SHSelfHostIndex

ILIAS vs Stud.IP

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted learning & courses options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
IL ILIAS Powerful open-source LMS for education and training VS ST Stud.IP Open-source course management system for universities
FeatureILIASStud.IP
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupRead-the-docs project
CategoryLearning & CoursesLearning & Courses
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 506★ 100
First released20002003
ReplacesMoodle, BlackboardBlackboard, Moodle

What are ILIAS and Stud.IP?

ILIAS

ILIAS is a flexible open-source learning management system used by universities, schools, and companies. It provides courses, tests, learning paths, and SCORM support with strong standards compliance.

  • Standards-compliant LMS
  • SCORM and LTI support
  • Tests and learning paths
  • Strong access control

Stud.IP

Stud.IP is an open-source course and learning management system widely used by German universities. It combines course administration, messaging, file sharing, and collaborative tools in one portal.

  • University course management
  • Integrated messaging
  • Collaborative wikis
  • Plugin ecosystem

ILIAS vs Stud.IP: key differences

Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for ILIAS versus GPL-2.0 for Stud.IP. ILIAS is the more established project (first released 2000), while Stud.IP arrived in 2003. ILIAS has the considerably larger community, at 506 GitHub stars versus 100. ILIAS lists first-class Docker deployment; Stud.IP does not.

Why pick each one

Choose ILIAS if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in PHP
ILIAS details

Choose Stud.IP if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Written in PHP
Stud.IP details

Frequently asked questions

Is ILIAS or Stud.IP better?

Neither is universally better. ILIAS has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are ILIAS and Stud.IP free and open-source?

Yes. ILIAS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Stud.IP under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ILIAS and Stud.IP with Docker?

ILIAS: yes. Stud.IP: check the project docs for container support.

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