# Page 2 | Populi Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 2 - Is Populi the right Higher Education solution for you? Explore 60 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/89408/Populi/reviews --- Populi 4.5 (60) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/89408/Populi/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 2 - Reviews of Populi ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 26-50 of 60 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use JA Jason A. Vice President of Administration Used the software for: ### "Thankful for Populi" April 3, 2014 5.0 Bethlehem College and Seminary is a small Christian college which sprung from Bethlehem Baptist Church and the preaching of John Piper. For over 10 years, Bethlehem Baptist had a non-degree granting institution. In 2009, after John Piper encouraged the leadership to launch a seminary, we realized that managing student data and finances would be critical. This began a search for low cost college management software that was designed for school with less than 500 students. In 2009, there were few options. In addition to low cost and designed for small schools, we wanted a web-based solutions, because we did not have the resources or personnel to run our own servers. In addition, we are an Apple shop, and most all college management software ran on Windows servers. Then we discovered Populi. With a flat monthly rate and a low per student monthly rate, Populi fit our financial model. In addition, Populi was web-based. This meant that we did not need to purchase any additional hardware, and all of our staff, faculty, and students were able to access the software without any additional client side software besides a web browser. The Populi staff worked hard to help us transition our Excel files of student data into their database. They answered the phone in person and assisted us with all of our configuration. The website was simple enough that we learned on the fly. With any new venture, there are bumps and hiccups along the way, but we were able to work through those. Over the last 5 years, we have grown at nearly 25% per year. Populi has seamlessly grown with us. They continue to improve the product and provide additional services, and so far, have not raised the price. One recent improvement was additional Admissions applications. Since we are both a college and seminary, it was very important for us to have two different application processes. This solved a lot of headaches for us. Five years later, this school is still very thankful for Populi. Review Source OK Ozlen K. Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for small institutions " September 2, 2016 4.0 Even though, I had some trouble with pulling data previously with customer support we had overcome most of the obstacles. I believe with right training the program can accommodate most of our needs as small institution. I highly recommend populi to small institutions like us with an advise to inquire and receive proper training when you initial start using it. Don't hesitate to ask for training and make sure to allow your staff a time for training. Pros Accommodates small institutions with very reasonable pricing. Customer support is very responsive to inquiries. Cons Learning how to use efficiently needs a proper training by Populi expert. It is difficult to learn by self training through videos and tips. Review Source PF Paul F. Church Planter Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Populi" January 14, 2020 4.0 Overall I liked using Populi. It made doing school from a distance very convenient. Pros I think populi did a great job making their interface super easy to access and basic. It was easy to distinguish where the main pages were located. Cons The design of populi, though it didn't enhance the product, was very basic and could have used a makeover. But the software itself had little issues in my opinion. Review Source SC Sean C. Founding Faculty, Literature Used the software for: ### "Full-featured SIS for small colleges" October 29, 2014 5.0 We've been working with Populi for about 10 months at a small liberal arts college in Shanghai, China, and we've found it remarkably full-featured; its suite of tools -- it handles everything from online registration to interactive course shells to finances/student billing -- offers more than we're even using. Access to the system is based on user-roles, with roles ranging from student through system admin. Because it's web-based, it works anywhere (including in China) on a variety of browsers (we've used Firefox, Explorer, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and Midori). I could go on. To get a sense of everything Populi has to offer, it's worth visiting their site. Before we started working with Populi, I researched traditional SIS systems and software, and learned that we'd never be able to afford it for a program our size. Populi is designed for colleges like ours, and the pricing is reasonable and scaled to institution size. Frankly, I it's hard to believe what we get for the money. There are few drawbacks to using Populi that aren't common to other SIS systems. Among these, role-based access means that non-advising faculty aren't able easily to view course listings for a given term, for example. And few users have access to the full course catalog within the system. However, it's easy to export any of these sorts of things for sharing. More importantly, the user forums provide a place for feature requests, and these are often implemented, as the process of building and improving the system appears to be earnest and ongoing. Finally, customer service has been great. We've made a few mistakes -- most recently, I managed to delete several months worth of teaching evaluations -- that the support team at Populi were able to help us recover from very quickly. Review Source DH Donna H. CTO Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best Decision We Ever Made" July 18, 2017 5.0 Increased data reporting functionality and low cost. Pros It packs everything into a cost effective manageable solution for small to medium colleges. Student records, Billing, Financial Aid, Course Evaluations, Communications, Discipline, emergency text messaging, online course management, Library, Bookstore, Registration, and so much more. Cons That is very hard to say. I think the assignment grade release settings could be more granular. Giving approved incompletes could be refined more. Review Source GB Grace B. Registrar Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "User Friendly - Great Customer Service " October 1, 2019 5.0 Pros So grateful for such effective software. Not only is Populi user-friendly and easy to navigate, but the level of customer service is unmatched. Pre-set reports are such a time-saver, and I'm loving all the new training videos/webinars. Would recommend this product! Cons Honestly, nothing significant enough