LMS · head to head
Claroline vs Pear Deck
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.; Pear Deck the Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
- They diverge on capability: Claroline covers Workspaces, Pear Deck covers Interactive slides.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Claroline 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 Claroline
- Workspaces
- Resource model
- Learning paths
- Quizzes and evaluation
- Competency framework
- Planning and events
- Self-hosting
- SaaS option
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.
Claroline
- A French or Belgian training organisation that needs a francophone platform where the interface and support are French-first rather than translated.not Pear Deck
- A public body required to keep learner data on European infrastructure under an open licence it can audit.not Pear Deck
- A training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses.not Pear Deck
- 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 Pear Deck
Pear Deck
- Interactive classroom presentations for teachersnot Claroline
- Student practice and assessment toolsnot Claroline
- Standards-aligned content delivery for schoolsnot 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.
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 $125 per year purchase from Pear Deck Premium
- Standards aligned content, district library and efficacy reports are only in the Schools and Districts plan
- SIS and LMS integration is only in the Schools and Districts plan
- School and district pricing is by quote with no published rate
Pricing, plan by plan
Claroline
Free- Claroline ConnectFree
- GPL licence, no fee
- Full source on GitHub
- You provide Symfony and PHP hosting and operations
- Hosted distribution$undefined/year
- Managed hosting, maintenance and updates
- Support from the commercial operator
- Quoted by user count
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 Claroline if
- You need workspaces.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux.
- You also want resource model.
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 Claroline or Pear Deck better?
- Neither clearly leads. Claroline 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, Claroline or Pear Deck?
- Claroline starts at Free and Pear Deck at Free.
- Does Claroline or Pear Deck run on more platforms?
- Claroline runs on Web, Linux. Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension.
- 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 Pear Deck is typically brought in for.
- What can Claroline do that Pear Deck cannot?
- Claroline covers Workspaces, Resource model, Learning paths, Quizzes and evaluation. Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode.
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.
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.
SourceClaroline: Is it still maintained?
Yes. Point releases in the 15.0 line continued into 2026 with active commits on GitHub.
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.
SourceClaroline: Is it free?
The software is GPL and free. Hosted distribution with maintenance and support is a paid service from the commercial operator.
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.
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.
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.
SourceClaroline: 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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