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Ilios

iliosproject.org

From $850/mo Open source WebWindowsLinuxiOSAndroidAPI
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Spec score 8.5 #3 of 27 in Curriculum Management Software

What it is

Ilios is an open-source curriculum management platform for health professions education. It collects, organizes, analyzes, and delivers curricular information for programs, departments, schools, and institutions, with controls for data integrity, security, and intellectual property. Program tools support year-by-year tracking, competency domains, content review workflows, and historical audits. Calendar functions include mobile views, search, synchronization, downloads, and real-time alerts about schedule, location, or content changes. Reporting covers curriculum mapping, teaching and content hours, trends, archiving, and accreditation support. An API connects external systems, and Ilios complements learning platforms such as Moodle and Canvas. The software uses a Symfony PHP/SQL backend; Linux with a LAMP stack is recommended, though Windows IIS deployments are also possible. Authentication defaults to native credentials, with Shibboleth 2.4, CAS, or LDAP configurable. Hosted Ilios starts at $1,000 a month per school; implementation, customization, and deployment fees are separate. The project offers a live demo by request.

Spec sheet

What it does
Ilios is a curriculum-management web application for health-professions education that collects, manages, analyzes and delivers curricular information.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Deployment
Ilios 3 uses a Symfony PHP/SQL backend and recommends a LAMP stack on Linux, while institutions have also deployed it on Windows IIS.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Integrations
The project describes integrations with Moodle, Canvas, XML/web services and external data sources through its API.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
License
The source code is released under the MIT License, permitting use, modification, distribution and sublicensing with the copyright notice retained.Read 15 Oct 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · iliosproject.org
Founded
2009Read 28 Sep 2026 · iliosproject.org
Accessibility limit
The VPAT marks WCAG 2.2 dragging as unsupported and target-size as partially supported, with several AAA criteria unsupported.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
API authentication
API requests use expiring JSON Web Tokens in the X-JWT-Authorization header, and token permissions follow the creating user's account permissions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
API documentation
Each installation exposes endpoint documentation and a testing sandbox at /api/doc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
API tokens
The 2026 summer update says Ilios rebuilt its service and API token architecture for individual and business-to-business connectivity.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Authentication
The deployment uses native authentication by default and can be configured for Shibboleth 2.4, CAS, or LDAP.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Browser support
The project lists current Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and Safari iOS as supported browsers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Calendar
The calendar provides user-specific views, multi-mode search, mobile access, synchronization, downloads, learning-environment links and schedule-change alerts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Calendar editing limitation
UCSF says optional seminars are excluded and users cannot edit the Ilios Calendar or add personal events to it.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
Calendar sync limitation
UCSF says third-party calendar applications can take about three to four hours to show schedule changes.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
CLI and theming
The repository documents command-line maintenance commands and frontend theming instructions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Content-download limitation
UCSF says lecture captures cannot be directly downloaded and are accessible through Ilios Calendar links.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
Course management
Courses and events can include objectives, competency mappings, group permissions, teaching-hour tracking, learning materials, reports and academic-year rollover.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Current release
The August 13, 2026 update reports version 3.139.0, API 3.14 and frontend 46.4.2.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Curriculum management
The platform supports complex curricula organized by departments, programs, schools, or institutions while maintaining data integrity, security, and intellectual property controls.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Group management
Administrators can create learner and instructor groups, auto-generate cohorts, assign defaults, copy groups and import learner data from CSV or other feeds.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Historical security issue
A 2012 SourceForge notice disclosed a potential authentication flaw that was corrected in an updated Ilios codebase.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Hosted operations
The project offers managed hosting with migration help, automatic upgrades and current releases managed by the core team.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Hosting protections
Hosted pricing lists database backups, learning-material backups, additional storage, load balancing and failover, audit logs, and multi-zone redundancy as included services.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Identity and roles
Ilios imports enrollment and identity feeds, exports data to third-party applications, assigns roles and supports guest or temporary access.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Independent institutional adoption
UCSF's pharmacy help documentation shows Ilios used operationally for course schedules, materials, deadlines, announcements and calendar synchronization.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
Independent project history
SourceForge records Ilios moving its repository to GitHub in December 2012 after earlier beta and stable releases.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Independent standards description
A MEFANET Journal article describes Ilios as an open-source web curriculum-management system supporting curriculum data, mapping and standards-based sharing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · mj.mefanet.cz
Independent use description
A UCSF help page describes Ilios Calendar as a curriculum-management system containing daily schedules, course materials and assignments.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
LTI security
The 2026 summer update says Ilios updated its LTI components to protocol 1.3 for better security and more robust management.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Mobile-app limitation
UCSF states there is no Ilios Calendar mobile app, although the web calendar is mobile-friendly and can be bookmarked on iOS or Android.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pharm.ucsf.edu
Open source
The Ilios Project describes Ilios as an open-source, community-based software application whose code can be forked on GitHub.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Product purpose
Ilios is a curriculum management platform for the Health Professions educational community that collects, manages, analyzes, and delivers curricular information.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Program management
Programs support longitudinal year-by-year requirements, competency domains, disciplines, review workflows and historical auditing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Program tracking
Program management includes year-by-year longitudinal tracking, competency domains, disciplines, content review workflows, and historic audit abilities.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Recent integration update
The 2026 summer update says Ilios moved its LTI components to LTI 1.3 and rebuilt service and API token architecture.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Reporting
Reporting covers relational API data, teaching and content hours, curriculum mapping, trends, archiving and accreditation review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Required PHP setup
The technology page specifies at least 386MB PHP memory and mbstring, LDAP, XML, APCu, MySQL, mysqlnd, PDO and ZIP extensions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Roadmap
The roadmap covers analytics, search, visualization, third-party integration and AI-assisted enhancements through 2028.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Security and accessibility
The August 2025 VPAT reports testing against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 and says Ilios is designed and tested to WCAG 2.1 AA.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Self-hosting
Ilios can be downloaded or cloned and installed on an institution's own infrastructure.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Support and demo
A live demo is available, and prospective users can request credentials and access instructions through [email protected].Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
System requirements
Recommended deployments use a Linux or Windows server with at least 500GB storage, a LAMP stack, MySQL InnoDB and the latest PHP.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Target users
Ilios is built for health professions schools and supports programs, departments, schools, and institutions.Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Windows limitation
Windows IIS deployments are possible, but the project says it has substantially supported only Linux and does not recommend IIS.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Workflow controls
Materials can move through controlled draft, review and publication states, with auditing of changes.Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org

