LearnDash Review | WordPress LMS Pricing, Pros & Cons, Features

TL;DR: LearnDash Review (2026): Pricing, Features, AI Tools, And Who It Suits
LearnDash turns your WordPress site into a learning management system. You keep control of your content and student data, and LearnDash takes no cut of your sales. You still manage hosting, updates, and any extra tools you need for email marketing and community.

• What changed in October 2026. LearnDash now comes in a package with Kadence, The Events Calendar, and Give. Every package includes all premium features. You choose by the number of sites you need, rather than paying more to unlock reporting or group selling.
• Pricing. Packages start at $350/year for 1 site. Options cover 1, 10, 25, 50, or 100 sites. Every package includes unlimited courses and learners with no per-student fees. Billing is annual; hosting is separate.
• AI tools. The course outline and quiz builders are included across the current packages. Their OpenAI usage is billed separately through your own API account. LearnDash also supports connections to external AI tools through MCP.
• Best features. Eight quiz question types, assignments, drip content, certificates, MemberDash memberships, ProPanel reporting, Gradebook, group seat sales, and multiple instructors, including on the one-site package.
• Use it if you already work in WordPress, or you sell training to teams and need groups, grading, and reporting.
• Skip it if you want hosting, email marketing, and community handled for you, or you only need a basic course tool and will not use the wider package.

Try The LearnDash Demo For Free

I’ve used LearnDash and most of the other major WordPress LMS plugins on client sites and my own over the years. It has been my default choice for serious WordPress course sites for a long time as it gives you everything you need to build and grow a knowledge business.

But, like all WordPress LMS plugins, it also asks more of you than a hosted platform like Thinkific or Teachable because you’re responsible for managing web hosting, website themes, email marketing, and other key features of your online school.

Still, if you want your entire e-learning business to stay on WordPress, LearnDash is a great choice.

In this detailed review, I’ll explain the key strengths and weaknesses of LearnDash and help you decide if it’s the right plugin to turn your site into an online school.

LearnDash Snapshot (2026)

What buyers ask	LearnDash’s answer
What it is	A WordPress LMS plugin, owned by Liquid Web
Plans	1 site at $350/year, 10 sites at $599/year, 25 sites at $799/year, 50 sites at $899/year, 100 sites at $999/year
Free plan or trial	No free plan. A 48-hour demo site with no credit card
Transaction fees	None from LearnDash. Stripe or PayPal charge their usual fees
Courses and learners	Unlimited on every plan
Course types	Self-paced, drip-fed, timed, certificate, and group courses
Quizzes	8 question types, timers, passing scores, retakes, and question banks
Memberships	MemberDash built in on every plan
AI tools	AI Course Outline Builder and Quiz AI Builder on every current package, with your own OpenAI key
Reporting	CSV exports, ProPanel analytics, and Gradebook on every current package
Selling to teams	Group seats and multi-instructor courses on every current package
Email marketing and community	Not included. You add other tools
SCORM and xAPI	Through third-party add-ons
Best for	WordPress users, agencies, and training businesses that sell to teams

Read: The best online course platforms for serious edupreneurs

What Is LearnDash?

LearnDash is a learning management system that runs as a plugin inside WordPress. You install it on your own site, and it adds courses, lessons, topics, quizzes, assignments, certificates, and checkout to your WordPress site.

In simpler words, it turns an ordinary WordPress site into a complete online course or membership platform. LearnDash was first launched in 2013 but later Liquid Web, the hosting company behind Nexcess and the StellarWP plugin family, acquired it.

LearnDash gives you complete control over your online school’s appearance and settings, and you own all your student data and content. But that also means you own every problem that comes with a WordPress site, from a plugin conflict to a slow checkout page.

Still, if you know your way around WordPress, LearnDash is an excellent tool to run your e-learning business.

How LearnDash Changed In 2026

If you read an older LearnDash review, most of the pricing section no longer applies. Here’s what changed.

