# 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. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source student management system? | | Picks | 9 | | Top pick | Gibbon (634 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/student-management-systems | 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. ## 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. ## Learning management systems - [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. - [ILIAS](https://appsgit.com/apps/ilias) (505 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): ILIAS has 505 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 1,649 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn. - [OpenOLAT](https://appsgit.com/apps/openolat) (446 stars, Apache-2.0, Java): OpenOLAT has 446 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 3,324 commits in the last year; it replaces Blackboard Learn. ## Members and groups - [admidio](https://appsgit.com/apps/admidio) (478 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP, Docker): admidio has 478 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,017 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 ### 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. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source LMS?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-lms) - [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 HR & time tracking apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/time-tracking) - [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) - [Frappe Learning vs Moodle](https://appsgit.com/compare/frappe-lms-vs-moodle) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/student-management-systems 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.