If you’re thinking about launching your online course website or want a solid LMS platform to educate your students, choosing between the top two platforms, LearnDash vs LifterLMS, can be a difficult task.
Both platforms offer extensive features for creators and educators to ensure your students have the best possible learning experience with your brand. This article will dive deeper into LearnDash and LifterLMS to see which platform is better for your business.
LearnDash vs. LifterLMS: Overview
LearnDash is an all-in-one solution for transforming your ordinary WordPress site into a full-fledged learning management system.
You get access to a professional course and quiz builder that supports multiple types of content, including video, audio, text, and PDF files. This way, you can create professional-looking online courses that offer an enhanced learning experience for your students using your own WordPress site. In addition to this, you also have access to advanced features like certificates, student badges, graded assignments, and automated email notifications to enhance further the learning experience on your online course site with WordPress.
LifterLMS is one of the most popular LMS platforms that lets you create online courses, memberships, and other digital products.
LifterLMS also comes with a drag-and-drop style course builder that’s easy to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy. On top of supporting multiple content types, it lets you create dynamic quizzes that are graded to evaluate how well your students are performing. This helps enhance the student learning experience and encourages students to review your online course content thoroughly. Additionally, LifterLMS features a dedicated affiliate management system along with the option to offer discount coupons and bundled products to your target audience.
LearnDash vs. LifterLMS: Key features
Let’s take a closer look at LearnDash and LifterLMS features and see how well they compare against each other.
Online course
Both platforms, LearnDash and LifterLMS, offer extensive features for creating online courses using an intuitive interface that’s easy to understand, even for first-time users. One of the significant differences between the two is that LifterLMS uses the WordPress admin panel to create online courses, while LearnDash uses the WordPress “New post” editor.
While it’s not a huge difference, both platforms offer drag-and-drop functionality to create lessons and arrange them in any way you like; LifterLMS offers much more detailed options for organizing content in your online courses. With LifterLMS, you can configure how each lesson is displayed to your students, design quizzes from the same screen, set up drip-feed content rules, and even assign lesson weights so students know which part of your online course is the most important. Having all options related to configuring your online courses in a central place really helps speed up your business’s online course creation process and helps create more professional-looking courses.
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LearnDash also has many options for setting up online courses using the WordPress page editor. You can create lessons, arrange them in any way you’d like, and configure a lesson sequence to create a more seamless progression for your students. Unlike LifterLMS, LearnDash doesn’t offer the same level of detail for setting up quizzes, drip-feed lessons, and course prerequisites.
Website Builder
While professional online courses are crucial for offering an enhanced learning experience, you also need a conversion-optimized online course website and landing pages to drive more sales and convert site traffic into sales.
LifterLMS and LearnDash don’t come pre-built with a dedicated website builder, but both offer different levels of integration and pre-designed templates for creating conversion-optimized landing pages for your online course website. LifterLMS offers seamless integration with popular page builders like Divi Builder and Elementor, which means you can set up professional-looking landing pages using Gutenberg blocks. However, expect to pay a premium if you want access to dedicated page templates for online course website landing pages.
On the other hand, LearnDash doesn’t feature a built-in site builder but instead integrates with popular page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder. However, out of the box, LearnDash offers up to five different free course website themes if you purchase the premium plan. The pre-designed templates not only help you create a professional-looking online course website within a few minutes but also help optimize it for converting site traffic into leads for your business. Using the WordPress customizer, you can customize the pre-designed templates according to your brand’s unique aesthetics and colors. While you don’t have the option to build landing pages natively with LearnDash, it’s still much better than LifterLMS, thanks to the free page builder templates it comes with.
Marketing Functionality
Having marketing functionality and integrations is essential for promoting your online courses and getting your brand’s offering in front of more of your target audience. The great news is that both platforms, LearnDash and LifterLMS, offer many integrations with popular marketing tools and services, making it easier for businesses to reach new audiences and convert site traffic into sales.
LifterLMS lets you integrate popular email marketing tools like MailChimp and ConvertKit to send out email messages to your students automatically. This is useful for informing your students about their ongoing online course, their payments or subscription status, and even encouraging them to join your upcoming or newly launched online course. It’s a great way to enhance and automate your brand’s email marketing campaigns. LifterLMS also has built-in options for creating and promoting upsells and discounts for your students. For instance, you can offer free lessons or bundled products like multiple online courses to increase sales.
Compared to LifterLMS, LearnDash offers more integrations with popular email marketing tools like MailChimp, Infusionsoft, and ActiveCampaign. It also seamlessly integrates with online video streaming platforms like Zoom and YouTube Live so that you can add webinars to your lessons and online course pages. While both platforms offer the same level of marketing features out of the box, LearnDash takes the upper hand regarding the number of integrations it offers.
User engagement features
User engagement and the student learning experience play a huge role in determining your online courses’ success while encouraging students to join in on your next online course launch.
LearnDash and LifterLMS make it easy for your learners to view their subscribed online courses and lessons in a clean and intuitive interface. You can fully customize the interface to make it look according to your brand’s unique aesthetics and use a page builder to structure your course lesson pages in any way you like. The significant difference between the two platforms is in the overall design of the front-end user experience. LearnDash offers a more modern-looking interface free of clutter to make it easier for all students, even new users, to navigate course pages easily. On the other hand, LifterLMS features a generic interface that requires some design overhaul if you want the same user experience LearnDash offers by default.
