Compare / Moodle vs Canvas LMS
Moodle vs Canvas LMS
Pick Moodle if you want the published Teachable/Thinkific/Kajabi path. Pick Canvas LMS if you want that Instructure classroom — not Canva, the design SaaS.
Facts checked 22 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Moodle in the catalog Canvas LMS in the catalog Start on Railway
How they compare
| Moodle | Canvas LMS | |
|---|---|---|
| License | GPL-3.0 (catalog) source | AGPL-3.0 (catalog) source |
| Language | PHP (catalog) | Ruby (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 7,517 stars in the catalog source | 6,882 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Published as /stacks/moodle-lms. PHP classroom. | Same stack as the Instructure sibling. Not Canva. |
| Best for | The published course-platform replacement. | The Canvas classroom you already know. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Both sit on /stacks/moodle-lms. Canvas LMS is instructure/canvas-lms. Open edX is the other AGPL LMS — /compare/moodle-vs-openedx. Do not confuse this pair with /replace/canva.
FAQ
- Is this Canva?
- No. Canva is the design SaaS — /replace/canva. This pair is Canvas LMS.
- Open edX?
- /compare/moodle-vs-openedx and /compare/openedx-vs-canvas.
- Are these free?
- Moodle is GPL-3.0. Canvas LMS is AGPL-3.0. You pay hosting.
- How do I deploy Canvas LMS?
- Follow Instructure's self-host docs. The published path remains /stacks/moodle-lms.
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