Blackboardvs
Canvas
Canvas: Learning management system for course management and student engagement
Blackboard
Comprehensive learning platform for educational institutions
As of 30 August 2026, Blackboard starts at $10/year. Blackboard is a comprehensive learning platform designed for educational institutions of all sizes. Softwr lists it under Education. Blackboard is made by Anthology Inc, launched in 1997, available on Web.
Overview
What Blackboard does
Blackboard is a comprehensive learning platform designed for educational institutions of all sizes. With tools for course delivery, student engagement, and institutional effectiveness, Blackboard helps educators transform learning experiences and improve student outcomes through data-driven insights and innovative technology.
What people use it for
- Course delivery
- Student engagement
- Assessment
- Virtual learning
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Blackboard.
- User interface is outdated, cluttered, and unintuitive with hidden menus and excessive clicks
- Slow response times and platform crashes when opening multiple tabs simultaneously
- Cannot track detailed student activity beyond most recent login information
- Limited ability to handle large file uploads for content and assignments
- Minimal customization options for page and template design
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Blackboard
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- BlackboardvsMoodle
Moodle: Open-source LMS for course delivery and online learning management
- BlackboardvsSchoology
Schoology: Cloud-based learning management platform for K-12 and higher education
Capabilities
Features
Course management
Assessment tools
Discussion boards
Virtual classroom
Gradebook
Mobile app
Analytics
Accessibility
SIS systems
Integration with SIS systems
Turnitin
Integration with Turnitin
Zoom
Integration with Zoom
Microsoft 365
Integration with Microsoft 365
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
What does Blackboard LMS offer?
Blackboard is a learning management system that includes course management, assignment and gradebook tools, discussion forums, and analytics for tracking learner progress in online, hybrid, and in-person courses.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Blackboard
- Company
- Anthology Inc
- Based in
- Boca Raton, Florida
- Founders
- Michael Chasen, Matthew Pittinsky
Timeline
Blackboard over time
Keep looking
Where to go from Blackboard
- Blackboard alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Blackboard pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Blackboard badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Education softwareThe full category
- Best Education softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Education software for
Compare Blackboard with
- Miro Education
- Open edX
- 360Learning
- Pluralsight
- Rosetta Stone
- Labster
- Wooclap
- Gimkit
- Khan Academy
- Babbel
- DataCamp
- Skyward
- Flowkey
- GoGuardian
- GoStudent
- Melodics
- PictureThis
- Replit AI Agent
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11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Blackboard, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Blackboard
Blackboard alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Blackboard pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Blackboard
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Blackboard badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Education software alternatives
Piano learning app with microphone or MIDI listening and a large licensed song catalogue
Per user per year or month
Cognitive skills training app from Elevate Labs covering reading, writing, maths and speaking games
Free with a Pro subscription
Brain training game app from Lumos Labs, which paid an FTC settlement in 2016 over unsupported cognitive improvement claims
Free with a subscription
Vocabulary and spaced repetition language app built around video clips of native speakers
Free with a Pro subscription
Language learning app with a community correction feature, owned by Chegg since 2022
Free with a Premium subscriptionMIDI-only practice app for keyboard, pad controllers and electronic drums, precise rather than beginner-gentle
Per user per month or year
Free citizen-science checklist app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology for logging bird sightings
Free, no ads and no in-app purchases
Free open source spaced repetition flashcard app, free everywhere except iOS where it is a paid one-time purchase
Open source, no licence fee except a paid iOS app