LearnDash
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
99
Academy LMS
Freemium WordPress LMS by Kodezen with front-end course building, a free quiz question bank, 47 Gutenberg blocks and many Pro add-ons.
Free installs2K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~270Likely 140–540
Vendor claims2K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.9/5120 reviews
Price from$149 lifetimeFreemium
Last updated8 Oct 2026Version 4.0.4
Overview
Academy LMS is a WordPress learning management plugin from Kodezen. It offers a React-based admin, a front-end course builder for instructors, and separate student and instructor dashboards, with templates built from blocks that can be edited in the Site Editor.
The free plugin includes video lessons from several sources, a quiz builder with time limits, pass marks, negative marking and randomised order, a reusable question bank, certificates, Q&A and lesson notes, multi-instructor support with revenue sharing, basic analytics, migration tools and 47 Gutenberg blocks alongside Elementor and Divi integrations. Paid courses are sold through WooCommerce in the free version. For native checkout, Academy connects to StoreEngine, Kodezen’s separate e-commerce plugin, which handles Stripe, PayPal, subscriptions and discount codes.
Academy LMS Pro
All paid plans include the same feature set and differ only by site count, with yearly and lifetime options. Pro unlocks content drip, prerequisites, assignments, the gradebook, course bundles, extra quiz question types, email notifications, Group Plus for team seats, SCORM, Zoom and Google Meet, advanced analytics, white label and integrations such as Paid Memberships Pro, WooCommerce Subscriptions, GamiPress and BuddyBoss.
Strengths and limitations
- Low-cost Pro licences that cover many sites, plus lifetime deals.
- Question bank and solid quiz settings in the free version.
- Native payments depend on a second plugin (StoreEngine).
- Email notifications, drip and assignments are paid.
- Small install base, so fewer third-party tutorials and extensions.
Academy LMS suits budget-conscious agencies and educators who want an all-features Pro licence at a low price and are comfortable with a younger product.
Best for: Agencies and budget-conscious educators who want a full-featured Pro LMS licence across many sites at a low price.
Academy LMS offers a capable free core, especially for quizzes, and an inexpensive Pro licence that unlocks everything. Its reliance on a companion plugin for native payments and its small user base are the main trade-offs.
Pros
- Free question bank with reusable questions
- Free quiz time limits, pass marks and negative marking
- 47 Gutenberg blocks plus Elementor and Divi support
- Multi-instructor revenue sharing in the free version
- Every paid plan has the full feature set, priced by site count
- Lifetime licences available
Cons
- Native checkout needs the separate StoreEngine plugin
- Drip, prerequisites and assignments are Pro-only
- Email notifications are a Pro add-on
- Small install base and younger ecosystem
Key features
What Academy LMS highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Front-end and admin course builder
- Video lessons from many sources
- Quiz builder with time limits
- Reusable question bank
- Course certificates
- Student and instructor dashboards
- Q&A and lesson notes
- Multi-instructor revenue sharing
- WooCommerce course selling
- 47 Gutenberg blocks
- Elementor and Divi integration
- Migration tools
Pro / paid adds From $149 lifetime
- Content drip and prerequisites
- Assignments and gradebook
- Advanced quiz question types
- Course bundles
- Email notifications
- Group Plus team seats
- SCORM import
- Zoom and Google Meet
- Advanced analytics
- WooCommerce Subscriptions and PMPro
- GamiPress and BuddyBoss integrations
- White label
Feature checklist
24 of 25 features we track in LMS Plugins, feature score 97/100
Course building 6/6
Drag & drop course builder Key
Build courses, sections and lessons visually.
Free admin and front-end course builders.
Included
Video, text & file lessons
Lessons with video, text, downloads and embeds.
Video from self-hosted, YouTube, Vimeo and embeds, plus text lessons; H5P and Presto supported.
Included
Drip & scheduled content Key
Release lessons on a schedule or after enrolment.
Content Drip add-on releases lessons, quizzes and assignments over time.
Paid version Individual
Prerequisites & sequencing
Require lessons or courses to be completed in order.
Course Prerequisites add-on is part of Pro.
Paid version Individual
Assignments
Students submit work for instructor review.
Assignments add-on lets instructors set and review tasks.
Paid version Individual
Block editor & page builder support
Course templates and blocks for Gutenberg or page builders.
47 Gutenberg blocks with Site Editor templates, plus Elementor and Divi.
Included
Quizzes & certificates 5/5
Quiz builder Key
Create quizzes with multiple question types.
Free quiz builder with three question types; four more types need Pro.
Included
Question banks & randomisation
Reusable question pools and random questions.
Free question bank reuses questions across quizzes; random order supported.
Included
Timed quizzes & retakes
Time limits, attempts and pass marks.
Free time limits, passing grade, retry mode and negative marking.
Included
Certificates Key
Issue certificates on course completion.
Course completion certificates included free.
Included
Gradebook
Track grades across quizzes and assignments.
Gradebook add-on tracks student grades.
Paid version Individual
Selling courses 5/5
Sell courses (built-in checkout) Key
Take payments without another e-commerce plugin.
Native checkout via Kodezen's separate StoreEngine plugin (Stripe, PayPal); free core.