In addition to this, LearnDash also comes pre-built with navigation buttons at the bottom of every lesson page. This way, students can quickly navigate to the previous or next lesson without going back or finding the main lesson overview page again. As a result, it helps enhance the student learning experience and makes it easier for even less tech-savvy students to navigate course pages quickly.
Payments options
Both platforms offer the same level of out-of-the-box payment options and make accepting payments from your students a breeze.
LearnDash and LifterLMS let you accept full, recurring, or partial payments using some of the most popular payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, WooCommerce, and Authorize.net. The difference is that LearnDash requires you to purchase add-ons to accept payments with 2Checkout or WooCommerce, while LifterLMS offers native integration for most payment methods.
LearnDash vs. LifterLMS: Pricing
LearnDash pricing starts at $199 per year for a single site license, including one year of support and updates. It’s designed for brands that are looking to launch their online course website and not have to worry about spending extra on adding features to their site. However, you also have the option to purchase add-ons to extend the functionality of your online course site.
LifterLMS is free to get started with and gives you access to the core plugin to create unlimited online courses. However, if you want to integrate payment methods like Stripe and PayPal, you’ll have to go for one of the premium plans starting at $199 per year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the critical differences between LearnDash and LifterLMS?
A: LearnDash and LifterLMS are popular WordPress LMS plugins offering course-building and e-learning capabilities. LearnDash is known for its extensive feature set and customization options, while LifterLMS provides a more user-friendly interface and focuses on delivering a seamless user experience.
Q: How do LearnDash and LifterLMS compare in terms of course creation and management?
A: LearnDash and LifterLMS both offer intuitive course creation and management tools. LearnDash provides a robust and flexible course builder, allowing for detailed customization and organization of course content. On the other hand, LifterLMS offers a simplified course creation process, making it easier for beginners to create and sell online courses.
Q: Which platform is better for selling online courses, LearnDash or LifterLMS?
A: Both LearnDash and LifterLMS are capable of selling online courses effectively. LearnDash has advanced features for monetizing classes, such as subscription-based models and one-time purchases. LifterLMS, on the other hand, offers seamless integration with popular eCommerce platforms, making it user-friendly for selling courses and managing transactions.#
Q: Are there any notable differences between LearnDash and LifterLMS integration capabilities with other WordPress plugins?
A: LearnDash and LifterLMS are well-integrated with various WordPress plugins and third-party tools. LearnDash offers extensive integrations with numerous plugins, providing flexibility and customization options. LifterLMS, on the other hand, focuses on delivering a streamlined integration experience, particularly with eCommerce and marketing tools, making it easier for users to set up their online course platform.
Q: What are the main factors to consider when choosing between LearnDash and LifterLMS for a WordPress LMS?
A: When choosing between LearnDash and LifterLMS, consider factors such as your level of technical expertise, the specific features and customization options you require, your budget, and the user experience you want to offer to your learners. Additionally, consider each platform’s scalability and long-term support to ensure it aligns with your future growth plans.
Q: Can you compare the pricing models of LearnDash and LifterLMS?
A: LearnDash and LifterLMS offer different pricing models to cater to users’ varying needs. LearnDash has a straightforward pricing structure with options for a single-site license, a multiple-site license, and a pro package with additional features. LifterLMS offers a similar pricing approach with options for individual site owners, businesses, developers, and add-ons for enhanced functionality.
Q: How do LearnDash and LifterLMS differ regarding customer support and community resources?
A: LearnDash has a robust community, extensive documentation, and reliable customer support to assist users with technical issues and inquiries. Similarly, LifterLMS provides active community forums, documentation, and customer support channels to ensure that users have the resources they need to make the most of the platform and troubleshoot any issues they encounter.
Q: What are the notable features of LearnDash and LifterLMS for creating engaging and interactive online courses?
A: Both LearnDash and LifterLMS offer features for creating engaging and interactive online courses. LearnDash provides advanced quiz and assignment features and drip-feed content options for controlled course access. LifterLMS focuses on delivering interesting multimedia content capabilities and includes gamification features to enhance the learning experience for students.
Q: Can you highlight the differences in the user interface and usability between LearnDash and LifterLMS?
A: LearnDash has a more comprehensive interface with many options and settings for course creation and customization. It is designed for users who prefer in-depth control over their online courses. LifterLMS, in contrast, offers a more user-friendly and intuitive interface with simplified workflows, making it ideal for beginners and individuals who prioritize ease of use.
Q: In terms of scalability and future expansion, how do LearnDash and LifterLMS compare?
A: Both LearnDash and LifterLMS can scale with the growth of your online course platform. LearnDash is well-suited for larger-scale projects and offers extensive features for creating complex e-learning environments. LifterLMS, on the other hand, is designed to accommodate growing businesses and can quickly adapt to the evolving needs of course creators through its flexible infrastructure and plugin compatibility.
Conclusion
Choosing between the top two LMS platforms, LearnDash and LifterLMS, comes down to your brand’s unique requirements and budgeting options. While most of the LMS features between the two platforms are similar, the main difference is with the pricing of both.
LifterLMS’s core plugin is free and doesn’t require you to spend a ton of time when launching your LMS site. This can be an excellent option for startups or small-scale businesses that don’t want to spend a lot on purchasing LMS plugins. However, the downside to using LifterLMS’s free plan is that you can’t access most premium payment methods like PayPal and Stripe, which can be a problem for many businesses.
What are some of the features you look for in a LMS platform? Let us know in the comments box below.
