RecommendedFreemium
Turns WordPress into an e-learning site for creating and managing online courses through a dedicated LMS workflow and lessons.
Table of contents
- TL;DR
- Tutor LMS vs LifterLMS at a glance
- Both start free, but the free products are not identical
- Commerce is native in Tutor LMS and modular in LifterLMS
- Instructor marketplaces and front-end operations
- Assignments, gradebooks, and advanced teaching tools
- Pricing and lifetime licensing
- Which model fits each?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Practical decision notes
Tutor LMS and LifterLMS both let you start with a free WordPress LMS, but the upgrade paths are very different. Tutor LMS Pro turns the product into a front-end, marketplace-friendly course platform with native ecommerce. LifterLMS keeps a broader free core and sells payment gateways, integrations, and advanced teaching tools through bundles and add-ons.
TL;DR
Tutor LMS is easier to price when you know you want the complete Pro feature set: $199/year for one site, $399 for ten, or $799 unlimited, with lifetime options. LifterLMS is more modular: the LMS core is free, Earth adds ecommerce at $199/year, Universe expands integrations at $299, and Infinity adds the advanced add-on library at $799.
Tutor LMS vs LifterLMS at a glance
| Compare |  Tutor LMSFree; Pro Individual $199/year |  LifterLMSFree core; Earth $199/year |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free; Pro Individual $199/year | Free core; Earth $199/year |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Sites included | 1 site (Individual); 10 sites (Business); unlimited sites annual (Agency) | 1 site (Earth); 5 sites (Universe); unlimited sites (Infinity) |
| Lifetime option | Yes | No |
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Setup level | Beginner-friendly | Intermediate |
| WordPress.org rating | 4.4/5 (589) | 4.8/5 (392) |
| Active installs | 100K+ | 10K+ |
| Best for | Course businesses and multi-instructor learning sites wanting a modern WordPress LMS with native commerce | Serious WordPress course, training, and membership sites prioritizing ownership and extensibility |
| Not ideal for | Very small protected-content courses that do not need LMS dashboards, commerce, or instructor operations | Small protected-content courses that do not need LMS reporting, memberships, commerce, or integrations |
| Tested version | 4.0.9 | 10.2.1 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-25 |
| Features | ||
| Course builder | Yes Tutor LMS Free includes course creation; Pro adds the front-end drag-and-drop course builder and deeper instructor workflows. | Yes The free core includes the drag-and-drop course builder. |
| Quizzes | Yes Core quiz functionality is available in Free; Pro expands assessment capabilities and reports. | Yes Basic quizzes are included in the free core; advanced quiz capabilities are sold as advanced add-ons. |
| Assignments | Paid plan Assignments are a Pro feature/add-on. | Paid plan LifterLMS Assignments is a paid advanced add-on included with qualifying higher bundles. |
| Content drip | Paid plan Content Drip is included with Tutor LMS Pro. | Yes Drip content is part of LifterLMS course delivery. |
| Certificates | Paid plan Certificate Builder and branded certificates are Pro features. | Yes Certificates and achievement badges are available in the free core engagement system. |
| Built-in payments | Yes Tutor LMS now has native eCommerce for selling courses; advanced subscriptions, memberships, and broader monetization workflows are positioned in Pro. | Paid plan The free core can create pricing/access plans but does not natively process Stripe/PayPal; payment gateway add-ons start with the Earth Bundle. |
| Subscriptions / memberships | Paid plan Course subscriptions and site-wide membership are Pro monetization features. | Yes Recurring access plans/subscriptions are supported; automated gateway collection requires the relevant ecommerce add-on. |
| Multiple instructors | Paid plan Multi-instructor marketplace functionality is a Pro feature. | Yes LifterLMS supports multiple instructors/teachers for courses. |
| Gradebook / reporting | Paid plan Gradebook is included with Pro. | Limited Core reporting tracks learner progress; dedicated advanced assignment/assessment reporting depends on paid add-ons rather than a single standalone core gradebook feature. |
| Free core | Yes Tutor LMS has a permanent free WordPress.org version. | Yes LifterLMS Core is free and supports unlimited courses, memberships, and students. |
| AI course tools | Paid plan AI Studio is included in paid plans and requires the user’s OpenAI API key. | Limited LifterLMS can connect to AI workflows through its MCP and external AI tools, but it does not center the core LMS around a bundled native AI course generator. |
| Migration tools | Yes Tutor LMS provides a free migration tool for moving data from LMS products including LearnDash, LearnPress, and LifterLMS. | Limited LifterLMS supports course import/export and ecosystem migration workflows, but cross-LMS migration depth varies. |
Both start free, but the free products are not identical
Tutor LMS Free covers course creation, lessons, quizzes, student dashboards, and the core learning workflow. Tutor 4 also has native ecommerce as part of the platform direction, while subscriptions, memberships, assignments, certificates, content drip, gradebook, advanced analytics, multi-instructor tools, and AI Studio are part of Pro.
