---
title: D2L Brightspace Reviews
meta_title: 'D2L Brightspace Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2'
meta_description: Filter 707 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry
  to find out how D2L Brightspace works for a business like yours.
aggregate_rating:
  rating_value: 4.4
  review_count: 707
  scale: '5'
date_modified: '2026-08-13'
parent_category:
  name: Education
  url: https://www.g2.com/categories/education
---


# D2L Brightspace Reviews
**Vendor:** Desire2Learn  
**Category:** [Learning Management Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/learning-management-system-lms)  
**Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0  
**Total Reviews:** 707
## About D2L Brightspace
Learning That Transforms Lives D2L Brightspace is a powerful, flexible learning platform designed to put learners first. Whether you’re supporting students, employees, or members, Brightspace helps you create personalized, engaging, and measurable learning experiences that drive success. Built for Your World Brightspace adapts to the needs of every learning environment: K–12: Empower teachers and inspire every learner Higher Education: Deliver personalized learning at scale Corporate: Drive business results through smarter learning Associations: Turn training into a competitive advantage Training Providers: Deliver scalable, high-impact learning programs Modernize with Confidence Easily digitize your courses and adopt intuitive tools designed to enhance engagement, accessibility, and outcomes—no technical background required. Scale Personalized Learning Automate routine tasks, unlock actionable insights, and build learning paths that adapt to each learner’s needs. Brightspace helps you save time while improving outcomes. Support Advanced Learning Models From mastery-based progressions to competency-based learning, Brightspace has the power and flexibility to support even the most advanced online and blended strategies. A True Partner in Your Success More than a platform, Brightspace comes with a team dedicated to helping you succeed. From onboarding to optimization, we align our support and services to your goals—every step of the way.



## D2L Brightspace Pros & Cons
**What users like:**

- Users appreciate the **user-friendly interface** of D2L Brightspace, making navigation and setup effortless for both teachers and students. (49 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **supportive customer service** from D2L Brightspace, ensuring a smooth and effective administrative experience. (32 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **excellent customer support** from D2L Brightspace, which significantly enhances their overall experience. (30 reviews)
- Users value the **responsive customer support** of D2L Brightspace, ensuring prompt assistance and effective solutions. (28 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **customizability** of D2L Brightspace, enjoying diverse templates and widgets for tailored learning experiences. (27 reviews)
- Course Variety (26 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **intuitive layout** of D2L Brightspace, ensuring easy navigation and quick access to essential tools. (25 reviews)
- Customization (24 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **ease of use** of D2L Brightspace, praising its intuitive interface and straightforward content creation. (20 reviews)
- Continuous Development (19 reviews)

**What users dislike:**

- Users desire more **customization options** in D2L Brightspace, feeling limited by the current tools and features available. (28 reviews)
- Users experience **navigation issues** due to complex structures and excessive clicks needed to access discussions efficiently. (23 reviews)
- Users express frustration over **feature inconsistencies** in D2L Brightspace, hindering seamless integration and usability across tools. (18 reviews)
- Users report **integration issues** with D2L Brightspace, complicating access to certain external content and requiring multiple logins. (17 reviews)
- Users experience **limited functionality** with outdated forums and few collaborative options, impacting engagement and learning quality. (12 reviews)
- Poor Support (12 reviews)
- User Interface (11 reviews)
- Course Issues (10 reviews)
- Grading Issues (10 reviews)
- Users experience **limited features** in D2L Brightspace, wishing for better consistency and improvements in various tools. (9 reviews)

## D2L Brightspace Reviews
  ### 1. Intuitive Student Experience, but Admin and Tool Integrations Can Be a Chore

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Mike W. | Manager of Learning technology Solutions, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** February 23, 2026

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

One of the strongest upsides to D2L Brightspace is the intuitive student experience. From the student perspective, they have a very intuative interface that takes them right into the learning with minimal fuss preventing them from getting right to the learning. The implementation team was very helpful, but it was also challenging for us as we were implementing right as they crossed over to a new data platform. From the customer support standpoint D2L walked with us hand-in-hand across implementation and into the frontier of CBE. For the most part, D2L's heavy use of LTI functionality allowed us to integrate many of the tools we were already using in other systems. The system is used on a daily basis by students and weekly by faculty.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The administration of the D2L platform is kind of a chore. There are so many differentiated parts and the integration and implementation of new tools can be very burdonsome.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Brightspace D2L helped us deliver quality Comptency Based education courses to our students with ease. This helped us set up and launch our CBE program in a very limited amount of time. They make it really easy to design, develop, and launch courses with ease.

