Jason,

With Moodle, it depends on how slick and customized you want it.

Low-end: There are hosting providers out there (such as 1&1) that offer vanilla Moodle installations and a domain name for less than $200 per year.

Mid-range: Moodle has 3 main authorized suppliers in the U.S. You can find them through Moodle's website. They each offer packages with different options. If I remember correctly, costs would be from something like $1200 up per year. Some of their packages were impressive.

High-end: If you want a lot of custom work, you'll need to factor in costs for a Moodle developer.

Hope this helps,

Jay

stetsonbu:

I have been through 4 major LMS implementations, and several smaller ones; all made the same mistake- not defining needs/requirements clearly first (in most cases, the company got glommed into buying many more features they wouldn't use, then further charged for "add on" features missed initially).

My recommendation is to very clearly understand the purpose for which you are implementing, and clarify features you need. Only buy what you need- this will change your view from "cost" to "investment" and drive ROI.

The learning curve is a bit steep, but I think Moodle Freeware(or cheaply offered through a vendor partner) can help you do this with actual feel/touch/test drive.

Two other pieces of advice:

1) Free test drive and clear "parachute clause"- if a vendor won't let you really test drive the product prior to purchase- extend arms, turn in opposite direction, run top-speed. Additionally, have a HARD clause in the contract that if you don't see expected ROI and service level results within a defined period of time (i.e. 6 months), that you bounce the vendor out and recover costs- any vendor stepping away from this- step away from them.

2) I really advise strongly against self-hosting versus purchasing a hosted solution. Here is why- when there is a technical issue, you will spend weeks with tech teams arguing over whether it is the vendor's software or how your box handles the software. Cut out all questions and have vendors software on vendor's box- in that instance, where there are issues, it is clear that the only course of action is "vendor fix" (I went a full business quarter with one enterprise level LMS installed for over 100K employees with the tech back-and-forth).

</soap box>

Any questions, feel free to email me at dglow@tampabay.rr.com.

David Glow