LearnDash
Premium WordPress LMS for selling and managing courses, with drip content, quizzes, certificates, groups and native Stripe/PayPal checkout.
99
MemberPress Courses
Course add-on included with every MemberPress plan, adding a curriculum builder, quizzes and certificates to MemberPress memberships.
Est. active installs~17KLikely 8.5K–34K
Price from$399/yrPremium
Overview
MemberPress Courses is the LMS add-on for MemberPress, the premium membership plugin. It is not sold separately: every MemberPress plan includes it, and course access, payments, coupons and subscriptions all run through MemberPress itself.
Courses are built in a drag-and-drop curriculum editor with sections and lessons, and lessons are ordinary block editor posts, so video embeds, downloads and other content work as on any page. The ReadyLaunch template gives learners a distraction-free course layout, a Courses listing page and a My Courses page. Progress is tracked automatically, and instructors can reset a student’s progress or quiz attempts. Lesson comments can be turned on per lesson.
Features by plan
The entry Launch plan includes unlimited courses and the curriculum builder, but adds a 4.9% transaction fee. Growth removes the fee and adds quizzes and assignments, certificates and content dripping. Scale adds the gradebook, Corporate Accounts for group or company seats, gifting and Zapier/REST API access. Quizzes support nine question types, required passing scores, retake limits and a question bank block that draws random questions.
Strengths and limitations
- Membership billing, coupons, trials and bundles come from a mature membership engine.
- Simple, clean course experience that fits sites already using MemberPress.
- Quizzes, certificates and drip need Growth; the gradebook and groups need Scale.
- No instructor roles, gamification or WooCommerce selling, and quiz time limits are not documented.
- Expensive if you only want an LMS rather than a membership site.
MemberPress Courses is the natural choice if your business is a membership site that also delivers courses. Dedicated LMS plugins are a better fit for marketplaces or testing-heavy training.
Best for: Membership site owners who want to add structured courses to the subscriptions they already sell with MemberPress.
MemberPress Courses turns MemberPress into a capable course platform with strong billing behind it. Because quizzes, certificates and drip sit in Growth and the gradebook in Scale, it is costly for LMS-first projects, but excellent value if you need MemberPress anyway.
Pros
- Included with every MemberPress plan at no extra cost
- Uses MemberPress for subscriptions, trials, coupons and bundles
- Nine quiz question types with a random question bank block
- Distraction-free ReadyLaunch course template
- LearnDash migration tool keeps progress and quiz attempts
Cons
- Quizzes, certificates and drip need the Growth plan
- Gradebook and group seats need the top Scale plan
- Entry plan charges a 4.9% transaction fee
- No instructor roles, gamification or WooCommerce selling
Key features
What MemberPress Courses highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From $399/yr
- Included with all MemberPress plans
- Drag-and-drop curriculum builder
- ReadyLaunch distraction-free template
- Automatic progress tracking
- Sell via memberships or one-time purchases
- Coupons and trials through MemberPress
- Quizzes with nine question types (Growth)
- Random question bank block (Growth)
- Assignments and certificates (Growth)
- Content dripping (Growth)
- Gradebook (Scale)
- Corporate Accounts group seats (Scale)
- LearnDash migration tool
Feature checklist
22 of 25 features we track in LMS Plugins, feature score 82/100
Course building 6/6
Drag & drop course builder Key
Build courses, sections and lessons visually.
Drag-and-drop curriculum builder with sections and lessons on all plans.
Included
Video, text & file lessons
Lessons with video, text, downloads and embeds.
Lessons are block editor posts, so video, text and downloads all work.
Included
Drip & scheduled content Key
Release lessons on a schedule or after enrolment.
Content dripping by section or item at regular intervals.
Paid version Growth
Prerequisites & sequencing
Require lessons or courses to be completed in order.
Quizzes can require a passing score to progress; no course-level prerequisites documented.
Partial
Assignments
Students submit work for instructor review.
Assignments add-on for essay or file submissions.
Paid version Growth
Block editor & page builder support
Course templates and blocks for Gutenberg or page builders.
Lessons built in the block editor, with the ReadyLaunch course template.
Included
Quizzes & certificates 5/5
Quiz builder Key
Create quizzes with multiple question types.
Nine question types including essay, matching, sorting and Likert.
Paid version Growth
Question banks & randomisation
Reusable question pools and random questions.
Question Bank block pulls a new random set of questions on each retake.
Paid version Growth
Timed quizzes & retakes
Time limits, attempts and pass marks.
Passing scores and retake limits supported; quiz time limits not documented.
Partial Growth
Certificates Key
Issue certificates on course completion.
Resettable, expirable and shareable completion certificates.
Paid version Growth
Gradebook
Track grades across quizzes and assignments.
Course Gradebook for grading quizzes and assignments.
