Canvas Free-for-Teacher
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Best For: Secondary, collegiate, homeschool educators
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Cost: Completely free
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Notes: Limited to individual teachers; institutions may need a paid plan. Offers course creation, assignments, discussions, and grading tools.
Google Classroom
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Website: https://classroom.google.com/
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Best For: Primary, secondary, homeschool
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Cost: Completely free
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Notes: Requires a Google account; offers assignments, grading, and collaboration tools.
MoodleCloud Free Plan
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Website: https://moodlecloud.com/app/en/
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Best For: Primary, secondary, small classes, homeschool
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Cost:
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Free Plan: Supports up to 50 users and 200 MB storage
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Paid Plans: Start at around $110/year for more users and storage
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Notes: Hosted solution of Moodle; upgrading increases user capacity and storage.
Chamilo
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Website: https://chamilo.org/
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Best For: Secondary, collegiate, career/upskill
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Cost: Free software
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Notes: Open-source LMS; self-hosting may have associated hosting costs. Features include course management, skill tracking, and certification.
ILIAS
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Website: https://www.ilias.de/en
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Best For: Collegiate, career/upskill
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Cost: Free software
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Notes: Open-source LMS; self-hosting may have hosting costs. Features include SCORM-compliance, assessment tools, and collaboration features.
Open edX
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Website: https://open.edx.org/
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Best For: Collegiate, advanced secondary students, career/upskill
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Cost: Free software
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Notes: Open-source platform; requires technical expertise to self-host. Hosting costs apply. Features include course authoring, analytics, and scalability
Edmodo
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Website: https://new.edmodo.com/
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Best For: Primary, secondary, homeschool
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Cost: Completely free
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Notes: Free for teachers and students; offers classroom management, assignments, and communication tools. Premium services available for schools/districts.
Moodle
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Website: https://moodle.org/
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Best For: Secondary, collegiate, homeschool
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Cost: Free software
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Notes: Open-source LMS; self-hosting requires a server, which may incur hosting costs. Offers course creation, user management, plugins, and extensive customization.