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LMS · head to head

Totara vs Violentmonkey

Totara logo

Totara

LMS

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Violentmonkey logo

Violentmonkey

Browser Extensions

Open source userscript manager

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Violentmonkey has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Violentmonkey smaller script ecosystem compared to Tampermonkey which has larger user base and more available scripts
  • They diverge on capability: Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Violentmonkey covers Userscript support.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Totara and Violentmonkey actually diverge.

Attributes where Totara and Violentmonkey differ
AttributeTotaraViolentmonkey
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, LinuxChrome, Firefox, Edge
CategoryLMSBrowser Extensions
FoundedUnknown2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Totara

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

Only in Violentmonkey

  • Userscript support
  • Clean interface
  • Cloud sync
  • Script editor
  • Chrome support
  • Firefox support
  • Edge support
  • Opera support

What people use each for

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

Totara

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

Violentmonkey

  • Run open-source userscripts to customize or automate web pagesnot Totara
  • Import scripts compatible with Greasemonkey and Tampermonkey formatsnot Totara
  • Sync scripts and settings across browsers via Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, or WebDAVnot Totara
  • Batch import/export scripts as zip filesnot Totara

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Violentmonkey

  • Smaller script ecosystem compared to Tampermonkey which has larger user base and more available scripts
  • Less marketing and visibility results in lower adoption compared to more widely-known alternatives
  • Community maintenance model means slower feature development compared to commercial alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Violentmonkey

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Violentmonkey review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Totara if

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

Choose Violentmonkey if

  • You need userscript support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Chrome, Firefox, Edge.
  • You also want clean interface.
Violentmonkey review

Questions people ask

Is Totara or Violentmonkey better?
Neither clearly leads. Totara starts at On request and Violentmonkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Totara or Violentmonkey?
Violentmonkey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Totara and Free for Violentmonkey.
Does Totara or Violentmonkey run on more platforms?
Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Violentmonkey runs on Chrome, Firefox, Edge.
Can I use Violentmonkey for free?
Yes. Violentmonkey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Totara starts at On request.
What is Totara best used for?
Totara is most often used for health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchy, organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructure, moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carry, buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendor. Of those, health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchy and organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructure are not what Violentmonkey is typically brought in for.
What can Totara do that Violentmonkey cannot?
Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage. Violentmonkey covers Userscript support, Clean interface, Cloud sync, Script editor.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Violentmonkey: Is Violentmonkey open-source?

Yes. Violentmonkey is fully open-source and available on GitHub, making it free to use and community-maintained unlike Tampermonkey which has a larger proprietary ecosystem.

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.

Violentmonkey: What browsers does Violentmonkey support?

Violentmonkey works on browsers with WebExtensions support, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers.

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.

Violentmonkey: How does Violentmonkey compare to Tampermonkey in performance?

Community benchmarks show Violentmonkey uses about 15 to 30 percent less RAM on Chrome compared to Tampermonkey when managing many open tabs.

Source
Violentmonkey: What is the current version of Violentmonkey?

Violentmonkey reached version 2.46.0 as of July 31, 2026, with active ongoing development and regular updates to the open-source project.

Source
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