PebblePad
PebblePad is a UK-based SaaS platform providing ePortfolio, assessment, and student engagement software to over 200 higher education institutions globally, serving the full student lifecycle from pre-arrival through alumni status.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersTelford, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What PebblePad does
PebblePad (legal entity: Pebble Learning LTD) is a UK-based SaaS company founded in 2004 that provides a cloud-based learning journey platform for higher education institutions, built on Amazon Web Services. The platform combines ePortfolio, workbook, and assessment capabilities — including the ATLAS (Active Teaching Learning and Assessment Space) assessment module and the PebblePocket offline mobile companion app — to support students from pre-arrival through graduation and alumni status. Following its January 2026 acquisition of the Liverpool-based student engagement portal myday, the combined platform serves over 200 higher education institutions across the UK, US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with the company's stated differentiator being its exclusive focus on unifying the entire learning journey.
The company generates revenue primarily through subscription licenses sold to higher education institutions on annual or multi-year contracts, with quote-based pricing tailored to institution size and requirements. It operates a direct enterprise sales motion supported by dedicated Customer Success Managers per account, complemented by a community-led growth strategy through Regional User Groups (RUGs) and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) covering disciplines such as nursing, midwifery, medical imaging, and employability. The platform integrates with all major LMS/VLE systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle) via LTI 1.3 Advantage, supports SSO through Microsoft Entra ID and Shibboleth, and offers integration with Turnitin for academic integrity.
The company is privately held and backed by UK private equity firm NorthEdge through NorthEdge Fund III, with HSBC as co-financier of the myday acquisition. Headquartered at the E-Innovation Centre, University of Wolverhampton in Telford, PebblePad employs 11-50 staff and reports a leadership team comprising CEO Justin Reilly, founder Shane Sutherland, Chief Customer Officer Alison Poot, CTO Toni Lavendar, and Head of People & Culture Sallie Allen. The company holds ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications and operates as a GDPR-compliant provider with regional data storage.
PebblePad firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PebblePad
- Legal name
- Pebble Learning LTD
- Website
- https://pebblepad.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PebblePad is a UK-based SaaS platform providing ePortfolio, assessment, and student engagement software to over 200 higher education institutions globally, serving the full student lifecycle from pre-arrival through alumni status.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PebblePad industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education ePortfolio Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Educational Support Services (6117)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Portfolio, Performance & Rubric-Based Assessment Platforms (EDAFADAL)
Keywords
Where PebblePad is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Telford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
PebblePad business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Institutional Subscription Licenses: PebblePad generates revenue through subscription licenses sold to higher education institutions. Institutions pay for user seats or site-wide licenses with dedicated support, onboarding, and Customer Success Manager assigned per account. Multi-year contracts with various renewal types including Contract End Renewal, Optional Year Renewal, Next Year Renewal, and Auto-renewals.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | PebblePad Platform - Institutional Subscription |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | PebblePad Essentials Training |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | PebblePad Capability Framework |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Self-Serve Training |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Alumni Accounts |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
PebblePad product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PebblePad sells a cloud-based Learning Journey Platform that combines ePortfolio, workbook, and assessment capabilities for universities and higher education institutions. The platform is delivered as a subscription licensed per institution, complemented by the acquired myday student engagement portal and the PebblePocket mobile app, supporting the full student lifecycle from pre-arrival through graduation and alumni status.
Product overview
PebblePad is a learning, assessment, and engagement platform that provides a unified product portfolio for higher education institutions. The core offering is The PebblePad Platform (ePortfolio and assessment software), complemented by the acquired myday engagement platform for student portal experiences, and PebblePocket as a mobile companion app. The platform supports the entire student learning journey from pre-arrival through graduation and alumni status, with key capabilities including authentic assessment, reflection-based learning, real-time feedback, and career readiness support. Additional features include data security infrastructure, LMS/VLE integrations, accessibility accommodations, and professional implementation services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- myday: Student engagement portal providing unified digital campus experiences
- PebblePocket
Products and services
- The PebblePad Platform Cloud-based ePortfolio, workbook, and assessment platform that supports the full student learning journey from pre-arrival through graduation and alumni status for higher education institutions.
- myday Engagement Platform Student engagement portal acquired by PebblePad that creates a unified digital campus experience alongside PebblePad's learning and assessment tools.
- PebblePocket
Quantifiable outcome
- Improved student retention rates
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use PebblePad
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
PebblePad technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability1 record
Feature7 records
PebblePad partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Inside Higher EdStrategic global partnership to support higher education initiatives focusing on student success and institutional collaboration. PebblePad participates in key events including THE Student Success UK/IE in Edinburgh and THE Student Success US in Atlanta as part of this partnership.
- Times Higher EducationflagshipStrategic global partnership with Times Higher Education to support higher education initiatives. Aligns PebblePad's mission to support experiential and reflective learning with THE's global reach and expertise in higher education news, analysis, and rankings.