• Site-count packages replaced the feature tiers. LearnDash is now sold with Kadence, The Events Calendar, and Give. Choose a package for 1, 10, 25, 50, or 100 sites. The previous Essentials, Pro, and Elite tiers are no longer the current purchase options.
• Advanced features come with every package. ProPanel, Gradebook, Notes, group seat sales, and the Instructor Role are included even when you only license one site. A larger package buys more site activations.
• Memberships came in-house. MemberDash now ships inside every plan, so you no longer need MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro to sell tiered access.
• The entry package includes the AI builders. You no longer need a higher feature tier for the course outline and quiz tools. External AI usage still has its own costs. Existing customers should check their renewal notice and account terms rather than assume their old price is permanent.

Read: The Best WordPress LMS Plugins For Selling Courses and Memberships

LearnDash Plugin Vs StellarSites Learning (Hosted LearnDash)

You can run LearnDash in a couple of ways, but the LMS works the same in both. The difference comes down to who looks after WordPress.

1. The LearnDash plugin goes on a WordPress site you host yourself. You choose the host, theme, and plugins, and you handle updates, backups, security, and speed. This route gives you the most control and the most chores. My guide on how to create a WordPress website covers the setup.
2. StellarSites Learning bundles LearnDash with managed WordPress hosting from Liquid Web’s StellarSites service. Hosting, backups, security, and updates come with the plan, and you build courses in the same LearnDash screens. You give up some control over the server in exchange.

If you already run a WordPress site or have a developer, buy the plugin. If WordPress maintenance is what puts you off LearnDash, look at StellarSites Learning first

But if that still feels like too much, a hosted platform like Thinkific or Kajabi will suit you better.

LearnDash Pricing | How Much Does It Cost?

LearnDash now sells five annual software packages through Liquid Web and Nexcess. Each includes LearnDash, Kadence, The Events Calendar, and Give, with all premium features. The only difference between the listed packages is how many WordPress sites you can activate them on. Courses and learners remain unlimited, with no per-student or LearnDash transaction fees.

• 1 site: $350/year. All included plugins and premium features on one WordPress site.
• 10 sites: $599/year. The same features across up to 10 sites.
• 25 sites: $799/year. The same features across up to 25 sites.
• 50 sites: $899/year. The same features across up to 50 sites.
• 100 sites: $999/year. The same features across up to 100 sites.

Which LearnDash Plan Should You Buy?

Your situation	Plan to start with	Why
You run one course or membership website	1 site	All features, including reporting and memberships, on one site
You sell team training or use several instructors on one website	1 site	Group seats and instructor tools are included; learner numbers do not determine your package
You run 2–10 course websites	10 sites	Covers up to 10 site activations with the same features
You manage a larger portfolio	25 sites, 50 sites, or 100 sites	Choose by the number of sites you need, not the feature set

For one course website, start with 1 site. That already includes reporting, weighted grading, memberships, group seats, and multi-instructor tools. Agencies should choose the smallest package that covers their active sites. There is no reason to buy a larger package just to unlock a learning feature.

The Real Cost Of Running LearnDash

The license is only one line in the budget. A working LearnDash site usually adds these costs.

• Hosting. A shared host often struggles once learners log in at the same time. Plan on managed WordPress hosting.
• Theme or page builder. Kadence is included in the package, so you do not need a separate theme purchase to get started. Budget extra only if you prefer another premium theme or builder.
• Email marketing. LearnDash sends notifications only. Newsletters and sales sequences need one of the email marketing platforms I cover.
• Community. LearnDash has no built-in community. You add bbPress, BuddyBoss, or one of the online community platforms.
• OpenAI usage. The AI builders bill your OpenAI account per request. The cost per course is small, though OpenAI needs a card on file.
• Specialist add-ons. SCORM, xAPI, and some integrations come from third-party plugins with their own licenses.

Add those up and a LearnDash site can cost about the same as a mid-tier hosted platform. The difference is that you own the stack and pay no share of your revenue as you grow.

Free Trial And Refunds

LearnDash has no free plan. You can request a 48-hour demo site with no credit card, which gives you a hands-on look at the admin screens. Liquid Web’s refund policy page lists a 30-day refund window on the first purchase of an annual plan. You need to submit a refund request, because cancelling alone doesn’t trigger one. Check the terms at checkout, since third-party reports describe a shorter window.

Licenses renew each year at the current price, so budget for possible increases at renewal.

Read: LifterLMS vs. LearnDash: Which Is the Best WordPress LMS?

