Mahara

iPhone + Android

7.9No. 12 of 81
in Portfolio Website Builders

Recognised40% of the score53
Phone app26% of the score100
Documented20% of the score80
Free plan14% of the score30

Free plan: No
Runs on: Android, api, iPhone, Linux, self-hosted, Web

Summary

Mahara is a free ePortfolio system for learning communities. Students and staff can collect evidence, reflect on experiences, and relate work to competencies or registration requirements. Listed uses include study, professional development, work-integrated learning, assessment, presentation, and employability. Users can share portfolios with an individual, a group, or the public, and restrict access by time frame or assessment task. They can comment, give feedback, collaborate on portfolios in groups, and take part in group forum discussions. Portfolios can be submitted to learning management systems through LTI for marking. Mahara is open source, with conditions that include distributing source code with copies and applying the same license to derivative works. It can be installed on a Linux server; the manual also covers Docker setup for development and testing and advises securing the environment before live use. The manual describes LTI 1.3 Advantage as experimental and says it has not been tested with LMS platforms other than Brightspace. A demo site resets daily, erasing user-created content unless portfolios are exported beforehand.

Who it is for

Mahara suits students and staff in learning communities who need to collect, reflect on, and share portfolio evidence. It also fits organizations using portfolios for learning and assessment.

What is good

Free ePortfolio system.
Portfolios can be shared with access restrictions.
Supports feedback and group collaboration.
Portfolios can be submitted to LMS platforms via LTI.

What to know first

LTI 1.3 Advantage is experimental.
LTI 1.3 Advantage is untested beyond Brightspace.
Demo content is erased by a daily reset.
Docker setup should be secured before live use.

Verdict

Mahara offers portfolio creation, sharing, feedback, and LMS submission for learning communities. Its manual flags limits around LTI 1.3 Advantage and advises securing Docker deployments before live use.

Compared on portfolio website builders

Free plan: Yesmahara.org
Evidence collection: Yesmahara.org
Assessment tools: Yesmahara.org
Feedback workflows: Yesmahara.org
Mobile access: bothmahara.org
Single sign-on: Yesmahara.org

Facts

Purpose: Mahara is an ePortfolio system for learning communities where students and staff collect evidence, reflect on experiences, and map work to competencies or registration requirements.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Use cases: The site lists study, professional development, work-integrated learning, assessment, showcase and presentation, and employability as portfolio uses.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Sharing controls: Portfolios can be shared with an individual, a group, or the public, with access restricted by time frame or assessment task.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Collaboration: Users can comment, give feedback, create portfolios collaboratively in groups, and participate in group forum discussions.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
LMS integration: Portfolios can be submitted to learning management systems via LTI for marking.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Open source: Mahara can be copied, used, and modified under conditions that include distributing source code with copies and applying the same license to derivative works.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Self-hosting: The Mahara 26.04 manual provides traditional installation instructions for a Linux server and Docker setup instructions for development and testing.manual.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Deployment note: The manual says Docker images can serve as a basis for Kubernetes deployments and recommends securing the environment before using its Docker setup for a live site.manual.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Integrations: The manual says Mahara supports LTI for connecting to LMS platforms and provides a wider web services suite for deeper integrations.manual.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
LTI limitation: The manual describes LTI 1.3 Advantage as experimental and says it has not been tested with LMS platforms other than Brightspace.manual.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Demo: Mahara offers a demo site that resets once a day, erasing user-created content unless portfolios are exported beforehand.demo.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Support: The official site links to community forums, a manual, a wiki, an issue and enhancement tracker, and extended security support.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Maintainer: The official site identifies Catalyst as Mahara's maintainer.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Audience: The site presents Mahara for students and staff in learning communities and for organisations using portfolios in learning and assessment.mahara.org · 29 Sept 2026
Portfolio uses: The site lists study, professional development, work-integrated learning, assessment, showcase and presentation, and employability as portfolio uses.mahara.org · 30 Sept 2026
Sharing: Portfolios can be shared with one person, a specific group, or the public, with access restricted by time frame or assessment task.mahara.org · 30 Sept 2026
Feedback: Users can comment on portfolios and give feedback.mahara.org · 30 Sept 2026
Intended users: The site describes Mahara as serving learning communities and names students and staff as portfolio creators.mahara.org · 30 Sept 2026
Maintainers: The site identifies Catalyst as Mahara's maintainers.mahara.org · 30 Sept 2026