LearnDash vs Moodle 2022: Which is better LMS Plugin? It’s High Time You Migrate to LearnDash!
Last Updated on: August 12, 2022 by Talbott Dugan | Fact Checked
Affiliate disclosure: In full transparency – some of the links on our website are affiliate links, if you use them to make a purchase we will earn a commission at no additional cost for you (none whatsoever!).
Looking for the LearnDash vs Moodle comparison? Here is our complete detailed articles.
It’s never simple to pick an e-Learning platform. When you decide to start an e-Learning company, this is one of the first and most important decisions you’ll have to make.
An good LMS system should not only offer you with adequate tools to properly teach your students in the early days, but also be able to scale to meet your growing needs as your business grows.
This is where open-source e-Learning solutions such as Moodle and WordPress+LearnDash come in. Not only do they have all of the required capabilities for developing any type of e-Learning site, but their open-source nature also allows you to adapt the platform to your changing needs.
Now the issue is, which of these two options should you choose? We’ll compare LearnDash vs Moodle in this article so you can figure out which platform is ideal for you.
Bottom Line Upfront:
LearnDash is a great WordPress LMS plugin. Whether you’re adding a course to a website or starting a complete online institution, it has everything you need. The majority of your needs are covered, including many capabilities that other plugins charge extra for.
The new course builder is the greatest implementation of its kind as seen so far, and if you have course content ready and waiting, you could be up and running in a matter of hours.
I am going to explore the differences in this article, but first let me give you a little background on each system.
LearnDash is an e-learning platform that provides courses, quizzes, certificates of completion, and tracking tools all within one unified dashboard.
Moodle is open-source software that allows educators to create their own course content from scratch or use other resources found online such as YouTube videos or Wikipedia articles.
There are many other significant differences between these two systems so I will briefly go over some of them.
So, Let’s get started with the comparision!
Table of Contents
LearnDash vs Moodle: Which One to Choose? (Pros & Cons Compared)
One of the most significant distinctions between LearnDash and Moodle is that the former is not a full-fledged learning management system in and of itself.
Rather, it extends the capabilities of a very strong, scalable, and adaptable CMS platform (WordPress) to serve as an excellent LMS platform.
It has a learning curve because a major portion of its functionality is taken from WordPress, which is a general-purpose CMS for all sorts of websites and not an LMS per se. Before you can learn how to use LearnDash, you must first learn how to use WordPress.
Moodle, on the other hand, is a full-fledged LMS with every aspect of its functionality built specifically for the creation of e-Learning. This substantially decreases the amount of technical knowledge required to access your LMS.
Another significant distinction is the nature of both services.
LearnDash is a paid plugin for the open-source WordPress open-source CMS, whereas Moodle is open-source software. While it is built on open-source platform features and capabilities, it is not an open-source solution in and of itself.
While both LearnDash and Moodle have all of the functionality that every e-Learning site needs, it’s only logical that one of them has more than the other because they’re two entirely distinct products. The following is a list of their features:
Common features
Both are compatible with eLearning standards such as SCORM and xAPI.
They’re both free and open-source software.
Both LMS platforms include activity management features including as quizzes, assignments, and assessments.
If you’re using Moodle LMS or LearnDash LMS, you may provide live lessons through synchronous learning or recorded classes through asynchronous learning.
Dashboards for students, professors, and administrators are available on both platforms.
Both LMS platforms have a strong gamification integration.
Moodle LMS and LearnDash LMS both offer a blended learning experience in addition to mobile learning.
Features Unique to LearnDash
E-Commerce capabilities and a knowledgebase to assist new users in learning how to use the software. Allows you to create subscriptions and distribute them effortlessly using Mailchimp, Stripe, and other popular services. Moodle does not provide these functionalities.
Working with WordPress also allows LearnDash to take use of all of WordPress’s 58,000+ plugins and themes.
Features Unique to Moodle
To engage your learners using smartphones, use video conferencing and a mobile app. These functionalities aren’t available in LearnDash, so you’ll have to rely on extensions or other third-party applications to get them.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Fundamental Difference
One of the most significant distinctions between LearnDash and Moodle is that the former is not a full-fledged learning management system in and of itself.
