The Moodle App is Moodle’s mobile client for Moodle sites. Moodle’s company history dates the app to 2013 and the Branded App, which lets an organisation customise the app with its own branding, to 2016.[6] Learners install the free app and sign in to their organisation’s Moodle site, and the features they receive depend on the plan to which that site is subscribed. Licensing is therefore a site-level matter: the institution, not the learner, holds the plan, and the plan decides how many devices receive push notifications and how many courses can be used offline. For licence managers the app is a small but real recurring item, and one that is easy to miss because the app itself costs nothing.
Plans
Moodle’s app page states that the Moodle App is free to download and use, and that institutions can subscribe to unlock additional capabilities such as unlimited push notifications and advanced analytics.[1] It describes three plans.
| Plan | Price | Push notification devices | Offline courses | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | EUR 0 | 50 active devices | 2 | Compatible with most self-hosted sites and sites managed by Moodle Certified Partners |
| Premium | EUR 499 per year | Unlimited active devices | Unlimited | Free if using Moodle Official Hosting or MoodleCloud |
| Branded | Not published; see the Branded Moodle App | Unlimited active devices | Unlimited | The institution’s own app in Google Play and the Apple App Store |
The table is drawn from Moodle’s app page.[1]
Free plan
Under the Free plan the app page lists 50 active devices for push notifications, access to two offline courses per device per site, one custom menu item, one disabled feature and ten custom strings.[1] Course content and activities, in-app messaging, the calendar and the gradebook are included. Multimedia push notifications, QR login, basic custom branding, a custom listing on the Site Finder, a separated notifications server, full app branding, Google Analytics, mobile app support by email, biometric login and Matomo analytics integration are listed as not included.[1] The two limits that matter for counting are the number of active devices and the number of offline courses per device per site; they are catalogued as Moodle App active devices for push notifications and Moodle App offline courses per device per site. The app page does not define when a device counts as active.
Premium plan
Premium lists unlimited active devices for push notifications, unlimited access to offline courses and unlimited customised app features, and includes multimedia push notifications, QR login, basic custom branding, a custom Site Finder listing, biometric login and Matomo integration.[1] It costs EUR 499 per year, and the page states that it is free if the site uses Moodle Official Hosting or MoodleCloud.[1] The MoodleCloud plans page repeats that all MoodleCloud plans include the Premium plan, a feature normally valued at EUR 499 per year.[3] A site registers on the Moodle Apps Portal and subscribes to Premium there. As soon as it does, all devices connecting to that site with the free app receive the additional features.[1]
Branded plan
The Branded Moodle App turns Premium into the organisation’s own mobile app, published in the App Store and Google Play with the organisation’s logo and under its name, with Moodle managing the build, compliance and updates.[4] It adds a separated notifications server, full app branding with logo and colours, Google Analytics and mobile app support by email to what Premium includes, and the plan is described as suited to institutions with multiple sites.[1] Moodle states that only Certified Partners can give organisations access to the Branded Mobile App.[5] No price is published; it is obtained through the partner. The restriction in Moodle’s trademark policy on using Moodle in the name of a mobile app is relevant to the app name an institution chooses; see Moodle trademark policy and branding.[8]
Which sites can use the app
Moodle’s FAQ explains the effect of the plan system on sites that do not have one. If a user sees a message that the site is no longer supported in the app, it usually means the site is not enabled for Moodle App access, which can happen if the site is hosted by a non-official provider or does not have a Moodle App plan. The remedies Moodle gives are to subscribe to a Premium plan, or to move to MoodleCloud or a Moodle Certified Partner, where Premium is included.[1] The FAQ also tells administrators how to tell whether a site is outgrowing the Free plan: review the app usage analytics, or check whether the customisable app features under the Mobile app settings in Site administration are in use, because continued use requires an upgrade.[1]
For an estate that mixes hosting models, the practical result is that the cost of the app depends on where a site is hosted. A site on MoodleCloud or on Moodle Official Hosting has Premium included. A self-hosted site, or a site with a non-official provider, needs its own plan if it wants the Premium features or needs more than the Free plan’s limits.
