HEAD TO HEAD

iluminr vs Immersive Labs: which crisis simulation platform fits your team?

THE SHORT ANSWER

On our published weights iluminr scores 7.55 and Immersive Labs 7.30. iluminr scores higher on executive and board focus, exercise delivery effort and regulatory evidence; Immersive Labs scores higher on scenario realism and customisation; they tie on measurement and after-action reporting and pricing clarity.

By The Exercise Desk · Crisis Simulation Ranked · Published 2026-10-11

Desk research from public vendor pages, vendor announcements and standards documents read between 27 September and 13 October 2026. Editorial assessment; we did not run any exercise on these platforms.

How do iluminr and Immersive Labs score on each criterion?

iluminr and Immersive Labs: crisis readiness score (editorial assessment, 0 to 10)
Criterion	Weight	iluminr	Immersive Labs	Higher score
Scenario realism	20%	Real-time injects and immersive media, with AI assessing each response against the organisation's own plans; a scenario that branches on each decision is not described. Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Dynamic injects and AI actors that players can question, built around the customer's playbooks. Source: Immersive Labs: Crisis Sim · Read 27 Sep 2026	Immersive Labs
Executive and board focus	20%	Built for boards, executives, crisis teams and risk functions, with board-ready dashboards. Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Crisis Sim targets executives, incident leaders and cross-functional teams, and digital tabletops include the board. Source: Immersive Labs: digital tabletop exercises · Read 27 Sep 2026	iluminr
Exercise delivery effort	15%	Microsimulations of 3–5 minutes for one person and 30–45 minutes for a team make frequent practice practical. Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	The AI Program Builder drafts scenarios, but the crisis simulation sits in a multi-product platform that needs programme ownership. Source: Immersive Labs: digital tabletop exercises · Read 27 Sep 2026	iluminr
Measurement and after-action reporting	15%	Behavioural evidence (decision velocity, confidence, alignment) and benchmarking by department, region and role. Source: iluminr blog: continuous capability intelligence (18 August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026	Decision-level measurement, a Resilience Score, benchmarks across teams and enhanced after-action reporting (March 2026). Source: Immersive Labs press release: Immersive One expands exercising and compliance benchmarking (17 March 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026	Tie
Regulatory evidence	10%	Nine named frameworks on the homepage, including DORA, APRA CPS 230, ISO 22301 and FFIEC, plus automated board-ready regulatory reports citing DORA, NIS2, CER and APRA CPS 230. Source: iluminr press release: continuous capability intelligence (PRWeb, 25 August 2026) · Read 11 Oct 2026	"Prove regulatory alignment" with NIS2 and DORA evidence, NIST CSF heat maps and GRC content for ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and SOX. Source: Immersive Labs press release: Immersive One expands exercising and compliance benchmarking (17 March 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026	iluminr
Customisation	10%	The AI Context Engine draws on the organisation's continuity and GRC data; authoring tools are not described in detail. Source: iluminr blog: continuous capability intelligence (18 August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026	AI scenario creation, the AI Program Builder and an AI-Powered Crisis Simulator for custom scenarios. Source: Immersive Labs press release: Secure With AI (21 January 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026	Immersive Labs
Pricing clarity	10%	No price published on the pricing page. Source: iluminr pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026	No price published. Source: Immersive Labs homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Tie
Total	100%			iluminr

Which stages of an exercise does each cover?

Build: Documented
The AI Context Engine draws on business continuity and GRC data during scenarios (August 2026 update).
Source: iluminr blog: continuous capability intelligence (18 August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026
Adapt: Partial
Real-time injects and immersive media; AI assesses each response against the organisation's own plans. Branching on each decision is not described.
Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026
Seats: Documented
Built for boards, executives, crisis teams and risk functions; single-player microsimulations and team exercises.
Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026
Run: Partial
Live QR polling supports in-room sessions; who facilitates a tabletop is not described on the pages reviewed.
Source: iluminr blog: continuous capability intelligence (18 August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026
Report: Documented
Board-ready dashboards and regulatory reports, benchmarking by department, region and role, and behavioural evidence such as decision velocity, confidence, alignment and blind spots.
Source: iluminr press release: continuous capability intelligence (PRWeb, 25 August 2026) · Read 11 Oct 2026
Map: Documented
Evidence mapped to DORA, ISO 22301, APRA CPS 230, FCA/PRA, NIST CSF, UK Operational Resilience, ISO 27001, FFIEC and OSFI E-21, with automated regulatory reporting.
Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026

A solid segment means the vendor's own pages describe that stage. It shows coverage, not quality; the scores judge quality.

