Honorlock vs Respondus LockDown Browser: Which Wins in 2026?

At a glance

	Honorlock	Respondus LockDown Browser
Best for	Colleges that want AI plus human review	Schools on a budget that test inside the LMS
Starting price	Custom pricing	$3,295 / year campus license (up to 2,000 FTE)
Pricing model	Flat-rate annual, FTE, per-student or per-exam tiers	Published annual campus license; Monitor priced separately
Free plan or trial	No	Free two-month pilot
Proctoring approach	AI monitoring with live proctors who pop in on flags	Locked exam browser; automated webcam proctoring with Monitor
Webcam proctoring	Included in the service	Respondus Monitor: $4,950 first institution-wide term, 200 free seats a year, or $15 per student per year
LMS support	Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, Open LMS and other LTI 1.3 platforms	Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, Sakai and Schoology
Publisher platforms	McGraw Hill Connect, Pearson MyLab, Cengage WebAssign and others	LMS quizzes only
Live human proctors	Yes, on flagged moments	No

Honorlock is the better fit for colleges that run high-stakes online exams and want AI monitoring backed by live human proctors, while Respondus LockDown Browser suits schools that mainly need to lock down LMS quizzes at a low, published price. They take different approaches to exam security, so the right choice depends on the stakes of your exams and how much you can spend.

We rate Honorlock 4.7 out of 5 and Respondus LockDown Browser 4.6, first and second on our ranked list of the best online assessment and proctoring software. Here is how they compare on the questions that matter to faculty, students and budget holders.

How each tool works

Honorlock combines AI monitoring with live human proctors who pop in only when the AI flags something, which keeps most exams quiet for students. Its browser guard and desktop app block other sites, chatbots and AI assistants, and it checks ID and runs a room scan before the exam.

Respondus LockDown Browser is a locked browser that keeps students inside the exam in your LMS. On its own, it does not use the webcam at all. Respondus Monitor adds fully automated webcam proctoring on top, licensed separately. There are no live human proctors.

Winner: depends on the stakes. Honorlock is a proctoring service. LockDown Browser is a lockdown tool with an optional automated proctoring add-on.

Exam security

For exams that matter, Honorlock offers more protection. It blocks AI assistants, detects phones and smartwatches, verifies identity, and puts a human into the session when something looks wrong. That combination addresses the threats instructors worry about most in 2026: chatbots, second devices and someone else taking the test.

LockDown Browser stops students from opening other sites and apps on the exam computer, which handles the most common shortcut. It cannot see a phone on the desk unless you add Monitor, and even then no human watches in real time.

Winner: Honorlock. AI plus human review and device detection give it a clear edge for high-stakes exams.

Student experience

Honorlock tries to stay out of the way: most students never see a proctor unless the AI flags something. Still, webcam monitoring worries some students, and the pre-exam ID check and room scan add steps.

LockDown Browser alone records nothing. Students open the browser, take the quiz and close it. For a weekly quiz, that is far less intrusive than any webcam tool. Adding Monitor brings back a webcam check and recording.

Winner: Respondus LockDown Browser for routine quizzes. Less monitoring means less anxiety when the stakes are low.

LMS and publisher coverage

Respondus works with LMS quizzes in Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, Sakai and Schoology. That is broad LMS support, but it is the limit: exams that live outside the LMS are out of reach.

Honorlock lists Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace and Open LMS, says it uses LTI 1.3 for other compliant platforms, and also supports publisher platforms such as McGraw Hill Connect, Pearson MyLab and Cengage WebAssign. For large intro courses that test inside publisher platforms, that coverage is decisive.

Winner: Honorlock. Publisher platform support covers exams Respondus cannot reach.

Pricing and total cost

Respondus is the rare proctoring vendor with a public price list. LockDown Browser campus licenses start at $3,295 a year for up to 2,000 FTE, with unlimited use across the institution. Respondus Monitor costs a flat $4,950 for the first institution-wide term, schools with LockDown Browser get 200 free Monitor seats each year, and students can also buy Monitor themselves for $15 a year.

Honorlock is quote-only, with flat-rate annual licensing or FTE, per-student or per-exam tiers for higher education. Expect a sales process before you see a number. Compare it with Respondus plus Monitor rather than LockDown Browser alone, since that pairing is the closer match in features.

Winner: Respondus LockDown Browser. Published, modest pricing and a free two-month pilot make budgeting easy.

Faculty workload

Every proctoring tool produces evidence that someone must review. With Honorlock, live proctors respond to AI flags during the exam, so many issues are handled in the moment rather than left for the instructor.

With Respondus Monitor, proctoring is fully automated and no human watches in real time, so reviewing recorded sessions falls to faculty or teaching assistants. With LockDown Browser alone, there is nothing to review, which is fine for low-stakes work.

Winner: Honorlock. Human review during the exam saves faculty hours after big exams.

Privacy and accessibility

Both tools handle student data covered by FERPA, and both deserve the same questions: what is recorded, who can see it, how long it is kept, and how accommodations such as extra time and assistive technology work. Webcam tools draw more scrutiny, including under biometric privacy laws such as Illinois’s BIPA, so ask how each one handles face images and consent.

On accommodations, check both tools with your disability services office. LockDown Browser follows the time settings in your LMS quiz, so extended time is set where faculty already set it. With Honorlock, confirm how extra time, breaks and assistive technology are handled for each exam, and how proctors are told about approved accommodations before they pop in.

Winner: Respondus LockDown Browser, when used without Monitor. A tool that records nothing collects the least data.

Fit by exam type

Put the two tools side by side against the exams most institutions actually run:

• Weekly LMS quizzes: Respondus LockDown Browser. It blocks other sites and apps without recording anyone.
• Midterms in large online courses: Respondus with Monitor is the budget option, while Honorlock adds human review of flags.
• Finals and exams in publisher platforms: Honorlock, because Respondus cannot reach exams outside the LMS.
• Licensure prep and certification-style exams: Honorlock, for device detection, AI assistant blocking and a human in the loop.
• Small schools with tight budgets: Respondus, thanks to published pricing and 200 free Monitor seats each year.

If your exam calendar is mostly the first two rows, Respondus covers it at a lower cost. If the last three rows describe the exams that matter most to your program, Honorlock is the stronger tool.

Which should you choose?

Many institutions do not have to choose only one. A sensible setup is LockDown Browser for routine LMS quizzes and a stronger service for finals and credential exams. If you must pick one, choose Honorlock when high-stakes online exams and publisher content are central to your program, and choose Respondus when budget and LMS quizzes come first.

Use the Respondus pilot and an Honorlock trial on real exams in the same term. Track support tickets, false flags and student feedback, and let those results settle the decision.

Bring faculty and students into the pilot review, not only IT. Instructors know which exams carry real stakes, and students will tell you quickly which steps confused them or felt intrusive. Ask disability services to test both tools with assistive technology and extended time settings before launch. A tool that works for most students but fails for those with accommodations will cost you more in complaints and retakes than any license fee.

Pros and cons

Honorlock

Respondus LockDown Browser

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions