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Chamilo LMS vs Canvas LMS: catalog facts
Chamilo LMS	Canvas LMS
Best for: Schools and training organisations hosting their own e-learning platform	Best for: Institutions that want a widely used LMS they can host themselves
Free Free and open source under GPL-3.0; training and certifications are offered separately.	Free + paid options Self-hosting the AGPL code is free; Instructure's hosted Canvas is sold to institutions.
Web, Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted
Broad course, assignment and attendance features Can import courses from Moodle All 4 strengths for Chamilo LMS Broad course, assignment and attendance features Can import courses from Moodle API for integration with other business systems Long-running project with active development	Widely used LMS with a large ecosystem Integrates with more than 1000 external tools All 3 strengths for Canvas LMS Widely used LMS with a large ecosystem Integrates with more than 1000 external tools Full source available under the AGPL
Needs a server to host and maintain Many features to configure for a small setup	Self-hosting a production instance is complex Product website focuses on the paid hosted service
Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Hosted service
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Chamilo LMS chamilo.org github.com/chamilo/chamilo-lms Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Canvas LMS instructure.com/canvas github.com/instructure/canvas-lms Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.