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LMS · head to head

Chamilo vs FireMonkey

Chamilo logo

Chamilo

LMS

Open source learning management system with no licence fee and a Latin American and francophone user base

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
FireMonkey logo

FireMonkey

Browser Extensions

User scripts and user styles in one Firefox extension

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chamilo version 3.0 has been in beta since 2024 while production deployments stay on the 1.11 branch, so anyone planning a multi-year deployment is choosing between an ageing stable line and an unfinished rewrite.; FireMonkey firefox only, and requires a recent one: version 93 on desktop, 113 on Android.
  • They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, FireMonkey covers Scripts and styles together.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chamilo and FireMonkey actually diverge.

Attributes where Chamilo and FireMonkey differ
AttributeChamiloFireMonkey
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, LinuxFirefox
CategoryLMSBrowser Extensions

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chamilo

  • Course and learning paths
  • Assessments
  • Gradebook and certificates
  • Attendance tracking
  • Sessions and multi-tenancy
  • Wide interface translation
  • Plugins
  • Low hosting requirements

Only in FireMonkey

  • Scripts and styles together
  • Monaco editor with ESLint
  • Unlimited client-side storage
  • Global injection
  • Notifications and clipboard
  • Firefox for Android

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chamilo

  • A Latin American university that needs an LMS with no per-student licence fee and Spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zonenot FireMonkey
  • A ministry or NGO delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight PHP application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platformnot FireMonkey
  • A francophone institution in West Africa or Belgium where French interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature countnot FireMonkey
  • An organisation that requires the LMS to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the countrynot FireMonkey

FireMonkey

  • Running user scripts and user styles without two separate extensionsnot Chamilo
  • Restyling sites with CSS alongside scripted behaviour changesnot Chamilo
  • Editing scripts in a full editor inside the browsernot Chamilo
  • Injecting CSS globally across every sitenot Chamilo
  • Managing a mixed library of scripts and styles from one dashboardnot Chamilo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chamilo

  • Version 3.0 has been in beta since 2024 while production deployments stay on the 1.11 branch, so anyone planning a multi-year deployment is choosing between an ageing stable line and an unfinished rewrite.
  • Governance moved to BeezNest Belgium, a commercial company that also sells Chamilo hosting and services, which concentrates roadmap decisions in a vendor with a direct commercial interest in the support market.
  • The English-language community and documentation are noticeably thinner than the Spanish and French, so an anglophone institution will find fewer answers, fewer contributors and fewer consultants than the project size implies.
  • No licence fee is not no cost: hosting, upgrades, security patching, backups and integration work all fall on the institution or a paid partner, and that ongoing labour usually exceeds what a small institution would have paid for a hosted commercial LMS.
  • The third-party plugin ecosystem is small compared with Moodle, so integrations with proctoring, publisher content and student information systems often have to be commissioned rather than installed.

FireMonkey

  • Firefox only, and requires a recent one: version 93 on desktop, 113 on Android.
  • Not a drop-in replacement for Greasemonkey, Tampermonkey or Stylus. The project says so itself, so an existing library may need adjusting.
  • A much smaller user base than Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey, which means fewer people have hit the bug you are about to hit.
  • No Chrome, Edge or Safari build, so it cannot be the answer for anyone working across browsers.
  • Combining scripts and styles in one extension also combines the blast radius: one extension with permission to inject both into every page.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chamilo

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • GNU GPL licence, no per-learner fee
    • Full source code
    • Community support in Spanish, French and English
  • Hosting and support from partners$undefined/year
    • Managed hosting, upgrades and support sold by BeezNest and other official providers
    • Priced per deployment, quoted

FireMonkey

Free
  • Open sourceFree
    • MPL-2.0 licensed
    • Unlimited scripts and styles
    • No account required

Which should you pick?

Choose Chamilo if

  • You need course and learning paths.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Linux.
  • You also want assessments.
Chamilo review

Choose FireMonkey if

  • You need scripts and styles together.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Firefox.
  • You also want monaco editor with eslint.
FireMonkey review

Questions people ask

Is Chamilo or FireMonkey better?
Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and FireMonkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chamilo or FireMonkey?
Chamilo starts at Free and FireMonkey at Free.
Does Chamilo or FireMonkey run on more platforms?
Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. FireMonkey runs on Firefox.
Can I use Chamilo for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Chamilo best used for?
Chamilo is most often used for a latin american university that needs an lms with no per-student licence fee and spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zone, a ministry or ngo delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight php application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platform, a francophone institution in west africa or belgium where french interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature count, an organisation that requires the lms to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the country. Of those, a latin american university that needs an lms with no per-student licence fee and spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zone and a ministry or ngo delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight php application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platform are not what FireMonkey is typically brought in for.
What can Chamilo do that FireMonkey cannot?
Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. FireMonkey covers Scripts and styles together, Monaco editor with ESLint, Unlimited client-side storage, Global injection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chamilo: Who owns and maintains Chamilo now?

The project has been governed by BeezNest Belgium since January 2026. The code remains under the GNU GPL, but roadmap stewardship sits with a commercial company that also sells Chamilo services.

FireMonkey: What makes FireMonkey different from Violentmonkey?

It manages user styles as well as user scripts. The usual arrangement is a script manager plus a separate style manager such as Stylus; FireMonkey replaces both with one extension.

Source
Chamilo: Is Chamilo 3 ready for production?

No. The 3.0 line has been in beta since 2024 and production installations remain on the 1.11 branch. Plan on 1.11 and treat the 3.0 migration as a future project.

FireMonkey: Which browsers does FireMonkey support?

Firefox only. Desktop requires Firefox 93 or later and Android requires 113, with an API minimum of 102.

Source
Chamilo: Is there a licence fee?

No. Chamilo is GPL software with no per-learner charge. Costs are hosting, support and whatever integration work you commission.

FireMonkey: Is FireMonkey open source?

Yes, under the MPL-2.0 licence.

Source
Chamilo: Where is it strongest?

Spanish-speaking Latin America, Spain, francophone West Africa and Belgium. Support and documentation quality in Spanish and French exceed the English.

FireMonkey: Will my existing Tampermonkey scripts work?

Not necessarily. The project states that while it shares functionality with Greasemonkey, Tampermonkey and Stylus, there are differences, so scripts and styles written for those may need adjusting.

Source
FireMonkey: What editor does FireMonkey use?

Current versions use the Monaco editor with ESLint, the same editor component that powers VS Code.

Source
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