← Back to home
Comparison · EdTech

ScholarLMS vs Chamilo

A side-by-side editorial comparison of ScholarLMS and Chamilo — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:lms

ScholarLMS vs Chamilo: at a glance

FeatureScholarLMSChamilo
SectorEdTechEdTech
Velocity score0.02.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themeslms, moodle, smb, maintenance-modelms, edtech, open-source, platform-rewrite
Last editorial update1mo ago3d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is ScholarLMS?

Low-velocity Moodle reseller with sporadic batch releases — alive, but barely shipping.

ScholarLMS is a Moodle-based managed LMS for SMBs and educators. The available changelog is sparse: a March 2026 platform update (redesigned admin dashboard, new Learning Space nav, course-page improvements), a Winter 2025 batch that incorporated upstream Moodle releases plus their own course-builder tweaks, and then a multi-year gap back to 2017. The cadence reads less like an active product line and more like opportunistic catch-up releases tied to Moodle's own update cycle.

Read the full ScholarLMS trajectory →

What is Chamilo?

Chamilo is racing a Symfony/Vue 2.0 rewrite to GA while hardening the legacy 1.11 line.

Chamilo is running two tracks at once. The legacy 1.11.x line keeps shipping security and bugfix maintenance releases (1.11.38, 1.11.40), several addressing critical vulnerabilities. Meanwhile the 2.0 rewrite, a Symfony backend with a Vue frontend, is grinding through release candidates packed with plugin-system revival, LTI interoperability, ONLYOFFICE and H5P integrations, and a sweep of security fixes including removal of an eval()-based RCE.

Read the full Chamilo trajectory →

ScholarLMS vs Chamilo: editorial side-by-side

S0.0

Low-velocity Moodle reseller with sporadic batch releases — alive, but barely shipping.

◆ Current state

ScholarLMS is a Moodle-based managed LMS for SMBs and educators. The available changelog is sparse: a March 2026 platform update (redesigned admin dashboard, new Learning Space nav, course-page improvements), a Winter 2025 batch that incorporated upstream Moodle releases plus their own course-builder tweaks, and then a multi-year gap back to 2017. The cadence reads less like an active product line and more like opportunistic catch-up releases tied to Moodle's own update cycle.

◆ Where it's heading

The product is in maintenance mode. Each release bundles a long list of small improvements rather than introducing new capability surfaces, and the months between releases are long enough that returning users may not notice changes between visits. The 'Add Sections Anywhere' framing in Winter 2025 — celebrating that sections no longer have to be added sequentially — signals an underlying UX still quite close to bare Moodle.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next release to continue the same pattern: a once-a-year-ish batch with admin/learner UX polish and the latest Moodle merge. AI features have not appeared and there is no signal in the entries that they will arrive soon.

Chamilo logo
Chamilo
EDTECH
2.5

Chamilo is racing a Symfony/Vue 2.0 rewrite to GA while hardening the legacy 1.11 line.

◆ Current state

Chamilo is running two tracks at once. The legacy 1.11.x line keeps shipping security and bugfix maintenance releases (1.11.38, 1.11.40), several addressing critical vulnerabilities. Meanwhile the 2.0 rewrite, a Symfony backend with a Vue frontend, is grinding through release candidates packed with plugin-system revival, LTI interoperability, ONLYOFFICE and H5P integrations, and a sweep of security fixes including removal of an eval()-based RCE.

◆ Where it's heading

The center of gravity is the 2.0 RC series marching toward a GA that has already slipped past its milestone date. Each RC both ports legacy tools to Vue and re-enables the plugin ecosystem (CardGame, BBB, BuyCourses, XApi, Tour) on the new architecture, suggesting GA-readiness is gated on plugin parity and migration fidelity rather than new features. The parallel 1.11 security cadence signals Chamilo intends to support the old line through the transition.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued 2.0 RCs focused on migration and plugin parity before a GA cut, with the 1.11 line receiving security-only releases in the interim. The volume of security fixes inside the RCs points to a hardening push as a GA gate.

Alternatives to ScholarLMS and Chamilo

Other EdTech products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either ScholarLMS or Chamilo.

See all ScholarLMS alternatives → · See all Chamilo alternatives →

Recent activity from ScholarLMS and Chamilo

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoChamiloChamilo 1.11.40: security and bugfix maintenance release
  2. 2mo agoChamiloStop logging AI base-provider fallback events
  3. 2mo agoChamiloBump tar dependency 7.5.3 to 7.5.6
  4. 2mo agoChamiloChamilo 2.0 RC3: LTI provider, ONLYOFFICE, and plugin revival
  5. 3mo agoChamilov1.11.38
  6. 3mo agoScholarLMSPlatform Updates — March 2026
  7. 3mo agoChamilov2.0.0 RC 2
  8. 1y agoScholarLMSExciting New Enhancements Across the Platform – Winter 2025
  9. 8y agoScholarLMSReleasing ScholarLMS My Dashboard
  10. 9y agoScholarLMSMeet the New ScholarLMS Small Size – SMB Learning Management
  11. 11y agoScholarLMSJuly was a month of exciting updates at ScholarLMS

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ScholarLMS and Chamilo?

Both compete on the same themes — lms — within EdTech. Chamilo is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is ScholarLMS better than Chamilo?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Chamilo is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other EdTech products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to ScholarLMS?

Top ScholarLMS alternatives in EdTech are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ScholarLMS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/scholarlms for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Chamilo?

Top Chamilo alternatives in EdTech are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Chamilo alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/chamilo for the full list with editorial commentary on each.