Accredible Alternative
Accredible alternative with public pricing and a free plan
If you have evaluated Accredible and need transparent pricing, a free starting tier, or a same-day setup, Issue Badge is built for that.
What follows is an honest comparison. We name where Accredible is the better choice, where it is not, and how migration works.
No credit card required · Updated May 2026
Quick answer
Accredible is an enterprise-focused digital credentialing platform founded in 2013, with offices in San Francisco and Cambridge UK and sales-led pricing. Issue Badge is a self-serve alternative with a free plan, public paid tiers, REST API access, and Open Badges support. Both issue verifiable digital certificates and badges. Pick Accredible if you are a large enterprise with procurement and SSO requirements; pick Issue Badge if you want to start today without a sales call.
What is Accredible?
Accredible is a digital credentialing platform launched in 2013 in Cambridge, UK, now operating from offices in San Francisco and Cambridge. It provides certificate and badge issuance, recipient wallets, verification, and an API for credential workflows at scale.
A few characteristics worth knowing before you compare:
- Pricing is not published. Plans are quoted by their sales team based on volume and features. There is no transparent free or starter tier on accredible.com.
- Open Badges support. Accredible issues credentials in the Open Badges 2.0 and 3.0 standard, which means recipients can move them to compatible wallets.
- Enterprise positioning. Public customers include large universities, professional certification bodies, and corporate training programs. The platform is built around organizations issuing credentials at scale.
- Sales-led onboarding. The standard path is a demo, scoping conversation, and contract before issuing your first credential.
All claims above are based on publicly available information on accredible.com at the time of writing. Confirm with Accredible directly for current details.
What is Issue Badge?
Issue Badge is a digital credentialing platform built around self-serve onboarding and public pricing. After you sign up, you can design a certificate, upload a recipient list, and send credentials the same day.
- Free plan. Certificate templates, QR code verification, email delivery, and recipient management. No credit card.
- Public paid tiers. Self-serve upgrades that add custom branding, API access, and priority support. See the pricing page for current rates.
- REST API. Issue and revoke credentials programmatically from your LMS, course platform, or internal systems.
- White-label and custom domains on enterprise plans for organizations that need to verify under their own URL.
- Open Badges support so credentials are portable and verifiable independently of the platform.
See the full feature list or the pricing page.
Accredible vs Issue Badge
Side-by-side on the dimensions that actually drive a decision. Where a row says “not published” we have not been able to confirm a public source, and you should ask Accredible directly.
| Accredible | Issue Badge | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2013, Cambridge UK | Digital credentialing platform |
| Pricing model | Sales-led, custom quote | Public pricing, free + paid tiers |
| Free plan | Not publicly offered | Yes, no credit card required |
| Self-serve signup | Demo and scoping call typical | Sign up and issue same day |
| Open Badges 2.0 / 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| REST API | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (paid plans) |
| Bulk issuance via CSV | Yes | Yes |
| QR code verification | Yes | Yes |
| Recipient wallet / portal | Yes | Yes |
| LinkedIn sharing | Yes | Yes |
| White-label / custom domain | Yes (enterprise) | Yes (enterprise) |
| Typical buyer | Universities, professional bodies, large training programs | SMBs, course creators, training teams, internal HR/L&D |
Sources: accredible.com for Accredible facts; issuebadge.com/pricing for Issue Badge pricing. Last reviewed May 2026.
Pick the right platform for your situation
Stay with Accredible if…
- •You issue tens of thousands of credentials a year and need a contract that prices that volume
- •Your procurement requires SSO, security audits, MSA negotiations, and a named account team
- •You need bespoke integrations or feature requests that warrant enterprise-level engineering support
- •Your organization is a large university, professional certifying body, or global training network already on a multi-year contract
Move to Issue Badge if…
- •You want public pricing that procurement can read without a sales call
- •You need a free tier to test the workflow before committing budget
- •Your volume is under a few thousand credentials a year and Accredible quotes feel oversized for your scale
- •You want self-serve onboarding so the team can issue the first certificate today, not next quarter
- •You need REST API access on a published plan rather than gated behind enterprise tier
If you are migrating from Accredible
Both platforms support Open Badges, so the underlying credential data is portable. The practical concerns are about verification URLs and recipient continuity, not the credentials themselves.
1. Export from Accredible
Export your recipient list, credential metadata, and any custom fields. CSV is the safe lowest-common-denominator format.
2. Re-issue from Issue Badge
Upload the same CSV. Issue Badge generates a new certificate per row with its own verification URL. Recipients receive an email with the new credential and verification link.
3. Plan a transition window
Keep your Accredible account active for 60 to 90 days so old verification URLs still resolve while recipients adjust to new ones. Communicate the new verification page in your usual channels.
4. Update your issuing source
If credentials are issued automatically by an LMS or course platform, repoint that integration at the Issue Badge REST API or webhook endpoint before you cut over.