Plans and prices

Custom Development Priced on request starting at $185/hr Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
LTI Component Activation $500, paid once one-time fee Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Hosted Ilios $1,000 a month per school Implementation, customization and deployment billed separately Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Virtual Online training $8,500, paid once two days, starting at Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Mirror test / stage environment $10,200 a year $850/mo Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Core Hosting Services $12,000 a year annual One-time implementation fee required: $15,000.00 Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
Onsite training $13,800, paid once two days, starting at Read 15 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org
One-time Implementation fee $15,000, paid once required required implementation fee Read 1 Oct 2026 · iliosproject.org

Every Ilios plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Tracks programs longitudinally by year.
  • Includes content review workflows and audit history.
  • Calendar offers alerts and mobile views.
  • API connects external data sources and systems.
  • Open-source code can be forked on GitHub.

Limits

  • No free plan is listed.
  • Hosted Ilios starts at $1,000 a month per school.
  • Implementation, customization, and deployment fees are separate.
  • Linux and LAMP are recommended for deployment.

Who it suits

Ilios suits health professions schools that need to manage curricula across programs or institutional units. It is also relevant to institutions seeking program tracking, accreditation reporting, and LMS integrations.

Ilios in depth

Read the full write-up

Overview

Ilios is a curriculum management platform for health professions education, designed for schools coordinating programs across departments and institutional boundaries. It is strongest where longitudinal program oversight, scheduling, and accreditation work need to fit together; schools seeking a lightweight course planner should look elsewhere.

Its open-source, community-based model offers a route to inspect or fork the code, but running Ilios is not a low-commitment purchase: hosted service starts at $1,000 per month per school, with separate implementation and deployment costs.

Key features

Curriculum governance and tracking

Ilios can organize complex curricula by program, department, school, or institution while applying controls for data integrity, security, and intellectual property. Year-by-year tracking, competency domains, disciplines, content review workflows, and historical audits make it useful for programs that need to manage and review change over time, rather than simply publish a course list. Approval workflows and version history reinforce that governance focus.

Calendar and reporting

Calendar tools combine multi-modal search, mobile views, synchronization and downloads, direct access to online learning environments, and real-time alerts for schedule, location, and content changes. This breadth matters when students and staff need to keep up with a changing timetable; it is more than a basic calendar, but may be unnecessary for a school with static scheduling needs.

Reporting covers teaching and content hours, curriculum mapping, trends, archiving, and accreditation support, with relational reporting through an API. Those capabilities suit institutions that must examine curriculum coverage and preserve a history of decisions. They are less compelling if the primary need is only to share schedules or course materials.

Integrations and deployment

The API connects Ilios to external data sources and systems, and the platform is designed to complement learning systems such as Moodle and Canvas. Its LTI components were updated to protocol 1.3 in the 2026 summer update, and its service and API token architecture was rebuilt for individual and business-to-business connectivity. These are relevant strengths for institutions managing connected systems, though integration still implies technical coordination.

