LMS · head to head
Chamilo vs Sphinx
Chamilo
LMS
Open source learning management system with no licence fee and a Latin American and francophone user base
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Sphinx
Documentation
Documentation generator built for large technical projects
- 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.; Sphinx reStructuredText is harder to write than Markdown and puts off contributors, though MyST now allows Markdown
- They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Sphinx covers Cross-references.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Chamilo and Sphinx actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Sphinx
- Cross-references
- API autodoc
- Multi-format output
- Extension ecosystem
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 Sphinx
- A ministry or NGO delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight PHP application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platformnot Sphinx
- A francophone institution in West Africa or Belgium where French interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature countnot Sphinx
- An organisation that requires the LMS to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the countrynot Sphinx
Sphinx
- Large technical documentation needing reliable cross-referencesnot Chamilo
- Python projects generating API docs from docstringsnot Chamilo
- Documentation that must ship as PDF as well as HTMLnot 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.
Sphinx
- reStructuredText is harder to write than Markdown and puts off contributors, though MyST now allows Markdown
- Configuration is complex and the default output is dated-looking without theme work
- Build times on large documentation sets are slow
- Heavier than the problem for a small project that only needs a few pages
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
Sphinx
Free- SphinxFree
- Full functionality
- Commercial use permitted
- Community support
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 Sphinx if
- You need cross-references.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want api autodoc.
Questions people ask
- Is Chamilo or Sphinx better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and Sphinx at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chamilo or Sphinx?
- Chamilo starts at Free and Sphinx at Free.
- Does Chamilo or Sphinx run on more platforms?
- Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. Sphinx runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- 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 Sphinx is typically brought in for.
- What can Chamilo do that Sphinx cannot?
- Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. Sphinx covers Cross-references, API autodoc, Multi-format output, Extension ecosystem.
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.
Sphinx: Is Sphinx free?
Yes, open source under the BSD licence.
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.
Sphinx: Do I have to write reStructuredText?
Not any more. The MyST extension allows Markdown, though reStructuredText remains the native format and most examples use it.
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.
Sphinx: Why do large projects choose Sphinx?
Automatic cross-referencing and API extraction from docstrings, which lighter generators do not provide.
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.
Related pages
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- Sphinx vs CYPHER Learning
- Sphinx vs LearnUpon
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- Sphinx vs Seesaw
- Sphinx vs Weet
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- Sphinx vs MkDocs
- Sphinx vs Read the Docs
- Sphinx vs Antora
- Sphinx vs Adobe FrameMaker
- Sphinx vs BookStack
- Sphinx vs Doxygen
- Sphinx vs Archbee
- Sphinx vs Docsify
- Sphinx vs MadCap Flare
- Sphinx vs Paligo
- Sphinx vs ReadMe
- Sphinx vs VitePress
- Sphinx vs Guidde
- Sphinx vs Outline
- Sphinx vs Adobe RoboHelp