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LMS · head to head

Sakai vs Seesaw

Sakai logo

Sakai

LMS

Open source learning management system governed by the Apereo Foundation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seesaw logo

Seesaw

LMS

Student-driven digital portfolios and family communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Sakai the zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.; Seesaw seesaw Starter limited to 1 active class per teacher and 35 students maximum
  • They diverge on capability: Sakai covers Course sites, Seesaw covers Digital portfolios.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sakai and Seesaw actually diverge.

Attributes where Sakai and Seesaw differ
AttributeSakaiSeesaw
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, IOS, Android, Chromebook
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Sakai

  • Course sites
  • Tests and Quizzes
  • Gradebook
  • Lessons
  • Assignments
  • Forums and messaging
  • LTI support
  • Self-hosting

Only in Seesaw

  • Digital portfolios
  • Creative tools
  • Family messaging
  • Activity library
  • Assessment
  • Translation
  • Multimodal responses
  • Mobile apps

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Sakai

  • A university whose data protection policy or national regulation requires student coursework to stay on institution-controlled infrastructure inside a specific jurisdiction.not Seesaw
  • An institution that has been repriced twice by a commercial LMS vendor after ownership changes and wants a platform with no owner to sell it.not Seesaw
  • A university with an existing Java and Tomcat operations team, where the marginal cost of running one more Java application is genuinely low.not Seesaw
  • A consortium of institutions sharing one deployment and one set of local integrations rather than each paying separate per-student licences.not Seesaw

Seesaw

  • Student portfoliosnot Sakai
  • Family communicationnot Sakai
  • Formative assessmentnot Sakai
  • Student voicenot Sakai

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Sakai

  • The zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.
  • The third-party teaching tool ecosystem builds and tests for Canvas first, so Sakai adopters do their own LTI integration work and occasionally wait for a vendor to certify against a platform it does not prioritise.
  • Because governance is a foundation of member institutions rather than a company, a feature only gets built if some institution funds an engineer to build it, so roadmap commitments are weaker than a vendor contract provides.
  • The interface, while improved through the version 20 to 25 cycle, still reads as older than Canvas or Brightspace, and academic staff who have used a commercial LMS elsewhere notice it immediately.
  • Adoption is concentrated in specific regions and sectors, so the pool of people who have run Sakai in production is small, making it harder to hire an administrator than for Moodle or Canvas.

Seesaw

  • Seesaw Starter limited to 1 active class per teacher and 35 students maximum
  • Free tier only offers 35 activities and 5 multimedia items per post
  • No individual teacher subscriptions available; requires school or district purchase
  • Paid licenses start at $2,500 USD minimum per school or district

Pricing, plan by plan

Sakai

Free
  • SakaiFree
    • Educational Community Licence, no licence fee
    • Full source on GitHub
    • Community support through Apereo lists and Jira
  • Commercial hosting and support$undefined/year
    • Provided by Apereo affiliates such as Longsight
    • Hosting, upgrades, backups and support
    • Quoted per institution, commonly by student headcount

Seesaw

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Digital portfolios
    • Family messaging
    • Basic activities
  • Seesaw Plus$12/month
    • All free features
    • Advanced activities
    • Skill-based learning
  • Seesaw for Schools$undefined/month
    • Admin tools
    • Analytics
    • SSO

Which should you pick?

Choose Sakai if

  • You need course sites.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tests and quizzes.
Sakai review

Choose Seesaw if

  • You need digital portfolios.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, Chromebook.
  • You also want creative tools.
Seesaw review

Questions people ask

Is Sakai or Seesaw better?
Neither clearly leads. Sakai starts at Free and Seesaw at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sakai or Seesaw?
Sakai starts at Free and Seesaw at Free.
Does Sakai or Seesaw run on more platforms?
Sakai runs on Web, Linux, iOS, Android. Seesaw runs on Web, IOS, Android, Chromebook.
Can I use Sakai for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Sakai best used for?
Sakai is most often used for a university whose data protection policy or national regulation requires student coursework to stay on institution-controlled infrastructure inside a specific jurisdiction., an institution that has been repriced twice by a commercial lms vendor after ownership changes and wants a platform with no owner to sell it., a university with an existing java and tomcat operations team, where the marginal cost of running one more java application is genuinely low., a consortium of institutions sharing one deployment and one set of local integrations rather than each paying separate per-student licences.. Of those, a university whose data protection policy or national regulation requires student coursework to stay on institution-controlled infrastructure inside a specific jurisdiction. and an institution that has been repriced twice by a commercial lms vendor after ownership changes and wants a platform with no owner to sell it. are not what Seesaw is typically brought in for.
What can Sakai do that Seesaw cannot?
Sakai covers Course sites, Tests and Quizzes, Gradebook, Lessons. Seesaw covers Digital portfolios, Creative tools, Family messaging, Activity library.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Sakai: Is Sakai still actively developed?

Yes. Version 25.0 shipped in 2025, 25.1 followed in November 2025, and further maintenance releases in the 25 line are planned, with commits continuing through 2026.

Seesaw: Is Seesaw free to use?

Seesaw offers a free tier called Seesaw Starter. Effective June 30, 2026, Seesaw Starter is limited to 1 active class per teacher, 35 students maximum, 35 activities, and 5 multimedia items per post. Paid plans are available for schools and districts only.

Source
Sakai: Who owns Sakai?

No company does. Governance sits with the Apereo Foundation, a membership organisation of institutions, and the code is under the Educational Community Licence.

Seesaw: What grade levels does Seesaw support?

Seesaw is designed for elementary education from pre-kindergarten through 6th grade. It serves as the only elementary Learning Experience Platform with award-winning tools for joyful, inclusive instruction.

Source
Sakai: What does it actually cost to run?

The software is free. The cost is Java hosting and staff, or a commercial hosting agreement with an Apereo affiliate such as Longsight, typically quoted by student headcount.

Seesaw: What new features are coming to Seesaw in 2026?

As of June 30, 2026, Seesaw Starter users gain AI-powered tools with included credits, Student Highlights Folders, and Post Visibility Settings to control who can see sensitive student work.

Source
Sakai: How does it compare to Moodle?

Moodle has a far larger plugin ecosystem and installed base; Sakai has a cleaner assessment and gradebook model and is more common in research-intensive universities. Moodle is easier to hire for.

Sakai: Can we migrate off it later?

Yes, but course content export fidelity through Common Cartridge is imperfect, so budget for manual rebuilding of assessments as you would leaving any LMS.

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