Having a free online LMS can really boost how your organization teaches. It helps you change your training programs to fit your goals perfectly. This article explores the best free learning management systems (LMS) out there, what they offer so you can pick the right one.
What are free learning management systems?
Learning management systems (LMS) are tools for online learning that make teaching easy, from creating content to delivering courses. They also offer reports and analytics to help improve training and learning experiences.
There are free LMS tools available that aim to make training more accessible, so that both students and the organization benefit as a whole.
Benefits of using free learning management systems
Let’s look at why using free LMS tools can help your workflow:
Save money and time. Free LMS tools let you create and deliver training without the cost and time associated with expensive courses or speakers.
Engage your teams. These tools make training enjoyable and effective, encouraging learners to finish courses. You can use analytics to tailor learning content to your team’s needs and preferences.
Improve training. LMS tools streamline the learning process, freeing up time for other important tasks.
Choosing the right LMS is crucial for your online education efforts. While free platforms offer flexibility, they may bring complexities that don’t align with your goals, especially if you lack technical resources.
Best free LMS explored + reviews
MasterStudy LMS
MasterStudy LMS is the best free plugin that turns your website into a customizable LMS platform. With MasterStudy, you can create courses on any topic, from video tutorials to live lessons, without any coding skills required.
Pros:
- Total control. Customize your platform’s design and features to match your style and preferences.
- Flexibility. MasterStudy offers a wide range of features to keep your courses engaging and interactive.
- Monetization. Set your own prices and choose from different payment options, including one-time purchases or subscriptions.
Cons:
- More marketing needed. Since you’re responsible for attracting students, you may need to put in extra effort to build your audience.
- Building community. Creating your own community of learners and instructors is essential for success with MasterStudy.
With MasterStudy LMS, you can create your own marketplace of courses, just like Udemy. Even other instructors will be able to co-own or create courses on your LMS. Plus, integration with popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, WooCommerce, and Paid Membership Pro makes managing payments easy.
You can start with the completely free plan available on WordPress.org or explore the demo to see both frontend and backend features in action.
Reviews from WordPress.org
“It is easy to get caught up in the world of so many plugins. We were looking for a plugin, for a client, and from the research we did, MasterStudy LMS came out tops for a number of reasons: Functionality and feature-rich. Easy to use. Customisation Logical flow. User profiling. Documentation availability. Dedicated support team. Pricing One would be mistaken to believe that there would be one plugin which would service all of one’s needs however MasterStudy LMS goes a long way to be that solution. Not only is the product ever evolving but the support has been spectacular, especially from Lisa Williams and Stan Kim. The decision to go with MasterStudy LMS was the right decision. We are looking forward to this ever evolving journey with MasterStudy LMS and once again a very special thank you to Lisa Williams for being patient with us.”
“I am first to build up website by masterstudy. I think as I purchase the item, my website is built up already. it is a naive thought. But the support team turned it to a completion of my website. Good plugin, good people, Lisa among them especially!”
“Great support and very advanced plugin with excellent options.”
CourseSites
CourseSites is an online platform for teachers to engage with their students anytime, anywhere. With CourseSites, instructors can create an interactive eLearning environment tailored to their students’ needs.
Here’s what CourseSites has to offer:
- Engagement. Interact with students, post and update course materials, and promote collaboration all in one place.
- Accessibility. Teachers from kindergarten to university-level courses can add web-based content to their curriculum or build entire classes online.
- Customization. With customizable URLs, students can easily find your class and follow along for their learning experience.
CourseSites has a user-friendly interface for instructors to manage their courses and track student progress. Whether you’re teaching elementary school or university courses, CourseSites offers the tools you need to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment for your students.
Moodle LMS
Moodle stands out for its versatility, earning it a spot on Forbes’ “Best LMS of 2023” list. It offers complete control over data privacy, security, and site functionality, along with customizable themes. Key features include support for multiple languages, offline access, badges and certificates, and custom analysis.
Pros: Free forever, highly functional, encourages collaboration.
Cons: Customization-centric, lacks ease of use, less flexible.
Reviews from eLearning Industry
“What stands out about Moodle is its versatility and adaptability, catering to diverse educational needs with customizable features, robust learning management tools, and extensive community support. Its open-source nature fosters innovation and collaboration, empowering educators worldwide to create engaging and effective learning experiences for their students.
One aspect I find challenging with Moodle is its initial learning curve, particularly for new users. Navigating the interface and understanding its various features can be overwhelming. Additionally, customizing the platform to specific educational needs may require technical expertise, which can pose a barrier for some educators.”
“Nothing. It’s was shockingly outdated. This is my 4th trial platform in 30 days. This one made me cry. It made the other 3 look like gold. They were terrible and this was the worst experience of them all.
I honestly cannot decide what I like the least. Every aspect of the experience was bad. It’s hard to believe this was created by people with IT experience. I am learning IT at 52 years and my designs are better than this and I’m learning from YouTube videos.”
“It gives a lot of testing options, and some customization is available… And really I don’t have much more good things to say about it
Grading system settings are too complicated, and it is hard to make the course look nice. It has an inconvenient navigation system. Too many windows need to be passed before I can upload anything. Uploading pre-made tests is a nightmare as well as making them from scratch in Moodle. Picture uploading is poorly done too. The user interface is garbage.”
