ComPAIR

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Score6.9

Rank#3 of 22

Free planNo

Runs onSelf-hosted, Web

Summary

ComPAIR is a free, open-source peer-review application in which students compare pairs of answers and provide feedback on both. Instructors can turn on adaptive scores based on comparison results and use those results to form later pairs. The application has separate student, instructor, and system administrator roles, with different permissions. It supports LTI login, course membership, and grade updates for LTI consumers. Learning analytics can be sent to a Learning Record Store using xAPI or Caliper, but both options are off by default. Authentication options documented for the application include username and password, CAS, SAML 2.0, and LTI. It is web-based and self-hosted, and the README documents Docker Compose deployment. The default attachment limit is 250 MB, with PDF, audio, video, and image extensions allowed. ComPAIR is licensed under GPL-3.0 and is freely available to download, install, and use. Its intended communities include higher education and K–12.

Who it is for

ComPAIR suits schools and higher-education communities that want students to review work through paired comparisons. It may also suit administrators who can manage a self-hosted web application.

What is good

Students give feedback while comparing paired answers
Adaptive scores can help generate later pairs
Supports LTI login, course membership, and grade updates
Free to download, install, and use under GPL-3.0

What to know first

Learning analytics options are disabled by default
Default attachment limit is 250 MB
Self-hosted deployment is documented with Docker Compose

Verdict

ComPAIR centers peer review on comparing two answers at a time and supports LTI course workflows. Schools should account for self-hosting and configure optional analytics if they need them.

Compared on rubric software

Free plan: Yesgithub.com
Reviewer anonymity: one_waygithub.com
Review allocation: automaticgithub.com
Rubric scoring: Yesgithub.com
Moderation tools: Yesgithub.com
LMS integration: Yesgithub.com
Gradebook sync: Yesgithub.com

Facts

Purpose: ComPAIR pairs student answers for peer review, comparison, and feedback.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Adaptive scoring: Instructors can enable scores that adapt to how an answer performs in comparisons and use them to generate subsequent pairs.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Peer feedback: Students can refer to both answers in a pair when writing feedback, which the site says can support richer feedback and deeper critical thinking.compair.open.ubc.ca · 29 Sept 2026
Intended users: The tool is described as suitable for higher education and K-12 communities.compair.open.ubc.ca · 29 Sept 2026
Roles: ComPAIR provides student, instructor, and system administrator roles with different permissions.ubc.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Integrations: The application supports LTI login and course membership and grade updates for LTI consumers.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Learning analytics: ComPAIR can send learning analytics using xAPI or Caliper to a Learning Record Store; both are disabled by default.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Authentication: The README documents username and password, CAS, SAML 2.0, and LTI authentication options.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Attachments: The default attachment upload limit is 250 MB, with PDF, audio, video, and image extensions listed as allowed by default.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Media integration: Kaltura uploads can be enabled as an optional media attachment integration, and the README says only version 3 of the Kaltura API is supported.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Privacy settings: Administrators can control whether instructors can access student email addresses and CAS/SAML usernames; those fields are disabled by default.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Transport security setting: The README says SSL enforcement for requests through LTI and CAS is enabled by default and should only be disabled for development or staging.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
License and availability: The project is open source under GPL-3.0 and described as freely available to download, install, and use.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Support: The ComPAIR site says its support site has moved to compair.open.ubc.ca.ubc.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Comparison-based review: Instead of evaluating one work at a time, students compare paired sets of peer work.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Availability: The project says it is freely available for anyone to download, install, and use.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
License: The repository is licensed under GPL-3.0.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Deployment: The README documents running ComPAIR with Docker Compose and accessing it at localhost:8080.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
LTI setup: LTI consumers are configured by a system administrator using a consumer key and secret.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Email notifications: Application-wide email notifications are disabled by default, and users can disable notifications for themselves when they are enabled.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Student data controls: Settings control whether instructors can see student email addresses and third-party usernames, and whether students can edit profile fields such as their name and email.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Technology: The README describes a JavaScript frontend using AngularJS and Bootstrap, with a Python Flask backend and Flask SQLAlchemy for database persistence.github.com · 30 Sept 2026