We no longer recommend LearnDash for new projects. We still support it on a client site that runs dozens of courses, and it does that job. We keep this page with our retired tools so you can see what it does well and why we recommend something else.

LearnDash is a WordPress plugin for building and selling online courses on your own site. If you already run WordPress and want your courses to live there, it’s one of the most complete options.

What it did well

• Courses, lessons, and topics built inside WordPress
• Quizzes, assignments, and certificates
• Drip-fed content and prerequisites between lessons
• Handles a large course catalog on a single site

Why we moved on

These days I only recommend online courses that include a cohort: people learning together, on a schedule, with a place to talk. A plugin that delivers lessons to one learner at a time doesn’t give you that. For courses with a community around them, we recommend Circle, which puts the course and the conversation in one place.

Who owns a tool matters

LearnDash is owned by Liquid Web, the same company behind The Events Calendar and Kadence. In May 2026 it retired the LearnDash website, sending learndash.com to a Liquid Web landing page, and folded its MemberDash plugin into LearnDash. LearnDash’s own founder marked the moment with “RIP to the LearnDash brand.” The Repository covered the rollout and the backlash.

When your whole course business sits on one plugin, the company behind it has to feel stable. Right now it doesn’t, and that’s one more reason we point new course projects elsewhere.