Learning Management (LMS)
OpenOlat
UK / wider Europe Report an error0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by frentix GmbH · www.openolat.com
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OpenOlat at a glance
- Vendor
- frentix GmbH
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Data hosting
- Default not stated; pages mention Switzerland source, captured 1 Nov 2026
- Free plan
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates OpenOlat 2.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. OpenOlat is the open-source learning management system of frentix GmbH in Zürich; the judges' persona-weighted totals span 5.1 to 5.9. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 2 Nov 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
OpenOlat is the open-source learning management system of frentix GmbH in Zürich; the judges' persona-weighted totals span 5.1 to 5.9. It is strongest on integration and portability and sovereignty: single sign-on via OpenID Connect, Shibboleth, ADFS, Azure AD and LDAP with group sync, a REST API, the FX Syncher middleware, Apache-licensed code on GitHub with WAR files — while every hosting plan runs on the vendor's own servers in Switzerland, BigBlueButton stays on Swiss servers, a data processing agreement is integrated into the general terms, and subprocessors are listed by name and country, including Anthropic in the USA and Daylite in Canada. Courses and content holds a uniform 6. Reporting and codetermination is weakest at 3-4, with compliance training and onboarding and academies at 4-5: we found no public information on an unalterable audit trail, course versioning, manager escalation, manager visibility over reports, configurable retention of learner records, works-council material, HR-triggered enrolment or branded portals per audience. Scores spread by at most one point; hosting prices are quoted on request.
Speaks for it
- Open-source edition under the Apache licence, free to download from GitHub with WAR files, giving a documented self-hosting route
- Single sign-on via OpenID Connect, Shibboleth, ADFS, Azure AD and LDAP with group sync, a REST API, and the FX Syncher that writes course results and certificates back to administration systems
- Hosting for every plan runs on servers in Switzerland, video conferencing on Swiss BigBlueButton servers, with a data processing agreement integrated into the general terms and subprocessors listed by name and country
- Certificate programmes with configurable validity periods, credit points, an expiry dashboard and individual reminders support a documented recertification loop
- Course editor with roughly forty building blocks, fourteen question types, learning paths with sequential enforcement and per-learner exceptions, and SCORM 1.2 and LTI 1.0/1.1 import
Held against it
- We found no public information on an unalterable audit trail, course versioning or escalation of reminders to managers
- We found no public information on scheduled custom reports, manager visibility limited to a manager's own team, or works-council and codetermination material
- The vendor's privacy pages state that operators of OpenOlat installations must themselves undertake the necessary GDPR steps
- Two listed subprocessors sit outside Europe — Anthropic (USA) and Daylite (Canada) — with no stated safeguard, and we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification
- We found no public information on xAPI or cmi5 support, a mobile app with offline access, WCAG conformance or AI-assisted authoring
Best for
- You want a documented exit path or cost ceiling — the software is open source under the Apache licence, free to download, with WAR files for self-hosting
- You need personal data processed and stored in Switzerland by default, with a published data processing agreement and subprocessors listed by name and country
- You run an expiry-driven recertification loop — certificate programmes with validity periods, credit points, an expiry dashboard and individual reminders are documented
- You must sync learners, groups, results and certificates with an existing administration system — FX Syncher, LDAP and Active Directory with group sync, and OpenID Connect, Shibboleth and ADFS single sign-on are documented
Avoid if
- You need every subprocessor inside Europe — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- You expect the vendor to carry the GDPR work for your installation — the privacy pages state that operators must themselves undertake the necessary GDPR steps
- You must compute an annual cost from published prices before shortlisting — every hosting plan, Basic through Enterprise, is quoted "Auf Anfrage"
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Courses, learning paths & content standards | 3 of 5 |
| Compliance training, recertification & audit trail | 2.5 of 5 |
| Onboarding, extended enterprise & academies | 2.5 of 5 |
| Reporting, learner data & works council | 2 of 5 |
| Integrations, administration & portability | 3 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 3.5 of 5 |
Courses, learning paths & content standards
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How this is scored
How learning is built and delivered: a course builder with video, documents, quizzes and assignments, import of SCORM 1.2 and 2004, xAPI, cmi5 and LTI packages, learning paths with prerequisites, assessments and question pools, certificates, blended learning with classroom or virtual sessions, a mobile app with offline access, multilingual courses and interface, accessibility (WCAG), AI-assisted authoring, and an off-the-shelf content library.
