WordPress is a fully customizable CMS software. You can use it to create any type of website, including an LMS (Learning Management System) website. WordPress has no default feature to allow you to create this kind of website, but you can use a plugin to create an LMS website. There are a number of LMS plugins for WordPress out there, we will cover the best ones in this article.

An LMS plugin allows you to create an Udemy-like website where you can sell courses online. Commonly, an LMS plugin comes with the following main features:

• Courses management where you can create courses, create quizzes and tests, manage courses’ content, and so on.
• Monetization feature where you can sell your courses online. Most LMS plugins allow you to accept payment in both subscription model and one-time purchase model.
• Administration feature where you can control learners. You can track course activity, place users into groups, run reports on user enrollment, approve assignments, and so on

Here are 8 of the best LMS plugins for WordPress.

1. LearnDash

LearnDash is one of the most popular LMS plugins in the WordPress community. One of the reasons is that this LMS plugin is easy to use. Adding courses in LearnDash is just like adding regular blog posts in WordPress. You can see the demo of an online course website created with LearnDash on this demo page. LearnDash has an easy-to-use administration dashboard that allows you to control everything. From setting a course price, create user groups, manage learner progress, and so on. LearDash supports integrations with a number of third-party services and tools like Easy Digital Download, WooCommerce, Stripe, BuddyPress, and so on. If you use Elementor, you can also install Essential Addons to display your courses list in a more beautiful way. Essential Addons is one of the best premium Elementor add-ons.

2. LearnPress

LearnPress is one of the best options if you are looking for a free LMS plugin. You can download this plugin from the official plugin directory of WordPress. While you can use it for free, the premium version is also available with more advanced features such as the ability to create and manage courses from the front-end editor and more third-party integrations. The free version of LearnPress only allows you to sell courses individually while the pro version allows you to sell multiple courses with a subscription-based payment model. The pro version also allows you to create more quiz types.

LearnPress is compatible with popular page builder plugins, including Elementor and Visual Composer. LearnPress itself is developed by ThimPress. You can install it on any WordPress theme. There also some WordPress themes — such as Eduma and IvyPrep — that are designed specifically to create LMS websites. They (Eduma and IvyPrep) use LearnPress as the default LMS plugin.

3. LifterLMS

The core of the LifterLMS plugin is free to download and use. It is available on the official plugin directory of WordPress. After installing and activating LifterLMS, you will be able to create courses and make them available whether for everyone or enrolled ones only. To extend the LifterLMS functionality, you can install add-ons. You can, for instance, install a payment gateway add-on to sell courses. Or, you can install the Advanced Videos add-on to create video-based courses. The core LifterLMS plugin allows you to sell courses, but you need to accept payment manually.

4. WP Courseware

WP Courseware is a paid LMS plugin, but you can try it for free for 30 days during the trial period. This gives you a chance to figure out whether the features offered by this plugin meet your requirements or not. WP Courseware is used by many entrepreneurs to sell online courses. The overall features offered by WP Courseware are not much different from other LMS plugins above. It also has a drag-and-drop course builder and features to monetize your LMS website.

5. Sensei LMS

WordPress products created by Automattic is always interesting to try. Sensei LMS is one of the WordPress products created by Automattic. In case you didn’t know, Automattic is a company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack and several other WordPress products. It is founded by Matt Mullenweg, the man who initiated the WordPress universe. Sensei available for free on the official plugin directory of WordPress. In order to be able to sell your courses, you can install WooCommerce. WooCommerce offers an extension that allows you to restrict course content, offer a free trial, accept recurring payments, and so on.

6. Tutor LMS

Tutor LMS is a great LMS plugin. It comes with a front-end course builder to allow you to build courses more easily. Tutor LMS also comes with an advanced quiz creator that allows you to select question patterns, set time limits, and so on. The quiz creator feature of the plugin comes with 10 predefined question types, randomize questions, limit quiz attempts and answering time.

The reporting and analytics feature allows you to analyze the performance of your courses. You can, for instance, manage reviews, track quizzes, and evaluate course popularity. Tutor LMS itself is a free plugin, also available on the official plugin directory of WordPress. Premium add-ons are available to add more features to your LMS website. Tutor LMS is developed by Themeum, a company that develops WordPress themes and plugins.

7. MasterStudy LMS

MasterStudy LMS is an LMS plugin developed by StylemixThemes. This plugin is available in two versions: free and pro. The features offered by the free version of MasterStudy are rich enough. The free version already supports integration with PayPal and Stripe and allows you to create a wide range of quizzes. The free version also allows you to create whether text lessons, video lessons, or slideshow lessons. There is also a feature to generate certificates.

The pro version of MasterStudy LMS allows you to import existing courses from Udemy and get an affiliate from every sale of the course. The developer of MasterStudy LMS itself develops a WordPress theme — MasterStudy — designed specifically for LMS websites. The theme is bundled with the pro version MasterStudy LMS. The theme offers premade website demos to allow you to create an LMS website in no time.

8. Namaste! LMS

Namaste! LMS is another great LMS plugin for WordPress. It is a freemium plugin with the free version is available on the official plugin directory of WordPress. Before installing Namaste! LMS on your WordPress site, you can give it a try first. The developer offers a demo page. You can login to the WordPress dashboard to learn how Namaste! LMS works. The features offered by the free version of Namaste LMS are rich enough. You can manage courses, create lessons, assign certificates, and so on. The pro version of Namaste! LMS allows you to create classes and limit access to the courses. You can also integrate your LMS website with WooCommerce.

The bottom line

A WordPress LMS plugin allows you to create an LMS website where you can provide online courses, whether you want to offer the courses for free or paid. You can create a site like Udemy or Coursera without needing to have programming skills. There are even some WordPress themes that are designed specifically to create an LMS website in no time.