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LMS · head to head

Chamilo vs Degreed

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
Degreed logo

Degreed

LMS

Learning experience platform that indexes skills and third-party content rather than hosting courses

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.; Degreed pricing is entirely quote-based with no public rate card, and third parties report annual floors around 25,000 USD and licence minimums as high as 150 seats, so a mid-sized organisation frequently cannot buy it at any sensible price.
  • They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Degreed covers Content aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chamilo and Degreed actually diverge.

Attributes where Chamilo and Degreed differ
AttributeChamiloDegreed
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 Degreed

  • Content aggregation
  • Skills framework
  • Pathways and plans
  • Skill gap analytics
  • Career mobility
  • Learning records
  • Academies
  • Integrations with content providers

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

Degreed

  • A large enterprise that already spends heavily on Coursera and LinkedIn Learning and cannot tell which of it is used or usefulnot Chamilo
  • An organisation planning a workforce transition and needing a defensible view of which skills exist internally before it hires externallynot Chamilo
  • A company running compliance training in an LMS that wants a separate, voluntary development experience employees actually choose to opennot Chamilo
  • A group building internal mobility, matching people to open roles and stretch projects on evidenced skills rather than job titlesnot 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.

Degreed

  • Pricing is entirely quote-based with no public rate card, and third parties report annual floors around 25,000 USD and licence minimums as high as 150 seats, so a mid-sized organisation frequently cannot buy it at any sensible price.
  • Degreed is a layer, not a replacement: you keep paying for the learning management system that runs compliance training and for the content subscriptions it indexes, so the licence is a third line on top of two you already have.
  • The skills data leans heavily on employee self-assessment, and self-rated skill is a weak signal; if managers do not validate ratings consistently the workforce capability picture that justified the purchase is not reliable enough to make hiring or redeployment decisions on.
  • Adoption is voluntary in most deployments, so unless the organisation ties learning to something consequential, usage decays after the launch campaign and the platform becomes an expensive search box.
  • Integrations with content providers vary in depth: some surface full metadata and completion write-back while others index only titles, so the unified record of learning the business case assumed can be patchy in exactly the sources employees use most.

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

Degreed

On request
  • Degreed for Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Content aggregation across internal and third-party sources
    • Skills framework and gap analytics
    • Pathways, plans and academies
  • Degreed Free (individual)Free
    • Personal learning profile
    • Track learning from any source
    • For individuals rather than organisations

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 Degreed if

  • You need content aggregation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want skills framework.
Degreed review

Questions people ask

Is Chamilo or Degreed better?
Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and Degreed at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chamilo or Degreed?
Chamilo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chamilo and On request for Degreed.
Does Chamilo or Degreed run on more platforms?
Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. Degreed runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Chamilo for free?
Yes. Chamilo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Degreed 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 Degreed is typically brought in for.
What can Chamilo do that Degreed cannot?
Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. Degreed covers Content aggregation, Skills framework, Pathways and plans, Skill gap analytics.

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.

Degreed: Does Degreed replace our LMS?

No. It is a discovery and skills layer over content. Compliance training, assignment and certification records generally stay in the LMS, and you pay for both.

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.

Degreed: What does Degreed cost?

It is quote-only. Third-party reports put annual floors around 25,000 USD with licence minimums that can reach 150 seats.

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.

Degreed: Is the skills data trustworthy?

Only as far as your validation process is. It is built on self-assessment plus peer endorsement, so without manager validation it should not drive redeployment decisions.

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.

Degreed: Can individuals use it free?

Yes, Degreed offers a free personal profile for tracking your own learning, separate from the enterprise product.

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