Canvas LMS vs Litmos comparison

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Canvas LMS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Litmos and Canvas LMS are competing in the learning management system space. Canvas LMS has the upper hand due to its extensive feature set and superior collaborative capabilities.

Features: Litmos offers valuable features such as a user-friendly interface, a robust library of pre-built courses, and advanced scheduling and automated enrollment capabilities. Canvas LMS provides comprehensive content authoring tools, seamless integration with external tools like Zoom, and strong collaboration features for student engagement.

Room for Improvement: Litmos could enhance its auto-enrollment feature, address performance issues especially in user management, and expand its customization options for varied user interfaces. Canvas LMS would benefit from simplifying its complex deployment process, improving intuitive navigation for beginners, and streamlining the integration of third-party content.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Litmos offers a quick deployment process with responsive customer support suitable for organizations seeking rapid go-live. Canvas LMS, though requiring a more complex deployment, provides detailed support documentation that helps accommodate specific customization and integration needs.

Pricing and ROI: Litmos provides a cost-effective solution with attractive ROI, catering to budget-conscious organizations. Canvas LMS, while having a higher initial investment, offers extensive features that justify the expense with potential long-term return on investment through enhanced learning outcomes.

To learn more, read our detailed Canvas LMS vs. Litmos Report (Updated: June 2026).

Canvas LMS vs. Litmos

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Helped 900,747 peers since 2012

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

Canvas LMS

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

6th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Litmos

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Training (8th), eLearning (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Canvas LMS is 2.3%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Litmos is 1.5%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Canvas LMS	2.3%
Litmos	1.5%
Other	96.2%

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Featured Reviews

Lance Levin

Learning Magic Solutions | Managing Director at CTI

Comprehensive learning system transforms education with innovative features

The integration capability of Canvas LMS with other educational tools is probably the best for integration. They have thousands of apps that are already integrated with Canvas LMS. It uses a very simple API LTI method where you just have to input a number and then it's integrated. When assessing the analytics features and reporting features of Canvas LMS, they have comprehensive capabilities. They have reporting, attendance registers, and the back-end SIS system. The reporting is very easy and analytics is excellent. Regarding its mobile compatibility feature, Canvas LMS is probably the easiest to use. It's user-friendly and operates with simple copy and paste functionality. It operates similarly to Word, with no difficulty at all. It's extremely user-friendly. When speaking about scalability and flexibility, Canvas LMS is very scalable. Everything's on the AWS cloud, so content is not a problem offline. It's scalable because the largest universities in the world use it.

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reviewer1977519

Senior Manager II, Learning operations and multi media at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Its pricing is competitive, but the auto-assign feature that is most valuable for us hasn't been working for the last year and a half

We have a complex implementation because we have an outsourced population of over 50% of our user base. So, we have a lot of challenges. We have no HCM for user data. We have to create our own custom metadata to manage everything, and there are lots of logistical challenges in terms of implementation. If you have to go through and create a custom metadata system, as we did, and stand up all these other systems, it would take three to six months. If you have a human capital management system that's ready to go and you have all your data in the right segments and whatnot, it could be done in one to three months. In terms of maintenance, we recently re-scoped this to where we have one person that oversees the LMS as a whole, and then we have two administrators that carry out the tactical task, such as auto enrollments, user creations, and all other audit components. We also have a rotational employee that does audits on the LMS to make sure everything is working correctly.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Canvas LMS is the best solution because they have enabled scalability and cutting-edge technology transfer through Thomas Bravo, a multi-billion dollar company and will soon have the financial backing and support of KKR at close to $5 Billion."

"They have a more extensive support base in terms of infrastructure."

"The assessment tools in Canvas significantly contribute to educational outcomes by allowing instructors to create and manage assessments effectively."

"We have been using Canvas LMS, and overall, it has served our needs well for managing courses and general settings."

"Canvas LMS has positively impacted my organization by increasing student satisfaction with the learning environment noticeably."

