Canvas vs Moodle: Which LMS is Better?

Moodle vs Canvas comparison — it’s a never-ending battle for the best LMS even in 2022. Both of them minify the gap between instructors and learners; no doubt, But talk about customisability, ease of use, reporting and available integrations, there exist differences.

So, are you favouring Moodle, which has been used in 242 countries or Canvas, which translates into 20 languages?

Well, that’d be too generic of information to take a side, I know, right? So, here is a quick Canvas vs Moodle e-learning comparison table for you:

Moodle or Canvas— which one is suitable for you? Which LMS is better? There is no straightforward answer, and I hope you’ve already figured that out. So, let’s dig deeper, considering the User interface, Grading tools, Ease of use, Integration availability, and Support system.

Visual appeal matters. No matter how feature-rich an LMS is, unless it’s armed with a modern and crisp-looking user interface design, it will fall flat.

Moodle’s UI is a bit complex, and the users find it unintuitive. Perhaps the technology used to develop Moodle LMS is the reason developers are not interested in upgrading its look. PHP is indeed a powerful language, but it’s unpopular among coding professionals. However, it’s highly customisable. Hundreds of themes are there to customise it the way you like it. Still, built-in UI works as the first impression, and it’s not visually enticing.

On the other hand, Canvas is way ahead when it comes to UI design. It includes easy-to-use features that give users a fresh start. But it doesn’t outperform Moodle considering functionalities and performance.

So, in the context of Canvas vs Moodle education LMS, Canvas wins the game.

Integrations make it easier to work with LMS software. They boost the performance of the tools and reduce keystrokes. Both Canvas and Moodle offer a wide range of e-learning tools and integrations to facilitate the teaching-learning process.

For example, Moodle works well with BigBlueButton, SimCheck, GO1, Bongo, JFusion, Intelliboard, Joomdle, StudyMate, Turnitin2, Attendance, Virtual Programming Lab, Certificates, Tegrity, Questionnaire, Badges, and Promoodle. Instructors can use certain tools to record the teaching session for later use.

Canvas LMS also works well with a plethora of third-party tools that even offers integrations for specific courses. Moreover, Canvas has more flexibility in using third-party tools compared to Moodle.

Note: Zoho CRM users wanting to integrate Moodle and Canvas into their system for quick access to data can leverage Zoho integrations. Canvas LMS for Zoho CRM syncs data between Zoho CRM and Canvas LMS so the agents can look for important details without switching the windows. The same goes for the Zoho CRM to Moodle integration which saves time for the agents.

This is where Canvas vs Moodle for students looks prominent. 

Instructors can prepare course materials from scratch on Moodle. It has a wide range of content authoring tools for various roles and contributions. Besides, various gamification modules, as well as attendance and video conferencing tools, make Moodles more convenient. 

Instructors or admins can analyse the trends of participation in different courses, modules, and assessment cycles to track the enrolment and retention rate. The analytical tools and comprehensive reporting system make Moodle a great choice for educational organisations. Also, you can tweak it for non-educational organisations, making it a solid performer in everything about e-learning.

Canvas is also great for gamification and quick navigation. Students can quickly review the courses from the dashboard. It offers multiple communication portals, which may sometimes seem overwhelming. Participants can share feedback and opinion on the discussion board. But having no control over the messages received from different discussion boards makes it messy. 

Despite odds, the feature that allows parents to review the progress of their children makes sense. They can revisit previous assignments, grades, and continuously monitor performances. 

Based on their functionalities, Canvas is simpler in terms of use, but Moodle is clearly ahead of it, considering the overall feasibility.

Often ignored, customer support systems can make or break a brand. Moodle is a great LMS for schools, colleges, universities, and other organisations with educational functionalities. So, its support system has to be as broad as can be. Although it doesn’t offer prompt support services like the premium plans of Canvas, various forums and community guidelines proved useful.

Support services in Canvas are more sophisticated. It has plenty of resources prepared for students and instructors. Admins can find their designated guidelines in the forms of Knowledgebase, troubleshooting tutorials etc. But sometimes, they are not enough to put users at ease. However, the paid plans offer prompt support through email and phone calls, making it more convenient.

LMS gives you wings. Kidding.

But LMS indeed is taking a significant lead in the educational industry. Read the LMS 2022 statistics to learn more.

LMS offers more flexibility in teaching and learning environments. In this context, Canvas and Moodle are leading the party. Blackboard is another rising star but let’s skip this for now.

Canvas is liked by most students as a modern LMS with a plethora of features and crisp UI. The grading tools are equally powerful as Moodle. Although the UI of Moodle is not that popular, free and paid themes available in the market can cover it up. Besides, Moodle is known for its customisability and ease of use. But it falls short in the technology it uses.

Again, both of the LMS have intuitive third-party tools including Zoho integrations that make them super useful. For example, Zoho CRM users can easily import and export data between the platforms through dedicated Moodle and Canvas LMS plugins.

It’s hard to certify Canvas as the best LMS compared to Moodle. In the same sense, we can’t say Moodle owns the show. It’s person and purpose specific, meaning they are a great fit for their specialised performance.

So, who wins the Canvas vs Moodle classroom battle? You tell me.