Ilios 3 uses a Symfony PHP/SQL backend and recommends a LAMP stack on Linux; institutions have also deployed it on Windows IIS. Authentication is native by default, with configuration options for Shibboleth 2.4, CAS, or LDAP. That flexibility serves institutions with established identity infrastructure, while the technical requirements make self-hosting a more involved choice than adopting a simple web service.

Pricing

Ilios is paid software with open-source code and no free plan. Hosted Ilios starts at $1,000 a month, billed per school. That starting price includes database and learning-material backups, additional storage, load balancing and failover, audit logs, and multi-zone redundancy. It does not include implementation, customization, or deployment fees, so the monthly figure is only part of the budget.

PlanPriceWhat it coversLTI Component Activation$500, paid onceOne-time LTI component activation feeHosted Ilios$1,000 a monthHosting service, billed per school; implementation, customization, and deployment fees are separateMirror test / stage environment$10,200 a yearTest or stage environment; billed $850/moCore Hosting Services$12,000 a yearCore hosting services, billed annuallyOne-time Implementation fee$15,000 as a one-time purchaseRequired implementation feeThe hosted option is the clearest fit for schools that want managed infrastructure and its listed resilience protections. Institutions considering a test or stage environment should budget for that separately. The required $15,000.00 USD one-time implementation fee is a substantial commitment alongside recurring hosting, and there is no free tier for a small program to use as a lower-cost starting point. A live demo is available, and prospective users can request credentials and access instructions through [email protected].

Platforms

Ilios supports API, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, web, and Windows. The deployment options are meaningful for institutions with infrastructure preferences, but Linux is the recommended server environment; Windows IIS is also used. Self-hosting may suit organizations that want to operate the system themselves, while hosted service shifts infrastructure responsibilities to a paid arrangement.

Who it's for

Ilios is aimed at health professions schools, including programs, departments, schools, and institutions that need to coordinate complex curricula and track them longitudinally. Its combination of curriculum governance, calendar changes, reporting, and accreditation-oriented tools fits institutions with formal review and accountability needs. It is a weaker match for small teams seeking inexpensive standalone planning, or for organizations that do not need its depth of program tracking and reporting.

Pros and cons

Pros: Longitudinal tracking, competency domains, review workflows, and audit history support curriculum governance over time.

Pros: Calendar alerts and synchronization help learners and staff follow schedule, location, and content changes.

Pros: Reporting, archiving, and accreditation support address institutional oversight needs, while API and LMS connections can fit into a broader systems environment.

Pros: Open-source code can be forked, and deployment options include hosted and self-hosted configurations.

Cons: The $1,000.00 USD monthly hosted starting price is per school, and implementation, customization, and deployment are separate charges.

Cons: A required $15,000.00 USD one-time implementation fee raises the entry cost considerably.

Cons: The Symfony PHP/SQL stack and recommended LAMP deployment call for institutional technical capacity, especially for self-hosting.

Cons: There is no free plan, so schools cannot begin with a free tier before committing to a paid deployment.

Alternatives

Curriculum Management Software is the broader category to browse if Ilios does not match your needs.

Atlas is worth considering when a school wants a standards library with the option of a customized public sharing page, and would rather start from a free trial. ExamSoft may suit schools prioritizing its exam platform; capabilities depend on the customer’s order form, and some integrations and services are add-ons.

Modern Campus CMS is another paid option with web, mobile, API, and self-hosted platform support. OpenCurriculum is a better fit for teams that need a free web-based starting point: its free Teacher plan has one user, a 10-course limit, and 200 MB of file storage, while the Team plan allows up to 10 users, 50 courses, and 1.5 GB of storage.

Toddle is an alternative for schools focused on curriculum planning, with user-tiered pricing for Planning Pro and an AI-enabled Ultimate plan. Outcomap suits users who want a free web-based mapping tool, with its free tier capped at one map, five AI map generations and edits per month, and PDF exports up to five pages.

Kuali Curriculum Management may be a fit for institutions that want to evaluate curriculum management through a personalized demo. Leo is another paid enterprise option.

Verdict

Ilios is the right choice for health professions institutions that need integrated curriculum governance, longitudinal tracking, scheduling, and accreditation-oriented reporting, and can support its implementation and operating costs. Its open-source foundation and institutional deployment flexibility are meaningful advantages, but the required implementation fee and recurring hosted charges make it a poor fit for buyers seeking a low-cost or lightweight planning tool.

Verdict

Ilios combines curriculum organization with program tracking, calendar tools, and accreditation-oriented reporting. Schools should account for the hosted starting price and separate implementation costs when evaluating deployment.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to IliosAll alternatives →