LodeStar vs Mindsmith
LodeStar
lodestarlearning.com
Mindsmith
mindsmith.aiSide by side
| Figure | LodeStar | Mindsmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12.42/mo | $39/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 4 |
| Spec score · Interactive Lesson Makers | 7.8 (#18) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Headquarters | Stillwater, Minnesota, USA | Lehi, Utah, United States |
| Intended users | The maker describes LodeStar as built primarily for educators and says it is used by instructors and trainers in corporations, higher education, K–12, and government agencies. | Mindsmith describes Professional as intended for individual creators and small teams, Business for teams and collaboration, and Enterprise for large organizations. |
| LMS compatibility | The maker lists Inspire, D2L Brightspace, Moodle, Blackboard, SCORM Cloud, LCVista, and other SCORM-conformant systems as import destinations. | Mindsmith says LTI 1.3 launches lessons from Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, or any LTI-compatible LMS and syncs scores to the gradebook. |
| Security | The download page states that LodeStar 12 for Mac is security signed and notarized. | Mindsmith states that it is SOC 2 compliant and supports SSO. |
Plans
LodeStar
- Single Educator License - Annual Subscription License$149 a year
- Individual Training Seat$249, paid once
- Single Educator License - Perpetual License$249, paid once
- Single Government/Not-For-Profit License - Perpetual License$549, paid once
- Single Corporate License - Perpetual License$649, paid once
Mindsmith
- FreeFree
- Professional$39 a month
- Business$65 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
LodeStar
LodeStar has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Mindsmith
Mindsmith is an AI-native eLearning authoring tool for turning source material into interactive courses. It runs in a browser, with no installation, plugins, or desktop player required. Its tile-based editor and built-in AI are intended to help create lessons without design skills or complex tooling. A library of more than 30 interactive elements includes conversations, branching scenarios, quizzes, and simulations. Courses can be created in more than 70 languages and shared by link, dynamic or static SCORM, LTI 1.3, API, iframe, PDF, or web export. LTI 1.3 can launch lessons from compatible learning management systems and sync scores to their gradebooks. Analytics cover completion rates, score breakdowns, and answer distributions, with PDF export for results. The Free plan costs nothing, billed annually at $0/year, with 450 AI credits at signup as a one-time allocation. Professional costs $39 a month, billed annually at $468/year; Business costs $65 a month, billed annually at $780/year. Enterprise pricing is custom.