Google Classroom vs Moodle comparison

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Google Classroom

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Moodle and Google Classroom compete in the learning management system category. Based on the comparison, Moodle seems to have an upper hand in feature richness and customization, while Google Classroom is favored for its ease of use and strong integration with Google tools.

Features: Moodle offers a robust exam question shuffle, extensive flexibility, and a wide range of plugins for customization and integration. Google Classroom stands out with its ease of use, seamless integration with Google’s ecosystem, and intuitive interface for educators and learners.

Room for Improvement: Moodle could enhance its user interface and ease of use for less technical users, along with improved documentation and support. Google Classroom may benefit from more organizational features and flexibility for advanced grading or sequential content delivery. Both could broaden their offerings by addressing these areas.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Moodle provides flexible deployment options across public, private, and on-premises environments but demands technical expertise for self-service setup, with a strong community for support. Google Classroom, being cloud-based, allows easy deployment and integration with Google tools, which suits institutions with limited IT resources. Google Classroom offers a straightforward setup but limited direct support.

Pricing and ROI: Moodle's open-source model presents cost advantages with free on-premises deployment, though additional support and cloud services can increase costs. Google Classroom is generally free for educational institutions with optional paid upgrades. Both solutions offer strong ROI by improving productivity and reducing administrative burden, though Moodle requires more initial investment in setup and customization.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Classroom vs. Moodle Report (Updated: September 2025).

Google Classroom vs. Moodle

September 2025

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Helped 867,676 peers since 2012

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

Google Classroom

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Moodle

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Google Classroom is 2.7%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Moodle is 7.4%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Moodle	7.4%
Google Classroom	2.7%
Other	89.9%

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Featured Reviews

Wafaa Salah

Professor at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

User-Friendly Platform with Valuable Features but Needs Improvement in Pool of Questions and Statistics

The integration with Google Workspace is great because we have many tools such as Google Meet, Google Sheets, and Google Drive. However, the space is very limited. We purchased extra space until it reached 100 gigabytes. I have been using Google since having a Gmail account in 2001 when I was a student. Google Classroom allows me to make quizzes and assignments for students with random ordering, but I would appreciate having a pool of questions feature. For example, having 1000 questions and extracting 20 for each student would allow every student to have a different version. Currently, while using quizzes, every question appears to every student, though the order might differ. Adding the pool of questions would be beneficial. Having statistics while students take their exams would be helpful - showing how many students submitted, how many are in progress, and how many have not started the quiz. Having a log file to track students who opened documents would be valuable. In Moodle, I can see which students opened files, downloaded them, or watched videos. This feature is not available in Google Classroom, which is why I prefer other applications with more powerful statistics to trace student performance.

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Agnes Mindila

Director School of Computing and Information Technology at JKUAT

Offers customized features that allow us to see whether students visited the platform and watched the provided videos

An improvement would be to have it support physically challenged students, who we think should be able to participate in some of our courses. If the learning management system could support blind students or students with learning disabilities, it would expand the reach of education by providing tools that support challenged learners. In future releases, I'd like to see more features that support challenged students, as I just mentioned above. This is because of the university's goal to make education accessible to all groups without discrimination. If we can have more tools that support students who are challenged, that would be very good. If AI could help, that would be nice. We want to support learners who are remote and provide learning to disadvantaged learners or certain groups of people. AI would come in very handy if Moodle had such capabilities.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A teacher can send assignments and upload results using the product."

"Google Classroom is very effective for communication and excellent for assigning homework and resources."

"The product's initial setup phase was easy."

"When a teacher uploads material, all students connected to that class will receive the same information at the same time. I have found this to be a valuable feature. I also like that the material remains in Google Classroom until the teacher removes it. The UI is user-friendly, and you don't have to have prior experience to use the solution."

"What I like about Google Classroom are the video lessons. I enjoy using it because it makes my life easier, for example, I can easily change my class and my lecture notes."

"The features I found most valuable in Google Classroom are live chatting, sending messages, notifications, and accessing documents, which is very easy, simple, and user-friendly."

"Google Classroom is very effective for communication and excellent for assigning homework and resources."

"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is the ability to share my lectures with many students, assign tasks to be completed, and overall student engagement."

More Google Classroom pros

"The most valuable feature is the community. Moodle is a completely open source application and provides a lot of development knowledge. The other features we find valuable are the LTI tools, integrations and BigBlueButton."

"This is a scalable solution. We have had 30,000 students using the solution. During COVID, we were able to accommodate a 500% increase in traffic."

"Since it's an open-source product, you can integrate it with many other things."