Verification URLs are tied to the issuing platform’s domain. They cannot be ported, but they can be reissued with new ones recipients can begin using immediately.
Who switches from Accredible to Issue Badge
These are the patterns we see most. None of these are universal. If you fit a different pattern, the comparison table above is the better guide.
Course creators
Issuing 50 to 5,000 completion certificates a year and want to stop running CSV exports through a designer.
Internal L&D teams
Recognizing employees for compliance training or internal certifications without involving procurement on a six-figure contract.
Workshop organizers
Issuing a one-time batch of certificates for a single event or conference and not wanting to commit to an annual platform.
Associations and clubs
Smaller membership bodies that need verifiable credentials without enterprise-grade overhead.
Pricing
Issue Badge publishes a free plan and self-serve paid tiers. For current rates and limits, see the dedicated pricing page.
See current pricingAccredible does not publish pricing. Request a quote at accredible.com for your specific volume.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Accredible alternative? ▾
It depends on scale. For organizations issuing under a few thousand credentials a year that want public pricing and self-serve signup, Issue Badge is a fit. For very large enterprise rollouts with strict procurement and SSO requirements, Accredible itself or other enterprise platforms may suit better. Other Accredible alternatives commonly evaluated include Credly, Sertifier, Certifier, Badgr, and Open Badge Factory.
Is Accredible free? ▾
Accredible does not publish a free plan on its website. Pricing is sales-led and quoted per organization. If a free or low-cost starting tier matters to your evaluation, that is a common reason teams look for an Accredible alternative.
How much does Accredible cost? ▾
Accredible does not list public pricing on accredible.com. Costs are quoted by their sales team based on credential volume, features needed, and contract length. Procurement teams that require published pricing often consider alternatives that publish their tiers. See the Issue Badge pricing page for current rates.
What is the difference between Accredible and Issue Badge? ▾
Accredible is an enterprise-focused digital credentialing platform founded in 2013, with offices in San Francisco and Cambridge UK and pricing quoted by their sales team. Issue Badge is a self-serve digital credentialing platform with a free plan and public paid tiers, designed for organizations that want to start issuing credentials without a sales call. Both support Open Badges, certificate templates, bulk issuance, and verification.
Does Accredible support Open Badges? ▾
Yes. Accredible issues Open Badges 2.0 and Open Badges 3.0 compliant credentials. Issue Badge also supports Open Badges, which means credentials issued in either platform are portable to wallets and verifiers that follow the standard.
Can I migrate from Accredible to another platform? ▾
Yes. Because Accredible issues credentials in the Open Badges standard, the credential metadata can be exported and re-issued elsewhere. Practical migration involves three steps: export your recipient and credential data from Accredible, re-issue from the new platform with new verification URLs, and decide whether to keep your Accredible account active during a transition window so old verification links keep resolving.
Who uses Accredible? ▾
Accredible publicly lists customers including large universities, professional certification bodies, training providers, and corporate education programs. The platform is generally positioned for organizations issuing credentials at scale rather than small teams just starting out.
Why look for an Accredible alternative? ▾
Common reasons teams evaluate Accredible alternatives: they want public pricing they can budget against without a sales call, they want a free or low-cost starter tier to test before committing, they need self-serve onboarding instead of a scheduled demo, or their volume is below the level Accredible is built around.
Does Issue Badge have a free plan? ▾
Yes. Issue Badge has a free plan that includes certificate templates, QR code verification, email delivery, and recipient management. No credit card is required to start. Paid plans add custom branding, REST API access, and priority support. Current rates are on the pricing page.
How long does setup take on Issue Badge versus Accredible? ▾
Issue Badge is self-serve. After signup, you can have your first credential designed and issued the same day. Accredible follows a sales-led onboarding flow with a demo, scoping call, and contracting. For larger enterprise rollouts that timeline can be appropriate; for smaller teams it is often the friction that drives evaluation of alternatives.
What is Open Badges 3.0? ▾
Open Badges 3.0 is the current version of the Open Badges specification, maintained by 1EdTech. It uses Verifiable Credentials so a digital badge can be cryptographically verified independently of the platform that issued it. Both Accredible and Issue Badge support credentials that follow the Open Badges standard.
Can I keep the same verification URLs after switching from Accredible? ▾
Verification URLs are tied to the issuing platform’s domain, so you cannot port the URL itself to a new provider. You can keep your Accredible account active during a transition window so existing certificates continue to verify, while you re-issue or re-export credentials from the new platform with their own verification URLs.
Does Issue Badge support white-label and custom domains? ▾
Yes. Issue Badge supports custom branding on paid plans (logo, colors, email templates) and white-label deployments with custom verification domains on enterprise plans.
Try Issue Badge before you sign anything
Free plan, public pricing, and an API. Issue your first verifiable certificate in under ten minutes.