  ### 2. Familiar for Years, but Core Brightspace Updates Feel Overshadowed by Add-Ons

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 05, 2026

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It is a familiar platform that we have been using as an institution for over 15 years. I like that there have been improvements to the assessment tools.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The downsides of the system are that most of the product development focus is on additional features that we do not have in the Brightspace Core package. I'd like to see continued development in the core product in addition to the add-on's. It seems like every update that comes out is for something that is not in our contract (Lumi, Performance Plus, Creator+, Analytics, etc.) I wish there were more options for AI in the core product as well.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We obviously have to have an institutional LMS to serve students in a higher education setting. We are able to customize features, but many of our APIs have been written in house to solve problems that Brightspace has been unable to solve.

  ### 3. Its fine as an LMS, still lots of room for improvement.

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2026

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I understand its limitations now which is helpful. Its Canadian I think. Our district is mandated to use it and is paid for again I think.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

You can do a lot, but there are a lot of glitches. Inability to customize as much as I would like and the datahub and insights for reporting isn't there.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We have tickets that are years old and unresolved. The upvoting system in the PIE is not at all useful. A lot of the things we ask for are not addressed, and the useful additions are often an additional charge.

  ### 4. Responsive UI, But Slows Down with Large File Uploads

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 04, 2026

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The UI can be confusing at times, but it’s responsive and reacts quickly when I use it.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

When a large number of files are uploaded, especially heavier files, the app starts to lag and feels slow.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It brings everything together in one place, which makes it easier to find what I need.

  ### 5. A good first impression: but maybe not ideal for public institutions in Latinamerica

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Mauricio Arrieta . | Docente de Planta, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** September 30, 2025

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The interface is clean, and the course selection is visually appealing. Navigating and creating content is also straightforward and enjoyable. The class progress feature stands out as an excellent tool for teachers.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

After my initial positive impressions with the courses and content, I found that other aspects of the platform are less refined. The forums, for example, are difficult to navigate and feel outdated compared to standard forums, making it even harder for users to participate and engage. Additionally, there are limited options for collaborative activities such as wikis, peer reviews, or projects, which are available on other platforms. As a result, learning here is mostly passive, focused on consuming content and submitting assignments. The platform also tends to be somewhat slow when creating or browsing content. Another significant issue is that pricing is set in dollars, which makes it challenging for people in Latin American economies to access the full range of services—perhaps only public institutions can afford it. Lastly, the platform is quite rigid and not easily adaptable to local needs or contexts.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

This platform provides learning management specifically designed for higher education.

  ### 6. Adaptable but has some limiting factors.

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Professional Training & Coaching | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** August 21, 2024

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I like the range of available tools and customizations that can be made, it makes it adaptable to various use cases.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The least helpful is the limiting factors of what I can do without additional assistance from a D2L representative. While it is fairly user-friendly, there are still many challenges if you don't have a basic understanding of coding.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

use cases and costs
data analytics/ dashboards

  ### 7. Brightspace is a robust tool that needs UX improvement.

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Kate R. | Instructional Designer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** December 05, 2022

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The best part of D2L-Brightspace is that it is very robust-- anything that you can imagine accomplishing is possible. The conditional releases, intelligent agents, and many many different feedback options make it possible to create complex and engaging interactions.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Simple operations often take too many clicks. The main examples of this that come to mind are setting up a grade item, linking a grade item to an assignment, and reordering assignments in THREE different places if a change is made: the gradebook, the assignments section, AND the content area. A simple adjustment can take many minutes, and it's often not obvious how to do these.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

D2L Brightspace is currently solving the problem that links can appear as long lists and create text-heavy pages. In the new content experience, the company is creating an improved UI that chunks information and presents modules in a more aesthetically appealing way.

  ### 8. A capable LMS that feels clunky

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Muhammad J. | Instructional Designer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 10, 2023

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It works. Has a lot of bells and whistles and customisation options.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Feels clunky to use. Too many features that feel like bloat. Some workflows feels unnecessarily difficult.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Helping  us distribute courseware via an online platform to students.

**Official Response from Fatima Mian:**

> Hi Muhammad, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I'm sorry to hear about your experience- it sounds like we've missed the mark for you in some areas. We definitely want you to feel supported with our solution. Our team will be reaching out shortly to connect with you and address some of the challenges you’ve mentioned here in your review. 

In the meantime, please check out our Brightspace Community, where our team has shared guides on how to turn off features you’re not using and our user community share their own tips and tricks. 

