What is proctoring software?
Proctoring software supervises a candidate while they take an online exam. It checks who they are, controls the exam environment, records or watches the session and flags moments that deserve a closer look. Most exam proctoring software has four parts:
- Identity verification: making sure the right person is sitting the exam.
- Environment control: a locked browser or app that limits what the candidate can open.
- Monitoring: webcam, screen, audio and device signals, watched by AI, by people or by both.
- Review and evidence: how flags get checked, who decides and what record is kept.
Products differ most in that fourth part, and it’s the one buyers tend to look at least.
Types of online exam proctoring
There are five broad types of online exam proctoring software, and many vendors offer more than one.
| Type | How it works | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Lockdown browser only | Restricts the browser during the exam, with no recording or review | Low-stakes quizzes in a supervised room |
| Automated (AI only) | AI monitors the session and produces flags or a score, with no human review | Practice tests and large low-stakes sittings |
| Record and review | AI flags moments in a recording, and trained people review each flag | End-semester, entrance and most graded exams |
| Live proctoring | A person watches in real time and can step in | Higher-stakes, certification and licensing exams |
| In-LMS monitoring | Proctoring watches an exam that stays inside your LMS | Institutions that keep their exams in the LMS |
In a practical setup you choose the level for each exam, so a weekly quiz and a licensing exam can run on one platform instead of two separate products. Our guide to AI proctoring explains how automated flags work.
Nine criteria for choosing online proctoring software
1. Who reviews flags and who decides
Find out what happens to a flag. It might go straight to faculty as a score, or a trained person might check it first. Ask whether your staff can review, whether the vendor can, or both, and whether an automated flag ever pauses, ends or fails an attempt without a person involved. The best proctoring software for an institution puts a person between every flag and every decision and leaves the final finding with you. You can see how this works in human review proctoring.
2. Identity checks through the session
A photo at login can’t tell you who answered question 40. You want face verification at the start and throughout the session, replay rejection, photo ID capture you can set for each exam and a liveness check for high-stakes sittings. Ask how a failed check is handled. It should go to a person rather than trigger an automatic fail.
3. Threat coverage for current cheating methods
A lot of cheating now happens where the webcam can’t see it. AI assistants, screen overlays, second devices, remote-control tools and virtual machines can all get past a camera-only check. Ask every vendor for its list of detected threats and for what each setup can’t see. If a vendor claims to catch all cheating, it is overstating what any software can do.
4. Evidence that survives an appeal
Think about what a committee or appeal panel actually receives when a case reaches them. You want one case record per candidate, with clips, a timeline, the reviewer’s written reasoning and a tamper-evident audit trail, all exportable as a single pack.
5. Candidate devices and connections
Candidates sit exams at home on whatever equipment they have. Check which devices (laptop, desktop, tablet, phone), browsers and operating systems are supported, and the minimum connection speed. Ask whether candidates must install a proctoring app or desktop agent, and on which systems. A dropped connection should be logged as a technical problem, never as misconduct, so ask how it’s recorded.
6. Fit with your LMS and systems
Some institutions want proctoring inside their LMS, while others want the proctoring platform to host the exams. Ask which LMS connections work today, how each is set up and which versions have been tested. It’s also worth asking whether the software can run an exam with no LMS or ERP at all.
7. Data location, privacy and security
Ask where recordings are stored, who sets retention, whether you can pick the hosting region and whether candidate data trains AI models. Request security testing summaries and the status of any certifications, including scope and date. A vendor should keep what it has achieved separate from what is still in progress, and claim only what it can show.
8. Software only, or people as well
Small exam offices often can’t staff review for a whole exam season. Ask whether the vendor provides trained reviewers or live proctors, and what their hours, languages, reviewer-to-candidate ratio and review turnaround are. Then compare that with your own staffing.
9. Fairness and accommodations
Flags can be triggered by reading aloud, assistive software, household noise and disability-related movement. Ask how the vendor tests for false referrals, whether it checks results across devices, lighting and networks, and how accommodations such as extra time are recorded so they don’t cause flags. Ask outright whether the product infers emotion or personality. It shouldn’t.
A buyer scorecard you can use in demos
Give each vendor a score from 0 to 2 on every row, and ask to see each answer working instead of hearing it described.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does a trained person review every flag before it reaches us? | Protects candidates from automated verdicts |
| Can any automated action end or fail an attempt without a person? | Ended sessions often lead to disputes |
| Is identity checked throughout the session, or only at login? | Impersonation happens after login |
| Can you show the list of detected threats and what the setup cannot see? | Honest limits prevent false confidence |
| What does an appeal panel receive for one case? | The record decides whether a result stands |
| What do candidates need in devices, browsers and connection speed? | Home candidates have mixed equipment |
| Which LMS connections work today, and which versions are tested? | You avoid buying a promise |
| Where is data hosted, who sets retention, and is it used for training? | Privacy and regulatory exposure |
| Can you supply reviewers or proctors, with stated hours and turnaround? | Exam offices are small teams |
| Can we set the assurance level for each exam? | One platform for quizzes and high-stakes exams |
Proctoring companies buyers often evaluate
Institutions often name these proctoring companies when they evaluate options. We describe each one in general terms only and don’t rank them. Product details change often, so check each vendor’s current documentation before relying on anything here. Our comparison hub has side-by-side notes on named vendors, beginning with the ProctorU review.
