# Best open source software for schools and education > For a school or university, a self-hosted stack starts with Moodle for courses, Gibbon for school administration and BigBlueButton for online classes. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source software for schools? | | Picks | 15 | | Top pick | Moodle (7,468 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-schools | Schools and universities have used open-source learning platforms for decades. This stack covers the LMS, school management, video classes, surveys, collaboration and accounts. ## Learning management (LMS) - [Moodle](https://appsgit.com/apps/moodle) (7,468 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): 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. - [Canvas LMS](https://appsgit.com/apps/canvas-lms) (6,862 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby): 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. - [Open edX](https://appsgit.com/apps/open-edx) (8,198 stars, AGPL-3.0, Python, Docker): 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. - [Chamilo LMS](https://appsgit.com/apps/chamilo-lms) (1,009 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): 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. ## School management - [Gibbon](https://appsgit.com/apps/gibbon) (634 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): Gibbon has 634 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 286 commits in the last year. - [Open eClass](https://appsgit.com/apps/open-eclass) (167 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): Open eClass has 167 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,297 commits in the last year. ## Video classes - [BigBlueButton](https://appsgit.com/apps/bigbluebutton) (9,236 stars, LGPL-3.0, JavaScript): BigBlueButton has 9,236 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-3.0 license and had 1,497 commits in the last year; it replaces Zoom and Google Meet. - [Jitsi Meet](https://appsgit.com/apps/jitsi-meet) (30,044 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Jitsi Meet has 30,044 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 797 commits in the last year; it replaces Zoom and Google Meet. ## Forms and surveys - [LimeSurvey](https://appsgit.com/apps/limesurvey) (3,744 stars, GPL-2.0, JavaScript): LimeSurvey has 3,744 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,385 commits in the last year; it replaces Typeform and Google Forms. - [Formbricks](https://appsgit.com/apps/formbricks) (13,065 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Formbricks has 13,065 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,403 commits in the last year; it replaces Typeform and Google Forms. ## Collaboration - [Nextcloud](https://appsgit.com/apps/nextcloud) (37,003 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): Nextcloud has 37,003 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 7,289 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox. - [CryptPad](https://appsgit.com/apps/cryptpad) (7,989 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): CryptPad has 7,989 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 477 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Docs and Google Workspace. - [Etherpad](https://appsgit.com/apps/etherpad) (18,563 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Etherpad has 18,563 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 922 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Docs and Dropbox Paper. ## Accounts - [Keycloak](https://appsgit.com/apps/keycloak) (37,156 stars, Apache-2.0, Java, Docker): Keycloak has 37,156 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,157 commits in the last year; it replaces Auth0 and Okta. - [LLDAP](https://appsgit.com/apps/lldap) (6,546 stars, GPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): LLDAP has 6,546 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 87 commits in the last year. ## How this list was made - Apps were picked by hand from the appsgit catalog for each job, then checked against the snapshot: unknown or archived projects and projects with no commit in two years are dropped automatically. - Inside each section the curated order is kept, most broadly useful first; an app appears only once on the page. - Stars, license, Docker and activity facts come from the GitHub API as of October 2026. ## FAQ ### What is the most popular open source LMS? By GitHub stars in this catalog, Open edX, Moodle and Canvas LMS lead. Moodle is a long-standing choice for schools and universities, and Open edX powers large online course platforms. ### Is student data safe when self-hosted? Self-hosting keeps student records on servers the school controls, which helps with GDPR, FERPA and similar rules. You still need access control, backups, updates and a data-protection process. ### Is Moodle free? Yes. Moodle 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? 7 of the 15 apps here publish Docker images, including Open edX, Jitsi Meet and Formbricks, 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. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source student management system?](https://appsgit.com/best/student-management-systems) - [What are the best open source AI tools for schools and teachers?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-education) - [What is the best open source software for restaurants and hotels?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-restaurants) - [What is the best open source software for manufacturing?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-manufacturing) - [What is the best open source software for logistics and delivery?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-logistics) - [What is the best open source software for law firms?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-law-firms) - [What are the best open source AI tools for lawyers?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-law-firms) - [What is the best open source HR and recruiting software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hr) ## See also - [All learning management (LMS) apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/learning) - [All video conferencing & VoIP apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/video-conferencing) - [All polls, surveys & events apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/polls-events) - [All file sync & storage apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/file-sync-storage) - [Open-source alternatives to Teachable](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/teachable) - [Open-source alternatives to Thinkific](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/thinkific) - [Open-source alternatives to Blackboard Learn](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/blackboard) - [Open-source alternatives to TalentLMS](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/talentlms) - [Open-source alternatives to Zoom](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/zoom) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Meet](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-meet) - [Jitsi Meet vs BigBlueButton](https://appsgit.com/compare/jitsi-meet-vs-bigbluebutton) - [Frappe Learning vs Moodle](https://appsgit.com/compare/frappe-lms-vs-moodle) - [Nextcloud vs ownCloud](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-owncloud) - [Nextcloud vs Seafile](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-seafile) - [Nextcloud vs Syncthing](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-syncthing) - [Keycloak vs authentik](https://appsgit.com/compare/keycloak-vs-authentik) - [How to self-host Nextcloud with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/nextcloud) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-schools Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.