ATutor
ATutor prioritizes accessibility and engagement, making it easy to create, share, and import course content. Key features include individual status tracking, work group creation, content editing, bulk email sending, and developer documentation.
Pros: Easy installation and operation, available in open and closed-source versions.
Cons: Outdated interface, limited mobile use.
Review from eLearning Industry
“It ATutor is a free learning management system. It is also, easy to use and simple. I like it. It is not commonly used. I only heard about it recently. I think you need to make an effort on marketing.”
Canvas
Canvas offers a comprehensive platform for teaching, learning, and designing courses. Key features include materials, grades, communication tools, insights, stable performance, simplicity, Canvas API, and cloud technology.
Pros: Cloud-based, customizable, event reminders, smooth third-party integration.
Cons: Complex setup, overwhelming interface, navigation challenges.
Reviews from eLearning Industry
“Nothing. I find nothing to like about this cumbersome and controlling platform. I wish I could say something positive. It imposes on teachers a statistical, rubric-laden, clumsy grading system. I teach history. To use numbers in grading makes no sense.”
“This is my first semester using canvas as an instructor and there is nothing I like about it. Not recommended. Canvas is NOT user friendly. My students are having trouble submitting assignment and seeing test. IT has to be called all the time.”
“The LMS is simple to use. It does allow for some flexibility in deployment. I love the ability to use sub-accounts and not worry about messing up any other account settings.
Too much K-12 and not enough Higher Education in its design. Also, Outcomes need work and not be tied to rubrics/grades.”
MyiCourse
MyiCourse is a free LMS tailored for nonprofits and small businesses, praised for its user-friendly interface and active community support. Key features include customizable courses, multimedia support, quizzes, mobile-friendliness, public and private course creation, custom banner ads, timed courses, test questions, and SSL encryption.
Pros: Diverse content formats, customization options, built-in communication tools.
Cons: Multimedia size limit, basic features on the free plan.
Reviews from Capterra
“I am using myicourse.com for my organisation & i am happy the way i can conduct online exams. Overall: You can save lots of money, as for basic usage myicourse is almost free.
Pros: Online Courses & Less fees on every sale. Good editor to make custom courses . i can even add videos & audio files in my courses. there is restriction over the size of video but it’s ok for a learning courses .
Cons: less social media presence, UI is not good as other tools but functionality are good. site is little slow on IE browsers some time but works fine on other browsers. ”
“This is an interesting platform to experiment with.”
Overall: It is a mostly free platform as long as you are sharing free content. If you want to charge for it, you have to have a Business Account with PayPal ($10.00 monthly) and MyiCourse get 10% of your sales. So if you’re just starting out – this is a good place to practice if you don’t want to spend money ‘test driving’ your course and see what sort of response your course might attract.
Pros: I liked the ability to upload my content without a lot of hassles. Particularly slides, and videos.
Cons: I wish there were a clearer tutorial regarding the difference between creating a college and creating course. I’ve got several “colleges” but only one course and I’m working out how to promote it. I don’t know what the ‘audience’ is for MyiCourse or how to access them…of if that’s done automatically by MyiCourse”
If you’re searching for the best way to create your own LMS for free, MasterStudy is the top choice. It’s easy to use, packed with features, and has a supportive community.
With MasterStudy, you can customize your LMS to fit your needs perfectly. From creating courses to managing enrollments and payments, it’s all straightforward and hassle-free.
Plus, MasterStudy offers everything you need to deliver high-quality online education, including support for multiple languages, badges, certificates, and detailed analytics.
How to build your own LMS for free with MasterStudy
Here’s a simplified guide on how to create your own LMS for free with MasterStudy:
- Get hosting. Start by getting web hosting for your website. It’s like renting space on the internet where your site will live. Look for a hosting service that offers a free domain name and easy WordPress installation.
- Install WordPress. Once you have hosting, install WordPress on your site. This is the platform you’ll use to build your LMS. Most hosting services have a simple process for installing WordPress with just a few clicks.
- Install MasterStudy. Next, install the MasterStudy LMS Plugin. It’s like adding a new feature to your WordPress site. You can find and install it directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Go to your “Plugins” and click on “Add New.”
Search for Masterstudy in the plugin repository.
Then click “Install Now” and “Activate.”
- Import demo content. Use the LMS wizard feature in MasterStudy to quickly set up your LMS website.
There are these steps for quick setup:
- Step 1. Business setup. Choose the type of website you’re creating (individual or marketplace).
- Step 2. Courses. Generate an archive page to display all courses and customize the appearance of the Courses page.
- Step 3. Single course settings. Configure options like redirecting to checkout and selecting course tabs.
- Step 4. Curriculum. Select the quiz style for your courses.
- Step 5. Profile setup. Enable or disable instructor registration and customize the registration form.
- Step 6. Instructor registration. If enabled, set up a separate page for instructor registration.
Congratulations! You’ve created your free LMS. Now, you can further customize your LMS using plugin settings and start adding your own courses with the Course Builder.
With these simple steps, you’ll have your own LMS up and running in no time absolutely for free!