Kadence vs LearnDash LMS
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Kadence v1.5.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | LearnDash LMS v4.23.2.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 500,000+ | — |
| Last updated | July 24, 2026 | — |
| Editions | Kadence · Kadence Pro ($) | LearnDash LMS ($) |
| Pros | Fast, lightweight theme with an accessible front end; Drag-and-drop header builder and breadcrumbs; Integrations with WooCommerce, LearnDash and Kadence Blocks | Course, lesson, topic and quiz structure; Groups, certificates and progress reports; Large set of shortcodes and widgets; REST API endpoints for integrations |
| Cons | Customizer promotes the paid Kadence Pro edition; Many options are spread across a large customizer | Commercial licence key needed for updates; Payment and AI features need vendor or third-party accounts; Very large codebase, around 3,000 files |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Drag-and-drop header builder, Breadcrumbs component, Local hosting of Google Fonts, WooCommerce theme support, Kadence Pro upgrade section in customizer | Course, lesson and topic content types ($), Quizzes ($), Course groups and group emails ($), PDF certificates ($), Course creation wizard ($), ProPanel reporting ($), REST API endpoints ($), Course widgets ($), AI virtual instructor (needs an OpenAI key) ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | — | Stripe ($) |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | LearnDash, Kadence Blocks, bbPress, Elementor Pro theme builder, Beaver Builder, Divi | — |
| Other | Google Fonts | OpenAI ($), TrustedLogin support access, LearnDash licensing server ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 6.3 | 6.6 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 6.9.1 | 6.8.2 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | — | translations.learndash.com, api.openai.com, licensing.learndash.com, connect.learndash.com, api.razorpay.com, auth.razorpay.com, app.trustedlogin.com, www.trustedlogin.com, status.trustedlogin.com, api.stripe.com |
| Shortcodes | — | 39 |