"Its easy adaptability to whatever form or methodology you are using to teach is valuable; it tends to be seamless, and it is very much a self-intuitive product."

"The integration with Zoom is a notable feature. It allows for seamless access to live class sessions directly from Canvas after authentication, enabling quick entry into Zoom calls. You can also schedule Zoom calls or private recordings directly within Canvas, making it convenient, especially for situations like self-recording exams. Additionally, Canvas excels in collaboration and discussion capabilities. Users can engage in discussions on various topics, and there's the option to create custom groups for more focused interactions. These groups provide a level of privacy and isolation from the broader class, which is a significant advantage."

"Canvas LMS is user-friendly. Its assessment tools help to find the weaknesses and strengths of students."

More Canvas LMS pros

"It incorporates the majority of the elements."

"Its user interface is quite good, the platform is quite user-friendly, and the UI/UX of the platform is very advanced, which helps in getting the users interested in the training."

"This complete product is highly scalable, as licensing is not based on the total number of users on the system but rather only on active users, so Litmos only charges for the number of users engaged in training, which is what makes this solution ideal for scale."

"The pricing is really good; its pricing is probably the most competitive I've seen for an LMS."

"It's a viable option because LMS would entail a significant amount of support and maintenance, while this solution could be completed and understood in a week, with very little maintenance required."

"Its pricing is good, and its performance is good when it works."

"From a learning management system admin perspective, it has a user-friendly interface, but the functionality is deep. So, you can automate people in and out of courses. It lowers the general admin of an LMS admin so that I can focus more on value-adding things for the organization I'm working with."

"There is a couple of good features available, you can customize the dashboard, CSA, and home page. You can customize the solution to your business standards. SAP Litmos offers a library of 2,500 plus courses to premium members. They have a good library of pre-built courses. It's a variety of soft skill courses including management, and marketing. You can offer these courses to your students, which is excellent."

More Litmos pros

Cons

"The high-tech interactivity with other software, like ArcGIS or RSA Archer, can be better. It is not as easily compatible with them. You can put apps in it that the students can then access, but the routing of apps through the Canvas system slows down functionality on the other types of products."

"The learning curve is not steep, but it is intermediate."

"Integrating more AI capabilities for the product could enhance its functionality, particularly in automating repetitive tasks and personalizing learning experiences."

"It would be nice to be able to do more real-time comprehensive reporting with Canvas LMS."

"The product could be integrated with a talent management system."

"In our working, we are encountering many challenges with Canvas LMS. One of the major area is their business model which is having a very different pricing structure. The structure is made in such a way that the license fee is needed to be paid for the complete year even if the student has been enrolled for a programme of short duration. This structure is not conducive with our needs and hence, in the past few years, been increasing our costs manifold. Along with this, Canva LMS also lacks many functionalities such as notifications and adaptive learning. There is a specific issue with the licensing model that affects us in continuous education. The inability to reuse a license for the same course in different terms hinders our cost efficiency. For instance, if a program runs from January to April, we are required to pay for the license twice within the same academic year. This contrasts with other platforms like Hyper, where reusing a license is possible, allowing us to use the same license multiple times in different terms. Along with the use, we are exploring the integration of artificial intelligence into our processes, and Canvas LMS falls short in this regard. While some platforms allow connections with external AI services, Canvas does not currently offer built-in artificial intelligence capabilities, a feature we find valuable for enhancing the learning experience."

"It would be good to be able to do teleconferencing within the LMS."

"There are a couple of areas that could be improved. Firstly, the discussion feature is not very interactive and can be slow to respond, making it less intuitive at the moment. This is an aspect that needs substantial improvement. Another point to consider is related to the cost of the LMS system. It's perceived as relatively expensive, which has led to discussions about transitioning away from Canvas, potentially to a more cost-effective alternative. This cost-related aspect is a significant factor to consider when implementing such a system."

More Canvas LMS cons

"The rules are not very flexible in terms of administration. They have a predefined system with three standard rules that cannot be customized, modified, added, or removed."

