# Page 6 | Brightspace Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 6 - Is Brightspace the right Higher Education solution for you? Explore 234 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/122854/Brightspace/reviews --- Brightspace 4.3 (234) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/122854/Brightspace/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 6 - Reviews of Brightspace ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 126-150 of 234 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use VR Verified Reviewer Student E-Learning Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Brightspace Review" August 21, 2019 5.0 Online learning and this software is important because of it's functionality for new students. Pros As a first time, online user, this software was very easy to use and navigate. This online learning program helped me because everything was located in one place and I did not have to change my daily schedule since everything was online. It is very neat and clean and pleasing to look at. Cons It is hard to get in contact with people in the beginning until you get used to the software. The messaging and email system has to be connected to your student email sometimes, and sometimes you just have to try to send a private message. Review Source SY Sarah Y. student Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best Portal for Classes so far" June 26, 2021 5.0 My overall experience was good. There was the occasional glitch when a podcast or PowerPoint wouldn't load but I just refreshed the page and that usually solved the problem. Pros The interface is pleasing to the eye and the text is easy to read. My school uses this for posting class material and compared to other platforms this one is the best so far because it is so well laid out. Cons Since there are so many tabs the material can go under it did take me a few days to explore everything to find the material and class powerpoints. Review Source RB Richard B. Assistant Professor Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A professor's experience with Brightspace (D2L) LMS one year in!" June 24, 2015 1.0 Pros To be fair to D2L, the LMS has a nice look and feel about it (especially in the student facing view). Hence, students seem reasonably happy with D2L most times. They also seem to be able to navigate around the various tabs with some ease. Students DO have issues with the e-Portfolio feature which is far from intuitive and simply doesn't work at times. Cons From the course creation standpoint, the software is very unintuitive and inconsistent. It appears that this LMS was created by a team of software engineers that did not commit to a consistent architecture. Hence, methods to accomplish certain tasks vary by where you may be in the LMS. This makes it very challenging and time consuming to use. The discussion forum functionality is very dysfunctional and quite restricting. Many students have commented on how archaic this feature is and I agree with them. The help function is virtually useless. One flounders until an answer is "discovered" or one gives up. Finally, the number of clicks to accomplish the simplest of tasks is mind numbering. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Assistant Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "D2L Brightspace makes it really easy for me to do my online classes!" November 7, 2017 4.0 Pros I like how teachers can organize the different parts of the lesson for the week into different categories. Also, I love that you can sign up for text notifications for when new items are posted. It makes taking online classes so much easier! Cons I don't like how there are so many different tab options. Maybe if navigation were simplified a bit, it would be easier to use. With that being said, they updated D2L a while ago and the new update has had some major improvements. Review Source Amanda P. Adjunct Instructor Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to Learn and Use" November 15, 2018 5.0 It’s a great way to keep all my class content in one space Pros I liked its ease of use. We use it at the school where I work, and when I first started there, it took me no time at all to figure out! Cons Really, I can’t think of any major cons. Even when it goes down, they get it fixed right away. Review Source AC Angela C. 5th grade teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Much like Canvas, not as user-intuitive as others" December 11, 2019 3.0 This platform is one of the platforms I use on a regular basis for non face-to-face classes. I have found that training new users is crucial. Pros I like that setting up classes, shells, and assignments with this software is extremely easy and that it mimics Canvas to a degree, offering prior knowledge to many when using this platform. Cons I haven't found this software as easy for end-users to use as others in learning management. I have had students complain about not being able to find courses, old courses staying within their menus when completed, etc., and just not knowing how to start. With this software, I have had to provide more training to students and teams as where to find materials and how to manage it than with others. Review Source CB Cristen B. Project Manager Telecommunications Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Needs Improvements" January 26, 2021 5.0 Overall, Brightspace allows me to stay in contact with my professor and classmates in a remote learning setting. Pros All of my grades are in one place and are updated in real time allowing me to keep track of assignments and deliverables. Cons Some features can be hard to find, links to live seminars have issues with working occasionally and if your professor does not build out the course accurately, it can be almost impossible to keep the content for each class straight. Review Source AC Amy C. ID E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Overall is good. But my unit switched to Canvas." March 4, 2019 4.0 Pros I used this as both student and teacher as the university purchased it. It was easy to learn, use, and start with. from both sides. Teachers were able to customize a little bit. You are able to see students' last log in time. Cons Wish more students' activity tracking data being available. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Adjunct Professor E-Discovery Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good customer support compared with some other LMSs." October 9, 2017 4.0 Pros I think the customer support is the best feature. There are online tutorials and easily accessed instructions. Cons There is some limited functionality and it is not necessarily intuitive in every way. It is user friendly, but could be even better. Review Source TD Tenzin D. Principal Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Your virtual classroom" September 1, 2022 5.0 Pros The collaborative features in the software which allows students to engage in discussions and commenting features are really useful in running an engaging classroom. Also, the software's device compatibility is a huge factor in enabling students to access the learning content from any technology they own. Cons For smaller schools, this learning management system is not affordable. It will be good to have a product that caters to small groups which is offered at a reduced rate. Review Source Jon L. Writer/ English Adjunct Professor Writing and Editing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Online Learning made easy - for the most part" January 12, 2020 5.0 Pros D2L is pretty straightforward. I used it with my classes in my first semester as an adjunct professor. What I liked most about it was how easy it made communicating with students, setting deadlines, and allowing students to submit their work online. Cons The page that students saw when they were actually submitting an assignment wasn't always very intuitive. They often had to scroll way down to the bottom to find the actual submit button. I'm not sure if that is how my college had customized the template I used or if D2L is always like that. Review Source PK Paul K. Bookkeeper Accounting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Beautiful tool for an online student" October 1, 2018 5.0 Pros Great layout and design. Very easy to navigate and a breeze to learn how to use. Great for an online student because everything is step by step and you don’t feel overwhelmed with your work. Cons I have not had any negative interactions using this online student portal. I believe there was only one instance that brightspace was down because of a planned upgrade and they did a good job notifying their users ahead of time. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Project Manager Computer Software Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Useful tools for education but a lot of menus to go thru" September 19, 2020 4.0 Overall it is a good package and it combines a lot of different things i.e. course work, grades, announcements, etc. all within one user interface. Pros Brightspace has a very complete menu system. The dashboard view when you log in does make it easy get an overview of what is needed to be completed. The announcements and alerts are also easy to use and access. Cons The interface feels a bit dated. They have a very complete/detailed menu system that requires a lot of clicks to access various areas of the course. Some of the view area seem too small for the content. Review Source SB Siobhan B. Student E-Learning Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great for Higher Education" October 22, 2022 5.0 Works well, no crashing Pros Easy to use and transition to even with knowledge of other learning playtforms Cons The back button takes you to the home page instead of the prior oage Review Source JG John G. Teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Satisfied but disappointed that some advance features cost so much more to impliment." November 7, 2017 4.0 Pros Flexible and versatile. Provides many basic features that facilitate the learning of students in our K-12 DL school. Students and parents find it easy to use and teachers find it easy to provide quality content in their courses. Cons Difficult to get specific detailed help on specific issues particular to our K-12 organization. Help to implement single sign on and Google integration to our Education Google Apps account seems difficult to get. Review Source MM Margaret M. Faculty E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightspace" November 22, 2016 5.0 Previously I have used Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn, and Brightspace, and find Brightspace serves my needs. Pros The Brightspace has excellent resources for learning to navigate the system. The tutorials are very useful. Cons It has many updates throughout the year. Review Source CD Cathy D. professor Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Other LMS's are more user friendly" June 8, 2019 4.0 D2L has improved Brightspace so it is more user friendly but it still does not lend itself to ease of use. There are many things you simply cannot "figure out" not matter what. Once you do figure these things out (or get help from the IT department) it works well, but it sometimes feels like a unnavigable path. Pros Once you get to know it, it's less time consuming than other programs. Cons Not the most user friendly, many procedures are impenetrably difficult Review Source CS Cody S. Manager Retail Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Learning" October 2, 2020 4.0 Overall the software was great to work with and easy to use. Pros I loved how the dashboard showed me the classes I was taking in an easy display. Cons I wish there was more information when I first logged in about who my professor was. Review Source JB James B. Student Philanthropy Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Student Review" February 7, 2018 1.0 SNHU rolled this out over Christmas break 2017/2018 and provided a 30 min webinar for students. Although the webinar was instructive, the rollout seemed slightly different that the original student instructional. I read older articles and blog posts regarding the RFP that lead to BrightSpace and it didn't sound like the tech dept at SNHU was asking the right questions. I hear time and again how much the staff like it, but have yet to read how students were engaged in the process, which befuddles me. Pros Slick student facing design, seems to be many options for instructors to utilize the functions they're familar with, or those they find value for their courses but... Cons Too many rabbit holes to go down, too many dead-ends that seem to not have tied ends. Not very intuitive, as a student, too many way to get an end result, resulting in a steeper learning curve and longer timeframe to develop a standard operating procedure. Instructors are asking me to finish previous weeks work, but failing to unlock the content so I can proceed because of their learning curve. Dislike the linked textbook content, and the ability for instructors to force the work, one way. Review Source JH Justin H. Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Higher Education Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "D2L Brightspace" February 20, 2020 4.0 Overall Brightspace is a great tool with much promise. My biggest takeaway here is that context matters - smaller schools likely would not be a great fit - cost is relatively steep, and complexity seems to be a significant factor on the back-end. That said, i'm cautiously optimistic that this LMS could continue to grow and outpace competitors based on the interface and design i'm seeing currently. Pros Brightspace has a really lovely minimalist interface, allowing faculty and students to focus on what's most important. Compared to other LMS's i've used over the years, Brightspace has made serious progress in providing meaningful visualizations and analytics on student progress and forward-thinking features. The system looks and feels like a modern LMS, clearly standing out from some of the big traditional companies which can't seem to move forward from their early-2000s design. Mobile experience is great as well. Cons One of my biggest complaints is that i cannot directly mark up my students papers as i can in other LMS's - this feature is one of the key components in my own move to paperless grading, so it was very frustrating. Although i'm not directly an admin, I do get the sense that D2L operates much more around a 'suite' of resources that seems a bit more complicated to manage than other LMS's i'm familiar with. Review Source JW Jeremy W. Student Support and Online Facilitator Supervisor Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A powerful LMS, but not always intuitive" April 21, 2016 4.0 We use Brightspace to create and deliver our undergraduate and graduate level online courses. Overall, we've been pleased with the platform. As an admin and an instructor, I appreciate how flexible Brightspace is. I am able to customize my courses however I want to. Brightspace is also good at seeking out user feedback to improve their product. Pros The LMS is very robust and flexible. It is also reliable. Cons The interface is often not intuitive. Often multiple clicks are needed to find an important setting in an assessment. The communications piece ("intelligent agents") which allows the faculty to send automated emails when a student meets certain criteria (for example, sending a note to the student if they haven't logged into the course in 5 days) is quite limited and lacking in "intelligence." Review Source SS Shickre S. Department Chair - SBS Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I use D2L as my primary LMS for my courses both online and on campus." March 28, 2015 4.5 Pros Format, structure, and ease of use in navigating the site. I like how it is easy to drag and drop files, and if a mistake is made, to erase the file. I also like the Dropbox feature and how students receive a confirmation they have successfully uploaded a file. Though other faculty may have not liked the change, I very much like how you can move through student discussion posts to read their responses. The menu on the side allowing us to click on posts and to see which ones we haven't read yet is a big help. (Please do not change the discussion board.) Cons I do not really like the email client. I find it tough to easily search through email, though it is a minor complaint. I have most of my email forwarded to Outlook and use its search feature when needed. Review Source KB Khristina B. student E-Learning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Brightspace" August 12, 2020 5.0 My overall experience with Brightspace has been successful. It is easy to navigate and saves time. Pros I have been using Brightspace during my online class. I love that I have all of the links that I need in one central location. Cons The only thing that I didn't like were the shut down for updates, however, the notice of the shut down was always posted in advance. Review Source JM John M. Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "BrightSpace (D2L) Review" March 3, 2015 4.5 Pros Course management overall is relatively easy. The ability to administer assessments that are timed or not, set different parameters for students. Dropbox for student's homework submissions is easy to work with, although I really wish I could specify filename for submissions when downloaded. The new numbers added to the front of the filename that I can't remove automatically is a real pain. Cons The new filename for Dropbox submissions that is not able to be changed is a real pain. I also don't like the additional assessment views that no longer work unless you specifically specify a minimum and maximum score. Attendance is not linked to the Seating Chart, so if I take attendance using chart, I must still put in the attendance in the attendance tool. Review Source SP Stephanie P. Student Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Love this platform!" January 29, 2019 5.0 I used another software before this that I though was easy. Until I found bright space i now know what easy is! Super helpful and simplistic which i absolutely lvoe Pros It’s so easy to use and has so many tools to help you to be successful and keep track of what you are doing. Cons I personally don’t find any flaws with this software. I truly enjoy it and it is easy to use. Review Source Similar Products Featured