Academy LMS vs LearnDash
Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.
Freemium WordPress LMS by Kodezen with front-end course building, a free quiz question bank, 47 Gutenberg blocks and many Pro add-ons.
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
Choose Academy LMS if…
- You want to start with a free version
Choose LearnDash if…
- You need points, badges & gamification
- You prefer the more widely used option
LearnDash has 1 that Academy LMS lacks, including Points, badges & gamification. Both include 24 of the 25 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Academy LMS LearnDashCourse building6/66/6
Free admin and front-end course builders.
Drag-and-drop course builder plus a course creation wizard in all plans.
Video from self-hosted, YouTube, Vimeo and embeds, plus text lessons; H5P and Presto supported.
Lessons and topics take any block content, with video progression to require watching videos.
Content Drip add-on releases lessons, quizzes and assignments over time.
Lessons can unlock X days after enrolment or on a specific date; no extra plugin needed.
Course Prerequisites add-on is part of Pro.
Linear course progression plus course and quiz prerequisites.
Assignments add-on lets instructors set and review tasks.
Core assignment uploads with approval, grading and comments.
47 Gutenberg blocks with Site Editor templates, plus Elementor and Divi.
20+ Gutenberg blocks; shortcodes and an Elementor add-on cover page builders.
Quizzes & certificates5/55/5
Free quiz builder with three question types; four more types need Pro.
Quiz builder with eight question types, including essay, sorting and matching.
Free question bank reuses questions across quizzes; random order supported.
Shared questions across quizzes and display of a random subset of questions.
Free time limits, passing grade, retry mode and negative marking.
Per-quiz time limit, retake limits and passing percentage.
Course completion certificates included free.
Certificate builder for courses, quizzes and groups in every plan.
Gradebook add-on tracks student grades.
Gradebook with weighted grading and report cards comes with the Pro plan.
Selling courses5/55/5
Native checkout via Kodezen's separate StoreEngine plugin (Stripe, PayPal); free core.
Built-in checkout with Stripe and PayPal; Razorpay and 2Checkout integrations documented.
Free WooCommerce integration for paid courses.
Free official WooCommerce integration add-on links courses to products.
Pro integrates WooCommerce Subscriptions, PMPro and other membership plugins.
Recurring payments plus memberships via bundled MemberDash in all plans.
Course Bundle add-on groups several courses into one product.
Bundles included in Essentials; groups can also sell several courses together.
Discount codes are handled by the StoreEngine (or WooCommerce) checkout.
Native flat or percentage coupons for courses and groups (one-time payments only).
Students & engagement5/66/6
Free front-end student dashboard.
Profile block shows enrolled courses, progress and certificates.
Lesson tracking and progress monitoring in the free plugin.
Lesson, topic and course completion tracking with progress bars.
Points and badges via the GamiPress integration add-on.
Achievements add-on (badges, points, leaderboards) included with all plans.
Free Q&A between students and instructors plus lesson comments.
Lesson comments in Focus Mode and an official bbPress integration for forums.
Email Notification add-on is marked Pro.
Learner notifications for enrolment, completion and more in all plans.
Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
Core groups with group leaders; seat sales and org hierarchy need Elite (Groups Plus).
Admin & reporting3/33/3
Free LMS analytics; Advanced Analytics add-on in Pro.
Core reports and CSV exports in all plans; ProPanel analytics need the Pro plan.
Free multi-instructor support with revenue sharing.
Instructor Role add-on with commissions and front-end course creation is Elite-only.
Free migration tools and CSV lesson import; SCORM import is Pro.
Official Migration add-on imports from LearnPress, Tutor, Sensei, LifterLMS; SCORM needs a third party.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Academy LMS Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Individual | $199 per year, 1 site |
| Business | $299 per year, 10 sites |
| Agency | $399 per year, 100 sites |
| Yearly Unlimited | $699 per year, Unlimited |
| Individual Lifetime | $149 lifetime, 1 site |
LearnDash Premium
| Essentials | $259 per year, 1 site |
|---|---|
| Pro | $399 per year, 1 site |
| Elite | $599 per year, 1 site |
Downloads trend
Academy LMS
3,324 downloads last week
LearnDash
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Verdict
Academy LMS and LearnDash are closely matched on features (97/100 and 99/100). The differences are in the details: LearnDash adds points, badges & gamification. Only Academy LMS has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Academy LMS: third-party. LearnDash: included. Achievements add-on (badges, points, leaderboards) included with all plans.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
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FAQ
Which is better, Academy LMS or LearnDash?
Academy LMS and LearnDash are closely matched on features (97/100 and 99/100). The differences are in the details: LearnDash adds points, badges & gamification. Only Academy LMS has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
LearnDash includes 25 of the 25 features we track, against 24 for Academy LMS. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Academy LMS free?
Academy LMS has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $149 lifetime.
Is LearnDash free?
LearnDash is premium only. Paid plans start at $259/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Academy LMS or LearnDash. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.