Rather, it extends the capabilities of a very strong, scalable, and adaptable CMS platform (WordPress) to serve as an excellent LMS platform.
It has a learning curve because a substantial portion of its functionality is drawn from WordPress, which is a general-purpose CMS for all sorts of websites and not an LMS per se. Before you can learn how to use LearnDash, you must first learn how to use WordPress.
Moodle, on the other hand, is a full-fledged LMS with every aspect of its functionality created specifically for the creation of e-Learning. This drastically minimises the amount of technical knowledge required to access your LMS.
Another significant distinction is the nature of both services.
LearnDash is a paid plugin for the open-source WordPress open-source CMS, whereas Moodle is open-source software. While it is built on open-source platform features and capabilities, it is not an open-source solution in and of itself.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Basic Structure Difference
Moodle LMS is, at its heart, a pure LMS platform. The Moodle LMS’s functionality is entirely focused on one thing: eLearning.
You don’t need to be an LMS expert to utilise our platform, so don’t be concerned.
In addition, the Moodle LMS is a CMS (Content Management System) in and of itself. As a result, you may design and construct an eLearning platform without using any other CMS platform, such as WordPress.
Moodle LMS is an LCMS (Learning and Content Management System) with a focus on learning management systems.
Moodle LMS is, at its heart, a pure LMS platform. The Moodle LMS’s functionality is entirely focused on one thing: eLearning.
You don’t need to be an LMS expert to utilise our platform, so don’t be concerned.
In addition, the Moodle LMS is a CMS (Content Management System) in and of itself. As a result, you may design and construct an eLearning platform without using any other CMS platform, such as WordPress.
Moodle LMS is an LCMS (Learning and Content Management System) with a focus on learning management systems.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Content Creation and Management
Both LearnDash and Moodle have sufficient features to assist you in creating and organising professional course content.
However, there is no doubt that WordPress is the best content management system available.
It’s the most popular CMS ever created for a variety of reasons, one of which is its excellent content generation and organising features. It’s no surprise that LearnDash is miles ahead of Moodle when it comes to course content because it uses the same features.
On this platform, there are no limits to what you may do with your course content. It’s yours to create, organise, and display in whatever manner you choose!
It has adequate versatility for that purpose, and even if the feature(s) you want aren’t included, there’s a high chance you’ll be able to locate a suitable extension to fill the gap.
LearnDash also offers a large number of suitable themes thanks to WordPress, which can be used to make your e-Learning site look professional.
Moodle, on the other hand, has a lot of tools to let you build and arrange your course content anyway you want, but it doesn’t offer a large set of themes like LearnDash to allow you the freedom to design your site whatever you want without having to know how to code.
Only WordPress and LearnDash make this possible.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Ease of Use
While both LearnDash and Moodle are simple and easy to use, with thorough instructions and videos accessible to help you if you get lost, there are some differences between the two systems in this area that you should be aware of before choosing one.
LearnDash is built on WordPress, a platform that has long been praised for its ease of use and simplicity.
Moreover, because of its vast developer and supporter community, there is no shortage of people seeking to enhance and contribute to it. Because of these factors, its backend UI is much easier to grasp, even for a beginner, and there are plugins available to accomplish nearly any sort of modification without writing a single line of code.
Moodle, on the other hand, is not like that. You’ll need a basic knowledge of coding if you want total control over every element of your site using this LMS. You won’t be able to control every part of your e-Learning site with this LMS unless you have that understanding.
As a result, the learning curve is a little steeper than with LearnDash.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Customer Support
In the world of e-Learning, customer service is extremely important. If your website goes down due to a technical issue, you can’t afford to keep it down for long because your clients are students looking to learn something new.
You can’t afford to waste their time, can you? As a result, it’s also crucial to evaluate the assistance offered by each of these platforms.
Both LearnDash and Moodle have dedicated support teams that provide excellent service to its users.
However, it’s worth noting that WordPress, which is at the core of LearnDash, is responsible for 30% of the internet’s traffic. LearnDash, of course, has a considerably larger pool of talent at its disposal than Moodle.
As a consequence of this huge talent pool, answers to the majority of problems are already available in the LearnDash and WordPress forums, so you won’t need to contact their support service.
