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LMS · head to head

Chamilo vs Thought Industries

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
Thought Industries logo

Thought Industries

LMS

External learning platform for companies that sell training to customers and partners as a product

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Chamilo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Thought Industries the annual floor is an enterprise number, so organisations with modest training revenue pay more in platform fees than a revenue share would have cost them.
  • They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Thought Industries covers Commerce engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chamilo and Thought Industries actually diverge.

Attributes where Chamilo and Thought Industries differ
AttributeChamiloThought Industries
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, LinuxWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: 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 Thought Industries

  • Commerce engine
  • Licence and seat management
  • Multi-tenant panorama delivery
  • Certification programmes
  • Learning path personalisation
  • Analytics on revenue and consumption

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 Thought Industries
  • A ministry or NGO delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight PHP application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platformnot Thought Industries
  • A francophone institution in West Africa or Belgium where French interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature countnot Thought Industries
  • An organisation that requires the LMS to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the countrynot Thought Industries

Thought Industries

  • A software company whose customer certification programme has grown past what a creator platform can administernot Chamilo
  • Professional bodies selling continuing education with certification renewal cyclesnot Chamilo
  • Manufacturers training distributor and dealer networks who each need their own branded environmentnot Chamilo
  • Any training business where a percentage of revenue model has become more expensive than a flat platform feenot 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.

Thought Industries

  • The annual floor is an enterprise number, so organisations with modest training revenue pay more in platform fees than a revenue share would have cost them.
  • Implementation is measured in months and needs an internal owner, so the platform sits unused and paid for during a slow rollout.
  • It is designed for external audiences, so using it for internal employee compliance training means paying for commerce and multi-tenancy capability that internal training does not need.
  • Configuration depth for commerce and tenancy means the administrator role is a real job, and organisations that assign it as a fraction of someone else's role underuse the system.
  • Content authoring is not the strength, so most customers pair it with a separate authoring tool and manage two vendors and two content workflows.

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

Thought Industries

On request
  • Thought Industries$undefined/year
    • Annual platform fee, quoted
    • No percentage taken of course revenue
    • Implementation and success services quoted separately

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 Thought Industries if

  • You need commerce engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want licence and seat management.
Thought Industries review

Questions people ask

Is Chamilo or Thought Industries better?
Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and Thought Industries at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chamilo or Thought Industries?
Chamilo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chamilo and On request for Thought Industries.
Does Chamilo or Thought Industries run on more platforms?
Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. Thought Industries runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Chamilo for free?
Yes. Chamilo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Industries starts at On request.
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 Thought Industries is typically brought in for.
What can Chamilo do that Thought Industries cannot?
Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. Thought Industries covers Commerce engine, Licence and seat management, Multi-tenant panorama delivery, Certification programmes.

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.

Thought Industries: Does Thought Industries take a percentage of course sales?

No. It charges an annual platform fee. That is more expensive than a revenue share at low volume and considerably cheaper once training revenue grows.

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.

Thought Industries: Can one platform serve several corporate customers separately?

Yes. Multi-tenant delivery gives each business customer its own branded environment and administrator while content stays centrally managed.

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.

Thought Industries: Is it suitable for internal employee training?

It can do it, but you would be paying for commerce and tenancy features that internal compliance training does not use. A corporate learning platform is usually the better fit.

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.

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