Softwr

LMS · head to head

Claroline vs Teachable

Claroline logo

Claroline

LMS

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teachable logo

Teachable

LMS

Create and sell courses online

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Claroline has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Teachable starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee, significantly higher than other plans
  • They diverge on capability: Claroline covers Workspaces, Teachable covers Course builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Claroline and Teachable actually diverge.

Attributes where Claroline and Teachable differ
AttributeClarolineTeachable
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, LinuxWeb
FoundedUnknown2014

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 Claroline

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

Only in Teachable

  • Course builder
  • Quizzes
  • Certificates
  • Coaching products
  • Payment processing
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Email marketing
  • Analytics

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 Teachable
  • A public body required to keep learner data on European infrastructure under an open licence it can audit.not Teachable
  • A training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses.not Teachable
  • 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 Teachable

Teachable

  • Course creationnot Claroline
  • Coaching servicesnot Claroline
  • Digital productsnot Claroline
  • Membership sitesnot 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.

Teachable

  • Starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee, significantly higher than other plans
  • Student limits lift only at $10k+ annual sales for higher plans
  • No free tier, only 7-day trial
  • Custom plan requires sales contact with minimum $30k/year revenue

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

Teachable

$29/month
  • Starter$39/month
    • 5 products
    • 100 active students
    • 7.5% transaction fee
  • Builder$89/month
    • 10 products
    • 1000 active students
    • 0% transaction fee
  • Growth$189/month
    • 50 products
    • 5000 active students
    • 0% transaction fee
  • Custom$undefined/month
    • Unlimited products
    • Dedicated success manager
    • Custom pricing

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 Teachable if

  • You need course builder.
  • You also want quizzes.
Teachable review

Questions people ask

Is Claroline or Teachable better?
Neither clearly leads. Claroline starts at Free and Teachable at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Claroline or Teachable?
Claroline has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Claroline and $29/month for Teachable.
Does Claroline or Teachable run on more platforms?
Claroline runs on Web, Linux. Teachable runs on Web.
Can I use Claroline for free?
Yes. Claroline has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teachable starts at $29/month.
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 Teachable is typically brought in for.
What can Claroline do that Teachable cannot?
Claroline covers Workspaces, Resource model, Learning paths, Quizzes and evaluation. Teachable covers Course builder, Quizzes, Certificates, Coaching products.

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.

Teachable: Does Teachable have a free plan?

Teachable offers a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no permanent free plan. The Starter plan costs $39/month (or $29/month annually).

Source
Claroline: Is it still maintained?

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

Teachable: What are the transaction fees?

Starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee. Builder, Growth, and Advanced plans charge 0% transaction fees. Additional payment processing fees of 2.9%-4.99% plus per-transaction charges apply depending on payment method.

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.

Teachable: What integrations are available?

Teachable integrates with Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Google Analytics, Calendly, Zoom, and other tools via the App Hub.

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.

Teachable: How many courses can I create?

Starter plan allows 5 products, Builder allows 10, Growth allows 50, and Advanced allows 100 courses.

Source
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.

Teachable: What is included in certificate features?

Course certificates are available starting on the Growth plan ($139/month annually). Certificates can be customized with branding and are generated automatically when students complete courses.

Source
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