How to read this comparison
Proctoring vendors change their products all the time. Features are renamed, plans are split and companies merge, so a comparison that held last year may be wrong now.
Use this page to find your way around the options, and make the final judgment yourself:
- Vendor descriptions reflect what each company said about itself publicly as of October 2026. Before relying on any detail, check the vendor’s current documentation.
- No pricing. Prices vary with candidate numbers, exam types and service level, and vendors seldom publish them in full. Further down we explain how to get quotes you can compare.
- No rankings. We do not call any vendor the best. The right choice depends on your exams, your candidates and your appeal process.
- Proctorly claims cover only what Proctorly offers today.
For a broader buyer guide to online proctoring software, start there. This page goes into more depth on the named vendors.
Four ways proctoring products work
Most products on the market combine four basic models. The model a vendor leads with tells you more than any feature list will.
- Automated proctoring. Software records the webcam, microphone or screen and raises a flag when something looks unusual. Nobody watches in real time, and the instructor or exam office usually reviews flags afterward.
- Record and review. The session is recorded and flagged, and a trained reviewer, either from the vendor or from your own staff, checks the flags before results go out.
- Live proctoring. A person watches the candidate during the exam, one to one or across a small group, and can intervene by chat or audio.
- Lockdown browser. A restricted browser keeps the candidate from opening other sites or apps during the exam. By itself it does not watch the candidate, which is why it is often paired with a webcam product.
Beyond the model, the most important thing to find out is who looks at a flag, and who decides what it means. Some products raise flags and leave the instructor to review them alone, while in others the vendor’s staff review them first. When a flag lands with a busy instructor and no context, a camera glitch or a habit of reading aloud can turn into a dispute.
We use that question as the lens for the rest of this page.
ProctorU review: what institutions should evaluate
What ProctorU is
ProctorU is one of the oldest names in online proctoring. It is best known for live online proctoring, in which a proctor connects with the candidate over the internet. ProctorU is now part of Meazure Learning, so check the vendor’s current documentation for how its brands and services are organized today.
Universities, certification bodies and testing organizations in the United States use ProctorU widely. Over the years it has offered several service levels, ranging from automated sessions to fully live proctoring.
How a ProctorU session generally works
Broadly speaking, a typical live proctored session goes like this:
- The candidate books a session or starts it from the exam link.
- The candidate connects with a proctor and shows a photo ID.
- The candidate shows the room and desk on the webcam.
- Before the exam begins, the proctor checks the computer and screen.
- During the exam, webcam, audio and screen are observed and the session is recorded.
- Afterward, the institution receives a session report listing any incidents.
For institutions that use ProctorU or are evaluating it, our separate guide answers what can ProctorU see in more detail.
What to ask ProctorU before you sign
We would want any buyer to ask us exactly the same questions:
- Which service level suits each of our exams, and what differs from one level to the next?
- Who reviews incidents: the live proctor, a second reviewer or our own staff?
- What goes into the incident report, and can we export it for an appeal?
- Where is candidate data stored, for how long and who has access?
- How are disability accommodations recorded so they do not trigger flags?
- What happens when a candidate’s connection drops partway through?
- What do candidates need in terms of browser, operating system and bandwidth?
A ProctorU review that answers these for your own exams will tell you far more than a star rating.
Honorlock, Proctorio and Respondus at a glance
These three often show up together on US shortlists, usually because each one works inside the learning management system an institution already runs. Our Honorlock vs Proctorio page compares them side by side, and the short version follows.
Honorlock
Honorlock is an online proctoring service that runs as a browser extension inside common learning management systems. It is known for pairing AI monitoring with live proctors, who join a session when the software spots something that needs attention. What each plan includes is set out in the vendor’s current documentation. Our guide explains how does Honorlock work for exam offices.
Proctorio
Proctorio is an automated proctoring tool that runs as a browser extension, configured by the instructor or exam office inside the learning management system. The instructor picks what to record, such as webcam, audio, screen or a room scan, and reviews flagged events once the exam is over. The vendor’s current documentation lists the available settings. Our guide explains how does Proctorio work.
Respondus
Respondus is best known for LockDown Browser, a custom browser that limits what a candidate can do during an exam in the learning management system. Its companion product, Respondus Monitor, adds webcam recording and automated flags for the instructor to review. The vendor’s current documentation explains how the two work together.
Other vendors institutions compare
Shortlists often run longer, particularly outside the United States. Each line below is a neutral summary, and the vendor’s current documentation has the details.
- Examity. An online proctoring provider with automated and live options for higher education and testing organizations.
- Talview. A company that offers AI-based remote proctoring together with other assessment products.
- Mercer | Mettl. An online assessment and proctoring platform owned by Mercer and widely known in India.
- ExamSoft. Secure assessment software used by professional schools.
- Proctortrack. A product offering automated and live proctoring.
- Inspera. A digital assessment platform used by universities, with secure exam options of its own.
- AutoProctor. A lightweight automated proctoring tool that works with online quizzes and forms.
- Eklavvya. An online exam and assessment platform based in India, with remote proctoring.
- Meazure Learning. The testing and proctoring company that now owns ProctorU.
If you want to look more closely at any of these, the questions in the table below apply to all of them.
Pricing: why this page lists none
People search for Honorlock pricing, ProctorU cost or Proctorio pricing all the time, and that makes sense because budgets are real. We still do not publish other vendors’ prices, for three reasons:
- Most vendors charge per candidate, per exam or per license, and the figure moves with volume and service level.
- Published prices date quickly, and a wrong number helps nobody.
- A price means little without the service attached to it, and an automated session is a different product from a live, one-to-one session.
For a fair cost comparison, send every vendor the same brief. Include your exam calendar, candidate numbers per sitting, the level of assurance each exam needs and who you expect to review flags. Then ask for a written price against that brief that shows what is included and what costs extra.
Proctorly follows the same approach. Send us your exam calendar and candidate numbers and we will propose an assurance level and a setup plan before you commit.
Ten questions to put to any proctoring vendor
Bring this table to every vendor meeting, ours included.
| Question | Why it matters | Ask to see |
|---|---|---|
| Who reviews each flag before it reaches us? | If nobody reviews a flag first, your staff have to judge it with less context | The review workflow and who staffs it |
| Can an automated flag ever fail a candidate on its own? | Appeal panels will ask who made the decision | The written policy |
| What evidence comes with a case? | Disputes need clips, a timeline and the reviewer’s reasoning | A sample case export |
| Is the audit trail tamper-evident? | You may have to prove nothing was changed | How views and changes are logged |
| What can each setup observe, and what can it not? | No product sees everything | A plain coverage statement |
| How is a technical failure recorded? | A dropped camera is not misconduct | How reports separate technical gaps |
| Does the product infer emotion or intent? | Many institutions refuse to accept this | The vendor’s AI policy |
| Where is candidate data stored, and for how long? | Privacy law and your own policy both apply | Hosting regions, retention, deletion |
| What do candidates need? | Device and bandwidth limits shut some people out | Supported browsers, devices, minimum connection |
| Which LMS connections work today? | Only a connection that works today is available to you | Tested versions and supported services |
Where Proctorly fits
Proctorly is an online proctoring platform for universities and colleges, entrance and admissions teams, certification bodies and online learning providers. This is how it answers the questions above.
What Proctorly offers
- The exam runs inside Proctorly. Candidates sit the exam in Proctorly, which keeps the attempt, the answers and the evidence together. You do not need an LMS or ERP.
- Four assurance levels, chosen per exam. Recorded (your staff review), Every flag reviewed (a Proctorly reviewer checks every automated flag), Live pop-in (a proctor watching a group steps in when a signal fires) and Live dedicated (a proctor watches a small group the whole time).
- AI flags, people decide. An automated flag never fails a candidate or imposes a sanction. A reviewer records a decision with a reason, and the finding is made by your institution. See human review proctoring.
- Reviewers on exam days. At the Every flag reviewed level, trained Proctorly reviewers work 24×7 during exams, in English, at one reviewer per 40 candidates, and they review 95 of every 100 flags within 5 minutes. The remaining flags are still reviewed, only later.
- Identity through the session. Continuous face verification with replay rejection, photo ID capture and active liveness for high-stakes exams.
- Monitoring for known threats. Browser lock, AI-tool detection from a maintained list, second-device detection, and detection of remote access, virtual machines, extensions, screen recording and extra monitors. An optional Windows desktop agent adds checks on the computer itself.
- Evidence that holds up. Each candidate gets a case record, backed by a tamper-evident audit trail and an evidence pack you can export in one step for appeals and audits.
- No emotion, personality or suspicion scoring. Candidates learn what is captured before the exam begins.
- Moodle. Proctorly can monitor an exam that stays inside Moodle, in any browser. Moodle monitoring with OAuth and LTI 1.3 is live and supports Canvas, Blackboard, and other learning platforms. See Moodle proctoring.
- Data location. Data hosted in the client’s geographic location by default. Candidate data is never used to train AI models unless your institution opts in.
Explore this guide
- Honorlock vs Proctorio: Honorlock, Proctorio and Respondus compared on model, review and fit.
- How does Honorlock work: what it monitors and what institutions should know.
- How does Proctorio work: settings, recordings and review, explained for exam offices.
- What can ProctorU see: how ProctorU’s live model works, for institutions.
Frequently asked questions
What should a ProctorU review cover for an institution?
It should look at the service level you would buy, who reviews incidents, what goes into the incident report, how data is stored and deleted, how accommodations are handled and what candidates need. Student star ratings describe the test-day experience, which does matter, but they seldom show whether a disputed result will survive an appeal.
What are the main ProctorU alternatives for universities?
Universities usually weigh ProctorU against Honorlock, Proctorio, Respondus Monitor, Examity and Proctortrack, and in India against Mercer Mettl, Talview and Eklavvya too. Each one leads with a different model, from automated flags to live proctors. Proctorly is another option, designed around human review of every flag and an evidence pack for each case. Check each vendor’s current documentation before you decide.
How much do Honorlock, ProctorU or Proctorio cost?
We do not publish other vendors’ prices, since they vary with volume, exam type and service level and they change over time. To compare fairly, send every vendor the same brief, covering your exam calendar, candidate numbers and the assurance level each exam needs, and ask for a written quote that shows what is included.
Is Proctorly a ProctorU alternative?
Proctorly offers live proctoring alongside recorded sittings and review of every flag, so it covers much of the same ground. Where it differs is in how a case gets decided. AI raises flags, a trained reviewer records a decision with a reason, and your institution makes the finding with the full evidence pack in hand. Whether it suits you depends on your exams and your LMS.
Does any proctoring software catch all cheating?
No, and that includes ours. A camera and a screen recording cannot see every way a candidate might get help. Good products detect a published set of known threats, record what happened and are open about where their view ends. Ask every vendor for a plain statement of what each setup can and cannot observe.
Do we need an LMS to use Proctorly?
No. Exams run inside Proctorly’s own Moodle LMS, so you do not need an LMS or ERP. If your exams stay in Moodle, Proctorly can monitor them there in any browser, and Moodle sign-in and exam launch work through Moodle’s own login. Connections for Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace and other LMSs through LTI 1.3 are available.