LearnDash Features: What Works And What Falls Short

1. Course Builder

The online course builder in LearnDash gives you all the tools you need to create the content of your courses.

A setup wizard walks you through your first course by asking what kind of course you plan to build, whether you’ll charge for it, and which payment method you want.

Then it creates registration, login, and profile pages for you.

LearnDash offers four course types out of the box.

• Simple courses. Video or text lessons without quizzes or certificates.
• Certificate courses. Courses with quizzes and a certificate at the end.
• Timed courses. Access that expires after a set period.
• Group courses. Courses that a group leader manages for a team.

The builder organizes content into courses, lessons, topics, quizzes, and assignments. You drag items to reorder them, and the Shared Course Steps option lets you reuse one lesson in several courses without copying it.

Lessons use the WordPress block editor, so you can add video, audio, images, PDFs, and any block your theme or page builder supplies. LearnDash adds its own blocks for course grids, progress bars, and enrollment buttons.

Each course has settings for access, price, prerequisites, points, and expiry. You can require learners to finish one course before they start another, release lessons on a drip schedule, and force video progression so they can’t skip ahead.

Where it falls short. The builder lives inside WordPress, so it feels familiar to WordPress users and cluttered to everyone else. The look of your course pages also depends on your theme. Expect to spend time on design that a hosted platform handles for you.

2. Selling Courses And Memberships

LearnDash gives each course or group one of five access modes.

• Open. Anyone can view the content without an account.
• Free. Learners register and enroll at no cost.
• Buy now. A one-time payment through Stripe or PayPal.
• Recurring. A subscription payment for ongoing access.
• Closed. Enrollment through an admin, a group, a membership, or a shopping cart.

MemberDash, now part of every plan, adds the membership layer. You can build free, basic, and premium tiers, sell monthly or yearly subscriptions and course bundles, drip content by membership level, and let members update their own payment details.

A revenue view shows which courses and subscriptions earn the most. My membership site platforms guide compares this approach with dedicated tools.

If you want more checkout control, LearnDash connects with WooCommerce, ThriveCart, and SamCart, plus MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, and Restrict Content Pro.

Where it falls short. LearnDash’s own checkout is basic, with no order bumps, upsells, or sales funnels. You need WooCommerce or a cart like ThriveCart for those. LearnDash’s plan pages don’t list an affiliate program for your courses either, so plan on a separate affiliate plugin.

3. Quizzes And Assessments

Quizzes are LearnDash’s strongest feature, and the reason many training companies choose it. You get eight question types.

• Single choice
• Multiple choice
• Free choice
• Sorting choice
• Matrix sorting choice
• Fill in the blank
• Assessment (survey-style scales)
• Essay, with manual grading

Each quiz has settings for a passing score, time limit, number of retakes, saved progress, randomized questions, and question pools. You can release a quiz on enrollment, after a delay, or on a set date, and you can require other quizzes first.

Quiz statistics show attempts, scores, and time spent, and you can export them to CSV. You can also email results to learners and admins and show a leaderboard. If you’re new to assessment design, my guide on how to create quizzes covers the basics.

Where it falls short. The quiz settings screens are long and easy to get lost in. Essay grading is manual, and LearnDash has no built-in proctoring beyond its plagiarism check.

4. Assignments, Certificates, And Gamification

Learners can upload files or text as assignments, and you or a group leader can review and grade them. The certificate builder lets you design certificates and award them for courses, quizzes, or groups. Badges and points round out the gamification, and you can require a set number of points before a learner enrolls in another course.

Focus mode hides the rest of your site during a lesson, so learners see only the course content and navigation. That small feature does a lot for completion on a busy WordPress site.

Where it falls short. The built-in badges and points cover the basics. For levels, streaks, or site-wide leaderboards, you’ll need a gamification plugin such as GamiPress.

5. Reporting And Analytics

Every current package includes both CSV exports of course progress and quiz results and ProPanel reporting. You no longer have to upgrade from an entry feature tier to get the reporting dashboard.

ProPanel shows enrollments, course completion rates, quiz performance, and individual learner progress inside WordPress. Gradebook adds weighted grades and custom report cards, while Notes supports private student notes and group leader messages. These features are included even on the one-site package.

