Blackboard Learning Management vs CYPHER Learning comparison

Blackboard and CYPHER LEARNING are both solutions in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category. Blackboard is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3, while CYPHER LEARNING is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.1. Blackboard holds a 0.9% mindshare in LMS, compared to CYPHER LEARNING’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Blackboard users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of CYPHER LEARNING users who would recommend it.

Blackboard Learning Management

Read 10 Blackboard Learning Management reviews

1,458 Views
1,254 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

CYPHER Learning

Read 55 CYPHER Learning reviews

1,855 Views
1,818 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Blackboard Learning Management

CYPHER Learning

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Blackboard Learning Management and CYPHER Learning are competitors in the educational technology market. Blackboard has an advantage in pricing and support, whereas CYPHER Learning offers a feature-rich experience, providing excellent value for its cost.

Features:Blackboard Learning Management includes attendance tracking, detailed grading analytics, and comprehensive reporting, suitable for educational settings requiring extensive reporting capabilities. CYPHER Learning excels with a robust automation engine, modern gamification elements, and competency-based learning features that cater to organizations seeking innovative engagement strategies.

Room for Improvement:Blackboard Learning Management could improve by simplifying its deployment process and enhancing its feature set further. CYPHER Learning has room to improve its customer service responsiveness and better integrate its feedback mechanisms to align more closely with user expectations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Blackboard's traditional deployment may require a more intricate setup, though its customer service is regarded as responsive and reliable. CYPHER Learning offers a simplified, cloud-based deployment process, although its customer service is considered less responsive compared to Blackboard.

Pricing and ROI:Blackboard Learning Management involves higher setup costs but provides a justified ROI for complex educational needs. CYPHER Learning offers competitive pricing with significant ROI due to its scalable model, making it a cost-effective choice for modern e-learning solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Blackboard Learning Management vs. CYPHER Learning Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Blackboard Learning Management vs. CYPHER Learning

February 2026

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Helped 882,032 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

Blackboard Learning Management

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

CYPHER Learning

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Blackboard Learning Management is 0.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CYPHER Learning is 1.6%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
CYPHER Learning	1.6%
Blackboard Learning Management	0.9%
Other	97.5%

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Featured Reviews

Jennifer Sveigdalen

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.

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Gieshala (Gigi) Mims

Teacher/ AI research educator at Senatobia Municipal School District

Boosts student engagement and simplifies course management with creative tools

The best features of CYPHER Learning that I enjoy most include the course management system, gamification, blogging, and debating tools that cater to increasing creative thinking, creative writing, and problem-solving. Gamification and these specific tools make it easy for my students to navigate and manage numerous courses within one class while keeping up with my standards for my curriculum, where my students can see their mastery and performance on assignments. I find it extremely beneficial because our curriculum in schools is data-driven. This allows me to easily obtain data from the content-specific standards assigned to each assignment. I can assess what concepts I need to review and identify what the students have mastered. This transparency also enables the students to see their own progress.

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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

"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."

"It encompasses various components, including course delivery modules, content management, community engagement features, digital classrooms, and mobile integration."

"One of Blackboard's strengths is its historical prominence as a leading LMS for universities in the US and Europe a decade or more ago."

"It is scalable."

"The platform's ability to deliver exams and content in a technical way is superior to most other platforms, allowing for establishing checkpoints before progressing to new content and ensuring students understand current material before moving forward."

"The modules and courses are flexible."

"The solution is easy to use."

"One of the most important features is the possibility of creating unlimited subdomains."

More Blackboard Learning Management pros

"Another feature that is great for me... is the learning outcomes feature... In CYPHER Learning, it's called the Mastery feature. The learning outcomes feature allows us to measure whether students have achieved competency, based on the encoded learning outcomes."

"I mainly use the storage folders that allow students to upload their work in an organized way. By providing a large storage capacity, the system allows students to upload videos and images. I can also rate students and give them feedback with comments or stickers."

"The most valuable feature is competency tracking. All apprentices follow particular programs where they have to demonstrate competencies, skills, knowledge, and behavior standards. The ability to track and measure their progress against the norm is functional."

"The most valuable feature is the ability for us to create personalized lessons. This is better suited to our students and learners than offering content or a subject that is already built into the system."