0 — Not a learning management system; courses cannot be delivered or tracked with it.
3 — Courses with video, documents and quizzes and a completion record; content standards, learning paths and mobile use are basic or not described.
5 — A course builder with quizzes and certificates, SCORM import, learning paths with prerequisites, scheduled instructor-led or virtual sessions, a responsive or native mobile app, and courses and interface in several languages.
8 — SCORM, xAPI and cmi5 or LTI documented, question pools and graded assignments, adaptive or branching paths, an offline mobile app, automatic translation of courses, accessibility conformance stated against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2, and AI authoring with the model and data use explained.
10 — A content platform an L&D team runs on: every major standard with a published conformance statement, a learning record store or xAPI export, skills tagged to content, multilingual versions managed as one course, and course content exportable as packages another LMS imports.
The Onboarding Lead
A course editor with roughly forty building blocks, sequential learning paths with per-learner exceptions, a testing environment with fourteen question types, certificates on passing, blended learning with a course calendar, SCORM 1.2 and LTI, and an interface in over fifteen languages sits comfortably past the mid-level description. We found no public information on xAPI or cmi5, a mobile app with offline access, WCAG accessibility, or AI-assisted authoring — and for a third of my workforce on shifts, the phone story is the one I need. 1 2 3 4 5 10 11
The Compliance Officer
The course editor with roughly forty building blocks, a testing environment with fourteen question types and self-tests, certificates, learning paths with sequential order and exceptions, blended learning with a course calendar and Swiss-hosted virtual classrooms, and an interface translated into more than fifteen languages are all documented. SCORM 1.2 and LTI 1.0/1.1 import are listed, which goes a step further on standards; we found no public information on xAPI, cmi5, an offline mobile app, WCAG conformance or AI-assisted authoring. 1 2 4 5 7 11
The Customer Education Lead
The course editor with roughly forty course building blocks, learning paths with sequential enforcement and per-learner exceptions, fourteen question types with rubric grading, certificates triggered on a passed test, SCORM 1.2 and LTI 1.0/1.1, blended learning with a course calendar and Swiss-hosted virtual classrooms, and an interface in over fifteen languages make this a serious course platform. We found no public information on xAPI or cmi5, a mobile app, accessibility conformance or AI-assisted authoring, which keeps it from the top marks. 1 2 3 4 5 7 10 11 16
The Works Council Member
The course editor with roughly forty building blocks, fourteen question types, certificates triggered on test completion, learning paths with sequence enforcement and per-learner exceptions, blended learning with in-person dates and virtual classrooms, and an interface in more than fifteen languages are documented; SCORM 1.2 and LTI import are named, but we found no public information on xAPI or cmi5, an offline mobile app, WCAG conformance or AI authoring. 1 2 3 4 5 7 10 11
The IT & HR Systems Admin
A course editor with roughly forty building blocks, a testing environment with fourteen question types and repeatable self-tests, certificates triggered on passing, learning paths that enforce sequence with completion criteria and per-learner exceptions, blended learning with a course calendar and virtual classrooms, and an interface in over fifteen languages are all documented, with SCORM 1.2 and LTI 1.0/1.1 import named. We found no public information on xAPI or cmi5, an offline mobile app, WCAG conformance or AI-assisted authoring, so the evidence sits clearly above the mid band but short of the top. 2 3 4 5 7 10 11
The Skeptic
A genuine course system: a course editor with around forty course elements, learning-path courses with sequential order, completion criteria and per-learner exceptions, fourteen question types, rubric grading, certificates triggered on test completion, blended learning with a course calendar, and virtual classrooms; SCORM 1.2 and LTI 1.0/1.1 are documented and the interface comes in more than fifteen languages. We found no public information on xAPI or cmi5 support, a mobile app with offline access, WCAG conformance, or AI-assisted authoring — the only AI described is Anthropic's Claude, used for the vendor's internal handling of support requests. 1 2 3 4 5 7 10 11
Compliance training, recertification & audit trail
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How this is scored
Whether mandatory training can be run and proven: automatic assignment by role, department, location or legal entity, due dates with reminders and escalation to the manager, recurring recertification (annual data protection, IT security, anti-money-laundering, occupational safety instruction), attestations and acknowledgements of policies, attendance records for classroom sessions, course versioning with who completed which version, expiry of certificates, and audit-ready reports and exports for regulators or auditors.
