LearnDash alternatives · Courses
Free alternatives to LearnDash
LearnDash has no free plan. 9 of the 41 other course and community platforms in this directory are free or have a free plan.
LearnDash is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $350 per year for 1 site. 2 of them have no paid plan at all; the rest pair a free plan with paid ones.
9 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
How each one differs from LearnDash
- Free plan · from $398/yr
LifterLMS
WordPress LMS plugin with a free core and paid bundles
What is free: Core plugin: unlimited courses, memberships, students and teachers, with quizzes, certificates and achievement badges.
- LifterLMS starts at $398 per year for 1 site (Earth bundle), or a free core plugin. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- LifterLMS has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- LifterLMS also covers templates, marketing automation, reports and community.
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Sensei LMS
WordPress course plugin with a free core and a paid Pro tier
What is free: Sensei Free: unlimited free courses, certificate builder, basic quizzes and learning mode, open-source and community supported.
- Sensei LMS starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($179), for Sensei Pro; the core plugin is free. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Sensei LMS has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Sensei LMS is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Sensei LMS also covers templates.
- Free plan · from $17/mo
systeme.io
All-in-one marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and community
What is free: 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels, 1 course with 500 students, 1 community, 1 blog, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign. No card needed.
- systeme.io starts at $17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- systeme.io has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- systeme.io also covers booking links, sales pipeline, marketing automation, email campaigns and community.
- Free plan · from $100/mo
Discourse
Open-source discussion forum software with hosted plans
What is free: Free hosting plan: 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 20k emails a month and 500k page views a month.
- Discourse starts at $100 per month. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Discourse has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Discourse lists iOS and Android apps.
- Discourse is open source, according to its own site.
- Free
Maven
Marketplace for live cohort courses and workshops taught by experts
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- Maven is free. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Maven has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Maven also covers surveys, email campaigns and community.
- Free plan · from $99/mo
Ruzuku
Course platform with live sessions, community and no sales fee
What is free: Up to 5 student enrollments at a time, unlimited courses, community discussions, live meetings, sales pages and payments.
- Ruzuku starts at $99 per month, billed monthly ($997 per year). LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Ruzuku has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Ruzuku also covers community and webinars.
- Free
Hotmart
Sell courses and digital products for a cut of each sale
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- Hotmart is free. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Hotmart has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Hotmart also covers marketing automation, community, affiliate tracking, digital downloads and webinars.
- Free plan · from $49/mo
Paid Memberships Pro
Open-source WordPress membership plugin with managed hosting
What is free: Self-host the open-source PMPro platform with the core plugin, 25 free add-ons and payment gateways; no support or premium add-ons.
- Paid Memberships Pro starts at $49 per month for Standard (self-hosted), or a free self-hosted core. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Paid Memberships Pro has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Paid Memberships Pro is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Paid Memberships Pro also covers templates, paid newsletters and community.
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Fourthwall
Creator shop with merch, digital products and memberships
What is free: Design and sell products, offer memberships, run promotions; 5% fee and 5 GB limit on digital products.
- Fourthwall starts at $15 per month for Pro. LearnDash starts at $350 per year for 1 site.
- Fourthwall has a free plan. LearnDash does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Fourthwall lists iOS and Android apps.
- Fourthwall also covers community, online store, digital downloads, merchant of record and print on demand.
Common questions
Is there a free alternative to LearnDash?
Yes. LifterLMS, Sensei LMS, systeme.io, Discourse, Maven, Ruzuku, Hotmart, Paid Memberships Pro and 1 more are free or have a free plan.
Does LearnDash have a free plan?
LearnDash has no free plan. LearnDash is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $350 per year for 1 site.
When was this checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to LearnDash: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.