Empath vs Pluralsight for MSP Training
Empath Learn is the stronger core training program for an MSP's owners and staff. It joins MSP...
Pax8 Academy vs Empath Learn for MSP Teams
If your MSP is a Pax8 partner, use Pax8 Academy for partner education and vendor training. Use Empath Learn as the core program for training your whole staff. Pax8 can help an owner or leader improve the business; Empath adds ready-made role paths, your own SOP courses, included practice and training that connects to daily service work.
The Bottom Line
- Keep Pax8 Academy for useful partner, vendor and owner education, including eligible on-demand learning.
- Choose Empath Learn for MSP-wide staff roles, your own courses, assignments and progress.
- Use both for their different jobs, with separate completion records today.
Empath makes Empath Learn. We used Pax8's public pages and our own experience as a Pax8 partner, without auditing every course.
Pax8 Academy vs Empath Learn at a Glance
Academy access varies by partner tier; a mark does not mean every method is complimentary.
| Staff training feature | Empath Learn | Pax8 Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Courses for MSP service and business work | Included | Documented for eligible partners |
| Pax8 product and vendor enablement | No Pax8 Academy equivalent established | Documented |
| Ready-made MSP staff role paths | Five templates included | Role browsing and learning paths, but not the same staff onboarding templates |
| Assign training and review progress | Included across MSP staff | Available; in our partner experience it serves a smaller group |
| Course due dates and team follow-up | Included | Precise partner workflow not established by cited sources |
| Build your own SOP lessons and quizzes | Included | A partner portal of on-demand courses; partner admins cannot build or upload own SOP courses in our partner experience |
| Public YouTube playlist into a course | Public playlist becomes a course, one lesson per video | No playlist-to-course workflow documented |
| Included certification courses and labs | Included | Technical and vendor courses offered; included lab catalog not established |
| AI conversation roleplay in staff offer | Included | No equivalent self-serve AI roleplay established |
| Peer groups and one-to-one coaching | Live streams in every Learn seat; no peer groups or 1:1 coaching | Offered; access and cost vary |
| Microsoft Learn progress sync | Available after setup | No equivalent assigned-progress sync established |
| ConnectWise PSA training tickets | Available after setup | No equivalent workflow established |
Documented Partial or conditional No credit from cited evidence; absence is not proved. For YouTube, full means a public playlist becomes a course with one lesson per video; half means a single video or link can be added to a course, lesson or path.
Our partner experience informs the assignment and SOP rows. Pax8's Academy page lists roles, classes, groups and coaching; On-Demand covers role learning and progress.
Client training through Empath Grow
Empath Grow is separately priced. Pax8 Academy serves partners; its software Marketplace has a different purpose.
| Client training feature | Empath Grow | Pax8 Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Each client has its own tenant that your MSP creates, manages and bills | Included in Empath Grow | This MSP client billing model is not established by the cited pages |
| Client admins, selected catalog and their own reports | Included in Empath Grow | This combined client-admin, catalog and reporting model is not established by the cited pages |
| Your price, revenue and margin per client in one view | Included in Empath Grow | This MSP client billing model is not established by the cited pages |
What Is Pax8 Academy Good At?
Pax8 Academy gives partners on-demand courses about running an MSP and the products they sell and support. It also offers instructor-led training, peer groups and one-to-one coaching. A leader can use those formats for business planning, security, sales or service delivery.
Owners and leaders have been the main users in our partner experience, but Pax8's role list also includes engineers, dispatch and help desk. Pax8 acquired Sea-Level Operations in 2021 to expand Academy coaching and education.
Why Use Empath Learn for the Whole MSP Team?
Built for MSPs by Empath includes Introduction to Tickets and Triage, Ticket Escalations 101, and Time Tracking: What Every MSP Employee Needs to Know. Managers can assign those alongside technical and sales courses.
Five ready-made pathway templates cover Tier 1, Account Manager, Project Delivery Basics, Cybersecurity Fundamentals and New Hire Onboarding. Managers can tailor each path. Every Learn seat includes Microsoft Learn and the Curated Collection, with more than 14,000 courses as of October 2026, more than 40 hands-on labs and hundreds of AI roleplays. Empath brings those courses into one staff program.
Can Both Assign Courses and Track Progress?
Yes. Pax8 Academy's delivery platform supports assigning training and tracking progress. Its On-Demand page also mentions progress tracking. In our partner experience, owners and leaders use it most; Pax8 also teaches staff roles.
Empath managers can assign courses and pathways across their staff, set course due dates and see individual or group progress. A service manager can add the MSP's escalation SOP to the Tier 1 template, assign it to a new technician and check completion. Empath supplies the ready-made MSP workflow.
Can the MSP Add Its Own SOP Courses?
Yes, in every Empath Learn staff seat. A Content Admin can paste an SOP into a text lesson, add a video and quiz with feedback, place the course in a pathway, then assign it and check completion. A public YouTube playlist can become a draft course with one lesson per video. See Your Own Courses.
