CourseGlade Comparison
Looking at LearnDash? Here is how CourseGlade compares.
Both are mature WordPress LMS plugins that run on your own hosting. The meaningful differences are what each one puts behind a paywall, and what happened to LearnDash pricing in 2026. Everything below is sourced and dated — check it yourself.
LearnDash is now a Liquid Web product
This is the first thing worth knowing, because it is why older comparison articles have the wrong prices.
learndash.com no longer resolves to an independent site. Every URL redirects to Liquid Web, which retired the StellarWP brand in May 2026 and moved LearnDash under Nexcess. Product documentation now lives on docs.nexcess.com and checkout runs through the Liquid Web store.
Pricing was restructured at the same time. The old site-count tiers were replaced with three named plans, and the money-back guarantee is now 7 days. If you are reading a comparison that quotes $199 for LearnDash, it predates this change.
We are deliberately not making an argument out of the corporate change beyond the facts above. A change of owner is not evidence of a worse product, and LearnDash remains actively developed.
What each plan costs
| LearnDash plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $259 / year | Course builder, quizzes, certificate builder, Stripe / PayPal / Razorpay, memberships |
| Pro | $399 / year | Adds ProPanel reporting, gradebook and weighted grading, student notes, groups and cohorts, AI builder |
| Elite | $599 / year | Adds multi-instructor management, instructor role, front-end course creation, ratings and reviews |
CourseGlade Pro
$99 / year
All twelve addons, one site. Every tier gets every feature.
Money-back
14 days
LearnDash currently offers 7 days.
Tier gating
None
CourseGlade tiers differ only in site count, never features.
LearnDash does not publish a site count for Essentials, Pro or Elite. We have left that column out rather than guess at it.
Which tier unlocks what
LearnDash gates capability by plan. CourseGlade gates only the number of sites. That distinction is the whole comparison.
| If you need | LearnDash | CourseGlade |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting dashboard (ProPanel) | Pro — $399/yr | Revenue reports with CSV export in Pro ($99/yr) |
| Gradebook and weighted grading | Pro — $399/yr | Gradebook addon, in every Pro plan |
| Multiple instructors on a course | Elite — $599/yr | In the free plugin |
| Instructor commission and payouts | Not an advertised feature | In the free plugin |
| Ratings and reviews | Elite — $599/yr | In the free plugin |
| Course prerequisites and drip | Included | Content drip in Pro; free plugin covers ordering |
The line that tends to decide it: if you run courses with more than one instructor and pay them a share of revenue, LearnDash puts multi-instructor management in Elite. CourseGlade puts multi-instructor courses, per-instructor commission rates, an earnings ledger and a withdrawal queue in the free plugin.
Where LearnDash is the better answer
You already run LearnDash with live students
There is no migration tool between the two. Rebuilding a working course catalogue and its enrolment history to save on licence cost is rarely a good trade.
You depend on its integration ecosystem
LearnDash has been around far longer and has a deep bench of third-party add-ons, agencies and developers. If your stack already assumes it, that ecosystem has real value.
You want a bundled membership platform
MemberDash, a full membership product, is now included in every LearnDash plan. CourseGlade handles course access and selling, not general site membership.
Before you switch
Is CourseGlade a drop-in replacement for LearnDash?
No, and nobody should tell you otherwise. There is no automated migration path between the two — course structure, learner progress and order history live in different database tables. Moving an established LearnDash site with live students is a manual project. CourseGlade makes most sense when you are starting a new site, or when you have decided to rebuild anyway.
Does LearnDash stop working if I let the licence lapse?
No. LearnDash documentation is explicit that the plugin keeps functioning with an invalid licence — what you lose is updates, security patches, official add-ons and support. CourseGlade works the same way. Anyone telling you your courses will go dark at renewal is misinforming you.
How many sites does each LearnDash plan cover?
Their current pricing page does not say. The Essentials / Pro / Elite pages published after the May 2026 restructure do not state a site count anywhere, and the older documentation still describes a retired 1-site / 10-site / unlimited model that no longer maps onto the tier names. If site count matters to your decision, ask their sales team and get it in writing.
Do I need WooCommerce to take payments with LearnDash?
No. Stripe, PayPal and Razorpay are built into LearnDash core, and WooCommerce is available as a free official integration. CourseGlade also ships Stripe and WooCommerce in the free plugin. On this point the two products are genuinely comparable.
Competitor pricing and feature details on this page were verified on 6 August 2026 against the sources below. Vendors change pricing without notice — check the source links for the current figures. CourseGlade is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any product named on this page. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Try the comparison on your own site
CourseGlade Pro is $99 a year with every addon included, and a 14-day money-back guarantee if it is not the right fit.