Academy LMS vs Thrive Apprentice
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 course plugin from Thrive Themes focused on visual course design, flexible drip schedules and built-in Stripe selling.
Choose Academy LMS if…
- You need groups & cohorts and multiple instructors
- You also want import / migration
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 77/100)
- You want to start with a free version
Choose Thrive Apprentice if…
- You prefer the more widely used option
Academy LMS includes 3 features that Thrive Apprentice lacks, including Groups & cohorts, Multiple instructors and Import / migration. Both include 20 of the 25 features we track. 1 feature is not yet verified for one or both plugins.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Academy LMS Thrive ApprenticeCourse building6/66/6
Free admin and front-end course builders.
Drag-and-drop builder for modules, chapters and lessons.
Video from self-hosted, YouTube, Vimeo and embeds, plus text lessons; H5P and Presto supported.
Text, video and audio lessons with downloadable resources.
Content Drip add-on releases lessons, quizzes and assignments over time.
Six drip schedule types including evergreen, calendar and specific dates.
Course Prerequisites add-on is part of Pro.
Lessons can unlock after earlier content or another course is completed.
Assignments add-on lets instructors set and review tasks.
Assessments accept file uploads, YouTube or external links and quizzes for grading.
47 Gutenberg blocks with Site Editor templates, plus Elementor and Divi.
Templates built in Thrive's own visual editor rather than Gutenberg blocks.
Quizzes & certificates5/54/5
Free quiz builder with three question types; four more types need Pro.
Quizzes come from Thrive Quiz Builder (paid; included in Thrive Suite).
Free question bank reuses questions across quizzes; random order supported.
Question pools or random questions are not documented for Thrive Quiz Builder.
Free time limits, passing grade, retry mode and negative marking.
Lessons can unlock on quiz score thresholds; time limits not documented.
Course completion certificates included free.
Drag-and-drop certificates with dynamic data, serial numbers and QR codes.
Gradebook add-on tracks student grades.
Assessment inbox for grading submissions; no full gradebook view.
Selling courses5/55/5
Native checkout via Kodezen's separate StoreEngine plugin (Stripe, PayPal); free core.
Stripe is built in for one-time and recurring products.
Free WooCommerce integration for paid courses.
WooCommerce is a supported checkout integration.
Pro integrates WooCommerce Subscriptions, PMPro and other membership plugins.
Stripe subscription products with optional free trials.
Course Bundle add-on groups several courses into one product.
Products can contain two or more courses sold together.
Discount codes are handled by the StoreEngine (or WooCommerce) checkout.
Stripe products can allow promotion codes at checkout.
Students & engagement5/64/6
Free front-end student dashboard.
Profile pages and course lists with progress labels; no single learner dashboard.
Lesson tracking and progress monitoring in the free plugin.
Progress bars and lesson completion tracking.
Points and badges via the GamiPress integration add-on.
No points, badges or leaderboards in Apprentice.
Free Q&A between students and instructors plus lesson comments.
Students can comment on lessons (WordPress or Thrive Comments).
Email Notification add-on is marked Pro.
Built-in course welcome emails; other emails via Thrive Automator or an autoresponder.
Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
No group or team enrolment feature.
Admin & reporting3/31/3
Free LMS analytics; Advanced Analytics add-on in Pro.
Reports on enrolments, completions, lesson progress, drop-off and engagement.
Free multi-instructor support with revenue sharing.
Single-owner course tool; no instructor roles or revenue sharing.
Free migration tools and CSV lesson import; SCORM import is Pro.
No course import; content from other platforms must be rebuilt.
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 |
Thrive Apprentice Premium
| Thrive Apprentice | $299 per year, 1 site |
|---|---|
| Thrive Suite | $599 per year, 5 sites |
Downloads trend
Academy LMS
3,324 downloads last week
Thrive Apprentice
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Verdict
Academy LMS scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 77/100) and includes groups & cohorts, multiple instructors and import / migration that Thrive Apprentice does not. Only Academy LMS has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Academy LMS: paid version (Individual). Thrive Apprentice: not included. Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
Academy LMS: included. Thrive Apprentice: not included. Free multi-instructor support with revenue sharing.
Academy LMS: included. Thrive Apprentice: not included. Free migration tools and CSV lesson import; SCORM import is Pro.
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 Thrive Apprentice?
Academy LMS scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 77/100) and includes groups & cohorts, multiple instructors and import / migration that Thrive Apprentice does not. Only Academy LMS has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
Academy LMS includes 24 of the 25 features we track, against 20 for Thrive Apprentice. 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 Thrive Apprentice free?
Thrive Apprentice is premium only. Paid plans start at $299/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Academy LMS or Thrive Apprentice. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.