MoodleCloud vs Moodle

How do you make a decision between MoodleCloud and e-Learn Design Moodle hosting? Which one should you choose if you want customisation flexibility or have a specific number of users you need to accommodate? And for many Moodlers, the most important question of all: how much will it all cost?

Cost: Provided by Moodle Pty Ltd, MoodleCloud is an out-of-the-box service based on a subscription model (how many people are using it) and associated disk space allowance.

Service: A self-signup, self-managed solution, MoodleCloud is provided as a ‘shell’ Moodle environment with access only to Moodle core features.

Reporting: There is a report builder that allows you to build simple reports against users and courses, but no additional functionality is available as optional plugins are not permitted.

Support: Offered via free forums and a self-service knowledge base. No additional support is available, and Moodle Partners (i.e. e-Learn Design) have no backend access to provide supplementary services.

Cost: e-Learn Design Moodle hosting packages are fully customisable, and priced on a resource-based model (the disk space you use) with unlimited users permitted in that space.

Service: A fully managed hosting solution, the ‘shell’ Moodle environment is fully customisable and unlimited plugins are permitted.

Reporting: Multiple free plugins are available for more customised reporting, as well as external reporting tools like Inteliboard and Learnerscript which are listed as Premium Integrators.

Support: All e-Learn Design hosting clients have access to the Quick Fix Promise. There are also annual contracts in a variety of flavours, as well as cost-effective Startup bundles for more short-term requirements.

e-Learn Design hosting packages start at 3GB, so we don’t offer a comparable option for sites of 1GB or less.

MoodleCloud off-the-shelf plans stop at 5GB, so there isn’t a comparable option for sites of 10GB or more.