Instructure Announces Canvas Lite, a New Free Course Tool Built for Educators

New product runs on the Canvas platform and adds identity verification for every teacher who signs up

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, the leading learning ecosystem and maker of Canvas LMS, today announced Canvas Lite, a new no-cost product that gives educators a simple way to build and deliver course content to learners. Canvas Lite is built on the Canvas platform that schools, colleges, and universities worldwide rely on every day. It goes live on September 30, 2026, at canvaslite.instructure.com. Educators can create a course, invite students and start teaching even if the institution doesn't currently have a full license.

Many teachers work outside a district or campus license. Canvas Lite provides homeschool educators, tutors, community instructors and teachers piloting a new course one place to organize materials, assign work, collect submissions and give feedback. Through Canvas Lite, teachers have complimentary access to the core Canvas tools at the course level without IT deployment or procurement.

"Individual educators have been part of the Canvas story since the beginning," said Melissa Loble, chief learning officer at Instructure. "Canvas Lite is how we keep showing up for them, with a free place to build a course and teach the way they want to teach. And there's a benefit for their students too. A learner who works in Canvas Lite this year will recognize Canvas when they walk into a high school, a college or a training program down the road."

Canvas Lite includes the Canvas tools teachers use most, including:

• Building modules and pages with rich content
• Collecting file, text, and URL submissions
• Running quizzes and applying rubrics
• SpeedGrader with support for annotations, audio and video feedback, and grade exports
• Built-in messaging, discussions, and course announcements
• Course-level integrations with third-party tools such as Google Drive, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
• Canvas Teacher and Canvas Student mobile apps

Every teacher who signs up completes an identity check, using a government-issued ID and a selfie, through the verification partner Veriff. Students invited by a teacher do not complete that step. Canvas Lite runs on its own domain, separate from the Canvas environments that institutional customers use.

"We built privacy and security into Canvas Lite's core design," said Zach Pendleton, chief architect at Instructure. "Canvas Lite ensures that independent educators get a safe, reliable environment without compromise."

Canvas Lite is available worldwide at canvaslite.instructure.com beginning September 30, 2026. All Canvas Lite data is hosted in the United States, and teachers can find self-serve guides in the Instructure Community. The Canvas Lite terms set a 500 MB storage limit per course. Teachers who need more, or who need course analytics, attendance tracking or API access tokens, can talk with Instructure about a full Canvas license.

Learn more at canvaslite.instructure.com.

About Instructure

Instructure is shaping the future of learning by delivering a future-ready ecosystem that helps learners thrive in tomorrow's landscape. Our vision is to drive a future where education technology seamlessly amplifies human potential, empowering people to excel in a perpetually changing world. Instructure is setting potential in motion by connecting educators, institutions and learners across K–12, higher education and the workforce — enhancing experiences at every age, every stage and every pivotal transition. Discover more at Instructure.com.

CONTACT
Brian Watkins
Corporate Communications
Instructure
(801) 658-7525

SOURCE Instructure