0 — No way to assign mandatory training or record completion.
3 — Courses can be assigned with a due date and completions reported; recertification, escalation and audit evidence are basic or not described.
5 — Rule-based assignment by group or attribute, due dates with automatic reminders, recurring recertification with certificate expiry, policy acknowledgements, attendance for live sessions, and completion reports exportable for an audit.
8 — Escalation to managers, course versioning with the completed version stored per learner, an unalterable audit trail, e-signatures or attestations with timestamp, ready-made compliance dashboards by entity and location, and named regimes supported (occupational safety instruction, GxP or 21 CFR Part 11, FINMA or BaFin requirements).
10 — Compliance evidence that holds in an inspection: validated or certified for a named regulated use, every assignment, reminder, attempt and completion traceable to a timestamped record, retention of training records configurable per regulation, and the audit trail exportable in a documented format.
The Onboarding Lead
Certificate programmes with a validity period, trigger conditions and credit points, plus a dashboard of who is certified, whose certificate expires and who is in renewal with individual reminders, give me the annual safety-instruction loop; attendance management (a paid add-on) and a form module issuing binding confirmations as PDF by email cover classroom records and attestations. We found no public information on assignment by role, department or location, escalation to the manager, course versioning, or audit-ready exports. 1 4 6 10 12
The Compliance Officer
Recertification is documented in depth: certificate programmes with configurable validity periods, an automatic credit-point system for renewal, a dashboard showing whose certificate expires when, individual deadline reminders, plus attendance management and a form module that produces binding confirmations with PDF delivery by email. What my last audit demanded of us — course versioning showing who completed which version, escalation of reminders to the manager, and an unalterable audit trail ready to hand over — we found no public information on, and named regimes such as BaFin requirements go unmentioned. 12 4 1 5 6
The Customer Education Lead
Certificate programmes bundle courses into mandatory programmes with a flexible validity period, trigger conditions and credit points, and a dashboard shows who is certified, whose certificate expires soon and who is in renewal, with individual deadline reminders — exactly the expiry-driven recertification my partners need. Binding confirmations with a PDF record by email and an attendance tool for live sessions are documented too, but we found no public information on manager escalation, course versioning per completed learner, an unalterable audit trail, or named regulated regimes. 1 4 6 10 12
The Works Council Member
Binding programmes bundle courses and learning paths with flexible validity periods, credit points and trigger conditions, a dashboard shows whose certificate expires with individual reminders, the form module produces attestations with PDF confirmation by email, and attendance management exists as a paid module; we found no public information on escalation to managers or audit-ready exports for a regulator. 12 4 6 1
The IT & HR Systems Admin
Courses and learning paths can be bundled into binding programmes with a flexible validity period and trigger conditions, a dashboard shows who is certified, whose certificate expires soon and who is in renewal, individual reminders keep deadlines, an integrated credit-point system drives recertification, and attendance management plus a form module issuing binding PDF confirmations by email are available. We found no public information on escalation to managers, course versioning per learner, an unalterable audit trail or named regulated regimes, which keeps it at the mid band. 1 4 5 6 12
The Skeptic
The recertification loop is real: certificate programmes with a configurable validity period and credit points, a dashboard showing who is certified and whose certificate expires soon, individual reminders, an attendance tool for live sessions, and a form module producing binding PDF confirmations. We found no public information on rule-based assignment by role or legal entity, escalation to managers, course versioning, or an unalterable audit trail and audit export — and the vendor's GDPR page states that operators of OpenOlat installations must themselves undertake the necessary GDPR steps. 1 4 12 15
Onboarding, extended enterprise & academies
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How this is scored
Which audiences the product serves and how much runs without an administrator: onboarding journeys enrolled automatically from the HR system on the start date, manager and buddy tasks, frontline staff without a company email, multiple branded portals or tenants for customers, partners, franchisees or members, self-registration and SSO for external users, selling courses with checkout, subscriptions and coupons, partner certification programmes, and groups, branches and delegated administration.