"A really nice thing about Moodle is that it is very robust and flexible, and one of the big advantages of Moodle is that it is open source. It also has a lot of free documentation."

"What I liked most about Moodle was that I could create nice online quizzes. It takes very little time to do. You don't have to even read the paper, it automatically evaluates the quizzes. It gives the student grades and provides a lot of useful statistics. For example, it indicates which question was the hardest, easiest, and where students made the most mistakes. Everything is available to you. You couldn't do this in regular paper test hard copies. This was my first use case."

"The most valuable feature of Moodle is the exam question shuffle. Students in the classroom will all have different question list numbers. For example, one student's question one will be another student's question ten."

"Moodle integrates with many third party plugins, which has enabled us to make use of the latest technology. During the Covid 19 period, we used a plugin called BigBlueButton to facilitate online learning which was quick and easy to do."

"The valuable features of Moodle include its open-source nature, which makes it free to use, and the supportive community that assists with any issues."

More Moodle pros

Cons

"I would like to see a better user experience, a more engaging interface, and more templates. Google should develop templates or at least encourage developers to share them. You'll only get a basic framework when you create a new course. You don't have different themes to choose from like you do in Moodle."

"There are a lot of things that need to be fixed in order for it to be called a learning management system. I think that's where a lot of people are very confused in terms of what Google Classroom actually does. Google Classroom is not a learning management system. A learning management system allows teachers to grade with authenticity and doesn't provide only one grade for a particular document or assignment."

"Google Classroom could improve by being easier to use. For example, making it functional with only a few buttons. It's difficult to know how to connect with students and make a link and share it with them. I found it difficult, and this is why I didn't continue using it. Additionally, it should be available to be downloaded to the desktop for use, similar to Zoom."

"There can often be language barriers when you're not dealing with local technical support, which can be challenging."

"There are some websites where you can create activities and guide students to do them in a sequence. You can guide them to do an activity first and then go to the next one. You can automatically link activities, and there is a flow, but in Google Classroom, you don't have that feature. All you can do is put the material and tell students what to do. For example, I have an assignment, but I want my students to read a particular text before that. They need to tick it, or they need to click next before they start doing the activity. After that, I want them to do comprehension questions or something else. In Moodle, there are activities such as assignments, quizzes, etc. There is a lesson module in which you can put all of the activities in a flow. So, you can decide what they need to do first. If students answer a question incorrectly, you can decide and design to which page do they need to go next, and which part do they need to review. This is currently missing in Google Classroom."

"The product should provide features that allow teachers to be on video while taking the class."

"The initial setup is not very easy. It has modern complexity."

"Initially, the product's initial setup phase may not seem user-friendly."

More Google Classroom cons

"The customization of the interface could be improved."

"Moodle could improve by being more user-friendly. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. If you get stuck, then you don't have a point of contact. Additionally, a VPN is required to make sure the connection is secured."

"Setting up groups and allocating privacy settings to different groups is quite complicated."

"Moodle Mobile is a really good area for improvement. All of 4.0 hasn't been released yet, and Moodle Mobile is not yet available for all different devices."

"An improvement would be to have it support physically challenged students, who we think should be able to participate in some of our courses."

"Where Moodle could definitely improve is the user interface. You have a lot of themes and you can customize themes, but if you are going to use Moodle off the shelf, even with a hosting company, a lot of training is involved. Training is available, but if your faculty or your development team isn't highly technical, it's going to be a challenge, whereas there are other interfaces that are much easier, but they don't do as much. So, there is a give and take there. If Moodle could find a way to make the user interface for the instructional designers and the learners more intuitive, it probably would be a huge improvement. The manager area and the admin area are fine, but when it comes to the people who are using the system but might not be highly technical, it needs improvement."

"Sometimes, the gradebook can get broken if an incorrect formula is entered during creation."

"For a first time user, especially someone who is non-technical, Moodle is difficult for them to understand and they often need assistance."

More Moodle cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are competitors that offer free solutions, making the price of Google Classroom high."

"We are an educational institution, and it is free of charge for us. Normally, if you are a private company, you have to pay a lot of money to get this service, but they are giving it for free to schools."

"The product offers a yearly based license."

"My child's school made payments on a subscription-based model to use Google Classroom."

"I'm using a free version of Google Classroom, so it's a product I don't pay for."

"The price of Google Classroom has been reasonable."

"Google Classroom is a free solution. There is paid version that has more options, the cost is approximately eight dollars per student per month."

"The solution is affordable."