With Moodle, this is not the case. While it, too, has a large community of dedicated users in its forums, the odds of finding a solution to any problem in Moodle forums are not as good as in LearnDash forums.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Selling Your Courses
This is one area where LearnDash comes out on top, but Moodle falls short. While it’s a fantastic LMS, it was never intended to be used as an e-commerce platform. Because the team that created it was primarily focused on e-learning, Moodle does not include a feature that allows you to sell your courses.
It’s ideal as long as you’re ready to teach others for free. However, once you decide to offer your courses, you’ll discover that you’ll want something other than your Moodle LMS (maybe a second system based on WordPress, or a Moodle extension that enables limited e-commerce functionality).
LearnDash, on the other hand, does not have this issue. It’s built on WordPress, which already has a good e-commerce plugin called WooCommerce to assist you in selling your courses.
Because you don’t have to manage two distinct systems, life becomes a lot easier. Moreover, WooCommerce’s capability is far superior than that of any Moodle plugin available.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Gamification
Both LearnDash and Moodle have excellent gamification capabilities that may be used to boost your students’ interest in learning. Both of them have reward points, certificates, awards, badges, and other standard gamification elements.
Both include a collection of plugins that allow for even more advanced gamification elements, such as a ranking system, automated achievements, cognitive games, and more. As a result, both are on par when it comes to gamification.
LearnDash vs Moodle:eCommerce Integration
Moodle LMS is a strict LMS platform that isn’t designed to enable you sell your courses. This LMS platform does not have an eCommerce integration.
Instead, you must use third-party integration solutions to link your website to a content management system (CMS), most often WordPress.
With the help of WordPress, you can now sell your products online using eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce. This implies you’ll have to coordinate the management of two platforms.
LearnDash LMS: With the help of specialist eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce, EDD, Stripe, and others, you can effortlessly connect payment methods. There’s no need to keep track of many platforms to sell courses.
LearnDash vs Moodle: Pricing
Pricing is another area where LearnDash and Moodle differ considerably from one another.
While LearnDash is a commercial platform that costs $199 per year.
LearnDash’s premium extensions are likewise more expensive than Moodle’s extensions, but the fees are well justified considering LearnDash’s capabilities and versatility.
The expensive charges of LearnDash and its extensions are just a disadvantage if you can’t pay them; otherwise, users rarely complain about them.
LearnDash charges an annual subscription fee. It’s a sad that there’s no option to break this expense down into monthly payments. In addition, each plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can check it out without risking your money.
It includes a demo site design that will help you learn the ropes before diving in head-first! Following is a list of the costs:
Basic: $199
One site license
You can create unlimited courses
You can register an infinite number of users
Course content protection
You can drip-feed lessons
Access to advanced quizzing blocks
You can issue certificates and badges
You can run course forums
Email notifications
Free integrations
One year’s worth of support and updates
Plus: $229
Everything stated above is included, as well as the ProPanel advanced reporting dashboard and ten site licences.
Your administrative control is improved with the ProPanel. You may monitor student activity in real time and approve, remove, and manage all assignments and essays from this page. Your student’s course progress and quiz scores may also be seen and downloaded.
Pro: $329
Everything from the previous two options is included, plus 25 site licences. As you can see, LearnDash does not limit the functionality available to you based on your membership level. Instead, if you wish to grow over more sites, you just need to upgrade.
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin that incorporates cutting-edge elearning techniques. More than simply a plugin, we provide people and organisations interested in creating online courses practical and experience-based help. Moodle is a learning platform that allows educators, administrators, and students to construct customised learning environments using a single, resilient, secure, and integrated system. You may either install the program on your own web server or contact one of our Moodle Partners for help.
👉 Is it possible to use Moodle with WordPress?
Yes! Using the Edwiser Bridge plugin, you can easily integrate Moodle and WordPress. The best aspect is that, if it isn't already, you can make it entirely compatible with your Moodle theme.
💥 Is it possible to charge for Moodle courses?
You may charge for your courses using Moodle and PayPal. Anyone interested in purchasing a course must first create an account on your website. It's possible that you'll wish to enable sign-up.
💯 Who should take use of LearnDash?
