LMS · head to head
edX vs LearnDash
LearnDash
LMS
WordPress plugin that turns a site you already own into a course platform with no revenue share
- From
- $199/year
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: edX individual course costs not displayed; pricing requires enrollment to view; LearnDash the flat licence excludes everything around it. Hosting, backups, security patching, video hosting and email deliverability are now your cost and your responsibility, and they are not small once traffic grows.
- They diverge on capability: edX covers Video lectures, LearnDash covers Course builder.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which edX and LearnDash actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in edX
- Video lectures
- Interactive exercises
- Discussion forums
- MicroMasters
- Professional certificates
- Degrees
- Mobile learning
- LMS integrations
Only in LearnDash
- Course builder
- Quiz engine
- Groups and group leaders
- Commerce integration
- Ownership of data
Both cover
- Certificates
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
edX
- Learners seeking university-level credentials from elite institutions (MIT, Harvard, Cambridge)not LearnDash
- Career changers pursuing MicroMasters or professional certificatesnot LearnDash
- Individuals in regions with limited access to higher educationnot LearnDash
LearnDash
- A creator whose course revenue has grown to the point where a percentage based platform costs more than a developer wouldnot edX
- Organisations that already run WordPress and want courses on their own domain and brandnot edX
- Training businesses that need learner data in a database they control rather than in a vendor accountnot edX
- Agencies building course sites for multiple clients under one unlimited site licencenot edX
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
edX
- Individual course costs not displayed; pricing requires enrollment to view
LearnDash
- The flat licence excludes everything around it. Hosting, backups, security patching, video hosting and email deliverability are now your cost and your responsibility, and they are not small once traffic grows.
- WordPress plugin conflicts are a live risk. A core or theme update can break checkout or course progression at a moment you did not choose, and there is no vendor operations team standing behind uptime.
- Performance under load needs deliberate hosting work. Shared hosting handles a small course and fails visibly during a launch, and fixing that is a hosting migration rather than a setting.
- Selling requires assembling several plugins for payments, memberships and email, so the true stack is four or five vendors with independent update cycles rather than one product.
- Support covers the plugin, not your site. When the fault sits in the interaction between your theme, your host and another plugin, resolving it is your problem and often a contractor invoice.
Pricing, plan by plan
edX
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the edX review.
LearnDash
$199/year- LearnDash LMS, 1 site$199/year
- Single site licence
- All course, quiz and certificate features
- No share taken of course revenue
- LearnDash LMS Plus, 10 sites$399/year
- Up to ten sites
- Same feature set
- Suits agencies and multi brand operators
- LearnDash LMS Pro, unlimited sites$799/year
- Unlimited sites
- Same feature set
- Priced for agencies building for clients
Which should you pick?
Choose edX if
- You need video lectures.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want interactive exercises.
Choose LearnDash if
- You need course builder.
- You work on Web, WordPress.
- You also want quiz engine.
Questions people ask
- Is edX or LearnDash better?
- Neither clearly leads. edX starts at On request and LearnDash at $199/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, edX or LearnDash?
- edX starts at On request and LearnDash at $199/year.
- Does edX or LearnDash run on more platforms?
- edX runs on Web, iOS, Android. LearnDash runs on Web, WordPress.
- What is edX best used for?
- edX is most often used for learners seeking university-level credentials from elite institutions (mit, harvard, cambridge), career changers pursuing micromasters or professional certificates, individuals in regions with limited access to higher education. Of those, learners seeking university-level credentials from elite institutions (mit, harvard, cambridge) and career changers pursuing micromasters or professional certificates are not what LearnDash is typically brought in for.
- What can edX do that LearnDash cannot?
- edX covers Video lectures, Interactive exercises, Discussion forums, MicroMasters. LearnDash covers Course builder, Quiz engine, Groups and group leaders, Commerce integration. Both handle Certificates.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
edX: Does edX offer free courses?
Yes, edX allows you to audit courses for free, as indicated by their 'How to Audit a Course' resource. Auditing provides access to course content without earning a certificate.
SourceLearnDash: Does LearnDash take a percentage of my course sales?
No. It is a flat annual licence per site and you keep all revenue. That is the main financial argument against percentage based hosted platforms once sales volume is meaningful.
edX: Do you have to pay for certificates on edX?
Yes, edX offers Verified Certificates which require payment. Exact pricing varies by course but is available when you view individual course pages.
SourceLearnDash: What is the real total cost?
The licence plus hosting capable of handling your traffic, plus video hosting, plus an email service, plus whatever developer time keeps the stack working. Budget for the stack, not the plugin.
edX: What types of credential programs does edX offer?
edX offers Professional Certificates (multiple bundled courses), Degree Programs (Master's, Bachelor's, MicroMasters, MicroBachelors), and Executive Education premium offerings.
SourceLearnDash: Should I use LearnDash Cloud instead?
If you want the plugin without administering WordPress, yes. You give up some of the cost advantage and some control in exchange for not being responsible for the server.
edX: Are there current discounts on edX?
Yes, edX offers periodic discount codes. Currently they have a code ACTION2026 providing up to 20% off for a limited time.
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