Online exam software sets, delivers and marks tests, and some products also lock the candidate's device or watch them on camera.
This guide ranks open, independent and priced-in-public products first, and weighs each on four questions: how secure the sitting is, how marking works, what a year costs, and whether data can leave.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What online exam software does
Online exam software builds question papers, delivers them to candidates on a screen, can restrict or monitor the device, and records, marks and reports the results.
The ranking follows five checks. Setup effort comes first, then real cost, then the route for getting data out, then lock-in, then the intended buyer. A separate rule reserves the first three places for challengers and moves the household names to place 4 and below. We explain on how we work why the tests are these five and why no product receives a score.
Open assessment platform you can run in the cloud or manage yourself
Ranked #1 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Open sourcePricing on requestElsewhere
TAO is described as a digital assessment and online testing platform, sold under the Open Assessment Technologies name. The vendor lists three deployment routes: TAO Cloud, private cloud and self-managed.
A free Community Edition can be installed and customised, which suits a team with its own developers, though running it yourself means you own updates and hosting. A Start for Free link leads to a starter subscription, while larger tiers follow user volume and show no amounts.
What stands out
Community Edition code
Cloud or private cloud
Tiers by user volume
Where it costs you
The page names no licence for the Community Edition, so reuse rights need checking.
No prices are listed, only tiers by user volume, so budgeting starts with a conversation.
Trial length and limits of the starter subscription are not stated.
Right for
Organisations wanting to start on open code and keep a choice of hosting
Wrong for
Buyers who need a printed price before talking to anyone
Not stated by the vendorPlatform tiers by user volume with no amounts listed; Community Edition code at no charge; starter subscription offered
Single exam security plan that grows with school size, unlimited exams
Ranked #2 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The pricing page lists one subscription that covers exam security, unlimited exams and support, and the figure grows with school size.
The starting tier covers 500 students and teachers, with a lower first-year price after a 25% discount, and a per-student rate is also listed. That clarity helps the real-price test, but the discount is tied to Year One, so budget for the full tier at renewal.
What stands out
Unlimited exams
Starting tier for 500 users
Support included
Where it costs you
Only a dollar sign is shown, so other currencies are not priced.
Early access is offered but a free trial is not stated.
Hosting, owner and country are not stated on the pricing page.
Right for
Schools that want a forecastable yearly cost for locked-down exams
Wrong for
Buyers needing hosting and ownership details before signing
Not stated by the vendorPublished single plan scaled by school size, plus a per-student rate; early access needs no credit card
Cloud exam maker with instant grading, sold on plans or credit packs
Ranked #3 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
ClassMarker is cloud-based with nothing to install, aimed at business, training and educational assessments. Two payment routes exist: subscription plans, or credit packs bought as needed, which suits irregular exam seasons better than a fixed licence.
Educators and non-profits get discounts. The vendor asserts uptime above 99% and GDPR and CCPA compliance, claims this page cannot verify. Confirm limits per plan and what one credit buys before comparing costs.
What stands out
Pay-as-you-go credits
Instant grading
Demonstration exams
Where it costs you
Exact prices and limits sit on a separate page that could not be read.
Only demonstration exams are offered for trying it before paying.
The country of establishment is not stated on the page.
Right for
Training teams wanting graded tests paid for by credits as needed
Wrong for
Institutions wanting a fixed annual price shown up front
Not stated by the vendorSubscription plans plus pay-as-you-go credit packs; amounts sit on a separate pricing page
End-to-end assessment platform covering planning, delivery, marking and feedback
Ranked #4 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
WISEflow is described as unifying planning, delivery, marking and feedback for every exam type and role, so the buyer is choosing a whole assessment workflow rather than a test player.
That scope is the main trade-off: more roles to configure in the first ninety days, and more to unwind on exit. The company is UNIwise, with no parent named. A Trust Centre is linked for security questions, yet the home page shows no price, trial or hosting model.
What stands out
Planning to feedback
All exam types
Trust Centre linked
Where it costs you
The home page lists no prices, only a link to a pricing model page.
Hosting and country go unstated, although a Trust Centre is linked.
A free trial is not mentioned on the page.
