When your organisation needs new eLearning content, a key question is whether to develop it in-house or opt for outsourced eLearning with an expert partner. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer but there are smart ways to weigh the options. In this post, we break down the pros, cons, and trade-offs of internal development, outsourcing, and hybrid models, so you can choose the approach that best fits your team, timelines, and training goals.
In-House eLearning Development: Full Control, But at a Cost
Many organisations love the idea of building everything internally and for good reason.
Benefits:
- Full creative control and alignment with internal processes
- Faster iterations on updates and feedback
- Close collaboration between L&D, SMEs, and stakeholders
- Builds capability and knowledge inside your team
Challenges:
- Hiring (and retaining) the right skillset is difficult — especially if you want instructional design, visual design, animation, accessibility, and LMS know-how
- Tool licenses, tech setup, and training take time and money
- Your team may get stretched across BAU, learning design, and project deadlines
- Quality can suffer if L&D is under pressure to “just get something out”
Consider a full-time experienced learning designer in Australia costs approximately $100k+ per year and that doesn’t include animation, graphic design, or custom development. If you need volume, variety, or high-impact visual content, outsourcing may deliver faster ROI.
Outsourcing: Professional Quality and Scalability
Outsourcing can give you access to an expert team – fast. You gain the benefit of refined processes, creative capability, and specialist skills you may not have internally.
Benefits:
- Access to multiple specialists (ID, graphic design, animation, accessibility)
- High-quality, learner-focused design from day one
- Scalable for urgent deadlines or larger rollouts
- No hiring, onboarding, or software management required
- Can include scriptwriting, voiceover, scenario design, and more
Watch out for:
- Losing visibility or control if the vendor isn’t collaborative
- Long feedback cycles if you’re not aligned on the process
- Hidden fees or lack of source file ownership
At B Online Learning, we work like an extension of your team, offering fixed-scope development in Articulate Rise or Storyline with all source file handover.
A Smarter Middle Ground: Hybrid Approaches
Some of the most effective strategies we’ve seen involve mixing in-house and outsourced work strategically.
Here are three common models:
1. Build One, Replicate Many
Outsource your first module and then use it as a template to build the rest internally.
- You get a professional course quickly
- Your team learns from the build and uses the source files
- Speeds up future development and builds internal capability
2. Outsource Everything, Maintain In-House
You don’t need your team to build but you want them to own and update content in the future.
- Get high-quality courses fast
- Full source file ownership
- Update and maintain content internally with minimal reliance
3. Work With a Preferred Provider
Think of this like a flexible extension of your L&D team. Use them when timelines are tight, or when you want something with real creative impact.
- Predictable process and consistent quality
- Ongoing collaboration and capacity
- You still manage content and direction, but get expert delivery when needed
Rethink the Value of Your Learning Investment
Instead of allocating your full learning and development budget to a single internal role, outsourcing can stretch your investment further — without compromising on quality.
Our clients often achieve:
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An entire library of custom onboarding, compliance, or capability training
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Faster turnaround times
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Smarter use of SME time – they review, not build
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Professionally written, designed, and LMS-ready content that’s accessible and built to last
Want to Build or Maintain Content In-House?
Whether you’re planning to outsource or keep development internal, having the right tools and the confidence to use them, makes all the difference.
At B Online Learning, we don’t just build eLearning content, we also upskill teams to do it themselves.
As Australia’s only Certified Articulate Training provider, we offer:
- Hands-on training in Articulate Rise 360 and Storyline
- Step-by-step guidance in eLearning design, development, and accessibility
- Expert-led sessions to help your team build content that’s clean, creative, and future-ready
- Workshops that cover scripting, interactivity, variables, visual design, and learner engagement
Whether you want to update existing courses, scale your content library, or build learning programs from scratch, we’ll give your team the skills to make it happen — in-house, with confidence.
Final Takeaway: What’s Right for You?
There’s no “best” way to build eLearning, just the right way for your needs.
You might start by outsourcing a few key projects. You might grow your team and need overflow support. Or you might want help now, but keep content ownership long-term.
Want to explore your options in more detail? Check out our full guide to eLearning outsourcing models
Whatever your model, we can help you make it work. Get in touch and start collaborating with our team today.
