LearnDash vs Tutor LMS: Which LMS Is Better for Your Online Course?

In the rapidly expanding world of online education, selecting the right Learning Management System (LMS) is crucial for the success of your e-learning platform. Two prominent players in this field are LearnDash and Tutor LMS. Both offer a comprehensive suite of features for course creation, student management, and monetization.

But which WordPress LMS plugin should you choose for your specific needs? In this in-depth comparison of LearnDash vs Tutor LMS, we’ll explore their features, usability, pricing, and overall performance to help you make an informed decision.

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Course Builder Comparison: LearnDash vs Tutor LMS

The course builder is the heart of any LMS, and both LearnDash and Tutor LMS offer robust solutions. Let’s explore each platform’s offerings in more detail.

Tutor LMS Course Builder

Tutor LMS presents a user-friendly course builder divided into three main sections:

1. Basics
2. Curriculum
3. Additional

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Basics Section

In the basics section, you can:

• Add a course title and description
• Set the course URL
• Specify general options like maximum students and difficulty level
• Choose the course visibility (public, private, or password-protected)
• Schedule the course
• Add a featured image and intro video

Curriculum Section

The curriculum section is where you build the structure of your course:

• Add topics to organize your content
• Create lessons within topics
• Include quizzes and assignments
• Easily drag and drop to reorder content

Additional Section

This section allows you to add:

• Course overview
• Learning objectives
• Target audience information
• Course duration
• Materials included
• Requirements
• Instructor details
  Course prerequisites
• Attachments
• Live class scheduling (with Google Meet or Zoom integration)

A standout feature of Tutor LMS is its AI integration. You can use AI to:

• Generate course content
• Create titles and descriptions
• Design featured images for your courses

This AI assistance can significantly speed up the course creation process and help overcome writer’s block. You can also read an in-depth review of Tutor LMS on Cloudways.

LearnDash Course Builder

LearnDash’s course builder is equally comprehensive but structured slightly differently:

1. Course Page
2. Builder
3. Settings

Course Page

Here you can add:

1. Course title and description
2. Featured image
3. Course categories and tags

Builder Section

This is the core of LearnDash’s course creation process:

• Add section headings to organize your course
• Create lessons under each section
• Include topics within lessons
• Add quizzes to test student knowledge

LearnDash uses a hierarchical structure that allows for easy organization and navigation of course content. While it doesn’t have built-in AI features like Tutor LMS, it offers a clean and intuitive interface for course creation.

Settings Tab

In this section, you can configure:

• Course access settings
• Prerequisites
• Points system
• Certificates
• Course progression and content drip settings

To know more about the plugin, read our LearnDash Plugin Review.

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Quiz Builder: LearnDash vs Tutor LMS

Quizzes are an essential part of any online course, helping to reinforce learning and assess student progress. Both LearnDash and Tutor LMS offer comprehensive quiz builders but with some differences.

Tutor LMS Quiz Builder

Tutor LMS provides a versatile quiz builder with eight question types:

1. True/False
2. Multiple Choice
3. Open-ended
4. Essay
5. Fill in the Blanks
6. Short Answer
7. Matching
8. Image Answer

Key features of the Tutor LMS quiz builder include:

• Ability to set conditions for each question (required answer, randomized choices, etc.)
• Option to assign points for each question
• Drag-and-drop interface for easy question reordering
• Answer explanation feature
• Option to display points or not

LearnDash Quiz Builder

LearnDash’s quiz builder offers similar functionality with eight question types:

1. Single Choice
2. Multiple Choice
3. Free Choice
4. Sorting
5. Matrix Sorting
6. Fill in the Blanks
7. Assessment
8. Essay

LearnDash provides additional settings for each question, including:

• Messages for correct and incorrect answers
• Solution hints
• Different point values for each answer option
• Question-specific settings like required answers and randomization

Both LMS plugins offer robust quiz building capabilities, with LearnDash perhaps having a slight edge in terms of question-specific customization options.

