LearnWorlds VS Learndash

Choosing the right platform to build and grow your business in the creator economy is not an easy task to perform on your own. In the following article, we’re comparing two popular platforms for course creators - LearnWorlds and Learndash - to help you choose the right platform for you.
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LearnWorlds VS Learndash
LearnWorlds logo

What does LearnWorlds do?

LearnWorlds is an integrated online training platform that enables you to create engaging courses, custom websites and mobile apps, and scale your school with built-in tools for marketing and selling your content.
Learndash logo

What does Learndash do?

Learndash is an LMS plug-in that fuses seamlessly with Wordpress websites, allowing their users to create courses and use a wealth of add-ons to enhance the functionality of their online school.

Key takeaways

An online training platform like LearnWorlds is the right choice if you want to:
  • Create your website easily, without having to buy a domain name and a host.
  • Have full control over your content, audience, and payments.
  • Skip the costs of hiring developers to take care of your website.
  • Customize your website easily on your own instead of hiring a designer.
  • Manage your online school end-to-end from a single platform, avoiding dozens of plug-ins.
A WordPress LMS plug-in like Learndash would be a good fit for you only if:
  • You only need to create courses, not other digital products like memberships, downloadables or coaching.
  • You don't mind losing your content, if you decide to end your subscription.
  • You can afford the extra costs of outsourcing the creation of your website.
  • You can bare with the constant Wordpress updates and how they affect your school.
  • You already pay for third-party tools for CRM, Sales and Marketing.

Create Engaging Courses

Both LearnWorlds and Learndash focus heavily on course creation and the learning experience that you provide to your students.
One of the key differences at this point lies in the fact that while LearnWorlds gives you limitless capabilities to create engaging and interactive courses with built-in tools, Learndash requires you to purchase extra plug-ins.
For example, if you need to create certificates, forms, surveys, gradebooks or even allow your students to take notes into your courses, then you will need to install extra add-ons, some of them being quite expensive.
LearnWorlds has all these functionalities and many more built-in to your school, available for you with no extra cost and limits.
Course creation
LearnWorldsLearn Worlds
Learndash
Unlimited Courses & Pages
Live Classes with Zoom
Interactive Videos & eBooks
Quizzes Add on
Automatic Video Transcription Add on
SCORM & HTML5
Private Courses
Copyright Protection Add on
Assessment
Exams
Certificates
Gradebooks Add on
Questionbanks Add on
Text / File Assignments

Key takeaway:

Both platforms allow you to create courses and enhance the learning experience, but the key difference here is that while Learndash requires users to apply extra add-ons for key functionalities, LearnWorlds has advanced tools that are built within the platform.

Build professional websites

As soon as you enter LearnWorlds, what you get is a fully white label website, your own domain and limitless branding capabilities. On the other hand, with Learndash you need to purchase a domain name and a hosting environment, install Wordpress and finally, subscribe to Learndash, to access their plug-in.
Leaving aside the pre-setup cost, your school needs a lot more to get up and running. As soon as you sign-up with Learndash, you will probably need a developer to help you configure your school and a designer to give it the look and feel that you desire.
Now, if we assume that your tech skills are stellar or you can afford hiring a team to help you build your website, your school won’t be functional unless you install all the necessary plug-ins that are compatible with Learndash.
On the other hand, whether you need to build a landing page or an entire school, LearnWorlds’ drag-and-drop builder enables you to set up and customize your website quickly, with zero coding skills.
You can choose from 400+ templates and widgets, add powerful forms and pop-ups and even create communities that look like a built-in social network. All these functionalities are available right in your school’s environment, without any external integration or plug-in.

LearnWorldsLearn Worlds
Learndash
White-label
Page templates & widgets
400+
Add on
Advanced Device Authoring
Adjust how your school looks based on user's device
Student Profiless
Allows your students to see core metrics about their interaction with your school
Custom code editor
Site Flavors
Create an alternative version of your school's site in just a few clicks.
Communities Add on
Testimonials & Quotes Add on

Key takeaway:

Learndash offers many customization capabilities, similar to every Wordpress plug-in, but chances are that you will need a developer and a designer to help you build a branded website. LearnWorlds’ drag-and-drop website builder requires no coding skills, so you can easily customize your website and constantly improve it with no extra cost or help.

