TAO review
A powerful open-source choice for adaptive assessments, with specialized setup and costly paid tiers.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
TAO is an open-source computer-based testing platform for educators, assessment professionals, education ministries, higher-education institutions, professional associations, and public-sector employers. It covers assessment authoring, reusable item banks, test delivery, automated and manual scoring, reporting, and analytics. Delivery can be self-hosted, cloud-hosted, online, through an LMS using LTI, or through test centers and local proctoring. Its strongest fit is organizations that need structured, reusable assessments rather than simple quizzes.
Assessment depth is the main reason to consider TAO. Authors can create interactive question types, use QTI import and export, apply automatic scoring, partial credit, weighted responses, manual scoring, and cut scores, and build linear, branching, or adaptive tests. Reporting includes session, candidate, test-taker, custom, and CSV reports, along with Data Explorer and TAO Insights. Accessibility and test-taker tools include text-to-speech, masking, highlighting, and magnification. Integrations include LTI 1.3, Moodle, Proctorio, Texthelp SpeechStream, GeoGebra, Wiris, Casio, and the TAO Insights API.
The pricing structure separates a free self-hosted Community Edition from paid services. TAO Accelerate costs €499 per month when billed annually and adds service desk support, TAO Cloud hosting, text-to-speech tools, test centers, and local proctoring. TAO Ignite costs €990 per month when billed annually and adds dedicated account management, usage reports, monthly check-ins, and user adoption and training. TAO Enterprise provides custom implementation, multi-tenancy, custom integrations, and private hosting options. Choose TAO for assessment complexity, control, and extensibility; choose a simpler quiz tool if quick setup and lightweight authoring matter more.
TAO pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Adaptive, branching, linear, and partial-credit assessments
- Reusable item banks with QTI import and export
- Self-hosting, LTI delivery, and accessibility tools
- Where it doesn't
- Paid plans start at €499 per month when billed annually
- Setup is more specialized than typical quiz software
- Community Edition includes community support rather than service-desk support
TAO fact sheet, pricing and score →
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