Where it falls short. Revenue reporting is thin outside MemberDash, and LearnDash has no cohort or funnel analytics. If you need SCORM or xAPI tracking for corporate clients, you’ll need a third-party add-on such as Tin Canny. My piece on whether SCORM matters for selling online courses explains when that’s worth the effort.

6. Groups And Selling To Teams

Groups are LearnDash’s answer to B2B training. Every current package lets you sell seats to a company and give its group leaders tools to manage enrollment and track learner progress.

The Instructor Role is also included across the current packages. Outside instructors can build courses from the front end without access to your WordPress dashboard. Several instructors can work on one course, and learners can rate and review courses.

Where it falls short. You still need to configure group access, checkout, and instructor permissions. A single training site can use 1 site at $350/year, but hosting and implementation cost extra. Confirm how you will pay outside instructors before building your business around revenue sharing.

7. Integrations

LearnDash lists integrations with Elementor, WooCommerce, The Events Calendar, Gravity Forms, bbPress, ThriveCart, SamCart, MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, and multilingual plugins. The wider WordPress world adds Zapier connectors, H5P for interactive content, and dozens of third-party LearnDash add-ons.

Where it falls short. Every extra plugin adds a dependency. When a theme, a page builder, and three add-ons update in the same week, something can break. Keep a staging site and test updates before they go live.

8. Support

LearnDash offers a help center, a knowledge base, and ticket and chat support for license holders. Because LearnDash sits on WordPress, support stops at the plugin. Problems that come from your host, theme, or other plugins are yours to solve, often with a developer.

LearnDash AI Features And Capabilities (2026)

LearnDash’s built-in course outline and quiz builders focus on drafting course structure and assessments. Separately, its MCP connection lets external AI tools carry out supported course and admin tasks. That’s a different approach from platforms like Kajabi and Teachable, which build AI into content writing, translation, and site setup.

The course outline and quiz builders are included across the current packages. To use them, connect your own OpenAI API key under LearnDash LMS settings in the AI Integrations tab. API usage is billed separately by OpenAI; buying more site licenses does not include an AI usage allowance.

LearnDash also offers MCP support for external AI assistants. With the right setup and permissions, an assistant can create or update courses, lessons, and topics, manage enrollments, and change course settings. This is separate from the two built-in AI builders. Supported actions depend on LearnDash’s REST API.

AI Course Outline Builder

You enter a course title, the number of lessons you want, and a short description. The builder sends that to OpenAI and creates a new course with lesson titles in place. LearnDash’s knowledge base says it uses the GPT-3.5 Turbo model and gives a cost estimate of well under a cent for ten courses with ten lessons each.

What you get back is a skeleton. The builder creates lesson titles only. It doesn’t write lesson content, add topics, or create quizzes, so you still write every lesson yourself or with another tool.

Where it falls short. The model is old by 2026 standards, and you can’t pick a newer one in the builder. For a course you plan to sell, I’d treat the output as a list of ideas to edit, because the structure of a course is where your expertise matters most.

Quiz AI Builder

The Quiz AI Builder works from a course you already built. You pick the course and, if you like, a lesson or topic. Then you choose one or more question types, set how many questions of each type you want, and add a short description of the quiz. The builder writes the questions and answers and adds them to a new or existing quiz.

Every question stays editable, so you can rewrite, delete, or reorder the results before you publish.

Where it falls short. OpenAI limits how much text one request can return, so large batches can fail. LearnDash’s own advice is to ask for fewer questions. The builder also writes from your course text, so thin lessons produce thin questions.

What LearnDash AI Can’t Do

Knowing the gaps helps you plan the rest of your AI workflow.

• The outline builder does not write complete lessons. For lesson drafts, scripts, or summaries, use an external AI tool and review the results before publishing.
• No AI tutor or chat assistant for learners inside the course.
• No transcripts, subtitles, or translations. Video work happens in your video host or another tool.
• No AI for sales pages or emails. That depends on your theme, page builder, and email platform.
• AI usage is separate from your license. Every package includes the builders, but you still need to configure and pay for the external AI service they use.

Third-party plugins fill some of these gaps. AI Copilot for LearnDash, for example, adds an AI tutor, quiz generation, and alerts for struggling learners, and the WordPress plugin directory lists AI question builders for LearnDash. They run on your own AI keys too, so test them on a staging site and check how they handle learner data.

