Canvas LMS vs D2L Brightspace
Canvas LMS
instructure.com
D2L Brightspace
d2l.comSide by side
| Figure | Canvas LMS | D2L Brightspace |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Learning Management Systems | 8.6 (#11) | 8.2 (#35) |
| Analytics | Course, user and administrative analytics expose learner progress and usage data; Canvas Data Services provides SQL access to user and usage details. | The platform provides data and analytics to help organizations analyze trends and make data-driven decisions. |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Assessments | Yes | Yes |
| Course authoring | Instructors can build content with Assignments, Discussions, Modules, Quizzes, Pages, Collaborations, Conferences, Groups and course importing. | D2L Creator+ is an optional course-authoring add-on for creating interactive course content. |
| Founded | 2008 | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada |
| Integrations | Canvas advertises integration with more than 1,000 external tools through open technology and standards. | D2L says Brightspace supports third-party integrations, batch data processing, real-time APIs, and no-code integration recipes through D2L Link. |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile apps | Canvas offers separate Canvas Student, Canvas Teacher and Canvas Parent mobile applications. | D2L offers Brightspace Portfolio, Brightspace Pulse, and Brightspace Parent & Guardian apps for Android and iOS; compatibility with platform versions may vary. |
| SSO support | Yes | Yes |
Plans
Canvas LMS
- Canvas CorePriced on request
- Canvas NextPriced on request
- Canvas PlusPriced on request
In their own words
Canvas LMS
Canvas LMS is a cloud learning management system for creating and delivering courses, assessing learners, providing feedback, communicating with learners, and viewing analytics. Canvas Core includes course creation and delivery, assessment and feedback, essential analytics, and learner communication tools. Canvas Plus adds interactive video through Studio, in-app messaging and engagement through Impact, and advanced analytics. Canvas Next includes Plus capabilities plus IgniteAI Agent for administrators and instructors, IgniteAI Ask Your Data, and IgniteAI Study Tools for learners. The system supports assessments, single sign-on, API access, and a mobile app. Other listed capabilities include digital certificates and badges, public verification, expiry management, custom branding, automatic captions, searchable transcripts, and LMS delivery. Canvas LMS was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a paid cloud service with no free plan; pricing for Canvas Core, Plus, and Next is available on request. Its listed platform is API.
D2L Brightspace
D2L Brightspace is a learning management system for higher education, K–12, training organizations, associations, businesses, and government. It supports personalized learning experiences that adapt to learner performance, along with assessments, certificates, custom dashboards, predictive analytics, learner risk scoring, and intervention alerts. Analytics help organizations examine trends. Optional D2L Lumi provides AI-driven assistance, while Creator+ is an add-on for creating interactive course content. Brightspace supports third-party integrations, batch data processing, real-time APIs, no-code integration recipes through D2L Link, LTI, and single sign-on. Listed integration examples include Banner Grades, Top Hat Classroom, Ouriginal Plagiarism Checker, and Bongo virtual classrooms and video assignments. The service is available on the web, Android, and iOS, with API access; D2L also offers Brightspace Portfolio, Pulse, and Parent & Guardian apps. Pricing is customized according to learner numbers, licenses, features, add-ons, and services, and customers must request a quote.