WordPress LMS Plugins: 9 Best Compared (Pros and Cons)

Do you want to know which WordPress LMS (Learning Management System) plugin is best suited for your website?

An LMS lets you easily create and manage an online course right from a WordPress site.

Here, we’ll look at some of the best WordPress LMS (Learning Management System) plugins that are feature-rich and can handle subscriptions, test results, and student reports.

But before we talk about the best WordPress LMS Plugins, let’s see what LMS actually is. 

What Is LMS (Learning Management System)?

An LMS (Learning Management System) helps people wanting to create educational courses online take a first step in the right direction by providing them with a platform for doing so.

To add to that point, WordPress Learning Management Plugins help people create their own digital sites. Online websites are like classrooms. They’re where people go to learn new things And the best part of an LMS is that it doesn’t require the physical presence of students. Therefore, anyone can learn anything anywhere.

Apart from this, you can earn money online without much hassle too.

There are various WordPress Learning Management System (LMS) plugins available, but their basic functionality remains the same. Over the years, Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become popular in schools, Universities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and Industry Training Centers across the world.

The Difference Between a Basic Membership Site and an LMS

The simple answer: progress tracking.

A good LMS allows you to track the progress of each student, the number of questions attempted or skipped, and chapters completed.

Real-time evaluation is becoming increasingly important across all industries. It’s highly valued in domains like consultancy and sales. An LMS plugin can help make sure you’re doing everything right.

It also helps trainers and evaluators make better decisions by providing them with feedback.

However, there are so many options available in the market, it may be difficult to choose the perfect one. Let’s take a quick look at some of the top WordPress LMS plugins available in the market today.

Let’s take a quick look at the benefits of offering an online course before we get into the list.

Benefits of Using a WordPress LMS

There are several ways your business will benefit from offering online courses:

• Recurring income: Creating an online course allows you to create recurring income without having to do any work. You can create your online course and sell it with no need to spend time running it.
• Scalability: Online courses are easy to scale to reach many people without having to repeat the effort.
• Greater reach: You’ll get more exposure for your business by sharing your knowledge with more people than you would individually.
• Cost-Efficient: With a WordPress L&D platform, you can say goodbye not only to printing costs but also to travel, training venues, and more.
• Easily personalized: If your course materials are created using a WordPress LMS plugin (such as CourseKit), you have an easy way of offering users only what they’re interested in.
• Better communication: Online courses create an easy way for WordPress users to communicate with your company.

If you want to see examples, Coursera (Coursera), Edx (Edx), and Udemy (Udemy) are some of the leading educational sites in the world.

You can also create an online tutorial for your product or service so that people can learn more about it.

That’s why your WordPress LMS plugin is so important. With these tools, you can quickly and easily create online course content for YOUR target audience.

Now that you know what kind of online courses you can create, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress LMS (Learning Management System) plugins for creating online courses. let’s check out the best WordPress LMS plugins on the market today.

Best WordPress LMS Plugins

Here’s the list of some of today’s best WordPress Learning Management System (LMS) plugins.

1. LearnDash
2. Lifter LMS
3. Sensei
4. Namaste! LMS
5. LearnPress
6. WP Courseware
7. MemberPress
8. MasterStudy LMS
9. Good LMS

In this article, we’ll put light on the most prominent features of these LMS plugins. Moreover, we’ll talk about their pros, cons, and pricing plans.

1. LearnDash

LearnDash is a well-known and easy-to-install WordPress LMS plugin with lots of powerful features.

For a detailed Learn Dash review and set up instructions visit our tutorial on how to quickly create an online course with LearnDash.

To increase user engagement, it has powerful features like automated email, gamification with badges, and even certificates upon completion.

LearnPress is a WordPress Learning Management System (LMS) plugin with powerful features.

With its recent update, LearnDash now includes Focus Mode. It’s unique in Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and basically provides learners with distraction-free learning environments. You can use it for particular pages or lessons, which get rid of unnecessary clutter on your web page, such as sidebar elements. Users can still see their progress bars and have the option of hiding the navigation bar, too, if they want.

Pros:

• Create and sell an unlimited number of courses and quizzes easily.
• Drip-feed content etc. by a schedule
• Give awards to users for their contributions
• Drag and drop interface, and lots of settings and controls
• There are multiple selling options for products, including one-time purchases, subscriptions, shopping carts.
• Integrates with multiple payment gateways, such as PayPal for recurring payments
• A library of official and unofficial extensions for WordPress, and integrates with other WordPress plugins.
• Easily manage users and they can track their progress.
• Download detailed reports
• Mobile friendly

Cons:

• Lots of features are included in WordPress’ core plugin, but that may be overwhelming for some people.
• The best reporting features are not included in the basic plan

Price: LearnDash’s Basic package costs $159 annually for one site. If you want to use the ProPanel dashboard for reporting, you’ll have to choose one of the more expensive plans. The Plus package costs US$189 per year for up to 10 sites, and the Premium package costs US$329 per year for up to 25 sites. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

? Get Started with LearnDash Plugin

2. LifterLMS

LifterLMS integrates with WooCommerce. It also provides an easy-to-use drag & drops course builder, making it among the most popular choices in its niche.

