TalentLMS vs Moodle Pricing and Total Cost
MoodleCloud runs from $160 to $2,100 a year and stops at 750 users with no plugins or integrations. TalentLMS runs from $1,428 to $9,348 a year in user bands. Here is the yearly cost of each at 50, 200, 500 and 750 users, and what self-hosted Moodle adds.
By the CompanyLMS team
October 2026 · 8 min read
On list price, MoodleCloud is far cheaper than TalentLMS at every size it serves. MoodleCloud runs from $160 a year for 50 users to $2,100 a year for 750 users. TalentLMS, billed yearly, runs from $1,428 a year for up to 40 users to $9,348 a year for 801 to 1,000. The gap closes fast once you need anything MoodleCloud does not allow: plugins, integrations, single sign-on or more than 750 people. At that point the real comparison is TalentLMS against self-hosted Moodle, and self-hosting usually costs more than either.
Both vendors publish their full rate cards, so every number below comes from the TalentLMS pricing page and the MoodleCloud plans page, not from review sites.
TalentLMS vs Moodle pricing side by side
"Moodle" is three different purchases, and the price depends on which one you mean. MoodleCloud is Moodle hosted by Moodle itself, on fixed annual plans. Self-hosted Moodle is the free open source software on a server you run. Moodle through a certified partner is a quoted managed service. TalentLMS is one hosted product with four paid plans.
| TalentLMS | MoodleCloud | Self-hosted Moodle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $119 a month billed yearly ($1,428) for Core, 1 to 40 users | $160 a year for Starter, 50 users | $0 for the software |
| Largest published plan | Pro, $779 a month billed yearly for 801 to 1,000 users | Standard, $2,100 a year for 750 users | No limit |
| How users are counted | Unique users who log in each month, in fixed bands | A fixed user limit per plan | Not metered |
| Billing | Monthly or yearly, in USD | Annual only, charged in Australian dollars | Your hosting bill and your payroll |
| Plugins and integrations | Built-in integrations, by plan | None. "You are not able to install any plugins or integrations" | The full plugin directory |
| Who runs it | TalentLMS | Moodle | You |
How much does TalentLMS cost?
TalentLMS has four paid plans, Core, Grow, Pro and Enterprise, and each of the first three is sold in user bands. Billed yearly, the monthly rates are:
| Users | Core | Grow | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 40 | $119 | $229 (1 to 70) | $449 (1 to 100) |
| 41 to 70 | $159 | $229 | $449 |
| 71 to 100 | $219 | $299 | $449 |
| 101 to 150 | Not offered | $319 | $479 |
| 151 to 200 | Not offered | $329 | $489 |
| 201 to 300 | Not offered | $349 | $519 |
| 301 to 400 | Not offered | $359 | $539 |
| 401 to 500 | Not offered | $369 | $559 |
| 501 to 600 | Not offered | Not offered | $589 |
| 601 to 800 | Not offered | Not offered | $679 |
| 801 to 1,000 | Not offered | Not offered | $779 |
Paying month to month costs more: Core starts at $149, Grow at $299 and Pro at $579. TalentLMS says pricing "is based on the number of unique users who log in to your portal each month," so a person who never signs in during a month is not counted. It also states there are no setup fees. Ready-made courses are separate: TalentLibrary, a collection of over 1,000 courses, is an add-on to any paid plan.
How much does Moodle cost?
MoodleCloud has five annual plans. Moodle bills them in Australian dollars and shows a US dollar figure next to each, which is why the USD price drifts by a few dollars from month to month.
| MoodleCloud plan | Price a year | Users | Storage | Per user a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $160 USD ($230 AUD) | 50 | 1GB | $3.20 |
| Mini | $270 USD ($380 AUD) | 100 | 2.5GB | $2.70 |
| Small | $490 USD ($700 AUD) | 200 | 5GB | $2.45 |
| Medium | $1,190 USD ($1,700 AUD) | 500 | 20GB | $2.38 |
| Standard | $2,100 USD ($3,000 AUD) | 750 | 50GB | $2.80 |
Those are per year, not per month, which is what makes MoodleCloud look so cheap next to TalentLMS. The limits are where it costs you. A custom domain is included only on Standard and is a $160 AUD a year add-on on Medium. Selling courses through Stripe starts at Small. And the plans stop at 750 users.
Moodle is direct about who MoodleCloud is for. Its plans page says it "works best for individuals selling courses or small organisations with basic learning needs," and its FAQ says "you are not able to install any plugins or integrations." For a company, that second sentence usually rules out the HR system sync and the single sign-on that IT asks for. The full breakdown is on our Moodle pricing page.
