Canvas LMS vs Google Classroom comparison

Instructure and Google are both solutions in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category. Instructure is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.3, while Google is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Instructure holds a 5.2% mindshare in LMS, compared to Google’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Instructure users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Google users who would recommend it.

Canvas LMS

Read 10 Canvas LMS reviews

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461 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Google Classroom

Read 25 Google Classroom reviews

2,226 Views
823 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Canvas LMS

Google Classroom

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Canvas LMS and Google Classroom are two leading e-learning platforms, with Canvas LMS offering more robust customization and flexibility, while Google Classroom is known for its simple user interface and seamless integration with Google Apps.

Features:Canvas LMS provides advanced customization, integration with Zoom, and powerful analytics tools, making it ideal for complex educational needs. Google Classroom offers seamless integration with Google Suite, allowing effortless use of Google Docs, Sheets, and more alongside intuitive usability, making it perfect for quick adoption and use in diverse settings.

Room for Improvement:Canvas LMS could enhance its user interface to reduce complexity for novice users and improve real-time collaboration features. Google Classroom could benefit from offering more advanced grading tools and better analytics, along with enriching offline accessibility options to enhance usability in varied teaching environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Google Classroom is favored for its easy deployment, leveraging existing Google Suite familiarity to quickly transition users online. Canvas LMS, while more complex, offers extensive customer support to assist with its deeper feature set and integration options, ensuring smooth implementation.

Pricing and ROI:Google Classroom is free and fits seamlessly within the Google ecosystem, resulting in minimal costs and immediate value. Canvas LMS, with its higher initial costs, justifies the investment for larger institutions through its extensive features and potential for high returns on educational deliverables, catering to more comprehensive institutional needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom

January 2025

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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)

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Google Classroom

Ranking in Learning Management Systems (LMS)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Learning Management Systems (LMS) category, the mindshare of Canvas LMS is 5.2%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Classroom is 5.6%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Featured Reviews

James Phelps

Adjunct Professor at Nova Southeastern University

Intuitive, easy to learn, and easy to adapt to various teaching methodologies

It is scalable. There must be 20,000 people using it on that campus. We run a medical college, a public health department, and the hard sciences department. We also have a lot of things that are spread out across the state of Florida through Canvas. So, it is pretty scalable. In terms of our plans to increase its usage, I don't know what the university is going to do, but right now, the university is saturated with Canvas. Even if you're doing classes in a regular standard classroom, all of your exams, all of your quizzes, all of your practicals, and all of your teaching are recorded and loaded into the Canvas system for future review by accreditors. So, it is pretty well saturated on that particular campus.

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Susan Nash

Director of innovation at AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS

It's free and integrates seamlessly with many tools

When students don't have Gmail accounts, it creates a lot of hiccups, but the main issue is that the interface is somewhat primitive. It’s intuitive and you can be up and running in no time at all. However, it is not very attractive. But that may be because I installed it myself and I'm not using any fancy templates. It's primitive because that's how I've been able to get it going. I would like to see a better user experience, a prettier interface, and more templates. Google could make templates readily available or users could design and share them. As it is, you’ll only get a basic framework when you create a new course. You don't have different themes to choose from like you do in Moodle. Most learning management systems also have a dashboard. It would be useful to have a dashboard with blocks on the side that lets you navigate all of your courses. It would like to have the ability to navigate at a glance and breadcrumbs. By breadcrumbs, I mean it should be designed to leave you a trail like you would use to find your way out of a forest. Go back to where you were and pick up where you left off. So, instead of going back, it shows you where you were. Moodle does something like this, but you don't see it in Canvas or Blackboard. I think that that would be a big advantage. And then, a dashboard would just be when you go to the front page, in addition to having your courses listed there, you would have something like other activities, as well. Further, the dashboard would include your calendar, you could have a calendar there, you could have different productivity apps.

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

"It's easy to follow. It flows well, and it's easy to use."

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

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

"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."

"The solution is easy to access."

"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. It requires almost no instruction, and you can be fully up to speed and ready to run on it. You can bring someone in who has never worked with any online learning or LMS system, and in a week's timeframe, they would almost be fully functional because Canvas is so simple to use."

"The product's flexibility is exceptional."

More Canvas LMS pros

"The customer service and support are very good."

"This solution integrates with all the other Google apps including Google Calendar and Google Docs. This makes it very easy to manage."

"What I like about Google Classroom are the video lessons. I enjoy using it because it makes my life easier, for example, I can easily change my class and my lecture notes."

"When a teacher uploads material, all students connected to that class will receive the same information at the same time. I have found this to be a valuable feature. I also like that the material remains in Google Classroom until the teacher removes it. The UI is user-friendly, and you don't have to have prior experience to use the solution."

"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is security."

"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is its clouds based. It can be accessed anywhere. Additionally, the GUI is good, we have not had any complaints and the platform has built-in security. For example, email has protection."