0 — Serves no organisational audience; a personal course viewer only.
3 — Users can be grouped and enrolled by hand; automated onboarding and external audiences are basic or not described.
5 — Onboarding paths assigned automatically on creation of the user, groups or branches with their own administrators, a branded portal for external learners with self-registration, and either course sales with payment or several portals for different audiences.
8 — Onboarding triggered by HR-system events with manager tasks and checklists, login for frontline staff without email (username, QR code or kiosk), several branded tenants with separate content, reporting and administrators, course sales with subscriptions, bundles and invoices, and partner certification with renewal.
10 — Internal and external learning run from one platform at scale: unlimited tenants with their own domains and data separation stated, e-commerce with VAT handling and accounting integration, onboarding journeys that span HR, IT and the manager, and every audience reported on separately and together.
The Onboarding Lead
Onboarding and customer training are named use cases with checklists, guided learning paths and knowledge tests, self-registration with social logins, a bookable catalog with prices and PayPal as a paid add-on, and the FX Syncher middleware that pulls data from the administration system and writes results and certificates back. What I need most is not documented: enrolment the day HR creates the starter, manager and buddy tasks, login for shift workers without a company email, and branded portals per audience. 5 6 12 13
The Compliance Officer
Employee onboarding and customer academies are both named use cases, with onboarding checklists, knowledge tests and certificates, self-registration and guest login for external learners, a bookable course catalogue with prices, PayPal as a paid option, and the FX Syncher that creates groups and curriculum structures from the customer's own administration system. We found no public information on manager tasks and checklists in onboarding journeys, separate branded tenants for different audiences, or login for frontline staff without a company email. 13 5 6 12
The Customer Education Lead
Customer product training and employee onboarding are named use cases, external learners can self-register or enter as guests, a filterable catalog presents courses with prices and booking options backed by a PayPal add-on, and the FX Syncher pulls people, groups and curricula from an administrative system automatically. What I could not find is evidence of several branded portals or tenants per audience, subscriptions or invoicing, or a dedicated partner certification programme — the heart of an extended-enterprise academy for 120 partners — and organisational units, custom layout and a custom domain come at a surcharge. 5 6 12 13
The Works Council Member
Onboarding use cases with checklists, knowledge tests, anonymous surveys and certificates, self-registration including guest and social login for external learners, and a course catalog with prices and booking plus PayPal as an add-on are documented; we found no public information on onboarding triggered automatically from an HR event, branded separate portals for different audiences, or frontline access without an email address. 13 5 6 12
The IT & HR Systems Admin
Employee onboarding and customer product training are named use cases with checklists, knowledge tests and surveys, users can self-register by email or log in as guests, and the FX Syncher pulls data from administration systems to create courses, groups and curriculum structures automatically. A filterable course catalog with dates, prices and booking plus PayPal at a surcharge, and organisational units at a surcharge, round this out; we found no public information on separate branded tenants for external audiences, manager and buddy tasks, or partner certification with renewal. 5 6 12 13
The Skeptic
Onboarding and customer-product-training use cases are described with checklists, guided learning paths, knowledge tests and SCORM modules; self-registration and guest login exist alongside social logins, and a filterable course catalog with dates, prices and booking options plus PayPal as a paid add-on supports selling training. We found no public information on onboarding enrolled automatically from an HR event, manager or buddy tasks, separately branded portals for external audiences, or partner certification programmes. 5 6 12 13
Reporting, learner data & works council
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How this is scored
What the system shows about learning and about each learner, and how far the customer can limit it: dashboards and reports for L&D, managers and auditors, custom and scheduled reports, which learner data is recorded (completions, scores, time spent, logins), role-based visibility so managers see only their team, aggregated or pseudonymised reports, the option to switch off time tracking or scoring, retention and deletion rules, learner access to their own data, and material for a works agreement under §87(1) no. 6 BetrVG or the vendor's description of codetermination. Where the data is processed is scored under sovereignty.