Paid version Scale
Selling courses 4/5
Sell courses (built-in checkout) Key
Take payments without another e-commerce plugin.
Sold through MemberPress memberships or one-time purchases with its own checkout.
Included
WooCommerce integration
Sell courses through WooCommerce.
Courses are sold through MemberPress, not WooCommerce.
Not included
Subscriptions & memberships Key
Recurring access, memberships or course bundles.
Recurring memberships from MemberPress grant course access.
Included
Course bundles
Sell several courses together.
One membership can bundle several courses and other content.
Included
Coupons
Discount codes for courses.
MemberPress coupons apply to course memberships.
Included
Students & engagement 5/6
Student dashboard Key
Front-end area showing enrolled courses and progress.
My Courses page lists a logged-in student's courses.
Included
Progress tracking
Lesson and course completion tracking.
Automatic lesson progress tracking, viewable in user profiles.
Included
Points, badges & gamification
Badges, points or leaderboards for learners.
No points, badges or leaderboards.
Not included
Discussions & Q&A
Lesson comments, Q&A or forum integration.
Comments can be enabled on courses and lessons.
Included
Student emails
Enrolment, completion and reminder emails.
Course email notification settings exist, but students are not told about course changes.
Partial
Groups & cohorts
Group enrolment for teams, classes or companies.
Corporate Accounts let one buyer manage seats for a team.
Paid version Scale
Admin & reporting 2/3
Reports & analytics Key
Enrolments, completions, quiz results and revenue.
Per-student progress and quiz answers; no dedicated LMS analytics dashboard.
Partial
Multiple instructors
Instructor roles and revenue sharing for course marketplaces.
No multi-instructor roles or revenue sharing.
Not included
Import / migration
Import courses from other LMS plugins or SCORM.
Migration from LearnDash only; no SCORM import.
Partial
Pricing
Launch
$399per year1 site
First year $199.50; 4.9% transaction fee; courses and curriculum builder only (no quizzes, certificates or drip).
Growth
$699per year1 site
First year $349.50; no transaction fees; adds quizzes, assignments, certificates and drip.
Scale
$999per year1 site
First year $499.50; adds gradebook, Corporate Accounts, gifting and Zapier/REST API. Extra sites $69/yr.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use MemberPress Courses?
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
—
The vendor does not publish a total.
Estimated active installs
~17K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Premium-only and bundled with MemberPress. Assumed ~50K active MemberPress sites (no vendor count published) with 30–40% using the Courses add-on → 15K–20K, est. ~17K (low confidence). Likely range: 8.5K to 34K. 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
| Founded | 2012 (source, 5 Oct 2026) MemberPress launched in 2012 (Courses add-on came later). |
|---|---|
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
| G2 rating | 4.7/5 (source, 5 Oct 2026) As displayed on the MemberPress homepage. |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.8/5 (source, 5 Oct 2026) As displayed on the MemberPress homepage. |
MemberPress Courses compared
Alternatives to MemberPress Courses
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
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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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
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
Freemium WordPress LMS by Kodezen with front-end course building, a free quiz question bank, 47 Gutenberg blocks and many Pro add-ons.
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FAQ
Is MemberPress Courses free?
No. MemberPress Courses is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at $399/yr.
How many sites use MemberPress Courses?
We estimate around 17K active installs.
Does MemberPress Courses have drag & drop course builder?
Yes: included. Drag-and-drop curriculum builder with sections and lessons on all plans.
Does MemberPress Courses have drip & scheduled content?
Yes: paid version (Growth). Content dripping by section or item at regular intervals.
Does MemberPress Courses have quiz builder?
Yes: paid version (Growth). Nine question types including essay, matching, sorting and Likert.
Does MemberPress Courses have certificates?
Yes: paid version (Growth). Resettable, expirable and shareable completion certificates.
Does MemberPress Courses have sell courses (built-in checkout)?
Yes: included. Sold through MemberPress memberships or one-time purchases with its own checkout.
Does MemberPress Courses have subscriptions & memberships?
Yes: included. Recurring memberships from MemberPress grant course access.
Does MemberPress Courses have student dashboard?
Yes: included. My Courses page lists a logged-in student's courses.
Does MemberPress Courses have reports & analytics?
Yes: partial. Per-student progress and quiz answers; no dedicated LMS analytics dashboard.
Is MemberPress Courses sold separately?
No. It is included with every MemberPress plan, but some course features depend on which plan you choose.
Which plan do I need for quizzes and certificates?
Quizzes, assignments, certificates and content dripping need Growth or Scale. The gradebook and Corporate Accounts need Scale.
Can I migrate from LearnDash?
Yes. MemberPress documents a migration that moves courses, lessons, topics, quizzes, user progress and quiz attempts; certificates must be recreated.
Can I sell courses through WooCommerce?
No. Courses are protected and sold through MemberPress memberships and its own checkout.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.