How LearnDash AI Compares With Teachable And Kajabi

AI capability	LearnDash	Teachable	Kajabi
Course outline	Yes, course outlines on all current packages	Yes, with lesson drafts	Yes, through Cofounder
Quiz questions	Yes, on all current packages	Yes	Not listed among its AI tools
Lesson and content writing	Through an external AI tool and MCP; not the outline builder	Yes	Yes
Subtitles and translations	No	Yes	Yes, with AI credits
AI model	Your OpenAI key	Included	Included, with credit limits on some tools
Connects to Claude or other AI apps	Yes, through LearnDash MCP	Yes, through Teachable’s MCP beta	Yes, through Kajabi’s MCP

The table favors the hosted platforms, and that’s fair. LearnDash’s advantage lies elsewhere. You pay OpenAI pennies for what you use, you keep your content on your own site, and you can use any AI tool you like next to WordPress. For a lot of course creators, ChatGPT or Claude in another tab does more than any built-in builder.

LearnDash AI Use Cases

Here’s where the AI builders earn their place, and where they stop helping.

Turning A Workshop Into A Course Outline

Who it’s for. Coaches and trainers who teach a live workshop and want a self-paced version.

What happens. You paste the workshop title and a description of what it covers, set eight lessons, and the builder creates the course with lesson titles in place.

What changes. You skip the blank-page stage and start editing a structure in a few minutes.

Where you hit a wall. The outline knows nothing about your workshop beyond your description. Expect to rename, merge, and reorder most lessons.

Building Quiz Banks For Compliance Training

Who it’s for. Training businesses that sell certification or compliance courses to teams.

What happens. You finish the course content, then run the Quiz AI Builder per lesson with a mix of single choice and fill-in-the-blank questions.

What changes. You build a large question pool fast, and randomized pools make each attempt different for learners who retake the quiz.

Where you hit a wall. The questions only match the accuracy of your lessons. For regulated topics, a subject expert still needs to check every answer.

Speeding Up Client Academy Builds

Who it’s for. Agencies and freelancers who build LearnDash sites for clients.

What happens. You draft outlines and starter quizzes from the client’s brief so the client reviews a working course instead of a document.

What changes. Client feedback starts earlier, and the review conversation happens inside the real course structure.

Where you hit a wall. Each client site needs an available site activation in your package. API usage runs on whichever OpenAI key you connect, so agree on whose account pays before you start.

Refreshing An Old Course

Who it’s for. Creators with older courses that need new assessments.

What happens. You generate new quiz questions from the existing lessons and add them to the current quizzes as an extra question pool.

What changes. Returning learners face new questions, and you spot lessons that produce weak questions, which often points to lessons that need rewriting.

Where you hit a wall. The builder works from the text in your lessons. If your lessons are mostly video with little text, it has little to work with.

Pairing LearnDash With ChatGPT Or Claude

Who it’s for. Anyone who needs full lesson drafts, scripts, or summaries.

What happens. You build the outline in LearnDash, draft lessons in ChatGPT or Claude, and paste the edited text into the block editor.

What changes. You get the writing help LearnDash lacks while keeping your content on your own site.

Where you hit a wall. Copying text between tools takes time, and LearnDash has no connection to AI apps the way Kajabi and Teachable now offer.

LearnDash User Experience

For Admins

If you know WordPress, LearnDash feels like home. Courses, lessons, quizzes, and settings all sit in one LearnDash menu in the dashboard.

If you don’t know WordPress, the learning curve comes from WordPress more than LearnDash. You’ll deal with hosting, themes, plugins, caching, and updates before you publish a lesson. LearnDash includes course templates for subjects like fitness, photography, and SEO to speed up design.

For Learners

Learners see a clear course structure with sections, lessons, and topics, plus progress bars and completion status. Focus mode keeps them on the lesson, and the course pages work on phones and tablets because they follow your responsive theme.

Course grids and lists let you show your catalog in an organized way on any page.

The learner experience depends heavily on your theme and hosting. A fast host and a clean theme make LearnDash feel polished. A cheap host and a cluttered theme make it feel slow and dated, and learners tend to blame the course. LearnDash has no native learner app in its plans, so mobile learning happens in the browser.