0 — No reports, or individual learner activity shown to every administrator with no settings at all.
3 — Completion and progress reports exist and a privacy policy covers the product; what is recorded per learner and who sees it are basic or not described.
5 — Dashboards and custom reports with scheduled delivery, roles that restrict managers to their own team, the learner data recorded described, retention and deletion of learner records configurable, and a data processing agreement offered.
8 — Granular visibility per role and organisational unit, aggregated or pseudonymised reports for analytics, tracking of time spent or scores that can be switched off, automatic deletion after a set period, a learner data export, and a works council or codetermination guide, template works agreement or data protection impact assessment supplied.
10 — Learner data under the customer's full control and documented as such: every recorded field and every report listed with who can see it, privacy settings per country or entity, an audit log of who viewed learner data, and the codetermination position confirmed by a named works council, law firm or certification.
The Onboarding Lead
Evaluations are a core feature, the learning-path report and reporting on bookings, participation and feedback are documented, surveys are anonymous by default, and a data processing agreement with data-subject rights is published. We found no public information on custom scheduled reports, role-based views limiting managers to their own team, learner data export, or works-council material, and the vendor states that operators must take the necessary GDPR steps themselves. 1 4 6 9 12
The Compliance Officer
Integrated reporting on bookings, participation and feedback, a learning path report, a certification dashboard, surveys that are anonymous by default, and a data processing agreement integrated into the general terms are all documented, and the privacy policy states retention for log files and backups. We found no public information on custom scheduled reports, manager visibility restricted to their own team, configurable retention of learner records in the customer installation, a learner data export, or material for a works agreement under §87(1) no. 6 BetrVG. 12 10 4 9 1
The Customer Education Lead
Integrated reporting covers bookings, participation and feedback, a dashboard tracks certification status, learning-path reports exist, surveys are anonymous by default, and a privacy policy with a published data processing agreement names retention for log files and backups and the rights of data subjects. We found no public information on scheduled custom reports, manager visibility restricted to their own team, configurable retention of learner records, or any works council and codetermination material such as a works agreement template. 4 9 10 12 15
The Works Council Member
Completion and learning-path reports, integrated evaluation and booking reporting, roles and permissions managed in the product, surveys anonymous by default, a published data processing agreement and stated retention for logfiles and backups give me part of what a works agreement needs; but we found no public information on which individual data is recorded per learner, who sees individual results, whether scoring or time tracking can be switched off, or any codetermination guide, and the vendor explicitly leaves the GDPR steps to the operator of each installation. 1 4 6 9 10 12 15
The IT & HR Systems Admin
Integrated reporting on bookings, participation and feedback, a learning-path report, a certification dashboard, surveys anonymous by default, and roles and permissions managed in the platform are documented, and a data processing agreement is an integral part of the general terms with retention stated for log files and backups. We found no public information on scheduled custom reports, manager visibility restricted to their own team, configurable retention of learner records, learner data export, or works council and codetermination material, so this sits between the low and mid bands. 4 6 9 10 12
The Skeptic
Reports exist — a learning-path report, a certification dashboard, reporting on bookings, participation and feedback, evaluations built in, and surveys anonymous by default — and a privacy policy and a data processing agreement integrated into the terms are published. We found no public information on which learner data is recorded and who may see each report, custom or scheduled reports, customer-configurable retention of learner records, or any works-council or codetermination material; the stated retention periods (logfiles up to 14 days, backups 90 days) describe the vendor's own operation rather than a customer's learning records. 1 4 9 10 12 15
Integrations, administration & portability
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How this is scored
How the system fits the company and what leaving would cost: single sign-on (SAML, OpenID Connect) and user provisioning (SCIM) from Entra ID, Google or Okta, sync with HR systems (Personio, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday), Microsoft Teams, Slack and video conferencing integrations, a documented REST API and webhooks, CRM and e-commerce connectors for academies, export of users, completions and certificates, export of courses as SCORM, open-source code, and a self-hosted or on-premise edition.