  ### 9. BS for distance and in person learning

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Lucia A. | Private Tutor & Academic Coach , Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** February 22, 2022

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

- I like how the dashboard shows all of the courses in a mosaic style. 
- Students can identify missing assignments through grades
- I like the little icon that shows that students submitted the assignment without me having to open it

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

- I wish there was a way to post in bulk: That one announcement could be posted to more than one class
- glitchy sometimes 
- I feel like getting to your end goal takes too many clicks
I wish we could incorporate our zoom links there, and kids could access the call through BS instead of posting the link on our announcements. Submission is sometimes glitchy. Sometimes, uploaded documents take some time to load or get stuck. 

I wish there were some form that kids could edit a submission live.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Make sure you play around with your sandbox to get used to the navigation system
allocate enough time to draft announcements - maybe leave them scheduled so that it saves you time
play around with the grade book
have fun and do not be scaed to play around with the format

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Having all courses available on the same platform. Having the same platform for administrative information and courses in the same format. We needed a way to communicate with parents and students through the same platform. I like that we have an app. The module format is easy to follow independently. We needed a platform that the students could follow independent

  ### 10. Brightspace for Distance Learning and in-person Learning

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Lucia A. | Support Services Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I like that BS has a personalized page for every subject, where you can have tabs for assignments, grades, and more. Announcements are shown clearly on every course home page, and it is helpful to link pages and files there.

I like how the content is organized in modules and includes checkmarks for completion. Checkmarks make it easy to follow, and kids can keep track of what they have completed or not. The "content" tab is easy to navigate, and you can include slides, links, videos, assignments, and more.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

I do not like that you cannot edit classes in bulk. When teaching the same subject/grade but different sections, you sometimes want to post the same thing to every section, and doing this is hard.

It is often not very user-friendly; kids have a hard time learning how to navigate the platform. It has many links and tabs, and a lot of micromanaging is needed to update or fully use a teacher page.

I wish we could incorporate our zoom links there, and kids could access the call through BS instead of posting the link on our announcements. Submission is sometimes glitchy. Sometimes, uploaded documents take some time to load or get stuck. 

I wish there were some form that kids could edit a submission live.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

- take some time to review and get used to the platform
- explore and do not be afraid to make mistakes

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

During distance learning, we needed a place where we could have grades, assignments, and lesson files together, and BS solved this. We needed something that gave kids an organized module format for distance learning, and this is the best one yet! The "content" tab is easy to navigate, and you can include slides, links, videos, assignments, and more.

  ### 11. Depends on the professor. Personal account settings suck.

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** November 17, 2022

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

If done well,  it's very useful to have all your class content organized in one place.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

It can be very confusing for new teachers and markers to navigate. 
Also the personal calender is garbage, should show things due on each date.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It's trying to be the one-stop-shop for educational resources but that only works if every prof uses it.

  ### 12. Overall, a pretty good LMS

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Daspina F. | Learning Technologies Analyst, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 14, 2022

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

D2L's Brightspace is, for the most part, very user-friendly and contains many of the tools most institutions would use to deliver online courses.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

What I dislike the most about Brightspace is the permissions and how unconnected tools are connected via the permissions. I also wish there was a way to provide modified access at the course level for a specific user or only within a specific course. The all-or-nothing role set-up is far less flexible than I would like to see.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Brightspace allowed us to pivot our on-campus offerings to be fully online when the pandemic first hit, the ease of use made training faculty less stressful and the integrated tools allowed us to move almost all of our courses online within a short amount of time.

  ### 13. Lots of confussion and inconsistencies with the system

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 13, 2022

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

There is nothing that really sticks out 

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Lots of inconsistencies with in the system and how you get information on the admin side.  Data Hub contains information that is not usable without working with D2L.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Just trying to get our system up and running for students and faculty

  ### 14. Brighstspace in Distance and Hybrid learning

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Marcella F. | Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

Working with my in-person class and my students at home via Brightspace has made this experience much easier during this hectic year. It has been a real life saver to have this platform to integrate all my classroom needs in one place. The fact that I can post work, that students can submit their work, make comments, grade, do videos, add supporting multimedia material, have control of submitted assignments, send emails to students. I do not have to hop form one site or platform to the other, it is all in one place and its a real life saver!

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Make copy paste simpler, it is a bit complicated the fact  that you need to take too many steps when posting work or material. I would also add the feature of emailing parents from the email feature.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

It is an excellent tool for teachers, especially during hybrid teaching. It is a go-to spot for students to find and have all that  they need for their classes

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Hybrid learning has been more accessible with Brightspace, students know where to find everything. Announcements, grades, emails, assignements, all in  one place gives continuity to students in this hectic times.

  ### 15. Instructional Designer's Perspective

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** November 12, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It is highly customizable to the needs of the institution. Content built in D2L can easily be tailored to meet accessibility standards.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Many features have too many settings options that can be confusing to our faculty members.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Common problems include confusion about availability dates, especially setting availability dates for grade items.

