Trending Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Brightspace
Learning Management Systems (LMS)Brightspace is the leading LMS that gives every teacher, student, and employee the best learning experience. Ranked a Leader in Corporate Learning by Aragon Research and #1 in Higher Ed by Ovum.
Pricing
Contact us for pricing
About the vendor
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Customers
- Academic
- Non Profits
- Public Administrations
Use Cases
- Academic Learning
- Association Learning
- Continuing Education
- Customer Training
- Employee Training
- Microlearning
- Training Companies
Industries
- Education: K-12
- eLearning
- Higher Education
- Hospital & Health Care
Deployment
- Software as a Service / Cloud
Platforms
- Linux
- Mac
- Windows
Browsers
- Apple Safari
- Google Chrome
- Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox
Training
- Documentation
- In Person
- Live Online
- Online Tutorials
- Webinars
Support
- FAQ
- Knowledge Base
- Online Community
- Phone
Supported Specifications
- IMS Common Cartridge
- IMS LTI
- Section 508
Languages Supported
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LinkedIn Page
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Features
Learn more about Brightspace features that set it apart from the competition. Discover how its unique tools and capabilities enhance your processes.
Accounts
Add a new user
Allows administrators to add new users directly to their LMS for streamlined user management.
Archive users
Deactivate and store user accounts without deleting them.
Browse list of users
View all registered users in the system.
Bulk User Actions
Manage multiple user accounts at once.
Custom/Mandatory User profile fields
Define required or optional fields for user profiles.
Upload users
Import users via spreadsheet.
Activity grading
Course History
Gradebook
Centralized view of all learner grades.
Gradebook audit trail
Gradebook comments
Add comments to learner grades.
Manual Grading ("Marking")
Manually review and grade submissions.
Multiple grading scales
Support for different grading systems.
AI Features
Adaptive Learning
AI Powered
Chatbot
Content development
Content Translation
Intelligent recommendations
Natural Language Processing
Predictive analysis
Quiz generation
Text-to-speech
Authentication
Active Directory/LDAP Integration
Authenticate users via corporate directories.
Custom User login page
Personalized login interface.
Manual Accounts
No login
SAML2/API Integration
Single sign-on and external authentication.
Self-Registration
Users create their own accounts.
Self-Registration w. Admin Confirmation
User signup requires admin approval.
Categories
Assign Courses to categories
Organize courses under specific categories.
Create new Categories
Add new organizational groups for courses.
Manage Categories
Edit, delete, or update categories.
Priced Categories (Bundle)
Sell course bundles grouped by category.
Certificate management
Certification life-cycle
Manage certification templates
Customize certificate formats.
Predefined certification templates
Use ready-made certificate designs.
Unique Certificate by Course
Unique Certification by Curriculum
Different certificate per learning path.
Compliance management
Certificate expiration notifications
Certification Expiration Management
Due Date notifications
Notify learners of upcoming deadlines.
Soft/Hard Stop Due Dates
Allow or block access after due dates.
Course Creation
Assignments Engine
Create and manage learner assignments.
Can reuse PPTs, PDFs, Videos
Upload and repurpose existing material.
Changing Course default settings
Modify core course configuration.
Consume online video content
Embed or stream video lessons.
Content Library
Course backup Options
Backup and restore course data.
Drag & Drop Interactions
Hybrid Learning Courses
Learning Paths (Curriculums)
Sequence courses into structured programs.
LRS
Scheduling LIVE events
Plan webinars or virtual classes.
Survey Engine
Create learner surveys.
Tests Engine
Build quizzes and exams.
Upload courses
Import courses into the platform.
Enrollment
Attendance Tracking
Track presence in sessions.
Automated Enrollment (based on User data)
Enroll users automatically by rules.
Guest Access Settings
Allow non‑registered users limited access.
Manual Enrollment
Manually assign users to courses.
Progress Tracking
Self-enrollment
Allow learners to join courses freely.
Self-enrollment (with a PIN #)
Require a PIN for enrollment.
Survey enrollment (based on a response)
Format
Course Discussions
Forum-style communication.
Gamification Format
Learner Upload
Allow learners to upload content.
LIVE Chat Option
Real-time messaging inside courses.
Topics Format
Organize course by topics.
Video Conferencing Integration
Connect with tools like Zoom/Teams.
Weekly Format
Course structured week by week.
Gamification
Badge customization
Design custom achievement badges.
Badges
Award digital achievements.
Customize Gamification mechanics
Modify points, levels, and rewards.
Leaderboards
Rank learners based on achievements.
Levels
Define progression stages.
Points
Award points for activity.
Rewards
Offer incentives for achievements.
Interface options
Additional external pages
Block Management
Calendar Settings
Configure system calendar.
Language settings
Set default or custom system language.
Learning Accessibility
Location Settings
Media embedding settings
Control embedding permissions.
Multilanguage Support
Provide support in multiple languages.
Ready-made Themes
Prebuilt platform designs.
Learning types
Asynchronous Instructor-led
Instructor-led but not in real time.
Asynchronous Self-paced
Learners progress independently.
Blended Learning
Mix online and face‑to‑face training.
Synchronous Virtual Classroom
Live real-time classes.
Mobile learning
Offline (disconnected Mobile app)
Access mobile content without internet.
Online (Internet connected)
Access content with full connectivity.
Offline
Support for offline access to content
Downloadable materials for offline study.
Reports
Automated Report Scheduling
Canned Reports
Prebuilt report templates.
