--- title: "Ellucian Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Ellucian Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Higher Education products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/135932/Ellucian/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # Ellucian Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on August 3, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Ellucian ## What is Ellucian? Ellucian delivers AI-powered SaaS solutions purpose-built for higher education. With more than 50 years of experience, Ellucian partners with over 3,000 institutions in 50 countries, supporting more than 21 million students. Ellucian Student is higher ed's complete solution that powers the end-to-end student lifecycle. Together, Student, HCM, and Finance operate as one AI-native platform — aligning people, resources, and decisions around a single vision: to unlock learning for all. Institutions use Ellucian to simplify operations, personalize the student experience, and make more informed decisions with AI, automation, and integrated data. Capabilities span Recruiting & Admissions, Student Aid, Student Success, Reporting & Analytics, and HCM & Finance, helping institutions streamline administrative processes, improve retention and completion, and modernize with a secure, scalable platform built for the unique needs of higher education. ## What is Ellucian used for? [Higher Education](https://www.capterra.com/higher-education-software/)[CRM](https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/)[Student Information System](https://www.capterra.com/student-information-system-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 84 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 64% Neutral 21% Negative 14% Starting price $0.01 Per User, Per Month Free trial not available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Ellucian?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.ellucian.com&name=Ellucian) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Ellucian 3.6 (84) VS. [4.6 (115)](https://www.capterra.com/p/155900/Classter/reviews/) Starting Price $0.01 per user, per month Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 3.2 (84) Ease Of Use 4.5 (4,327) Value For Money 3.2 (60) Value For Money 4.6 (2,513) Customer Service 3.5 (63) Customer Service 4.7 (2,705) ## Ellucian alternatives [3.9 (36)](https://www.capterra.com/p/107742/Lifelong-Learning/reviews/) Starting price $23988.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 75% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [4.8 (165)](https://www.capterra.com/p/135075/Classe365/reviews/) Starting price $100.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (454)](https://www.capterra.com/p/133283/Alma/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 94% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.7 (19)](https://www.capterra.com/p/2191/Campus-Cafe/reviews/) Starting price $1200.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 100% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/135932/Ellucian/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Ellucian Overview ### What problems does Ellucian solve? Ellucian solves fragmented student administration by centralizing admissions, registration, financial aid, billing, grades, degree tracking, and faculty records in one system. Higher education registrars, admissions teams, advisors, bursars, faculty, and IT staff use it to reduce manual data entry, improve student self-service, and maintain secure campus-wide records. Answer based on 36 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Ellucian? Ellucian is most used by higher education administrators, including admissions, registrar, advising, and financial aid teams, that manage student records, enrollment, and service workflows. Faculty and instructors use it to support academic processes, while finance, accounting, and operations staff rely on it for billing, payments, reporting, and institutional administration. Answer based on 82 reviews Talk to an expert ### More questions? Ask our experts Overview ### What company size and industries is Ellucian built for? Ellucian is built for higher education institutions, with most reviewers coming from midsize businesses at 51% and higher education at 70%. It also serves enterprise organizations at 43%, with additional adoption in education management at 19%, making it primarily suited to colleges, universities, and related education providers. Answer based on 84 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Ellucian? Ellucian includes core higher education features such as student management, student information and records, admissions management, class registration, and financial aid management. Differentiating capabilities include self-service portals for students and faculty, reporting and analytics, third-party integrations, and support for HR, payroll, billing, and academic workflows in one system. Answer based on 36 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Ellucian integrate with? Ellucian integrates with Etrieve. This integration supports document and workflow connections through a third-party platform used alongside Ellucian systems. With the provided integration data, Etrieve is the specific brand identified for Ellucian connectivity. Answer based on 8 reviews Getting Started and Support ### How easy is it to onboard and train a team on Ellucian? Ellucian takes time to learn, especially for new and nontechnical users who must memorize acronyms, forms, and terminology. It offers in-person training, live online sessions, webinars, and documentation. Reviewers say experienced users and admins become effective with practice, while broader teams often need ongoing training and support. Answer based on 17 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Ellucian offer, and how do users rate the experience? Ellucian offers email/help desk, FAQ/forum, a knowledge base, phone support, 24/7 live representatives, and chat. Users describe support as friendly and responsive at times, with a helpful customer portal and active community, but many report slow updates, time-consuming cases, weak documentation, and inconsistent implementation support. Answer based on 13 reviews Features and Usability ### Is Ellucian easy to use? Ellucian requires training before it feels comfortable for many higher education staff. Experienced users often manage daily tasks well and appreciate search, data entry, and customization options, but new users frequently find the interface clunky, the workflow unintuitive, and the help materials hard to follow without internal guidance. Answer based on 27 reviews Features and Usability ### How easy is it to navigate Ellucian? Ellucian feels hard to navigate for many first-time and occasional users in colleges and universities. Staff often mention acronym-based screens, extra clicks, and inconsistent paths between tasks, while more experienced users say newer updates, search tools, and clearer tabs make finding records and completing routine work easier. Answer based on 19 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 2,349 Higher Education reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of Higher Education software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Student Portal** (**49%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Learning Management** (**43%**) - **Activity Dashboard** (**37%**) Ellucian supports all three of the features reviewers value most: **Student Portal**, **Learning Management**, and **Activity Dashboard**. Together, these capabilities give institutions a central place for student access, course delivery, and real-time visibility into academic activity, helping businesses and education teams improve communication, track progress, and manage the student experience more effectively. Alerts/Notifications 3.