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.
97
LearnDash
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
Est. active installs~100KLikely 65K–150K
Vendor claims100K+Vendor's own figure
Price from$259/yrPremium
Overview
LearnDash is a premium-only learning management system for WordPress, now sold and supported by Liquid Web (StellarWP). It has no free version on WordPress.org: every licence includes the core LMS, unlimited courses and unlimited learners, and the three annual plans add reporting, grading and team features on top.
Courses are organised as courses, lessons, topics and quizzes, assembled in a drag-and-drop course builder inside the block editor. Lessons can be drip-fed a set number of days after enrolment or on a fixed date, and course progression can be forced to run in order, with course and quiz prerequisites. Assignments, essay questions with manual grading, video progression and a distraction-free Focus Mode are all part of the core plugin.
Quizzes, certificates and engagement
The quiz engine offers eight question types, time limits, retake limits, pass marks, randomised subsets of questions and shared questions that can be reused across quizzes. Certificates and the Achievements add-on (badges, points and leaderboards) are included in every plan, and learner notifications cover course events such as enrolment and completion.
Selling and plans
LearnDash has its own checkout with Stripe and PayPal (plus Razorpay and 2Checkout integrations), native coupons, recurring payments, and memberships and bundles through the bundled MemberDash. A free official add-on links courses to WooCommerce products if you prefer to sell there. The Essentials plan covers the core LMS; Pro adds ProPanel reporting, the Gradebook (weighted grading and report cards) and AI outline/quiz tools; Elite adds Groups Plus seat sales, organisation hierarchies and the Instructor Role add-on with commissions.
Limitations
- No free tier, so you cannot test it long-term without paying (a short demo is offered).
- Multi-instructor marketplaces and seat-based team sales sit in the most expensive plan.
- SCORM/xAPI content needs a third-party plugin such as Tin Canny.
LearnDash suits course businesses, training companies and membership sites that want a mature, widely integrated LMS and are happy to pay an annual licence from the start.
Best for: Course creators and training businesses that want a mature, premium LMS with built-in selling and are comfortable with an annual licence.
LearnDash remains one of the most complete WordPress LMS options, with progression controls and quizzes that are hard to beat. The lack of a free tier and the plan split, which pushes reporting and team features into pricier plans, make it a bigger commitment than freemium rivals.
Pros
- Drip content, prerequisites and linear progression built into core
- Strong quiz engine with time limits, retake limits and shared questions
- Native Stripe/PayPal checkout, coupons, memberships and bundles in every plan
- Groups with group leaders for schools and teams
- Large ecosystem of official and third-party integrations
Cons
- No free version; the cheapest plan is $259/year
- Seat sales and multi-instructor tools require the $599 Elite plan
- Advanced reporting (ProPanel) and Gradebook need the Pro plan
- SCORM/xAPI requires a third-party plugin
Key features
What LearnDash highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From $259/yr
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Lessons, topics and quizzes hierarchy
- Drip-feed lessons by date or delay
- Course and quiz prerequisites
- Assignments and essay grading
- Eight quiz question types
- Certificate builder and achievements
- Native Stripe and PayPal checkout
- Memberships, subscriptions and bundles
- Coupons for courses and groups
- Groups with group leaders
- Focus Mode learning layout
- ProPanel reporting (Pro plan)
- Gradebook with weighted grading (Pro plan)
- Instructor role and seat sales (Elite plan)
Feature checklist
25 of 25 features we track in LMS Plugins, feature score 99/100
Course building 6/6
Drag & drop course builder Key
Build courses, sections and lessons visually.
Drag-and-drop course builder plus a course creation wizard in all plans.
Included
Video, text & file lessons
Lessons with video, text, downloads and embeds.
Lessons and topics take any block content, with video progression to require watching videos.
Included
Drip & scheduled content Key
Release lessons on a schedule or after enrolment.
Lessons can unlock X days after enrolment or on a specific date; no extra plugin needed.
Included
Prerequisites & sequencing
Require lessons or courses to be completed in order.
Linear course progression plus course and quiz prerequisites.
Included
Assignments
Students submit work for instructor review.
Core assignment uploads with approval, grading and comments.
Included
Block editor & page builder support
Course templates and blocks for Gutenberg or page builders.
20+ Gutenberg blocks; shortcodes and an Elementor add-on cover page builders.
Included
Quizzes & certificates 5/5
Quiz builder Key
Create quizzes with multiple question types.
Quiz builder with eight question types, including essay, sorting and matching.
Included
Question banks & randomisation
Reusable question pools and random questions.
Shared questions across quizzes and display of a random subset of questions.
Included
Timed quizzes & retakes
Time limits, attempts and pass marks.
Per-quiz time limit, retake limits and passing percentage.
Included
Certificates Key
Issue certificates on course completion.
Certificate builder for courses, quizzes and groups in every plan.
Included
Gradebook
Track grades across quizzes and assignments.
Gradebook with weighted grading and report cards comes with the Pro plan.
Paid version Pro
Selling courses 5/5
Sell courses (built-in checkout) Key
Take payments without another e-commerce plugin.
Built-in checkout with Stripe and PayPal; Razorpay and 2Checkout integrations documented.
Included
WooCommerce integration
Sell courses through WooCommerce.
Free official WooCommerce integration add-on links courses to products.