"I like that Google Classroom is free and integrates with the entire Google Suite, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, etc. I also like its flexibility, which makes it perfect for synchronous, asynchronous, and blended courses, and including live and archived webinars, as well as other kinds of content."

"A teacher can send assignments and upload results using the product."

More Google Classroom pros

Cons

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

"The solution could be upgraded and improved."

"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."

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

"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."

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

More Canvas LMS cons

"I would like to see a master list of documents with folder names so that it is more convenient for students to know whether they have submitted a particular document. At present, you need to go to each classroom to check what you have submitted."

"It would be helpful to add voice or audio capabilities to the classrooms instead of text only."

"Google Classroom could benefit from tools that help correct coding errors for students, thereby enhancing learning."

"There's room for improvement in the offline functionality. When you're working with a class, you can't close the class or perform certain tasks when you're offline."

"The product should provide features that allow teachers to be on video while taking the class."

"There can often be language barriers when you're not dealing with local technical support, which can be challenging."

"We found that Google Classroom is it is missing a lot in current engagement. We know it has got guardian access, where it sends the reports to the guardian at the end of either the week or the month, depending on how you set it. However, it lacks collaboration between the teacher, student, and parents. The engagement is mostly between the student and the teacher. If you have a school similar to ours, where you're dealing with little children where the parent is supposed to be engaged, you need a system that can engage them as well. It's good for senior students, but not for our students."

"Google Classroom could improve by being easier to use. For example, making it functional with only a few buttons. It's difficult to know how to connect with students and make a link and share it with them. I found it difficult, and this is why I didn't continue using it. Additionally, it should be available to be downloaded to the desktop for use, similar to Zoom."

More Google Classroom cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Canvas LMS is an affordable solution."

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

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

"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"

"The product offers a yearly based license."

"The tool is available for free."

"Google Classroom is a free solution."

"My child's school made payments on a subscription-based model to use Google Classroom."

"The solution is affordable."

"I'm using a free version of Google Classroom, so it's a product I don't pay for."

"We did not need a license to use Google Classroom."

"Google Classroom is a free solution. There is paid version that has more options, the cost is approximately eight dollars per student per month."

More Google Classroom pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

24%

University

13%

Government

Non Profit

Educational Organization

23%

University

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Canvas LMS?

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

See all answers

What needs improvement with Canvas LMS?

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

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Canvas LMS?

I rate Canva LMS a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about Google Classroom?

The product's UI is good and user-friendly.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Classroom?

There is room for improvement in AI integration, specifically in the education sector. Google Classroom could benefit from tools that help correct coding errors for students, thereby enhancing lear...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Google Classroom?

We are using Google Classroom for assessments, homework, and providing resources to students. We also use it for tuition and online interaction, focusing on IT subjects such as computing and progra...

See all answers

Comparisons

CYPHER Learning vs Canvas LMS

Compared 26% of the time

Moodle vs Canvas LMS

Compared 20% of the time

Schoology Learning vs Canvas LMS

Compared 18% of the time

Brightspace vs Canvas LMS

Compared 16% of the time

More Canvas LMS Competitors

Moodle vs Google Classroom

Compared 64% of the time

Blackboard Learning Management vs Google Classroom

Compared 21% of the time

More Google Classroom Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Canvas LMS

February 2025

Download Canvas LMS product report

Buyer's Guide

Google Classroom

February 2025

Download Google Classroom product report

Overview

Canvas LMS is a comprehensive learning management system that enhances the educational experience. It offers a user-friendly interface that allows educators to create and manage courses, assignments, and assessments. Canvas enables seamless communication and collaboration between students and teachers. It supports various multimedia formats, making it easy to incorporate engaging content into lessons. Canvas also provides a mobile app, ensuring accessibility on the go. Its built-in analytics and reporting allow educators to track student progress and identify areas for improvement. Canvas LMS can integrate with other educational tools and platforms, enhancing its functionality. Canvas LMS is a powerful and versatile platform that empowers educators to deliver effective and engaging online learning experiences.

Instructure

Google Classroom is an online learning platform that allows teachers to create and manage virtual classrooms. With Google Classroom, teachers can easily distribute assignments, communicate with students, and provide feedback. Students can access their assignments, submit their work, and collaborate with their peers all in one place. The platform integrates seamlessly with other Google tools like Google Drive and Google Docs, making it easy for students to create and share their work. Google Classroom also provides a streamlined workflow for teachers, allowing them to save time and stay organized. Google Classroom is a user-friendly and efficient tool that enhances the learning experience of teachers and students alike.

Google

Sample Customers

Pragmatic Group, MRWED Training and Assessment, RedHill Education

Google Classroom is used in major urban school districts throughout the United States, including: * Los Angeles Unified School District * Chicago Public Schools * New York City Department of Education * Houston Independent School District * Miami-Dade County Public Schools * Dallas Independent School District * Broward County Public Schools * Clark County School District (Las Vegas) * Philadelphia School District

Buyer's Guide

Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom

January 2025

Free Report: Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom

Find out what your peers are saying about Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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