LearnDash Pros And Cons

Pros	Cons
You own the site, data, and revenue, with no transaction fees	You run WordPress hosting, updates, and security yourself
Unlimited courses and learners on every plan	No free plan and no monthly billing
Eight quiz types with deep settings	Quiz and course settings screens feel cluttered
MemberDash memberships included on every plan	No built-in email marketing or community
ProPanel, Gradebook, and Notes included on every package	Higher entry price; all four plugins come as a package
Seat-based group selling for B2B training	Hosting, setup, and instructor payment arrangements still need attention
Works with almost any WordPress theme and many plugins	Each added plugin adds upkeep and conflict risk
AI outline and quiz tools cost pennies to run	AI drafts outlines and quizzes only, on an older model

LearnDash Alternatives | What Other Platforms Can You Try

Platform	Type	Starting price	Choose it over LearnDash if
LifterLMS	WordPress plugin	Free core plugin. Earth Bundle from $398/year	You want a free core plugin and pay only for the add-ons you need
AccessAlly	WordPress plugin	Essentials from $2,999/year	Memberships, CRM tagging, and gated content drive your business
BuddyBoss	WordPress platform	Start from Plan discontinued/year	Community sits at the center of your learning business
MemberPress	WordPress plugin	Launch from $399/year	You sell memberships first and courses second
Thinkific	Hosted platform	$82/month on annual billing	You want hosting, checkout, and community without WordPress
LearnWorlds	Hosted platform	$24/month on annual billing	You want interactive video and assessments without WordPress
Kajabi	Hosted all-in-one	$143/month on annual billing	You want email, funnels, community, and courses in one login

I split the alternatives into two groups. The first four run on WordPress, so you keep the ownership LearnDash gives you. The last three are hosted platforms for creators who want to stop managing WordPress altogether.

WordPress Alternatives To LearnDash

1. LifterLMS is LearnDash’s closest rival. Its core plugin is free, and paid bundles such as Earth Bundle add memberships, groups, and integrations. You start at zero and pay as your needs grow, which suits creators testing their first course. I compare the two in detail in LearnDash vs LifterLMS, and my LifterLMS review covers it on its own.

2. AccessAlly treats courses as part of a membership business. It ties course access to tags in your CRM, with direct integrations for ActiveCampaign, Kit, Keap, and Ontraport, so a purchase or a quiz result can trigger the right email sequence. It costs far more than LearnDash, from $2,999/year at renewal, and the built-in LMS starts on Pro. Pick it if your business runs on CRM automation. My AccessAlly review covers the details.

3. BuddyBoss turns WordPress into a community platform with profiles, groups, forums, and messaging, plus its own courses and memberships. Many course creators run BuddyBoss and LearnDash together, using BuddyBoss for community and LearnDash for courses. If community matters more to you than deep quiz settings, BuddyBoss can stand alone. Hosting and the branded mobile app cost extra. Read my BuddyBoss review for the full picture.

4. MemberPress is a membership plugin with its own course add-on, MemberPress Courses. It handles paywalls, subscriptions, coupons, and content rules well, and its course builder covers lessons, quizzes, and certificates at a simpler level than LearnDash. Pick it if recurring memberships drive your revenue. Note that Launch accepts Stripe only and adds transaction fees, so most course businesses land on Growth at $699/year. LearnDash also integrates with MemberPress, so you can run both. My MemberPress review covers it in depth.

Hosted Alternatives To LearnDash

If WordPress upkeep is what puts you off LearnDash, a hosted platform takes it away. You give up some control and, on some plans, pay transaction fees, but you never touch a server.

5. Thinkific is the closest hosted match for a LearnDash course site. It covers courses, quizzes, checkout, and community, with no transaction fees on its paid plans. Start with my Thinkific review.

6. LearnWorlds comes closest to LearnDash on assessments and adds interactive video, ebooks, and SCORM uploads on higher plans, which suits training businesses that sell to companies. Watch for the $5 per paid enrollment per-sale fee on Starter. My LearnWorlds review goes deeper.

7. Kajabi replaces the whole WordPress stack, including email marketing, funnels, community, and courses, in one login. It costs more each month than any of the others here, and its quizzes are basic next to LearnDash. See my Kajabi review for whether that trade makes sense.

