A list of 24 open-source LMS

Bob Teng Blog 14. November 2021 Zugriffe: 12231

Open-source learning management systems are software that can be used for all kinds of online courses. They allow you to use the same tool from basic blog platforms to more advanced course functionalities such as tracking student progress, distributing assignments, and collecting grades.

Here is a list of 24 open-source LMS:

Moodle
Chamilo
Open edX
Totara Learn
Canvas
Forma
Effectus
ILIAS
OpenOLAT
Opigno
.LRN
ATutor
Edu-Sharing
LatitudeLearning
NexusComply Solution
OLAT
Opentute
Percolate
Sakai
ELMS Learning Network
Sensei LMS
Odoo- based learning management system
Claroline
Manhali

1. Moodle

Moodle is a popular LMS, ranking 19th on the list of the best user experience-based learning management systems and 16th among the best customer experience-based learning management systems. It is used by universities and schools around the world. It is released under the GNU General Public License.

Although it is not the most innovative or easy-to-use learning management system, it has a wide variety of options.

You'll get most of the essential features you need with calendars, collaboration tools, file management, and a text editor, as well as tracking progress. Sync's managed hosting solution is non-existent, so you'll need to deploy it on your own server or trust certified partners.

Main features:

Moodle Mobile allows students to join a course even when they are offline. Available for both Android and iOS.
Moodle plugins offer an in-depth look at the Moodle community.
You can get support and share ideas, all in your own language, experience the effectiveness of Moodle globally, and discover the value of an open and collaborative effort.
Easy-to-use interface
Availability of plugins to expand the options
Collaboration and management options, as well as design options for administrative controls.
Regular software updates
Course material management
Design courses.
Calendars
The application has an automatic notification system
In multiple languages
With user roles and groups, each user can have their own permissions
Plugin Management
Online portal
Quiz Wizard
Messaging

Pricing

You have the option to upgrade to one of Metabase's premium plans, which are available for $59 a year.

2. Chamilo

Chamilo is a free and open source learning management system that has ranked 15th on the list of the best learning management systems based on customer experience. Chamilo's responsive interface offers a great user experience and includes features for all types of learners.

Main features:

Mobile-friendly: Offers online mobile learning support, making it easy for students to choose their own pace and place from which to attend courses.
Chamilo offers a wide variety of support services to its users, whether they are looking for help with the software itself or just need someone to talk to.
It has intuitive options for inserting languages and media, among other customizable features.
Mobile support
In multiple languages for support
Course Assistant
Administration of courses, certificates, tests and quiz
Student Profiles
Forums
Reports and statistics
Subscription for users
Glossary management
Course tracking
Chat
Survey

3. Open edX

Open edX is a great platform that helps students learn effectively by providing course content, progress checking, and more. You can use the same technology behind the world's leading edX platform to offer your own instructor-led courses, degree programs, and learning offerings at your own pace. Considering that it is already successful as a platform used by many companies, you can use it for any scale of operation.

Main features:

EdX Studio is a web-based platform for managing course content. You can use it to create courses, upload content, create structures, set grading policies, and more.
One of the great advantages of Open edX for learners is that it offers a wide variety of opportunities to interact with their peers in a supportive environment, such as discussion forums, webinars, blog posts, and upcoming events.
It is a customized platform specifically for college students
Integration of interesting technological offers for a top quality learning experience.
Creation and management of courses
Learning Path Management
Evaluations
Collaborations between users
Simple but attractive interface.

4. Totara Learn

Totara Learn is an award-winning open source learning platform, which helps companies develop people quickly and with significant cost savings.

Main features:

Learning on the go: It is fully responsive by design and has mobile apps available through the partner network.
It has a learning plan, students can monitor their progress and attend activities.
In addition, it has three learning strategies: instructor-led, self-paced and social. You can also monitor course progressions as well as group activities.

5. Canvas

Canvas LMS is also a popular open source learning management system. It is suitable for a number of applications, including school education programs and college degrees.

The features of the open source LMS are designed to save you time and effort. It is adaptable, reliable and customizable. With an interface/features designed not to get in the way, so teachers can focus on their own thing: teaching!

This platform offers integrations with Google Classrooms and Microsoft Teams, as well as an API that you can use.