Anyone who wants to use WordPress to create a learning management system. This includes, but is not limited to, WordPress developers with clients who want an LMS, training businesses, and educational institutions.
👉 Is it possible to use LearnDash without using WordPress?
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin, which means it will only function with WordPress and nothing else. WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) on the planet. LearnDash takes those features and enhances them to include e-learning.
⚡ Is LearnDash a plugin?
LearnDash is a paid add-on. For the whole year following the purchase of a licence, you will have access to software upgrades, new features, and support!
🙆🏻 Is LearnDash a cloud-based service?
LearnDash is a cloud-based learning management system that assists educational institutions and companies of all kinds in creating, tracking, and selling online courses.
💥 Is LearnDash easy to use?
For third-party add-ons, go with recognised developers like those listed on their website. The following are some of the reasons why you should use LearnDash: LearnDash was more user-friendly and versatile, and its interface with WordPress gave it access to a far larger audience.
💯 Is it possible for professors to notice when you access a file on Moodle?
Whether you're a student, keep in mind that your instructors can see if and when you downloaded course texts, accessed links, submitted quiz answers or assignments, or posted to a discussion board in the courses they're teaching. They are unable to view use statistics from other courses or students within a course.
👊 Is Moodle capable of detecting cheating?
Moodle uses a variety of techniques to prevent cheating in online classrooms and during online tests, including plagiarism screening, proctoring software, and lockdown browsers. Moodle, on the other hand, cannot effectively detect student cheating if it is not used.
⚡ How much does it cost to keep Moodle up and running?
There's nothing to set up, use, or update. Of course, there are fees connected with having your Moodle hosted by someone else, as well as maintenance and training expenditures in an organisation (like any other software). However, there are no royalties, fees, or user costs.
🙌 Is Moodle accessible from any location and on any device?
Moodle is compatible with a wide range of browsers and operating systems. You should be aware of your audience, their normal bandwidth, and web browsers if you wish to host a Moodle site. Yes, if it's on an internet-connected web server and you're using a computer, mobile device, or tablet. Alternatively, if it's on a web server that's connected to the same intranet (internal network) as the laptops or tablets that need to use it. Moodle has an official mobile app.
✔ Is Moodle safe to use?
Moodle is built to be extremely secure. However, a lot depends on the webserver, Moodle's configuration, and the Moodle Administrator's frequent package upgrades.
🤷♀️ Is it possible for Moodle to be hacked and student information stolen?
If your Moodle site has up-to-date security and the site administrator has not given away the keys, this is very improbable. On every website, anything is possible, but Moodle makes it harder for malicious users to wreak havoc.
✅ What are the countries with the most Moodle and LearnDash users?
In the United States, Moodle has a larger client base. LearnDash has a larger number of clients in the United States, India and the United Kingdom.
LearnDash vs Moodle Final Verdict: Which One is Better LearnDash or Moodle?
If you can afford it, LearnDash is a far better option than Moodle. It’s a comprehensive bundle that includes all of the essential themes, plugins, and functionality for selling your courses.
Moodle is fantastic, however it falls short of expectations when it comes to selling your courses due to a lack of e-commerce capabilities. Even while it offers extensions and other connectors to provide additional capability, it still falls short of the LearnDash, WordPress, and WooCommerce combination.
So, if money isn’t an issue, LearnDash should be your first choice. Otherwise, you may go with Moodle, which is a good option if you want to provide free courses or build a modest e-learning site with a few courses.
However, if you want to use Moodle to build a large e-Learning marketplace, you’ll probably have to fiddle with its open-source code to make it fit your demands (like many international universities have done).
In the end, the decision is based on your expectations for the platform, your expertise with technology, and your target audience.
What platform do you intend to use? Please let us know by leaving a comment.
If you can afford it, LearnDash is a far better option than Moodle. It’s a comprehensive bundle that includes all of the essential themes, plugins, and functionality for selling your courses.
Talbott Dugan reviews products and websites and helps you make your choices and in turn life easy. HIs aim is to educate readers about the most popular platforms and tools that you can use to start your online coaching business the right way. Talbott is the owner and author atInternet Marketing With Blogs, where you can learn about an amazing platform called Teachable.
