LearnDash vs. LifterLMS: a comparison

Whether you’re just starting your search to find the perfect WordPress LMS for your business, or you’re drowning in options, spoiler alert: the marketplace is overwhelming.

In this LearnDash vs. LifterLMS review we’re diving deep into some of the most popular features and considerations you should keep top of mind as you evaluate these potential learning management systems for your business.

LearnDash’s development philosophy is dedicated to online course creation and Learning Management System (LMS) functionality. While this could be advantageous for some business owners if you only want to create and sell online courses, it could be disadvantageous if you want to include membership functionality as well. It comes down to your requirements and desired functionality.

To help you deliver a positive user experience from end to end, you’ll likely need to expand on LearnDash’s core functionality by installing additional plugins and add-ons to create a seamless user experience from purchase, to delivery, through completion.

You may be forced to purchase and integrate with additional plugins to handle things like:

• • Recurring payments and payment administration
    membership levels to run cohesive membership sites
  • Third-party integrations for your CRM for marketing automation
  • Assignments, quizzes, and grade books

On the contrary, LifterLMS is an all-in-one membership and LMS plugin, similar to AccessAlly. No additional plugins or add-ons are needed for your membership site and online courses if you invest in the Infinity Bundle. While it’s the most expensive option at $999/year if you invest in a lower-tier you’ll need to purchase and install many of the add-ons included in the Infinity Bundle to create a truly custom user experience.

Unlike platform-as-a-service options, you establish more ownership over your course setup when you choose a WordPress plugin, such as LearnDash or LifterLMS.

For starters, you’re not building your site on rented land so you’re not at the mercy of a platform-as-a-service solution.  If they make changes to how their platform works, you have to adapt.

One hurdle we’ve seen with LearnDash though is that they use a proprietary Custom Post Type that allows you to designate modules and lessons for your courses. This works well if you have no intention of switching plugins in the future. However, if you cancel your LearnDash license, your content isn’t usable anymore without manually migrating your content. Fortunately, some plugins, like AccessAlly, can help you retrieve your content and migrate it if you decide to move away from this plugin, converting it into a more usable format.

Both LifterLMS and LearnDash provide you with an extensive library of integrations to extend on its core functionality so you’re not completely restricted when you want to build out or add new features to your course setup.

It’s not unheard of for LearnDash users to install 6 or more different plugins or add-ons to create a fully functional, engaging learning experience. LifterLMS’s Infinity Bundle includes most of the add-ons you’d need if you chose LearnDash, but you’ll need to integrate with other plugins for features such as affiliate management, member directories, and forums though.

You’ll just want to be mindful of the size of your tech stack when you use these plugins; the more plugins you add, the more there is for you to maintain.  Your risk for things to go wrong also increases with each new addition and integration.

As a business owner, you strive to deliver a great user experience with your customers, and when you invest in technology you expect the same in return. You’re looking for tools that you can depend on; knowing that you have resources at your disposal in the event something goes wrong is just as valuable as the technology itself.

LifterLMS provides some of the most comprehensive customer support on the market. If it’s one of the frontrunners for you in the tools you’re comparing they offer presale phone consultations, presale Q&A webinars, and can also be contacted by chat and email to answer your pre-sale questions. You can also schedule a product demo tailored to your needs.

Their support desk is also available via email and they provide detailed help documentation, training courses, and webinars, as well as getting started guides and video tutorials. They also provide live onboarding calls and offer a weekly office hour mastermind for you to ask questions and get the answers you need.

You can also get support from fellow LifterLMS users in their slack and Facebook communities.

For implementers, LifterLMS offers developer office hours and provide and have a third-party expert program.

LearnDash also provides detailed documentation to help guide you in your setup process, and their email support hours are Monday-Friday from 7 am-4 pm EST. While their resources aren’t as plentiful as LifterLMS’s their documentation and email support are quite dependable. They just don’t offer as many opportunities to connect in real-time.

Both LearnDash and LifterLMS have done a great job incorporating learning reinforcements into their plugin. 

LearnDash allows you to add a quiz or assessment at any level throughout a course, whether it’s at the end of a course, a specific lesson, or topic.  With 8 question types to choose from, timed assessments, and the ability to submit any type of media as an input field, your options are endless. 

The same holds true for LifterLMS.

You can also require homework submissions after lessons or topics, and issue report cards and track homework and assessments with both plugins. 

LearnDash has even taken their progress-tracking to a new level in their most recent release, tracking course progress across all levels of the course, baked right into the layout. 

LifterLMS also includes similar progress tracking features, but they have taken things a step further and includes sales reports and enrollment data.

Both plugins include a built-in certificate feature to issue your students as soon as they complete a course.  With LifterLMS you can even award badges to students at varying stages throughout the course to gamify the experience a bit more and motivate your students. 

LifterLMS has a Stripe integration, PayPal integration, and Authorize.net for one-time purchases, payment plans, and recurring subscriptions.  You can also offer free trials and coupons using the native e-commerce features within LifterLMS.

LifterLMS also integrates with WooCommerce if you have more advanced pricing models or need to add additional fees or taxes for your offers.

If you’d like to incorporate affiliate marketing into your business and connect it to your LifterLMS setup, you will need to purchase and integrate with another plugin.  They currently integrate with AffiliateWP, iDevAffiliate, and WP Affiliate Manager.

LearnDash has limited built-in e-commerce functionality. If you only sell courses with one-time payments, no additional e-commerce tools or plugins are needed. LearnDash natively integrates with PayPal, Stripe and 2checkout to process these one-time payments.

• • You are open to a larger tech stack, and using a lot of different plugins to achieve your goals
  • You absolutely need SCORM or Tin-Can LMS integration
  • You’re not picky about the look-and-feel of your course
  • You don’t need deep CRM integration to create more personalized customer experiences, but you do need a lot of quizzing options

• • You’re looking for a membership and LMS plugin all-in-one
  • You’re already using a WordPress website and looking for a WordPress plugin
  • You don’t mind using a third-party tool to connect your course with your CRM
  • You have a need for more advanced quiz functionality