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LMS · head to head

Seesaw vs Totara

Seesaw logo

Seesaw

LMS

Student-driven digital portfolios and family communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Seesaw has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Seesaw seesaw Starter limited to 1 active class per teacher and 35 students maximum; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: Seesaw covers Digital portfolios, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Seesaw and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where Seesaw and Totara differ
AttributeSeesawTotara
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, IOS, Android, ChromebookWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
Founded2013Unknown

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 Seesaw

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

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

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

Seesaw

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

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot Seesaw
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot Seesaw
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot Seesaw
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot Seesaw

Where each one falls short

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

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

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is Seesaw or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. Seesaw starts at Free and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Seesaw or Totara?
Seesaw has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Seesaw and On request for Totara.
Does Seesaw or Totara run on more platforms?
Seesaw runs on Web, IOS, Android, Chromebook. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
Can I use Seesaw for free?
Yes. Seesaw has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Totara starts at On request.
What is Seesaw best used for?
Seesaw is most often used for student portfolios, family communication, formative assessment, student voice. Of those, student portfolios and family communication are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can Seesaw do that Totara cannot?
Seesaw covers Digital portfolios, Creative tools, Family messaging, Activity library. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

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
Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

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
Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

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