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LMS · head to head

Claroline vs Krita

Claroline logo

Claroline

LMS

Open source French-language learning platform, now developed as Claroline Connect

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Krita logo

Krita

Design

Free and open-source digital painting software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Claroline two products share the name and the abandoned original, last released in December 2021, dominates search results, so institutions regularly install unmaintained software believing it is current.; Krita not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • They diverge on capability: Claroline covers Workspaces, Krita covers Digital painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Claroline and Krita actually diverge.

Attributes where Claroline and Krita differ
AttributeClarolineKrita
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
PlatformsWeb, LinuxWindows, macOS, Linux
CategoryLMSDesign
FoundedUnknown1999

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 Claroline

  • Workspaces
  • Resource model
  • Learning paths
  • Quizzes and evaluation
  • Competency framework
  • Planning and events
  • Self-hosting
  • SaaS option

Only in Krita

  • Digital painting
  • Brush engines
  • Layer management
  • Animation
  • Vector tools
  • OpenEXR
  • PSD files
  • Graphics tablets

What people use each for

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

Claroline

  • A French or Belgian training organisation that needs a francophone platform where the interface and support are French-first rather than translated.not Krita
  • A public body required to keep learner data on European infrastructure under an open licence it can audit.not Krita
  • A training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses.not Krita
  • An institution already running the abandoned Claroline 13 line that needs to plan a migration onto the maintained Connect codebase before its dependencies become unsupportable.not Krita

Krita

  • Digital paintingnot Claroline
  • Concept artnot Claroline
  • Character designnot Claroline
  • 2D animationnot Claroline
  • Texture paintingnot Claroline

Where each one falls short

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

Claroline

  • Two products share the name and the abandoned original, last released in December 2021, dominates search results, so institutions regularly install unmaintained software believing it is current.
  • The community is small compared with Moodle, so plugin choice, third-party integrations and the pool of people who can administer it in production are all thin.
  • Documentation and community discussion are French-first and English coverage is partial and inconsistent, which raises the effort for any non-francophone team.
  • The commercial hosting is offered by a small operator rather than a large partner network, so an institution depending on paid support has concentrated supplier risk.
  • The workspace and resource model is different enough from a conventional course-based LMS that staff moving from Moodle or Canvas have to relearn how content is organised, and migrations do not map cleanly.

Krita

  • Not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • Performance limits on large projects with many layers compared to professional software
  • Requires system administrator privileges for installation on managed systems
  • Limited professional support compared to commercial alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

Claroline

Free
  • Claroline ConnectFree
    • GPL licence, no fee
    • Full source on GitHub
    • You provide Symfony and PHP hosting and operations
  • Hosted distribution$undefined/year
    • Managed hosting, maintenance and updates
    • Support from the commercial operator
    • Quoted by user count

Krita

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Claroline if

  • You need workspaces.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want resource model.
Claroline review

Choose Krita if

  • You need digital painting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want brush engines.
Krita review

Questions people ask

Is Claroline or Krita better?
Neither clearly leads. Claroline starts at Free and Krita at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Claroline or Krita?
Claroline starts at Free and Krita at Free.
Does Claroline or Krita run on more platforms?
Claroline runs on Web, Linux. Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Claroline for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Claroline best used for?
Claroline is most often used for a french or belgian training organisation that needs a francophone platform where the interface and support are french-first rather than translated., a public body required to keep learner data on european infrastructure under an open licence it can audit., a training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses., an institution already running the abandoned claroline 13 line that needs to plan a migration onto the maintained connect codebase before its dependencies become unsupportable.. Of those, a french or belgian training organisation that needs a francophone platform where the interface and support are french-first rather than translated. and a public body required to keep learner data on european infrastructure under an open licence it can audit. are not what Krita is typically brought in for.
What can Claroline do that Krita cannot?
Claroline covers Workspaces, Resource model, Learning paths, Quizzes and evaluation. Krita covers Digital painting, Brush engines, Layer management, Animation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Claroline: Which Claroline should I install?

Claroline Connect, the Symfony and React codebase currently on version 15. The original PHP Claroline stopped at 13.1.3 in December 2021 and should not be deployed.

Krita: Is Krita free and open source?

Yes, Krita is completely free and open source software developed by the KDE community. It is distributed under the LGPL license with no licensing fees.

Source
Claroline: Is it still maintained?

Yes. Point releases in the 15.0 line continued into 2026 with active commits on GitHub.

Krita: What platforms does Krita support?

Krita is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can be downloaded from krita.org or installed via package managers on Linux distributions.

Source
Claroline: Is it free?

The software is GPL and free. Hosted distribution with maintenance and support is a paid service from the commercial operator.

Krita: What animation capabilities does Krita have?

Krita supports frame-by-frame animation with onion skin view, timeline management, and export to video formats for creating animated sequences.

Source
Claroline: Does it work in English?

The interface has English, but documentation and community support are French-first, so a non-francophone team will hit gaps.

Claroline: How big is the ecosystem compared to Moodle?

Much smaller. If you need a wide plugin market or an easy administrator hiring pool, Moodle is the safer open source choice.

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