Right for
Institutions wanting planning, marking and feedback in one assessment system
Wrong for
Teams wanting a quick exam tool with a visible price
Not stated by the vendorPricing model page and demo booking; the home page lists no amounts
Cloud assessment for exams and coursework, tested against five learning systems
Ranked #5 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Inspera covers both exams and coursework, formative or summative, and lists LTI 1.1 and 1.3 support with five named learning systems fully tested. For setup effort that means a school on one of them has a documented route in.
The service is cloud and web based, so exit depends on what export the contract provides, a point the site does not address. Only a demo booking is offered, with no plan tiers shown.
What stands out
LTI 1.1 and 1.3
Exam and coursework
Cloud based
Where it costs you
Prices are not shown, even though the site promises no hidden costs.
Hosting is cloud and web based, and on-premise hosting is not mentioned.
Owner and country of establishment are not stated.
Right for
Universities linking exams and coursework to Canvas, Moodle or Blackboard
Wrong for
Buyers who want a price list before booking a demo
Not stated by the vendorDemo booking only; no amounts or plan tiers appear on the home page
Camera-based online proctoring with written, online and oral exam formats
Ranked #6 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The product records a candidate through camera, microphone, desktop and phone, then flags violations, so it behaves more like a proctoring layer than an item bank. Written offline, online and oral formats are offered, with Examus Verbal covering speaking tests.
A demo testing environment is linked, which lets you try a session before asking for an implementation. Because the operating company and hosting go unnamed, data handling needs written answers before any pilot.
What stands out
Camera and screen proctoring
Oral testing
Moodle and OpenedX
Where it costs you
The operating company is not named on the page read.
No prices or plans appear, only an implementation request form.
Hosting and country of establishment are not stated.
Right for
Programmes needing recorded proctoring plus oral exams inside Moodle or OpenedX
Wrong for
Buyers who must know the operating company before a pilot
Not stated by the vendorImplementation request form; amounts not shown, demo environment linked
Lockdown browser and webcam monitoring embedded in many assessment platforms
Ranked #7 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Respondus presents itself as assessment tools for learning systems, and lists Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Schoology and D2L Brightspace as partners. LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor guard the sitting, while Respondus 4 and StudyMate Campus write exam questions, self-assessments and learning games.
Because the tools plug into an existing LMS, setup can be short, yet the exam itself still lives elsewhere and so does its data. Pricing is reachable only through a contact page.
What stands out
LockDown Browser
Respondus Monitor
70+ platform embeds
Where it costs you
The page describes tools for learning systems, so a complete exam workflow needs another platform.
No prices appear, only a link to a contact page.
Trial, hosting and country do not appear on the page.
Right for
Colleges adding lockdown and monitoring to an LMS they already run
Wrong for
Buyers wanting a standalone exam system with visible pricing
Not stated by the vendorAmounts not shown; the page only links to a general contact form
Offline secure exam delivery that locks down the testing device
Ranked #8 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The platform delivers a secure digital exam without needing a connection: the device is locked down and the network switched off during testing. That suits high-stakes sittings in rooms with poor connectivity, though the page does not describe how results come back afterwards.
Users range from schools to certification bodies and government entities. The vendor page links onward to Turnitin and gives no prices, trial or hosting model, so the real cost cannot be forecast.
What stands out
Offline delivery
Device lockdown
Licensure exams
Where it costs you
The page shows no prices and links to Turnitin instead of a sales contact.
The footer reads Turnitin, LLC, so independence from a larger group is not clear.
Hosting and country are not stated.
Right for
Licensure and higher education exams that must run without a network
Wrong for
Buyers wanting a vendor independent of a larger group
Not stated by the vendorAmounts not shown on the vendor page; trial not mentioned
Question-by-question grading with rubrics and a free Basic plan
Ranked #9 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The Basic plan is free and lists dynamic rubrics, question-by-question grading, regrade requests, data export and a student mobile app, so a department can try marking at no cost.
The Institutional plan, priced through sales, adds AI-powered grading, collaborative and anonymous grading, section management and code similarity. A one-term trial opens the full set, after which Basic remains available, though LMS integration and SSO are excluded from the trial.
