Learning Management System (LMS): Should you build your own EdTech product or subscribe to SaaS?

The LMS market is booming and is expected to jump from $23.35 billion today to $82 billion by 2032 (according to Fortune Business Insights). If you’re eyeing this industry, there are two roads ahead: build a custom LMS or subscribe to a ready-made SaaS solution. 

Both choices come with their perks and challenges, so let’s look at the advantages of custom LMS and subscription one.

Benefits of building a custom LMS

1. Ultimate customization

When building your LMS everything, from the features to the design, can be tailored to your business goals, audience needs, and branding. Want to expand into new markets? Your LMS can easily adapt to regional requirements, like language and localized content, to help you stay competitive.

With your own LMS, it’s easier to adapt to local peculiarities, when expanding to new market, because you can customize language for different regions,

2. Competitive edge

To win the competition it isn’t enough just to be good, you need to stand out. And it’s much easier with your own LMS. For example, in our KREYA (formerly CREO) project, we added gamified features, like avatars, challenges, and rewards to boost engagement and user satisfaction. Don’t forget about a personalized touch.

3. More opportunities for monetization

We understand every creative business needs to drive revenue. Custom LMS also opens up more ways of monetization. It's not only about selling courses, like with a subscription model.

The convenience of subscription-based LMS

1. Fast deployment

Yeah, if you have minimal time for setup, the subscription model allows you to make it faster. So it’s quick, easy, and stress-free. But don’t forget, that speed can come at the cost of customization and long-term flexibility.

2. Budget-friendly solution

This one can save you some money, especially if your project is a startup or a small business. Yeah, you invest less, but in a long-term period you may face the problem, that it doesn’t fit all your needs.

3. Built-in Support

Subscription services often offer you a dedicated tech team, that’ll help you with ongoing support and updates. And you can focus on your business goals without, not some technical issues. Sounds great, agree?

Summary

But at the end of the day, it’s all on you. There is no right answer. Building your own LMS can be a perfect long-term solution, that’ll give you control and scalability. On the other hand, if you need to get started quickly and don’t mind sacrificing some flexibility, a subscription-based LMS could be a good fit.

Whatever you decide, your LMS will do more than deliver content — it will set the stage for your business’s growth. Choose wisely.

Feeling curious and ready for more insights?

Find more details about the differences between a custom LMS and a subscription in our full article on the Goodface website. Plus you’ll get essential questions every LMS startup should answer before making the call.