  ### 16. There is something about Brightspace...

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Agustin G. | Coordinador de la carrera de Mercadotecnia Estratégica, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I like having everything on the same platform: the possibility to have tests, activities, materials, etc.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

I'm not too fond of having my virtual classes on the platform compared to other options like Teams. Also, if I use another platform like Zoom, getting my videos on is way too complicated.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I can have better communication with my students and have everything more organized and in one place.

  ### 17. New to design

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** July 13, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

Webinar library is useful but limited as far as how-to-use and do things in D2L

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Short (between1-2 minute) how-to videos. I would like to see more comprehensive training videos for how to use D2L

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I'm still new to D2L design

  ### 18. I like BS but sometimes is hard to to use it

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2021

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I like Brighspace because it is very organized

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

What I do not like about bright space is that it does not have shortcuts when assigning something in different blocks/classes at the same time.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It is a friendly tool for students. Everything is clear.

  ### 19. A solid solution for student education management

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Kevin K. | Administrative staff member, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 11, 2019

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

-ability to submit assignments online
-ability to do tests and quizzes online
-easily share documents and notes fast
-built in web viewer for PDFs
-organized user interface
-highly manageable

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

-has severe issues on some web browsers
-Content launcher is not very user friendly, cannot open documents in new tab
-lots of unnecessary features that cannot be disabled

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Communicating m with students and making teaching easier and more digital is much more efficient and easier with bright space.

  ### 20. Graduate student utilizing bright space for doctoral degree. 

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2019

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The way subjects are categorized is intuitive. Items under the communication tab are items you would expect to find under communication, the same can be said for resources, etc. 

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Recently brightspace was updated, and it has become entirely too bright. Organization of tabs and pages do not make sense. It would make much more sense to have things in a grid format rather than a list. 

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I utilize brightspace as a student, and I have found it provides convenient ways to communicate with classmates via discussion boards. It is also easy to download course material. 

  ### 21. D2L Review

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Devin H. | Candidate, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** August 13, 2018

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It is a catch-all system, allowing instructors both to assign and grade work and to place lectures and other course material onto an integrated platform. Once you have learned whatever the current iteration of D2L actually is, you're set to go - your focus is on course materials, not learning how to use the LMS that should be facilitating your learning. On the student side, the system is extremely user-friendly; D2L for students is entirely what they make of it.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Renovations with D2L cause people to have to relearn their learning management software, which is time that could be better spent actually learning course materials. D2L doesn't change its interface often, but when it does, it's usually a major revamp that requires a lot of retraining or relearning. Additionally, the system isn't entirely user-friendly on the instructor's side, which means that a lot of potential out of the system in its current iteration is often not realized in practice.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Be prepared to relearn this system if you intend on using it for an extended period of time.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

D2L provides a solution to an important education problem: how do you combine course materials, assignment submission, and grading into one platform? That solution is well-integrated. Even as significant training in how to use the LMS may be required, nonetheless D2L meets the needs of both teachers and students, to the benefit of the learning process as a whole.

  ### 22. Not a bad platform, needs some organization and streamlining to improve user experience

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 26, 2019

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

Formatting was bright, clean, and pleasing to the eye. Recorded lectures/meetings and videos were easy to view. Submission of documents was simple and quick.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Confusing layout.  I found it difficult and time consuming to navigate when searching for specific documents or discussions. Also difficult to view/reply to comments on my own submissions.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Good for use in non-synchronous distance learning, not as useful for synchronous distance participation. 

  ### 23. Good tool for education

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Religious Institutions | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** July 23, 2018

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It is simple enough but often features used are not fully compatible with powerschool that holds our reporting database

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Not super user friendly and not very seamless
No use of tags for student names

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

report cards
marks
forum


  ### 24. Full Featured but Very Limiting

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 13, 2017

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

D2L Brightspace is now responsive so that it looks much better on Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet. For the most part the modules (Content, News, Quizzes) make sense to the end users of the training. Discussion Forum and Topic features are robust.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

If you don't do things the D2L Brightspace way, it can be a real pain. That is, if you don't use the tools the way the developers expect them to be used, you usually end up having a problem with the training modules. It's difficult to have robust critique of peer work in Discussions, and good grading tools, and good file collection in Dropbox without the end users having to visit all three modules and figure out how they work together. That is, unless you're just dealing with text or Word files, the features are limiting. Rubrics are a pain to implements because of competency features. You can't have a mixed holistic and analytic rubric. Getting your content back out of rubrics or quizzes modules can be a fight. Sometimes you're just better off posting PDFs of that type of content rather than trying to decode what the developer expected you to do while using the product.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Allows students to learn.

