- WordPress LMS plugins at a glance
- Nine WordPress LMS plugins to consider
- The accessibility standard your courses should meet
- Free plugin, premium LMS or all-in-one suite?
- Plan your first course before installing anything
- Features students notice
- Keeping a course site fast and secure
- LMS plugins for coaches
- Memberships and courses together
- Moving from a hosted platform
- My plain advice on choosing a WordPress LMS plugin
- Frequently asked questions
The best WordPress LMS plugin turns your own site into a course platform: free plugins suit creators starting out, premium plugins suit course businesses that want advanced features, and some plugins handle payments without WooCommerce. Nine options follow in no particular order.
Running courses on your own WordPress site means you own the students, the content and the customer data, instead of renting space on someone else's platform.
The nine plugins below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order. Each description comes from the WordPress.org directory or the plugin's own site, read this week. If you'd rather use a hosted platform, my roundup of online course platforms covers those.
WordPress LMS plugins at a glance
In the free plan column, Yes means the plugin has a free version on the official WordPress.org directory or its own site names a free plan. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| LearnDash | Premium LMS plugin | Course businesses on their own hosting | Not stated |
| LearnPress | Free LMS plugin | Course curriculums with lessons and quizzes | Yes |
| LifterLMS | Open source LMS | Turning a site into an eLearning platform | Yes |
| Masteriyo | Self-hosted LMS | Selling courses without WooCommerce | Yes |
| MasterStudy LMS | Free LMS plugin | Turning a site into an online school | Yes |
| Sensei LMS | Course plugin by Automattic | Staff training on WordPress | Yes |
| Thrive Apprentice | Course and membership plugin | Courses inside a Thrive Themes site | Not stated |
| Tutor LMS | Lightweight course plugin | Unlimited courses and quizzes | Yes |
| WP Courseware | Course plugin | Simple course building by drag and drop | Not stated |
Nine WordPress LMS plugins to consider
LearnDash
Best for: Course creators and training companies that want a premium WordPress LMS with advanced features and a live demo to try first.
LearnPress
Best for: Creators who want a free LMS plugin for course curriculums with lessons and quizzes, plus add-ons when needed.
LifterLMS
Best for: Coaches and educators who want an open source core LMS plugin and a drag-and-drop course builder on their own site.
Masteriyo
Best for: Creators who want built-in payments, quizzes and certificates so they can sell courses without WooCommerce or platform commissions.
MasterStudy LMS
Best for: Online schools and tutors who want to turn an ordinary WordPress site into a school with course tools built in.
Sensei LMS
Best for: Teams that want a course plugin from the company behind WordPress.com, which says it runs its own staff training on it.
Thrive Apprentice
Best for: Marketers already using Thrive Themes who want courses and memberships built with the same page and theme tools.
Tutor LMS
Best for: Educators who want a lightweight plugin for unlimited courses, quizzes and interactive lessons, with a Pro version for more.
WP Courseware
Best for: Course sellers who want a dedicated WordPress plugin for creating and selling courses from a small plugin company.
The accessibility standard your courses should meet
Here's a check most course creators skip. W3C describes WCAG 2 as the shared standard for web content accessibility, and says it's also published as ISO/IEC 40500, which is available free from ISO.
Lessons, quizzes and videos all count as web content. Before you commit to a plugin, test a lesson and a quiz with a keyboard only, and check that videos can carry captions.
Free plugin, premium LMS or all-in-one suite?
Free plugins give you courses, lessons and quizzes, with add-ons for extras such as certificates or memberships. Premium LMS plugins bundle advanced features from the start. All-in-one suites combine courses with page building, memberships or marketing tools from the same company.
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If you're testing an idea, start free. If courses are your main business, a premium plugin often saves time on add-ons and support.
Plan your first course before installing anything
- Write the outcome a student should reach by the end.
- Break it into modules and short lessons.
- Decide where quizzes or assignments help learning.
- Choose how students pay or join.
- Record and caption one lesson to test your set-up.
- Run a small pilot group before a full launch.
Features students notice
- Progress tracking. Students see how far they've come.
- Mobile-friendly lessons. Easy to learn on a phone.
- Quizzes with feedback. Learning sticks better with practice.
- Certificates. Proof of completion students can share.
Keeping a course site fast and secure
Course sites have logged-in students and dynamic pages, so good hosting matters. Keep WordPress, the LMS plugin and its add-ons updated, and test lessons after every major update.
LMS plugins for coaches
If you're a coach adding a course to your services, a free plugin with simple payments is usually enough to start. Upgrade when your student numbers or course catalogue grow.
Memberships and courses together
If you plan to sell several courses, a membership often works better than selling each one separately. Some LMS plugins handle memberships themselves; others work alongside a membership plugin. Check how the two talk to each other before you build, because untangling access rules later is painful. It's worth a test enrolment on each route you'll sell through.
Moving from a hosted platform
Moving courses off a hosted platform takes planning. Export your students and content first, rebuild one course to check everything works and tell students clearly when and where their logins change. Don't switch off the old platform until you've confirmed every student has access.
Do you make WordPress LMS plugins? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing a WordPress LMS plugin
Pick the plugin that fits how you'll sell. If you sell one course at a time, choose a plugin with simple built-in payments. If you're building a membership with many courses, choose one that handles memberships well or works with your membership plugin.
Then build one short course end to end before you migrate everything. Payment, enrolment, lessons, a quiz and a certificate will show you any gaps. My guide on building an online course website covers the rest of the site.
Frequently asked questions
What is a WordPress LMS plugin?
It's a plugin that adds courses, lessons, quizzes and student management to a WordPress site.
Is there a free WordPress LMS plugin?
Yes. Several plugins on this list have a free version on the WordPress.org directory or describe a free core plugin.
Do online courses need to be accessible?
W3C's WCAG 2 is the shared standard for accessible web content, and it covers course pages, quizzes and video.
Can I sell courses without WooCommerce?
Yes. At least one plugin on this list describes built-in payments so you don't need WooCommerce.
Is a WordPress LMS better than a hosted platform?
It gives you more control and ownership, but you look after hosting, updates and security yourself.
Can a WordPress LMS issue certificates?
Some can, either built in or through add-ons. Check each plugin's features.