Build: Documented
AI scenario creation and an AI Program Builder; scenarios built around the customer's playbooks.
Source: Immersive Labs: digital tabletop exercises · Read 27 Sep 2026
Adapt: Documented
Dynamic injects and AI actors that players can question.
Source: Immersive Labs: Crisis Sim · Read 27 Sep 2026
Seats: Documented
For executives, incident leaders and cross-functional teams; digital tabletop audiences include the board.
Source: Immersive Labs: digital tabletop exercises · Read 27 Sep 2026
Run: Not described
Who facilitates a session is not described on the pages reviewed.
Source: Immersive Labs: Crisis Sim · Read 27 Sep 2026
Report: Documented
Decision-level measurement, a Resilience Score and benchmarks; enhanced Crisis Simulation after-action reporting announced in March 2026.
Source: Immersive Labs press release: Immersive One expands exercising and compliance benchmarking (17 March 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026
Map: Documented
"Prove regulatory alignment"; evidence for NIS2 and DORA; heat maps for NIST CSF and GRC content for ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and SOX.
Source: Immersive Labs press release: Immersive One expands exercising and compliance benchmarking (17 March 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026

A solid segment means the vendor's own pages describe that stage. It shows coverage, not quality; the scores judge quality.

iluminr documents 4 of 6 stages and Immersive Labs documents 5 of 6.

What do they cost?

iluminr

Packaging: A resilience exercising platform with several modules; pricing through sales.

Not published iluminr's pricing page publishes no prices.

Source: iluminr pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026

Immersive Labs

Packaging: Part of the Immersive One platform alongside labs, drills and ranges; pricing through sales.

Not published Immersive Labs publishes no prices.

Source: Immersive Labs homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026

Which frameworks do they map results to?

iluminr

DORA
ISO 22301
APRA CPS 230
FCA/PRA
NIST CSF
UK Operational Resilience
ISO 27001
FFIEC
OSFI E-21
NIS2
CER

Source: iluminr homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026

Source: iluminr press release: continuous capability intelligence (PRWeb, 25 August 2026) · Read 11 Oct 2026

Immersive Labs

NIS2
DORA
NIST CSF
ISO 27001
ISO 42001
SOX

Source: Immersive Labs press release: Immersive One expands exercising and compliance benchmarking (17 March 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026

Which should you choose?

Choose iluminr if

Regulatory evidence: 10 / 10, Nine named frameworks on the homepage, including DORA, APRA CPS 230, ISO 22301 and FFIEC, plus automated board-ready regulatory reports citing DORA, NIS2, CER and APRA CPS 230.
Executive and board focus: 9 / 10, Built for boards, executives, crisis teams and risk functions, with board-ready dashboards.
Board-level evidence for regulated firms

Choose Immersive Labs if

Measurement and after-action reporting: 9 / 10, Decision-level measurement, a Resilience Score, benchmarks across teams and enhanced after-action reporting (March 2026).
Scenario realism: 8 / 10, Dynamic injects and AI actors that players can question, built around the customer's playbooks.
Crisis simulation inside a wider readiness platform

iluminr profile Immersive Labs profile Alternatives to iluminr Alternatives to Immersive Labs See them side by side

Frequently asked questions

Is iluminr or Immersive Labs better for executive crisis exercises?

iluminr scores higher on executive and board focus (9 against 8 out of 10). Read each profile for the detail.

Which is easier to run, iluminr or Immersive Labs?

iluminr scores higher on delivery effort, where a higher score means less effort, (8 against 7 out of 10). Read each profile for the detail.

Do iluminr and Immersive Labs publish prices?

Neither iluminr nor Immersive Labs publishes a price for its exercise product.