  ### 25. Review of Brightspace

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 25, 2017

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It has a phenomenal online format when going through iPhone. 
It has a clean and simple look to it, but still allows for personalization with photos. 
It is user friendly and you receive announcements like any other social media notification. 
Check boxes to see what is complete and not complete/reviewed. 

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

It can be slow and show up odd depending on what browser you use to open bright space. It can also be a bit irritating that downloading something does not "check the box," but that you still have to click on the link to have it complete. 



**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Give it some time. Once you figure out the techniques, it is quite a helpful tool. 

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Business problems solved include ability to communicate between multiple constituents on the same platform and with speed. Benefits are ability to create and submit assignments. 

  ### 26. Useful for secondary

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** July 27, 2018

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The ability to upload documents into organized folders and create assignment dropboxes.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

Setting up homepages for new courses can be overly time consuming.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Teacher-student communication.

  ### 27. Could Be Great, but too many problems

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 30, 2017

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It's a very good representative of an education LMS that is designed for Higher Ed. You can use it to evaluate  and communicate with students

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

It's a higher education product that desperately wants to be a K-12 product but still can't make good on its promises. The program is too cumbersome for a classroom teacher who does not have extra time to make it work.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

If you are a Higher Ed user, then this product is for you. For K-12 clients, make sure you know exactly what you want in an LMS and you have staff that are dedicated to becoming the experts for because you will need it.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We are using it for our K-12 Learning Management System, which is something we didn't have the ability to do before.

  ### 28. Way better than WebCT, but still not as advanced as it should be

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Internet | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** November 21, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I have used D2L for my online courses for years. Prior to that, my online learning was on WebCT, which was horrid. As far as an online learning space goes, D2L does the job. These are my favorite D2L features:

+ Dropbox receipts. You always know if the Dropbox accepted your submission or not, because you get a receipt/notification in your D2L.

+ Email forwarding. All of the emails and notifications I get through D2L are forwarded to my Gmail account, so I have an easy way to monitor what's going on in my course. You can't respond to these emails or messages from Gmail, though.

+ Discussion space has improved a lot over the years. The discussion space seems to be getting better and better, and it's definitely better than most other online learning spaces. It still needs to improve in letting users mass select discussion posts, edit previous posts, and organize discussion posts.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

- Difficult to use on a mobile device. D2L is really behind when it comes to optimizing their site for mobile. The mobile-friendly site is useless and I always immediately just go to the full desktop version and zoom/scroll my way around. The Brightspace app is also not useful to students.

- D2L mail pretty much is the worst. D2L mail is really hard to use on desktop and nearly impossible to use on mobile. You can forward your emails but you cannot respond without going into the D2L website. 

- Discussions need more improvement. It takes me almost an hour every week just to sort through all the discussion posts and do my required responses. Not because they take so long to read, but because "clearing" all of the discussions takes so much time and effort for the user. It takes multiple clicks over and over again to clear all of the discussion post notifications from my profile. You also can't go back and edit any of your discussion posts, so good luck if you make a spelling error or forget the attachment. 

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

If you're currently using a program like WebCT, definitely switch. It's way better for students. Still not a great product, in my opinion, but way better than many other options that are out there.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I use D2L for my master's classes. The benefit is that I get to take online classes from a public university. I have also used D2L from a student-admin role when I taught Psychology 101 as a professor's assistant.

  ### 29. D2L Brightspace is the forum for students who take virtual classes/classes with an online component

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Amanda C. | Administrative Office Technician, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** June 27, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It's fairly simple and self explanatory when seen as a student. You can see your classes that you are in and once in your class you can see your discussion boards, quizzes, grades, etc. whatever the professor has open for you to see. 

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

When viewed as a professor or when creating quizzes, it can be a little cumbersome, a lot of little nit-picking ways that you have to do things. 

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Play with it, see all of the tools it makes available to you and utilize them. 

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It's great for online classes, online class management. It gives you the opportunity to use all of the tools that make up an entirely virtual class. It's also great to supplement a regular classroom experience, for example, if you'd like your students to do a test or quiz at home, you can sent one up. 

  ### 30. D2L is a little unwieldy. 

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Chris C. | Adjunct Instructor, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 25, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

The system provides an online space in which I can post scores, allowing students to track their own project. 

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The interface seems a little counterintuitive and it feels like there is a huge learning investment required in the application. I suppose this may be for the purpose of higher customization, but I don't see how this may be the case as my actual attempts at setting up the shell to reflect my actual class structure has been fraught with dead ends. I really don't have the time or the energy to devote to discovering the finer points of D2L and have developed a strong preference for Blackboard 

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

I would probably consider using Blackboard over D2L Brightspace, unless they can implement a system that is a little more user friendly or, in the least, offers more grading options. 