0 — No integrations and no export; users and records exist only inside the product.
3 — CSV import of users and an export of reports; SSO, an API and HR-system sync are basic or not described.
5 — SAML or OpenID Connect single sign-on, a documented REST API, a connector or documented sync for at least one named HR system, Microsoft Teams or video conferencing integration, and export of users, completions and certificates.
8 — SCIM provisioning, prebuilt connectors for several named HR, CRM and identity systems, webhooks, a public API reference with rate limits, a sandbox or test instance, courses exportable as SCORM, and a self-hosted or private-cloud edition with its own documentation.
10 — The customer can run, extend and leave the platform freely: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, a complete export of users, history, certificates and content in open formats, and the return and deletion of all data on termination documented.
The Onboarding Lead
The identity stack is broad — LDAP with group sync, Azure AD, ADFS, Shibboleth, OpenID Connect — alongside a REST API, xls bulk import, middleware syncing both directions with the administration system, Swiss-hosted BigBlueButton, a paid test system, and a true open-source edition under the Apache licence with WAR files for self-hosting. We found no public information on SCIM provisioning, connectors for a named HR system, webhooks, or exporting courses as SCORM. 1 5 6 7 16
The Compliance Officer
Single sign-on via OpenID Connect, Shibboleth, ADFS, Azure AD and LDAP with group sync, an extensive REST API, xls mass import of users, BigBlueButton conferencing, and the FX Syncher that reads from the customer's administration systems and plays course results and certificates back are all documented. Because the software is open source under the Apache licence with WAR files and a free download, self-hosting with the published manual is a real and documented exit path; we found no public information on SCIM provisioning, webhooks, a public API reference with rate limits, or exporting courses as SCORM. 5 1 7 16 6
The Customer Education Lead
Single sign-on is documented across OpenID Connect, Shibboleth, ADFS, Azure Active Directory and OAuth2, a REST interface and the vendor's FX Syncher move people, groups, course results and certificates in and out of the administrative system, BigBlueButton is integrated, and the whole system is open source under the Apache licence and downloadable from GitHub as WAR files — the strongest exit story I have seen. We found no public information on SCIM provisioning, webhooks, named HR or CRM connectors such as Personio or a Teams integration, or export of courses as SCORM, and a test system is a surcharge. 1 5 6 7 16
The Works Council Member
Single sign-on via OpenID Connect, Shibboleth and ADFS, a REST API, LDAP and Active Directory with group sync, the FX Syncher that moves data from administration systems into OpenOlat including results and certificates, BigBlueButton and OnlyOffice integrations, and an open-source, self-hostable edition under the Apache licence with GitHub download are documented; we found no public information on SCIM provisioning, webhooks, a public API reference with rate limits or SCORM export, and in the hosting packages the interfaces themselves cost extra. 1 5 6 7 16
The IT & HR Systems Admin
For my Microsoft shop this reads well: OpenID Connect, OAuth2, Shibboleth and ADFS single sign-on with Microsoft Azure Active Directory and LDAP group sync, a REST API positioned as enabling any integration, the FX Syncher moving courses, groups, results and certificates between administration systems and OpenOlat, BigBlueButton video conferencing, and — decisive for exit costs — the software is open source under the Apache licence, downloadable from GitHub with WAR files, so we could host it ourselves. We found no public information on SCIM provisioning, Microsoft Teams integration, webhooks with rate limits or export of courses as SCORM packages, and no named HR-system connector such as Personio, which is what keeps it below the top band. 1 4 5 6 7 16
The Skeptic
Single sign-on via OpenID Connect, Shibboleth, LDAP and Active Directory with group sync, a REST web service, the FX Syncher that pulls from administration systems and writes course results and certificates back, BigBlueButton video conferencing and xls bulk user import form a solid core — and the code is open source under the Apache licence, downloadable from GitHub, with WAR files provided to customers who host it themselves. We found no public information on SCIM provisioning, webhooks, API rate limits, or export of courses as SCORM; a test system exists as an add-on at extra cost, and one capture notes the Office365 document editor is not available in the open-source version. 1 5 6 7 16
European sovereignty
panel opinion
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How this is scored
Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where learner data (names, completions, scores, certificates) is stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, video streaming, email, AI features, support and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; learner records are employee data, so the whole chain counts, not only the database. A self-hosted or open-source edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.
