LMS for online training Africa: Moodle vs Teachable vs Custom (2026)

Francophone Africa's online training market is exploding: +35% per year since 2023. Tech bootcamps, professional courses, certifications. But LMS choice determines 80% of learner experience and 60% of profitability.

TL;DR

- Moodle: open-source, mature, free, but 2010s UX.

- Teachable / Thinkific: ready-to-use SaaS, perfect to start, 5-15% fees.

- Custom (Next.js): 3-6 month effort, scaling ROI, no fees.

Detailed comparison

When to pick Moodle

Cases:

• University / education institution
• Limited budget
• Wide functional need (forums, assignments, complex quizzes)
• Available technical team

Stack:

• Hetzner CX21 (€8/month)
• Postgres or MariaDB
• Caddy + Let's Encrypt
• Custom Wave/OM plugin

`bash

docker run -d --name moodle \

-p 80:80 \

-e MOODLE_DATABASE_TYPE=pgsql \

-e MOODLE_DATABASE_HOST=db \

-e MOODLE_DATABASE_NAME=moodle \

-e MOODLE_DATABASE_USER=moodle \

-e MOODLE_DATABASE_PASSWORD=secret \

-v moodle_data:/bitnami/moodle \

bitnami/moodle:latest

`

When to pick Teachable / Thinkific

Cases:

• Solo coach / trainer
• 1-10 courses
• Need to launch in 1-2 weeks
• No dev budget

Teachable 2026 pricing:

• Basic: $39/month + 5% transaction
• Pro: $119/month + 0% transaction
• Business: $499/month + 0% + advanced features

Pros:

• Setup in 2-3 days
• Modern UI by default
• Email automation included
• Native affiliates

Cons for Africa:

• Stripe-only payment (no native Wave / OM)
• $ pricing puts off local market
• No strong native multilingual

Solution: Teachable for premium courses (EU/US clients), custom site for XOF clients.

When to pick Custom (Next.js + Postgres)

Cases:

• 100+ students/year short-term goal
• Marketplace trainers (multi-trainer)
• Specific integrations (existing CRM, ERP)
• Strong own brand

Custom architecture

`prisma

model Course {

id String @id @default(cuid())

slug String @unique

title String

description String

thumbnail String

category String

level String

language String

duration Int

priceXof Int

priceEur Int?

priceUsd Int?

modules Module[]

enrollments Enrollment[]

instructorId String

status String

publishedAt DateTime?

}

model Module {

id String @id @default(cuid())

courseId String

course Course @relation(fields: [courseId], references: [id])

title String

order Int

lessons Lesson[]

}

model Lesson {

id String @id @default(cuid())

moduleId String

module Module @relation(fields: [moduleId], references: [id])

title String

type String

videoUrl String?

transcript String?

durationSec Int?

content String?

order Int

isFree Boolean

}

model Enrollment {

id String @id @default(cuid())

studentId String

courseId String

course Course @relation(fields: [courseId], references: [id])

enrolledAt DateTime @default(now())

completedAt DateTime?

progress Json

certificateUrl String?

}

model QuizAttempt {

id String @id @default(cuid())

studentId String

lessonId String

answers Json

score Int

passedAt DateTime?

attemptNum Int

}

`

Video streaming

Mux or BunnyCDN for HLS streaming video hosting:

`tsx

import { MuxPlayer } from '@mux/mux-player-react';

export function LessonPlayer({ lesson, enrollment }) {

return (

streamType="on-demand"

playbackId={lesson.muxPlaybackId}

metadata={{

video_title: lesson.title,

viewer_user_id: enrollment.studentId,

}}

onTimeUpdate={(e) => {

if (Math.floor(e.target.currentTime) % 10 === 0) {

saveProgress(enrollment.id, lesson.id, e.target.currentTime);

}

}}

onEnded={() => markLessonComplete(enrollment.id, lesson.id)}

/>

);

}

`

Quizzes and certifications

`tsx

export function Quiz({ lesson, onSubmit }) {

const [answers, setAnswers] = useState({});

return (

);

}

`

Multi-currency payment

See multi-currency guide →.

`tsx

function CourseCheckout({ course, currency }) {

const price = course.prices[currency];

if (currency === 'XOF') {

return ;

} else if (currency === 'EUR' || currency === 'USD') {

return ;

}

}

`

Real case — Dakar tech bootcamp (1,500 students/year)

Choice: Custom Next.js + Postgres + Mux.

VS Teachable scenario:

• Pro hosting: $1,428/year
• Stripe fees 2.9% × 11.9M = 345K XOF/month
• Total Teachable + Stripe fees: ~$50K/year
• No native Wave / OM = 35% conversion lost → -4M XOF/month

Custom pays back in 8 months.

FAQ

Q: Migrate from Teachable to Custom?

A: Hard. Content export OK but students/progress = headache. Starting custom = better if >500/year volume planned.

Q: Self-hosted videos vs Mux?

A: Mux = $1-3/active user. At high volume (1,000+ users), self-host BunnyCDN cheaper (~$50/month fixed).

Q: Multilingual training FR + EN?

A: If same content: synchronized subtitles (Whisper auto + review). If really different content: 2 separate courses.

Conclusion

LMS chosen = business strategy. Solo trainer starting: Teachable. University / institution: Moodle. Bootcamp / scale-up: Custom. Investing at the right level at the right time avoids costly re-migration 18 months later.