# Sakai LMS Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Sakai LMS the right Learning Management System solution for you? Explore 33 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/124698/Sakai-CLE/reviews --- Sakai LMS 4.1 (33) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/124698/Sakai-CLE/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 January 12th, 2026 # Reviews of Sakai LMS Ease of use 4.1 Customer Service 4.7 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews ZAiN R QAEducation Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Easy integration and an API available allows easy integration.“ February 19, 2023 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 33 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Arram K. Registrar service specialist 2 Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Product is good when searching " August 21, 2018 5.0 Pros If you need to search something, this product is great. Has everything laid out Cons It’s pretty hard to navigate through so u will need to have some training before diving in. Review Source VC Val C. Student Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sakai Makes College Easy!" May 24, 2022 4.0 I have had a great experience with Sakai. It has been an easy tool to use while I’m in college! Pros It was so easy to keep track of all my classes. I can always see what courses I’m in, and how far I am in the class work in those courses. Taking quizzes and tests is also super easy with Sakai which is necessary when in college. Cons The discussion boards can be a little confusing at times, it is difficult to tell which ones you have already posted on. Review Source AA Abritty A. Research Assistant Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I wish it was a bit more user friendly" September 18, 2019 3.0 Pros After using online web modules in Sakai for a while, it grows on you. If you know where the options are for the things you are looking for, you will be fine. But like I said, it takes time to grow on you. Cons The options are not clear at all. Nothing is self explanatory, I have had senior learners struggling with it the most as the courses do not show up automatically in the home page after signing up. Every aspect of Sakai seems not so unified, it requires different set of skills to do different things. Review Source RR Rebekah R. Distance Learning Coordinator Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A truly "Open" Source LMS" September 16, 2016 5.0 Our community college previously used Blackboard, but needed to upgrade. We looked at various LMS's available in 2012, and our faculty liked Sakai the best. Why? It was easy to use, accessible, reliable, and contains excellent tools we need to provide quality online, hybrid and face-to-face courses. Pros I love the Sakai community. They are a dynamic, talented, committed community, who strive and succeed in making the LMS easier to use and accessible, and constantly improve tools so they best meet the needs of faculty and students. The community has developed a responsive user interface, and is working towards meeting all of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria. Cons Like a true community, sometimes you have to wait until the money and resources are available to work on the project you think is important. In the four years I've been involved, the community has always found a way to find the resources needed to make important updates and improvements. Review Source AA Adam A. Design Engineer Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Solid LMS platform" December 22, 2021 4.0 Pros Good amount of different tools available like grade entry, storing files, assigning homework and exams, etc Can set due dates, exam length, overall good level of control Cons UI feels outdated, especially when compared to current industry competitors Feels slow at times Difficult to use on phone Review Source MK Munetaka K. Research Associate II Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "We used to use Sakai and I wish we can go back" January 13, 2020 5.0 Sakai was a course management software that allowed easy organized access for students and faculty. This also played an equipment signup and scheduling tool for my group. Pros The user interface was intuitive (from the user's side, I never saw the admin side). Asides the traditional course management feature, my group used it for equipment scheduling, which was a great added bonus. Cons Overall, the software was great. I don't think they had an app, or at least I was not aware of one. With mobile devices becoming a mainstream method of content consumption, having to go to a website and sign in seemed dated. Review Source IF Ilan F. Professor E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Learning Management system " May 16, 2019 4.0 Pros Sakai is one of the best Learning Management systems in the market today. I have been using it for over five years and I can say with out a doubt that it has some of the most reliable features in the world of E-Learning. I am most impressed with the forum system and the assignment submission system. Cons There is only one element missing for Sakai, a real time option for a class meeting Review Source RC Rachel C. Associate Professor of History E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Functional but not awesome" December 15, 2018 4.0 It works for managing courses cheaply, but it doesn’t have the flash of blackboard or the convenience of Canvas Pros It’s user friendly. You can train on its uses really quickly. The assignments sync to the gradebook Cons The gradebook is clunky, the chat is basically useless, and grading discussion boards is a nightmare. Review Source JR John R. Graduate Research Assistant Chemicals Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Inferior to Canvas" February 11, 2022 3.0 Pros Sakai has a very basic loadout that doesn't clutter the screen with unnecessary information. Cons Compared to Canvas, Sakai became an inferior software. Difficult to look at (especially for those who had dyslexia and couldn't understand tabled information easily) and the time the software took to actually update information was slow (on the order of an hour or to at times). Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Program Development Administrator Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "One stop shop for online education" December 9, 2019 5.0 I used this platform as a doctoral student to access resources, syllabi, post assignments, read announcements, and engage in online/hybrid class discussions. Pros Once you log into Sakai CLE, you really can use it for anything you'd need as an online student Cons Sakai CLE took a little bit of a learning curve to navigate through, but once you figured it out, it was easy Review Source JN Josh N. Used the software for: ### "Easy to use. " December 6, 2016 5.0 My university uses this as the online platform for my online master's degree. Provides every option I would need in a virtual classroom. Review Source TT Tanvi T. Senior Associate Software Engineer Biotechnology Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Good Learning Management Portal with Room for improvement" January 27, 2022 4.0 Pros Managing the course membership seems to be a cake walk. Based on my role and restrictions imposed by each course, I could access only the material that I was supposed to. For eg, the professor would schedule an assignment to be available for me only after the specified time. Tracking progress with respect to the assignments graded gives a good gist of the progress made in the course. Cons As a TA, I learnt that the grading is time consuming as compared to Canvas. Sakai opens a grading sheet for each assignment for each student and then allows us to put grades and comments. To grade the next student, we have to go back and then select the next student to be given grades for the assignment. A simple feature like Next Button can also help in saving time while grading. Review Source Chelsea H. Graduate Student Higher Education Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Sakai is Great!" December 14, 2019 4.0 Overall, Sakai is great for students! Its really easy to navigate, stay organized, and collaborate with classmates. I would definitely recommend! I never had any issues. Pros Sakai is really easy to use. We were supposed to watch a tutorial once we were enrolled in the semester. There was honestly no need. I figured it out myself easily! All of the tabs are well labeled and it's really easy to find everything you need to. I also love that you can see the roster for every class. This makes it really easy to collaborate with classmates! You can also choose to receive emails when assignments are added, announcements are made, changes are made, etc. This is very beneficial for someone who doesn't want to constantly be logging into Sakai. I also love that you can use Sakai on the computer or mobile phone. I would quite frequently use my phone and everything worked great! Cons There's not much I dislike about Sakai. The only thing is that under "Gradebook" you cannot see your overall grade and there's no way to automatically calculate it. You have to ass up everything yourself to see what grade you have in the class. That was pretty annoying. The teachers always had a total percentage, but for some reason, students didn't have access to that. Review Source Lauren M. Substitute Teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sakai Review" June 11, 2019 5.0 I use this for my class information and uploading documents to the class. Pros A great place to upload documents, see work, and very user friendly. I love the bar on the side that has all the labels/tabes and you just click one and you are there. It is wonderful and very easy to change from one tab to the next. Uploading work is also very simple and easy to do. It works with all kinds of files, with is fantastic. Cons I do not really have any complaints about this software. It has served me well and I am grateful for it. Review Source TB Tamar B. Clinical Quality Assurance Specialist Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sakai as a Platform for Bachelor's Courses" April 12, 2022 3.0 Pros As I mentioned previously, this system readily makes course grades accessible from any online outlet (iPad, smart phone/computer). There is also an option for email notifications with an encrypted link. I also liked how once you got the hang of the features, they were very easy to deploy with new courses. Cons Sakai does experience site outages every now and then which makes signing up for new courses a small nightmare. Once it works though, everything is magical! Review Source ZAiN R. QA Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Created by Educators for Educators" February 19, 2023 4.0 Building Courses, grading of assessments and easy deliver makes this a breeze to use. Pros The self-hosted option is free, and allows you to deploy locally on site for faster access times.Easy integration and an API available allows easy integration.Deeply influenced by educators Cons Sakai Wiki and community is growing, which means more information is available. More video resources required. Alternatives considered [Roundtable Online Learning LMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/147725/Roundtable-Online-Learning-LMS/)[Absorb LMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/61763/Absorb-LMS/)[Forma LMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/135235/Forma-Lms/)[Paradiso LMS for Salesforce](https://www.capterra.com/p/141827/Salesforce-Embedded-LMS/) Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Lecturer Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very modular CMS, but clunky at times" December 20, 2018 4.0 Pros The modular aspect allows our IT department to create applications that suite our needs. Cons There seemed to be less functionality out of the box than other CMS packages. Much of the interface is dated, so the UI takes more clicks to do something than you'd expect out of a modern software package. Review Source Davesh M. Automation Engineering Intern Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sakai Review" April 24, 2019 5.0 Pros Easy to submit assignments, view grades, and take assessments. Professors, not always tech-oriented, still find a way to communicate resources effectively with Sakai. Cons UI needs an update, text editors are old and outdated Review Source Tousif A. Graduate Teaching Assistant Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I thing Sakai in a better platform to manage a course" April 14, 2021 5.0 Overall, I love Sakai more than Canvas. I used Blackboard for a very brief period of time. I must say Sakai is the best among these three. Pros All of the crucial features of Sakai are easily discoverable. I managed two courses with 100+ students each very easily. Sakai has the feature to upload MS excel files on it which automatically gets filled in the system. Student communication is also quite easy and effective in Sakai. Cons I am not sure how much Sakai costs since I am an end user. It may be pricey. However, our university recently moved to Canvas. Finance could be a reason why. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer L1 Support Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "It's okay." May 10, 2019 4.0 As a student on this platform, I have found that it has some irritating quirks. The login screen frequently requires resetting my cache (I'm not sure if this is the auth my institution is using or the platform). Deep navigation links within forums do not always direct where one expects. And the mobile app is clunky to navigate. Although I understand that some of this is due in part by my institution's choices when constructing courses, it does not seem like the platform allows many options in the first place. The issues do not seem necessary for an un-customizable platform like this. Pros \- Simple layout - Simple to navigate (on desktop) - Supports templates Cons \- This platform has some quirks - Poor app layout - Basic in functionality - Boring design Review Source Philip Smith M. Owner Hospitality Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Extensive use of Sakai within a PhD program" October 11, 2021 4.0 Pros The software design is simple and minimalist which helps with navigating Sakai. It is also nice to have an auto-save feature for saving drafts. Cons There are time when the software loads pages with errors when it times out, but it is not always clear that you need to log back in to restore the connection to the page. Review Source RH Rae H. Business Administrator Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not my favorite LMS" December 21, 2018 3.0 Pros The Sakai interface is very a straightforward, hierarchical one. It appears clean and easy to navigate, but I would say it is not as aesthetically pleasing as other LMSs. It does have similar functionalities, such as quizzes, testing, discussion boards, and resource sharing. Many of the LMS add-ins are available for Sakai, as well. Cons I'd say my least favorite aspect of the Sakai LMS is its bland appearance. Some of the other LMS's such as Blackboard create a much more welcoming feeling when signing in, with all of the colors and customization that is available for the administrators. Review Source ME Margarita E. Professor Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I am using the Software since 5 years" March 14, 2018 5.0 Pros Easy to use. Sakai is extremely flexible and highly configurable. Collaborative features. The scalability of the system is ensured through the usage of modern Java EE technologies. Cons The documentation of the developers is not good enough. The new Gradebook is not good for big classes. Review Source SC Sean C. CEO Financial Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Good software for undergraduate and graduate students" February 7, 2018 4.0 Pros For the most part, it is very easy to navigate. You can add items to your favorites so that you can access content quickly. When combined with other integrations (Box, Ponopto, etc.) it becomes a powerful tool! Cons The UI is pretty old. It could really use a refresh as it looks like it came out of Windows 95. However, that's a pretty minor thing to complain about. Review Source HW Harrison W. Business Analyst Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Perfect Education Software" May 27, 2019 5.0 Pros Sakai is great because it is very easy to pick up and use. It does not require a huge learning curve at all. It is also very easy for instructors to post assignments and interact with students. It has many features which makes viewing grades and turning in assignments online a piece of cake. Cons I have no complaints at all about Sakai. It is easy to use, is packed with features, and works flawlessly. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Learning Management System](https://www.capterra.com/learning-management-system-software/)[eLearning Authoring Tools](https://www.capterra.com/elearning-authoring-tools-software/) ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.