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I am an educator. The benefit here is that students can see their assignment grades. 

  ### 31. D2L: gets the job done, but not as efficient as I would like.

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 03, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I enjoy the ease of uploading assignments and notes.  It is simple to add documents when necessary.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The site has a tendency to be unavailable at times, which is very difficult when you are depending on the information that is stored on the site.
It is also a little clunky when using some of the classroom tools.  I feel there is a lot of information that is unnecessary on the home page.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

It is great for general use (communication, posting documents, research submission), but lacks in user-friendly information.  I have attended classes to better grasp the features, but it is still a lot of information that is unnecessary to the general user.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It is great for general communication with students to provide the necessary classroom items.  I believe the integration of Turnitin.com into the site has enabled an easier submission of research papers.

  ### 32. D2L 

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Research | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

It is pretty easy to upload a wide variety of files and links very quickly

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

The design and layout are cumbersome. Not user friendly or easy to find features

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Allows you to do everything you need to do. Just not intuitive, takes a lot of time to get things done the way you want them. Switching between views is tedious you don't know what things will look like to others unless you switch your role. Makes it easy to think you have posted something and you haven't. 

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Easy to track grades. Drop box makes it very simple for students to turn in papers/assignments.

  ### 33. D2L as LMS

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 29, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

Not sure I have anything great to say about it, but I never used anything but Blackboard and D2L. Both seem outdated.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

I am a good user of technology. I found D2L to be difficult to learn, definitely not intuitive, disorganized.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

Learn the newest systems (Moodle, etc) and catch up. This company is a dinosaur.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

As LMS, the benefits are clear. The ability to organize my materials online.

  ### 34. D2L Review

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2016

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

I like that it houses everything in one location. It is nice for seeing courses per semester.

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

There are portions of it that I do not find to be very user friendly from an administrative standpoint when it comes to managing classes and creating the site for students.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

I'm not a decision maker in this area so I do not feel like I can answer this question.

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

N/A = I use this as a LMS not a corporate LMS.

  ### 35. Great product from an enterprising group

**Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2014

**What do you like best about D2L Brightspace?**

Customer service and young entrepreneurial team

**What do you dislike about D2L Brightspace?**

More features and the ability to upgrade seamlessesly.

**Recommendations to others considering D2L Brightspace:**

trial is always good

**What problems is D2L Brightspace solving and how is that benefiting you?**

teaching and learning


## D2L Brightspace Discussions
  - [How do i schedule any document to be publish?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-do-i-schedule-any-document-to-be-publish) - 1 comment, 1 upvote
  - [Could we have bulk posting soon?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/could-we-have-bulk-posting-soon) - 1 comment, 1 upvote
  - [What is the plan for Brightspace&#39;s future and the direction it is hoping to take?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-plan-for-brightspace-s-future-and-the-direction-it-is-hoping-to-take) - 1 comment, 1 upvote
  - [Not so much of a question but I would like to see a feature added for scheduling in the calendar?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/not-so-much-of-a-question-but-i-would-like-to-see-a-feature-added-for-scheduling-in-the-calendar) - 1 comment, 1 upvote
  - [How do I link my Grades with Quick Eval?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/51911-how-do-i-link-my-grades-with-quick-eval) - 1 comment, 1 upvote

- [View D2L Brightspace pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/d2l-brightspace/reviews?filters%5Bnps_score%5D%5B%5D=3&section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-13+08%3A36%3A17+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=13b2d908-20dc-443d-9afe-1e03ef4fe11b&secure%5Btoken%5D=c6d627a96b9970e0ece1fd260944ebf93202f9800657708cf42d06cf52bbe872&format=llm_user)
## D2L Brightspace Integrations
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  - [EdPuzzle](https://www.g2.com/products/edpuzzle/reviews)
  - [ExamSoft](https://www.g2.com/products/examsoft/reviews)
  - [Feedback Studio](https://www.g2.com/products/feedback-studio/reviews)
  - [Google Workspace](https://www.g2.com/products/google-workspace/reviews)
  - [Gradescope](https://www.g2.com/products/gradescope/reviews)
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  - [Microsoft 365](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft365/reviews)
  - [Microsoft Teams](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-teams/reviews)
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  - [Quizizz](https://www.g2.com/products/quizizz/reviews)
  - [Qwickly Attendance Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/qwickly-attendance-pro/reviews)
  - [Readspeaker](https://www.g2.com/products/readspeaker/reviews)
  - [Respondus Monitor](https://www.g2.com/products/respondus-monitor/reviews)
  - [Salesforce Agentforce](https://www.g2.com/products/salesforce-agentforce/reviews)
  - [Salesforce Headless 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews)
  - [Simple Syllabus](https://www.g2.com/products/simple-syllabus/reviews)
  - [SportLoMo](https://www.g2.com/products/sportlomo/reviews)
  - [Top Hat](https://www.g2.com/products/top-hat/reviews)
  - [Turnitin](https://www.g2.com/products/turnitin-2026-03-30/reviews)
  - [Turnitin](https://www.g2.com/products/turnitin-turnitin/reviews)
  - [VoiceThread](https://www.g2.com/products/voicethread/reviews)
  - [Watermark Course Evaluations &amp; Surveys](https://www.g2.com/products/watermark-watermark-course-evaluations-surveys/reviews)
  - [YuJa](https://www.g2.com/products/yuja/reviews)
  - [Zoom Workplace](https://www.g2.com/products/zoom-workplace/reviews)