- Honorlock. A US-based provider combining AI monitoring with human proctors who can join a session.
- Proctorio. Automated proctoring delivered as a browser extension that works with common LMSs.
- ProctorU. A long-standing live online proctoring brand that is now part of Meazure Learning.
- Respondus. Best known for LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, which are used with LMS-based exams.
- Examity. Online proctoring services with both live and automated options.
- Talview. AI-based proctoring and assessment.
- Mercer | Mettl. An assessment and proctoring platform with a large presence in India.
- Proctortrack. Automated and live remote proctoring.
- Proctorly. Our product. Hosted exams, identity verification, AI monitoring, and human review of every flagged incident. Moodle monitoring with OAuth and LTI 1.3 is live and supports Canvas, Blackboard, and other learning platforms. You set the assurance level for each exam; details are below.
Free and open source proctoring software
Free proctoring software and open source proctoring software do exist, often as LMS plugins that take webcam snapshots or restrict the browser. For practice tests and low-stakes quizzes where a dispute is unlikely, they can be a reasonable fit.
Graded and high-stakes exams call for weighing the trade-offs. Free tools rarely come with trained reviewers, which leaves your staff reviewing every flag. Evidence records, audit trails and candidate support tend to be limited, and identity may only be checked at login. Your IT team also takes on hosting, security and updates. In effect, the cost shifts from a license to staff time and risk.
Online proctoring software in India
Indian universities and entrance cells have three more needs to add to the list above.
- Data location. Ask where candidate data is hosted. India’s DPDP Act governs how personal data is handled, so your legal team will want clear answers on hosting, retention and deletion. Our guide to the DPDP Act covers exam data.
- Scale and timing. End-semester and entrance exams put many candidates into short windows. Ask how the platform is load-tested for the number of candidates sitting at once.
- Mixed devices and connections. Many candidates join from phones and on modest connections, so check minimum speeds and mobile support.
Proctorly is built by TatvaOne.AI. Data is hosted in the client’s geographic location by default, and institutions can also keep data in their own S3 bucket.
Where Proctorly fits
Disclosure: this is our product.
- AI flags, people decide. An automated flag never fails a candidate or imposes a sanction. Your staff can review in the reviewer console, or a Proctorly reviewer can check every flag first.
- Assurance levels per exam. Choose from Recorded, Every flag reviewed, Live pop-in and Live dedicated. Read more about live proctoring.
- Identity through the session. Continuous face verification with replay rejection, plus photo ID capture and active liveness.
- Current threat coverage. Known AI tools, second devices, remote-access tools, overlays, agentic browsers, virtual machines, extensions, screen recording and extra monitors, with an optional Windows desktop agent.
- Evidence for appeals. Each candidate has a case record and a tamper-evident audit trail, and you can export a one-click evidence pack.
- Candidate devices. Candidates can use a laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Ulaa, with at least 512 Kbps download and 128 Kbps upload.
- Systems. Exams run inside Proctorly without needing an LMS or ERP. Moodle monitoring with OAuth and LTI 1.3 is live and supports Canvas, Blackboard, and other learning platforms, including D2L Brightspace. Moodle monitoring works in any browser.
- Reviewers as a service. Available 24×7 during exams, in English, with one reviewer per 40 candidates and 95 of every 100 flags reviewed within 5 minutes.
- Security. An empanelled auditor carries out vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, and a summary is available on request.
There are things we don’t do. We don’t claim to catch all cheating, we don’t infer emotion or personality, and we don’t publish accuracy figures.
Frequently asked questions
What is proctoring software?
Proctoring software supervises candidates during online exams. It checks identity, locks down the exam environment and monitors the webcam, screen and device (using AI, people or both), flagging moments that need review. Good proctoring software also keeps a case record with clips, a timeline and the reviewer’s reasoning, so if a candidate appeals, the institution can explain its decision.
What is the best online proctoring software for universities?
No one option is best for every university, because the right choice depends on your exam stakes, staffing and systems. Look first for software where a trained person reviews every flag and identity is checked throughout the session. Threat coverage should include AI tools and remote access, and each case should export as an evidence pack. Use the scorecard above in every demo, with one of your own exams.
Is there free online proctoring software?
Yes. Some free and open source options exist, usually as LMS plugins that take snapshots or restrict the browser, and they can work for practice tests. For graded exams, think about what’s missing: trained reviewers, an evidence record, continuous identity checks and candidate support. The license may cost nothing, but your staff time and the risk of a disputed result still do.
Do candidates need to install a proctoring app?
That depends on the product. With Proctorly, most exams run in a locked browser session in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Ulaa, on a laptop, desktop, tablet or phone. If an exam needs deeper checks, the institution can require a small Windows desktop agent, and the exam link tells candidates when it’s needed.
How do proctoring companies handle data privacy?
Practices differ, so put the question to each vendor. Ask where recordings are hosted, who sets retention, how deletion works and whether candidate data trains AI models. With Proctorly, data is hosted in the client’s geographic location by default, institutions can use their own S3 bucket and set retention, and candidate data isn’t used for training unless the institution opts in.