About LearnDash
LearnDash is a learning management system delivered as a WordPress plugin. Site owners install it on their own WordPress site to create courses, deliver lessons, give quizzes and sell access, instead of paying for a separate hosted LMS.
It includes a drag-and-drop course builder, quizzes, memberships and e-commerce options, and the vendor highlights that there are no per-student fees. Because it runs inside WordPress, courses can be combined with any theme, plugins and content the site already uses.
LearnDash is commercial software sold under a paid license. It is not open source, but it is self-hosted by nature because the site owner runs the WordPress installation.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Quizzes and assessments
- Membership and access controls
- Course selling on WordPress
- No per-student fees
- Works with WordPress themes and plugins
Good fit for
- →Selling online courses from a WordPress site
- →Adding training to an existing membership site
- Tags
- wordpress
- lms
- online-courses
- plugin
- quizzes
- memberships
- self-hosted
LearnDash: questions and answers
- What is LearnDash used for?
- LearnDash is a WordPress plugin that adds course building, quizzes and memberships so you can sell and run online courses without per-student fees. It is a good fit for selling online courses from a WordPress site and adding training to an existing membership site.
- How much does LearnDash cost?
- Paid plans for LearnDash start at $259 per year, and there is no free plan.
- Is LearnDash open source?
- No. LearnDash is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to LearnDash include Frappe Learning, Open edX and Moodle.
- Can I self-host LearnDash?
- Yes. Although LearnDash is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers.
- What are some alternatives to LearnDash?
- LearnDash competes with Teachable, Thinkific and LearnWorlds. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source LearnDash alternatives.
Open-source alternatives to LearnDash
See all
Frappe Learning
Education & LMS
Easy to Use, 100% Open Source Learning Management System
AGPL-3.0vs Thinkific★ 3.3k
Open edX
Education & LMS
The Open edX LMS & Studio, powering education sites around the world!
AGPL-3.0vs D2L Brightspace★ 8.2k
Moodle
Education & LMS
Moodle - the world's open source learning platform
GPL-3.0vs D2L Brightspace★ 7.5k
Tutor
Education & LMS
The Docker-based Open edX distribution designed for peace of mind
AGPL-3.0vs Thinkific★ 1.1k
Chamilo LMS
Education & LMS
Chamilo is a learning management system focused on ease of use and accessibility
GPL-3.0vs D2L Brightspace★ 1k
Kolibri
Education & LMS
Kolibri Learning Platform: the offline app for universal education
MITvs Google Classroom★ 1.1k
SaaS alternatives to LearnDash
See all
Teachable
Education & LMS
Online course and coaching platform with payments and student management
SaaS
Thinkific
Education & LMS
Online course platform with a website builder and student management
SaaS
LearnWorlds
Education & LMS
Online course platform for creating, selling and hosting courses
SaaS
Kajabi
E-commerce
Platform for selling online courses, memberships and coaching with built-in marketing
SaaS
Podia
E-commerce
Storefront for courses, downloads, memberships and webinars
SaaS
TalentLMS
Education & LMS
Cloud learning management system for employee and customer training
SaaS