to mention. Review Source AP Alfredo P. Director of Technical Services Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Populi is simple, elegant, secure, intuitive, with comprehensive features and well documented. " September 22, 2017 5.0 All possible Pros It is difficult to say; documentation is exhaustive and the product is very well crafted and incredibly intuitive, but perhaps customer support is probably one of the best I have ever experienced! Cons With Populi, you can manually request a backup of the complete database on a daily basis, which generates and lets you download a CSV file with all the data, which is a nice feature, but I really miss the ability to schedule it on a regular basis and perhaps have it transferred to a secondary cloud storage. Review Source Response from Populi September 25, 2017 Thanks for the feedback, Alfredo! One note - you can schedule/automate backups using the API. We will consider making that an option without having to make use of the API. Thanks! KC Kim C. Academic Dean Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Overall it is an excellent product and serves us well." October 12, 2017 5.0 Pros It keeps improving and is more useful today than it was when we bought in (2011). They listen to feature requests from the users and try to accommodate. Service is prompt and helpful. They fix things or educate in how to use the software. The back up and reporting features are very helpful when we need to back track to find an issue. Cons Searching for something in help could be improved. It seems that sometimes you have to do a fair amount of searching to find the relevant page. Review Source GS Gene S. IT Manager E-Learning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "This has worked well for us" August 7, 2020 5.0 Previous 2 SIS software were expensive and hard to use. Populis has been a much better fit with staff and students Pros Easy for staff to learn. Integrates with the LMS we use Cons Some integration glitches, but good tech support. Reason for choosing Populi Price and performance Review Source SS Shirley S. Office Manager & Admissions Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Populi is a good system for our school's needs." April 3, 2018 5.0 Pros I enjoy the communications area. I find it very helpful for student contact. I REALLY like being able to use the Populi Dropbox to post emails from other sources to the students' records. Cons I'm still learning how to use Populi's finer points, which has been a challenge without the former user still on our property. However, Populi support is always helpful. Review Source MW Mahala W. Office manager Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great tool for colleges" March 26, 2019 5.0 The software itself works great for our information and data retrieval. Pros This software works great to collect data and information and also take in information on surveys, or applications. Really it has a plethora of uses. Cons Their billing system is a little off on when they invoice you. Review Source DH Donna H. CTO Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Decision We Ever Made - Comprehensive Solution for Small Colleges" November 19, 2019 5.0 We transferred from various archival systems and Paper records and have never looked back. Populi support has been amazing and the cost is quite affordable. It scales as we grow. Pros Everything. This software manages all aspects of student records on campus. Including but not limited to Admissions, registration, course management, transcripts, reporting, advising,student billing, financial aid, library, bookstore, donations, and so much more. Cons I really don't have any complaints. We don't have on campus housing or on campus dining facilities, so I wish the Campus Life module could be turned off. Review Source AU Abdullah U. Used the software for: ### "I'd give 6 stars if possible" November 28, 2016 5.0 We've been using Populi since 2013. When we started a new school, we searched for an affordable college management solution that can offer an integrated solution for our basic needs such as admissions, financials, library etc. Populi was our decision and we are extremely satisfied with the product. I used a number of similar software as a student, and I don't know as an administrator's perspective but in a student's perspective I think Populi is the easiest to use. The design is very clean and modern. I think the young students want to see stuff in a particular way. Redundancy is a big turn off. It's hard to explain but for example people don't want to click save for every step of their admissions. It's like these subtle thinks that you don't really think about but when you see it you makes you pleased. The designers at Populi does that. Mobile app is available and Customer support is phenomenal. They answer fast and answer good, with screen shots and all. Fast and to the point. They listen. The users can request new features and see them getting worked on and implemented. Some users may find some features missing or hard to use and I understand that. But I can always say that, from my personal experience , the support team is there to help. Pros: Customer support, price, design, extent of features, ease of use, frequent updates for new features. Cons: Nothing that I can think of. Review Source CD Chris D. System Integrator Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Populi Support is top-notch" August 23, 2019 5.0 Pros Populi is straight-forward in it's functionality and use. It is intuitive, which is a great help to new users. The integration between G-Suite, Populi, and Canvas with Single Sign-On works great. The customer support before and after implementation has been truly exceptional. Cons There are some limitations with email templates and financial/billing functions, but these have been minor limitations. Alternatives considered [Campus Cafe](https://www.capterra.com/p/2191/Campus-Cafe/)[Sycamore School](https://www.capterra.com/p/75048/Sycamore-Education/) Review Source KS Kevin S. Financial Administrator Religious Institutions Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Starting From Scratch" August 2, 2019 5.0 Very satisfied and have experienced a great deal of positive and helpful customer support. Really, no walks through a string of phones tree choices to get to someone who can help. Pros Going from spreadsheets to Populi was very easy. The system is very intuitive anticipating what data is needed in every screen during the progression of steps used to post student records and effect school administration. It is easy to move around and the data is partitioned in a logical array of tabs and input screens. The staff has a great deal of confidence in the accuracy of posting data and capturing transactions events. Cons Reporting of financial transactions make it cumbersome to reconcile and account for transactions. Review Source RS Robert S. