LMS · head to head
Chamilo vs Pear Deck
Chamilo
LMS
Open source learning management system with no licence fee and a Latin American and francophone user base
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; Pear Deck the Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
- They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Pear Deck covers Interactive slides.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Chamilo and Pear Deck actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).
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 Pear Deck
- Interactive slides
- Real-time responses
- Formative assessment
- Student-paced mode
- Dashboard
- Audio responses
- Drawing
- Vocabulary
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 Pear Deck
- A ministry or NGO delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight PHP application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platformnot Pear Deck
- A francophone institution in West Africa or Belgium where French interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature countnot Pear Deck
- An organisation that requires the LMS to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the countrynot Pear Deck
Pear Deck
- Interactive classroom presentations for teachersnot Chamilo
- Student practice and assessment toolsnot Chamilo
- Standards-aligned content delivery for schoolsnot 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.
Pear Deck
- The Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
- Pear Assessment Premium is a separate $125 per year purchase from Pear Deck Premium
- Standards aligned content, district library and efficacy reports are only in the Schools and Districts plan
- SIS and LMS integration is only in the Schools and Districts plan
- School and district pricing is by quote with no published rate
Pricing, plan by plan
Chamilo
Free- Self-hostedFree
- GNU GPL licence, no per-learner fee
- Full source code
- Community support in Spanish, French and English
- Hosting and support from partners$undefined/year
- Managed hosting, upgrades and support sold by BeezNest and other official providers
- Priced per deployment, quoted
Pear Deck
Free- Pear Start FreeFree
- 40+ AI tools for teachers
- unlimited usage
- Pear Deck FreeFree
- basic interactive presentations
- anonymous responses
- student-paced mode
- Pear Deck Premium$149/year
- Teacher Dashboard with named responses
- drawing/draggable features
- Reflect & Review
- Pear Assessment FreeFree
- basic assessment creation
- autograding
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.
Choose Pear Deck if
- You need interactive slides.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Chrome Extension.
- You also want real-time responses.
Questions people ask
- Is Chamilo or Pear Deck better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and Pear Deck at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chamilo or Pear Deck?
- Chamilo starts at Free and Pear Deck at Free.
- Does Chamilo or Pear Deck run on more platforms?
- Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension.
- 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 Pear Deck is typically brought in for.
- What can Chamilo do that Pear Deck cannot?
- Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode.
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.
Pear Deck: What is the price for individual teacher subscriptions?
Pear Deck Premium: $149/year; Pear Assessment Premium: $125/year. Pear Practice and Start have custom pricing for paid tiers.
SourceChamilo: 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.
Pear Deck: Are there free versions available?
Yes, all Pear Deck products offer free teacher plans: Pear Start, Pear Deck, Pear Practice, and Pear Assessment are free for educators.
SourceChamilo: 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.
Pear Deck: What features require payment in Pear Assessment?
Free version includes basic assessment creation and autograding. Premium ($125/year) adds advanced security, accessibility tools, state test interface mimicry, and rubric scoring.
SourceChamilo: 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.
Pear Deck: Do schools get discounted pricing?
Yes, schools and districts receive custom pricing with additional features like standards-aligned content, shared libraries, and LMS integration.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Chamilo vs Moodle
- Chamilo vs Docebo
- Chamilo vs TalentLMS
- Chamilo vs Sakai
- Chamilo vs Claroline
- Chamilo vs Totara
- Chamilo vs Canvas
- Chamilo vs LearnDash
- Chamilo vs Schoox
- Chamilo vs Skilljar
- Chamilo vs CYPHER Learning
- Chamilo vs LearnUpon
- Chamilo vs Seesaw
- Chamilo vs Weet
- Chamilo vs Whatfix
- Chamilo vs Nearpod
- Chamilo vs Schoology
- Chamilo vs LinkedIn Learning
- Chamilo vs ClassDojo
- Chamilo vs LearnWorlds
- Chamilo vs Edpuzzle
- Chamilo vs Quizlet
- Chamilo vs Sana
- Chamilo vs Cornerstone OnDemand
- Chamilo vs D2L Brightspace
- Pear Deck vs Moodle
- Pear Deck vs Docebo
- Pear Deck vs TalentLMS
- Pear Deck vs Sakai
- Pear Deck vs Claroline
- Pear Deck vs Totara
- Pear Deck vs Canvas
- Pear Deck vs LearnDash
- Pear Deck vs Schoox
- Pear Deck vs Skilljar
- Pear Deck vs CYPHER Learning
- Pear Deck vs LearnUpon
- Pear Deck vs Seesaw
- Pear Deck vs Weet
- Pear Deck vs Whatfix
- Pear Deck vs Nearpod
- Pear Deck vs Schoology
- Pear Deck vs LinkedIn Learning
- Pear Deck vs ClassDojo
- Pear Deck vs LearnWorlds
- Pear Deck vs Edpuzzle
- Pear Deck vs Quizlet
- Pear Deck vs Sana
- Pear Deck vs Cornerstone OnDemand
- Pear Deck vs D2L Brightspace