What stands out
Dynamic rubrics
Regrade requests
One-term trial
Where it costs you
It is described as an assignment grading platform, so delivering and securing exams needs another tool.
Institutional pricing is custom, with no amounts shown.
LMS integration and SSO are not part of the trial.
Right for
Instructors marking exams against rubrics with an included data export
Wrong for
Buyers needing lockdown or proctored delivery from one tool
Not stated by the vendorFree Basic plan; custom institutional pricing through sales; one-term trial
Per-author quiz authoring with yearly prices and a 14-day trial
Ranked #10 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
Three plans are priced per author per year on the pricing page: iSpring Suite, iSpring Suite AI and iSpring Cloud AI, from EUR 720 to EUR 1,290. A 14-day trial is offered, and discounts are quoted for educators, nonprofits, high-volume buyers and freelancers.
A separate iSpring Free product appears in the navigation without detail, so it is not assessed. Because the price follows authors, a ten-person exam team pays for ten seats, and hosting is not stated.
What stands out
Per-author yearly price
14-day trial
Discounts by quote
Where it costs you
Pricing is per author, so cost follows the people building tests rather than candidates.
The pages read name no proctoring or lockdown feature.
Owner, hosting and country are not stated.
Right for
Small teams building assessments who prefer a printed yearly price per author
Wrong for
Exam offices needing proctoring or lockdown from one product
Not stated by the vendorPublished yearly price per author; 14-day trial only; discounts by quote
Simple quiz creation from a privately held company with a named founder
Ranked #11 of 11 in Best Online Exam Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The home page presents Quiz Maker as a way to create quizzes or take one, and offers a demo and a general sales email in place of prices. The company is privately held with a named founder and chief executive.
What is missing is anything on secure delivery, proctoring or export, so for formal exams it is a light option at best. Treat price, trial and hosting as open questions until sales answers in writing.
What stands out
Quiz creation
Privately held
Founder and CEO named
Where it costs you
The home page shows no prices or plan tiers, so real cost needs a sales conversation.
It is a quiz tool and the page names no proctoring or lockdown feature.
The country of establishment is not stated.
Right for
Trainers who want to build simple quizzes after a demo
Wrong for
Exam offices needing secure delivery or proctoring
Not stated by the vendorDemo or sales email; amounts, plans and trial not shown on the home page
Online exam software builds question papers, delivers them to candidates on a screen, can restrict or monitor the device, and records, marks and reports the results. A feature table will not settle this choice. These steps will.
01
Work out how much a sales call is worth to you
Only 3 of the 11 print a price; 8 quote per organisation. Comparable without a sales call: Digiexam, Gradescope, iSpring Quiz.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 11 vendors are established in 1 countries across 1 regions (Elsewhere 11). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
03
Check the open source options
Source code is available for TAO Testing. Running it yourself swaps the licence fee for your own upkeep.
Locked-down sittings: offline, browser lock or LMS plugin
Three designs share this market and fail differently. ExamSoft locks the device and disables the network during testing, so a dropped connection cannot end a sitting, but the page does not say how results return. Respondus supplies LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor inside learning systems you already run, so the exam lives in the LMS and the lock sits on top.
Digiexam sells exam security as one plan with unlimited exams. Examus goes further and records camera, microphone, desktop and phone. Decide first how much monitoring your candidates and regulator will accept, then ask each vendor which devices are supported, because the pages read rarely list them. A trial sitting on your oldest student laptop shows more than any feature table.
Run one trial sitting on the weakest laptop you expect
Ask what happens to a locked exam when the network drops
Confirm which monitoring record is kept and for how long
Whole platform or add-on: WISEflow, Inspera and the rest
Some buyers want one system from question writing to feedback. WISEflow describes planning, delivery, marking and feedback for every exam type and role, and Inspera covers exams and coursework with five learning systems listed as fully tested. Others only need a layer on top of Moodle or Canvas, where Respondus or ClassMarker is quicker to start.