Volume licences
Moodle states that it offers volume licences at a discounted rate for Moodle App Premium for eligible organisations, including NGOs and not-for-profits, government departments and educational institutions, with details on request.[1] No discount schedule is published. The row is Moodle App Premium volume licence.
Moodle App Plans Terms of Service
The plans are sold under terms between Moodle Pty Ltd and the customer, published on the Moodle Apps site. The page shows no version date.[2] The main commercial provisions are as follows.
- Accounts and sites. The customer completes a signup form to create a Moodle App Plans site and an account on the website. A site on the free service is limited to one site, and a paid package runs for a 12 month period or another fixed term shown on the website.[2] Moodle does not provide a paid package until the fee is paid and received.[2]
- Portal. Through the portal the customer manages billing, purchases add-ons, deletes sites and views usage statistics.[2]
- Limits. Each site is allocated a limited number of push notifications per month and a limited feature set according to the plan.[2]
- Payment. Package fees are payable upfront on a yearly basis and add-on fees upfront monthly or yearly, by credit card or PayPal. Moodle debits the card or PayPal account automatically to renew unless the customer cancels. All amounts are stated in euros and are exclusive of Goods and Services Tax where that applies.[2]
- Failed payment. Access may be suspended until payment is confirmed, and if payment is not made within 60 days of the last payment date Moodle may delete the data and sites without notice.[2]
- Bank transfer. Payment by bank or wire transfer to Moodle Pty Ltd is allowed in certain circumstances, with a minimum two year Premium subscription.[2]
- Cancellation. The customer can cancel a paid package through the portal. Access ends at the end of the billing cycle and automatic payments stop at the end of the month or year in which Moodle is notified. The customer is responsible for retrieving its data before termination.[2]
- Refunds. Subject to the Australian Consumer Law, refunds are case by case at Moodle’s discretion, including where the services are unavailable for more than seven days. A payment made to a Moodle Partner is a matter between the customer and that partner.[2]
- Support. Moodle states it aims to respond to paid plan enquiries within 2 business days and others within 5, in business hours Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Central European Time, and that it may refer the customer to a Moodle Partner for specific, customised support, which may incur a fee.[2]
- Licence. The right to use the sites is personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited and revocable, and is licensed rather than sold. The customer must not sublicense it for a fee or commercial gain.[2]
- Prohibited use. The terms prohibit distributing, selling, renting, leasing, sub-licensing or otherwise transferring the services to a third party, and removing or altering trademark, logo, copyright or other proprietary notices.[2]
- Third parties. Third-party products and Moodle Partner services are the responsibility of those parties, and Moodle disclaims liability for their quality, reliability or failure.[2]
- Changes. Moodle may change the terms at any time, effective on posting, and endeavours to communicate changes by email.[2]
Operational notes
A change of site address affects app access. When a MoodleCloud site moves to a custom domain, Moodle App users must remove the site and add it again with the new domain.[7] A subscription is tied to the registered site, so a migration to a new hostname should include checking that the site registration on the Moodle Apps Portal is updated. The app terms say nothing about migration, so this is a point to verify with Moodle.
What to record
- Each Moodle site, its hosting model, and which of the Free, Premium or Branded plans applies.
- The renewal date and payment method for each paid plan, since renewal is automatic.
- Whether the Premium plan is included through MoodleCloud or Moodle Official Hosting rather than purchased.
- For a Branded app, the partner contract, the app store accounts and the app name.
- Whether the site’s use of customisable app features means it has outgrown the Free plan.
Out of scope
This article does not cover the open source licence of the Moodle App code, which Moodle does not describe on the plans page, or the privacy terms of the app. It does not cover third-party products purchased through the Moodle Apps Portal, whose terms are set by their providers.