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Blackboard Learning Management vs Totara Learn comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Blackboard Learning Management
Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Totara Learn
Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Blackboard Learning Management is 1.0%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Totara Learn is 1.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Blackboard Learning Management1.0%
Totara Learn1.1%
Other97.9%
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
 

Featured Reviews

JS
Senior Consultant / Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consistently supports dynamic learning environments and strengthens educational interactions
Since I've been working with Blackboard Learning Management for an extended period, I've witnessed its evolution and consistent dedication to pedagogy. The platform's ability to deliver exams and content in a technical way is superior to most other platforms. This delivery system allows for establishing checkpoints before progressing to new content, ensuring students understand current material before moving forward. The platform offers various conditions for content progression and exams. Students can take exams multiple times at the instructor's discretion, requiring specific passing scores for content release. Additionally, peer-reviewed paper submissions can be required before accessing new content. If a student struggles with an exam section, the system halts the exam and allows review of the specific content they might not understand. The adaptive release feature is particularly interesting as it customizes the learning environment for individual students, including those with special needs or delivery requirements. The platform checks documents for accessibility, sending alerts for missing alt text in images and can generate automatic alt text. This ensures compliance with universal design laws, similar to U.S. 508 compliance. While specific measurable benefits cannot be specified since this course has always been delivered through Blackboard Learning Management, the course has grown from 12 students to nearly 200 at semester start. The structured delivery enables incorporation of additional teaching assistants due to uniform methodologies. The platform's compatibility for data export to other institutions opens interesting revenue streams through course sharing agreements, which has influenced my consistent choice to work with it.
SK
Developer, Tech Lead at iT corner
Plug-and-play LMS and allows for separate instances for different organizations or departments
The look and feel is not good. Totara Learn needs to improve its look and feel and make it easier to use and more user-friendly. The interface is okay, but sometimes it's messy. Totara needs to improve the UI part as well and make it easier to use for the admin side. AI capabilities are in beta phase. I think they have implemented some AI features in the model, but right now, I'm not aware of what AI features have been implemented. So, Totara also needs to implement some AI things in the model, like suggesting courses according to users' needs or interests.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Blackboard is our main ally as a learning management system, allowing us to manage all of our courses, implement them on our own platform, and obtain detailed user statistics while supporting thousands of users with stable performance."
"Blackboard enables instructors to collectively gather all the grading data into one place. If students upload content or post it to a Google Doc, I can do my grading and calculate the grades. It is an excellent holding place for all of that data"
"It encompasses various components, including course delivery modules, content management, community engagement features, digital classrooms, and mobile integration."
"It is scalable."
"The real-time live interactions have been great."
"One of the most important features is the possibility of creating unlimited subdomains."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Meeting dynamic educational requirements with Blackboard Learning Management's adaptability and personalized learning environments is the main reason for success in academic performance in this business school."
"The multi-tenancy features of Totara Learn are the most useful for training efficiency."
"The tool's deployment is not complex."
 

Cons

"There are some minor bugs which will be resolved in upcoming updates."
"The system falls short in terms of managing assessments and exams effectively."
"While Blackboard Learning Management may not excel in flexibility compared to some competitors, maintaining a consistent underlying structure is critical for course export and import functionalities, especially when scaling."
"Blackboard has limitations in terms of delivering content and assessing student assignments because it can't handle large file sizes. It's also limited in its ability to track student activity. Instructors can see the student's most recent login, but they can't follow the activity."
"There was a reason you needed to do updates, including in the middle of semesters; you couldn't even maintain functionality through a 16-week semester."
"It would be ideal to create a more responsive or more intuitive template for access from telephones or tablets."
"Without this application, access to courses using some devices is a little complicated."
"The solution is not flexible."
"The challenge was understanding the entire solution, particularly its capabilities for managing training within a distributed organization. As part of a group of companies, some with training hubs and others working differently, the need for different tenants arose. This helps organize the training offerings centrally, addressing the challenge of a multi-tenant solution, which wasn't fully grasped initially."
"Totara Learn needs to improve the look and feel, and make it easier to use, more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product pricing tends to be higher than alternatives."
"At the beginning, you can choose a basic plan. As your users grow you can buy a more expensive license."
"It's not expensive. It's user-based."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
14%
Educational Organization
12%
Government
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Blackboard Learning Management?
To make Blackboard Learning Management better, I believe maintaining, updating, and upgrading the content is the key success factor for the platform to provide value to students.
What is your primary use case for Blackboard Learning Management?
I use Blackboard Learning Management in a business school. I utilize it to take courses and lessons in a virtual way.
What advice do you have for others considering Blackboard Learning Management?
I assess the impact of Blackboard Learning Management's interactive tools for student engagement and collaboration in my education environment by focusing on reviewing, reading, and listening to th...
What needs improvement with Totara Learn?
The look and feel is not good. Totara Learn needs to improve its look and feel and make it easier to use and more user-friendly. The interface is okay, but sometimes it's messy. Totara needs to imp...
What advice do you have for others considering Totara Learn?
For people who need a highly scalable, multi-tenant LMS on a low budget, this is a good option. It's a very good option in the market, low-priced, and a very good LMS. Overall, I would rate it an e...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Totara Learn?
It's not expensive. It's user-based. If you want to plug in, you can use that plan. It's not expensive. I think it's around $100 or something if you want to use it. You can buy the system and imple...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Derby, University of Warwick, John Moore's University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Blackboard Learning Management vs. Totara Learn and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.