We performed a comparison between Google Classroom and Moodle based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: Users appreciate Google Classroom for its simplicity, intuitive design, and seamless integration with Google applications. Moodle has earned high marks for its adaptability, extensive customization options, and diverse feature set, including course backup and integration with platforms like Zoom and Teams. Some users have said that Google Classroom lacks certain features of a true learning management system, has a confusing interface, and struggles with tracking assignments and feedback. It also has limited collaboration. Moodle could enhance its interface, mobile operation, and reporting features. Users say they would like to see better integration with social media, an easier setup process, and enhancements in the user interface
Service and Support: Some Google Classroom users reported challenges in obtaining assistance, while others value the forums and resources provided. Moodle's support quality depends on the circumstances. Some users reported prompt issue resolution from the team. Others expressed a desire for improvement.
Ease of Deployment: Google Classroom's initial setup is simple and quick, requiring only a few minutes to complete. Moodle's setup process is somewhat more involved. Users may require technical skills and additional training to implement Moodle correctly.
Pricing: Google Classroom pricing varies depending on the type of customer. Educational institutions can access the platform for free, but private companies need to pay. Customers may incur additional expenses for storage and integration. Moodle is a free open-source product with no yearly or monthly fees. However, companies may need to spend money to customize and integrate Moodle.
ROI: Google Classroom does not offer a quantifiable return on investment, whereas Moodle has proven to be a valuable and efficient solution, resulting in financial and time savings.
Comparison Results: According to our reviews, users prefer Google Classroom over Moodle. Users appreciate its easy-to-use interface, integration with other Google apps, and the ability to communicate with students and assign points. They also say that uploading class materials is easy and convenient. Users find Moodle's interface and mobile operation less user-friendly and in need of improvement. Overall, users like Google Classroom better because of its simplicity, convenience, and responsiveness to user feedback.
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The most valuable features of Google Classroom are the meetings, mark book, and assignments."
"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is the ability to share my lectures with many students, assign tasks to be completed, and overall student engagement."
"I would rate the initial setup a nine out of ten. It is very straightforward."
"I like that Google Classroom is free and integrates with the entire Google Suite, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, etc. I also like its flexibility, which makes it perfect for synchronous, asynchronous, and blended courses, and including live and archived webinars, as well as other kinds of content."
"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is the ability for the lecturer to put in work. Additionally, the work can be graded after completion, and there can be feedback provided through the system which has a good interface."
"What I like about Google Classroom are the video lessons. I enjoy using it because it makes my life easier, for example, I can easily change my class and my lecture notes."
"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is the ability to meet people and it is online."
"The best thing about Moodle is that it is open source and has many useful plugins. It is a great solution for an organization that needs modifications and customization."
"Moodle has a vast array of features which are really useful for the work our company does. Moodle hosts the courses through online systems and also offers quizzes and badges which our customers frequently use."
"The fact that it's modular means you can easily expand with thousands of plugins that you can freely download from Moodle headquarters, and adding or removing functionality is easy."
"A really nice thing about Moodle is that it is very robust and flexible, and one of the big advantages of Moodle is that it is open source. It also has a lot of free documentation."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"What I liked most about Moodle was that I could create nice online quizzes. It takes very little time to do. You don't have to even read the paper, it automatically evaluates the quizzes. It gives the student grades and provides a lot of useful statistics. For example, it indicates which question was the hardest, easiest, and where students made the most mistakes. Everything is available to you. You couldn't do this in regular paper test hard copies. This was my first use case."
"The solution is stable."
"Cost-effective and intuitive."
"The solution's GUI is an area of concern currently that can be considered for improvement in the future."
"Google Classroom could improve by being easier to use. For example, making it functional with only a few buttons. It's difficult to know how to connect with students and make a link and share it with them. I found it difficult, and this is why I didn't continue using it. Additionally, it should be available to be downloaded to the desktop for use, similar to Zoom."
"Google Classroom could improve by having better integration with other platforms, such as Google Meet."
"The product should provide features that allow teachers to be on video while taking the class."
"It would be useful if this solution had its own online teaching platform with an integration with a Google video conferencing tool."
"I like Google Classroom the way it is, but an area for improvement could be its dashboard."
"The user interface of Google Classroom could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Initially, the product's initial setup phase may not seem user-friendly."
"One aspect that I found a bit confusing was the dual editing system, where you could edit the layout of the course separately from editing the content."
"For a first time user, especially someone who is non-technical, Moodle is difficult for them to understand and they often need assistance."
"The multi-tenancy system within Moodle could be improved. IOMAD is what makes the multi-tenancy possible but this comes with many issues."
"It would be good to have a feature that would ensure that students are the ones performing the given assessment."
"Moodle's weakest point is the user interface."
"The ability to input modified, individual, independent grades in a grade center component is not just hard. It almost always requires you to get tech involved. When you're dealing with a learning system where you have people in an open enrollment with all different levels of learning modes or methodologies, and as well as a worldwide student body, you end up with situations where you have to absolutely exempt somebody from a grade or an assignment and enter a new, different kind of assignment because of their skillset or lack thereof. You can't do that in Moodle. It is virtually impossible to do that in Moodle without having a tech do it for you, and when you have to have that level of tech support, it becomes problematic. They need to fix the grade book center. It is the part where you do evaluations. They need to fix it so that the individual professors can make changes directly without having to get a hold of tech support to do it for them."
"It would be a benefit if there was an easy single sign-on with social media services for Moodle. There are some plugins that I tried, but they didn't work seamlessly. it is a work in progress. Having the single sign-on with social media services would be appreciated because in my school we are using Google suite and the main reason why we use Google Classroom is that it is integrated seamlessly with the suite."
"Moodle could improve by being more user-friendly. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. If you get stuck, then you don't have a point of contact. Additionally, a VPN is required to make sure the connection is secured."
Google Classroom is ranked 3rd in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 23 reviews while Moodle is ranked 2nd in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 26 reviews. Google Classroom is rated 8.2, while Moodle is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Google Classroom writes "An easy-to-use and intuitive solution that can be used to facilitate excellent teaching and learning". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Moodle writes "Inexpensive and pretty easy to use, but not easily adaptable for an individual". Google Classroom is most compared with Canvas LMS, Blackboard Learning Management and CYPHER Learning, whereas Moodle is most compared with SAP SuccessFactors Learning, CYPHER Learning, Chamilo LMS, Cornerstone Learning and TalentLMS. See our Google Classroom vs. Moodle report.
See our list of best Learning Management Systems (LMS) vendors.
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