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LearnDash
by Liquid Web
LearnDash is a commercial WordPress LMS for building and selling structured courses with quizzes, assignments, memberships, payments, certificates, and reporting.
Last Updated: September 25, 2026
LearnDash is a commercial WordPress LMS for building and selling online courses with lessons, topics, quizzes, assignments, learner progress, certificates, memberships, payments, and reporting. It is aimed at creators, training companies, schools, and organizations that want the LMS to live inside their own WordPress site.
Quick take
LearnDash is best viewed as a serious course-business or training platform rather than a lightweight course plugin. The current product bundles more functionality into the base plans than older LearnDash pricing models did, including memberships and payment integrations. It is a strong fit when the team wants WordPress ownership and advanced LMS control, but the annual license is higher than many freemium LMS options.
Best fit: professional course businesses, corporate training, education providers, memberships, and structured learning programs.
Free version: no.
Current pricing: Essentials $259/year, Pro $399/year, Elite $599/year.
Course limits: the current plans advertise one license with unlimited courses and unlimited learners.
How LearnDash works
LearnDash adds dedicated course, lesson, topic, quiz, and learner-management structures to WordPress. Course creators can organize a curriculum with drag-and-drop controls, set prerequisites and progression rules, drip content, manage assignments, issue certificates, and track completion.
The platform also supports selling access directly through payment integrations and memberships. Because it runs inside WordPress, LearnDash can connect with WooCommerce, membership plugins, forms, automation tools, page builders, multilingual tools, and event plugins when a project needs a broader ecosystem.
Features that matter
Drag-and-drop course builder. Courses can be structured with lessons, topics, and quizzes without manually wiring separate WordPress pages together.
Quiz and assignment workflows. LearnDash supports assessments, assignments, progression, and grading tools, with more advanced reporting and weighted grading available on higher plans.
Focus Mode. The learner interface can provide a distraction-reduced lesson experience separate from the surrounding WordPress theme layout.
Video progression. Course creators can build progression rules around supported video workflows and combine them with lessons and completion tracking.
Memberships and payments. Current plans include membership capabilities and payment integrations such as Stripe and PayPal, allowing courses, subscriptions, bundles, and membership access to be sold from the site.
Reporting and group management. Pro expands analytics and learner reporting. Elite adds group-course management, instructor roles, front-end course creation, and multi-instructor workflows for more complex training operations.
Current pricing and plan differences
LearnDash’s pricing changed in 2026, so older articles that still quote the previous $199 single-site license can be misleading. As checked directly against the current LearnDash pricing page on September 18, 2026, Essentials costs $259 per year, Pro costs $399 per year, and Elite costs $599 per year.
Essentials covers the core LMS, memberships, payments, course building, quizzes, video progression, Focus Mode, certificates, and other foundational tools. Pro adds AI course and quiz generation, advanced reporting, enrollment tracking, weighted grading, report cards, notes, and group-leader communication. Elite adds group selling and management, instructor roles, front-end course creation, and multi-instructor management.
Who should use LearnDash?
LearnDash fits organizations that want course delivery to stay inside WordPress and need more structure than a basic lesson plugin. Training businesses, certification programs, professional education sites, internal learning portals, and larger creator businesses can benefit from its progression, reporting, group, and integration options.
LearnPress, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS, and Masteriyo are strong alternatives when a free starting point or different pricing model matters more. A hosted course platform may also be simpler for teams that do not want responsibility for WordPress hosting, updates, security, backups, and performance.
PluginSuggest verdict
LearnDash is one of the key commercial LMS products WordPress buyers expect to compare. The 2026 pricing structure makes it more of a bundled learning platform, with memberships and more tools included at the entry level. I would shortlist it for serious training or course businesses that value WordPress ownership and can justify the annual license.
LearnDash FAQs
Is LearnDash free?
No. LearnDash is a commercial WordPress LMS. The current site offers a short demo option, but the WordPress plugin itself requires a paid license.
How much does LearnDash cost in 2026?
As checked September 18, 2026, LearnDash Essentials costs $259 per year, Pro costs $399 per year, and Elite costs $599 per year.
Does LearnDash include memberships?
Yes. The current LearnDash plans include membership functionality for selling subscriptions, memberships, bundles, and course access.
Can LearnDash sell courses with Stripe or PayPal?
Yes. The current product includes payment integrations for Stripe and PayPal, and LearnDash can also integrate with WooCommerce for broader commerce workflows.
Does LearnDash support certificates and quizzes?
Yes. Quiz building, certificates, achievements, assignments, and progression tools are part of the LearnDash learning workflow, with advanced grading and reporting on higher plans.
Does LearnDash limit the number of courses or learners?
The current pricing page advertises unlimited courses and unlimited learners under one license, with plan differences focused more on features than course or learner counts.
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