LearnDash vs Tutor LMS
Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
Freemium WordPress LMS by Themeum with a course builder, quizzes, native eCommerce, Q&A and multi-instructor support; Pro adds drip, certificates and more.
Choose LearnDash if…
- You need points, badges & gamification
Choose Tutor LMS if…
- You want to start with a free version
- You want the lower entry price ($199/yr vs $259/yr)
LearnDash includes 1 feature that Tutor 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.
LearnDash Tutor LMSCourse building6/66/6
Drag-and-drop course builder plus a course creation wizard in all plans.
Free course builder for topics, lessons, quizzes; front-end builder listed as Pro.
Lessons and topics take any block content, with video progression to require watching videos.
Free video lessons (self-hosted, YouTube, Vimeo, embeds) plus attachments.
Lessons can unlock X days after enrolment or on a specific date; no extra plugin needed.
Content Drip is a Pro add-on.
Linear course progression plus course and quiz prerequisites.
Course prerequisites require Pro.
Core assignment uploads with approval, grading and comments.
Assignments with grading and resubmission are Pro.
20+ Gutenberg blocks; shortcodes and an Elementor add-on cover page builders.
Page builder support listed in free plugin; Elementor and Divi add-ons available.
Quizzes & certificates5/55/5
Quiz builder with eight question types, including essay, sorting and matching.
Free quiz builder with true/false, choice, matching and fill-in-blank; more types in Pro.
Shared questions across quizzes and display of a random subset of questions.
Content Bank for reusable questions and lessons is a Pro feature.
Per-quiz time limit, retake limits and passing percentage.
Quiz timer, attempt limits and passing grade in the free plugin.
Certificate builder for courses, quizzes and groups in every plan.
Drag-and-drop certificate builder is Pro-only.
Gradebook with weighted grading and report cards comes with the Pro plan.
Gradebook and automated grading are Pro.
Selling courses5/55/5
Built-in checkout with Stripe and PayPal; Razorpay and 2Checkout integrations documented.
Free native checkout with PayPal and manual payments; Stripe and others need Pro.
Free official WooCommerce integration add-on links courses to products.
WooCommerce monetization works in free; Pro auto-creates products.
Recurring payments plus memberships via bundled MemberDash in all plans.
Course subscriptions and site-wide memberships are Pro.
Bundles included in Essentials; groups can also sell several courses together.
Course bundles require Pro.
Native flat or percentage coupons for courses and groups (one-time payments only).
Coupons are part of free native eCommerce.
Students & engagement6/65/6
Profile block shows enrolled courses, progress and certificates.
Front-end student dashboard included free.
Lesson, topic and course completion tracking with progress bars.
Course progress tracking for students in free.
Achievements add-on (badges, points, leaderboards) included with all plans.
No native points or badges in free or Pro feature lists.
Lesson comments in Focus Mode and an official bbPress integration for forums.
Unified Discussions and Q&A included free.
Learner notifications for enrolment, completion and more in all plans.
Customisable event-triggered emails and templates are Pro.
Core groups with group leaders; seat sales and org hierarchy need Elite (Groups Plus).
Pro Enrollment add-on offers bulk CSV enrolment; no group leaders or seats.
Admin & reporting3/33/3
Core reports and CSV exports in all plans; ProPanel analytics need the Pro plan.
Reports, earning analytics and exports are Pro.
Instructor Role add-on with commissions and front-end course creation is Elite-only.
Instructor registration and multi-instructor in free; earnings tools expand in Pro.
Official Migration add-on imports from LearnPress, Tutor, Sensei, LifterLMS; SCORM needs a third party.
Free Tutor LMS Migration Tool imports from LearnDash, LearnPress, LifterLMS.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
LearnDash Premium
| Essentials | $259 per year, 1 site |
|---|---|
| Pro | $399 per year, 1 site |
| Elite | $599 per year, 1 site |
Tutor LMS Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Individual | $199 per year, 1 site |
| Business | $399 per year, 10 sites |
| Agency | $799 per year, Unlimited |
Downloads trend
LearnDash
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Tutor LMS
36,531 downloads last week
Verdict
LearnDash and Tutor LMS are closely matched on features (99/100 and 97/100). The differences are in the details: LearnDash adds points, badges & gamification. Only Tutor LMS has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
LearnDash: included. Tutor LMS: not 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.
Which would you choose?
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FAQ
Which is better, LearnDash or Tutor LMS?
LearnDash and Tutor LMS are closely matched on features (99/100 and 97/100). The differences are in the details: LearnDash adds points, badges & gamification. Only Tutor 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 Tutor LMS. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is LearnDash free?
LearnDash is premium only. Paid plans start at $259/yr.
Is Tutor LMS free?
Tutor LMS has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $199/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to LearnDash or Tutor LMS. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.