Open source online exam software: 6 options compared

Open source online exam software gives you the code and a license, but not a hosted service. As of November 2026, six projects clear a simple bar of a named license, public source and a recent release: Moodle, TAO Community Edition, TCExam, ILIAS, OpenOlat and Chamilo.

This guide is for training managers, small training companies and IT leads weighing a free, self-hosted exam tool against a paid platform. The license costs nothing, but patching, backups and exam-day capacity move to you, so the comparison puts hosting burden next to features.

Everything below comes from each project’s own repository and website, read in November 2026. We did not install or run these projects, so this post reports published claims, not performance. SimpliAssess is our product. It is a cloud-based platform, and its published pages do not describe it as open source, so it is not one of the six.

Key takeaways

• All six name a license on their own pages: GPL-3.0 (Moodle, ILIAS, Chamilo), AGPL-3.0 (TAO Community Edition, TCExam) and Apache 2.0 (OpenOlat).
• TCExam and TAO Community Edition are built around assessment; Moodle, ILIAS, OpenOlat and Chamilo are learning platforms with testing inside.
• A free license does not mean free to run: support windows, such as Moodle’s roughly three years of security fixes per long-term release, set your upgrade rhythm.
• Open source fits teams with a named server owner. Without one, a hosted platform is usually the safer route.

What counts as open source online exam software?

Here it means software whose source code is public under a license named on the project’s own repository or site, that can run an assessment, and that has shipped a release in the past year. Products that are free to start but run only in a vendor’s cloud are a different decision, covered in free online exam software trade-offs.

Most roundups on this topic do not name each project’s license or the stack it needs. This post gives both, and it dates every version as of November 2026.

How do the six open source online exam software options compare?

Four of the six are full learning platforms with testing built in, while TCExam and TAO Community Edition are assessment-first. Licenses split three ways: GPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0 and Apache 2.0. The table shows each project’s license and newest release as displayed on its own pages in November 2026.

Which of the six fits which reader?

Each project suits a different team. The short notes below give who it suits and one published limit. They are judgments from published pages, not rankings, and a limit is not a flaw: it is something to plan for before you install.

Is Moodle the right choice for exams inside courses?

Moodle suits organizations that want quizzes inside a full course platform and can run a mainstream PHP and database stack. Its README says it is released under version 3 of the GNU General Public License. The limit is the upgrade clock: on the Moodle releases page, 4.5 LTS general support ended October 6, 2025. Skip it if you want a single-purpose exam tool without course features.

Is TAO Community Edition the right choice for standards-first testing?

TAO suits teams where assessment is the core product and interoperability matters. Its Community Edition page states AGPLv3 and no licensing fees, with paid options for services. The project’s Community Edition site lists Docker Compose, Kubernetes, Quadlet, Raspberry Pi and virtual machine routes but no system requirements, so ask for sizing first. Skip it if nobody can run containers or a virtual machine.

Is TCExam the right choice for a small, focused exam system?

TCExam suits a small team that wants a dedicated exam system. Its repository lists WCAG 2.1 level AA conformance, 26 languages, LDAP, RADIUS and CAS sign-in, and paper testing with optical mark recognition. The limit is the install: PHP 8.2 or later, Composer and a database. It is an assessment system, not a course platform.

Is ILIAS the right choice for a university-style deployment?

ILIAS suits larger institutions that want a full learning platform under GPL 3.0 and may use a service provider; ilias.de says providers offer hosting and training. The limit for this comparison is documentation: neither its README nor its home page describes the test module, so read the test docs before shortlisting. ILIAS 12 beta 1 is a pre-release, so plan around 11.5.

Is OpenOlat the right choice for QTI tests inside a learning platform?

OpenOlat suits teams that want QTI 2.1 tests in a learning platform under Apache 2.0. Its 21.1 release notes follow 21.0 (July 16, 2026), which added Safe Exam Browser configuration import and AI-graded free-text questions. The limit is the stack: the README developer setup names Java 17, Apache Tomcat 10 and PostgreSQL. Its maker, frentix, offers hosting options.

Is Chamilo the right choice for an accessibility-minded learning platform?

Chamilo suits organizations that want a learning platform described as focused on ease of use and accessibility, under GPL-3.0 or later. Version 3.0.2 is listed for November 3, 2026 and the legacy 1.11.42 for November 1. The limit is hosting: the README asks for a dedicated virtual host, not a subfolder of another app, and the quiz tools are not described on the pages read.

What does self-hosting ask of you after the install?