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges Student Information/Records 4.0 (1) 300.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create lists of student grades, transcripts, class lists, course schedules, etc. to be shared with instructors and administration Student Management 4.3 (3) 100.00% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Database of students to track personal information of individuals and families Document Storage 2.5 (2) 0.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Store and organize documents in a centralized system Faculty/Staff Management 4.5 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and manage staff profiles, recruitment, schedules, productivity, career development and performance Financial Aid Management 2.5 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage information and/or provide updates regarding student financial aid Ellucian 50 features ### All Features - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Admissions Management: Handle the registration and admission process for existing and new students - Alerts/Notifications: Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges - Alumni Management: Tools that help educational institutions or fundraising organizations connect with alumni - Application Management: Track, manage and store the applications of potential future members, customers or candidates - Attendance Management: Manage attendance for classes, shifts, meetings, or events - Attendance Tracking: Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups - Budgeting/Forecasting: Create budgets based on historical data and future projections - Business Intelligence: Technological processes and strategies used for collecting, managing, and analyzing organizational data - Candidate Management: Build, track, and maintain relationships with candidates - Class Registration: Online registration for classes - Class Scheduling: Schedule in-person or online classes - Client Portal: Private online space that lets businesses securely share documents and provide information access to clients - Communication Management: Manage and track all internal and external communication conducted via calls, email, text, or chat - Compliance Management: Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier - CRM: Built-in customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities or integration with a third-party CRM system - Curriculum Management: Map out the subjects that comprise courses of study - Dashboard Creation: Creation and customization of dashboards - Document Management: Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location - Document Storage: Store and organize documents in a centralized system - Enrollments/Onboarding: Manage the enrollment and onboarding of all new members and accepted applications - Event Calendar: A list of events with their respective dates - Faculty/Staff Management: Track and manage staff profiles, recruitment, schedules, productivity, career development and performance - Financial Aid Management: Manage information and/or provide updates regarding student financial aid - Financial Analysis: Evaluate units, projects, budgets, and other finance-related data to gauge their performance and potential risk - Financial Management: Plan, manage, and track the financial activities of an individual or organization - For Higher Education: Software designed for higher education organizations - Forms Management: Store, manage and track all forms in a centralized location - Fundraising Management: Activities related to raising money for a specific cause - HR Management: Automates core HR functions such as talent management, employee evaluation and learning management - Information Hub: A centralized repository of all information that might be useful to students - Learning Management: Organize and track educational activities - Mobile App: Access the system via a mobile application - Online Calendar: Online calendar of upcoming events/activities viewable to members and visitors - Online Payments: Accept and process online payment transactions - Online Registration: Real-time registration over the web - Payroll Management: Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently - Real-Time Analytics: Analyze and gain insights into data in real-time - Real-Time Notifications: Notifications that are delivered to users as soon as an event occurs - Records Management: Ability to record, store, update, and retrieve information - Registration Management: Oversee and coordinate the registration of attendees, visitors, customers, events, activities, etc. - Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data - Scheduling: Plan availability and assign specific time slots for tasks and resources - Self Service Portal: Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information - Student Information/Records: Create lists of student grades, transcripts, class lists, course schedules, etc. to be shared with instructors and administration - Student Management: Database of students to track personal information of individuals and families - Task Management: Create, manage and track all task activities and progression - Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes - Visual Analytics: Interact with data visualization elements, such as charts and graphs, to drill down into data - Workflow Management: Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 3.5 (84) 3.5 Based on 84 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 3.2 (60) Basic $0.01 Value for money 3.2 (60) 3.2 Based on 60 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.5 (63) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.5 (63) 3.5 Based on 63 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 3.6 Based on 84 reviews Filter by rating 5(14) 4(40) 3(18) 2(6) 1(6) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent RL Richard L. Senior Developer Education Management ### "Old but modern tool." 