MasterStudy LMS review (2026): is the free plan enough?
WordPress LMS plugin with a free Starter license and paid yearly tiers
Black Friday: is there a MasterStudy LMS sale?
MasterStudy LMS report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for WordPress course sites on a small budget
MasterStudy LMS is a WordPress plugin for courses, quizzes, Zoom lessons and certificates, with a free Starter license. It only runs on a WordPress site you host yourself, and the free license comes with just one prebuilt site and community support.
Who MasterStudy LMS is for
- Fits if you already run WordPress and want to add a course area
- Works for agencies who need a license covering 10 or unlimited sites
Who MasterStudy LMS is not for
- Skip it if you don't want to host a site, since it runs only on self-hosted WordPress
- Tight if you stay on the free Starter license, as it comes with 1 prebuilt site and community support only
- Pricey if you build for many clients: $299 a year for 10 sites, $599 for unlimited
- Watch out: paid licenses give a year of updates and support, and the Lifetime prices on the page could not be read
Why MasterStudy LMS gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for money$149 a year for one site is about $12.42 a month, inside the cheapest quarter of courses tools, which start at $20. The free Starter license costs nothing, but you still pay for your own hosting.
- BFree plan and trialThe Starter license is free with updates and community support. Priority ticket support and 20 prebuilt sites need a paid license.
- BFeaturesCourse builder, quizzes, assignments, Zoom lessons, drip content, certificates and group courses. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job.
- DEase of useIt runs inside a self-hosted WordPress site, so hosting, updates and security are yours to set up. No store rating is on record.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, through WordPress, with Zoom and Google Classroom on the list. Nothing for phones or desktops is listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from StylemixThemes's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/masterstudy-lms#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/masterstudy-lms.svg" alt="MasterStudy LMS: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where MasterStudy LMS stands among course and community platforms
MasterStudy LMS's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 66 of the 98 other course and community platforms we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 79 of 98) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $12.42 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $36 for the category: 5 of the 65 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 99 course and community platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got. MasterStudy LMS’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 79 of 98, level with 14
- BFree plan and trialAbove 71 of 98, level with 26
- BFeaturesAbove 56 of 98, level with 42
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 98, level with 22
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 98, level with 24
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 78 course and community platforms. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep MasterStudy LMS, or make your own?
You could make this
What MasterStudy LMS does at its core is online courses and templates, and that is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well.
You would give up one thing, listed below, and little else. It costs $149 a year. An AI app builder starts at about $20 a month on our listings, and you only need it while you build. MasterStudy LMS is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Online courses and templates: an app builder makes these well.
- It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.
What you could not
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. MasterStudy LMS’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is MasterStudy LMS?
MasterStudy LMS is a WordPress plugin for building and selling online courses, made by StylemixThemes, which describes it as an open-source LMS. A free Starter license covers the core; paid licenses add prebuilt websites, priority ticket support and a year of updates, priced by number of sites.
Worth knowing
- It runs only inside a self-hosted WordPress site, so hosting and security are your job.
- Paid licenses give 1 year of updates and support from the purchase date.
- The pricing page also has a Lifetime toggle, but those prices could not be read from the page text.
- Refunds are offered within 14 days, under the vendor's refund policy.
Key features
- Course builder
- Build courses with lessons, a course details page and prerequisites, and import classes from a Google Classroom account.
- Quizzes and assignments
- Add knowledge-test quizzes to courses and set detailed assignments for students to submit.
- Live lessons
- Teach with Zoom lessons, meetings and webinars from inside the course site, with live-stream support listed on the product pages.
- Drip content and certificates
- Release lessons on a schedule and design certificates for completed courses with a template builder.
- Group courses and notifications
- Group courses let a buyer enroll several students; on-site and browser push notifications keep students and instructors informed.
- Prebuilt websites
- Starter-site templates for a ready-made course site: 1 on the free license and 20 on paid licenses.
MasterStudy LMS pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, MasterStudy LMS has a free plan, and paid plans start at $149 per year for 1 site.
- Starts at
- $149 per year for 1 site
- Free plan
- Starter: free license and free updates with community support and 1 free prebuilt website.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | Free license and updates, community support and 1 prebuilt website. |
| Single site | $149per year for 1 site | 1 site license, updates for 1 year, priority ticket support and 20 prebuilt websites. |
| 10 sites | $299per year for up to 10 sites | Same inclusions as the single-site plan, with a license for 10 sites. |
| Unlimited | $599per year for unlimited sites | Same inclusions with an unlimited-site license, marked on the page as for developers. |
Read from stylemixthemes.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MasterStudy LMS before you buy.
Works with
MasterStudy LMS alternatives
- MasterStudy LMS vs Tutor LMS
Free plan · from $199/yr
- MasterStudy LMS vs LearnPress
Free plan · from $19
- MasterStudy LMS vs LearnDash
Free trial · from $350/yr
- MasterStudy LMS vs LifterLMS
Free plan · from $398/yr
- MasterStudy LMS vs Sensei LMS
Free plan · from $15/mo
Common questions
Does MasterStudy LMS have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. MasterStudy LMS is listed for Web.
Does MasterStudy LMS have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. MasterStudy LMS is listed for Web.
Is MasterStudy LMS open source?
Yes. MasterStudy LMS is open source, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.