Online Proctoring Software Compared: The Six Major Platforms

What Are the Major Online Proctoring Platforms, Compared?

Six platforms dominate online proctoring, and they split on one axis: how much a live human is involved. ProctorU and Examity offer real-time human proctors; Honorlock adds a human only when its AI flags something; Proctorio and Respondus Monitor are fully automated; and ExamSoft records for later human review. All bundle browser lockdown, but each monitors and delivers differently.

The brand on your login screen matters less than the tier behind it, because most of these products are configurable and your institution decides which features switch on. The sections and tables below line the six up on their proctoring model, what each can monitor, and how each is delivered, then close with how to prepare once you know which one your exam uses.

• •Live in real time: ProctorU and Examity (live tiers); Honorlock only on an AI flag.
• •Fully automated, no human watching: Proctorio and Respondus Monitor.
• •Record-then-human-review: ExamSoft, Examity's automated tiers, and Honorlock's post-exam analytics.

Which Proctoring Platforms Use a Live Human vs AI Only?

The clearest way to sort the six platforms is by when, and whether, a real person watches. ProctorU, now part of Meazure Learning, and Examity both offer a live tier where a human proctor watches your video and screen in real time and can pause or end the session. Honorlock is AI-first: its software monitors continuously, and a live proctor only enters by chat if the AI flags misconduct, a feature it calls Live Pop-In.

At the automated end, Proctorio and Respondus Monitor put no human on your live session at all. Software records and flags events, and any human review happens afterward, if the institution opens the report. ExamSoft is record-and-review: it captures your webcam and screen locally through the Examplify app, then a human invigilator produces a time-stamped incident report that educators accept or dismiss before results are released.

Because most vendors are configurable, an institution can dial the same product up or down. Examity is the most explicit about this, publishing a menu from automated-only, through automated-with-human-audit, to full one-proctor-per-exam live coverage. The table below lines up all six on their proctoring model, whether a live human is ever watching in real time, and how the software reaches your computer.

What Does Each Proctoring Platform Monitor?

Every platform here bundles some form of browser lockdown, and each pairs it with webcam and, usually, audio monitoring. Proctorio blocks tabs, copying, and printing through a Chrome extension while recording webcam, audio, and screen. Respondus LockDown Browser is the strongest standalone lock: it blocks copy and print, other apps and sites, virtual machines, remote desktop, screen-sharing, screen recording, and messaging apps, then Respondus Monitor adds the automated webcam layer on top.

The detections diverge from there. Honorlock advertises catching cell phones and secondary devices with AI alone, listening for voice-assistant phrases such as Hey Siri, and spotting attempts to use AI tools like ChatGPT unless the exam allows them. Proctorio flags multiple faces, suspicious movement, unusual sounds, and tab-switching, then shows instructors a red, yellow, or green suspicion score in its Review Center. ExamSoft flags movement, gaze direction, background noise, and speech, and Respondus Monitor flags looking away, leaving your seat, and multiple faces.

Identity and environment checks vary too. ExamSoft's ExamID compares a login photo to a stored baseline biometric, while Examity's higher tiers add a live 360-degree sweep of your room and desk before the proctor steps back. Treat the more aggressive detection claims cautiously: reporting suggests ProctorU does not do deepfake or secondary-camera detection, and vendor claims of late-2025 Google Lens or Copilot side-panel detection by Proctorio are not independently confirmed. What is switched on always depends on your institution's configuration.

How Do ProctorU, Honorlock, and Proctorio Differ?

These three are the platforms most students meet, and they sit at three different points on the human-involvement scale. ProctorU is the hybrid: institutions can buy fully automated, record-and-review, or live human tiers, and on the live tier a proctor can pause or terminate your session in real time. Its Guardian Secure Browser handles lockdown, and pre-exam ID and equipment checks run before you start. Honorlock and Proctorio push more onto the software, in opposite styles - Honorlock keeps a human on standby, while Proctorio removes the human entirely.

If you already know which of the three your exam uses, our per-vendor guides walk through what each one does and how support works on result-aligned terms.

How Do Examity, ExamSoft, and Respondus Differ?

The other three trade constant real-time watching for structured tiers and after-the-fact review. Examity offers the most explicit menu: automated flagging the school reviews, automated flagging Examity audits before results release, a live-authentication sweep, or full live proctoring at an advertised two-to-one, often one-to-one, ratio. ExamSoft and Respondus both lean on record-and-review, capturing your session and letting a human or the instructor sort the flags afterward, with Respondus adding an optional second camera in 2026 to record your workspace.

Where ProctorU, Honorlock, and Proctorio are the names you meet in everyday coursework, these three show up often in professional, licensing, and high-stakes settings where an after-the-fact human audit is part of the design.

How Is Each Platform Delivered, and Which Locks Down Hardest?

Delivery shapes your setup more than any feature list. Proctorio installs as a Chrome browser extension, so it rides inside a browser you already have. ExamSoft and Respondus each ship a dedicated locked application or browser you download and install - Examplify for ExamSoft, LockDown Browser for Respondus. ProctorU, Honorlock, and Examity are typically integrated into your school's learning-management system, launching from inside the course rather than as a separate download.

On raw lockdown strength, the standalone browser layers are the toughest. Respondus LockDown Browser blocks not just other apps and sites but virtual machines, remote desktop, screen-sharing, screen recording, messaging, and keystroke tricks. Honorlock's BrowserGuard and ProctorU's Guardian Secure Browser play a similar role inside their platforms. Pure webcam layers like Respondus Monitor add monitoring but no lockdown of their own, which is exactly why institutions so often pair a lockdown browser with a separate monitoring product.

None of this is fixed in stone. Which restrictions are active, and how strict the flagging is, comes down to how your institution set the exam up, so the safest move is to confirm your specific configuration rather than assume the vendor's defaults.

• •Chrome extension: Proctorio - installs into a browser you already use.
• •Dedicated locked app or browser: ExamSoft (Examplify) and Respondus (LockDown Browser).
• •LMS-integrated: ProctorU, Honorlock, and Examity - launched from inside your course.
• •Strongest standalone lockdown: Respondus LockDown Browser, Honorlock BrowserGuard, and ProctorU Guardian.

How Should You Prepare Once You Know Your Proctoring Platform?

The single most useful thing you can do is find out which platform your exam uses and, more importantly, which tier. The brand on the login screen tells you less than the configuration behind it, because a fully automated setup and a live-proctored one built on the same product are very different experiences. Ask your instructor or check the exam's setup notes, then test your webcam, microphone, and internet on the exact device you will use, and install any required extension or locked browser ahead of time.

From there, read the exam's own rules on what is allowed, and prepare your space to match - a clear desk, closed background apps, ID ready, and awareness of whether a room scan is part of your launch. Knowing your platform also tells you what will not be watched, which cuts a lot of needless worry. If test-day nerves are the real problem, working on those directly helps more than fixating on the camera.

If you are facing a high-stakes proctored exam and want support, Exam Assist works with candidates on result-aligned terms, so you pay only after you reach your target result. Message us with the exam, the platform it runs on, and your timeline, and we will walk through your options confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any proctoring vendor or exam board.