LearnDash Review: Is It Worth It In 2022?

If you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy or are not comfortable putting up an online course distribution site on your own, online course platforms are the way to go. 

LearnDash describes itself as the “most trusted WordPress LMS.” 

Is it worth it though?

In this Learndash review, we give you insight into its features, who it is suitable for, the pros and cons, and more.

Let’s begin.

What is LearnDash good for?

With cutting-edge technology and powerful administration tools for your classes, LearnDash allows you to manage and sell courses on a self-hosted platform.  

Who and What Is It For?

LearnDash is excellent for academic institutions, companies, training centres, websites that want to offer onboarding training to their customers, or anyone who wants to convert their WordPress site into a learning management system.

Here are some notable organisations that use LearnDash:

• The University of Florida
• InfusionSoft
• Digital Marketer
• The University of Michigan
• ProBlogger
• The University of Washington.

Content Quality

LearnDash lets you create as many courses as you want without limiting the number of lessons and quizzes in your courses, while also offering various features to improve your content. Still, if you want a more approachable platform, you should check out Thinkific.

Using the drag-and-drop course builder, you can design complex courses with:

• Individual lessons and topics within your courses
• Videos, including optional auto-playing videos that skip straight to the next topic
• Quizzes
• Lesson timers
• Drip-fed content
• Assignments
• Certificates and badges
• Prerequisites
• Course forums

LearnDash Add-ons

To extend the features of your setup, LearnDash has dozens of add-ons available, some of which are included in your price, while others require an additional fee. 

To further improve your course with new features, such as private messaging or multiple instructors, you can also download or purchase third-party add-ons from other vendors, such as WBCOMDesigns. Another great option to try out is Kajabi, which also offers add-ons like Mailchimp, especially for email marketing.

LearnDash Features 

LearnDash is one of the few plugins of its kind that offers a wide range of features while remaining straightforward. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Powerful Course Builder

LearnDash lets you create your courses with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface where you can add an unlimited number of subjects and quizzes to a single lesson, as well as make changes to your course flow. 

You can insert videos, photographs, text, or other types of content into an editor similar to WordPress Gutenberg, and also save your course content to reuse it in any other courses you might create. 

Advanced LearnDash Quiz Builder

Another great feature of LearnDash is the quiz builder, where you can add different questions and change their order, as well as adjust settings to add advanced options like the passing score, retakes, quiz timer, and more, just like Futurelearn.

LearnDash also has a helpful feature that allows you to save several settings as a template, so you don’t have to repeat the building stages for each quiz.

Learndash Drip Content

If you want people to keep coming back to your courses, you can use the LearnDash Drip-Feed option to ration the distribution of your content. With this option, you can set your course to drip-feed lessons either by making the content available for a certain number of days after sign-up or by setting a particular lesson release date.

Video Progression Tool

LearnDash’s video progression tool is a unique feature that enables users to insert self-hosted or externally hosted videos into their courses. You can automatically label a lesson or course as complete when a student finishes a video and allow video autoplay for the next one. 

Monetising options

LearnDash comes with a variety of monetising options. You can sell a course as a one-time transaction, offer subscriptions and group purchases, set up recurring payments, accept PayPal or Stripe payments, and more. While other LMS plugins charge a fee to enable payment options, LearnDash includes it in the pricing.

How Much Does LearnDash Cost?

LearnDash pricing is on an annual basis, and it varies depending on the package you choose:

• Basic ⇒ $199 – one site.
• Plus Package ⇒ $229 – 10 sites + ProPanel.
• Pro Package ⇒ $369 – 25 sites + ProPanel.

With the “Basic” package, users can build as many courses as they want for as many members as they want, with features such as quizzes, certificates, badges to award learners “drip-feed lessons”, email notifications, and free program integrations.

The “Plus” package includes all of the basic features while also providing LearnDash support for up to ten separate sites as opposed to only one. Users who buy the “Plus” plan also get ProPanel to monitor student course participation in real-time, manage all assignments and essays, and examine students’ progress and quiz scores. 

Lastly, the “Pro” package is the same as the “Plus” plan, except it allows for up to 25 site licenses instead of 10.

Refund Policy

If you decide that LearnDash is not the best fit for you, you can request a refund within 30 days of purchase. LearnDash only comes in a premium version, and they don’t offer free trials. Product upgrades, add-ons, and license renewals are also non-refundable. Other eLearning platforms offer a 30-day free trial even without the requirement for credit card information.

Types of Payment

LearnDash supports PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Card. They only accept online payments so you can access the necessary files and support site immediately after purchase.

Is LearnDash worth it?

LearnDash offers excellent quality features and will likely continue to provide innovative content to stay one step ahead of its competitors. However, it may be a bit challenging if you’re a beginner. 

Overall, LearnDash deserves to be rated as one of the top WordPress LMS plugins.