Perusall

What Perusall is

Perusall is a web-based social learning platform where course materials become shared discussions. Instructors can use catalog books, PDFs, EPUBs, Google Docs and Slides, PowerPoint slides, Canvas pages, videos, podcasts, images, and web pages. Students can comment, ask questions, reply, upvote, tag classmates, and use emojis and GIFs, either at the same time or asynchronously. Perusall AI can suggest discussion prompts and quiz questions based on course content. Instructors can automatically grade engagement against as many as seven criteria, view student confusion reports, and access discussion summaries. Integrations are documented for Canvas, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and Sakai, with roster and group synchronization and gradebook integration features. Perusall is certified for LTI 1.3 and LTI 1.1; it says support for existing LTI 1.1 integrations will end January 1, 2027. The platform is intended for instructors and students across disciplines, from seminars of 12 to lectures of 800. Perusall began after a four-year research project at Harvard and built its business in 2015. It is independently owned by educators and says it has no investors. Its free course creation plan is available, though eligible new courses may have a student access fee unless covered by an institutional license, book adoption, or waiver.

Who it suits

Perusall suits instructors who want students to discuss course readings and other materials collaboratively, either in real time or asynchronously. It supports courses from seminars to large lectures and connects with several learning management systems.

Limits

Free course creation costs nothing, but eligible new courses may require a student platform fee unless an institutional license, book adoption, or waiver applies. The individual student access fee is a one-time amount chosen by the instructor from $5, $10, $15, $20, or $25 per student, with a 14-day grace period; instructors may exempt students or seek a course-wide waiver.

Getting started

1. Visit https://www.perusall.com/ to access the web platform.
2. Create a course using the free course creation plan.
3. Add course materials such as PDFs, books, slides, videos, or web pages.
4. Connect a supported LMS, if applicable: Canvas, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, or Sakai.
5. Check whether a student access fee applies, or whether an institutional license, book adoption, or waiver covers it.

Verdict

Choose Perusall if you want course materials to support collaborative discussion, engagement assessment, and LMS-connected workflows. Instructors should consider the possible student access fee for eligible new courses and the announced end of support for existing LTI 1.1 integrations.