## D2L Brightspace Features
**Additional Functionality**
- Gamification
- Content Library
- Alerts/Notifications
- Learning Paths/Tracks
- Self Service Portal
- AI Copilot
- Tests/Assessments
- Single Sign On
- Attendance Tracking
- Customizable Reports
- Blended Learning
- User Management
- Microlearning
- API
- For Schools
- Assignment Management
- Reporting & Statistics
- Social Learning
- Communication Management
- Course Tracking
- Certification Tracking
- Course Management
- Curriculum Management
- Built-in Course Authoring
- Activity Dashboard
- Calendar Management
- Asynchronous Learning
- Role-Based Permissions
- Learner Portal
- Academic/Education
- Multi-Language
- Compliance Management
- Enrollments/Onboarding
- Customizable Branding
- Third-Party Integrations
- Parent Portal
- Surveys & Feedback
- K-12
- Workflow Management
- Generative AI
- Mobile Learning
- Virtual Classroom
- Data Import/Export
- Classroom Management
- Student Information/Records
- Synchronous Learning
- Gradebook

**Assessment delivery**
- Question variety
- Real-time assessment
- Pre-made content
- Customizable Questions
- Weighted Questions
- Skills Assessment

**Training & eLearning**
- Content Creation
- Content Libraries
- Interactive Content
- Question Library

**Reporting Analysis**
- Progress Reports
- Course Completion

**Generative AI**
- AI Text Generation
- AI Text Summarization
- Generative AI

**Additional Functionality**
- Onboarding
- Individual Development Plans
- Career Development
- Approval Process Control
- Customizable Branding
- AI Copilot
- Reminders
- Customizable Templates
- Employee Profiles
- Employee Engagement
- Learning & Development
- API

**Course Authoring**
- Course Builder
- Role-Based Templates
- Assessments & Quizzes
- Instructor-Led Training

**Grading and reporting**
- Automated grading
- Gamification
- Analytics dashboard
- Reporting
- Activity Dashboard
- Reporting/Analytics

**Course Management**
- Course Authoring
- Course Access

**Agentic AI - Course Authoring**
- Adaptive Learning
- Natural Language Interaction
- Assignment Management
- Asynchronous Learning
- Synchronous Learning
- Self-paced Learning
- Interactive Learning
- Blended Learning
- Role-Based Permissions
- Multi-Language

**Additional Functionality**
- Audio/Video Recording
- Collaboration Tools
- Video Management
- Video Support
- Assessment Management
- Course Authoring
- Course Publishing
- AI Copilot
- Customizable Reports
- Mobile Access
- Video Streaming
- Generative AI
- SCORM Compliance
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Data Import/Export
- Surveys & Feedback
- VR/AR Compatibility
- Customizable Templates
- Drag & Drop
- User Management
- Template Management
- Gamification
- Progress Reports
- Learning Management
- Customizable Questions
- Content Management
- Compliance Management
- Third-Party Integrations
- Activity Tracking
- Certification & Licensing
- Real-Time Data
- Reporting & Statistics
- Activity Dashboard
- Storyboarding
- Single Sign On
- Progress Tracking
- Tests/Assessments
- Customizable Branding
- API
- Training Management
- Media Import
- Quizzes
- Instructor-Led Courses
- Multimedia Support
- Commenting/Notes
- Alerts/Notifications
- PowerPoint Conversion

**Course Delivery**
- Learning Paths/Tracks
- Communication & Notifications
- Assignment Scheduling
- Self-paced Learning
- Mobile Learning
- Blended Learning
- Social Learning
- Synchronous Learning
- Extended Enterprise Learning
- Asynchronous Learning