Main features:

Canvas has attracted a powerful community of over 300,000 users who are actively involved in sharing content, collaborating on projects and shaping the Canvert toolkit.
It is easy to use as students and instructors find that it does what they need. Thanks to its simple mobile design, this LMS is increasingly adopted.
Third-party tools can connect to Canvas through its open API, making it easy to extract and send data through third-party applications.
Personalized support
Suitable for both small-scale education programs and higher education
API Access
Various integration options

6. Forma

Forma LMS is another great learning management system that helps organizations and independent instructors build a rich online educational portal.

Forma LMS supports multiple clients with the same installation, making it the perfect choice for a variety of different user configurations.

An award-winning web-based open source system that makes it easy to deliver online learning courses. Forma's design is focused on corporate training, and is made to adapt to the needs and processes of your company. Easy integration with any intranet software allows you to extend functionalities with a wide range of plugins. Forma is created by a network of companies and relies on the strength and active character of its community.

You can add courses, manage and organize them, and also create distance webinars to improve your training process. It allows you to categorize courses as a catalog, while also allowing you to run multiple course edits for different classrooms.

It integrates with e-commerce so you can monetize your course offering certifications in return. It also allows you to use plugins for additional functionality.

Main features:

Reports in the system are possible in various formats and export options: Scheduled emails, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs or csv files.
You can sell courses online: Native e-commerce functionalities with cart and PayPal support.
API Integration
Plugin support
E-commerce integration
Administration of the course, material, class and certificates
Responsive design (Mobile, Web)
eCommerce System
Push notifications
Easy to develop with a REST API
Allows Decebo updates

7. Effectus

The LMS Effectus focuses on the learner to improve engagement, mobility and collaboration. The most significant advantage of this system lies in its ability to offer business owners a cost-effective way to host, manage and offer training programs to their employees.

For the most part, it has proven to be an incredibly simple alternative to hosting.

Main features:

A gamified learning environment ensures continued motivation and engagement, as well as reward.
Real-time reporting: Access rich data and customize reports to meet your own analytics requirements, so you can measure the impact of training programs on student performance.
An interface designed from recent research on user experience (UX) and learning design.

Pricing

Starts from $129 per month

8. ILIAS

ILIAS is an open source LMS used in Europe by companies and schools/organisations.

It is known for its ability to foster greater web-based e-learning, and provide customers with maximum flexibility in the implementation of its software. That said, this tool is designed to reduce the expense of using new media technology in education and training, while supporting SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 and AICC standards.

Main features:

Several ILIAS users have been organized into regional or national user groups to exchange knowledge and influence the further development of the LMS.
ILIAS systems can be customized by replacing the default ILIAS. Customization is unique to certain branches within a repository, and customizations require specific tools that may not already be installed on your server. To generate a custom system, first install the necessary tools from the "Advanced" tab of any branch of your repository.
There are many ways and levels to get support for the ILIAS project: through the community forums, the wiki function, bug-tracker submissions, direct email contact, and (paid) support from various companies.
Simple but powerful user-interface
Administration of the course and its material
Surveys
Reports
Student Assignments
Multiple learning modules
Portfolio
Support
Test

9. OpenOLAT

OpenOLAT is a free online learning and course management system. The main features of OpenOLAT are a broad set of tools that include social networks and easy-to-use components for instructors or teachers.

It is an LMS for learning, assessment and communication. It has attracted the attention of the market for its innovative set of modular tools, which offers course authors a wide range of possibilities.

Main features:

It adapts to the needs of its students. You can create groups, take exams, consult students in many ways, and make personal adjustments.
Collaboration: Tools such as online forums, chats (group or individual), virtual classrooms, blogs, podcasts, etc., improve the learning experience. You have at your disposal collaboration tools and a wide variety of methods to exchange knowledge.
Powerful course editor: OpenOLAT has the ability to get out of predefined structures, and features a preview tool and many more features.
Administration of the course, its material, its students and exams.
Forums, blogs, chat, groups, podcasts
Virtual classes
Assignment, work, and task management
Statistics and reporting
Responsive design with great mobile support
Managing a library

Pricing

There are two free and two paid packages, starting at $250 per month. It varies in number of users and courses, disk space, available data volume and other extras per package.

10. Opigno

Opigno is an open source project based on Drupal that meets the needs of training programs. It is free and works with PHP. The company hosts more than 100,000 websites that use its platform.

It is also a free online learning platform that allows you to easily create and manage your training, ensuring that employees always receive up-to-date knowledge.