Dashboards and Graphic Reports
Visual analytics dashboards.
Email delivery of Reports
Exporting Reports in variety of formats
Grading Report Settings
Learning Analytics Tools
Training Record Maintenance
Maintain full training logs.
Roles
Define roles
Create custom permission roles.
Role Assignment
Assign roles to users.
System Permissions per role
Control access rights.
Teams and Team Hierarchies
Organize users into teams.
Security
Anti-spam
Anti-virus
IP Blocker
Restrict registration to specific domains
Strong Passwords
Enforce secure password rules.
System reports
Automatic email reports in predefined intervals
Custom reports generator
Email notification settings
Control notification rules.
Live Logs
Pricing
Learn more about Brightspace's pricing options, cost, and plans so you can make a well-informed, business-wise decision on the best software to use for organization.
Pricing Model
- Free Trial
- Subscription
License
- Paid
Starting Price
- N/A
Free Trial
- Yes
Please contact us via https://www.d2l.com/contact/ for pricing details
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Reviews
Is Brightspace the right solution for you? Read verified Brightspace reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.
Performance Overview
Overall Rating
70%
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Usefulness
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Usability
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Customer Experience
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Likelihood to Recommend
Unnecessarily complex, unintuitive, and lacking many of the features found in Canvas.
Nov 3, 2025
What do you like best?
Having been an admin for Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard Learn, I found the architecture of Brightspace ridiculously bad.
What do you dislike?
The gradebook tool is so unintuitive and cumbersome, that my team and I had non-stop complaints about it and spent an enormous amount of time troubleshooting it for faculty. Just a very poorly-desgined product that makes even simple tasks difficult and unintuitive. Many faculty started to refer to it as "darkspace."
Brightspace is one great platform for online schooling
Apr 16, 2024
What do you like best?
It is extremely easy to use and navigate around, while it also allows for personalization. I love the fact that I personalize my profile with my picture, Linkedin etc.
What do you dislike?
In my limited experience so far, I have not been able to track any negatives to report for this software.
Terrible. It is very very very very slow. It freezes.
Sep 10, 2023
What do you like best?
Nothing. Confusing, and a bad interface. I am very disappointed with it, to the degree that I am thinking of creating my own Moodle server for all my classes (outside of my institution)
What do you dislike?
Explained above. I already stated above. It is confusing and very very slow. I will not recommend it at all. Today, Sunday 9/10/23, the site is down, cold. it is very disappointing. It was a terrible decision for my university to change from Blackboard to Brightspace. My laptop cpu( i7 with 16 gig ram) is always at 100% when using this software.
A great learning management system for out business needs
Jan 21, 2021
What do you like best?
I love the reporting functionality as well as the ease of navigating around the system. Helps me do my job well, and doesn't add to my existing workload.
What do you dislike?
It's really hard to point fingers here as I m very pleased with the system. If I had to make a suggestion that would have been to update the interface as it looks quite old and dates.
Dullspace - This is the most difficult to use software EVER!
Jun 3, 2020
What do you like best?
It has the ability to integrate with other service providers, such as Cengage. It does a lot and you would never know it because the user interface is awful.
What do you dislike?
The user interface and how unintuitive it is. The user adoption at our university is low. Faculty can't figure out how to use it because it is so complex, user-unfriendly, that they just don't. We have faculty who never use it because they can't deal with it. I can't believe we bought this. So many other vendors that do a much better job.
​Brightspace helps us solve all of our training needs
Jan 31, 2020
What do you like best?
Our organization is very pleased with the ease of use and lots of different functionalities. Bonus points for the mobile version, as more than 60% of our trainees use mobile devices.
What do you dislike?
We haven't faced a single issue in the past year. In case we come up with a problem their world-class customer support is there to assist us.
An extremely user-friend Learning Management System
Jan 31, 2020
What do you like best?
It's very to understand all the different widgets and tools. Love the fact that it's quick to create/update courses and share them with your peers. The look and feel of the platform is also great.
What do you dislike?
​There is not something I liked the least. They are constantly updating the platform and keep adding more tools and settings. If pushed I would probably add a couple of bugs, but nothing out of the ordinary in the tech world.
An ideal training solution for large organizations
Jan 31, 2020
What do you like best?
It's so easy to use from a course creator point of view. You can organize all your training material in one simple dashboard and share it with your colleagues.
What do you dislike?
I would have liked an easier and perhaps more efficient Switch to Student View capability. That's all!
A step back from eCollege - Disappointing
Mar 15, 2018
What do you like best?
It looks nice, but when you go under the hood it's lacking. Every time we ask about something that doesn't work the way we need it to, we're basically told to live with it. Very disappointing.
What do you dislike?
It looks nice, but when you go under the hood it's lacking. Every time we ask about something that doesn't work the way we need it to, we're basically told to live with it. Very disappointing.
Complex LMS system that requires support from technical staff.
Mar 13, 2018
What do you like best?
Course Calendar, overall appearance of Daylight as well as the flexibility and customization you can do for things such as course announcements, awards/badges/certificates, intelligent agents and replacement strings. Large amount of integration options from third party applications.
What do you dislike?
Discussion forums are poorly designed and do not proved a seamless experience for the end user. The individual tool settings can be hard to understand and use - as well as some settings are redundant. There is no automatic creation of grade items when an assessment tool is created (i.e. dropbox, discussion board etc.) - must manually link and create each item in the grade book separately.
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