Google Classroom vs Schoology

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Our analysts compared Google Classroom vs Schoology based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Schoology Software Tool

Product Basics

Google Classroom is a free online learning platform that integrates with G Suite applications. As part of Google for Educators, it has a wide breadth of capabilities. Educators can create courses, assign homework, give grades and feedback, build exams, provide supplemental reading materials, share resources and more. Students can complete assignments, reach out to their instructors, ask questions, collaborate with others and more. It was used by over 100 million people and developed in collaboration with educators. There’s a free and paid version of the product. The paid one has greater functionality, notably the ability to host many hundreds more in a web conference.
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Schoology is an online learning platform that focuses on K-12 students. Overall, it serves over 1,600 customers, 60,000 schools and boasts more than 20 million users. It aids in course creation, content curation, lesson design, personalized instruction, testing, assessment and more. Learners can use it on PCs, mobile, tablet, iOS, Android or Kindle.

There’s an enterprise edition with greater functionality for organizations with more robust needs. The functionality includes increased assessment abilities, communications, administrative control and integrations to allow for more customization and advanced analytics for a larger or more complicated organization.
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$4.80/Student, Annually
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$10/Student, Monthly, Freemium
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Product Insights

  • More Efficient: Save time through automation, the replacement of paper and manual processes. Grade quickly through the Docs app, which allows teachers to comment upon and return assignments rapidly.
  • Cut Down on Plagiarism: Prevent plagiarism with tools that scan for matching phrases or text online, find missing citations, do a cross-reference of books, look for paraphrasing and more. Provide this for learners who can check their work before they turn work in. Download originality reports and keep work so instructors can catch peer-to-peer copying.
  • Engaged Students: Integrate with virtual reality allowing users to explore famous landmarks, natural events and more. Explore spaces made by instructors and use mobile technology, the Expeditions app, while in VR to get further instructions and navigate the world. Let the app act as a roadmap while they explore. Pair the VR with mobile devices, access 360 views of virtual landscapes, work with several content partners and get a free course to teach individuals how to use VR provided by partners.
  • More Centralized Info: Use the complete G Suite, including Sheets, Meet, Drive, Docs, Forms, Calendar, Jamboard and more. Create and collaborate across several mediums while instructors can make various administrative processes more efficient.
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  • Increased Organization: Organize and centralize a content library with assessments, text, video, multimedia and more that students, teachers and administrators can access. Make it easier to find essential assets like logos, policy information and more.
  • Better Connected Campus: Open valuable opportunities for learners and faculty to continue discussions after class, ask questions regularly and join collaborative groups. Allow educators to speak with learners, create discussions and speak with other teachers and parents. Provides a window for parents into their child’s progress and what they’ve been doing or not doing. Keep everyone on the same page with consistent messaging through a clear line of communication across the district. Last, moderated discussions encourage creative collaboration.
  • More Engaged Students: Cultivate more engaged and invested learners through the use of multimedia, group discussions and many opportunities for collaboration. Access images, video and other elements to enrich the content as well as increase retention.
  • Greater Efficiency: Free up instruction time through automation for grading, commenting, testing and sharing data. Eliminate the tedium of manually inputting information.
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  • Different Roles: Adjust access on the platform allowing administrators to create other roles for parents, students, educators and more.
  • Web Conferencing: Create a unique link for each video session and send out a private link for classes. Use the IETF security standards for Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol and Datagram Transport Layer Security. Record and live stream with the expanded paid product.
  • Integration: Integrate with many school administration apps, curriculum building, communication, education enhancement and more. Use apps like Aeries, Aladdin Schools Connect, Classcraft, Pear Deck, Pearson Education, Quizizz, Squigl, Writable and a wide variety of others. Have programmers connect their app with the platform and access technical support, company-wide initiatives and marketing support.
  • Mobile: Use the mobile app that works on iOS and Android where learners and instructors can access the program from multiple devices.
  • Jamboard: Provide a smart display for tablets, smartphones or smart boards. Pull in images, make notes with the stylus and handwriting and shape recognition tools and more. Operate with Meet or during an in-person class.
  • Enterprise Option: Use the teacher center and Google for Education for more control, better security, device management, data loss prevention, a S/MIME for Gmail, Gmail logs and admin reports in BigQuery, a security sandbox and more. Set up a university-wide email system with Gmail.
  • Stream: See posts, comments and other materials when they log into the program. Upload content and respond to comments while students can collaborate with their peers and comment on posted materials.
  • Class Management: Facilitate classes through an organization with features such as a content library for assignments, slides, class papers, forms and other resources. Lock due dates, set a timer on access for materials, reuse content, add YouTube videos and more.