Measure Success & Optimize

From monitoring how your students interact with your courses and following their progress to tracking revenue from your sales and affiliates, analytics are key to optimizing your school’s performance.
With advanced built-in analytics tools, LearnWorlds empowers you to keep your learners engaged and sell more courses with complete user progress reports and deep course insights, right on your dashboard. For a quick overview, you can access state-of-the-art visualizations and graphs that will help you transform your courses and take your school to the next level.
As an example, you can see your most engaging courses, the performance of your learning activities and key metrics about your students’ interaction with your school. All these pieces of information are presented in a structured manner and can be easily exported, so you can share them with your team or use them in your own systems.
Learndash does not have a built-in analytics tool, though you can integrate your school with plug-ins and tools like Google Analytics and Propanel. If connecting multiple external apps to get a glimpse of your school’s performance is not an issue for you, then Learndash’s integrations will help you get there.

LearnWorldsLearn Worlds
Learndash
User Engagement Add on
Course Insights Add on
Video Analytics Add on
Product Progress Add on
Assessments & Grades Add on
Sales Analytics Add on
Automated Reports
"The data we can pull from our courses is above and beyond. Learnworlds has given us everything we need to create innovative, engaging online courses that people LOVE taking."
Alicia S.

Key takeaway:

LearnWorlds Analytics provides you with reports on your learner's behavior and school performance right on your dashboard, so you can keep growing your business and providing educational excellence to your audience. Learndash integrates with analytics apps and plug-ins, which means the cost and effort of monitoring your school will go a bit high.

Build a Mobile App

Instead of creating a school that is simply responsive to mobile devices like most schools out there, you can ‘up’ the mobile game by providing your users with a native mobile app. This will help you offer the additional value that your learners are seeking, and also add another powerful channel to your marketing toolbox.
If you want a mobile app with Learndash, you can either use an external mobile app builder like Buddyboss or get a developer to create an app for you. Choosing an external app builder is a cheaper option to hiring a developer, but it will give you less customization and branding options.
On the other hand, LearnWorlds comes with its distinctive Mobile App Builder, enabling you to create your own white-labeled app for both iOS and Android, at an extra fee, and take your business mobile.
Setting up your app is quite easy, as you can leverage the click-and-edit visual builder functionality to bring your brand to life, without a line of code needed. Also, you can keep your course curriculum consistent without feeling overwhelmed. Your school’s content is automatically synchronized for your school’s web and mobile versions at once.
The Mobile App Builder comes packed with awesome features to boost your business and enhance your students' engagement. You can harness the power of push notifications to keep your users engaged and prompt them to take action. But also, you can provide learners with a quick and easy way to purchase your online courses via in-app purchases and supercharge your school’s growth.

LearnWorldsLearn Worlds
Learndash
White-labeled app
Push notifications
In-app purchases
Customization

Key takeaway:

LearnWorlds enables you to own a fully-branded native mobile app and have total control over it without any coding skills. With Learndash you can use an external tool like Buddyboss or hire a developer to build your app - however it’s not clear how your app will be synchronized with your online school.

Market & Sell your expertise

If you are making an income from your online school, you may think that creating a course is just the tip of the iceberg. The real headache starts with getting the word about your school out there and making people trust you and complete the checkout process.
LearnWorlds' marketing stack includes built-in tools to help you market and sell your content, even if marketing is not your cup of tea. You can easily create landing pages to highlight your courses, use pop-ups to promote offers, build powerful forms to capture email addresses or gather feedback and send email notifications to your customers.
Learndash, on the other hand, has limited built-in options when it comes to marketing and selling your courses. All the marketing built-in features that LearnWorlds' offers, Learndash provides them through third-party integrations. This adds up both extra costs to your budget and effort to pick and connect the right apps for your school.

LearnWorldsLearn Worlds
Learndash
SEO-ready pages
Offers & Coupons Add on
Memberships & bundles Add on
Pop-ups Add on
Funnels
1-click Sales funnel
Add on
Global Payment Gateways Stripe
PayPal
Shopify
PagSeguro
Stripe
PayPal
2Checkout
Local Payment Gateways iDeal (Netherlands)
Bancontact (Belgium)
Giropay (Germany)
Przelewy24 (Poland)
Sofort (6 EU countries)
Email Notifications

Key takeaway:

When it comes to marketing and selling your courses, LearnWorlds offers you a number of powerful built-in tools that you can easily manage within the platform. Learndash, on the other hand, will only give you integrations and extra plug-ins for every single functionality that you’ll need to use.