Pros:

• The core plugin is entirely free
• Built-in Beaver Builder
• Integrated with payment gatew­aysto help you accept payments from customers.
• Content management system (CMS) provides a set of tools for creating, editing, publishing, and managing content across multiple channels.
• Gamification by providing course certificates and badges
• Highly scalable
• Integrated with marketing tools like MailChimp and WUFUO for improving conversion rates

Cons: 

• You have to purchase the payment gateway 
• The add-ons are some of the most expensive in the market 
• The lack of an easy-to-use user interface makes it difficult to learn how to use the product.
• Large websites may face performance issues

Price: The core plugin is free to download and use. If you want extra features, you can buy them separately. However, they are expensive, so you might be better off choosing one of the bundles.

The cheapest bundle includes all of LifterLMS’s add-ons and costs $99 per site, per year. After that, there’s the Universe bundle for $299 per year for 5 sites, and the Infinity bundle for $999 per year for an unlimited number of sites. Each of those comes with more features, too. You can also try the service for $1 for 30 days.

? Get Started with LifterLMS Plugin

3. Sensei

Sensei is a free WordPress learning management system (LMS) plugin from the company behind Jetpack and WordPress, WooCommerce, etc. It’s completely free for everyone. It claims to help you grow your network and strengthen your brand by launching an online course. The good news is that you don’t need any specialized equipment to get started.

Pros:

• It’s easy to use, even for beginners.
• Integrates seamlessly with your WordPress website
• 100% compatible with all WooCommerce themes
• It offers in-built simple course analysis that provides information on students who enroll, courses they complete, and more.
• It provides plenty of templates for you to choose from.
• Allows a great deal of automation

Cons:

• Users have experienced various issues when trying to integrate their WordPress themes with WooCommerce.
• Although it’s free, you need to add additional features and extensions to make it function properly, thus increasing the cost
• You need to use both membership or eCommerce plugins and subscription management software to sell access.

Price: This is a free plugin. However, if you want proper functionality, you’ll need to buy additional items. There are some free ones, too. Others range from $29, all the way up to $249.

? Get Started with Sensei Plugin

4. Namaste! LMS

Namaste! Another WordPress LMS plugin you can download for free is Learning Management System (LMS). It allows you to create unlimited courses and lessons and gives you flexible access to all of these. Furthermore, it allows you to post the course curriculum on your website to attract more attention from prospective students.

Pros:

• Easy creation of certificates for students after they complete courses.
• Lets you connect to exams created by WordPress plugins like Watu and Watu PRO
• Create assignments and approve or reject them
• Comes with a built-in powerful tool for analytics and statistical analysis.
• Offers a feature-rich PRO module (grading metrics, task completion badges)
• Ensures protection of files
• Integrated with impressive third-party tools like Moola Mojo, Optin Forms, and more.

Cons: 

• Can be challenging to use for a beginner 
• The free version doesn’t include essential features like delayed course materials access.

Price: The basic version of the Namaste! LMS plugin is completely free. You can choose between the free version, the premium version, and the enterprise version. It costs between $0.67–$1.37. It’s a one-time fee, so your license will never expire again. However, upgrades and maintenance are only included for one full year. After that, you can pay 40% of the full cost to receive updates and support from the company for another year.

? Get Started with Namaste! LMS Plugin

5. LearnPress 

LearnPress is one of the most user-friendly LMS plugins available in WordPress. Despite being free, this plugin comes loaded with plenty of rich features. Furthermore, because it is constantly being developed, it remains up-to-date at all times.

Pros:

• It’s fully compatible with any WordPress theme
• Supports multiple sites
• It provides an easy way to manage your course, shares it, and analyze its performance.
• Built-in support with multiple payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe
• BuddyPress allows you to communicate effectively with students.
• Offers plenty of extra features for free
• makes learning more fun by gamifying it (point systems and badges)
• No yearly recurring fees

Cons:

• Customer support could be better 
• Tends to slow down with too many users

Price: LearnPress has a free version, but also offers three premium pricing plans, ranging from $49 to $249.

