LMS · head to head
Claroline vs NewsBlur
Claroline
LMS
Open source French-language learning platform, now developed as Claroline Connect
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; NewsBlur the free account is limited to 64 sites
- They diverge on capability: Claroline covers Workspaces, NewsBlur covers Intelligence training.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Claroline and NewsBlur actually diverge.
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 NewsBlur
- Intelligence training
- Story sharing
- Original site view
- Text view
- Blurblogs
- Instapaper
- Evernote
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 NewsBlur
- A public body required to keep learner data on European infrastructure under an open licence it can audit.not NewsBlur
- A training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses.not NewsBlur
- 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 NewsBlur
NewsBlur
- Reading RSS feeds with training that filters by author, tag or titlenot Claroline
- Archiving full article content from followed sitesnot Claroline
- Following a large number of feeds with fast refreshnot 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.
NewsBlur
- The free account is limited to 64 sites
- Search and text view extraction require Premium at $36 per year
- Premium is capped at 1,024 sites and Premium Archive at 4,096 sites
- Full content archiving and the Daily Briefing require Premium Archive at $99 per year
- The fastest 5 to 15 minute feed refresh and regex training require Premium Pro at $29 per month
- Site following is capped at 10,000 even on the top tier
Pricing, plan by plan
Claroline
Free- Claroline ConnectFree
- GPL licence, no fee
- Full source on GitHub
- You provide Symfony and PHP hosting and operations
- Hosted distribution$undefined/year
- Managed hosting, maintenance and updates
- Support from the commercial operator
- Quoted by user count
NewsBlur
Free- Free TierFree
- Follow up to 64 sites
- Real-time RSS updates
- Train stories by author, tag, title
- Premium$36/year
- Follow up to 1024 sites
- 5x more frequent updates
- River of News, search, saved stories with tags
- Premium Archive$99/year
- Follow up to 4096 sites
- Web feeds from any website
- Story clustering, daily briefing, full archive and search
- Premium Pro$29/month
- All Archive features plus up to 10000 sites
- Feeds fetched every 5 to 15 minutes
- Regex training, priority support
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.
Choose NewsBlur if
- You need intelligence training.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want story sharing.
Questions people ask
- Is Claroline or NewsBlur better?
- Neither clearly leads. Claroline starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Claroline or NewsBlur?
- Claroline starts at Free and NewsBlur at Free.
- Does Claroline or NewsBlur run on more platforms?
- Claroline runs on Web, Linux. NewsBlur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- 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 NewsBlur is typically brought in for.
- What can Claroline do that NewsBlur cannot?
- Claroline covers Workspaces, Resource model, Learning paths, Quizzes and evaluation. NewsBlur covers Intelligence training, Story sharing, Original site view, Text view.
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.
NewsBlur: Is NewsBlur free?
NewsBlur offers a free tier allowing users to follow up to 64 RSS feeds with real-time updates, story training, and public sharing.
SourceClaroline: Is it still maintained?
Yes. Point releases in the 15.0 line continued into 2026 with active commits on GitHub.
NewsBlur: What does Premium plan include?
Premium plan costs 36 dollars per year and includes following up to 1024 sites with 5x more frequent updates, River of News feature, search functionality, and saved stories with tags.
SourceClaroline: Is it free?
The software is GPL and free. Hosted distribution with maintenance and support is a paid service from the commercial operator.
NewsBlur: Is there a free trial?
Every new NewsBlur account starts with a free 30-day premium trial. No credit card is required to start.
SourceClaroline: 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.
Related pages
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- NewsBlur vs Inoreader
- NewsBlur vs Beehiiv
- NewsBlur vs Chartbeat
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- NewsBlur vs Agility PR Solutions
- NewsBlur vs Apple News
- NewsBlur vs Arc Publishing
- NewsBlur vs Artifact
- NewsBlur vs Brightspot
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