LearnDash
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
99
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.
Free installs10K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~3.5KLikely 2.3K–5.3K
Vendor claims25K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.5/5487 reviews
Price from$149/yrFreemium
Last updated2 Nov 2026Version 3.7.58
Overview
MasterStudy LMS is a learning management plugin from StylemixThemes, the team behind the long-running MasterStudy education theme. It lets you build courses from text, video and live-stream lessons, add quizzes and certificates, and sell access directly through Stripe, PayPal, offline or bank-transfer payments without installing WooCommerce.
The free plugin is fairly generous. It includes a course builder, eight quiz question types with timers, attempt limits and pass marks, a drag-and-drop certificate builder, a front-end student dashboard with progress tracking, instructor Q&A, instructor registration with earnings and commission settings, and around 40 Gutenberg blocks. Most of the more advanced functionality is delivered as add-ons that unlock with a paid licence: assignments, drip content, prerequisites, a gradebook, course bundles, coupons, subscriptions and memberships, group courses, a points system, SCORM import, Zoom and Google Meet lessons, an email template manager and WooCommerce checkout.
Pro and Pro Plus
StylemixThemes’ documentation splits the paid features into Pro and Pro Plus. Pro Plus adds the AI Lab course generator, audio lessons, Google Meet, question media, social login, the full Reports and Analytics add-on, the Grades feature and custom course page styles. The current pricing page lists single-site, 10-site and unlimited annual licences, so check which add-ons a given licence covers before buying.
Strengths and limitations
- Strong free core with native payments, certificates and a front-end dashboard.
- Very wide add-on catalogue that covers marketplace, live-class and corporate training use cases.
- Ties in well with the MasterStudy theme and its starter templates.
- The split between free, Pro and Pro Plus is spread across several pages and can be confusing.
- Paid licences are priced higher than several freemium rivals.
MasterStudy suits schools, coaches and course marketplaces that want a feature-rich LMS with native checkout and are happy to manage it through an add-on panel. If you only need simple course delivery, the free version alone may be enough.
Best for: Course creators and marketplaces that want native checkout and a large catalogue of optional LMS add-ons.
MasterStudy gives you a capable free LMS with real payments, certificates and quizzes, which few rivals match at no cost. The paid tiers unlock a very broad add-on set, but pricing and the Pro versus Pro Plus split need careful checking before you commit.
Pros
- Native Stripe, PayPal and offline payments in the free version
- Free quizzes with timers, attempt limits and pass marks
- Drag-and-drop certificate builder included free
- Front-end student dashboard and instructor Q&A
- Large Pro add-on catalogue (SCORM, Zoom, group courses, AI Lab)
- Around 40 Gutenberg blocks for course pages
Cons
- Drip content, prerequisites and assignments all need a paid licence
- WooCommerce checkout is a paid feature
- Feature split between Pro and Pro Plus is documented unclearly
- Paid licences cost more than several freemium rivals
Key features
What MasterStudy LMS highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Course builder with unlimited courses
- Text, video and live-stream lessons
- Eight quiz question types
- Quiz timer, attempts and pass marks
- Drag-and-drop certificate builder
- Stripe, PayPal and offline payments
- Front-end student dashboard
- Progress tracking and reviews
- Instructor Q&A
- Instructor earnings and commissions
- Around 40 Gutenberg blocks
- Dark-mode course player
Pro / paid adds From $149/yr
- Assignments and gradebook
- Sequential drip content
- Course prerequisites
- Course bundles and coupons
- Subscriptions and memberships
- Group courses for companies
- Points-based gamification
- SCORM and Google Classroom import
- Zoom and Google Meet lessons
- Email template manager
- WooCommerce checkout
- AI Lab course generator (Pro Plus)
- Reports and analytics (Pro Plus)
Feature checklist
25 of 25 features we track in LMS Plugins, feature score 96/100
Course building 6/6
Drag & drop course builder Key
Build courses, sections and lessons visually.
Free course builder for courses, sections and lessons with unlimited content.
Included
Video, text & file lessons
Lessons with video, text, downloads and embeds.
Text, video (several sources) and stream lessons free; audio lessons are a Pro Plus add-on.
Included
Drip & scheduled content Key
Release lessons on a schedule or after enrolment.
Sequential Drip Content add-on unlocks with a paid licence.
Paid version Pro
Prerequisites & sequencing
Require lessons or courses to be completed in order.
Prerequisites add-on requires courses to be finished before enrolling.
Paid version Pro
Assignments
Students submit work for instructor review.
Assignments add-on lets students submit work for grading.
Paid version Pro
Block editor & page builder support
Course templates and blocks for Gutenberg or page builders.
Around 40 Gutenberg blocks free; Elementor course page widgets come with paid add-ons.
Included
Quizzes & certificates 5/5
Quiz builder Key
Create quizzes with multiple question types.
Eight question types free, including matching, image choice and fill-in-the-gap.
Included
Question banks & randomisation
Reusable question pools and random questions.
Free quizzes support randomised questions and question categories.
Included
Timed quizzes & retakes
Time limits, attempts and pass marks.
Quiz timer, attempt limits, point deduction on retakes and passing grade are free.
Included
Certificates Key
Issue certificates on course completion.
Drag-and-drop certificate builder in the free plugin.
Included
Gradebook
Track grades across quizzes and assignments.
Gradebook add-on in Pro; a separate Grades feature is Pro Plus.
Paid version Pro
Selling courses 5/5
Sell courses (built-in checkout) Key
Take payments without another e-commerce plugin.
