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3 jobs · 9 apps

Best open source student management systems

For a school, a self-hosted stack starts with Gibbon for school management, Moodle for courses and enrolment and admidio for member records. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.

Gibbon is the one app in the catalog that describes itself as a school management platform for teachers, students, parents and leaders. The learning management systems below manage courses and the students enrolled in them; check each one for the administration features you need.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Gibbon

    GibbonEdu/core

    Flexible school management platform designed to make life better for teachers, students, parents and leaders.

    Learning Management (LMS)PHP

    Gibbon has 634 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 286 commits in the last year.

  2. Rank 2:

    Open eClass

    gunet/openeclass

    Open eClass is an advanced e-learning solution that can enhance the teaching and learning process.

    Learning Management (LMS)PHP

    Open eClass has 167 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,297 commits in the last year.

1 of 3 · 2 picks

School management

  1. 1

    Gibbon

    Flexible school management platform designed to make life better for teachers, students, parents and leaders.

    Gibbon has 634 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 286 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Open eClass

    Open eClass is an advanced e-learning solution that can enhance the teaching and learning process.

    Open eClass has 167 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,297 commits in the last year.

2 of 3 · 6 picks

Learning management systems

  1. 1

    Moodle

    The world's most widely used open-source learning platform for schools, universities and companies.

    Moodle has 7,468 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 3,502 commits in the last year; it replaces Teachable and Thinkific.

  2. 2

    Canvas LMS

    Learning management system (LMS) that is revolutionizing the way we educate.

    Canvas LMS has 6,862 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 4,416 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn.

  3. 3

    Open edX

    The LMS and Studio authoring platform behind edX, deployed with the Docker-based Tutor distribution.

    Open edX has 8,198 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,319 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn and TalentLMS.

  4. 4

    Chamilo LMS

    Create a virtual campus for the provision of online or semi-online training.

    Chamilo LMS has 1,009 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 5,508 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn and TalentLMS.

  5. 5

    ILIAS

    Learning management system that can cope with anything you throw at it.

    ILIAS has 505 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 1,649 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn.

  6. 6

    OpenOLAT

    Learning management system for teaching, education, assessment and communication.

    OpenOLAT has 446 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 3,324 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn.

3 of 3 · 1 pick

Members and groups

  1. 1

    admidio

    User management system for websites of organizations and groups. The system has a flexible role model so that it’s possible to reflect the structure and permissions of your organization.

    admidio has 478 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,017 commits in the last year.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source student management system?

For a school, a self-hosted stack starts with Gibbon for school management, Moodle for courses and enrolment and admidio for member records. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.

Is an LMS the same as a student management system?

Not quite. A student information or school management system handles admissions, timetables, attendance and reports; an LMS delivers courses and assignments. Gibbon is the school management option here; Moodle, Canvas LMS and Open edX are LMS platforms.

Is Gibbon free?

Yes. Gibbon is open-source software released under the GPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I run this stack with Docker?

2 of the 9 apps here publish Docker images, including Open edX and admidio, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups.

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