That being established, one such application is LearnDash, a powerful plugin that opens all the doors to the world of online learning. However, LearnDash may not be the best solution when it comes to servicing a wide range of audiences, ranging from Schools, Medical and Technical Institutes, Corporates, etc. to create classes, enroll new students, and start the process of teaching.
As we all know, LMS is an application made to oversee and administer the learning process, combining a wide range of features to set up a global class, without actually having the students come into a physical classroom.
That being established, one such application is LearnDash, a powerful plugin that opens all the doors to the world of online learning. However, LearnDash may not be the best solution when it comes to servicing a wide range of audiences, ranging from Schools, Medical and Technical Institutes, Corporates, etc. to create classes, enroll new students, and start the process of teaching.
Hence, to fill the gap in between, here are some of the most promising alternatives that can really step up the game. Without much ado, let’s begin the show!
Attest is an all in one, Gutenberg compatible WordPress LMS Plugin, made to bridge gaps between learners and teachers. It is the best solution for eLearning purposes, creating online courses, and automating the backend process through the WordPress dashboard.
Key Features:
- Create Unlimited Courses – It allows all its users to create as many courses as they want for FREE!
- Curriculum Builder (Drag & Drop) – It offers a clean solution to build your Curriculum by creating multiple lessons from the same place, group them into Modules. It also allows users to sort lessons and modules using simple drag and drop.
- Embed Videos – It allows its users to simply embed video lessons directly from platforms like Vimeo, YouTube, etc.
- Limit Student Over-boarding – Limit the number of students who can enroll for a particular course to prevent unwanted over-boarding.
- Highlight courses (Featured) – Highlight particular courses on your main page to get the maximum attention.
Pros:
- Unlimited Courses
Since many big names charge extra to create extra courses after a certain limit, one big advantage of Attest is the option to create unlimited courses for free.
- Keep 100% of Profits
One more advantage of Attest is that it doesn’t charge a fee for using its plugin or take a cut when a user makes a transaction using the plugin. Hence, users can keep every penny they earn.
- WooCommerce Integration
WooCommerce Integration can be a big plus if one is looking to sell their courses online. It not only helps to open an online store for courses but also manages payments.
- Faster Support
Attest provides faster and priority email support for all the users, paid or not.
Cons:
- No Interactive Sessions
Although students can view videos, one downside of using Attest is that it still doesn’t support live conferencing. Hence, everything is pre-recorded.
- No Analytics
Yes, as of now, it does not have the feature to see reports and analysis of registered users or visitors. So, that’s another downside.
Pricing:
Attest LMS is completely free to use. However, the premium version of LMS, which comes with WooCommerce Integration, costs.
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Tutor is an easy-to-use, advanced WordPress LMS Plugin that helps users to create online courses both from the backend and the frontend without any technical knowledge whatsoever.
Key Features:
- Frontend Course Builder
It has a drag & drop backend course builder, and a frontend course builder that allows easy creation of courses with the real-time view of the website is going to look.
- Quiz Creator
Who doesn’t love quizzes?
The quiz creation process with Tutor is extremely fun. Simply go to the Dashboard and start creating amazing quizzes for your students.
- Earning & Commission Allocation
If there are multiple instructors on board, the question of commission earning arises. Hence, Tutor lets the admin distribute a percentage of earning to those contributing instructions.
Pros:
- Offer Certificates
At the end of any course, every student receives the certificate of acknowledgment that can also be personalized with a name, Institution, etc.
- Reports & Analytics
Stats are important for any business. Using Tutor’s Reports & Analytics features, you get to know where your site is excelling and where it should improve.
Cons:
- No API
It still doesn’t have an API for developing a mobile application yet.
- Lacks Free Features
The most important features are only limited in the premium version. Hence, there is less for those using the free version.
- Lacks Styling
Tutor lacks enough styling options and thus, some may not like the themes.
Pricing:
The basic version is free to use and the pro version of the LMS ranges from $149 to $299 per year.