From our own experience as a Pax8 partner, partner admins cannot build or upload their own SOP courses in Pax8 Academy. Academy is a partner portal with on-demand courses your team can take, not an LMS where an MSP builds its own courses. Author your ticket and escalation courses in Empath.
Where Do Technical Practice and Vendor Enablement Fit?
Empath Learn includes certification topics and more than 40 labs in the Curated Collection, plus AI roleplays for customer conversations. Check the exact included course or lab your technician needs.
Pax8 Academy has a different strength: enablement tied to products in the Pax8 ecosystem. Its AWS partner page lists product training, and its Academy pages cover security, sales and service topics. Use it for products your MSP sells.
How Does Empath Connect Learning to Microsoft and ConnectWise?
After setup, Empath managers see assigned Microsoft Learn progress with their other staff training. Empath's ConnectWise PSA integration can create weekly training tickets for assigned courses and add tracked time to the prior week's ticket if that ticket still exists. The current-state help article explains the limits: learner and ConnectWise member emails must match exactly, one Empath tenant connects to one ConnectWise company, and unassigned or historical Learn time does not sync.
Pax8's Microsoft education and Academy tracking are useful in their own right. No Pax8-to-Empath connection or embed is confirmed; completion records stay separate.
Can Either Offer Train the MSP's Clients?
Empath Grow gives each client a separate tenant and LMS experience. The MSP creates, manages and bills each client tenant, chooses its catalog and can resell courses through a supplier-catalog marketplace. Client admins manage their space, their managers have their own reports, and the MSP sees its price, revenue and margin per client in one view. Grow has a separate price from Learn.
Pax8 Academy serves partners. Its software Marketplace is different from Grow's training resale offer; the cited pages do not establish client LMS tenants.
What Is Included, and What Costs Extra?
Eligible Pax8 partners can use Academy On-Demand without a separate course charge. Instructor-led training has subscription options. The Voyager Alliance page lists Academy tiered pricing benefits of 5% for Velocity, 10% for Titan and 15% for Galactic partners. These are tier benefits, not course prices. Coaching and other higher-touch offers may carry charges or be included for eligible partners. Ask Pax8 for the price at your tier.
Empath's pricing page, checked in October 2026, lists 10 Learn seats at $300 per month on yearly billing, or $360 per seat per year. That staff price includes MSP courses, Microsoft Learn, the Curated Collection with labs and roleplays, and authoring. Empath Grow has a separate custom price.
Should You Use Pax8 Academy and Empath Together?
Yes, if your MSP is a Pax8 partner. Eligible on-demand Academy learning can complement Empath without another paid content subscription. Use Pax8 for vendor/product enablement and worthwhile owner or leader education, then use Empath Learn as the core home for assigned staff training and your SOPs. Check the value of a paid Academy program separately. Work with Partner Success if a broader second content subscription feels necessary.
Empath can iframe outside material only where the provider allows framing. You can request an API integration through Empath's feature-request process. Neither establishes a Pax8 Academy embed, connection or completion sync today. Book a demo with your role list and the Pax8 training your staff uses.
What Happens to Existing Training Records?
Pax8 Academy completions stay there. Your own SOP files and courses can move to Empath; SCORM uploads can be enabled. Pax8's licensed courses and old history do not transfer.
Empath's business development and Partner Success teams can help choose a path, do it with you, or give you a plan. Some packages include professional services; ask your account executive. Keep old Academy records accessible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pax8 Academy free for Pax8 partners?
On-demand learning is included for eligible Pax8 partners. Instructor-led training, peer groups and coaching depend on partner tier and selected program; some offers have additional charges. Pax8's Voyager Alliance page describes the tiers. Ask Pax8 for your current access and any price before enrolling in a higher-touch offer.
Can Pax8 Academy assign courses and track completion?
Yes. Its delivery platform supports assignments and progress tracking, and Pax8's On-Demand page mentions progress. In our partner experience, Academy is used most by owners and leaders, although Pax8 also publishes learning for service and technical staff. Empath Learn is designed to run the training program across the whole MSP.
Can I put my MSP's own SOP courses into Pax8 Academy?
From our own Pax8 partner experience, partner admins cannot build or upload their SOP courses in Academy. Academy is a partner portal with on-demand courses your team can take, not an LMS where an MSP builds its own courses. Empath Learn includes text lessons, quizzes, courses and pathways for your own material in every staff seat.
Do Pax8 Academy completions appear in Empath Learn?
No Pax8 Academy connection or embed is confirmed today. Use both systems with separate completion records. Empath's generic iframe tool works only if a provider permits framing, and an MSP can request an API integration. Neither route promises a current Pax8 completion sync.
Which Fits Your MSP Team?
Keep Pax8 Academy for partner education and coaching that earns its cost. Use Empath Learn for the whole MSP staff program: role paths, your own SOPs, included practice, Microsoft Learn progress and ConnectWise tickets. Evaluate separately priced Empath Grow if client training is part of your plan. Book a demo with the roles you train and the vendor education you already use.
