The 20 Best Learning Management Systems

Added by Jeff Dunn on 2012-10-27

From Moodle to Edmodo to Inquisiq r3, there’s a lot of tools you can use to manage, track, and deliver courses and training programs in your school. They’re called Learning Management Solutions (LMS) or sometimes Learning Management Systems. Either way, how do you pick which is the best? A new infographic from Capterra spells it out in simple stats.

See Also: A Quick Guide To Learning Management Systems

Key Takeaways

The LMS industry is now a billion dollar plus industry.
There are hundreds of LMS solutions out there.
Moodle, Edmodo, and Blackboard are the big names in the industry.
The most popular tool is not the most popular on social media. See: Edmodo vs Moodle
Scroll down to the bottom to see the difference between who follows these companies on different social networks. View the LinkedIn stats in particular.

Category:

Tools

Tags:

best of, learning management, LMS, resources, tools

FROM AROUND THE WEB

http://elearningindustry.com/ Christopher Pappas

Hi Jeff,

Excellent list!

You may want to see:
The Ultimate list of Open Source Learning Management Systems
http://elearningindustry.com/subjects/free-elearning-resources/item/212-open-source-learning-management-systems

List of Learning Management Systems: Part 1
http://elearningindustry.com/subjects/tools/item/317-list-of-learning-management-systems-part-1

Have a wonderful day,
Christopher Pappas
Charlie

I have used and/or examined the top three in this list. In my opinion there is a glaring omission of a fantastic LMS called EDU 2.0. Http://www.edu20.org In my opinion, based upon cost for features delivered it easily surpasses all of them. And, the developer is fantastic at responding to user requests and ideas.
- Jennifer
  
  I have to respond to Charlie. My district has EDU 2.0, and it is terrible!! The developer is NOT reponsive to user requests…only if you pay them do you get any kind of support. I tried to get help on a topic, and they took the time to respont to me, only to tell me they won’t offer support unless we are on the paid plan. REALL????
  
  Edmodo and Schoology on the other hand both offer support to users of the free plan. I have yet to meet a teacher yet in the district who likes the program. Has fallen way behind the competitors. We will be phasing it out this year.
  - Geoff
    
    Stunned by your comment. My experience could not be more different. Here in Adelaide Australia we have been using EDU 2.0 for 15 months and cant say enough good things about them. We evaluated so many possible tools and this one just works. Our staff has accepted it really well. Our students love it. They have been wonderful in making the changes we need and require. From Adelaide we are getting responses in hours not days. So I have no complaints and will happily recommend them to all. Sad your experience has not like ours. We love it.
advisor

Good list, but I miss TOTARA and SAP LSO and SAP successfactors.
http://www.ohiohipoint.com John Case

We have been using ANGEL Learning for several years now. They were bought out by Blackboard (as was WebCT). Does anyone know if ANGEL or WebCT are lumped in with Blackboard?
Libby Lawrie

When looking at your list you did not add My Big Campus by Light Speed Systems. It is a social learning LMS and content management system that is free and safe. You do have to be verified as a teacher or administrator to get your free account. You can even batch enroll your students and they are in a safe environment. The reason it is safe is because of the Light Speed Systems filter. We love it and use it in our school and Virtual School. A great place to collaborate, communicate and share for both teachers and students. Make sure you check it out at http://www.mybigcampus.com.
http://www.ltschools.org Charles

Great article!

We have been online using My Big Campus for our LMS and have been very impressed. The collaborative nature of MBC and the resources available to teachers are very beneficial for teachers. We’re even beginning to construct our first online classes using My Big Campus, pretty exciting times!
Bob

Great list of LMS platforms and the comments are really interesting too. I am looking to set up an LMS for English learners in the near future and this page has given me lots to chew over!
http://www.frentix.com Florian

Thanks, this is a great list with very interesting numbers! You should also have a look at OpenOLAT, a very comprehensive open source LMS: http://www.openolat.org

Just recently the german e-Learning magazin published an LMS guidebook where OpenOLAT got a great review and was rated lot higher than moodle:
http://www.amazon.de/eLearning-Journal-Praxisratgeber-LernManagementSysteme-Themenheft/dp/3981313445/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344953161&sr=8-1

OpenOLAT does not yet have such a large user base as moodle, but hey, we are working on it If you are looking for an LMS you should also consider OpenOLAT in your evaluation.
Nicole

I’m a little surprised eCollege is not listed at all. I’ve used and taught on several LMS’s including Blackboard, BrainHoney, and Moodle, and I find eCollege to be much more engaging, intuitive, and user friendly. Does anyone else have an experience with eCollege (good or bad) they’d like to share?
Bob

Hello Nicole.

What is the pricing structure of eCollege?

Thanks,
Bob.
http://ballisticlearning.com Yogesh

Great and very informative article.

Way to go for Moodle!
prefetch

pretty chart, but super sloppy fact checking.

what does “customer” mean? for LMS it means a school that pays you to use your LMS.

edmodo *does not* have more customers than blackboard. neither does schoology. not even close. edudemic got duped by these companies into inflating the market traction. useless chart. weak.
- FMV310
  
  PREFETCH, you make a great point. The data on this list is definitely tweeked or Capterra’s survey of LMS customers was limited to a specific category such as educational institutions or member groups, which is the target market for Moodle or Blackboard users. Business customers tend to gravitate towards turn-key, ready made systems that integrate with an internal HR systems so employee data can feed back and forth. Edudemic either got duped with this list, or perhaps they were incahoots.
DJ Kim

Thanks for this amazing list. We are planning to use instructure for our LMS. Does anyone know a great Student Information System (SIS) that will integrate with Instructure easily and seamlessly?
http://pinoyguro.net Pinoy Guro

Thanks for the list. i am planning to set up an LMS. Now, i have the list to choose which is the best.
- FMV310
  
  Pinoy Guro, Don’t let this list fool you into thinking that it ranks from BEST to WORST. It is not. It is ranked by the total number of customers and users based on a Capterra survey that is obviously tweeked to a specific category. The best LMS should be based on your needs and available resources. Most LMS’s can provide users with the same experience. You have to consider implementation time, administration, the type of courses you want to create and distribute, IT resources, and other factors to determine the LMS that fits your needs.

The 20 Best Learning Management Systems

Key Takeaways

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