LearnPress is one solid LMS plugin, focused on the corporate solution. It allows companies/organizations to add courses to their existing line of products and services, helping employees to get what of what is what. It is not a full-fledged LMS but should be enough for most users.
Key Features:
- BuddyPress
With BuddyPress support, it allows users to communicate with students and/or instructors via WordPress forum.
- Sell course
Like most LMS, LearnPress allows you to create and sell courses.
- Manage Courses
It allows users to manage courses from the Dashboard with a few clicks here and there.
Pros :
- Easy To Use
The interface is easy enough and nobody needs to be an expert to create courses and promote.
- Free Payment Method
Unlike most LMS, this comes with a PayPal supported payment method in the free version, which is a big plus.
Cons:
- Expensive
Most features are not available to the users in the free version. Even Certifications and some quiz options need to be paid for.
- Less Powerful
As compared to other LMS on this list, this is somewhat less powerful.
- Lacks Support
As pointed out by real users, almost no support is given to users if they are having issues.
Pricing:
The basic version is free to use but one can always integrate some add-ons, which ranges from $19.99 to $39.99 each.
The premium version with add-on bundles can cost up to $249.99
LifterLMS is a good enough Learning Management System (LMS) plugin designed for WordPress, enabling users to turn their website into a full-fledged online learning platform, even with membership and subscription-based models.
Key Features:
- Data Tracking
Probably the biggest plus in this is its ability to track data. It not only tracks courses and students but also sales trends with appropriate products, timeline, and more. The more the data you have, the better you will guide the direction for sales and courses.
- Customizing Content
The plugin is easy to use to create customized courses, manage with tools, and monetize. It also has a customizable progress bar, which shows how much of the course students have finished so far.
- Easy Drag & Drop Interface
Like many LMS, this also supports drag-and-drop features for users to build their courses with a smooth User Interface.
Pros:
- Zero Transaction Fees
Unlike most LMS, this does not charge anything for any transaction made using the plugin.
- Advanced Quizzes
The quizzes and the option to customize is quite good and can be very engaging.
- Certificates and Achievements
It also allows its users to issue custom certificates and achievements when students do a great job.
Cons:
- Outdated Forms
Custom Registration and Checkout forms are good but still look outdated enough.
- No Upsell Feature
There is no way (we couldn’t figure it at least) to up-sell more courses with one click. This can be a downside if you are looking to make the most out of an LMS.
Pricing:
The basic version is free to use but lacks enough features. Hence, the paid version will be required in most cases and that may cost around $99 to $999 a year.
MasterStudy is yet another promising WordPress Plugin, developed for comprehensive learning through online courses and training.
It has tons of end-to-end tools and an amazing bundle of powerful features, like subscriptions, quizzes, frontend builder, online payments, and support for multiple file types, making the course management simple and easy.
Key Features:
- Content Drip
It has an amazing feature to lock the second lesson if the first one is not yet completed. This sequence can also be customized.
- Certificates & Badges
Issue and reward certificates and badges to students when they successfully complete their course.
- Co-Instructors
More instructors can be assigned to each course to ensure smooth and efficient learning.
- Manage Courses
Like most LMS, it allows its users to take full control over the courses and manage it.
Pros:
- Grade Book
It allows all its users to analyze student statistics of registration, enrollment, attendance, course completion, etc.
- Less Expensive
As compared to other LMS on this list, MasterStudy is less expensive and easy to afford.
Cons:
Outdated Interface
MasterStudy has an easy and smooth interface but it is not enough intuitive to make the learning process more fun and engaging.
Pricing:
The basic version is free to use and the premium version starts at $39 for a single website and goes up to $129 for 25 websites. The fee is only a one time cost.
In A Nutshell!
Thanks to LMS, it has really changed the world for good, made the process of teaching and learning much easier and open to global students, who previously didn’t have this privilege to choose whichever field they want to explore and enroll in the course they love.
If you are someone looking to explore the world of teaching using the LMS listed above, you absolutely can’t go wrong.
So, sit back and enjoy the process.
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