Canvas Network vs Stanford Online
Canvas Network
canvas.netStanford Online
online.stanford.eduSide by side
| Figure | Canvas Network | Stanford Online |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · MOOC Platforms | 9.1 (#6) | 7.0 (#65) |
| Audience | The courses support K–12 and higher education educators and focus on professional development. | Stanford Online serves learners around the world, including people seeking career upskilling or learning from curiosity. |
| Founded | Instructure’s company timeline states it was founded in 2008 and launched Canvas in 2011. | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | Stanford, California, United States |
Plans
In their own words
Canvas Network
Canvas Network offers free professional development courses made by educators for K–12 and higher education educators. Subjects include teaching methods, technology skills for educators, student performance analysis, and leadership. Anyone with an email address can enroll, but learners need a separate Canvas Network account, even if they use another Canvas instance. Materials become available on or after the course start date; courses begin according to U.S. Mountain time. Learners can work through activities at their own pace, though an instructor may invite them to synchronous activities. Instructors or sponsoring institutions may provide completion certificates, but Canvas Network does not issue them. It also does not charge eligible institutions to offer courses. Powered by Canvas LMS, the service is available on the web, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its Android and iOS apps support course access, assignment submission, discussions, and grade viewing, though not every Canvas feature is available in the apps. Offline learning is available. Course settings may hide an individual course after it ends.
Stanford Online
Stanford Online has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.