Content Drip System

Content dripping is a crucial feature for many course creators, allowing them to control the pace at which students access course materials. Let’s see how LearnDash vs Tutor LMS compare in this aspect.

Tutor LMS Content Drip

Tutor LMS offers a content drip add-on with four flexible scheduling options:

1. Schedule course content by date: Release content on specific dates
2. Content available after X days from enrollment: Unlock content based on enrollment date
3. Course content available sequentially: Students must complete previous lessons to access new ones
4. Course content unlocked after finishing prerequisites: Require completion of certain courses or lessons before accessing new content

This variety of options allows course creators to design highly customized learning paths for their students.

LearnDash Content Drip

LearnDash approaches content dripping slightly differently, offering two main course progression systems:

1. Linear: Students progress through the course in a designated sequence
2. Free form: Students can navigate the course freely

For individual lessons and topics, LearnDash provides three release schedule options:

1. Immediately available: Content is accessible as soon as the student enrolls
2. Available X days after course enrollment: Content unlocks after a specified number of days
3. Available on a specific date: Content becomes accessible on a preset date

While not as extensive as Tutor LMS’s options, LearnDash still offers solid content drip functionality that should suffice for most course creators.

Certificate Builder

Certificates are a great way to reward students for completing courses and can serve as motivation for enrollment. Both LearnDash and Tutor LMS offer certificate creation capabilities, but with different approaches.

Tutor LMS Certificates

Tutor LMS provides two options for certificates:

1. Pre-designed certificate templates: These are available out of the box and can be quickly implemented for those who want a ready-made solution.
2. Certificate builder add-on: Available with Tutor LMS Pro, this tool allows for custom certificate design. You can:

• • Choose from various layouts
  • Add custom fields
  • Include dynamic data like student name, course name, and completion date
  • Customize fonts, colors, and positioning of elements

LearnDash Certificates

LearnDash offers two methods for certificate creation:

1. Basic certificate builder: This is included in the core plugin and allows for simple certificate creation with limited customization options.
2. Advanced certificate builder add-on: This provides more design freedom, allowing users to create highly customized certificates. Features include:

• • Drag-and-drop interface
  • Custom background images
  • Multiple font options
  • Dynamic data fields
  • Ability to add custom HTML and CSS

Both LMS plugins offer solid certificate creation options, with LearnDash’s advanced builder providing slightly more customization potential.

Payment Gateways and Course Monetization

For many course creators, the ability to easily monetize their content is crucial. Let’s see how LearnDash vs Tutor LMS compare in terms of payment integration and monetization options.

Tutor LMS Monetization

Tutor LMS introduced a native e-commerce system in version 3, eliminating the need for third-party plugins for basic monetization. It supports a wide range of payment gateways:

• PayPal (available in the free version)
• Stripe
• Razorpay
• Amazon Pay
• Authorize.net
• Mollie
• Paddle
• Redsys
• Monoris

Key features of Tutor LMS’s monetization system include:

• One-time payments
• Subscription-based courses
• Course bundles
• Coupons and discounts
• Tax calculation

LearnDash Monetization

LearnDash offers three built-in payment gateways:

• PayPal
• Razorpay
• Stripe Connect

However, it also supports integration with various e-commerce platforms and plugins like:

• WooCommerce
• Paid Memberships Pro
• SamCart
• ThriveCart

LearnDash provides multiple course access modes:

• Open: Anyone can access the course
• Free (registration required): Users must register but don’t need to pay
• Buy Now: One-time payment for course access
• Recurring: Subscription-based access
• Closed: For manual enrollment or use with membership plugins

LearnDash’s strength lies in its flexibility and extensive integration options, allowing for more complex monetization strategies.

User Management and Reporting

Effective user management and detailed reporting are crucial for course administrators. Let’s see how LearnDash vs Tutor LMS compare in these areas.

Tutor LMS User Management and Reporting

Tutor LMS offers:

• Student profiles with progress tracking
• Instructor profiles and management
• Course-specific and site-wide analytics
• Revenue reports
• Quiz attempt reports

LearnDash User Management and Reporting

LearnDash provides:

• User profiles with course progress
• Group management features
• Detailed course and quiz analytics
• ProPanel add-on for advanced real-time reporting
• Integration with third-party analytics tools

Both platforms offer solid user management and reporting features, with LearnDash having a slight edge due to its ProPanel add-on and extensive integration options.

Mobile Responsiveness and App Support

In today’s mobile-first world, having a responsive design and mobile app support can greatly enhance the learning experience.

Tutor LMS Mobile Support

• Fully responsive design works well on mobile devices
• No dedicated mobile app, but you can use BuddyBoss app, a recommended app for anyone seeking a mobile learning solution.

LearnDash Mobile Support

• Responsive design for mobile browsers
• LearnDash mobile app is available for iOS and Android, powered by BuddyBoss. It starts at $99/month.

Both LearnDash and Tutor LMS have the advantage of a dedicated mobile app, providing a more native mobile experience for learners.

Pricing: LearnDash vs Tutor LMS

Pricing is often a decisive factor when choosing an LMS. Let’s break down the pricing structures of LearnDash vs Tutor LMS.

Tutor LMS Pricing

Tutor LMS offers both annual and lifetime plans:

Annual Plans:

• Individual: $199/year (1 site)
• Business: $399/year (10 sites)
• Agency: $799/year (unlimited sites)

Lifetime Plans:

• Individual: $499 (1 site)
• Business: $999 (10 sites)
• Agency: $1,999 (50 sites)

All plans include:

• All pro add-ons and features
• Unlimited courses and users
• Access to pro themes
• AI Studio
• Priority support and updates

LearnDash Pricing

LearnDash has two pricing structures:

1) Core Plugin:

• 1 site: $199/year
• 10 sites: $399/year
• Unlimited sites: $799/year

2) LearnDash Cloud (hosted solution):

Various plans available with monthly and annual billing

• Starter: $25/month
• Growth: $41/month
• Pro: $83/month

LearnDash also offers additional add-ons and bundles for extended functionality, which can increase the overall cost but also provide more features.

Apart from these, you can also find the following comparison blogs useful.

• LearnPress VS LearnDash
• LifterLMS VS LearnDash

Conclusion: LearnDash vs Tutor LMS

Both LearnDash and Tutor LMS are powerful LMS plugins with their own strengths and slight weaknesses.

Tutor LMS stands out with:

• AI integration for course creation
• Extensive content drip options
• A wide range of built-in payment gateways
• An intuitive, user-friendly interface

LearnDash excels in:

• A more established ecosystem with numerous integrations
• Advanced quiz customization options
• A dedicated mobile app
• Flexible monetization options through third-party integrations

When choosing between LearnDash vs Tutor LMS, consider your specific needs:

• If you want AI-assisted course creation, a native e-commerce system, and don’t need a mobile app, Tutor LMS might be the better choice.
• If you need a WordPress plugin with a long track record, extensive third-party integrations, and a dedicated mobile app, LearnDash could be more suitable.

Ultimately, both LMS plugins offer robust features for creating and selling online courses. Your decision may come down to specific feature preferences, budget, and which interface you find more intuitive to use.

Before making your final decision:

1. Take advantage of any available trials or demos
2. Consider your long-term needs and scalability requirements
3. Think about your technical expertise and whether you’ll need extensive customization
4. Evaluate the support and documentation provided by each platform

Remember, the best LMS for you is the one that aligns most closely with your specific e-learning goals, workflow, and target audience. Both LearnDash and Tutor LMS can create professional, engaging online courses—your choice will depend on which one feels like the best fit for your unique situation.