A hosted Moodle alternative with Arabic and English built in
Moodle is an established open-source learning platform. Some schools and training teams, though, want a hosted system that already includes parents, admissions and payments, with Arabic and English built in. This page sets out where Ilmoria fits, where Moodle may suit you better, and how a move usually works.
About Moodle
Moodle is an open-source learning platform released under the GNU General Public License. It was created by Martin Dougiamas and is developed by Moodle HQ (Moodle Pty Ltd), based in Perth, Western Australia, with contributions from a global community. Institutions can download Moodle and run it on their own servers, use MoodleCloud, the hosted service run by the Moodle team, or work with Moodle Certified Partners. A separate product, Moodle Workplace, focuses on workplace learning. The community has translated Moodle into more than 120 languages.
When Moodle may suit you better
- You want full access to the source code and the freedom to host it on your own servers.
- Your courses rely on SCORM packages or LTI tools today. On Ilmoria, both are on the roadmap.
- You have an in-house Moodle team, or you rely on specific plugins built around your current setup.
Why teams look for an alternative
You'd rather not run your own servers
Hosting, upgrades, backups and security patches take time and specialist skills. Some teams prefer a service where all of that is handled for them.
You want Arabic and English on every screen
Each user switches language at any time, Arabic is fully right-to-left, and your staff can correct any Arabic wording.
You want parents, admissions and payments in the same system
Parent access, online applications, placement tests and invoices sit next to lessons and grades, so families and office staff work in one place.
You want one team accountable for the whole platform
One vendor supports every feature you use, from the course builder to the parent portal.
Where Ilmoria is a strong fit
Bilingual from the start
Every screen is in English and Arabic with a full right-to-left layout. See how bilingual support works.
The school office included
Admissions and enrolment, parent conversations, invoices and receipts are part of the same platform as teaching.
Exams with integrity monitoring
Each attempt gets an integrity score from browser events, and suspicious attempts are flagged for teacher review.
Records that hold up
Final grades with approvals and locking, transcripts with GPA and credits, and certificates with QR verification.
Many schools, one account
Run several schools, campuses or business units, each with its own branding, web address, users and data.
A checklist for your decision
Use this list to compare Ilmoria with Moodle, or any other system, during demos.
| What you need | In Ilmoria |
|---|---|
| Hosting and upgrades | Hosted and updated by Ilmoria, with daily backups |
| Arabic and English interface | Every screen in both, fully right-to-left Arabic |
| Parent access | Parent portal with progress, messages and invoices |
| Admissions and enrolment | Online applications, placement tests, e-signed documents |
| Exam integrity | Integrity score per attempt, flagged for review |
| Transcripts and certificates | GPA and credits; QR-verifiable certificates |
| SCORM and LTI | On the roadmap |
Moving from Moodle
Most moves from Moodle follow four steps. First, export users, courses and grades from Moodle as CSV files and import them into Ilmoria. Second, move content: files, videos and PDFs upload directly, while lessons and quizzes are rebuilt in the course builder, because Ilmoria does not import Moodle course backups. Third, pilot with one grade, programme or department for a term. Fourth, train teachers, office staff and parents before the full switch. You can keep Moodle read-only as an archive while the new year starts.
Questions buyers ask
Is Ilmoria open source like Moodle?
No. Ilmoria is a hosted service, so you don't install, upgrade or patch anything yourself. Your data remains yours: users, courses and grades can be exported as CSV files, and enterprise plans add a REST API and webhooks. If owning and hosting the code yourself is essential, Moodle may be the better fit.
Can Ilmoria import our Moodle courses automatically?
No, there is no automatic importer for Moodle course backups. Users, courses and grades move across as CSV files. Files, videos and PDFs upload directly, and lessons and quizzes are rebuilt in the course builder. Our team can help you decide which courses to rebuild first, so a pilot can start quickly.
Does Ilmoria support SCORM and LTI?
Not yet. SCORM and xAPI packages and LTI 1.3 are on the roadmap. Today Ilmoria connects through Google and Microsoft sign-in, CSV import and export, and, on enterprise plans, SAML single sign-on and a REST API with webhooks. Live classes use Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams links.
Where is our data hosted?
Ilmoria runs on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure with encryption in transit and at rest, row-level isolation between organisations and daily backups. If you have hosting-region requirements, talk to us about them before you decide. You can read more about how we protect data on our security page.
How is Ilmoria priced?
Ilmoria uses annual plans priced per active learner, in three tiers: Starter, Growth and Enterprise. Each quote reflects your number of learners and the features you need, such as single sign-on or API access. Hosting, upgrades and backups are part of the service, so there are no servers to budget for. See pricing to request a quote.
Other comparisons
- Blackboard LMS alternative
- Canvas LMS alternative
- Google Classroom alternative
- Classera alternative
- CYPHER Learning alternative
Moodle is a trademark of its respective owner. Information about other products is general and may change; check details with each vendor.
See Ilmoria with your own school in mind
A 30-minute call with a product specialist. Bring your timetable, your grading rules and your toughest question. We will show you how it works for you, in English or Arabic.