"The reports are also something that's very helpful from an administrative perspective."

"The usability makes it easy for our doctors to find whatever they're looking for. The groups help them interact with each other, creating a kind of network and a place of engagement. It's not just a platform to go and learn and get out. It's a place where they can actually interact with other doctors and share experiences."

"I like that you can choose your home screen widget. We have a centralized calendar that sends a reminder to students about tasks that are due."

"One of the things that we are really excited about is being able to tie the state or national standards as competencies. Then, when students complete a course, they are awarded certain competencies or standards that we have aligned with the course. This shows schools evidence that students are meeting standards. Right now, we are not tying any of our courses with how schools are testing and assessing students. However, our company goals are to provide access to STEM for all students and help schools engage with communities to develop the STEM talent and workforce, which then impacts a community's economic development."

More CYPHER Learning pros

Cons

"Blackboard could benefit from significant improvements in its data storage and software functionality to remain competitive with more innovative LMS solutions."

"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."

"The solution must provide better integration with third-party software."

"The system falls short in terms of managing assessments and exams effectively."

"The solution is not flexible."

"It would be ideal to create a more responsive or more intuitive template for access from telephones or tablets."

"I do wish that there could be some formatting option so that I don't have to do some manual work in terms of translating the data into, for example, a PowerPoint presentation."

"The system should help us more in the area of evaluation. I don't think CYPHER Learning has exploited this topic enough. I can upload rubrics for evaluation, but there are no additional information sources or other instruments for student evaluation."

"Some of our faculty members were very happy when CYPHER gave the news that there is already a peer feedback feature because we were asking for it, but when they used it, they found it complicated and not user-friendly."

"There could be improvements in the dynamic and accessibility tools for the youngest students. For example, I create or attach links from other pages, and I use activities and games, such as roulettes, that encourage student participation."

"The vendor could improve on the chat system. Right now, the student only has access to messaging. Maybe it would be good to have a mini chat or the ability to do video calls with teachers if they have any questions about an assignment."

"Most of the room for improvement is around my course design, the video content, and the structure of my courses so that they're more engaging and interactive. Whether the platform can help me deliver those outcomes, I'm not sure, but that will probably be my core focus over the next 12 months."

"As an administrator of our LMS, there are a lot of things that could be improved, but these are not seen by students or professors. One is the admin features for adding students."

"If the system had some graphing abilities and not just exporting of data to Excel sheets, that would be nice. I would like to be able to run a report on something and get graphs with insightful data. In an Excel sheet, I just have to reanalyze the data."

More CYPHER Learning cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"At the beginning, you can choose a basic plan. As your users grow you can buy a more expensive license."

"The product pricing tends to be higher than alternatives."

"CYPHER Learning's price is slightly higher than other solutions."

"We actually want to look at other systems or develop our own system because the cost point of MATRIX is so high. It doesn't feel like we get any value for it."

"We are on a plan where we pay for 1,000 users every month. The pricing structure is pretty straightforward. It just depends on what you need. We are currently going with a monthly model because sometimes there are still months during the year where we will have a lot less students on the system, and we took that into consideration."

"The price was fair for all the features we received."

"It seems moderate and as per industry standards. In my previous organization, we had to hire an outside company, so I know what companies charge to do just a single course. Considering that, the price of CYPHER Learning is in the typical cost range."

"Their plans are based on enrollment numbers. We're at the silver level with 100 active learners. So, you're really beholden to how many learners you're going to accommodate. There are no extra costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"CYPHER Learning is a bit more expensive than our previous solution."

"The main reason we went for it was cost, which was very reasonable."

More CYPHER Learning pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

20%

Educational Organization

19%

Government

12%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

21%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	30
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Blackboard Learning Management?

The product pricing tends to be higher than alternatives like Canvas, making Blackboard more suitable for larger universities with substantial budgets.

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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.

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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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NEO LMS?

The pricing for CYPHER Learning is on par with other solutions. I've been a single user of the system for a while and priced out several other options, and it's probably standard pricing if not may...

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What needs improvement with NEO LMS?

One of the areas that I believe CYPHER Learning could improve on is having a saving function as you type in, much as some Google products. That would really help in my classroom because we do a lot...

