One of the easiest ways of making money today is the creation and sale of courses online. However, it is not enough to simply create these courses, you need a platform or channel that helps you introduce the course to a larger audience and also sell to them. This is where the LMS platforms come in. LMS stands for Learning Management System and this refers to certain platforms that allow you to offer your courses to people who are interested in some fee.
In this article, we will review and compare two LMS platforms. Learndash and Thinkific.
Main Differences between Learndash vs Thinkific summarized
| Learndash | Thinkific |
| It is a plugin on WordPress | It is a standalone platform |
| Allows for full customization of offers to any extent | Provides a premade custom template that you can work with |
| Full integration with WordPress and other plugins | Only integrates with selected software |
| Offers a 30-day moneyback guarantee | Offers free trial for a predetermined period |
» MORE: Which Do You Think Is Better, Thinkific or Simplero?
Learndash vs Thinkific: Features & Capabilities
Ease of Use and Customization
Learndash is a plugin and not a website in itself. Thus, it is a bit hard to set up and add to your WordPress. It also has a steep learning curve that makes its use a bit challenging. However, once it is set up, it works seamlessly. It allows you to set up educational websites and as a result, you get the full customization feature, seeing as it works like you are building a website from scratch. It comes with the drag and drop functionality and being a WordPress plugin itself, it easily integrates with other plugins such as web page builder and many others.
Thinkific also uses a drag-and-drop feature that allows you to build your educational platform without any technical knowledge. It has an impressive and interesting UI and this allows it to smoothen out the setup process for you and the learning process for students buying the course. And you also don’t need to design the platform from scratch as there are premade custom templates that you can choose from.
Monetization Options
It is a bit difficult to define what the monetization option on Learndash is. This is because the plugin allows you to build your website from the ground up. This means that you get to decide the payment options, channels which are usually third-party payment platforms. Thus, Learndash allows you to use payment options such as Stripe, Paypal, and the like. You also get to receive subscriptions and members easily using Learndash.
With Thinkific, you need not worry about payment options or solutions. The service comes with Paypal and Stripe. You can also integrate the service with other third-party apps if you don’t want to use either Paypal or Stripe.
Marketing Options
In the same way, Learndash gives you free rein with the payment options, it allows you to use any marketing tools that you want, as long as it works well with WordPress. Email marketing options such MailChimp work seamlessly with Learndash.
Thinkific provides an unparalleled marketing feature with its JavaScript tracking. The feature allows it to provide analytics and deep metrics that are useful to your marketing efforts. It also allows you to offer discounts and promotions to entice students to buy your course or educational material.
» MORE: Which Is Better for You, Thinkific or Kartra?
Learndash vs Thinkific: Pricing
Learndash has three pricing tiers which include the Basic Package at $159, the Plus Package at $189 per month, and the Pro Package at $329 per month. While there is also a 30-day money-back guarantee, you need to pay first before using the service as there is no free trial offer.
Thinkific, on the other hand, has four plans. A free plan and three paid plans which includes the basic plan at $49 per month, the Pro Plan at $99 per month, and a Premier plan at $499 per month. Thinkific doesn’t charge a commission fee and there is a free trial offer on any of the paid plans you choose.
» MORE: Is Thinkific SCORM Compliant? (Must Read)
Reasons to choose Learndash over Thinkific
Learndash has many appealing features that make it a better option for thinkific. they include the high extent of customization made possible. This gives users the feeling of ownership over their educational website and also makes it easy to build the website to their taste. The ability to use any payment and marketing tool makes it more endearing to users who want to feel in control.
Reasons to Choose Thinkific over Learndash
The appealing features and capabilities that make many users prefer thinkific over Learndash include the ease of setting the service up. With little or no knowledge of coding, you can build a functional educational platform, all thanks to the premade custom templates provided by Thinkific. Also, there is a feature that allows you to reply directly to your student’s comment and you also don’t have to worry about paying commission fees on Thinkific.
» MORE: Can You Make Serious Money On Thinkific? (Must Read)
The Similarities between Learndash and Thinkific
Both platforms allow you to customize your educational page to your taste by providing the drag-and-drop functionality. Both platforms also support the use of Paypal, Stripe, and other payment solutions that you may prefer.
» MORE: Is Thinkific Valuable? Is It Trustworthy & Safe? (Must Read)
Learndash and Thinkific Alternatives
Apart from Learndash and Thinkific, other platforms allow you to sell your courses and interact with students that are buying your courses. These alternatives are;
Kartra
Kartra is a one-stop shop for anybody looking to sell educational materials online. As long as it is a digital product, you have no problems as Kartra will handle the whole process from the point of selling the creating the sales page to interacting with students and selling the course.
Udemy
This is one of the big names when it comes to selling courses. The site is designed solely for that purpose. While Udemy is a great site for beginners trying to find their feet in the business, confirmed sellers won’t like the 50% commission charges that Udemy charges on courses and educational materials.
» MORE: How Does Thinkific Operate and What Are Its Applications? (Explained Simply)
Learndash vs Thinkific: Final Verdict
The two platforms provide a great service to people selling courses online. However, if you are an entrepreneur or a small-scale business starting in the business of creating and selling educational materials online, Thinkific remains your best option. But if you have some experience in the business already, or you are a school or large company, Learndash is a better fit for you.
» MORE: Does Thinkific Keep A Part Of The Sales Revenue?
FAQs
Do you need WordPress to use Learndash?
Learndash is a plugin on WordPress and not a standalone site itself. Thus, it needs WordPress to work as it is built on top of your WordPress website. What it does to the WordPress website is increasing its capacity to include e-learning features.
Is Learndash any good?
Based on reviews from people who have used this plugin, Learndash is one of the leading LMS plugins around at the moment. It comes with useful features and functionalities that allow you to create and design your educational website to your taste. The only downside to its use is the fact that new users may find it difficult or overwhelming to use.
How does Learndash work with WordPress?
Once you activate the Learndash plugin, certain items get added to the site and these items are necessary for the plugin to work effectively. Then you will get new menu items, classified courses, custom post types as well as questions, essays, and quizzes.