**Administration**
- White-labeling
- Mobile compatibility

**Integration**
- Education ERP System
- Learning Management System

**Additional Functionality**
- Content Library
- Customizable Reports
- Drag & Drop
- Single Sign On
- Email Distribution
- Live Results Sharing
- Surveys & Feedback
- Feedback Management
- AI Copilot
- Test/Quiz Creation
- Progress Reports
- Content Sharing
- Multi-User Collaboration
- 360 Degree Feedback
- Performance Metrics
- Certification & Licensing
- Email Reminders
- Payment Processing
- Recruitment Management
- Skill Testing
- Activity Tracking
- Text to Speech
- Pre-Employment Testing
- Skills Tracking
- API
- Proctoring
- Customizable Branding
- Customizable Templates
- Secure Data Storage
- Assessment Management
- Progress Tracking
- Version Control
- Pulse Surveys
- Summary Reports
- Template Management
- Data Import/Export
- Randomization
- Question Library
- Automated Proctoring
- Student Portal
- Third-Party Integrations
- Alerts/Notifications
- Email Alerts
- Offline Tests
- Content Management
- Scheduling
- Quizzes
- Candidate Management
- Time Limits
- Question Branching
- Multi-Language
- Lock Down
- Registration Management
- Customizable Fields
- Learning Management
- Performance Management
- Course Authoring
- Mobile Access
- Online Tests
- Test Scheduling
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Reporting & Statistics
- Self-paced Learning
- Real-Time Monitoring
- Student Management
- Monitoring
- Generative AI

**Course Management**
- Gamification
- Varied User Types
- Certifications
- Industry Compliance 
- SCORM Compliance

**Customer Assistance**
- Help and Support

**Platform**
- Customization 
- Integration APIs
- Internationalization
- User, Role, and Access Management
- Activity Dashboard
- Activity Dashboard
- Mobile Access
- Activity Dashboard
- Training Management
- Goal Management
- Feedback Management
- Action Management
- Mobile Access
- Activity Dashboard
- Benefits Dashboard
- Activity Dashboard
- Feedback Management
- Performance Management
- Recruitment Management
- Compliance Management
- Training Management
- Calendar Management
- Employee Management
- Orientation Workflow Management
- Task Management
- HR Management
- Help Desk Management
- Mobile Access
- Payroll Management
- Document Management
- Job Description Management
- Social Media Integration
- Mobile Access
- Activity Dashboard
- Third-Party Integrations
- Assessment Management
- Social Media Integration
- Activity Dashboard
- Mobile Access
- Third-Party Integration
- Initiative Management
- Workflow Management
- Community Management
- Employee Referral Management
- Candidate Management
- Workflow Management
- Communication Management
- Advertising Management
- Application Management
- Email Management
- Job Management
- Discount Management
- Pipeline Management
- File Management
- Job Management
- Data Storage Management
- Compensation Management
- Employee Management
- Job Application Management
- HR Management
- Competency Management
- Performance Management
- Compliance Management
- Job Description Management
- Evaluation Management
- User Management
- Role-Based Permissions
- Third-Party Integrations

**LMS Marketplace**
- E-Commerce
- Course Marketplace
- Subscriptions

**Platform Customization**
- White Labeling

**Interface**
- White Labeling
- Multilingual

**Agentic AI - Online Learning Platform**
- Adaptive Learning

**Training & eLearning**
- Assessments and Practice
- Content Delivery and Tracking
- Content Creation
- Customer Training
- Manager Portals
- Content Storage and Management
- Content Libraries
- Compliance Tracking
- Course Tracking
- Progress Tracking
- eCommerce Management
- Knowledge Base Management
- Course Management
- Assessment Management
- Training Management
- Feedback Management
- User Management
- Learner Portal

**Generative AI**
- AI Text Generation
- AI Text Summarization
- Generative AI

**Agentic AI - Corporate Learning Management Systems **
- Adaptive Learning
- Natural Language Interaction
- Multi-Language

**Additional Functionality**
- AI Copilot
- Built-in Course Authoring
- Reminders
- Academic/Education
- eLearning Companies
- Virtual Classroom
- Offline Access
- Personalization and Recommendation
- Video Conferencing
- Certification & Licensing
- Single Sign On
- API
- Progress Reports
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Collaboration Tools
- Customizable Branding
- Discussions/Forums
- Enrollment Confirmation
- Customizable Reports
- Activity Dashboard
- Third-Party Integrations
- Gradebook
- Corporate/Business
- Workflow Automation

## Top D2L Brightspace Alternatives
  - [Canvas LMS](https://www.g2.com/products/canvas-lms/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,732 reviews)
  - [Blackboard](https://www.g2.com/products/blackboard/reviews) - 4.0/5.0 (1,016 reviews)
  - [TalentLMS](https://www.g2.com/products/talentlms/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (758 reviews)

