Academy LMS vs LearnPress
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.
Free WordPress LMS by ThimPress with courses, lessons, quizzes and PayPal checkout; certificates, drip and other extras are low-cost add-ons.
Choose Academy LMS if…
- You need groups & cohorts
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 85/100)
- You weigh user ratings (4.9 vs 4.3 on WordPress.org)
Choose LearnPress if…
- You need points, badges & gamification
- You prefer the more widely used option
Academy LMS includes 1 feature that LearnPress lacks, including Groups & cohorts; LearnPress has 1 that Academy LMS lacks, including Points, badges & gamification. Both include 23 of the 25 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Academy LMS LearnPressCourse building6/66/6
Free admin and front-end course builders.
Free curriculum builder for sections, lessons and quizzes.
Video from self-hosted, YouTube, Vimeo and embeds, plus text lessons; H5P and Presto supported.
Lessons with text, video embeds and media; H5P is a paid add-on.
Content Drip add-on releases lessons, quizzes and assignments over time.
Content Drip is a paid add-on ($39).
Course Prerequisites add-on is part of Pro.
Free official Prerequisites Courses add-on.
Assignments add-on lets instructors set and review tasks.
Assignments is a paid add-on ($39).
47 Gutenberg blocks with Site Editor templates, plus Elementor and Divi.
Gutenberg blocks for single course, archive and course lists; Elementor via Thim Elementor Kit.
Quizzes & certificates5/55/5
Free quiz builder with three question types; four more types need Pro.
Core quiz types: single, multiple, true/false, fill-in-blank, essay; Sorting Choice is paid.
Free question bank reuses questions across quizzes; random order supported.
Questions can be reused in core; random question pools need the paid Random Quiz add-on.
Free time limits, passing grade, retry mode and negative marking.
Quiz duration, retake count and passing grade in core.
Course completion certificates included free.
Certificates with drag-and-drop builder is a paid add-on ($39).
Gradebook add-on tracks student grades.
Gradebook is a paid add-on ($39) with CSV export.
Selling courses5/55/5
Native checkout via Kodezen's separate StoreEngine plugin (Stripe, PayPal); free core.
PayPal is built into core; Stripe and other gateways are paid add-ons.
Free WooCommerce integration for paid courses.
WooCommerce integration is a paid add-on ($49).
Pro integrates WooCommerce Subscriptions, PMPro and other membership plugins.
Memberships & Subscriptions or Paid Memberships Pro add-ons (paid).
Course Bundle add-on groups several courses into one product.
Paid Upsell add-on sells course packages; Collections groups courses.
Discount codes are handled by the StoreEngine (or WooCommerce) checkout.
Coupons come with the paid Upsell add-on; not in core.
Students & engagement5/65/6
Free front-end student dashboard.
Student profile shows courses, progress and quiz results.
Lesson tracking and progress monitoring in the free plugin.
Lesson and course progress tracking in core.
Points and badges via the GamiPress integration add-on.
Points and rewards via the paid myCRED add-on ($29).
Free Q&A between students and instructors plus lesson comments.
Free bbPress and BuddyPress integration add-ons.
Email Notification add-on is marked Pro.
Automated emails for enrolment, completion and checkout in core.
Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
No group or team enrolment add-on in the official catalogue.
Admin & reporting3/33/3
Free LMS analytics; Advanced Analytics add-on in Pro.
Basic statistics in core; detailed grading via paid Gradebook add-on.
Free multi-instructor support with revenue sharing.
Instructor role in core; Co-Instructors and Commission are paid add-ons.
Free migration tools and CSV lesson import; SCORM import is Pro.
Free Backup & Migration add-on imports from Tutor, LearnDash, MasterStudy.
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 |
LearnPress Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Individual add-ons | $19 one-off, 1 site |
| Pro Bundle | $299 per year, 1 site |
Downloads trend
Academy LMS
3,324 downloads last week
LearnPress
30,410 downloads last week
Verdict
Academy LMS scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 85/100) and includes groups & cohorts that LearnPress does not. LearnPress still has the edge on points, badges & gamification. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Academy LMS: paid version (Individual). LearnPress: not included. Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
Academy LMS: third-party. LearnPress: via add-on. Points and rewards via the paid myCRED add-on ($29).
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
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FAQ
Which is better, Academy LMS or LearnPress?
Academy LMS scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 85/100) and includes groups & cohorts that LearnPress does not. LearnPress still has the edge on points, badges & gamification. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
They are level: both include 24 of the 25 lms plugins features we track.
Is Academy LMS free?
Academy LMS has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $149 lifetime.
Is LearnPress free?
LearnPress has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $19.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Academy LMS or LearnPress. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.