Via add-on
WooCommerce integration
Sell courses through WooCommerce.
Free WooCommerce integration for paid courses.
Included
Subscriptions & memberships Key
Recurring access, memberships or course bundles.
Pro integrates WooCommerce Subscriptions, PMPro and other membership plugins.
Paid version Individual
Course bundles
Sell several courses together.
Course Bundle add-on groups several courses into one product.
Paid version Individual
Coupons
Discount codes for courses.
Discount codes are handled by the StoreEngine (or WooCommerce) checkout.
Via add-on
Students & engagement 5/6
Student dashboard Key
Front-end area showing enrolled courses and progress.
Free front-end student dashboard.
Included
Progress tracking
Lesson and course completion tracking.
Lesson tracking and progress monitoring in the free plugin.
Included
Points, badges & gamification
Badges, points or leaderboards for learners.
Points and badges via the GamiPress integration add-on.
Third-party
Discussions & Q&A
Lesson comments, Q&A or forum integration.
Free Q&A between students and instructors plus lesson comments.
Included
Student emails
Enrolment, completion and reminder emails.
Email Notification add-on is marked Pro.
Paid version Individual
Groups & cohorts
Group enrolment for teams, classes or companies.
Group Plus add-on with seat management for team training.
Paid version Individual
Admin & reporting 3/3
Reports & analytics Key
Enrolments, completions, quiz results and revenue.
Free LMS analytics; Advanced Analytics add-on in Pro.
Included
Multiple instructors
Instructor roles and revenue sharing for course marketplaces.
Free multi-instructor support with revenue sharing.
Included
Import / migration
Import courses from other LMS plugins or SCORM.
Free migration tools and CSV lesson import; SCORM import is Pro.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Individual
$199per year1 site
Currently shown at $99/yr (save $100). All plans include the full Pro feature set.
Business
$299per year10 sites
Currently shown at $129/yr (save $170).
Agency
$399per year100 sites
Currently shown at $199/yr (save $200); Business Plus (25 sites) and Agency Plus (200 sites) also offered.
Yearly Unlimited
$699per yearUnlimited
Includes aBlocks and StoreEngine lifetime licences.
Individual Lifetime
$149lifetime1 site
Shown as $149 (save $250); lifetime plans run up to $839 for unlimited sites.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Academy LMS?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
2K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
2K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~270
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: WordPress.org shows 2K+ free installs, which could mean anything from 2K to 3K. The vendor says 2K+ sites, so we put the free count halfway between the middle of that range and the vendor figure, at about 2.3K. About 2.3K free installs x 12% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid, and store owners upgrade more often) gives 270. Likely range: 140 to 540. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
3,324 downloads last week, 203.9K all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 4.0.4 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 8 Oct 2026 (26 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.3 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.8+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 3 of 3 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 5 Jun 2021 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
|---|
Academy LMS compared
Alternatives to Academy LMS
Tutor LMS
Freemium WordPress LMS by Themeum with a course builder, quizzes, native eCommerce, Q&A and multi-instructor support; Pro adds drip, certificates and more.
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Masteriyo LMS
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MasterStudy LMS
Freemium WordPress LMS from StylemixThemes with a course builder, quizzes and built-in Stripe/PayPal checkout, plus a large set of Pro add-ons.
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LifterLMS
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LearnPress
Free WordPress LMS by ThimPress with courses, lessons, quizzes and PayPal checkout; certificates, drip and other extras are low-cost add-ons.
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FAQ
Is Academy LMS free?
Yes. Academy LMS has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $149 lifetime.
How many sites use Academy LMS?
WordPress.org reports 2K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 2K+ sites in total. We estimate around 270 sites run the paid version.
Does Academy LMS have drag & drop course builder?
Yes: included. Free admin and front-end course builders.
Does Academy LMS have drip & scheduled content?
Yes: paid version (Individual). Content Drip add-on releases lessons, quizzes and assignments over time.
Does Academy LMS have quiz builder?
Yes: included. Free quiz builder with three question types; four more types need Pro.
Does Academy LMS have certificates?
Yes: included. Course completion certificates included free.
Does Academy LMS have sell courses (built-in checkout)?
Yes: via add-on. Native checkout via Kodezen's separate StoreEngine plugin (Stripe, PayPal); free core.
Does Academy LMS have subscriptions & memberships?
Yes: paid version (Individual). Pro integrates WooCommerce Subscriptions, PMPro and other membership plugins.
Does Academy LMS have student dashboard?
Yes: included. Free front-end student dashboard.
Does Academy LMS have reports & analytics?
Yes: included. Free LMS analytics; Advanced Analytics add-on in Pro.
Can Academy LMS take payments without WooCommerce?
Yes, through StoreEngine, Kodezen's separate e-commerce plugin, which supports PayPal and Stripe, one-time and subscription pricing. Without it, the free version sells via WooCommerce.
Do the paid plans differ in features?
No. All yearly and lifetime plans include the same Pro features; they differ by the number of sites.
Is the question bank free?
Yes. The quiz add-on and question bank are free; four of the seven question types need Pro.
Does Academy LMS support SCORM?
Yes, SCORM import is a Pro add-on.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.