Premium
Build and sell WordPress courses with lessons, quizzes, assignments, memberships, payments, certificates, progression, reporting, and group learning.
Table of contents
- TL;DR
- LearnDash vs LifterLMS at a glance
- Paid-first versus free-core architecture
- Payments and memberships
- Teaching and assessment depth
- Memberships are more central to LifterLMS
- Reporting, instructors, and scale
- Pricing should be compared as a stack
- Which operating model fits each?
- Frequently Asked Questions
LearnDash and LifterLMS can both run serious WordPress training businesses, but they organize cost and functionality very differently. LearnDash starts as a paid LMS with many teaching features already included. LifterLMS starts with a capable free core, then expands through ecommerce and advanced-learning add-ons or bundles.
TL;DR
LearnDash starts at $199/year and includes assignments, quizzes, drip content, certificates, payments, subscriptions, and advanced progression in the LMS. LifterLMS Core is free and already includes courses, memberships, quizzes, certificates, engagement emails, drip content, instructors, and reporting; automated Stripe/PayPal checkout and advanced tools such as assignments require paid add-ons or bundles.
LearnDash vs LifterLMS at a glance
| Compare |  LearnDash$199/year |  LifterLMSFree core; Earth $199/year |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Premium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $199/year | Free core; Earth $199/year |
| Free version | No | Yes |
| Sites included | 1 site ($199/year); 10 sites ($399/year); unlimited sites ($799/year) | 1 site (Earth); 5 sites (Universe); unlimited sites (Infinity) |
| Lifetime option | No | No |
| Refund policy | 15-day money-back guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Setup level | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| WordPress.org rating | Not available | 4.8/5 (392) |
| Active installs | Not available | 10K+ |
| Best for | Professional course creators, training companies, schools, certification programs, and organizations that want a mature premium LMS with deep course controls and extensibility inside WordPress. | Serious WordPress course, training, and membership sites prioritizing ownership and extensibility |
| Not ideal for | Creators who require a permanent free version or want multi-instructor, gradebook, and advanced reporting features bundled into the base license. | Small protected-content courses that do not need LMS reporting, memberships, commerce, or integrations |
| Tested version | 5.0 | 10.2.1 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-25 |
| Features | ||
| Course builder | Yes Drag-and-drop course builder is included in the LearnDash LMS plugin. | Yes The free core includes the drag-and-drop course builder. |
| Quizzes | Yes Quiz Builder and advanced assessment workflows are included in the core LMS. | Yes Basic quizzes are included in the free core; advanced quiz capabilities are sold as advanced add-ons. |
| Assignments | Yes Assignments are built into LearnDash and support uploads, review, comments, and points. | Paid plan LifterLMS Assignments is a paid advanced add-on included with qualifying higher bundles. |
| Content drip | Yes Drip-feed scheduling and progression rules are built into LearnDash. | Yes Drip content is part of LifterLMS course delivery. |
| Certificates | Yes Certificates are part of the LearnDash learning workflow. | Yes Certificates and achievement badges are available in the free core engagement system. |
| Built-in payments | Yes LearnDash supports built-in Stripe and integrations including PayPal, RazorPay, 2Checkout, and WooCommerce. | 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 | Yes Recurring course subscriptions are supported in LearnDash. | Yes Recurring access plans/subscriptions are supported; automated gateway collection requires the relevant ecommerce add-on. |
| Multiple instructors | Paid plan Multi-instructor/front-end instructor management requires the paid Instructor Role add-on or a bundle that includes it. | Yes LifterLMS supports multiple instructors/teachers for courses. |
| Gradebook / reporting | Paid plan The dedicated Gradebook is a paid LearnDash add-on or bundle component. | 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 | No LearnDash is a premium-only WordPress LMS; there is a demo but no permanent free core plugin. | Yes LifterLMS Core is free and supports unlimited courses, memberships, and students. |
| AI course tools | Yes AI course outline/course creation and quiz-building tools are included in the current LearnDash product. | 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 LearnDash provides an official migration tool with documented mappings for LMS platforms including Tutor LMS, Sensei LMS, and LifterLMS; migrated course structures should still be reviewed after import. | Limited LifterLMS supports course import/export and ecosystem migration workflows, but cross-LMS migration depth varies. |
Paid-first versus free-core architecture
LearnDash has no permanent free edition. Its current plugin pricing is $199/year for one site, $399/year for ten sites, and $799/year for unlimited sites. Core LMS functionality includes the course builder, quizzes, assignments, content drip, certificates, progression controls, and ecommerce options.
