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Moodle vs Totara Learn comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Moodle
Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Totara Learn
Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Moodle is 11.7%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Totara Learn is 2.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
 

Featured Reviews

Ertan Aslan - PeerSpot reviewer
Plenty of modules, highly flexible, and advantageous different user types
It would be a benefit if there was an easy single sign-on with social media services for Moodle. There are some plugins that I tried, but they didn't work seamlessly. it is a work in progress. Having the single sign-on with social media services would be appreciated because in my school we are using Google suite and the main reason why we use Google Classroom is that it is integrated seamlessly with the suite. If I have the same seamless integration with Google suite with Moodle, I would use Moodle more often. I'm using it for myself, but school-wise, it's limited because of the ease of access. Google Classroom is very simple, and straightforward for teachers. It has many features with most being basic. It's easy for everyone to learn. Moodle has a lot of advanced features which can scare people who are not advanced users. If Moodle could improve user-friendliness or more people would use it. This includes the user interface and the overall user experience could improve. When comparing it to Google, it's a bit more difficult. For example, with Google Classroom, as long as you have a Google account any teacher can go there and create a classroom. However, with Moodle, it's a bit difficult. You need to have a system first. It has to be installed, and then you need to know how to create a classroom. You need to know how to use those tools. It requires some getting used to and some training.
MarcFonoll - PeerSpot reviewer
The tool's deployment is not complex but need to work on multi-tenant trainings
The challenge was understanding the entire solution, particularly its capabilities for managing training within a distributed organization. As part of a group of companies, some with training hubs and others working differently, the need for different tenants arose. This helps organize the training offerings centrally, addressing the challenge of a multi-tenant solution, which wasn't fully grasped initially.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Moodle has a vast array of features which are really useful for the work our company does. Moodle hosts the courses through online systems and also offers quizzes and badges which our customers frequently use."
"The fact that it's modular means you can easily expand with thousands of plugins that you can freely download from Moodle headquarters, and adding or removing functionality is easy."
"The monitoring aspect is important for students."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is stable."
"One of my biggest pet peeves is that many LMSs do not offer a course or site-level backup that is an industry-standard file. So, if you decide you don't like Moodle or some other LMS, you should be able to back up all your data and take it and go somewhere else. Moodle does offer that. There are several others that do that as well, but there are some LMSs that don't, which isn't a very good business practice because they hold their clients hostage. That's one of the things I really like about Moodle."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to import and export documents for courses, assessments, and questionnaires in any format."
"The tool's deployment is not complex."
"The multi-tenancy features of Totara Learn are the most useful for training efficiency."
 

Cons

"Setting up groups and allocating privacy settings to different groups is quite complicated."
"An improvement would be to have it support physically challenged students, who we think should be able to participate in some of our courses."
"The solution should have more student-centric details in the modules."
"It would be a benefit if there was an easy single sign-on with social media services for Moodle. There are some plugins that I tried, but they didn't work seamlessly. it is a work in progress. Having the single sign-on with social media services would be appreciated because in my school we are using Google suite and the main reason why we use Google Classroom is that it is integrated seamlessly with the suite."
"The UI and interface of Moodle could be greatly improved. There has been some improvement in recent releases by Moodle but there is still a lot to be improved upon. It is challenging to get buy-in from different stakeholders when they see what it looks like."
"The customization of the interface could be improved."
"The solution should continue to allow and foster the ability to integrate with cloud services."
"Moodle's weakest point is the user interface."
"The challenge was understanding the entire solution, particularly its capabilities for managing training within a distributed organization. As part of a group of companies, some with training hubs and others working differently, the need for different tenants arose. This helps organize the training offerings centrally, addressing the challenge of a multi-tenant solution, which wasn't fully grasped initially."
"Totara Learn needs to improve the look and feel, and make it easier to use, more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"This particular organization is a relatively small academic institution. It is a single campus, not very big, with 4,500 to 5,000 total students. It is not a big faculty. There are no hard sciences other than undergraduate-level hard sciences. So, Moodle is functional, and it is relatively simple because it is open-source software. It has sub advantages, and it is inexpensive. Small schools with small enrollment numbers just can't afford the more expensive ones."
"Moodle is a free online learning platform, but it also offers a paid version of it."
"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 offer a 14 day free trial and then requires payment."
"In terms of cost, it is available at no charge."
"It is a free-of-cost solution."
"It's not expensive. It's user-based."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
13%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
University
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about Totara Learn?
The tool's deployment is not complex.
What needs improvement with Totara Learn?
The look and feel is not good. Totara Learn needs to improve its look and feel and make it easier to use and more user-friendly. The interface is okay, but sometimes it's messy. Totara needs to imp...
What advice do you have for others considering Totara Learn?
For people who need a highly scalable, multi-tenant LMS on a low budget, this is a good option. It's a very good option in the market, low-priced, and a very good LMS. Overall, I would rate it an e...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Moodle vs. Totara Learn and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.