Open-source Udemy alternatives

Open edX Platform is the core code of the Open edX project, which provides an LMS, where learners take courses, and Studio, where course authors build them. The maintainers describe it as powering education sites around the world, and it is aimed at institutions and companies that run their own online courses.

The repository is a Python backend service released under the AGPL-3.0 licence, with named releases such as the Birch release. The project website could not be read when this entry was written, so details beyond the repository description are limited. Deployments are typically operated by the organization or by a hosting provider, rather than as a single downloadable application.

Moodle is an open-source learning platform used by universities, schools, companies and other organizations. It is designed so that educators, administrators and learners can create personalized learning environments within a single integrated system.

The project is written in PHP and released under the GNU GPL v3. The Moodle site is the hub for a community that includes spaces for educators, administrators and developers, along with Moodle Moot events, developer meetings and the Moodle User Association. User documentation, developer documentation and a demo site let you evaluate it before committing.

You can download Moodle and run it on your own web server, or work with one of the Moodle Partners. Hosting is also offered through MoodleCloud and the partner network, so organizations without technical staff have a managed route.

Frappe Learning is an open-source learning management system designed to be simple to use. It started in 2021 when the authors needed a platform for Mon.School at FOSS United and found existing options such as Moodle too cumbersome for creating a course. It grew into a standalone product aimed at anyone who wants to publish a course and share knowledge.

Courses follow a three-level structure: a course holds chapters and chapters group lessons, so each lesson has context. Learners can be grouped into batches, and Zoom live classes can be created from within the app for each batch. Instructors can build quizzes with single-choice, multiple-choice or open-ended questions, and set assignments that learners submit as PDFs or documents.

When a learner finishes a course or batch, instructors can grant a certificate using the built-in template or one of their own. The application is built on the Frappe Framework with TypeScript, JavaScript and Python, and it is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Documentation and a project website are available, and the codebase welcomes contributions.

Tutor is the official Docker-based distribution of Open edX, the open-source learning management platform. Its goal is to make Open edX easy to deploy, customize, upgrade and scale, both for production and local development, and the project says it is used to run hundreds of Open edX platforms around the world.

Everything runs in Docker, with a quick one-command installation and upgrade path, and it can also be deployed on Kubernetes. A plugin architecture handles extensions, and batteries-included options cover theming, SCORM, HTTPS, the mobile app and custom translations. The documentation includes a user guide, developer guide, command-line reference, hooks, a template patch catalog and an FAQ.

Tutor is written in Python and licensed under AGPL-3.0, and it is self-hosted on your own servers. For organizations that want help, Edly offers professional assistance with Open edX installation and management as a paid service, separate from the software itself. Tutor suits universities, training companies and course providers that want to run their own learning platform.