"The reporting function of SAP Litmos needs major improvements. The reports are not at par with other solutions on the market. It's not user-friendly or effective reporting which we can retrieve from other places."

"First of all, their issue resolution is really bad."

"You cannot make a course optional, so if I assign a course to someone, the system assumes that they have to complete it."

"The reporting in Litmos could be improved. It is difficult to pull accurate reporting based on how the solution is set up and parameters are selected."

"They can really improve in the reporting area. While doing sessions, there are various types of reports, such as the attendance report or assessment report. We can export the Excel dump of the report, but it is not that neat and clean. You have to change it a lot. You can customize the Excel dump as per your requirement, but it is not that user-friendly in terms of the admin part. They can do much better. They have room for improvement in the reporting area."

"The solution lags in defined security parameters with only three predefined roles available."

"The solution lacks a variety of language options."

More Litmos cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform can be expensive for smaller organizations with fewer students."

"Canvas LMS is low-priced compared to other vendors."

"The pricing of Canvas is satisfactory for my university. We have negotiated a good price, especially considering that we are a large university with twenty-six campuses across the country. Canvas offers a favorable pricing model for academic institutions, and the cost is reasonable. However, in continuous education, the challenge lies not in the price itself but in the business model. The requirement to pay for the entire year when our students may only use the license for a shorter duration creates challenges. The inability to adjust the licensing based on actual usage is a significant drawback for us, making the effective cost higher compared to other platforms like Hyper Learning"

"Canvas LMS is an affordable solution."

"This solution comes at a high price point. We also paid $4500 for a migration specialist from Litmos to assist in moving our content over. You are billed every month based on the number of users who have logged in and completed training."

"I don't know what the pricing model is at this point in time. I'm a consultant. The organizations that have purchased Litmos engage me to help them implement it, or Litmos engage me to be their external learning management system administrator. So, I don't see the rates, but based on the general comments that I've heard, it seems cost-effective and competitive with its competitors."

"The solution is priced per user which can get expensive."

"If I have a domain and I want to link my custom domain to SAP Litmos, and if I want to remove the branding of the SAP Litmos, then they charge a large amount for it. It's not included in your subscription plan which we have purchased from them. In the last two to three years, we have never bought the custom domain. We have never linked our custom domain to SAP Litmos. The barrier for us is the high pricing. It is not a reasonable price."

"I do not have any idea about the licensing, but I know that it is quite expensive."

"There are three different pricing models. One is only to use the platform and to add your own learning material. The second plan includes the learning management system plus 2000 plus pre built courses on different areas including leadership, software skills, HR and IT related training. The third package allows you to integrate the system with tools such Salesforce or other CRMs."

"It is priced per user license."

"The pricing is really good. Its pricing is probably the most competitive I've seen for an LMS. If you need help with doing any type of custom design or customization, such as code design or anything like that with the site, then you have to use their people services, which would be an extra cost."

More Litmos pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

21%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

13%

Construction Company

13%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Canvas LMS?

There are some disadvantages with Canvas LMS and always improvements to be made. That comes with technology. As technology improves, the product will improve. Regarding features that Canvas LMS cou...

What advice do you have for others considering Canvas LMS?

Canvas LMS is the best solution because they have enabled scaleability and cutting edge technology transfer through Thomas Bravo, a multi-billion dollar company and will soon have the financial the...

What is your primary use case for Canvas LMS?

As a learning management system, Canvas LMS is used for online education. As a reseller of Canvas LMS, I can say that it's a comprehensive learning system that's automated. It has gamification, AI,...

Is SAP Litmos expensive for eLearning?

I have used this for eLearning before, and considering how useful it was, the price was fair. Of course, you have to think of what you will need for your own training and how much you want to pay ...

Is it better to use your own courses or SAP Litmos’ native ones?

Obviously this highly depends on what you want to provide to your learners. If you seek to give them very specific eLearning, like if your company wants to educate employees or partners on your new...

