Moodle vs Totara Learn comparison

Moodle and Totara Learning are both solutions in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category. Moodle is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Totara Learning is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.5. Moodle holds a 9.4% mindshare in LMS, compared to Totara Learning’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Moodle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Totara Learning users who would recommend it.

Moodle

Read 29 Moodle reviews

1,635 Views
1,602 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Totara Learn

Read 2 Totara Learn reviews

240 Views
238 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Moodle

Totara Learn

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Moodle and Totara Learn are competing in the e-learning space, both providing robust learning management solutions. Totara Learn seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced feature set tailored for corporate environments.

Features: Moodle provides an open-source platform with modularity, offering features like a vast array of plugins, flexible learning paths, and a strong community support base. Totara Learn enhances these capabilities with personalized learning paths, robust reporting capabilities, and performance management tools, catering specifically to corporate needs. The distinction is in Totara's rich enterprise solutions compared to Moodle's community-driven options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Moodle is known for its accessibility and flexibility, supported by community resources, making it ideal for institutions with technical skill sets. Totara Learn, in contrast, provides a structured deployment process with premium support services, offering a guided approach for corporate clients, ensuring seamless transition and continued assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Moodle, being open-source, offers low initial setup costs, which is economically advantageous for budget-sensitive institutions, often resulting in higher long-term ROI. Totara Learn demands a higher upfront investment due to licensing fees, yet the investment is justified through its advanced feature set and tailored support, appealing to organizations emphasizing comprehensive capabilities over initial expenses. The primary difference is Moodle's cost-effectiveness versus Totara's greater ROI through extensive offerings.

To learn more, read our detailed Moodle vs. Totara Learn Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Moodle vs. Totara Learn

July 2025

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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)

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Totara Learn

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

12th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Moodle is 9.4%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Totara Learn is 2.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Featured Reviews

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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MarcFonoll

Customer Success Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

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.

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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

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

"The number of permissions that are available and different ways to report and get the information out are the most valuable features. We have been able to get precise bits of information out, and we have also been able to delegate a lot."

"The ability to insert a variety of tools, create and organize course content, and share large volumes of materials, written, audio, or visual, is very valuable."

"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to import and export documents for courses, assessments, and questionnaires in any format."

"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."

"The best thing about Moodle is that it is open source and has many useful plugins. It is a great solution for an organization that needs modifications and customization."

"It is relatively easy to use to build processes for establishing and conducting work within the templates that are used. It is not that hard to follow along or use, and it is pretty simple to pick it up and run with it."

"It doesn't take long to learn how to use it and to set up basic courses and things like that."

More Moodle pros

"The tool's deployment is not complex."

"The multi-tenancy features of Totara Learn are the most useful for training efficiency."

Cons

"It would be good to have a feature that would ensure that students are the ones performing the given assessment."

"The multi-tenancy system within Moodle could be improved. IOMAD is what makes the multi-tenancy possible but this comes with many issues."

"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."

"Moodle's weakest point is the user interface."

"We have needed to complete many customizations for Moodle to use it in all of our relevant organizations. We have found many issues with the competencies as we cannot assign many sub competencies to competencies."

"The solution could be improved if support was an integral part of the whole solution. There are a few challenges in terms of performance due to Moodle being a free-to-use platform but these can be overcome with the use of their support team."

"One aspect that I found a bit confusing was the dual editing system, where you could edit the layout of the course separately from editing the content."

"Moodle is missing a subscription-based system where learners can subscribe to available courses and make the payment for those courses."

More Moodle cons

"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

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

"Moodle is a free solution."

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

"The licensing cost is quite high and it operates on an annual basis."

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

"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

"It's not expensive. It's user-based."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Educational Organization

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Insurance Company

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.

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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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Totara Learn?

The tool's deployment is not complex.

See all answers

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...

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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...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Moodle

August 2025

Download Moodle product report

Buyer's Guide

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

July 2025

Download Totara Learn product report

Overview

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.

Moodle

Totara Learn is a flexible learning management system designed to meet diverse educational needs. Its adaptability supports personalized learning environments and facilitates efficient training across sectors.

Totara Learn provides a comprehensive platform that enables organizations to deliver effective learning experiences while adapting to changing requirements. Known for its customizable nature, it allows modifications to better align with specific institutional processes. It supports integrations that enhance the learning ecosystem, making it efficient for businesses looking to improve employee training and development.

What are the key features of Totara Learn?

Customization: Allows tailored functionalities to suit educational goals.
Integrations: Supports seamless connectivity with external systems and tools.
Reporting: Offers detailed analytics for tracking learner progress and outcomes.
Mobile-Friendly: Ensures accessible learning on smartphones and tablets.
Certification Management: Streamlines the process of compliance tracking.

What should be considered in reviews for Totara Learn's ROI?

Cost-Effectiveness: Evaluate if the investment aligns with training results.
Scalability: Consider the ease of expanding learning initiatives as needed.
Adaptability: Assess how well it can cater to specific learning paths.
User Experience: Look for feedback on engagement and satisfaction.

Industries like healthcare, retail, and finance implement Totara Learn to address specific training challenges. Its flexibility aids in meeting compliance standards, onboarding processes, and continuous professional development unique to each sector, ensuring tailored learning experiences that support strategic goals.

Totara Learning

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Moodle vs. Totara Learn

July 2025

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