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Using Populi As A Classroom Tool-" November 16, 2020 3.0 I have been using Populi for the past 4 years at the college where I teach. As stated earlier, it would not be my choice. Pros The ease of setting up your enrollment and grade book is fairly easy. I also liked the feature that allows you to transfer the entries from one semester to the next. Cons Of all the higher learning software that I have used, Populi is my least favorite. Once your grade book has been set up, I find that making adjustments at times to be difficult. Switched from [Moodle](https://www.capterra.com/p/80691/Moodle/) I didn't, the college made the choice. Review Source MC Mike C. Pastor Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Fair program for students" June 3, 2021 3.0 I used populi to take a college course and it worked OK except for the lack of speed. Pros I like the fact that it helps you keep up with all aspects of your college coursework. It was useful in online class discussion. Cons The program is sometimes slow. It could also be hard to navigate. It took a lot of trial and error to figure it out. Review Source CD Chris D. Dean of Online Studies Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best choice for SIS/LMS" July 26, 2016 5.0 We have loved Populi from the very beginning. Great program. Great support. Great choice for all your LMS and SIS needs. Pros Integration of the LMS and SIS. Ease of use. Video tutorials are great...keeps me from having to make them myself. Cons Waiting for a plagiarism integration. Review Source PS Paul S. Registrar/Educational Technologist Used the software for: ### "Shines for the Classroom, Great for the Blended" November 6, 2014 5.0 I have been using school management systems since at least 1992 and course management systems since 1995. Well over 20 years of a dozen different systems, including all of the big names. I just wanted to formally express my delight with Populi. I really believe that on balance, this is the best product I have ever used. It may not be as powerful and have the same smooth work flow as the major players, but for a small school with a limited budget . . . can't be beat. The school system side of the program is effective and has handled every need of our very small college and the ease of making transcripts has greatly lessened the work in my office. Populi really shines for course management and even our reluctant faculty have been able to benefit from the grading, assignment and attendance mods. We have a few faculty who have fully employed the Populi lessons section to make both blended and online courses. I have used it for both and the scope of \`instructor variation' is ideal. The learning platform is complete, without being excessively demanding. I am very, very impressed with the product. I actually enjoy using it for my classes. Review Source SW Susan W. Registrar / Financial Aid Used the software for: ### "I love POPULI !" November 7, 2013 5.0 I have been using the system for 3 years now and it keeps getting better and better. I liked it from the beginning and it just keeps improving. The developers listen to their customers and add tools that make our life easier. The response time for questions or help is outstanding. There are many learning tutorials in the help section with instructions and videos to assist in the process of learning the system. When it comes to reporting, I find it saves hours when compiling IPEDS data. This year the reporting section was improved to the extent, it cut my research time in half. There are parts that I do not utilize like financial aid only because we utilize a third party service. End of the year 1098 T's are at my finger tips. I export the information in to excel. I have not figured out how to split the total tuition paid for those receiving Financial aid and 50% VA benefits that aren't reported on the 1098 T. Maybe being able to edit the totals would be helpful. Would I recommend Populi to other schools? Yes, I cant see operating without it. The more I use it the better it is. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Counselor Higher Education Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "New to me" April 14, 2020 5.0 Populi helps with evaluation, management and storage of assignments, accreditation of work Pros This software is new to me but, in my transition from one higher education institution to another it has been simple and user friendly to understand--looks like it keeps everything in one place, so helpful for student and educator! Cons I am still learning it, even though it is user friendly it is not as intuitive as I would like for it (me?) to be Review Source JG Jason G. Software Engineer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Nothing to write home about, but does what it's meant to" March 27, 2018 5.0 Pros Being a web based college management software, it has its cloud computing benefits for sure. The options available are extensive too. Cons Many of the features are half cooked and need a lot more work to be in a finished form. It is basic at best now. Review Source JM Jeremiah M. Used the software for: ### "Great company, great product" December 12, 2013 5.0 I had the pleasure of working with Populi for five years when I worked at a small private college. We were looking for cost-effective college management software that fit our needs. Once we found Populi, we knew we had found the right solution. The user interface is intuitive and well thought out. Students, faculty, and administrators love Populi. It does everything a small college requires and a whole lot more (online courses, academic records, online tuition payments, library, bookstore, etc....). If something didn't work right, or there were features missing, Populi was very good at listening, and often incorporated feature requests into future releases. In my opinion, the best thing about Populi is working with the Populi staff. They are very responsive and a pleasure to work with. Review Source SF Shane F. IT Administrator Used the software for: ### "An amazing product that shows amazing maturity for it's age. " March 12, 2009 4.0 An amazing product that shows amazing maturity for it's age. I would put it up against any of the big dogs on the market. Pros \- Great people to work with. Always quick to find a solution. - This software has all the major components already included to help keep schools running smoothly. - It's a hosted solution so there is no IT costs on us. - They are always adding functionality Cons They are still new to the scene so it's not robust. Things like templating , help documentation, and customer customization are still missing. The customer support people will bend over backwards to do these things for you though so it's not a deal breaker. Review Source Jiska D. Registered Nurse Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: ### "null" October 12, 2017 3.0 Review Source Similar Products Featured