  • Accessibility: Accommodate students with impairments such as hearing, vision, physical disabilities and processing disorders. Use voice access, screen readers, closed captioning and more so learners can access information in a way that helps them. Adjust the content to make it more visual, auditory and more to match individual learning styles. Download an accessibility conformance report to analyze the effectiveness of the program.
  • Security: Use a system that supports the standards and compliance for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Software & Information Industry Association, ISO/IEC 27018:2014, HIPPA, GDRP and more. Host information on secure servers, let administrators watch over data security and get audited by a third-party to ensure data protection.
  • Grading: Allow instructors to add comments, grade, enter commonly used feedback, apply rubrics and automatically notify students when their assignment is ready for them.
  • Educator Groups: Unite local educators so they can collaborate and help one another online and in-person. A local volunteer organizes the group and the members unite for teaching, workshops, advice and more.
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  • Intuitive UI: Navigate a clean and easy-to-use interface for quick onboarding and easy adoption across organizations. Lets students move through lessons more naturally with instructional tools designed for K-12 usage.
  • Web Conferencing: Offers a virtual conferencing system with video capabilities for long-distance learning, parent-teacher conferences, questions, additional tutoring and other cases where one-on-one instruction is needed.
  • Collaboration: Create communication channels, make and join groups, curate group content libraries, share resources within a course and more. Access a public content library of assignments, tests and lessons from other educators. The content is great for educators looking for additional materials. Connect with a professional learning community where faculty can get help from other educators, coaches and education thought leaders.
  • Data and Analytics: Analyze multiple metrics to test the effectiveness of courses, lessons and quizzes. Gauge student engagement and performance data to conduct high-level research. Examine data at the class, institution or district level and turn metrics into an action plan to address problem areas. Standardize the metrics and tests to ensure a more fair comparison. Gather reliable information to inform policy. Build assessments or download tests that were built by multiple individuals or sourced from the larger community. Check curriculum against different standards such as Common Core, NGSS and others while identifying gaps in learning and skills.
  • Instructor Feedback: Give learners immediate feedback after tests and quizzes. Understand where learners are competent as well as areas that need more attention. Leave comments for teachers as well to better coordinate learning.
  • Course Management: Manage and develop courses and necessary materials like assignments, quizzes, tests, assessments and more. Assign due dates for assignments and activities. Create text lessons and then embed materials from Google Drive, Microsoft Office, YouTube and other places for better learner engagement.
  • Personalized Instruction Track students individually or in groups with different learning methods. See what works and what doesn’t for each student, and design a path that plays to their strengths.
  • Single Sign-On: Cut down on password management and long log-in times with an SSO. Help organizations that have multiple apps integrated into the solution. Makes adoption easier since administrators and learners can navigate it more easily.
  • Mobile App: Allow learners, educators and administrators to work on the go. Grade, message, learn and communicate through the app. For grading, the UI makes it easier to swipe between assignments, manage edits and filter by lateness. Inspect performance next to rubrics and use comments and annotations for written and video feedback.
  • Integrations: Access over 200 apps already integrated into the program. This includes external sites, games, authoring tools and student information systems. Enable easier movement between programs, cutting down on loading times. Link programs such as Aeries, BrainPOP, Edpuzzle, Google Drive, Khan Academy, OneDrive, Scrible, Skyward, Vimeo and more to the tech stack.
  • Interoperability: Use published content from other vendors like McGraw Hill, CK12 and others. Find content that’s compliant with LTI, QTI, Common Cartridge and SCORM should integrate easily. Automate passing data between an SIS and other systems for data consistency. Plug in a variety of custom options with the program’s open API.
  • Assessment Management: Store and use high-level assessments within the workflow from one centralized location. Create a more in-depth analysis of the creation of personalized teaching. It provides an assessment management platform to control testing distribution and analysis across districts. Access a broader learning community allows teachers to collaborate and improve the ways they measure progress.
  • Enterprise Administration: Give administrators a higher level of control. Manage roles, permission, privacy grading and more. See system analytics, extract data, develop and share centralized resources and create custom SSOs, URLs, logos and colors.
  • Enterprise Integrations: Let users make courses, accounts and enrollments from SIS data and give them all functionality from the core program. Integrate with grade books and over 100 third-party educational apps. Import content that follows IMS Global LTI and Common Cartridge standards
  • Enterprise Class Management: Access additional resources to help and develop courses. This can record audio and video into assignments, comments and testing. It can also create an online portfolio to show off student work, view materials on mobile and use technology-enhanced testing. Last, it provides mastery reports to measure learner progress against national, state or institution goals.
  • Enterprise Communications: Connect all faculty in departmental, PD or other groups to encourage collaboration and sharing across more than 130 countries. Give advisors access to their students’ attendance, enrollments, schedule and grades. Parents can see overdue notifications and get email summaries of their children’s activity. The solution can also send messages to the entire system in an instant.
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Product Ranking

