CuraCourseCuraCourse vs Ed
How CuraCourse and Ed compare on class discussion, interactive lessons, coding practice, AI, and cost.
We wrote this from each company’s public docs. Last checked .
When Ed fits
Ed is the better pick if your class runs on a Q&A forum. Ed Discussion has anonymous and private posts, endorsed answers, LaTeX, and runnable code in posts. Ed Lessons and Workspaces add autograded coding challenges and a shared browser IDE.
When CuraCourse fits
CuraCourse fits when the lessons are the course. Your explanations sit next to questions, math answers, graphs, runnable code, and your own simulations, with an AI tutor and AI grading you control.
The main differences
What it’s built around
Ed is built around Ed Discussion. Penn’s guide suggests using Ed Lessons mainly for coding and keeping other content in the LMS. CuraCourse puts every kind of activity in the lesson. Our discussion board is still in development, so if Q&A matters most, Ed is ahead today.
Coding practice
Both run code in the browser with automated tests. Ed Workspaces adds live editing together in a shared IDE. CuraCourse puts runnable code next to the explanation, and paid plans add cloud-based labs with VS Code in the browser.
How AI is used
Ed’s Bots++ answers forum questions from course material once an administrator turns it on. CuraCourse’s AI tutor reads the lesson the student is on, and you set how much it helps in each lesson. AI can also grade written work against your rubric for you to review.
Each cell links to its guide or source.
| What you need to do | CuraCourse | Ed |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive lessons | ||
| Author your own material Write content and organize it for your class. | Available Write lessons with explanations, video, equations, and activities in one editor. Guide | Available Ed Lessons hold sequenced content, coding challenges, and quizzes. Source |
| Questions alongside teaching material Ask questions while students learn a concept. | Available Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, open response, sorting, and ordering, right after your explanation. Guide | Available Lessons can mix content with quizzes and coding challenges. Source |
| Custom Activities | ||
| Build your own interactive activity Put a simulation or tool you made in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript inside a lesson, with saved progress and scores. | Available Build it yourself or with CuraAI. It saves each student’s progress and score. Guide | Not in their docs Workspaces run HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We couldn’t find a way to put your own activity in a lesson with saved scores. Docs checked |
| Exams | ||
| Timed exams Give students a set amount of time. | Beta Set a time limit, how students move through questions, and when grades are released. Guide | Not in their docs Ed Lessons lists exams. We couldn’t find documentation of time limits. Docs checked |
| IDE | ||
| Write and run code in the browser Students code without installing anything. | Available Code exercises run inside the lesson on every plan. Cloud-based labs need Pro, or Core with the labs add-on. Guide | Available Workspaces are a collaborative browser IDE for Python, R, HTML/CSS/JS, and more. Source |
| Automatic code checks Grade code against tests you set. | Available Check student programs against the output you expect, on every plan. Guide | Available Code challenges run automated tests against student submissions. Source |
| Grading | ||
| Manual scoring and feedback Grade work yourself and leave comments. | Available Grade with your rubric, and move through submissions quickly with Lightning Grader. Guide | Available Attach grading rubrics to code challenges and grade by hand, automatically, or both. Source |
| AI rubric grading AI scores work against your rubric and gives feedback. | Available Write the rubric, then review the AI’s scores and feedback. On every plan, and free Starter courses include a few AI credits. Guide | Not in their docs We couldn’t find AI grading of student work. Docs checked |
| AI | ||
| AI help you control Decide how much AI helps students. | Available Turn on the AI tutor per lesson and choose how much it helps. Off by default. Guide | Depends on setup Bots++ answers forum questions from course material you provide. An administrator must turn it on and connect an AI model. Source |
| Adoption & cost | ||
| LMS launch and grade sync Students open work from your LMS, and grades go back automatically. | Available LTI 1.3 with grade passback. Works with Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard Ultra, Brightspace, Schoology, and more. Guide | Available LTI for Canvas, D2L, Moodle, and Blackboard. Graded lessons sync to the Canvas gradebook. Source |
| How access is priced What a course costs, including paid features and usage. | Free to start Free for instructors. Students pay $0, $20, or $45 per course, or the school pays. Guide | Depends on setup Licensed by institutions, and prices aren’t published. Some universities license it campus-wide. Source |
“Available” means it’s documented, though it may need a certain plan. “Not in their docs” means we couldn’t find it in the linked pages. It may still exist.
Switching from Ed
- Gather the coding challenges you wrote, with their starter code and tests.
- Rebuild each one as a CuraCourse lesson, with the explanation and questions next to the code.
- Ed threads and grades don’t transfer. You can keep Ed Discussion for Q&A and connect CuraCourse to your LMS for grades.
Sources
We checked these pages in October 2026. Some features depend on the plan or book, so ask Ed about your setup. If something is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
- University of Pennsylvania: Ed Discussion for instructors
- Ed: Ed Lessons
- UC Berkeley: Campus license for Ed Discussion
CuraCourse entries in the table link to our own guides.