Retail Price: $199
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin that lets you create and manage online courses directly on your website. You can build lessons, quizzes, and assignments using the block editor or a drag-and-drop builder, setting them up to release content over time or all at once. It works with your existing setup—whether that’s a blog or a store—so you can add courses without starting from scratch, and everything stays in your WordPress dashboard for easy access.
The plugin tracks how your learners are doing, showing their progress or quiz scores in your admin area, and lets them see it too from their own profiles. The free version doesn’t exist standalone (it’s a premium plugin), but it includes payment options like PayPal or Stripe, while add-ons or higher plans bring extras like group management or detailed reports. You can tweak how courses look with your theme, and it keeps your site fast by only loading what’s needed.
It’s useful for sites that need to teach or train—like selling courses, onboarding staff, or sharing tutorials—without relying on outside platforms. You can connect it to tools like WooCommerce for sales or Zoom for live sessions, and export settings if you’re running multiple sites. LearnDash keeps your course data local to WordPress, so you control it all, and it grows with you as your needs change.
Key Features: LearnDash
- Builds courses with lessons, topics, quizzes, and assignments in the WordPress block editor or a drag-and-drop interface.
- Releases content all at once or drips it out over days or weeks based on your schedule.
- Tracks learner progress—like completed lessons or quiz results—in your dashboard and their profiles.
- Takes payments for courses through PayPal, Stripe, or WooCommerce with one-time or recurring options.
- Creates certificates or badges for learners who finish courses or hit goals.
- Sets up groups to manage teams or classes, with leaders who can track progress (with add-ons).
- Shows detailed reports—like who’s enrolled or struggling—with the ProPanel add-on.
- Adds live sessions through Zoom or Google Meet integrations for real-time teaching (with add-ons).
- Works with SCORM or xAPI files for advanced course formats if you use third-party tools.
- Pulls in videos from YouTube, Vimeo, or your server with progress tracking tied to playback.
- Lets learners take notes on lessons if you add the Notes add-on.
- Runs lightweight by only loading course features when they’re active on a page.
- Exports course setups or imports them to move between WordPress sites.
- Stays within WordPress, keeping your data local without external hosting.