Canvas LMS vs. Google Classroom | Which You Should Choose

Canvas LMS is a learning management system built to help schools, universities, and even businesses manage online learning. It gives you a space to create courses, organize assignments, and interact with students through discussions, video calls, and messages. You can track grades and get detailed reports on student performance. It works well for large-scale learning environments where you need structure and customization.

Why may teachers love working on Canvas LMS?

• Opportunities for teachers to annotate, grade, and provide feedback directly on student submissions with rubrics and comments.
• Allows staying in touch with students via discussion boards, messaging systems, and group workspaces
• Has extensive integrations through learning tools interoperability (LTI) 

Does Canvas LMS cover all the needs? 

• Data in the tool and third-party apps does not always sync, and users report other types of technical issues 
• It is not very customizable and market-driven as compared to other LMS solutions
• Canvas is not transparent about its pricing, but users believe it is an expensive solution

Course building functionality 

Before building the course itself, Canvas LMS suggests configuring the settings. So you can set up how the students can interact with the course and all the activities (for example, topics, discussions, announcements) related to it. 

Once you set up the course, you can create the modules, discussions, rubrics, outcomes, quizzes, and assignments separately. As part of the module content, you can add different media, such as 

• Documents, 
• Audio materials
• Videos
• Images

With Canvas, there is an opportunity to set the deadlines for the course. By saying deadlines, I mean that you can mention when the course starts and ends. And then limit the access once the student reaches the end date. 

One of the most important things is that you can assign specific outcomes. So when the students progress through the course, you can track how much percent of the outcomes were already covered. What is great is that you can link the outcomes to the rubrics you create. Everything is interlinked to each other so that when you grade the students, you refer to your rubric, which is outcome-based. 

As for the quizzes, there are extensive options to make them varied and interesting. You can use 12 types of questions, from multiple-choice to text answers. 

Key marketing functionality 

For standalone teachers using a teacher account, Canvas offers limited customization options. 

You can personalize individual course pages, add banners, and create engaging announcements, but you do not have access to full branding capabilities like custom URLs, logos, or theme editing. Additionally, there are no built-in marketing tools, so you cannot promote or sell your courses directly within Canvas.

This does not suggest that schools and organizations have vast opportunities when it comes to marketing. You can just tweak the appearance of dashboards, navigation menus, and buttons to match your school’s brand style. You also have the chance to customize course pages and announcements. You can add personalized headers, banners, or even video welcome messages to engage students.

When comparing Canvas LMS to other platforms focused on independent course creators, it is less customizable and not a market-driven LMS. 

Payment options and integrations 

Canvas LMS does not have native payment processing or built-in tools for pricing and selling courses. So, as I mentioned, you cannot sell a course and collect payments. 

However, canvas has another solution called Canvas Catalog. You will need to purchase that to list courses and accept payments. 

As for other integrations, Canvas offers 500+ learning and management apps you can connect to and use. However, the integrations are mainly done using APIs and LTI standards. 

Read more: Canvas LMS Review 2025։ Alternatives, Pricing, Pros, Cons & More

Google Classroom is a tool that helps teachers easily create, organize, and manage online classes. It allows you to share assignments, quizzes, and resources with your students in one place. It also lets you track who has turned in their work and give feedback quickly, saving time. Students can also join discussions, submit their work, and see real-time updates. 

Why is Google Classroom a favorite choice? 

• Provides integrations with other Google Services
• Easy assignment and feedback management
• Offers a mobile application

Is it enough for you to scale? 

• You cannot customize it to meet your school’s needs better.
• You cannot monetize your lessons and courses later.
• No opportunity to structure  your course content

Key marketing functionality 

With Google Classroom, you cannot run email campaigns or promote your lessons directly. It rather offers tools to help you connect with students and manage communication. 

As such, you can share class codes or links to invite participants quickly and post announcements to keep everyone updated. It also integrates with Google Meet, allowing you to host live sessions and engage learners in real-time.

Course building functionality 

If there is one thing that Google Classroom eases for you, it is organizing your lessons. To do that, you should add Topics to your class. 

Then, you can upload your materials like documents, videos, and links and assign tasks or quizzes using Google Forms. As you share your files via Google Drive documents, you can set the permissions so that the students can only view or edit your materials. There is an opportunity to schedule assignments, set deadlines, and track when your students submit the task. 

But if you expect to create interactive lessons, do drip scheduling, or create advanced quizzes, it will not be possible without third-party integrations. 

Integrations 

You can use Google Workspace marketplace to extend your Google Classroom experience. 

Besides that, Google Classroom offers about 80 integrations with third-party apps and tools. Some popular options include ASSISTments, Actively Learn, Aladdin, BrainPOP, etc. 

Read more: G-Classroom Review 2025: Alternatives, Pricing, Pros, Cons & More