? Get Started with LearnPress Plugin

6. WP Courseware

WP Courseware is among the most user-friendly LMS plugins available in WordPress. It is perfect for professional sellers who want to add online course modules to their eCommerce websites

Pros: 

• Has a built-in drag and drop builder
• It creates different types of quizzes, including blocking and non-blocking ones.
• A built-in feature for adding new users is called Instructor.
• Enables you to see the progress and performance of each student in real-time.
• Fully integrated with payment processors like PayPal and Stripe
• Prevents theft and ensures the integrity of the courses you create.
• Allows you to view grade books for better student management.

Cons: 

• Integration with an eCommerce platform is necessary to sell courses
• Some cases need membership plugins to protect the content 

Price: Prices range from $99 to $199 per year. You also get a bonus of a 2-site license for the package at $99. You can try WP Courseware risk-free for 30 days, too.

? Get Started with WP Courseware Plugin

7. MemberPress

MemberPress is a very user-friendly WordPress LMS plugin. It can be used to create online course materials, protect content, and as a platform for interaction. Coupled with powerful add-ons like LearnDash, you get a holistic, 360-degree membership and online learning solution.

Pros: 

• Protects and controls access to content 
• Allows unlimited members, memberships, and content 
• Built-in content dripping
• Provides built-in transaction management 
• Offers email autoresponder integration
• Integration with multiple payment gateways
• Offers an affiliate program
• Provides excellent customer support 
• Users can interact with each other, download information, and get real-time updates

Cons: 

• The front end could be more visually appealing
• No WooCommerce support 
• Works better in tandem with an LMS plugin than individually
• Most packages provide a low number of active installations
• Fake countdown timers displaying ‘limited time offer’

Price: Prices range between $149 for 1 site and $349 for up to 5 sites annually. The top package also comes with an affiliate program. You can give it a go for 14 days and if you don’t like it, just ask for a refund.

? Get Started with MemberPress Plugin

8. MasterStudy LMS

MasterStudy LMS plugin is one of the newest LMS plugins in the WordPress marketplace. It is easy to use, has an easy-to-use user interface, and is extremely customizable. Moreover, the core plugin is free and works excellently with other WordPress themes. They also provide ready-to-use demo templates for a practical demonstration.

Pros: 

• User-friendly and interactive interface
• Integrated with PayPal and Stripe, which is easy to set up
• Allows for recurring payments
• Provides built-in course rating feature for feedback
• Certificates upon course completion
• A built-in messaging feature that allows students to connect with instructors and course creators to solve problems together in real time.
• Offers options for multiple quizzes and countdown timers
• 24/7 customer support 
• Comes with a questions module with comprehensive FAQs
• Offers an affiliate program 
• Lessons offered via video, text, and presentations 

Cons: 

• Gamification features could be improved 

Price: The core plugin is free for download. There are three different packages available for the ‘Premium” plugin. It costs $39 for a single site, $69 for 5 sites, and $129 for 25 sites. All packages come with one year of support and updates, so there’s no need to worry about any issues. It also comes with an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee.

?Get Started with MasterStudy Plugin (free version)
?Get Started with MasterStudy Plugin (premium version)

9. Good LMS

A good LMS plugin for WordPress is one of the best available in the market. Course rating systems enable people who want to create their own courses to easily rate them. It is also one of the most affordable Learning Management Systems (LMS) plugins available.

Pros: 

• Extremely intuitive and user-friendly 
• Offers gamification through features like badges and course completion certificates.
• Create unlimited courses, quizzes, and certificates
• View real-time scores, completion rates, and generate feedback
• Easy modification of quiz taking methods, allowing diversity and retakes
• Widely integrated with payment gateways like PayPal, Authorize.net, and Stripe
• There are lots of demo pages available for students, instructors, and transaction backends.

Cons: 

• The checkout process could be improved
• Sometimes loading times are slow
• Customer support needs to be more effective

Price: The permanent license for this plugin costs $32. It includes automatic software updates and customer support for 6 months. You can extend the customer support to 12 months, but that’ll cost a little over $10.

? Get Started with GoodLMS Plugin

The Best WordPress LMS Plugins: Summary

Here are some of the best WordPressWordPress Lc(LMS) plugins in the market right now:

As there are so many LMS plugins available, choosing the right one can be quite confusing. However, if you think about all the features and functionalities you need, it becomes easier to choose one for your own use.

Some of the typical focus areas you should consider while considering an LMS plugin are:

• Course builder page
• Course progress information
• Student enrollment and management 
• Content dripping
• Tests and quizzes are available
• Automation & gamification

In the end, you should make sure to choose the LMS solution that best meets your budget and needs. 

If you want a great all-around course builder, LearnDash has everything that you need to get started right away.

However, there isn’t a free version. If your budget doesn’t stretch that far, you can use the free Lifterlms plugin. If you decide to pay for the premium version, remember that it can get expensive if you buy individual add-ons. So it’s best not to spend too much at first.

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