LearnDash is a WordPress LMS plugin for building and selling online courses. Course creators, schools and training businesses use it to run lessons, quizzes and certificates on their own site. If you only need part of it, you can get a focused plugin built for your own site and pay once.
LearnDash: $350 a year for one site (single-site licence).
Your own plugin on Pluginora: from $9 once, with 5 free changes. Try it first for $1.
What LearnDash does
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Quizzes and assignments
- Drip-fed lessons
- Certificates and badges
- Course progress and reports
- Selling course access
Free version: No (a 48-hour free trial only).
What you can build instead
A Pluginora plugin does one job for your site. For LearnDash, that could be:
- Lessons in order with a mark-as-complete button and a progress bar
- Release lessons on a schedule after a student signs up
- A short quiz with a pass mark at the end of a lesson
A small custom plugin would not replace a full LMS with course sales, gradebooks, assignments and certificates across many courses.
Related plugins you can build:
- Elementor Quiz & Survey Form Plugin
- WooCommerce Membership Paywall Plugin
- WooCommerce Memberships Plugin
Cost over 3 years
| LearnDash | Your own plugin | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $350 | From $9 |
| Year 2 | $350 | $0 |
| Year 3 | $350 | $0 |
| 3-year total | $1,050 | From $9 |
When LearnDash is the better choice
- You sell many courses with enrolment and payments
- You need quizzes, assignments, certificates and reports together
- You want a maintained LMS with support
When your own plugin makes more sense
- You use one or two of its features, not the whole package.
- You would rather pay once than renew every year.
- You want it to work exactly the way your site needs, and to change it on request.
How to get your own
- Describe it. For example: “Add a "Mark lesson complete" button to my lesson pages and show each logged-in student a progress bar for the course.”
- See the plan and price. Ora replies with what it will build and a fixed price. Nothing is built until you approve.
- Try it for $1. Test it on a practice site for 7 days, then keep it and pay the rest once.
Questions
Is there a free alternative to LearnDash?
There is no free version of LearnDash. Free plugins from other makers may cover part of it. A Pluginora plugin costs from $9 once and does exactly the job you describe.
How much does LearnDash cost?
It costs $350 a year for one site (single-site licence), as listed on liquidweb.com on 22 October 2026. 1-site licence, $350 per site as listed; the licence renews automatically each year. Multi-site plans cost less per site. Prices change, so check their pricing page.
Will my own plugin do everything LearnDash does?
No. A small custom plugin would not replace a full LMS with course sales, gradebooks, assignments and certificates across many courses. It does the focused job you describe, built for your site.
Does Pluginora copy LearnDash?
No. Ora builds a new plugin from your description. It does not copy any code, text or design from LearnDash or any other product.
Can I try it before I pay the full price?
Yes. For $1, Ora builds your plugin and you test it on a private practice site for 7 days, with 2 changes. If you keep it, the $1 comes off the price.
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Pluginora is not affiliated with or endorsed by Liquid Web. The name LearnDash is used only to describe the product being compared.