Trainual Reviews: Is This Training Software Worth $249/Month?

Trainual positions itself as the go-to platform for documenting SOPs, onboarding employees, and centralizing company knowledge. With over 1,100 reviews and an average rating of 4.7/5 across major platforms, it's clearly doing something right. But at $249/month minimum, you need to know what you're actually getting before you commit.

I've dug through hundreds of user reviews, compared pricing tiers, and identified the real pros and cons so you can decide if Trainual fits your business. Here's what you need to know.

What Is Trainual?

Trainual is a cloud-based training management system designed to help businesses document processes, onboard new hires, and keep everyone aligned on company procedures. Think of it as a centralized hub where all your SOPs, policies, and training materials live.

The platform targets small and growing businesses that need to systematize their operations. It's particularly popular in industries like real estate (8% of reviewers), marketing and advertising (7%), and construction (7%).

According to user data, 78% of Trainual reviewers use it primarily for training purposes, with onboarding being the second most common use case.

Trainual Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

Trainual isn't cheap. Here's the current pricing breakdown:

Additional seats cost $3–$5 each depending on your plan tier. That works out to about $24.90 per user on the base plan, which is above the $14 average for HR tools.

There's no free plan, but Trainual does offer a 7-day free trial without requiring payment information. If you want a deeper dive into the numbers, check out our Trainual pricing breakdown.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

Some features that were previously add-ons are now included in base plans, but access levels and limits still vary by tier. The Trainual+ upgrade is paywalled and required for advanced options like multilingual support and hosted videos. Some HRIS integrations also require specific (read: more expensive) plans.

What Users Love About Trainual

After analyzing reviews from G2, Capterra, GetApp, and Trustpilot, here's what consistently gets praise:

User-Friendly Interface

The most common compliment is ease of use. Users describe the dashboard as clean and structured, with easy navigation for creating and editing content. The drag-and-drop editor makes building training modules straightforward even for non-technical users.

One reviewer noted: "It is very easy to use and has great AI features! All of the add in's are great." The platform is intuitive enough that teams embrace it quickly, which is crucial for adoption.

Solid Customer Support

Trainual's support team gets consistently high marks. Users describe them as responsive, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful. Every new customer gets dedicated implementation support, including a success coach and live workshops.

The company also demonstrates commitment to improvement through user feedback channels, actively incorporating suggestions into updates.

Comprehensive Templates

Trainual offers a wide range of templates for policies, processes, and onboarding that are fully customizable. You can add company branding—logos, fonts, colors—to make materials look professional and consistent.

Progress Tracking

The ability to track who has completed training and when is valuable for compliance and accountability. Users appreciate being able to see at a glance who's on track and who needs follow-up.

Strong Integrations

Trainual connects with major HRIS and payroll systems including Gusto, ADP RUN, Paycom, Justworks, BambooHR, Workday, and UKG Pro. You can also connect to 1,000+ apps through Zapier, plus native integrations with Loom, Slack, and content tools like Figma and GitHub.

The platform also added SCORM support, allowing you to import pre-made interactive training content for HIPAA, OSHA, harassment prevention, and other compliance courses.

What Users Complain About

No software is perfect. Here are the legitimate complaints that come up repeatedly:

Mobile App Issues

The mobile app gets criticized for being clunky and less featured than the desktop version. Some users report inconsistent search and mobile navigation. If your team needs to access training in the field, test mobile access early.

Steep Learning Curve Initially

While the platform itself is user-friendly, the initial setup phase can be time-consuming. The flexibility that makes Trainual powerful also means it takes significant time to set up content optimally. Some users report their team needed adjustment time before everything ran smoothly.

Content Organization Limitations

Several reviewers mention that the content page gets cluttered quickly and wish there were better folder systems or ways to organize content by department. The categorization structure can feel rigid—sometimes items that only need one page require a folder and subfolder.

Limited Analytics

Users wanting deeper analytics or more detailed tracking (like time spent on content or date ranges for completions) find Trainual lacking. The reporting exists but isn't as robust as enterprise LMS platforms.

Price Point for Small Businesses

The $249/month starting price is a real barrier for smaller operations. Multiple reviewers mention that while the tool is excellent, it's expensive for new or small businesses. As your headcount increases, so does your monthly cost—even if your actual feature usage stays the same.

No Live Task Tracking

Trainual is designed for documentation and training guidance, not live checklist execution or task tracking. If you need real-time task management alongside training, you'll need additional tools.

Trainual Features Worth Knowing

Here's what you get across all plans:

Who Should Use Trainual?

Good fit if you:

Not ideal if you:

Trainual Alternatives to Consider

If Trainual's pricing or feature set doesn't fit, here are the main competitors:

Each has trade-offs. TalentLMS offers more depth for enterprise learning. Process Street is stronger on live task execution. Scribe excels at automatic documentation capture. Choose based on whether you prioritize training delivery, process documentation, or task management.

The Verdict: Is Trainual Worth It?

Trainual delivers on its core promise: centralizing training materials, streamlining onboarding, and keeping teams aligned on processes. The platform is genuinely easy to use, the support is excellent, and the integrations with payroll systems save real admin time.

But the $249/month minimum is a significant investment. If you're a solo operator or tiny team, that's hard to justify. If you need enterprise-level analytics or live task tracking, you'll need to look elsewhere.

For businesses with 15-100 employees who are actively hiring and need consistent onboarding, Trainual makes sense. The time savings on repetitive training and the accountability features pay dividends as you scale.

My recommendation: Take the 7-day free trial seriously. Build out one complete onboarding sequence and test the mobile experience. If your team adopts it naturally and you see clear time savings, it's worth the investment.

Try Trainual Free for 7 Days →

Final Rating

Overall: 4.3/5

Trainual is a solid training platform that does what it promises well. The main question is whether your business is at the right stage to get full value from the investment.