Via add-on
Subscriptions & memberships Key
Recurring access, memberships or course bundles.
Recurring payments plus memberships via bundled MemberDash in all plans.
Included
Course bundles
Sell several courses together.
Bundles included in Essentials; groups can also sell several courses together.
Included
Coupons
Discount codes for courses.
Native flat or percentage coupons for courses and groups (one-time payments only).
Included
Students & engagement 6/6
Student dashboard Key
Front-end area showing enrolled courses and progress.
Profile block shows enrolled courses, progress and certificates.
Included
Progress tracking
Lesson and course completion tracking.
Lesson, topic and course completion tracking with progress bars.
Included
Points, badges & gamification
Badges, points or leaderboards for learners.
Achievements add-on (badges, points, leaderboards) included with all plans.
Included
Discussions & Q&A
Lesson comments, Q&A or forum integration.
Lesson comments in Focus Mode and an official bbPress integration for forums.
Included
Student emails
Enrolment, completion and reminder emails.
Learner notifications for enrolment, completion and more in all plans.
Included
Groups & cohorts
Group enrolment for teams, classes or companies.
Core groups with group leaders; seat sales and org hierarchy need Elite (Groups Plus).
Included
Admin & reporting 3/3
Reports & analytics Key
Enrolments, completions, quiz results and revenue.
Core reports and CSV exports in all plans; ProPanel analytics need the Pro plan.
Included
Multiple instructors
Instructor roles and revenue sharing for course marketplaces.
Instructor Role add-on with commissions and front-end course creation is Elite-only.
Paid version Elite
Import / migration
Import courses from other LMS plugins or SCORM.
Official Migration add-on imports from LearnPress, Tutor, Sensei, LifterLMS; SCORM needs a third party.
Via add-on
Pricing
Essentials
$259per year1 site
Core LMS, unlimited courses and learners; Stripe/PayPal, memberships, bundles, certificates, achievements.
Pro
$399per year1 site
Adds ProPanel reporting, Gradebook (weighted grading, report cards), AI outline and quiz builder.
Elite
$599per year1 site
Adds Groups Plus (seat sales, organisations), Instructor Role with front-end course creation and multi-instructor.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use LearnDash?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
—
No free version on WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
100K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated active installs
~100K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: The vendor says 100K+ sites use it; we take 80% of that (80K) because vendor counts are rounded up and include lapsed sites. Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder sfwd-lms) on 26,924 live sites; measured install counts for five WooCommerce extensions show each site found stands for about 4.5, giving 120K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 100K. Likely range: 65K to 150K. 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.
Company & policy
| Paying customers claimed | 25M+ learners (source, 5 Oct 2026) Vendor page claims 25M learners taught (learners, not paying customers). |
|---|---|
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (annual plans) (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.8 (source, 5 Oct 2026) Score as displayed on the vendor's LearnDash page. |
LearnDash compared
Alternatives to LearnDash
Masteriyo LMS
Freemium WordPress LMS from ThemeGrill with a drag-and-drop builder, built-in checkout, SCORM import and migration tools from other LMS plugins.
97
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.
96
LifterLMS
Free, extensible WordPress LMS with courses, memberships, quizzes, certificates and drip content; payments and advanced tools via paid add-ons.
94
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.
97
LearnPress
Free WordPress LMS by ThimPress with courses, lessons, quizzes and PayPal checkout; certificates, drip and other extras are low-cost add-ons.
85
FAQ
Is LearnDash free?
No. LearnDash is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at $259/yr.
How many sites use LearnDash?
The vendor claims 100K+ sites in total. We estimate around 100K active installs.
Does LearnDash have drag & drop course builder?
Yes: included. Drag-and-drop course builder plus a course creation wizard in all plans.
Does LearnDash have drip & scheduled content?
Yes: included. Lessons can unlock X days after enrolment or on a specific date; no extra plugin needed.
Does LearnDash have quiz builder?
Yes: included. Quiz builder with eight question types, including essay, sorting and matching.
Does LearnDash have certificates?
Yes: included. Certificate builder for courses, quizzes and groups in every plan.
Does LearnDash have sell courses (built-in checkout)?
Yes: included. Built-in checkout with Stripe and PayPal; Razorpay and 2Checkout integrations documented.
Does LearnDash have subscriptions & memberships?
Yes: included. Recurring payments plus memberships via bundled MemberDash in all plans.
Does LearnDash have student dashboard?
Yes: included. Profile block shows enrolled courses, progress and certificates.
Does LearnDash have reports & analytics?
Yes: included. Core reports and CSV exports in all plans; ProPanel analytics need the Pro plan.
Is there a free version of LearnDash?
No. LearnDash is premium-only; the Essentials plan at $259/year is the entry point, and a short demo is available before buying.
Which LearnDash plan includes reporting and the gradebook?
ProPanel reporting, enrolment tracking and the Gradebook with weighted grading and report cards start on the Pro plan ($399/year).
Can I sell courses without WooCommerce?
Yes. LearnDash has its own checkout with Stripe and PayPal, coupons and recurring payments. A free official add-on is available if you prefer WooCommerce.
Can I migrate from another LMS to LearnDash?
An official Migration add-on imports lessons, quizzes and questions from LearnPress, Tutor LMS, Sensei LMS and LifterLMS, though student progress is not transferred.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.