#7

among all
LMS Software

#17

among all
LMS Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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AI-based Capabilities Assessments Collaboration Compliance Content And Course Management ECommerce Learning Delivery Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Dashboard User Management And Gamification 0 82 83 83 85 0 87 91 92 100 55 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 4017 reviews
Great User Sentiment 972 reviews
92%
of users recommend this product

Google Classroom has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 4017 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

86%
of users recommend this product

Schoology has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 972 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (14)
4.9 (11)
4.5 (1386)
4.4 (380)
4.7 (2352)
4.4 (436)
4.4 (265)
3.7 (145)

Awards

Google Classroom stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Affordable: Over 80% of viewers who mentioned price were happy with the cost.
Integrates with the G Suite: Users who mentioned the integration with Google Docs, Slides and other products were pleased in 80% of reviews.
Uploads Efficiently: Over 70% of reviewers felt that uploading ran smoothly.
Easy to Use: The majority of users who mentioned the UI were happy with its capability in just under 70% of reviews.
Multimedia Support: More than 60% were happy with the various formatting and multimedia support in the system.
Excellent User Communication Tools: Users who mentioned the messages, notifications and other communications functions were pleased in more than 60% of reviews.
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Intuitive Interface: Schoology's interface is generally considered user-friendly and easy to navigate, even for those with limited technical expertise. This ease of use can lead to a smoother transition for institutions adopting the platform.
Mobile App: The availability of a mobile app enhances accessibility for both educators and learners, allowing them to engage with course materials and activities on the go.
Assessment and Feedback Tools: Schoology provides tools for creating and administering assessments, including quizzes and assignments. It also facilitates the provision of timely and effective feedback to students, which is crucial for their learning progress.
Communication and Collaboration: Features such as discussion forums, messaging, and group projects foster communication and collaboration among students and between students and instructors. This can contribute to a more engaging and interactive learning environment.
Customization Options: Schoology offers a degree of customization, allowing instructors to tailor the platform to their specific teaching styles and course requirements. This flexibility can enhance the overall learning experience.
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Glitchy: More than 80% of users who mentioned the speed of running the program felt it was glitchy.
Lack of Customization: Reviewers who mentioned customization felt the options were lacking in more than 70% of reviews.
Not Enough Admin Control: Over 60% of reviewers who discussed the user admin function felt functionality was lacking.
Lacks Features: In over 50% of reviews that mentioned the feature set, users felt they were missing features.
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Limited Customization: Teachers may find it challenging to personalize their courses due to the platform's rigid structure and limited theme options.
Gradebook Challenges: The gradebook functionality can be cumbersome, especially when dealing with complex grading schemes or needing to make bulk edits.
Mobile App Issues: The mobile app's interface and functionality may not be as user-friendly or comprehensive as the web version, potentially hindering on-the-go access for students and teachers.
Integrations and External Tools: Schoology's compatibility and integration with external tools and platforms can vary, potentially limiting options for incorporating diverse educational resources.
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Google Classroom is an eLearning solution that’s widely used in education because of its price point. While the base version is free, there is a paid enterprise package with expanded functionality. Reviewers like its simple UI, integration with the G Suite, support of multimedia options and good base functionality with grading, assignments, exams and more. They also felt it encouraged engagement and collaboration while saving time and money. On the flip side, reviewers felt the platform lacked options for customization and didn’t come with enough features. The platform isn’t a full-service LMS. It delivers lessons, shares files and has some higher function feedback functions, but doesn’t have the advanced administrative, reporting and other options of more robust solutions. This is an excellent option for small to medium-sized organizations that need to facilitate training. Make sure you understand the functional differences between the free and enterprise versions.

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Schoology is like the Swiss Army knife of classroom tools, helping teachers juggle everything from lesson planning to grading. But is it all sunshine and rainbows? Not quite. While some users sing its praises for being user-friendly and feature-packed, others find it a bit rigid and pricey. So, let's break it down. Schoology's strengths lie in its comprehensive suite of features. Think attendance tracking, online gradebooks, and even a social media-esque interface for collaboration. It's like having a virtual classroom at your fingertips. Plus, it plays nicely with other tools like Google Drive, making file sharing a breeze. However, this robust functionality comes at a cost – both literally and figuratively. Some users find the pricing structure a bit steep, especially for smaller institutions or individual educators. Additionally, the platform's customization options can feel limited, making it less adaptable to unique workflows or teaching styles. So, who's Schoology's ideal student? It's a great fit for schools or districts seeking a one-stop shop for their learning management needs. Its ease of use and extensive features make it perfect for those who want a comprehensive solution without a steep learning curve. However, if you're looking for a more flexible and budget-friendly option, you might want to explore alternatives like Moodle or Canvas. Remember, the best LMS is the one that fits your specific needs and preferences, so do your homework before committing!

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