It asks for a named owner, a patch routine and an upgrade plan. Release support windows set the pace. Moodle’s two long-term releases show about three years of security fixes: 4.5 from October 7, 2024 to October 4, 2027, and 5.3 from October 5, 2026 to October 1, 2029. Other projects publish their own windows, so look for yours.

The table lists the stack each project publishes. Moodle’s figures are minimums for 5.3, and the others come from README or download pages.

Pro tip: Put the Support End Date in the Calendar. On install day, write the end-of-security-support date of your version in a shared calendar and book the next upgrade project for six months before it. Where a project offers a long-term release, pick that one, because it gives the longest runway.

Which license terms should you check before you install?

Check what the license requires if you modify the code. TAO Community Edition and TCExam use the GNU Affero General Public License v3. Its section 13 requires a modified version to “prominently offer all users interacting with it remotely through a computer network” a way to get the source code. That matters if you customize an exam engine and candidates use it online.

Moodle, ILIAS and Chamilo publish under GPL version 3, and OpenOlat under Apache 2.0. Read the license file before you modify code or bundle a project into something you sell. This is general information, not legal advice, so have counsel check the license against your plans.

Who owns each job when you run it yourself?

You do. A hosted vendor normally handles patching, backups, capacity and data location; with self-hosted software each becomes a task on your team’s list. The table turns that into a checklist you can assign before the first exam, with what to confirm in each project’s documentation.

Exam security is a sixth job that no project does for you. Randomization, timers and access windows still need configuring, and the exam security settings checklist covers them.

Pro tip: Rehearse a Restore Before You Need One. Restore last night’s backup onto a spare server and open a past candidate’s result. If that fails, the backup is not a backup. Do the drill once before the first live exam and again after every major upgrade.

Which open source option should you shortlist first?

Shortlist by your starting point, not by feature count. The published facts above point to these pairings. They are editorial judgment, so confirm each against the project’s current documentation:

• Exams inside courses, with PHP skills on staff: Moodle or Chamilo.
• Standards-first assessment and item portability: TAO Community Edition or OpenOlat.
• A small, focused exam system, including paper tests: TCExam.
• A university-style platform with provider hosting: ILIAS or OpenOlat.

When is open source the wrong choice?

It is the wrong choice when nobody on your side can run servers, when exam volume is spiky and unforgiving, or when a client expects a vendor to carry contractual responsibility. The license fee disappears, but the work moves to your team, so a build-versus-buy cost model is worth running with your own numbers.

The white label platform versus building your own exam engine framework walks through that comparison with labeled assumptions. If you decide to compare paid platforms too, the assessment platform RFP checklist gives a scoring method.

What should you do next?

Pick two projects from the shortlist and install each on a spare server with a copy of about 50 of your real items. Run one mock exam, export the items, and restore a backup. A day of that shows more than any feature list, including how much admin work each one creates.

If that exercise tells you running servers is not for you, you can request a SimpliAssess demo to see a cloud-based option. SimpliAssess’s FAQ describes the platform as cloud-based; its published pages do not state an open-source license or a self-hosted edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is open source exam software really free?

The license is free, but running the software is not. You pay for servers, backups, security patches, upgrades and staff time. TAO’s site says there are no licensing fees and sells services separately. Budget for a named owner and at least one planned upgrade a year, because those costs continue long after the install.

Can open source exam software run proctored exams?

The project pages read for this post describe proctoring only thinly. OpenOlat’s 21.0 release notes mention importing Safe Exam Browser configuration files. For the other projects, check the documentation for browser lockdown, and plan procedural controls such as randomized questions, timers and supervised rooms instead of assuming the software provides them.

What does the AGPL mean for an exam platform?

Under AGPL section 13, if you modify the program, your version must offer remote users a way to get its source code. That applies to TAO Community Edition and TCExam. If you only run an unmodified copy, the situation differs. This is general information, not legal advice, so check your plans with counsel.

Can I move my questions out of these systems later?

Only if you plan for it. TAO’s site describes the platform as QTI and LTI standards-based, and OpenOlat’s documentation says its tests use IMS QTI 2.1. For the other projects, the pages read here do not state import or export formats, so export a real sample of items before you commit.

Which open source option is best for a small training company?

No published source ranks them, so it depends on your staff. With PHP skills and one exam use, TCExam or Moodle match the published stacks. If you want a standards-first engine and can run containers, look at TAO. If nobody can manage a server, a hosted platform is the safer route.

How do I check that a project is still maintained?

Open the project’s own releases page and support policy. As of November 2026, Moodle listed 5.3.1 on November 12, Chamilo 3.0.2 on November 3 and OpenOlat 21.1 on September 30. Treat a project with no release in the past year as a risk, because security fixes depend on active maintainers.