LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes
Plugin Review
AI-ResearchedWhat is LifterLMS?
LifterLMS is a free, open-source WordPress plugin that turns any WordPress site into a full-featured online learning platform. You can build and sell online courses, create timed quizzes, and manage student enrollments directly from your dashboard. The plugin is developed by LifterLMS, a team that has been building WordPress LMS solutions for over 10 years. It currently has 10K+ active installs and holds a 4.8/5 rating from 390 reviews, with 93% of those being five-star ratings.
This longevity matters. A decade of updates means the codebase is mature and battle-tested. The plugin works with any modern WordPress theme, the Block Editor (Gutenberg), and popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi. It also integrates with tools like AffiliateWP, MonsterInsights, and WP Fusion. If you are searching for a reliable lms plugin wordpress solution that doesn't lock you into a hosted platform, LifterLMS is a strong candidate.
Key Features of LifterLMS
- Intuitive Course Builder – Create courses, sections, and interactive lessons with multimedia content using a drag-and-drop interface.
- Advanced Quiz Engine – Build timed or open quizzes with automated grading, prerequisites, and detailed analytics. This makes it easy to create quizzes in wordpress that track student performance.
- Drip Content & Prerequisites – Schedule lesson releases over time and require students to complete specific lessons before accessing the next one.
- Built-in Ecommerce – Sell courses and memberships with Stripe and PayPal integration, including support for subscriptions and payment plans.
- Student Progress Tracking – Access in-depth reporting dashboards to monitor enrollment, quiz scores, and course completion rates.
- Certificates & Achievements – Award custom certificates and integrate with GamiPress for gamification and badges.
- Multi-Instructor Support – Add multiple instructors to a single course, each with their own profile and content management rights.
- Community & Social Learning – Integrate discussion forums, course reviews, and social learning features to keep students engaged.
Who Should Use LifterLMS?
LifterLMS is built for three distinct user groups. First, developers and IT professionals who build LMS websites for clients appreciate the open-source core and flexible integration options. Second, do-it-yourself creators who want to sell courses or build training membership sites find the setup straightforward. Third, users switching from hosted platforms like Teachable or Thinkific choose LifterLMS for greater control over their data and no revenue sharing.
The plugin handles any scale. With no limits on courses, memberships, or enrollments in the free core, you can start small and grow. The 93% five-star rating from 390 reviews suggests most users find the feature set meets their needs. If you are researching how to build an online course in wordpress, LifterLMS provides every tool you need without requiring a paid plan to get started.
Installation & Setup
You can install LifterLMS directly from your WordPress admin dashboard using the automatic installer. The plugin requires WordPress 5.9 or later and PHP 7.4 or later. Setup is beginner-friendly: after activation, a setup wizard guides you through creating your first course, adding lessons, and configuring payment gateways. No coding is required to launch a basic online course plugin site.
Support & Community
The support picture is mixed. Over the past two months, the WordPress.org support forum shows 1 open thread and 0 resolved threads, giving a 0% resolution rate for free users. The plugin description itself notes that free users may experience slower response times and recommends purchasing a bundle for priority support. This is a common trade-off with free plugins that offer premium add-ons.
Despite the support lag, the rating data tells a positive story. With 93% 3% one-star ratings from 390 total reviews, the plugin itself is stable and well-regarded. The 10-year development history and frequent updates (last updated Jun 30, 2026) indicate an active team. For those seeking the best course plugin wordpress option with a strong community, the trade-off between free support and a mature product is worth considering.
Pros & Cons
- With over 10K+ active installs and a 4.8/5 rating from 390 reviews, LifterLMS is a widely trusted LMS plugin for WordPress.
- 93% of its 390 ratings are 5-star, indicating high user satisfaction with its course builder and ecommerce features.
- The free core plugin imposes no limits on courses, memberships, enrollments, or earnings, making it accessible for scaling.
- It integrates with any modern WordPress theme, the Block Editor, and page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
- Built-in payment gateways for Stripe and PayPal support memberships and subscriptions, enabling direct course sales.
- Only 0% of support threads are resolved (0 resolved out of 1 total), suggesting very limited or inactive official support.
- The plugin's premium add-ons and bundles require a $1 temporary 30-day demo site, implying core functionality may be insufficient for advanced needs.
- Drip content and prerequisites are listed as features, but their implementation may rely on add-ons or complex setup, not core plugin defaults.
Technical Details
- Requires WordPress
- 5.9+
- Requires PHP
- 7.4+
- Tested up to WP
- 7.0.1
- First Released
- 2016 (10+ years)
- Support (last 2 months)
- 2 threads — 0% resolved
Feature Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the core LifterLMS plugin is free and available on WordPress.org, with over 10K+ active installs. You can create and sell courses without paying for the base plugin, though premium add-ons and bundles are available for advanced features.
LifterLMS has 10K+ active installs on WordPress websites. It is rated 4.8/5 from 390 ratings, reflecting strong user satisfaction.
LifterLMS requires WordPress 5.9 or higher to run properly. It works with any modern WordPress theme, the Block Editor (Gutenberg), and popular page builders like Elementor and Divi.
Yes, LifterLMS is actively maintained and was last updated on Jun 30, 2026, with the current version being 10.0.10. It was first released in 2016, giving it over 10 years of development history.
LifterLMS requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most common issues stem from outdated servers, so you should ensure your host meets this requirement for optimal performance.
Free users can post questions in the WordPress.org support area, though response times vary (1 total support thread in the last 2 months, with 0% resolved). For faster support, you can purchase a product from LifterLMS to access their dedicated support team.
Yes, LifterLMS is designed to be easy to use with an intuitive course builder and works with any theme or page builder, making it beginner-friendly. It has been actively developed since 2016 and requires only WordPress 5.9+ and PHP 7.4+, which most modern hosts already support.
Key features include an intuitive course builder with sections and lessons, in-depth student progress tracking with quizzes and certificates, and a complete ecommerce platform with Stripe and PayPal integration. It also supports community learning through forums, multiple instructors, and course reviews.