- Canvas (Instructure)coreLTI 1.3 Advantage Complete Learning Tool integration for Canvas LMS, enabling seamless enrollment and grade synchronisation.
- BlackboardcoreLTI 1.3 Advantage integration for Blackboard LMS.
- Brightspace (D2L)coreLTI 1.3 Advantage integration for Brightspace LMS.
- MoodlecoreLTI 1.3 Advantage integration for Moodle LMS.
- Microsoft Entra IDcoreSingle Sign-On (SSO) integration using SAML 2.0 authentication via Microsoft Entra ID.
- ShibbolethcoreSAML 2.0 SSO authentication via Shibboleth for institutional identity management.
- TurnitincoreAPI integration for plagiarism detection and academic integrity tools.
- Google DrivecoreIntegration allowing users to embed or link Google Drive content into PebblePad assets.
- OneDrive for BusinesscoreIntegration with Microsoft OneDrive for Business for document storage and embedding.
- DropboxcoreIntegration with Dropbox for document storage and embedding.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PebblePad competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Anthology: Anthology (combining Blackboard, Campus Management, and other HE solutions) offers a broad higher education technology suite including LMS, student information systems, and assessment tools—PebblePad competes specifically with Anthology's LMS-embedded portfolio and assessment features.
- D2L Brightspace: D2L Brightspace is a major higher education LMS with built-in competency-based education and assessment features—competes with PebblePad for institutional assessment/portfolio budgets and is also an integration partner via LTI 1.3.
- Ellucian: Ellucian is the dominant student information system (SIS) provider in US higher education; while not directly an ePortfolio competitor, its data layer and student lifecycle footprint make it an adjacent incumbent in the HE technology stack that PebblePad integrates with.
- Canvas (Instructure): Canvas, the leading higher education LMS, bundles its own portfolio and assessment tooling (Portfolium) and is PebblePad's primary integration partner—PebblePad's value vs. Canvas-native features is a key competitive question in mid-market institutional deals.
Emerging players
- Valamis: Valamis is a learning experience platform (LXP) with digital credentialing and portfolio capabilities serving enterprise and education markets—provides overlapping ePortfolio and reflective learning features, particularly relevant given PebblePad's employability and credentialing use cases.
- Mahara: Mahara is an open-source ePortfolio and social networking platform widely used in higher education as a low-cost alternative—competes with PebblePad in price-sensitive institutions and is sometimes coupled with Moodle implementations.
Direct peers
- Digication: Digication is a higher education ePortfolio and assessment platform that enables students and faculty to create portfolios and conduct outcomes assessment—overlapping with PebblePad's ePortfolio and ATLAS assessment capabilities in the same institutional segment.
- Portfolium (Instructure): Portfolium is an ePortfolio and skills profile platform built into Canvas/Instructure's LMS ecosystem, targeting higher education institutions with portfolio, assessment, and employability use cases—directly competing for the same institutional ePortfolio budget.
- Watermark: Watermark (formed from the merger of Chalk & Wire and Taskstream) is a higher education-focused assessment, accreditation, and ePortfolio platform serving institutions with faculty evaluation, program assessment, and student portfolio workflows—directly competitive with PebblePad's core assessment and portfolio wedge.
- LiveText (by Watermark): LiveText, now part of Watermark, is a higher education assessment and accreditation platform historically focused on teacher education and program outcomes—competes head-on with PebblePad's ATLAS assessment capabilities in professional accreditation use cases.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PebblePad social profiles
Digital presencePebblePad compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
PebblePad financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PebblePad leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
PebblePad subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
PebblePad funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PebblePad M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PebblePad
What does PebblePad do?
PebblePad sells a cloud-based Learning Journey Platform that combines ePortfolio, workbook, and assessment capabilities for universities and higher education institutions. The platform is delivered as a subscription licensed per institution, complemented by the acquired myday student engagement portal and the PebblePocket mobile app, supporting the full student lifecycle from pre-arrival through graduation and alumni status.
Is PebblePad a public or private company?
PebblePad is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was PebblePad founded?
PebblePad was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PebblePad based?
PebblePad is headquartered in Telford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does PebblePad make money?
One revenue line is on record: institutional Subscription Licenses.
Who are PebblePad's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Anthology, D2L Brightspace, Ellucian and Canvas (Instructure). Emerging players are Valamis and Mahara. Direct peers are Digication, Portfolium (Instructure), Watermark and LiveText (by Watermark).
Does PebblePad have an API?
Yes. PebblePad offers a fully functional REST API that provides the ability to manage users, groups and group memberships. Supports JSON (recommended) and CSV formats. Additionally, Turnitin integration via API and a dedicated Account Management API are available. Media transcoding uses the Zencoder API. Developer documentation is at v3.pebblepad.co.uk/api/docs#/api/docs/ApiVersion?version=1.2&contentToLoad=content-getting-started.
What industry is PebblePad in?
PebblePad's product category is Higher Education ePortfolio Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFADAL, Portfolio, Performance & Rubric-Based Assessment Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132.