Compare pricing

Now that you have seen the main differences between LearnWorlds vs. Learndash, let's compare the pricing, to give you a better understanding of where it’s worth investing your money.
xxx
XXXXX XXXX
Low Plan
Middle Plan
High Plan
LearnWorlds
Save up to 20% with annual plans
$29/mo
Starter
$99/mo
Pro Trainer
$299/mo
Learning Center
Learndash
$199/y
Basic
$229/y
Growth
$369/y
Pro
LearnWorlds
Save up to 20% with annual plans
  • Low plan (Starter): $29/mo
  • Middle plan (Pro Trainer): $99/mo
  • High plan (Learning Center): $299/mo
Learndash
  • Low plan (Basic): $199/y
  • Middle plan (Growth): $229/y
  • High plan (Pro): $369/y
As a Wordpress plug-in LMS, Learndash's subscription plans are low on the cost. However, the price does not refer to the total cost of building and managing an online school. The costs of running a Learndash school might include:
  • Domain name: $
  • Hosting platform: $$
  • Course creation add-ons: $
  • Website building add-ons: $
  • Mobile app add-on: $$
  • Analytics add-on: $
  • Marketing and Sales add-on: $$
If you sum up the total cost of the add-ons, plug-ins and integrations that you will need to create, build up and scale your online school, then your budget with Learndash may go over the odds.
As an integrated platform, LearnWorlds is the cost-effective solution with a wealth of advanced built-in features for online courses creators.
Here's what LearnWorlds makes possible for online course creators like you:
  • Deliver a stellar learning experience with interactive courses
  • Build branded websites, blogs, and communities
  • Make your videos and eBooks interactive and engaging
  • Increase revenue with built-in marketing and sales tools
  • Own a fully-blown mobile app for your school
  • Enhance collaboration with your team
  • Optimize your school's performance with in-depth insights into your courses and users.
All these come with:
  • Premium, top-class support, and customer onboarding
  • Integrations with 40+ premium apps
  • A solid and secure platform that will support your goals on the road to success.

Are you a hands-on person when it comes to choosing your next business tool?

Just try it! LearnWorlds offers a 30-day free trial, giving you the chance to see firsthand and real-time how you can scale your own online business.
LearnWorlds is the best course sales software that provide the students with on time courses an manages the issues related to course handling. It has a demo that can make the user to feel easy in working.
- Ayesha Nasee
I took a long time for me to find a great platform for my online schools. LearnWorlds is a robust platform that is very easy to use and setup and it is also affordable for those that are just getting started.
- D’Andrea Bolden Ministries
The TEAM behind LearnWorld is what makes the difference and the support they offer.
- Ariane G
I am in love with this platform and I would never change them for another. I feel cared for by the amazing support team that know my name, my work, my problems and needs. They offered me the attention and personalized tips. All that gave a big boost to my online school.
- Teya B.
LearnWorlds will soon be recognised as the GLOBAL authority in online teaching... they stand out above the rest and their promises are REAL.
- AAW
The confidence I’ve gained in my business is priceless. No matter what issue I might have with my platform, the LearnWorlds Support Squad has my answer. When they say “customer service is their #1 goal” they truly mean it. I’ve never been disappointed.
- Missy C.
I have used few others providers and wasn't satisfied until I found LearnWorlds. They have all the tools and easy to use interface to build your online school.
- Jonas K.
I'd like to say that the support that we've been getting from LW since I got to know the platform is, until this moment, without any doubts one of the best customer services that I've experienced.
- Samir A.
Extremely easy to use their in house video hosting platform, so there’s no need to get a platform like vimeo which ultimately saves you money.
- Kenneth John
I can recommend LearnWorlds as a great tool to manage an online course, academy, accelerator or anything similar. The platform works well and has many adjustable features. The support is super fast and always helpful! 5/5
- Alona Belinska
LearnWorlds is likely the most interactive learning system I have encountered. Thanks to greatly integrated video functionalities, gamification and personal notes/library there are immense opportunities to enhance the learning experience by creating engaging content.
- Epp Krusenvald
Before I committed, I decided to contact every elearning platform but honestly, no one beats what they offer. They are always on top of things and all the best features are always being added. The creators are so amazing, I can tell they work so so hard!
- Corine C.
Easy to use, good support from the team (very responsive) and costs less than many course platforms
- Tany Williams
I was looking at maybe 5-7 different platforms before I decided to go with LearnWorlds. It is easy to use (intuitive) and there are the features that you need. I am happy I found it!
- Martin B.
Definitely the best option on the market. I like to compare my options and LW was the clear winner. The amazing, friendly and well trained support team that replies within a few minutes is also extremely impressive.
- Teya Bozhilova
LearnWorlds awards LearnWorlds awards