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What advice do you have for others considering NEO LMS?

I absolutely recommend CYPHER Learning to other users. My students really connect with it because it doesn’t resemble anything else available. The ease of use, the autonomy it provides my students,...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Classroom vs Blackboard Learning Management

Compared 52% of the time

ELITE LMS vs Blackboard Learning Management

Compared 21% of the time

More Blackboard Learning Management Competitors

Cornerstone Learn vs CYPHER Learning

Compared 24% of the time

Moodle vs CYPHER Learning

Compared 14% of the time

Canvas LMS vs CYPHER Learning

Compared 11% of the time

Articulate 360 vs CYPHER Learning

Compared 9% of the time

TalentLMS vs CYPHER Learning

Compared 8% of the time

More CYPHER Learning Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Blackboard Learning Management

February 2026

Download Blackboard Learning Management product report

Buyer's Guide

CYPHER Learning

February 2026

Download CYPHER Learning product report

Also Known As

No data available

MATRIX LMS, NEO LMS

Overview

Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) is a comprehensive platform designed to enhance the teaching and learning experience in educational institutions. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Blackboard LMS enables educators to create, deliver, and manage online courses effectively. Blackboard LMS is facilitates communication and collaboration among students and instructors. The platform's built-in discussion boards, chat rooms, and messaging systems enable real-time interaction and engagement, fostering a sense of community and allowing students to participate actively in the learning process.

Blackboard LMS also provides a full set of tools for content creation and management. Educators can easily upload and organize course materials, including documents, videos, and multimedia resources. The platform supports various file formats, making it convenient for instructors to deliver diverse content to their students.

Assessment and grading are simplified with Blackboard LMS. Educators can create online quizzes, assignments, and exams, and even set automated grading criteria. This saves time and effort, while also providing students with immediate feedback on their performance. The platform also offers grade book functionality, allowing instructors to track and manage student progress easily.

Blackboard LMS features robust analytics and reporting capabilities. Educators can access detailed data on student engagement, performance, and participation, enabling them to identify areas for improvement and tailor their teaching strategies accordingly. This data-driven approach enhances the effectiveness of instruction and supports personalized learning.

Blackboard LMS is also highly customizable, allowing institutions to tailor the platform to their specific needs. It integrates seamlessly with other educational tools and systems, ensuring a smooth workflow and enhancing the overall learning experience.

Blackboard Learning Management System is a powerful and versatile platform that empowers educators to deliver engaging and effective online courses. With its comprehensive features, user-friendly interface, and customizable options, Blackboard LMS is a valuable tool for educational institutions seeking to enhance their teaching and learning environment.

Blackboard

CYPHER Learning provides an AI-powered platform designed for efficient, personalized learning. It supports an ever-evolving educational and professional landscape with intuitive, comprehensive tools.

CYPHER Learning offers a unified learning experience, simplifying course creation and improving learner engagement through automation, gamification, and adaptive learning. Its intuitive design enhances communication and multimedia integration, making it suitable for trainers, educators, and HR professionals. Advanced analytics and customization options bolster its capabilities, positioning it as a leading choice for competency-based education and training.

What features define CYPHER Learning?

Gamification: Encourages engagement through game-like elements.
Adaptive Learning: Tailors content to individual learner needs.
Competency-Based Learning: Focuses on skill development and mastery.
Automation: Streamlines content delivery and administrative tasks.
Customizable Course Materials: Allows tailored content and pathways.

Why consider CYPHER Learning?

Enhanced Engagement: Keeps learners motivated with captivating experiences.
Improved Productivity: Increases efficiency for trainers and administrators.
Comprehensive Analytics: Provides insights into learner performance and engagement.
Seamless Integration: Integrates with external platforms for a unified experience.

CYPHER Learning finds applications in industries like health, insurance, and retail management, supporting technical training, onboarding, and professional development. Organizations leverage its customizable features for both self-paced and cohort-based learning, enriching their educational initiatives across sectors.

CYPHER LEARNING

Sample Customers

University of Derby, University of Warwick, John Moore's University

Millions of users across business, academia, and entrepreneurs - worldwide.

Buyer's Guide

Blackboard Learning Management vs. CYPHER Learning

February 2026

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