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LMS · head to head

LearnWorlds vs Totara

LearnWorlds logo

LearnWorlds

LMS

Create and sell online courses with interactive experiences

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LearnWorlds has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: LearnWorlds the $24 Starter plan charges $5 for every paid enrollment, so selling a cheap course can cost more in fees than the plan; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: LearnWorlds covers Course builder, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LearnWorlds and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where LearnWorlds and Totara differ
AttributeLearnWorldsTotara
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: 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 LearnWorlds

  • Course builder
  • Interactive video
  • Website builder
  • Certificates
  • Assessments
  • Community
  • Mobile app
  • Analytics

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LearnWorlds

  • Online course platformnot Totara
  • Employee trainingnot Totara
  • Corporate learning managementnot Totara

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot LearnWorlds
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot LearnWorlds
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot LearnWorlds
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot LearnWorlds

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LearnWorlds

  • The $24 Starter plan charges $5 for every paid enrollment, so selling a cheap course can cost more in fees than the plan
  • Escaping the enrollment fee requires the $79 Pro Trainer plan
  • Active learners are capped monthly, at 1,000 on Starter and 2,000 on both Pro Trainer and Learning Center
  • The $249 Learning Center plan allows no more learners than the $79 plan, differing on admins and AI credits instead
  • Admin seats are rationed at 1, 5 and 25
  • AI credits are metered monthly at 300, 500 and 1,000

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

LearnWorlds

Free
  • Starter$24/month
    • 1,000 active learners/month
    • 1 admin
    • 300 AI credits/month
  • Pro Trainer$79/month
    • 2,000 active learners/month
    • 5 admins
    • 500 AI credits/month
  • Learning Center$249/month
    • 2,000 active learners/month
    • 25 admins
    • 1,000 AI credits/month
  • Corporate$null/mo
    • Custom active learners/month
    • Custom admins
    • Dedicated success manager

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

Choose LearnWorlds if

  • You need course builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want interactive video.
LearnWorlds review

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is LearnWorlds or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. LearnWorlds starts at Free and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LearnWorlds or Totara?
LearnWorlds has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LearnWorlds and On request for Totara.
Does LearnWorlds or Totara run on more platforms?
LearnWorlds runs on Web, IOS, Android. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
Can I use LearnWorlds for free?
Yes. LearnWorlds has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Totara starts at On request.
What is LearnWorlds best used for?
LearnWorlds is most often used for online course platform, employee training, corporate learning management. Of those, online course platform and employee training are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can LearnWorlds do that Totara cannot?
LearnWorlds covers Course builder, Interactive video, Website builder, Certificates. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LearnWorlds: How much does LearnWorlds cost?

LearnWorlds pricing starts at $24/month (annual) or $29/month (monthly) for Starter, $79/$99 for Pro Trainer, and $249/$299 for Learning Center. Corporate plans have custom pricing.

Source
Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

LearnWorlds: Does LearnWorlds charge per student enrollment?

The Starter plan charges $5 per enrollment. Pro Trainer and higher tiers include unlimited enrollments with no per-enrollment fees.

Source
Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

LearnWorlds: Does LearnWorlds offer a free trial?

Yes, LearnWorlds offers a 30-day free trial with access to core features and functionality. No credit card is required.

Source
Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

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