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Blackboard Learning Management vs Zoom comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Blackboard Learning Management
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Learning Management Systems (LMS) (6th)
Zoom
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
225
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Blackboard Learning Management and Zoom aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Blackboard Learning Management is designed for Learning Management Systems (LMS) and holds a mindshare of 2.0%, down 2.1% compared to last year.
Zoom, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 10.7% mindshare, down 12.8% since last year.
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Virtual Meetings
 

Q&A Highlights

JC
Jul 24, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

James Phelps - PeerSpot reviewer
Expandable with good real-time live interactions but is very expensive
Initially, Blackboard had problems for faculty members who were forced to use it to try to get it set up and running. That said, over time, they improved that. Unfortunately, due to its licensing requirements on standalone systems, like at a university on our servers, we run into problems where we can only set it up in one way. The way you teach a biology class is not the way you teach a social science class, for example. It's not flexible. Often you are forced into compromising in such a manner that neither group would be happy. If you need help, the help desk in-house will provide 24-hour help to both students and faculty. That means you have eight people, eight hours a day, supervisors, and an overall manager. It takes at least 12 people to handle maintenance for a 10,000-person campus for 24-hour coverage.
Luiz Kazan - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings
Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"One of Blackboard's strengths is its historical prominence as a leading LMS for universities in the US and Europe a decade or more ago."
"It is scalable."
"Blackboard enables instructors to collectively gather all the grading data into one place. If students upload content or post it to a Google Doc, I can do my grading and calculate the grades. It is an excellent holding place for all of that data"
"One of the most important features is the possibility of creating unlimited subdomains."
"It encompasses various components, including course delivery modules, content management, community engagement features, digital classrooms, and mobile integration."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The modules and courses are flexible."
"The solution is easy to use with an easy user interface."
"Screen Sharing is the most valuable feature in Zoom for me."
"The solution is easy to navigate."
"Zoom has facilitated our remote and hybrid meetings, particularly in the context of our agile processes such as scrum. In the past, estimating story points required physical presence in a room, where we would use visual cues or hand gestures. We can create polls with Zoom and share them with team members for direct input. The recording feature is also good. Additionally, features like whiteboarding allow for specific collaboration sessions tailored to different team members' needs. Auto-scheduling meetings and integration with Microsoft Outlook make organizing and attending meetings effortless. Overall, the product is good and convenient."
"Zoom is easy to use."
"The most valuable features are that you are able to share the screen, and draw on it."
"The most valuable feature is that it's easy to use."
"Zoom is quite easy to use and user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Blackboard could benefit from significant improvements in its data storage and software functionality to remain competitive with more innovative LMS solutions."
"The system falls short in terms of managing assessments and exams effectively."
"It would be ideal to create a more responsive or more intuitive template for access from telephones or tablets."
"The solution must provide better integration with third-party software."
"The solution is not flexible."
"Blackboard has limitations in terms of delivering content and assessing student assignments because it can't handle large file sizes. It's also limited in its ability to track student activity. Instructors can see the student's most recent login, but they can't follow the activity."
"Issues such as stability, particularly when many people are involved, may arise due to bandwidth rather than Zoom itself. However, Zoom could benefit from enhancements to manage large participant volumes."
"Zoom could be improved by adding more third-party integrations. They should also work on their virtual backgrounds. I think these could be more professional and creative."
"Making Zoom Phone available in all countries is recommended. It would have been good to connect with people outside using Zoom Phone."
"It's not really the fault of the product, however, the internet connectivity can sometimes be an issue."
"Nothing extraordinary about this application, as its main use is for connecting with people on the other side of the cloud, but other users could find other Zoom features valuable."
"Zoom will be cheaper if you want to have a general meeting, but if you want a real enterprise version, Cisco will be cheaper."
"It does take up a lot of computer bandwidth, which can slow down performance, especially when I'm sharing screens."
"Zoom could use more background options."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"At the beginning, you can choose a basic plan. As your users grow you can buy a more expensive license."
"The product pricing tends to be higher than alternatives."
"As an organization, we are paying a license fee for Zoom. Personally, I use the free version."
"There is some basic functionality that's free but if you want to host longer meetings and have more participants, then there is a licensing fee."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. It is not affordable for small businesses."
"The exact costs are handled on a corporate level, however, I understand that if you just want to own a license for your small business or something like that, it's around $300 a year, which is very reasonable."
"Zoom is free."
"I am making yearly payments. So, I am paying 250 USD a year."
"Has a paid account for multiple users as well as a free option."
"We do not incur a licensing fee."
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Answers from the Community

JC
Jul 24, 2020
Jul 24, 2020
If you're looking for just a basic meeting tool, Zoom will do just fine. You can also share your screen as well as choose the option to share presentations ( in your case, its the Digital manual). Cisco Webex is more for making video calls but some use it for training as well due to the fact that it was already used but I have experienced some latency (lag) with it. Anyone in the group viewing ...
2 out of 4 answers
SH
Apr 7, 2020
For training session Webex is best the best solution.
CW
Apr 8, 2020
If you're looking for just a basic meeting tool, Zoom will do just fine. You can also share your screen as well as choose the option to share presentations ( in your case, its the Digital manual). Cisco Webex is more for making video calls but some use it for training as well due to the fact that it was already used but I have experienced some latency (lag) with it. Anyone in the group viewing may correct me on this one. In terms of popularity, its Zoom and webex which are the most popular tools Blackboard and Adobe connect are more considered the virtual classroom technologies for teaching. They have many advanced features offering multi-classroom features which encourage students to engage differently. They are far less popular than zoom or webex. According to your requirements, I would encourage you to go towards Zoom. You can start by the free version and upgrade to the pro version depending on your requirements Also, it works seamlessly on laptop, IOS and Android devices Hope this helps. Also, note that this was a quick review and we are doing a more comprehensive review based on a per -component basis.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
21%
Educational Organization
20%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Educational Organization
58%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Blackboard Learning Management?
The product pricing tends to be higher than alternatives like Canvas, making Blackboard more suitable for larger universities with substantial budgets.
What needs improvement with Blackboard Learning Management?
Blackboard could benefit from significant improvements in its data storage and software functionality to remain competitive with more innovative LMS solutions.
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?
Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Derby, University of Warwick, John Moore's University
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Find out what your peers are saying about Moodle, SAP, CYPHER LEARNING and others in Learning Management Systems (LMS). Updated: June 2025.
861,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.