# Alternatives to Moodle

Moodle is an open-source learning management system, licensed under the GNU GPL v3, that schools, universities, and organisations self-host to build and deliver online courses. The same vendor (Moodle HQ, moodle.com) also sells fixed-price MoodleCloud hosting plans and a related enterprise product, Moodle Workplace. The GitHub repository is actively developed, with commits and a dev-branch version file dated within the current week.

Moodle ranks #1 of 8 in Learning management systems, with an Alt Score of 93. It is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later, open source with paid hosting from Free and available on Web, iOS and Android. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/moodle/
Category: Learning management systems

## Where Moodle stands out

- **Open source** — 3 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this
- **Sell courses / e-commerce** — 4 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Schools, universities, and organisations that want a self-hosted or cloud-hosted learning management system to build, deliver, and track online courses.
- **What you get**: A course-building platform with SCORM and xAPI-tracked content, a quiz/question-bank engine, BigBlueButton-powered live sessions, Open Badges, paid-enrolment tools, and a native iOS/Android app with offline course access.
- **How it works**: Administrators install the PHP codebase on their own server (or buy a MoodleCloud plan) and build courses from core activity and resource modules in a browser-based admin interface; learners take courses via the web or the Moodle mobile app, with completion and results tracked in the LMS.

## Profile

- **License**: GPL-3.0-or-later (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-08-03)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Open edX](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/open-edx.md) | 89 | AGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [TalentLMS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/talentlms.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [Absorb LMS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/absorb-lms.md) | 81 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Docebo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/docebo.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Blackboard Learn](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/blackboard-learn.md) | 74 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Canvas LMS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/canvas-lms.md) | 70 | AGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [LearnDash](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/learndash.md) | 44 | Proprietary (GPLv2+ per vendor terms) | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Learning management systems checklist | Moodle | Open edX | TalentLMS | Absorb LMS | Docebo | Blackboard Learn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium | ? | Subscription | ? |
| Starts at | Free | Free | $119/mo | ? | ? | ? |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| SCORM support | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| xAPI support | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Quizzes and assessments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Certificates | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Live virtual classroom | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline learning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Gamification | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Sell courses / e-commerce | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Moodle. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: GPL-3.0-or-later — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/COPYING.txt> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/README.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Starts at**: Free — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/README.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moodle.moodlemobile> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Status**: active — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/version.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/README.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/README.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **SCORM support**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/mod/scorm/lang/en/scorm.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **xAPI support**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/lib/xapi/classes/api.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Quizzes and assessments**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/mod/quiz/lang/en/quiz.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Certificates**: Partial — <https://github.com/mdjnelson/moodle-mod_customcert> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Live virtual classroom**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/mod/bigbluebuttonbn/lang/en/bigbluebuttonbn.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Mobile app**: Yes — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moodle/id633359593> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Offline learning**: Yes — <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moodle.moodlemobile> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Gamification**: Partial — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/lang/en/badges.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Sell courses / e-commerce**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/enrol/fee/lang/en/enrol_fee.php> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **SSO (SAML/OIDC)**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moodle/moodle/main/public/lib/classes/oauth2/discovery/openidconnect.php> (verified 2026-08-03)

---
Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/