Moodle
A full course system for lessons, quizzes and review; sensible for a class, excessive for ordering one coffee.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-10
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- GPL-3.0+
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- mobilewebself-hostedself-host, real ops
- Installation
- Upload the PHP release to a web server, create a database and moodledata directory, then complete the browser installer
- Operational Setup
- PHP and database requirements, protected writable storage, cron, SMTP, backups and upgrades are all the operator's responsibility
- Where Your Data Lives
- Courses, users, grades and settings in SQL; uploaded files in the separate moodledata directory
- The Catch / Trade-off
- Moodle supplies no expert-made language curriculum, pronunciation engine or daily conversational flow, and running an LMS is excessive for one learner.
Replaces 11 paid apps
up to $317.83/mo ($3,814/yr) in subscriptions
Moodle FAQ
Common questions
Is Moodle free and open source?+
Moodle is an open-source tool licensed under GPL-3.0+ that runs on local or hosted. A full course system for lessons, quizzes and review; sensible for a class, excessive for ordering one coffee.
What paid software does Moodle replace?+
Moodle serves as a free replacement for 11 paid SaaS applications: Babbel, Blackboard Learn, Brilliant, Busuu Premium, Duolingo Super, LearnWorlds, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, Skillshare, Teachable, Thinkific, saving up to $317.83/month ($3,814/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up Moodle?+
Installation: Upload the PHP release to a web server, create a database and moodledata directory, then complete the browser installer. Setup notes: PHP and database requirements, protected writable storage, cron, SMTP, backups and upgrades are all the operator's responsibility
What is the catch or trade-off with Moodle?+
Moodle supplies no expert-made language curriculum, pronunciation engine or daily conversational flow, and running an LMS is excessive for one learner.