The trade is effort now against effort later: a platform asks for roles, workflows and training in the first ninety days, while an add-on leaves the question bank scattered across tools. TAO Testing sits between, offering open Community Edition code and hosted routes. Write down who will author, invigilate and mark before you shortlist, because a vendor that fits only one of those roles forces a second purchase.
List who authors, invigilates and marks before any demo
Check the LTI version your learning system uses
Ask how question banks leave when you cancel
Marking and exports: what you can take away
Exit is easiest to judge in the marking step. Gradescope lists data export even on its free Basic plan, together with rubrics and regrade requests, which makes it a cheap way to test how a vendor treats your results. TAO Testing lets you install and customise Community Edition code, so a university with developers can hold its own copy, though the page names no licence.
Cloud-only products such as Inspera and ClassMarker tell you nothing about export on the pages read, so the contract has to. Ask for a sample export of marked scripts, scores and audit logs before signing, and check that candidate identifiers survive the file. A grading tool that traps feedback inside its own interface turns a switch into a re-marking exercise.
Request a sample export of marks, scripts and logs
Check the licence on any open source code you reuse
Ask whether export is included or priced separately
Reading exam software prices when few vendors print them
Most vendors here show no amounts. Digiexam prints a starting tier for 500 students and teachers and a per-student rate, while iSpring publishes a yearly price per author, so the two scale on different things: headcount against staff. ClassMarker sells credit packs that suit irregular sessions, and Gradescope gives a free Basic plan before institutional pricing by sales.
For the rest, WISEflow, Inspera, Examus, Respondus and ExamSoft, the price arrives only after a demo or request. Build your own cost model from candidates, sittings and authors, then ask every vendor to quote the same scenario. Watch first-year discounts as well: Digiexam ties a 25% reduction to Year One, so the renewal figure is the number to compare.
Ask every vendor to quote one identical scenario
Compare the renewal price, not the first-year price
Count authors, candidates and sittings separately
What goes wrong most often when buying online exam software
Buying a quiz maker such as ProProfs Quiz Maker or iSpring Quiz for a high-stakes sitting that needs lockdown or proctoring.
Assuming a lockdown browser is a complete exam system, when Respondus describes tools that plug into other platforms.
Treating Gradescope as delivery software, when its pages describe grading, rubrics and regrades.
Comparing first-year prices without asking what the same plan costs at renewal or when candidate numbers rise.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best online exam software in 2026?
TAO Testing leads our ranking of 11. Open Assessment Technologies is named as the company behind TAO, and it ranks first because a buyer can start on its open source Community Edition code, then move to TAO Cloud, a private cloud or a self-managed install without changing vendor.
The page names no licence, no country and no trial length, so check the licence before building on the code.
Which online exam tools publish their pricing?
3 of the 11, with the pricing model each one publishes:
Digiexam: Published single plan scaled by school size, plus a per-student rate; early access needs no credit card.
iSpring Quiz: Published yearly price per author; 14-day trial only; discounts by quote.
The remaining 8 sell by quote.
Is there a free online exam tool?
Gradescope can be used for free, either as a free plan or a self-hosted edition.
Where are these online exam software vendors established?
In 1 countries across 1 regions: Elsewhere 11.
TAO Testing: Not stated by the vendor.
Digiexam: Not stated by the vendor.
ClassMarker: Not stated by the vendor.
WISEflow: Not stated by the vendor.
Inspera: Not stated by the vendor.
Examus: Not stated by the vendor.
Respondus: Not stated by the vendor.
ExamSoft: Not stated by the vendor.
Gradescope: Not stated by the vendor.
iSpring Quiz: Not stated by the vendor.
ProProfs Quiz Maker: Not stated by the vendor.
Which online exam tools are open source?
TAO Testing.
What should you use instead of TAO Testing?
Look at Digiexam (made for Schools that want a forecastable yearly cost for locked-down exams) and ClassMarker (made for Training teams wanting graded tests paid for by credits as needed), which hold places two and three.
Who should not buy TAO Testing?
Buyers who need a printed price before talking to anyone. The page names no licence for the Community Edition, so reuse rights need checking..
We rank 11 online exam software products on this page. If we missed one, its maker can write to us about its purpose and customers. We pick what gets added; the terms of a listing are set out under software advice.