0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.
5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (video, email, AI features, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every learner record on the customer's own servers.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting and every subprocessor, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.
The Onboarding Lead
The contracting entity is frentix GmbH in Zürich, personal data is by default processed and stored in Switzerland on the vendor's own servers for all hosting plans, video conferencing runs on Swiss servers, a data processing agreement is integrated into the general terms, and subprocessors are listed with locations — Claude from Anthropic (USA) for support requests and Daylite (Canada) for CRM, alongside Swiss and Irish providers. No ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification is stated and we found no public information on an EU representative; the open-source edition would let me keep learner records on our own servers, though data handling for that route is not described. 6 7 8 9 13 16
The Compliance Officer
frentix GmbH of Zürich is the named contracting and hosting entity, with the server location stated as Switzerland for every hosting plan, video conferencing on BigBlueButton servers operated in Switzerland, and a data processing agreement integrated into the general terms; the privacy policy lists subprocessors with their locations, including providers in the USA and Canada for support requests and CRM, and states that operators of installations must take the necessary GDPR steps themselves. We found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification. The open-source edition under the Apache licence lets a bank run the entire chain on its own European servers, which counts as the customer's own chain. 6 8 9 16 7
The Customer Education Lead
frentix GmbH in Zurich runs the platform on its own servers in Switzerland for every plan, video conferencing stays on Swiss BigBlueButton servers, a data processing agreement is integrated into the general terms, and the privacy policy lists subprocessors with their locations, including Anthropic in the USA for support requests and a Canadian CRM. No security certification such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 is stated and the contracting entity and hosting are Swiss rather than EU. As a documented open-source edition it can also run on my own European servers. 6 7 8 9 13 16
The Works Council Member
frentix GmbH in Zürich states that personal data is by default processed and stored in Switzerland on its own servers, lists subprocessors with their locations — including an AI service in the USA for customer and support requests and a CRM in Canada — and publishes a data processing agreement integrated in its general terms; the open-source edition can run on our own European servers, and we found no public information on security certifications such as ISO 27001. 1 6 7 8 9
The IT & HR Systems Admin
The vendor is frentix GmbH in Zürich, hosting runs on the vendor's own servers in Switzerland for every plan, BigBlueButton servers are operated in Switzerland, personal data is by default processed and stored in Switzerland, and a data processing agreement is published with subprocessors named including their countries. Two of those subprocessors — Anthropic in the USA for internal customer and support requests and Daylite in Canada for CRM — sit outside Europe without a stated safeguard, and we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification; the documented open-source edition we could run on our own servers is what lifts this above the mid band. 6 7 8 9 16
The Skeptic
The chain is unusually well documented for a European buyer: all plans run on servers in Switzerland, the vendor's own site on its own Swiss servers, video conferencing on Swiss BigBlueButton servers, a data processing agreement is an integral part of the general terms, subprocessors are listed by name and country, and a privacy officer is named. Two listed subprocessors sit outside Europe — Anthropic in the USA for internal processing of customer and support requests, Marketcircle in Canada for CRM — without a stated safeguard, we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certifications, and the self-hosted open-source option is documented without an explicit statement that it keeps every learner record off the vendor's servers. 6 7 8 9 13 16
Pricing transparency
not rated — the vendor publishes no price
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How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per tier by active or registered users, what counts as an active user, what happens above the tier, which features (SSO, API, HR connectors, extra portals, e-commerce, custom domain, content library) cost extra, the free tier or trial and its limits, implementation and support fees, the self-hosted edition and its licence, minimum term and VAT treatment.
0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.
3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with users, portals or features is unclear.
5 — Tiers are public with their price per user band and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (SSO, API, extra portals, HR connector, implementation) is unpriced or "on request".
8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (active or registered users, portals), the definition of an active user and overage stated, add-ons priced, the self-hosted edition's cost or licence stated, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.
