Moodle is an open source learning management platform used by universities, schools and companies to build online courses and learning environments.
7.6K+26 this week7.7KPHPGPL-3.0Well maintainedUpdated 9 days ago
3 alternatives
3 best open-source alternatives to Blackboard (2026)
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to Blackboard? These 3 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.
How to choose
All three are self-hosted course platforms, but they aim at different jobs. Moodle builds online courses and learning environments for universities, schools and companies. ILIAS builds and runs web-based e-learning courses. Open eClass is a PHP course management system for storing and presenting materials for asynchronous learning. Decide first whether you need a full learning environment or mainly a place to publish materials. Open eClass has no license, which matters if you plan to reuse or redistribute it.
- moodleBest for universities, schools or companies that want a full online course and learning environment under GPL-3.0.
- ILIASBest for teams that want to build and run web-based e-learning courses and are looking for an alternative to Moodle.
- openeclassBest for those who mainly want a PHP system to store and present educational materials for asynchronous learning.
Quick comparison
| Project | Stars | License | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| moodle/moodle | ★ 7.6K | GPL-3.0 | 9 days ago |
| ILIAS-eLearning/ILIAS | ★ 507 | GPL-3.0 | yesterday |
| gunet/openeclass | ★ 170 | No license | 15 days ago |
ILIAS is an open source learning management system (LMS) for building and running web-based e-learning courses.
507433PHPGPL-3.0Well maintainedUpdated yesterday
Open eClass is a PHP-based course management system for storing and presenting educational materials for asynchronous e-learning.
17069PHPNo licenseWell maintainedUpdated 15 days ago
FAQ
- Is there a free, open-source alternative to Blackboard?
- Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to Blackboard on Repolode are moodle, ILIAS, openeclass.
- Which Blackboard alternative should I choose?
- moodle has the most GitHub stars and is released under GPL-3.0. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.
How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 7, 2026. How Repolode works