When choosing a staff training platform, you’ve probably seen the same names pop up again and again. We’ve put six of them side by side, including us, so you can see how they actually compare on content, price and who they’re built for.

We’re on this list, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But we’ve tried to give every platform here, including ourselves, an honest “best for” rather than a sales pitch. It’s important to choose the platform that’s right for your size or sector and budget.

How we chose these platforms

The six companies below all serve UK businesses that need staff compliance and development training, hosted on a learning management system. For each platform, we looked at:

• Course content: how much is included, and how relevant is it to UK compliance?
• Reporting and evidencing: can you create an audit-ready report when you need it?
• Ease of admin: could a non-technical HR manager run this day-to-day?
• Pricing clarity: is the cost model easy to understand and budget against?
• Best-fit size: who is this genuinely built for?

The six platforms in detail

Staff Skills academy+

Best for: UK SMEs, public sector and enterprise organisations that want compliance training, professional development and staff wellbeing running on one login, without a big implementation project.

We built Staff Skills academy+ around a simple idea: compliance training shouldn’t stand alone. Most organisations don’t just need boxes ticked; they need staff who are engaged, developing professionally and hapyp. Our platform includes 750+ CPD-certified courses covering compliance, health and safety, HR and personal development, plus dedicated wellbeing content from partners including Les Mills.

Everything sits behind a single sign-on learning management system, with automated enrolment and reminders, real-time reporting dashboards, and a compliance matrix so you can see gaps at a glance. Our course builder also lets you upload your own content or SCORM files alongside our library, so your internal and external training live in one place.

We work with over 1,000 organisations, from NHS trusts and Transport for London to independent charities and SMEs, and provide real support from real people.

Watch out for: we’re a strong fit if you want an all-in-one platform at SME to mid-market pricing.

Pricing is quote-based, and you can try the platform free for 14 days with no credit card.

Skillcast

Best for: financial services, insurance and other FCA-regulated organisations.

Skillcast is a London-based compliance specialist with a course library built specifically around UK regulation: FCA rules, anti-money laundering, GDPR and more, much of it CPD-accredited. Higher tiers add compliance registers, policy sign-offs and staff declarations, so it works as a compliance hub as well as a training platform. It’s the clearest choice on this list if regulatory evidencing in financial services is your main concern.

Watch out for: it’s built around regulated-sector compliance rather than the broader mix of professional development and wellbeing content many SMEs also want.

Kallidus

Best for: UK mid-market organisations that need blended learning alongside audit-ready compliance reporting.

Kallidus, based in Cirencester, pairs its learning platform with performance and recruitment tools. It’s well regarded for certification tracking and the kind of reporting that compliance-driven teams rely on. It suits organisations that have outgrown a basic LMS and want more structured reporting behind their training.

Watch out for: entry pricing tends to sit in a higher bracket, so it fits mid-market and larger teams more comfortably than very small businesses.

iHASCO

Best for: SMEs and mid-market teams that want simple, video-based compliance training without a complex system to manage.

iHASCO offers a library of over 250 accredited eLearning courses covering health and safety, HR, business compliance and soft skills, delivered through its own Atlas learning management system. Courses are video-led, available in 41 or more languages, and carry accreditations including RoSPA, IOSH and CPD. iHASCO works with more than 12,000 UK organisations and has delivered over 20 million training sessions, with a strong focus on keeping the platform straightforward for smaller teams.

Watch out for: the platform is centred on its own course library and light reporting, rather than the broader mix of wellbeing and performance features some organisations also want.

Tayl

Best for: small hospitality, food and service businesses that want an affordable, no-frills training platform.

Tayl is built for small teams, with a single flat price of £99 a month per site and a free-forever plan for up to three team members. It includes over 80 courses, many aimed at food and beverage, health and safety, and care settings, plus an AI course builder that lets you create your own training from scratch. It’s mobile-first and browser-based, so your staff can complete training on any device without downloading an app.

Watch out for: Tayl is genuinely built for small, single or multi-site businesses rather than larger or more complex organisations, and its reporting and compliance features are lighter than platforms aimed at bigger teams.

Skillshub

Best for: organisations that want a large ready-made content library alongside the option of bespoke eLearning development.

Skillshub, based in Coventry, gives you access to over 1,000 off-the-shelf courses and more than 3,000 CPD-certified content assets, alongside a bespoke content development service for organisations that want fully custom training. It works with over 400 organisations, including large brands such as McLaren F1 and Screwfix, and reports 99.999% platform uptime. The combination of an established content library and an in-house development team is what sets it apart.

Watch out for: Skillshub’s strength is content and platform reliability rather than the kind of wellbeing or performance features built into a fully rounded HR-focused platform.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best staff training platform for a UK business?

There’s no single best platform for every organisation. If you want compliance training alongside professional development and wellbeing in one place, Staff Skills academy+ is built for that combination. For financial services specifically, Skillcast is the strongest fit, while a small hospitality business – on a tight budget – may be better served by Tayl. The right answer depends on your sector, size and budget.

How much does staff training software cost in the UK?

Pricing varies widely. Tayl charges a flat £99 a month per site, aimed at small businesses. Most other platforms on this list, including Staff Skills academy+, Skillcast, Kallidus, iHASCO and Skillshub, are quote-based and priced according to your headcount and the features you need. Always ask for a like-for-like quote based on your actual numbers before comparing platforms.

Do I need a specialist compliance platform or will a general one work?

For general compliance topics, such as GDPR, health and safety, and equality and diversity, an all-in-one platform with a ready-made course library will usually cover what you need. If your compliance requirements are highly sector-specific, such as FCA regulation in financial services, a specialist platform in that area is worth the extra focus.

What should I check before signing up to a training platform?

Ask where your staff data will be stored, request a signed data processing agreement, and check the platform can produce an audit-ready report showing who completed what training and when. It’s also worth testing the admin experience with your least technical colleague before you commit.

Is Staff Skills academy+ suitable for larger organisations?

Yes. We’re a particularly strong fit for SMEs, but we also work with larger organisations, including NHS trusts, universities and national charities, that want compliance, development and wellbeing training running on one platform rather than several.

See it for yourself

If an all-in-one platform for compliance, professional development and wellbeing sounds like the right fit, you can start a 14-day free trial for you and two team members, no credit card required. Or request a quote, and we’ll talk through what your organisation actually needs.