Main features:

Module for e-commerce: Allows you to sell courses or class subscriptions. There is also time subscription management, which means that users can subscribe to one or more courses for a year or even with monthly fees and renew the subscription at its expiration.
Multiple integration: Compatible with SCORM 2004, Tin Can (xAP) and H5P, LRS certified: Learning Locker, Watershed, Apache Solr, LDAP (Active Directory), and CAS integration. Easily scalable thanks to its internal application management system.
Collaboration tools: Interact with the entire team during a live meeting using chat, files, to-do lists, and whiteboard. Record and share the content you want during the meeting.
Tailored to train employees
E-commerce integration
Quiz and test administration
With an eCommerce module with subscription
Powerful integration tools for data management
Collaboration space at work
Event Management

11. .LRN

It is a complete LMS for rapidly developing web-based learning communities. The LRN LMS, which can be customized to suit the needs of each student, is designed for both large enterprises and smaller educational groups, with features that can be expanded or reduced depending on their specific needs.

Main features:

The largest and most defining segments of the LRN network are communities. These areas range from classes to stakeholders.
It has the most popular tools and trends in e-commerce to try to provide a framework for the various scenarios that exist today when it comes to online education.
It allows users to customize the layout of their user interface, as well as choose the language and time zone.

12. ATutor

ATutor is a self-hosted online course management system and its modular architecture allows users to customize their courses as they see fit.

A free web-based LMS that develops and delivers online courses in a matter of minutes. ATutor's functionality is extended with add-ons such as AContent, a content management system, and ATutor Social, a network component.

Main features:

Automatic installation and updates: A quick and easy way to install or upgrade, as it does not require any advanced technical knowledge. If you need help installing or upgrading, we have online support to guide you step-by-step through the process.
The module manager is home to the added modules. Administrators can install, enable, and disable them to support and grow with their institution's needs
Language Manager: Easily search the text to quickly find and customize the interface, comments, and module languages. All languages are available in UTF-8 and courses can display multiple languages at the same time.
Administration of courses, students, tests, files and modules
Messaging system
Student Profile
Blog Group
Feedback
Forums

13. Edu-Sharing

This LMS allows you to share learning content across multiple platforms.

Main features:

With a mobile device, you can collect content and organize it in your browser or while taking photos.
The sharing of education is inter-institutional, meaning it connects the tools and content of various organizations.
Integrate quality content: Connect sources with high-quality content so teachers can find resources from their cloud storage or connected sources from Wikimedia, YouTube, or Serlo.

14. Latitude Learning

Since training, engagement, and analytics are at the forefront of LatitudeLearning software development, companies can train their employees and associates on a variety of different topics. Latitude's wide variety of products allows you to easily find SCORM-compatible content.

Main features:

ClientCare, a program that ensures your training runs efficiently and smoothly, while offering timely solutions to your concerns, as well as administrative support to paying customers.
MyLMS, with which you can choose a solution that meets the unique needs of your business.
It allows you to group your students in many different ways: A course advantage that allows an administrator to easily customize training for groups and individuals. The LMS administrator can select who is put in a particular group based on any criteria they decide.

15. NexusComply Solution

It is a market-leading compliance solution that leverages the popular Totara Learn. The E-Risk Analytics platform provides your company with the ability to deploy and maintain risk assessments, policies, mandatory training, and supervisory frameworks. There's also the NexusComply system, which automates and manages compliance with company policies while measuring behavior change.

Main features:

Reporting mimics a powerful report builder that allows administrators to customize prebuilt reports or quickly add custom reports.
Integration: The NexusComply platform integrates with existing systems and has streamlined access. With single sign on standards, it enables a smoother user experience and accommodates the integration of custom systems through web services that use protocols such as REST, SOAP, XMLRPC, JSON, AMF.
Tailor-made e-Learning offers an authentic experience that adapts to the cultural, logistical, contextual and functional needs of the student. Also, course design is completely customized, from the initial development of the content to the realization of tests and implementation.

Pricing

Two LMS solutions: Learning Nexus VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), which is a Moodle-based platform, or the sophisticated LMS.

16. OLAT

OLAT is an LMS with many years, as it was created in 1999 and located in the Department of Information Technology of the UZH. In addition, it focuses on education for tertiary institutes and is developed with contributions from Swiss colleges and universities.