How does SAP Litmos make eLearning more effective?

I think SAP Litmos makes eLearning effective because it's specifically created to closely follow the learning process and the progress of students, all the while giving you many tools and helpful ...

Cornerstone Learn vs Canvas LMS

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Product Reports

Canvas LMS

Download Canvas LMS product report

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Also Known As

No data available

SAP Litmos, CallidusCloud Litmos

Overview

Canvas LMS offers a user-friendly platform integrating with tools like Zoom, delivering content creation and course management with minimal instruction, supporting large academic institutions effectively.

Canvas LMS is designed for ease of use and strong integration capabilities, featuring a scalable infrastructure and robust API support. The platform's intuitive interface facilitates content creation, course management, and student assessments, enabling educators to seamlessly manage lectures, discussions, and collaborations across both on-campus and remote environments. Integrated with systems like Azure and Zoom, it supports automated curriculum management and gamification, providing a comprehensive educational environment. Despite its strengths, users note the need for improved data reporting and real-time analytics. Enhancements in teleconferencing and AI capabilities, better discussion features, and increased talent management system compatibility are also desired, as well as more flexible pricing models for short-term programs.

What are the key features of Canvas LMS?

Ease of Use: Simple interface that supports quick learning with minimal instructions.
Integration: Compatible with tools like Zoom for conducting live classes.
Scalability: Suited for institutions of various sizes.
API Capabilities: Provides robust API support for extended customization.
Collaboration Tools: Includes discussion capabilities and mobile compatibility.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from Canvas LMS?

User Adaptability: Offers flexibility in educational approaches and extensive reporting features.
Mobile Compatibility: Easily accessible across different devices for students and educators.
Comprehensive Analytics: Valuable insights into educational outcomes and student performance.

Canvas LMS finds its application predominantly in delivering both on-campus and remote education, helping instructors manage courses, engage students, and conduct assessments across numerous fields. Its support for live classes through integrations with tools like Zoom facilitates interactive learning experiences in institutions worldwide.

Instructure

Litmos provides an accessible platform for online training with tools for content creation, scheduling, and seamless HR integration, enhancing learning experiences across sectors.

Litmos delivers effective onboarding, compliance, and education through versatile tools enabling smooth deployment and engaging user experiences. The customizable dashboard allows for alignment with brand identity, while the extensive library and gamification features enhance course delivery. API integration facilitates connection with crucial HR systems, although auto-enrollment isn't always reliable. Regular updates contribute to adaptable and efficient administration. Users appreciate the intuitive design, streamlining course management and creation.

What are the key features of Litmos?

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies course management and navigation.
Customizable Dashboard: Supports brand consistency through personalization.
Extensive Content Library: Offers varied materials to enrich training.
Gamification Elements: Engages participants through interactive content.
API for Integration: Ensures compatibility with HR systems and more.
Regular Updates: Enhances functionality and flexibility for administrators.

Why should users consider Litmos for their training needs?

Efficient Onboarding: Streamlines integration for new hires.
Engaging Learning Experience: Keeps users motivated through interactive features.
Enhanced Integration: Synchronizes with existing platforms like MS Teams and Zoom.
Consistent Branding: Maintains uniformity in training materials across the organization.
Certification & Compliance: Assists in meeting industry standards through easy certification processes.

Many industries implement Litmos for onboarding, compliance training, and ongoing education. Organizations use it to conduct online training, manage in-person sessions, and develop learning paths. Integration with tools like Articulate simplifies content creation, while platforms like MS Teams and Zoom aid in cohesive communication and training consistency. Companies ensure their training content maintains uniform branding and language, augmenting professional development and compliance.

Sample Customers

Pragmatic Group, MRWED Training and Assessment, RedHill Education

YouTube, Samsung, Coca Cola, Nowegian.com, Xero, Zumba, Sears, Build.com, UFC

Canvas LMS vs. Litmos