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Blackboard Logo

A marketing-leading LMS for education, biz, gov, and more.

Table of Contents

Blackboard - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

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All user reviews are verified by in-house moderators and provider data by our software research team.  Learn more

Last updated: March 2026

Blackboard overview

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Based on 536 verified user reviews

What is Blackboard?

Blackboard is a higher education program with key features that include learning management, course management, a learner portal, tests and assessments, student information and records, an activity dashboard, and more.

Who uses Blackboard?

By industry, Blackboard reviewers are most commonly professionals in education management (17%). The most frequent use case for Blackboard cited by reviewers is higher education (57% of reviewers).

What do users say about Blackboard pricing?

Users appreciate the wide range of features and say the free trial helps organizations with limited budgets assess suitability. Some reviewers find the pricing affordable, but many users report higher costs than competitors and diminished value due to extra charges.

Starting price

9500 /
per year

Alternatives

with better value for money


Pros & Cons

Grade and Assignment Management

Student and Teacher Interaction

Training and Learning Curve

Complex and confusing navigation

Slow performance and lag

Frequent technical glitches

Blackboard’s user interface

Ease of use rating:

Blackboard pros, cons and reviews insights

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To determine these pros and cons insights, we analyzed responses from 

Overall rating

Reviews sentiment

 
 
 
1-2(29)
3-4(283)
5(224)

What do users say about Blackboard?

Blackboard is a higher education program with key features that include learning management, course management, a learner portal, tests and assessments, student information and records, an activity dashboard, and more.

Select to learn more


Who uses Blackboard?

Based on 536 verified user reviews.

Company size

Small Businesses

Enterprises

Midsize Businesses

Top industries

Education Management
E-Learning
Human Resources
Construction
Others

Use cases

Higher Education
Learning Management System
Student Engagement Platform
Assessment
Virtual Classroom

Blackboard's key features

GetApp's analysis of 73 verified user reviews collected between July 2021 and July 2024 identifies Blackboard Learn's most critical features and summarizes user sentiment about those features.

Course management

Reviewers appreciate Blackboard Learn's course management capabilities, highlighting its user-friendly interface for organizing and navigating courses. They find it helpful for uploading multimedia materials, managing course schedules, and linking to online resources. Users report that it allows for easy course content organization and remote learning. However, some reviewers mention limited customizability and counterintuitive course structures. They also note that copying content between courses requires administrator assistance, unlike other platforms like Canvas. Of the 23 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Course Management, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“In an education and learning oriented environment, it’s a platform that really allows to centralize courses, documents and exchanges in one same place.”
SS

Scott S.

Project Manager

“Blackboard Learn, now Anthology, truly has endless resources to manage both users and courses in few clicks, implement many tricks to make it an intuitive experience.”
MC

Mohamed C.

Lecturer

“Blackboard Learn integrates with other tools and platforms, such as Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, and more, making it easy to share and access course materials.”
DN

Debbie N.

Manager

“Being able to easily add materials and instructional documents to an online course is critical especially when a department adopts a new edition of a textbook.”
LM

Lee M.

Program Coordinator


Learning management

Reviewers indicate that Blackboard Learn's learning management capabilities are essential for managing course content, assignments, and assessments. They find it helpful for organizing subjects logically and tracking progress. Users appreciate the easy-to-understand due dates and deadlines, which help manage hectic schedules. They also value the integration of online classes, plagiarism tests, and flexible learning pathways. However, some users feel the mobile version is outdated and not very user-friendly. Of the 24 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Learning Management, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Learner portal

Users report that Blackboard Learn's learner portal provides a personalized interface for accessing course materials, submitting assignments, and viewing grades. They appreciate the organized display of subjects, assignments, and feedback. Reviewers find the portal easy to navigate and customizable, though some mention menu overload and limited color choices. They also highlight the portal's high accessibility and integration with external tools, making it a sound learning management system. Of the 21 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Learner Portal, 95% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Tests/Assessments

Reviewers highlight Blackboard Learn's tests and assessments capabilities, noting the variety of question types and the ability to set time limits and deadlines. They appreciate the auto-grading capability and the Safe Assign tool for preventing duplicated work. Users find it easy to create, deploy, and manage tests and assessments. However, some mention occasional platform malfunctions during exams. They also value the visibility of test schedules and descriptions, which help students prepare effectively. Of the 18 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Tests/Assessments, 94% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Student information/records

