up for you. Docebo’s Trial Environment Agreement states no fixed duration and provides the environment “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE.” Cornerstone’s FAQ answers “Can I try Cornerstone learning management platform for free?” with a free personalized demo.
The route matters too. 360Learning’s Business and Enterprise plans lead to “Request a demo,” and CYPHER Learning’s free-trial link leads to a contact-sales form.
Then check what happens at the end. iSpring’s subscription agreement says trial data is permanently lost unless you buy a paid plan before the trial ends. Seismic’s trial terms (February 2026) say content, data and configurations “may be permanently lost upon expiration.”
So ask one question before day one: does anything I set up in the trial carry over? If not, test with throwaway users and keep your real configuration notes outside the platform. If what you need is a permanently free plan rather than a trial, free LMS options sorts the four kinds of “free.”
A 14-Day LMS Free Trial Test Script
Run this in any trial of 14 days or longer. Each row has one pass condition you can check yourself.
| Day | Task | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invite yourself and two colleagues as learners; one uses a phone | All three reach the assigned course without help |
| 2 | Turn one real policy document into a course with a five-question quiz | Published and taken by a colleague before the day ends |
| 3 | Import one SCORM package from your current system | A finished attempt shows a status and a score in reports |
| 4 | Set the completion rule and a pass mark on both courses | A test learner who fails the quiz shows as not complete |
| 5 | Assign both courses to a group with a due date; let one learner go overdue | The overdue learner appears on a filtered list and gets a reminder |
| 6 | Add a user by CSV or integration with an auto-enrollment rule | The new user is enrolled with no manual assignment |
| 7 | Create a manager role limited to one group; log in as that manager | The manager sees only that group’s results |
| 8 | Connect one integration you need, or a webhook to a test tool | A real event moves data in the direction you need |
| 9 | Log in through SSO, or get the SSO plan and setup steps in writing | SSO works, or the plan is named in an email |
| 10 | Edit one paragraph in a published course | Finished learners keep their records; you choose whether they retake |
| 11 | Build and schedule your director’s monthly report | The report arrives by email with no vendor help |
| 12 | Export all completion records and one course package | The records open in a spreadsheet and the package imports elsewhere |
| 13 | Deactivate a test learner | Their history stays in reports; the seat is released as the quote defines |
| 14 | Send support one real question from the trial | You get a usable answer within the response time the vendor states |
Days 12 and 13 matter most, and they’re the ones buyers skip. The cloud LMS export test shows what to open inside the package once you have it.
Demo Red Flags That End the Evaluation
Any one of these is enough to drop a vendor, or at least to stop the clock until it’s fixed in writing:
- They won’t load your file, and every task runs on their demo account.
- SSO, the API or custom roles are “supported,” with no plan named.
- The integration answer is a number, not a named connector moving data.
- Exporting completion history takes a ticket or billed service hours.
- They can’t say what event marks a course complete.
- The trial deletes everything at the end and nothing carries over.
- The quote leaves out features they showed you on the call.
- They won’t send the master agreement until after the proposal.
- An AI feature is shown only as a recording. Ask for it live, the way a 90-second agentic LMS test does.
Score What You Saw, Not What You Heard
A total you can defend beats a feeling after three polished calls. Mark every question with one of three scores:
- 2: done live on your file or your test account
- 1: shown on the vendor’s own demo account
- 0: described but not shown
Twenty-one questions give a maximum of 42. Before the first demo, star the groups you can’t live without, for example data export and SSO.
Here’s a worked example. Vendor A does 12 questions on your data (24 points), shows 6 on its own account (6 points) and only describes 3 (0 points), for 30 of 42. Vendor B does 9 on your data (18), shows 10 on its account (10) and describes 2 (0), for 28 of 42.
The totals are close. But Vendor B’s two zeros are questions 16 and 17, the export questions, so if you starred data export, Vendor B is out whatever its total. The rule: drop any vendor with a zero in a starred group, then pick the highest total from the rest.
Put the Script in Their Inbox Before You Book
Send your top questions, one policy PDF and one SCORM package before you accept any demo invite. Score each call on the 2-1-0 scale the same day, and run the 14-day script in every trial that makes the cut. Put the notice date from question 21 in your calendar the week you sign, then move on to the implementation plan.
Mini Course Generator is our product, and you can run this script on it too: every plan opens with 14 days of full access and no credit card, courses export as PDF or SCORM at any time, and SSO for learners and the REST API sit on the Custom plan, so day 9 of the script and question 15 need a conversation rather than a trial. The plans and terms are on the pricing page.
FAQ
How long should an LMS demo take?
Plan for an hour and give the vendor 10 minutes of it. The other 50 go to your script, which covers about half the 21 questions. Book a second call for the rest rather than rushing the export and commercial groups.
Should I ask for a free trial or a sandbox?
Ask for whichever lets you drive. A self-serve trial you control beats a sandbox the vendor configures, because you find the problems a guided session steers around. If the vendor only offers a managed evaluation, get its length and what carries over in writing.
What if the vendor won’t offer a trial at all?
Then the demo carries more weight. Send the full script, ask for a recorded session on your file, and ask for a reference customer at your size. Score anything you couldn’t test yourself as a 1 at best.
Who from my team should join the demo?
Bring one person who’ll use it daily and one person from IT for the SSO and integrations group. Keep managers out of the first call. They judge the look, while you’re testing whether the work gets done.
How many LMS vendors should I demo?
Three is workable for one person running the evaluation. Past that the scores blur, so narrow the field on price floor and the must-haves from your LMS requirements checklist before you book anyone — the best LMS platforms comparison is one place to build that shortlist. Score the finalists in a comparison template so nothing gets missed between calls.
Sources
- Docebo Master Services Agreement, section 12.2, Docebo Trial Environment Agreement, and Docebo pricing and integrations pages
- Absorb Software Inc. Terms and Conditions
- LearnUpon Terms of Service, sections 8.2 and 9.1, and pricing page
- SkyPrep Terms and Conditions
- Continu pricing FAQ
- 360Learning pricing page, pricing FAQ and LMS features page
- Cornerstone LMS pricing FAQ and Course Asset Connector developer documentation
- iSpring LMS trial page and Services Subscription Agreement
- Seismic Trial Terms, February 2026
- MoodleCloud plans and Moodle SCORM FAQ
- CYPHER Learning features and contact-sales pages
- Mini Course Generator pricing page and pricing FAQ