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 June 23, 2025 Ellcian has been in my working environment for the last 15 years. The learning curve was not too steep. Does a lot of t What we need. Pros The product has existed for alo g time and i.proved over time. It's very stable and has nost of the functionality we need. Cons The product has changed directions multiple times (frameworks) through the years, so many times we had to change our own direction to follow. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JW Justin W. Chief Information Officer Higher Education ### "Game Changer for our Institution" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 15, 2025 Overall, it's been pleasant. There have been some hiccups, but nothing so severe that we have come to regret the decision/investment. Pros It's a great tool and one that has revolutionized our experieince as an institution - moving from antiquated methods to operating at light speed. Cons The implementation and particularly the "train the trainer" model which just doesn't fit our instituton given our small size and limited resources. Alternatives considered [Ellucian Student](https://www.capterra.com/p/171158/Banner-Finance/) Reasons for choosing Ellucian Colleague was a better fit for our needs and institution size. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LE Leland E. Professor Higher Education ### "Poorly structured. Poorly maintained. Poor." 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 October 27, 2023 Pros None. Its a sloggy product, designed with no consideration to the user. Cons No redeeming qualities. Repeated crashes during most critical time in student advisement and registration.Undermines the ability of our institution to function professionally. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AM Andrew M. Associate Director Education Management ### "Used to be better" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 September 7, 2023 5-8 years ago Ellucian was a solid product and worked great but since being forced to move to the cloud the quality just isn't the same. Part of this could be all of the changes the Department of Education has implemented over the past couple of years and in that regard Ellucian is doing a good job of adapting. Pros When the financial aid module is working it does a pretty good job of what we need it to. Cons Now that we are in 'the cloud' customer service has taken a nosedive and it takes forever to updates installed. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MV Mark V. CIO Higher Education ### "Good product. . .maybe?" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 December 8, 2022 Neutral to negative. Massive additional costs during deployment, a tendency to confusion among the supposed "experts" around how basic pieces of the software worked, forced third party software changes that were unnecessary and expensive, and a quote that was clearly lowballed with the expectation that we'd end up paying on the back end for additional products that we didn't know were needed made this whole process less than good. Pros We liked the idea of a connected suite that worked with most of our existing software. Cons The consultants were very much at odds with each other and added confusion to the process. It also turns out that it didn't work with our existing software even when the vendors were listed as compatible on the Ellucian partner site. It also turns out that some of our 3rd party software would have worked, but we were told that it wouldn't. In the end the confusion and lack of understanding/ability from Ellucian consultants cost us tens of thousands of additional dollars during our deployment. Switched from [Jenzabar One](https://www.capterra.com/p/132292/Jenzabar-ERP/) Jenzabar, as a software package, isn't useful to a growing college. It's expensive, restrictive, and the support was extremely poor. Alternatives considered [Jenzabar One](https://www.capterra.com/p/132292/Jenzabar-ERP/) Reasons for choosing Ellucian Price, but our costs ended up exceeding the cost of any of the alternative vendors. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. LJ Lauren J. Associate Director of Alumni Engagment Fund-Raising ### "Overall good CRM for non-profit/fundraising" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 November 30, 2022 Pros Online platform available - the ability to store a lot of information in many different ways, and report customization. Cons A little clunky in how many clicks it takes to find the information you are looking for. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. EK Elizabeth K. Professor Higher Education ### "Provide more support for end users!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 November 3, 2022 The underlying system is robust and stable, but difficult to manage, especially in terms of data entry and updates. Making changes can have unanticipated ripple effects. Pros The end user product has good visual flow and is designed to protect student data. Cons This is not an intuitive system, especially to users making a transition from the company's older product which was not visually or logically similar at all. Support materials are not adequate on the web site, unless you are a (paying) implementation team member. Reasons for choosing Ellucian We had to update the end user interface. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Educational Leader Education Management ### "Great suite, odd language" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 November 1, 2022 Pros Great suite for information storage and processing. Cons Odd language for how to navigate. Too difficult for novice users. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. SH Sheenah H. Exec Director Education Management ### "Recruit Pros and Cons" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 August 28, 2022 Pros Recruit has some great reports, integrates with both Eventbrite and Salesforce and can really streamline enrollment processes fo4 a school. Cons Implementation is painful, at best. Customer support is difficult because no one seems to understand the product. Customizing for a community college is difficult, as well. Reasons for choosing Ellucian Integration with other Ellucian products. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Research Analyst Higher Education ### "Not always the most user friendly" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 July 14, 2022 Pros The recent upgrades have made it much more user friendly and easier to navigate. Cons Integration with other products can be very glitchy at times. It takes someone with serious knowledge to be able to navigate that process. If you have that, then you're fine. If not, prepare to spend some money on it. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/135932/Ellucian/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Canvas vs Ellucian](https://www.capterra.com/compare/127214-135932/CANVAS-vs-Ellucian)