For a wider comparison, my roundup of the best online course platforms covers these and more side by side. Teams that sell compliance training to companies should also look at a business LMS such as TalentLMS.

Is LearnDash Right For You?

LearnDash remains one of the most complete LMS plugins for WordPress. The October 2026 packages make its advanced learning tools available from the entry package, including ProPanel, Gradebook, memberships, group seats, and multiple instructors. The trade-off is a higher starting price and a four-plugin package you must buy even if you only want LearnDash. That can be good value for a training business or agency, but harder to justify for a simple solo course site.

• Choose LearnDash if you run WordPress already, you want to own your platform and data, or you sell training to teams and need groups, grading, and reporting.
• Choose StellarSites Learning if you want LearnDash without managing WordPress hosting yourself.
• Choose a hosted platform if you want email, community, and checkout in one place, or you’d rather spend your time on content than plugin updates.
• Don’t choose LearnDash for its AI. Its AI tools help at the margins, and hosted platforms do far more with AI today.

My rating is 4.3 out of 5. LearnDash earns high marks for quizzes, course control, and ownership. It loses points for the WordPress upkeep, the missing email and community tools, and AI features that trail the hosted platforms. If you’re still deciding how to package your first course, start with my guide on how to create and sell an online course.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much does LearnDash cost in 2026?

LearnDash offers 1 site at $350/year, 10 sites at $599/year, 25 sites at $799/year, 50 sites at $899/year, 100 sites at $999/year. All five packages include LearnDash, Kadence, The Events Calendar, and Give with all premium features, unlimited courses, and unlimited learners. Hosting and external services cost extra. Packages for more than 100 sites are available by contacting sales.

Is LearnDash free?

No. LearnDash has no free plan. You can request a 48-hour demo site without a credit card, and Liquid Web lists a 30-day refund window on the first purchase of an annual plan.

Does LearnDash have AI features?

Yes. Every current package includes the AI Course Outline Builder and Quiz AI Builder. Both use your own OpenAI API key. The outline builder drafts course structure, and the quiz builder generates questions from your content. LearnDash also offers MCP connections for supported tasks through external AI tools.

Does LearnDash AI write lesson content?

The built-in AI Course Outline Builder creates lesson titles, not full lessons. You can draft lesson content with an external AI tool; LearnDash MCP supports creating or updating lessons through compatible assistants.

How much does the LearnDash AI cost to use?

LearnDash doesn’t charge extra for the AI builders, but OpenAI bills your account for each request. LearnDash estimates the outline builder costs well under a cent for ten courses with ten lessons each. Quiz generation costs vary with the number of questions.

Does LearnDash include memberships?

Yes. MemberDash comes with every LearnDash plan. It lets you create membership tiers, sell subscriptions and course bundles, drip content by membership level, and let members manage their own accounts.

Does LearnDash charge transaction fees?

No. LearnDash takes no share of your sales. Your payment processor, such as Stripe or PayPal, charges its standard fees.

Does LearnDash support SCORM and xAPI?

Not by default. You need a third-party add-on such as Tin Canny to upload SCORM or xAPI content and track it.

Can I sell courses to companies with LearnDash?

Yes. Group seat sales and group management are included in every current package, including the one-site option. Company group leaders can manage enrollment and track their teams’ progress.

Does LearnDash include email marketing or a community?

No. LearnDash sends course notifications, such as completion and quiz result emails. For newsletters and sales emails, you need an email platform. For community, you add a plugin such as bbPress or BuddyBoss or a separate community tool.

Do I need hosting for LearnDash?

Yes, for the plugin. LearnDash runs on a WordPress site you host. If you’d rather not manage hosting, StellarSites Learning bundles LearnDash with managed WordPress hosting.

Is LearnDash good for beginners?

It suits beginners who already know WordPress. If you’ve never run a WordPress site, a hosted platform such as Thinkific or Teachable gets you selling faster.

Jeff Cobb, Founder of Learning Revolution

Jeff Cobb is an expert in online education and the business of adult lifelong learning. Over the past 20+ years he has built a thriving career based on that expertise – as an entrepreneur, a consultant, an author, and a speaker. Learning Revolution is a place where Jeff curates tips, insights, and resources to help you build a thriving expertise-based business. Learn more about Jeff Cobb here.