Reviewers appreciate Blackboard Learn's student information and records capabilities, emphasizing the ease of accessing records and grades in real-time. They find it useful for monitoring student progress and flagging low-performing students. Users highlight the gradebook capability for tracking course progress and mastery of objectives. They also value the convenience of having all student information in one place. However, some users report difficulties in accessing specific records like GPA. Of the 15 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Student Information/Records, 93% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Activity dashboard

Users report that Blackboard Learn's activity dashboard provides a quick view of recent messages, grades, and feedback. They find it helpful for prioritizing academic tasks and monitoring assignment progress. Reviewers appreciate the detailed and customizable dashboard, though some mention initial confusion and complexity. They highlight the importance of having all relevant links and updates in a visible location, which helps keep students informed and organized. Of the 15 Blackboard Learn users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Activity Dashboard, 87% rated this feature as important or highly important.


All Blackboard features

Features rating:

Academic/Education
Ad hoc reporting
Admissions management
Alerts/Notifications
API
Assessment management
Asynchronous learning
Attendance management
Attendance tracking
Blended learning
Built-in course authoring
Built-in lms
Certification & licensing
Chat/Messaging
Collaboration tools
Communication management
Community management
Compliance tracking
Content library
Content management
Corporate/Business
Course authoring
Course tracking
Curriculum management
Customizable branding
Customizable questions
Customizable reports
Data import/export
Document management
eCommerce management
eLearning companies
Faculty/Staff management
For higher education
Gamification
Generative ai
Gradebook
Individualized assessments
Interactive learning
K-12
Learning paths/tracks
Mobile learning
Multi-Language
Multi-User collaboration
Performance metrics
Progress reports
Progress tracking
Question library
Registration management
Reporting/Analytics
Reporting & statistics
Scoring
SCORM compliance
Self-paced learning
Social learning
Student management
Summary Reports
Surveys & feedback
Synchronous learning
Test/Quiz creation
Third-Party integrations
Training administration
Training companies
User management
Video conferencing
Visual analytics

Blackboard alternatives

Blackboard logo

Starting from

9500

Per year

Free trial
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Features
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Customer Support
Canvas logo

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Features
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Moodle logo

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No pricing info

Free trial
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Brightspace logo

Starting from

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No pricing info

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support

Blackboard pricing

Value for money rating:

Starting from

9500

Per year

Pricing details
Subscription
Free trial
Free plan
Pricing range

User opinions about Blackboard price and value

Value for money rating:

To see what individual users think of Blackboard's price and value, check out the review snippets below.

“In an education and learning oriented environment, it’s a platform that really allows to centralize courses, documents and exchanges in one same place.”
SS

Scott S.

Project Manager

“The prime objective of any instructional videos should be to convey information clearly and concisely; it should not entail political correctness or a diversity agenda especially when it comes to running a business. ”
Verified reviewer profile picture

Lawrence D.

Presidient

Blackboard integrations (6)

Integrations rated by users

We looked at 536 user reviews to identify which products are mentioned as Blackboard integrations and how users feel about them.

Integration rating: 4.7 (7)

Integration rating: 2.8 (6)

I can receive emails from Outlook the just click on them it will take me straight to blackboard using the both makes life much easier.

LN

Lonwabo N.

Assistant Manager

Integration rating: 3.7 (4)

It is integrated into our learning management, Canvas, and we use it to create video content to post into learning modules. It works perfectly

JP

Jean-Pierre N.

Instructional Designer

Integration rating: 5.0 (2)

If your team thrives on structure and lives in the Microsoft ecosystem, Teams is a strong choice, especially with presentations. Powerpoint works seamlessly.

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Roddy T.

Owner

GoReact logo
GoReact

Integration rating: 4.0 (2)

I cannot do my job without it.

ME

Marti E.

Faculty Instructor

Other top integrations

Blackboard support options

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Platforms supported

Web
Android
iPhone/iPad

Support options

Chat
24/7 (Live rep)
Phone Support
Email/Help Desk
Knowledge Base
FAQs/Forum

Training options

In Person
Webinars
Live Online
Documentation
Videos

Blackboard FAQs

Q. What is Blackboard used for?

Easy, engaging, and accessible, Blackboard Learn has been redesigned in collaboration with educators and is better than ever before. With hundreds of new SaaS based features, a network of over 200 partners, and deep, seamless integrations all designed to work reliably alongside your current technologies, Blackboard Learn is low-maintenance, modern, simple, and focused on improving learner outcomes. See what else is new with Blackboard Learn at Anthology.com/learn.

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