LifterLMS Core includes unlimited courses, memberships, students, quizzes, drip content, certificates, achievement badges, engagement emails, instructors, and reporting. You can define paid access plans in Free, but automated Stripe or PayPal collection requires an ecommerce add-on.
Commerce is native in Tutor LMS and modular in LifterLMS
Tutor LMS has moved strongly toward a native ecommerce architecture: checkout, payments, taxes, coupons, order management, refunds, course subscriptions, and site memberships can live inside the LMS rather than relying on WooCommerce as the central transaction layer.
LifterLMS uses its Access Plans system for pricing and enrollment logic, then connects to Stripe, PayPal, WooCommerce, Authorize.Net, or other selling workflows through paid add-ons. The Earth Bundle includes the main ecommerce add-ons, while higher bundles add CRM, form, and advanced-learning extensions.
Instructor marketplaces and front-end operations
Tutor LMS Pro is particularly focused on front-end course creation and multi-instructor marketplaces. Instructors can work from dedicated dashboards, and Pro adds commission-oriented marketplace functions, course bundles, reports, communications, and other operational tools.
LifterLMS supports multiple instructors and can serve coaching, membership, cohort, and training use cases. Its ecosystem is less centered on a marketplace-style front-end creator experience and more on combining the free LMS with the specific engagement, group, ecommerce, or integration modules an organization needs.
Assignments, gradebooks, and advanced teaching tools
Tutor LMS puts assignments, gradebook, certificates, content drip, prerequisites, advanced analytics, and other teaching features into Pro. Every annual Pro tier includes the same feature set; site count is the primary licensing difference.
LifterLMS separates several advanced tools into dedicated add-ons. Assignments, advanced quizzes, cohorts, groups, private areas, advanced video, continuing education, PDFs, social learning, and similar extensions are bundled primarily at higher plan levels. This is useful when you want modular control, but the full stack should be priced against the exact teaching model you plan to run.
Pricing and lifetime licensing
Tutor LMS annual pricing is $199 for one site, $399 for ten sites, and $799 for unlimited sites. Lifetime pricing is currently $499 for one site, $999 for ten sites, and $1,999 for up to fifty sites.
LifterLMS Core remains free. Earth is $199/year for one site, Universe $299/year for five sites, and Infinity $799/year for unlimited sites. LifterLMS does not currently offer a lifetime license. Both vendors advertise a 30-day refund period, subject to their published conditions.
Which model fits each?
Tutor LMS fits course businesses that expect to use a front-end instructor workflow, marketplace tools, native ecommerce, subscriptions, certificates, assignments, and analytics together and want one Pro feature bundle.
LifterLMS fits teams that want a strong no-cost LMS and membership foundation first, then prefer to add gateways, integrations, cohorts, assignments, or advanced engagement tools only when those requirements become real.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do both have free versions?
Yes. Tutor LMS and LifterLMS both have permanent free WordPress.org plugins.
Does Tutor LMS offer lifetime licenses?
Yes. Tutor LMS currently offers lifetime plans. LifterLMS currently uses annual bundle licensing.
Are assignments free in either product?
Assignments are paid in both ecosystems: Tutor LMS includes them in Pro, while LifterLMS uses its paid Assignments add-on.
Practical decision notes
Tutor LMS is positioned around course businesses and multi-instructor learning sites wanting a modern WordPress LMS with native commerce, while LifterLMS is positioned around serious WordPress course, training, and membership sites prioritizing ownership and extensibility. That difference is more useful than counting features: map the product to the workflow your site actually needs to run every week.
Watch the fit: Tutor LMS is less suitable when very small protected-content courses that do not need LMS dashboards, commerce, or instructor operations. LifterLMS is less suitable when small protected-content courses that do not need LMS reporting, memberships, commerce, or integrations. Treat those limits as implementation checks rather than absolute drawbacks.
Before switching or buying: Tutor LMS currently lists Free; Pro Individual $199/year; LifterLMS currently lists Free core; Earth $199/year; the setup profiles are Tutor LMS: beginner-friendly and LifterLMS: intermediate. Recheck the vendor pricing page, then test the actual payment, email, permissions, automation, and data-migration path your production site depends on.
Compare before you choose
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