More Google Classroom pricing and cost advice

"It varies depending on the partner you're going with. It depends on whether they are a certified partner or not. It also varies depending on the demand. Usually, with Moodle and other LMSs, there is concurrent licensing. It's hard to figure out the best way to do it at the company that is selling the LMS. Moodle is usually one of the most cost-effective LMSs you can get."

"Moodle is free. It should probably stay free. There isn't really any support for Moodle unless you pay an astronomical amount, which is weird."

"Moodle is a free online learning platform, but it also offers a paid version of it."

"It is a free-of-cost solution."

"Moodle is an open-source solution that is free of cost."

"In terms of cost, it is available at no charge."

"It is a one-time registration with the Moodle site. There isn't a yearly or monthly fee."

"Moodle have a very robust licensing system that is user friendly. It's not very expensive."

More Moodle pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

28%

University

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

13%

Educational Organization

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Classroom?

The product's UI is good and user-friendly.

What needs improvement with Google Classroom?

What is your primary use case for Google Classroom?

I'm not creating classrooms using Google Classroom, as I join courses that other professors have created. Our university works with Outlook and Teams, but I still use Google Classroom when joining ...

What do you like most about Moodle?

The customization features of Moodle significantly enhance the learning experience for our users.

What needs improvement with Moodle?

The customization of the interface could be improved. Although we can load and change themes, it still always looks like Moodle. We have not found a way to significantly alter its appearance.

What is your primary use case for Moodle?

We use Moodle to manage our students' information, the classes, and the course catalog, which are mainly related to education. It serves as a learning management system for teaching in class.

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Comparisons

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Google Classroom product report

Google Classroom

September 2025

Download Moodle product report

August 2025

Overview

Google Classroom is an online learning platform that allows teachers to create and manage virtual classrooms. With Google Classroom, teachers can easily distribute assignments, communicate with students, and provide feedback. Students can access their assignments, submit their work, and collaborate with their peers all in one place. The platform integrates seamlessly with other Google tools like Google Drive and Google Docs, making it easy for students to create and share their work. Google Classroom also provides a streamlined workflow for teachers, allowing them to save time and stay organized. Google Classroom is a user-friendly and efficient tool that enhances the learning experience of teachers and students alike.

Google

Moodle is an open-source LMS offering course management, community plugins, and comprehensive integrations. Its modular design supports extensive customization, making it suitable for education sectors and corporate training.

Moodle provides a robust platform for creating and managing educational content. It integrates seamlessly with tools like Zoom and Teams, enhances cheat prevention with exam question shuffling, and supports advanced customization and accessibility. While its flexibility caters to diverse educational and corporate environments, Moodle faces challenges with login issues, improving mobile functionality, and a cumbersome setup process. Efforts to enhance documentation and ensure ease of navigation are ongoing. Its integration capabilities with ERP systems and support for LTI tools further position Moodle as a valuable resource for both educators and learners.

What are Moodle’s key features?

Course Management: Enables the creation and organization of courses, assignments, and exams.
Community Plugins: Offers extendable features through a variety of plugins supporting collaborative learning.
Integration with Tools: Supports platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Suite for enhanced communication and collaboration.
Security: Ensures robust protection of data with advanced security measures.
Accessibility Options: Provides tools to make learning accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
Document Import/Export: Easy management of course materials via import/export capabilities.
LTI Tool Integration: Seamless incorporation of Learning Tools Interoperability standards for broader resource access.

What benefits can users expect from Moodle?

Customization: Flexibility allows tailoring of the platform to specific requirements or objectives.
Ease of Use: Designed for efficient course administration and facilitation of learning.
Role-Based Access: Supports personalized user roles and permissions.
Cost-Effectiveness: Open-source nature ensures budget-friendly deployment and maintenance.
Wide Range of Plugins: Enhances capability through a supportive plugin ecosystem.

In educational and corporate industries, Moodle is implemented for exam scheduling, resource management, and online assessments. It facilitates instructor-student interactions and is adaptable for both on-premises and cloud deployments. Organizations leverage Moodle for customizing employee certifications and training programs, benefiting from its versatile access controls and management tools.

Sample Customers

Google Classroom is used in major urban school districts throughout the United States, including: * Los Angeles Unified School District * Chicago Public Schools * New York City Department of Education * Houston Independent School District * Miami-Dade County Public Schools * Dallas Independent School District * Broward County Public Schools * Clark County School District (Las Vegas) * Philadelphia School District

Acacia University, Alliant International University, American University of Health Sciences, Anaheim University Online, Aspen University, Cal State University San Bernardino, California State University Los Angeles, Chattanooga Fire Training, City of Humble Fire Department, George Washington University, Georgia Institute of Emergency Medical Services, Michigan Online Classroom, Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office, Washington Post