LifterLMS vs LearnDash LMS
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| Feature | LifterLMS v10.3.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details | LearnDash LMS v4.23.2.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 10,000+ | — |
| Last updated | October 9, 2026 | — |
| Editions | LifterLMS · LifterLMS add-ons ($) | LearnDash LMS ($) |
| Pros | Free core with courses, quizzes and memberships; Certificates, achievements, coupons and vouchers included; Page builder widgets and blocks for course pages | Course, lesson, topic and quiz structure; Groups, certificates and progress reports; Large set of shortcodes and widgets; REST API endpoints for integrations |
| Cons | Online payment gateways are paid add-ons; Core ships with a large set of custom tables; Some features depend on add-ons sold separately | Commercial licence key needed for updates; Payment and AI features need vendor or third-party accounts; Very large codebase, around 3,000 files |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Courses, sections and lessons, Quizzes and questions, Memberships, Certificate controller, Achievements post type, Coupons and vouchers, Manual payment gateway, Captcha and spam options for forms, Gutenberg block library for course pages, Add-on catalogue and license page ($) | Course, lesson and topic content types ($), 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 ($) |
| Plugins | bbPress, BuddyPress, Elementor, Beaver Builder, Bricks | — |
| Other | Google reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile, Akismet | OpenAI ($), TrustedLogin support access, LearnDash licensing server ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 5.9 | 6.6 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 6.8.2 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | make.lifterlms.com, lifterlms.com, www.google.com | 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 |
| Blocks | 18 | — |
| Shortcodes | 1 | 39 |
| Custom tables | 12 | — |