Canvas LMS vs Chamilo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted learning & courses options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Canvas LMS | Chamilo |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 75 · Good | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Learning & Courses | Learning & Courses |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,833 | ★ 1,005 |
| First released | 2011 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Blackboard, Moodle | Moodle, Blackboard |
What are Canvas LMS and Chamilo?
Canvas LMS
Canvas LMS is the open-source edition of the Canvas learning management system used by many universities and schools. It offers course management, assignments, gradebooks, and rich integrations.
- Full university LMS
- SpeedGrader assessment
- LTI integrations
- Open REST API
Chamilo
Chamilo is an open-source e-learning and course management system focused on ease of use and accessibility. It is popular for corporate training and education in many languages.
- Easy course authoring
- Built-in collaboration tools
- Many languages
- Corporate training focus
Canvas LMS vs Chamilo: key differences
Canvas LMS is written in Ruby, while Chamilo is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Canvas LMS versus GPL-3.0 for Chamilo. Chamilo is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Canvas LMS. Canvas LMS has the considerably larger community, at 6,833 GitHub stars versus 1,005.
Why pick each one
Choose Canvas LMS if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
Choose Chamilo if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Canvas LMS or Chamilo better?
Neither is universally better. Canvas LMS has the larger community, while Chamilo is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Canvas LMS and Chamilo free and open-source?
Yes. Canvas LMS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Chamilo under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Canvas LMS and Chamilo with Docker?
Canvas LMS: yes. Chamilo: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Canvas LMS or Chamilo?
Chamilo has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Canvas LMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.