LMS · head to head
Claroline vs LearnUpon
Claroline
LMS
Open source French-language learning platform, now developed as Claroline Connect
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
LearnUpon
LMS
Multi-portal learning management for training employees, customers and partners from one instance
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
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.; LearnUpon pricing counts registered users, so a partner or customer audience with many dormant accounts pays full price for people who log in once a year, and the finance case degrades as the population grows.
- They diverge on capability: Claroline covers Workspaces, LearnUpon covers Multiple portals.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Claroline and LearnUpon actually diverge.
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
- Quizzes and evaluation
- Competency framework
- Planning and events
- Self-hosting
- SaaS option
Only in LearnUpon
- Multiple portals
- Central course library
- Compliance and recertification
- Ecommerce
- SCORM and xAPI support
Both cover
- Learning paths
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 LearnUpon
- A public body required to keep learner data on European infrastructure under an open licence it can audit.not LearnUpon
- A training provider assembling learning paths from a shared library of reusable resources across many client workspaces rather than duplicating courses.not LearnUpon
- 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 LearnUpon
LearnUpon
- A software company that must train staff, certify customers and enable resellers without three separate systemsnot Claroline
- Compliance training where the auditor asks for a dated completion record per named employeenot Claroline
- Selling certification courses to customers as a revenue line rather than a cost centrenot Claroline
- Franchise or dealer networks needing separately branded portals under central content controlnot 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.
LearnUpon
- Pricing counts registered users, so a partner or customer audience with many dormant accounts pays full price for people who log in once a year, and the finance case degrades as the population grows.
- The multi-portal design carries administration overhead that a single audience organisation pays for without benefit.
- Reporting is adequate for completion and compliance and thin for measuring whether training changed behaviour, so organisations needing that add a separate analytics layer.
- Content authoring is not included at the depth of a dedicated authoring tool, so most customers also licence something like an authoring suite and manage two vendors.
- Complex competency frameworks, multi year programme structures and academic style progression are not modelled well, which limits it in regulated professions with formal qualification pathways.
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$undefined/year
- Managed hosting, maintenance and updates
- Support from the commercial operator
- Quoted by user count
LearnUpon
On request- LearnUpon$undefined/year
- Quoted by registered user tier and number of portals
- Annual contracts
- Not comparable with per active user or per course competitors without modelling
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 LearnUpon if
- You need multiple portals.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want central course library.
Questions people ask
- Is Claroline or LearnUpon better?
- Neither clearly leads. Claroline starts at Free and LearnUpon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Claroline or LearnUpon?
- Claroline has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Claroline and On request for LearnUpon.
- Does Claroline or LearnUpon run on more platforms?
- Claroline runs on Web, Linux. LearnUpon runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Claroline for free?
- Yes. Claroline has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. LearnUpon starts at On request.
- 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 LearnUpon is typically brought in for.
- What can Claroline do that LearnUpon cannot?
- Claroline covers Workspaces, Resource model, Quizzes and evaluation, Competency framework. LearnUpon covers Multiple portals, Central course library, Compliance and recertification, Ecommerce. Both handle Learning paths.
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.
LearnUpon: How is LearnUpon priced?
By registered user tier and the number of portals, quoted rather than published. That unit is not comparable with per active user or per course pricing, so model your own population before comparing quotes.
Claroline: Is it still maintained?
Yes. Point releases in the 15.0 line continued into 2026 with active commits on GitHub.
LearnUpon: Can customers and employees be kept separate?
Yes, that is the main design point. Separate portals have their own branding, administrators and catalogues, while sharing courses from one library.
Claroline: Is it free?
The software is GPL and free. Hosted distribution with maintenance and support is a paid service from the commercial operator.
LearnUpon: Does it handle recurring compliance training?
Yes. Recertification cycles, automatic reassignment and per user dated completion records are built in and are a common reason for purchase.
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.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Claroline vs Sakai
- Claroline vs Moodle
- Claroline vs Docebo
- Claroline vs Chamilo
- Claroline vs Totara
- Claroline vs Canvas
- Claroline vs CYPHER Learning
- Claroline vs Google Classroom
- Claroline vs LearnDash
- Claroline vs Schoox
- Claroline vs Schoology
- Claroline vs Weet
- Claroline vs Cornerstone OnDemand
- Claroline vs D2L Brightspace
- Claroline vs Degreed
- Claroline vs Echo360
- Claroline vs Edmodo
- Claroline vs Absorb LMS
- Claroline vs TalentLMS
- Claroline vs Thought Industries
- Claroline vs Skilljar
- Claroline vs Tovuti LMS
- Claroline vs Sana
- Claroline vs Pear Deck
- Claroline vs Seesaw
- Claroline vs Whatfix
- LearnUpon vs Sakai
- LearnUpon vs Moodle
- LearnUpon vs Docebo
- LearnUpon vs Chamilo
- LearnUpon vs Totara
- LearnUpon vs Canvas
- LearnUpon vs CYPHER Learning
- LearnUpon vs Google Classroom
- LearnUpon vs LearnDash
- LearnUpon vs Schoox
- LearnUpon vs Schoology
- LearnUpon vs Weet
- LearnUpon vs Cornerstone OnDemand
- LearnUpon vs D2L Brightspace
- LearnUpon vs Degreed
- LearnUpon vs Echo360
- LearnUpon vs Edmodo
- LearnUpon vs Absorb LMS
- LearnUpon vs TalentLMS
- LearnUpon vs Thought Industries
- LearnUpon vs Skilljar
- LearnUpon vs Tovuti LMS
- LearnUpon vs Sana
- LearnUpon vs Pear Deck
- LearnUpon vs Seesaw
- LearnUpon vs Whatfix