LMS Platforms (Self-Hosted)

A learning management system (LMS) is the spine of any school, university, training department, or cohort-based course: rosters, modules, quizzes, gradebook, discussion. If you can self-host, the FOSS options are mature and free forever. Pair an LMS with course authoring, live classes, video lectures, and a team wiki for staff.

The dominant FOSS pick

• ★ ★ Moodle — GPL; ~30%+ global market share in higher ed. Plugin ecosystem in the thousands; H5P, BigBlueButton, SCORM, LTI 1.3 all native or via plugins. Ships 4.x with a modernised UI. Heavy but battle-tested; the safe institutional choice.
  • https://github.com/moodle/moodle
• Moodle Workplace — paid commercial fork from Moodle HQ for corporate L&D (multi-tenant, programs, reporting). The same Moodle under the hood.

Open edX (HarvardX / MITx lineage)

• ★ Open edX — AGPL/Apache; the platform behind edx.org, MITx, HarvardX. Built for MOOC scale — millions of learners. Native LTI, xBlocks, video pipeline, problem types, cohorts. Sumac (2024) and Teak (2025) releases brought a much better authoring UI ("Course Authoring MFE") and Paragon-based theming.
  • https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform
• Tutor — the official Docker-based deployment tool for Open edX. The only sane way to run it.
  • https://github.com/overhangio/tutor

Lightweight / modern

• ★ Frappe LMS — MIT; built on Frappe / ERPNext, so it slots into a school's ERP. Clean Vue UI, cohort batches, certificates, quizzes, live classes via Zoom. Rapidly improving since 2024.
  • https://github.com/frappe/lms
• Tutor LMS (WordPress plugin) — popular for solo instructors selling courses on WordPress. See Sell video courses.
• Chamilo — GPL; lighter than Moodle, popular in Latin America and Francophone Africa.
  • https://github.com/chamilo/chamilo-lms
• Forma LMS — GPL; corporate-flavoured, SCORM-first.

Established but heavier

• Sakai — ECL (Apache-style); higher-ed focused, used by universities like Stanford, Indiana, NYU. Java/Spring stack.
  • https://github.com/sakaiproject/sakai
• ILIAS — GPL; popular in German-speaking Europe; SCORM and LTI strong.
• OpenOlat — Apache 2.0; Swiss-origin; strong assessment tools.
• Canvas LMS (open-source edition) — AGPL; Instructure publishes the core under AGPL. You can self-host but few do — the hosted product is the real offering. See hosted LMS.
  • https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms
• ATutor — pioneering accessibility-focused LMS; effectively legacy in 2026.

Standards you want native

• SCORM 1.2 / 2004 — legacy package format from the e-learning industry; Articulate / Captivate exports.
• xAPI (Tin Can) — modern statement-based tracking; pair with a Learning Record Store (LRS) like Veracity LRS or Yet Analytics.
• LTI 1.3 / Advantage — the way to plug external tools (H5P Hub, Padlet, Kaltura) into any LMS.
• cmi5 — xAPI profile blending SCORM packaging with xAPI tracking.

Pick this if…

• Default school / university LMS, FOSS: Moodle.
• MOOC scale, modern stack: Open edX (with Tutor).
• You already run Frappe / ERPNext: Frappe LMS.
• Lighter Moodle, Spanish/French ecosystem: Chamilo.
• Java higher-ed shop: Sakai.
• Solo course on WordPress: Tutor LMS or LearnDash — see Sell video courses.