10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given number of learners, portals and features, with every add-on, implementation, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.
The Onboarding Lead
Every managed-hosting price is stated as "Auf Anfrage" (on request): the tier structure — user bands from 250 up to 500,000, concurrent-user limits and uptime commitments — is public, and roughly a dozen add-ons from OnlyOffice to attendance management are marked as costing more without amounts. The open-source download is free, a genuine public price point, but I cannot compute an annual cost for 1,400 people across three plants from the published pages. 1 6 7
The Compliance Officer
The software itself is free to download as open source, and the hosting tiers publish user bands from 250 up to 500'000, concurrent-user limits and uptime commitments of "mind. 99.0%" and "mind. 99.5%" — but every hosting price is stated as "Auf Anfrage" and every add-on from BigBlueButton meetings and Schnittstellen to OnlyOffice and organisational units is marked "Aufpreis" without figures, so the annual cost cannot be computed from public pages. 6 7
The Customer Education Lead
All three hosting plans — Basic, Individual and Enterprise — are priced only on request, though the page publishes user bands from 250 to 500,000, concurrent-user limits, uptime commitments, and marks every add-on from interfaces to organisational units, attendance management and PayPal as a surcharge, and the software itself is free to download as open source. Because no figure for any plan or add-on is public, I cannot compute what an academy for 3,000 customers and 120 partners would actually cost. 6 7
The Works Council Member
The software download is free and open source, and the hosting page publishes the three packages with user bands, concurrent-user limits, minimum uptime commitments and which modules cost a surcharge; but every plan price is "Auf Anfrage", so a buyer cannot compute an annual cost beyond the free self-hosted route. 1 6 7
The IT & HR Systems Admin
All three hosting tiers — Basic, Individual, Enterprise — show the price as "Auf Anfrage" (on request), even though user bands, concurrent-user limits and uptime commitments per tier are public and a long list of modules is flagged only as a surcharge, among them webmeetings, OnlyOffice, interfaces, the test system, attendance management and organisational units. The open-source edition is available free of charge for download, which is the only public price signal; the annual cost for our roughly 600 users cannot be computed from these pages. 6 7
The Skeptic
Every hosting plan is quoted "Auf Anfrage" — Basic, Individual and Enterprise alike — while the structure is public: user bands from 250 up to 500,000, concurrent-user limits, availability of at least 99.0 or 99.5 percent, and a long list of add-ons (video conferencing, OnlyOffice, course planner, attendance management, interfaces, test system, PayPal) marked as extra cost with no figures. The open-source edition is a free download, so a zero-licence self-hosted path exists, but we found no public price for any hosted tier and no statement of implementation or support fees. 6 7
European sovereignty — proven facts
0 of 6 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting location | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Hosting options | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Open source | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
Questions about OpenOlat
Is OpenOlat European?
Yes, though not from the EU. whats-best.ai classifies OpenOlat as UK / wider Europe.
Where does OpenOlat store data?
The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Switzerland as hosting location, per the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026.
Does OpenOlat have a free plan?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.
What are the best alternatives to OpenOlat?
As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates iSpring LMS (iSpring Learn) (3/5), Zensai Learn365 (formerly LMS365) (3/5) and LearnWorlds (3/5) highest among the other 12 Learning Management (LMS) products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Zensai Learn365 (formerly LMS365) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: OpenOlat alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 1 Nov 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Data processing agreement, Hosting location, Legal entity, Hosting options. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 9 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 3 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 2 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 compliance fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 data fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 support fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 4 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
Sources (16)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor homepage www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 2 Features page www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 3 Features page (learning paths and curriculum) www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 4 Features page (assessments) www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 5 Integrations page www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 6 Features page (hosting packages, prices on request) www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 7 Features page (open source) www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 8 Legal notice www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 9 Privacy policy www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 10 Courses, learning paths & content standards — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 11 Courses, learning paths & content standards — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 12 Compliance training, recertification & audit trail — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 13 Onboarding, extended enterprise & academies — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 14 Onboarding, extended enterprise & academies — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 15 Reporting, learner data & works council — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
- 16 Integrations, administration & portability — found from sitemap www.openolat.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →