Honorlock vs Proctorio vs Respondus

The short answer: three different models

• Honorlock is known for combining AI monitoring with live proctors, who join a session when the software spots something that needs attention.
• Proctorio is known for automated proctoring set up by the instructor, who reviews flagged events after the exam.
• Respondus is known for LockDown Browser, which restricts the candidate’s device during the exam, and for Respondus Monitor, which adds webcam recording and automated flags.

No one of them is better across the board. Each suits certain exams and certain institutions more than others.

At a glance

Each cell in this table is a general description, so check it against the vendor’s current documentation.

Honorlock vs Proctorio

The main difference between Honorlock and Proctorio lies in who responds when something seems wrong during the exam.

Honorlock’s public description is that software watches the session and a live proctor can join if it detects a possible issue, so a person is involved while the exam is still running.

Proctorio describes a largely automated model. The software records whatever the instructor chose to record and flags events, and the instructor or exam office reviews them once the exam is over.

What this means for you:

• If your staff have little time for reviewing recordings, ask each vendor how much of the review it handles for you and how fast.
• If you would rather keep judgment with your own faculty, ask how each tool presents flags, so faculty get the context along with any score.

Whichever way you lean, one rule holds: a flag tells you where to look, and it is never a finding by itself. Our guides on how does Honorlock work and how does Proctorio work cover each product in more depth.

Honorlock vs Respondus, and Honorlock vs LockDown Browser

Many people search “Honorlock vs LockDown Browser” as though the two were the same kind of product, but they do different jobs.

A lockdown browser restricts the device, preventing the candidate from opening other sites, copying or switching apps during the exam. By itself it does not watch the candidate or the room. Respondus handles the watching with Respondus Monitor, a separate webcam product used together with LockDown Browser.

Ask both vendors how their tools deal with the same situations: a phone in view, a second person in the room, a candidate stepping out of frame and a webcam that stops working.

Proctorio vs Respondus

Proctorio and Respondus both give the instructor a lot of control and leave much of the review to the institution. Where they differ is the starting point.

Proctorio begins with monitoring, meaning what the webcam, microphone and screen show, configured exam by exam. Respondus begins with restriction: LockDown Browser controls the device and Monitor adds a camera when you need one.

For an institution the practical questions concern workload and fairness. How long does a typical review take your faculty? How are students with accommodations set up so they are not flagged for permitted behavior? What does a student learn before the exam about what is recorded?

Where ProctorU and Examity fit

Two other names turn up in the same searches, for example ProctorU vs Honorlock and Examity vs ProctorU.

• ProctorU, now part of Meazure Learning, is best known for live online proctoring, in which a proctor connects with the candidate before and during the exam. Our guide on what can ProctorU see explains its model for institutions.
• Examity provides automated and live proctoring options for higher education and testing organizations.

Each vendor’s current documentation lists the service levels it offers.

How to choose: five questions for your shortlist

Ask every vendor the same five questions, and ask them to show you the answer as well as tell you.

1. Who reviews each flag before it affects a candidate? Can an automated flag ever lead to a penalty by itself?
2. What evidence comes with a case? Request a sample export with clips, a timeline and the reviewer’s reasoning.
3. What can each setup observe, and what can it not? No product sees everything, and a vendor that admits this is easier to trust.
4. How are accommodations and technical failures handled? Reading aloud, assistive software and a dropped camera should never look like misconduct.
5. Where is data stored, for how long, and who can see it? Get the answer in writing.

How Proctorly answers the same questions

Proctorly works differently from all three. Exams run inside Proctorly’s own LMS, so you do not need an LMS, and you pick an assurance level for each exam: Recorded, Every flag reviewed, Live pop-in or Live dedicated.

1. Review. At the Every flag reviewed level, a trained Proctorly reviewer checks every automated flag and records a decision with a reason before it gets to you. An automated flag never fails a candidate or imposes a sanction. See human review proctoring.
2. Evidence. Every case holds the clips, the timeline, the reviewer’s reasoning and a tamper-evident audit trail, and you can export all of it as one evidence pack.
3. Coverage. The principles of what we can and cannot observe are published on what we can and cannot see. A full coverage summary for each setup is planned.
4. Accommodations and failures. Audio and movement are raised as signals for a person to review in context and are never treated as findings. Recording accommodations so they prevent the flags they would otherwise cause, and giving technical failures their own category, are both planned and not available yet.
5. Data. Hosted in any AWS region you choose, or in your own S3 bucket.

LMS connections: Moodle is a live integration through single sign-on and a plugin, and it is also available through LTI 1.3. Canvas, Blackboard and D2L Brightspace are supported through LTI 1.3.

Frequently asked questions