LifterLMS Core is free. It supports unlimited courses, memberships, and students, with course building, quizzes, certificates, achievement badges, automated engagement emails, drip content, and learner reporting available without a paid license. The commercial model begins when you need payment gateways, deeper integrations, or advanced add-ons.
Payments and memberships
LearnDash can sell one-time courses, recurring subscriptions, memberships, and bundles, with Stripe built into the product and additional integrations for PayPal, RazorPay, 2Checkout, and WooCommerce.
LifterLMS Free lets you define paid access plans and sell manually, but automated credit-card or PayPal collection requires an ecommerce add-on. The Earth Bundle is $199/year for one site and includes Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce ecommerce add-ons. Universe is $299/year for five sites and adds more integrations; Infinity is $799/year for unlimited sites and adds the advanced add-on collection.
Teaching and assessment depth
LearnDash includes assignment workflows in the base LMS, including file submissions, instructor review, comments, and points. It also includes quiz building, certificates, drip schedules, prerequisites, video progression, challenge exams, and flexible course-access rules.
LifterLMS Free covers basic quizzes and a broad engagement system, including certificates and achievement badges. Its dedicated Assignments product is a paid advanced add-on, supporting task lists, long-answer responses, file uploads, and optional instructor grading before progression. Advanced quiz and cohort features also sit in the paid ecosystem.
Memberships are more central to LifterLMS
LifterLMS treats courses and memberships as first-class concepts in the free core. You can bundle learning access around memberships before buying a gateway add-on, then add recurring billing through the relevant ecommerce integration.
LearnDash supports memberships and group-based access as part of its course-selling stack, but organizations that want deeper group management, seat sales, instructor roles, gradebooks, or advanced analytics may need separate LearnDash add-ons or bundles.
Reporting, instructors, and scale
Both products can support multi-instructor learning. LifterLMS exposes multi-instructor capability as part of its LMS feature set. LearnDash can support dedicated instructor dashboards and commissions through the separate Instructor Role add-on.
For reporting, LifterLMS Free already tracks core learner progress. LearnDash includes course/assignment progress in the LMS, while dedicated Gradebook and ProPanel reporting are separate commercial products. The practical cost depends on whether your organization needs basic course operations or formal reporting, weighted grading, cohorts, and instructor analytics.
Pricing should be compared as a stack
At first glance, both have a $199/year paid entry point. The difference is what that payment is buying. LearnDash $199 is the LMS license itself. LifterLMS $199 is the Earth Bundle layered on top of a free core and primarily adds ecommerce connectivity. If your site can operate with manual enrollment or free courses, LifterLMS may not require a paid license at all. If you need assignments and the full advanced add-on set, the relevant LifterLMS bundle can become substantially more expensive.
Neither currently offers lifetime licensing. LearnDash lists a 15-day money-back period on its current LMS pages; LifterLMS advertises a 30-day guarantee.
Which operating model fits each?
LearnDash fits teams that want to buy a mature LMS once per subscription period and receive strong assessment, drip, progression, and ecommerce capability in the base product, then add specialized reporting or instructor products only when required.
LifterLMS fits projects that value a genuinely functional free core, memberships, learner engagement, and modular expansion. It is especially useful when you want to pay only for the gateways, integrations, or advanced teaching tools that the business actually uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LifterLMS really free?
Yes. The core LMS is free and supports courses, memberships, quizzes, certificates, engagement tools, drip content, and reporting. Automated payment gateways and many advanced features are paid add-ons.
Are assignments included in LearnDash?
Yes. Assignment submission and review are built into LearnDash. LifterLMS uses a separate paid Assignments add-on.
Can both sell subscriptions?
Yes. LearnDash supports recurring course pricing. LifterLMS supports recurring access plans, with automated collection requiring the relevant payment integration.
Compare before you choose
Use structured feature, pricing, and editorial research to compare these WordPress plugins side by side.