Main features:

It has an agile methodology that involves an adaptable and multifunctional DevOps team that collaborates to produce better quality products.
Group Registration: The processes for the admission of large groups are optimized for reliability and security.
EPIS 2.0 International Assessment is designed to organise assessments, using data synchronization and supporting on-site activities through a control system for admission and submission.

17. Opentute

Designed to help companies create and share incredible experiences with employees, partners and the general public, Opentute is an open source social learning LMS that enables new ideas to be brought. Better learning is achieved thanks to immersive tools and social media that provide a private network.

Main features:

Sell courses: Add value to customers and the community by selling courses and monthly channel memberships.
You can customize your theme and branding to enhance learning. By personalizing content and making it closer, you will increase engagement with the audience.
Groups and communication channels.

Pricing

From $40 per month.

18. Percolate

The Percolate system is the learning LMS that smart entrepreneurs, small businesses and mid-sized organizations turn to. You will love the nice, easy-to-use and flexible interface. A local customer service is also available.

Main features:

Percolate's responsive design allows your training to take place on any tablet, mobile or desktop device.
Same-day launch: How about customizing and launching the training in minutes? This feature allows you to pre-store your students' information before using your tags to personalize content.
With web-based course builder allows you to create your own training, quizzes and surveys without any technical knowledge.

Pricing

Basic Plan for $19 monthly and premium $139 per month.

19. Sakai

Sakai LMS may not be a popular choice, but it offers most of the essential features including course management, grade assessment, application integration, and collaboration tools. It is also an open source project designed for student and school learning management systems. It may seem similar to many other projects on this list; however, it is preferred by many students from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Unlike most open source projects, Sakai was developed exclusively out of the need to meet global academic needs.

Main features:

Interoperability: Sakai has invested in open standards such as the IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) LTI. It is able to seamlessly integrate unique and powerful new functionalities into the next generation of digital learning environments.
With a wide range of features, Sakai offers all the functionality that instructors and students need to succeed online. This system makes it easy to discuss tasks, announcements, and messaging with colleagues. With a wide range of features, Sakai offers all the functionality that instructors and students need to succeed online. This system makes it easy to discuss tasks, announcements, and messaging with colleagues.
Designer and developer Sakai features a user interface with an adaptive design that responds to the size of your device's screen.
Integration with more than 30 apps

20. ELMS Learning Network

ELMS is a FOSS course management system that is easy to install and configure. This software offers many benefits over other systems, including its compact features that make it ideal for independent instructors and a set of tools available for you to make your educational platform aligned with your needs.

Main features:

Suite of tools with several options

Administration of courses, students, timeline and media.
Slate
Quiz and test
Friendly-developer

21. Sensei LMS

Sensei LMS is a WordPress plugin that allows you to better connect with your website visitors. It was created by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.Considering that WordPress is the engine of most websites, incorporating Sensei as a plugin is quick and easy.

You can manage, sell or list your courses on this platform, and it also works with WooCommerce to help you get more involved in the sales process.

Main features:

WordPress plugin
Easy to use
Integration and support with WooCommerce
Offers WooCommerce extensions

22. Odoo- based learning management system

Odoo is a community-driven open source or open source ERP solution.

Main features:

It has a wide ecosystem with hundreds of modules.
Expansions on a wide variety of topics.

23. Claroline

Claroline is an older course management system (currently under development) with many followers.

Main features:

Forums, chat, internal messaging
Administration of courses, quiz, users and assignments with tracking.
Variety in Plugins

24. Manhali

Manhali's learning management system has many very good features, but the user/UX interface needs to be improved.

Main features:

Multi-language support
Media management, students, instructors, quiz and assignments
Statistics and reports
Messages

Conclusions

There are several open source learning management systems (LMSs), and they all share many of the same features. None is more perfect than another. The LMS you choose should be evaluated in terms of installation, configuration and use. Some do a better job of integrating with other open source systems, others provide unique features or offer the best experience for the developer. Don't make a rash decision, lay out your requirements, and compare your features before choosing a specific platform to use in your production environment.

Open Source Learning Management Systems (LMS) can offer you the opportunity to create and implement eLearning courses if you are willing to spend time mastering their functions. In addition, open source LMS can carry a learning curve, but often the cost savings and design freedom are worth it. Keep in mind that many open source models include online tutorials or an active community.