LMS Platforms (Hosted)

If you can't (or won't) self-host an LMS, the hosted options are dominated by a handful of vendors. Most have generous education tiers — free for K-12, paid per-seat for higher-ed and corporate. For self-hosted FOSS see LMS platforms (self-host). For static class docs see Documentation Frameworks and a team wiki for staff.

Free for schools

• ★ ★ Google Classroom — free with Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals (also free). K-12 default in much of the English-speaking world. Tight integration with Docs / Drive / Meet. Limited gradebook / analytics — extend with Google Classroom add-ons or pair with Edpuzzle, Khanmigo, Pear Deck.
• ★ Microsoft Teams for Education — free with Microsoft 365 A1. Class teams, Assignments, Insights, OneNote Class Notebook, Reading Coach, Reflect. Strong in districts already on Microsoft.
• Apple School Manager + Schoolwork — free for institutions on Apple devices. Lightweight; pair with another LMS for grading.

Higher-ed / paid (with free trials)

• ★ Canvas LMS — Instructure; the dominant US higher-ed LMS. Hosted is paid but the Free for Teacher plan exists for individual instructors. The core is also AGPL — see self-host LMS.
• Brightspace (D2L) — Canadian incumbent; popular in higher ed and Australian/NZ schools.
• Blackboard Learn — Anthology; the legacy giant; modernised in 2025 with Ultra experience.
• Schoology Learning — PowerSchool; popular K-12 / district LMS in the US.
• Itslearning — strong in Nordic and German markets.

Corporate L&D-flavoured (paid)

• Docebo — AI-flavoured corporate LMS.
• Cornerstone OnDemand — enterprise talent / learning suite.
• TalentLMS, LearnUpon, Absorb, 360Learning — mid-market corporate LMS.
• SAP SuccessFactors Learning, Workday Learning — bundled with HRIS suites.
• Moodle Workplace — paid corporate fork of Moodle.

Cohort-based / creator-flavoured

• See Sell video courses — Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Maven, Disco. These are LMS-shaped but built around individual creators rather than schools.

Sunset / consolidation alerts

• Edmodo — sunset Sept 2022. If a procurement doc still references it, flag it.
• Schoology Free — Schoology consolidated free into PowerSchool's paid product line.
• Google Currents / Hangouts Classic — replaced by Meet / Chat.

Standards to demand

• LTI 1.3 / Advantage — non-negotiable; lets you plug in H5P, Kaltura, Padlet, etc.
• OneRoster — student / class data sync.
• SCORM 1.2 / 2004, xAPI, cmi5 — content packaging.
• SSO via SAML / OIDC — Clever, ClassLink, or your own IdP.

Pick this if…

• K-12, free, on Google: Google Classroom.
• K-12, free, on Microsoft: Teams for Education.
• US higher ed: Canvas.
• US K-12 district: Schoology or Canvas.
• Canadian / international higher ed: Brightspace.
• Corporate L&D: Docebo or TalentLMS.
• Solo instructor monetising: see Sell video courses.