Free version takes PayPal, Stripe, offline and wire-transfer payments.
Included
WooCommerce integration
Sell courses through WooCommerce.
WooCommerce checkout integration is listed for Pro and Pro Plus only.
Paid version Pro
Subscriptions & memberships Key
Recurring access, memberships or course bundles.
Subscriptions add-on adds recurring Stripe/PayPal plans and memberships with trials.
Paid version Pro
Course bundles
Sell several courses together.
Course Bundles add-on sells several courses together at a discount.
Paid version Pro
Coupons
Discount codes for courses.
Coupons add-on supports percentage or fixed discounts with usage limits.
Paid version Pro
Students & engagement 6/6
Student dashboard Key
Front-end area showing enrolled courses and progress.
Free front-end student dashboard and profiles.
Included
Progress tracking
Lesson and course completion tracking.
Course progress tracked free; instructors can view and reset progress.
Included
Points, badges & gamification
Badges, points or leaderboards for learners.
Point System add-on rewards learners for actions.
Paid version Pro
Discussions & Q&A
Lesson comments, Q&A or forum integration.
Free Q&A between students and instructors on lessons.
Included
Student emails
Enrolment, completion and reminder emails.
Standard notification emails; editable templates need the paid Email Manager add-on.
Partial
Groups & cohorts
Group enrolment for teams, classes or companies.
Group Courses add-on sells seats to companies and teams.
Paid version Pro
Admin & reporting 3/3
Reports & analytics Key
Enrolments, completions, quiz results and revenue.
Basic analytics free; full Reports and Analytics add-on is Pro Plus.
Partial
Multiple instructors
Instructor roles and revenue sharing for course marketplaces.
Instructor registration and commission settings free; co-instructors and payouts are Pro.
Included
Import / migration
Import courses from other LMS plugins or SCORM.
SCORM and Google Classroom import add-ons require a paid licence.
Paid version Pro
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Single site
$149per year1 site
Annual licence with 1 year of updates and support; 14-day money-back guarantee.
10 sites
$299per year10 sites
Includes priority ticket support and a starter theme.
Unlimited
$599per yearUnlimited
Developer licence with priority support and starter theme; lifetime upgrades are mentioned in the docs.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use MasterStudy LMS?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
10K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
25K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~3.5K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder masterstudy-lms-learning-management-system-pro) on 580 live sites; they find the free version on 3,264 sites against about 15K WordPress.org installs, so each site found stands for about 4.6, giving 2.7K. About 15K free installs x 30% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when many key features are paid, and store owners upgrade more often) gives 4.5K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 2.9K. The vendor claims 25K+ sites in total. Taking away about 15K free installs leaves 10K, and 80% of that is 8K. Vendor totals are loose, so we only move our figure part of the way toward it, from 2.9K to 3.5K. Likely range: 2.3K to 5.3K. 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
11,097 downloads last week, 2.1M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 3.7.58 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 2 Nov 2026 (1 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.0.8 |
| Requires | WordPress 4.6+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 0 of 1 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 27 Aug 2018 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.5/5 (source, 5 Oct 2026) Shown on the vendor site from 100+ Trustpilot reviews. |
MasterStudy LMS compared
Alternatives to MasterStudy LMS
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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
Freemium WordPress LMS from ThemeGrill with a drag-and-drop builder, built-in checkout, SCORM import and migration tools from other LMS plugins.
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LifterLMS
Free, extensible WordPress LMS with courses, memberships, quizzes, certificates and drip content; payments and advanced tools via paid add-ons.
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Academy LMS
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LearnPress
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FAQ
Is MasterStudy LMS free?
Yes. MasterStudy LMS has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $149/yr.
How many sites use MasterStudy LMS?
WordPress.org reports 10K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 25K+ sites in total. We estimate around 3.5K sites run the paid version.
Does MasterStudy LMS have drag & drop course builder?
Yes: included. Free course builder for courses, sections and lessons with unlimited content.
Does MasterStudy LMS have drip & scheduled content?
Yes: paid version (Pro). Sequential Drip Content add-on unlocks with a paid licence.
Does MasterStudy LMS have quiz builder?
Yes: included. Eight question types free, including matching, image choice and fill-in-the-gap.
Does MasterStudy LMS have certificates?
Yes: included. Drag-and-drop certificate builder in the free plugin.
Does MasterStudy LMS have sell courses (built-in checkout)?
Yes: included. Free version takes PayPal, Stripe, offline and wire-transfer payments.
Does MasterStudy LMS have subscriptions & memberships?
Yes: paid version (Pro). Subscriptions add-on adds recurring Stripe/PayPal plans and memberships with trials.
Does MasterStudy LMS have student dashboard?
Yes: included. Free front-end student dashboard and profiles.
Does MasterStudy LMS have reports & analytics?
Yes: partial. Basic analytics free; full Reports and Analytics add-on is Pro Plus.
Can I sell courses with the free version of MasterStudy?
Yes. The free plugin supports PayPal, Stripe, offline and bank-transfer payments. WooCommerce checkout, coupons, bundles and subscriptions need a paid licence.
What is the difference between Pro and Pro Plus?
StylemixThemes' docs list Pro Plus as adding AI Lab, audio lessons, Google Meet, question media, social login, full reports and the Grades feature on top of the Pro add-ons.
Do I need the MasterStudy theme?
No. The plugin works with other themes and includes Gutenberg blocks, though the theme and starter templates give the most finished look.
Can I import SCORM packages?
Yes, through the SCORM add-on, which requires a paid licence.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.