TalentLMS vs MoodleCloud cost at 50, 200, 500 and 750 users
| Users | TalentLMS, cheapest fit, billed yearly | MoodleCloud | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $1,908 (Core, 41 to 70) | $160 (Starter) | $1,748 |
| 200 | $3,948 (Grow, 151 to 200; Core stops at 100) | $490 (Small) | $3,458 |
| 500 | $4,428 (Grow, 401 to 500) | $1,190 (Medium) | $3,238 |
| 750 | $8,148 (Pro, 601 to 800; Grow stops at 500) | $2,100 (Standard) | $6,048 |
| 1,000 | $9,348 (Pro, 801 to 1,000) | Not available | Self-host or a partner quote |
The two columns do not count the same thing. MoodleCloud's limit is a cap on the plan. TalentLMS counts unique logins in a month, so a 300 person company where 180 people log in during its busiest month can sit in the 151 to 200 band. If your training is seasonal, compare against your peak month, not your headcount.
What self-hosted Moodle really costs
Past 750 users, or the day you need a plugin, MoodleCloud is no longer an option and "Moodle is free" becomes the argument. The license is free. Running it is a job. Someone has to provision and patch the server, apply Moodle's regular version upgrades, test every plugin against each upgrade, manage backups and answer the "I can't log in" tickets.
We estimate that work at a quarter to one full technical role, or roughly $19,000 to $76,000 a year in salary before hosting. That is our estimate, not a Moodle figure, and a team with a spare systems administrator will land at the low end. Against it, TalentLMS Pro at 1,000 users is $9,348 a year with no server to run. Self-hosting wins only when you already employ the person, or when you need a plugin no hosted product offers.
The middle path is a Moodle Certified Partner, which hosts and maintains Moodle for a quoted fee. Moodle does not publish partner rates, so budget for a sales call.
What the price does not show
- Content standards. Moodle's documentation describes SCORM 1.2 support and says SCORM 2004 is not fully supported. TalentLMS lists SCORM 1.2 and xAPI. If your courses were published as SCORM 2004, test a package on either before you pay. Our SCORM compliant LMS comparison covers which vendors state what.
- Administration. Moodle was built for schools and universities, and its admin screens show it: categories, cohorts, enrolment methods, gradebooks. A training manager can learn it, but plan on days, not hours. TalentLMS is built for company training and is quicker to set up.
- Band edges. On TalentLMS the 41st user moves Core from $119 to $159 a month, and the 101st forces a move from Core to Grow. On MoodleCloud the 201st user moves you from $490 to $1,190 a year.
- Currency. MoodleCloud charges in Australian dollars. Your card statement will not match the USD figure on the page exactly, and your bank may add a foreign transaction fee.
Which should you buy, TalentLMS or Moodle?
Choose MoodleCloud if you have under 750 users, basic needs, no integration requirements and someone patient enough to learn Moodle. Nothing else with a real course engine is that cheap.
Choose TalentLMS if you want a hosted company LMS with integrations, you are comfortable paying for the top of a user band, and your headcount sits well inside a band rather than at its edge.
Choose self-hosted Moodle only if you already have the technical staff and a specific reason, such as a plugin or a data residency rule.
Look at a third option if what you are really buying is employee onboarding, compliance training and certificate renewals, and you do not want bands or servers. CompanyLMS charges $4 per active learner a month on Team, with a 25 learner minimum, and bills only the people who were in a course that month. On list price it costs more than MoodleCloud at every size, and more than TalentLMS for a team that trains at a steady level all year. The case for it is uneven training. TalentLMS bands are sized to your busiest month, while CompanyLMS bills each month on its own count. Take a 200 person company that puts 180 people through annual compliance in January and has 40 people in training in each of the other eleven months. On CompanyLMS that is $720 for January and $160 for each other month, $2,480 for the year. On TalentLMS, a plan sized to the January peak is Grow in the 151 to 200 band, $3,948 a year. You also get certificates with automatic renewal reminders and a dated audit trail per employee, which MoodleCloud cannot add without plugins.
You can build a first course in the studio at the top of this page, then create your account and assign it today. If you are still comparing, see our Moodle alternatives, the TalentLMS alternatives and the LMS for small business comparison.
Is TalentLMS cheaper than Moodle?
No. On published prices MoodleCloud is cheaper than TalentLMS at every size up to 750 users: $160 to $2,100 a year against $1,428 to $8,148 a year. TalentLMS is cheaper than self-hosted Moodle for most companies, because self-hosting needs paid technical staff even though the software is free.
Is Moodle free for companies?
The Moodle software is free and open source for any use, including commercial training. Hosting it is not free. MoodleCloud, the hosted version, starts at $160 a year for 50 users after a 28 day trial of the Starter plan, and self-hosting costs server fees plus administrator time.
Does TalentLMS have a user limit?
Each TalentLMS plan has a ceiling. Core is offered up to 100 users, Grow up to 500 and Pro up to 1,000 in published bands. Above that TalentLMS sells Enterprise by quote. Users are counted as unique logins per month, not as registered accounts.
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