could vs. LearnDash: An LMS software comparison (2023)

We have tested many course software solutions for our company over the years.

When we couldn't find a solution that met our needs, we dusted off our software engineering skills and developed AccessAlly.

And to this day, we continue to test and review options on the market so that we can share that knowledge.

Podia and LearnDash have different software philosophies. LearnDash's focus is solely on creating online courses, while Podia has the admirable goal of running its entire digital business.

Simply put, Podia is trying to do too much, especially for power users or experienced business owners.

Podia is a SaaS solution that hosts your main website, accepts payments, teaches classes, manages memberships, drives marketing automation pipelines, sends marketing emails, and builds landing pages.

They work well in a stripped-down build and are a good option to keep costs down if you're just starting to get online.

However, as you grow, we recommend looking at alternatives that include advanced features and functionality designed to take your subscriptions and online courses to the next level.

LearnDash is a WordPress plugin and focuses onLearning Management System (LMS)functionality. Depending on the objective of the course, this can be an advantage or a disadvantage for you.

To extend LearnDash's core LMS functionality, you will likely need to install additional WordPress plugins and plugins to provide a positive end-to-end user experience. Fortunately, LearnDash has a strong marketplace of integrations and plugins to make this possible.

Unfortunately, this means that you may need to purchase and integrate additional plugins to handle the following:

• • Payments and Payment Management
  • Membership levels to operate cohesive membership sites
  • Integration with your CRM for marketing automation

With Podia, you sign up for one tool that seamlessly handles everything from payments, course creation, LMS functionality, deep integrations, and membership management.

Price is an important factor in the decision-making process when it comes to choosing the platform or software to support your subscription or online courses.

Here's a summary of LearnDash's tier options and site license restrictions:

• • Basic: $199/year – 1 site license
  • Plus Package: $229/year - 10 site licenses
  • Pro Plan: $369/year - 25 site licenses

By comparison, Podia offers two tier options to suit your needs:

• • The Engine ($39)
  • Cocktail Shaker ($79)

These plans differ primarily in feature limitations.

The Mover plan excludes memberships, blog functionality, external buy buttons, affiliate marketing, and the ability to embed third-party code. If these items are part of your business now or in the future, budget for the Shaker plan.

In short, if you're just starting out or taking a basic course or membership, you probably need the Shaker plan ($79) with Podia. If you only need one installation, you can create an offer for the lowest level in LearnDash.

With Podia, you host your website and courses on your closed platform and it's not easy to take your content with you if you cancel or decide to continue.

Because the Podia system is closed, you cannot easily extend it by installing plugins and plugins. This means you can't add metrics or track the progress of your course.gamificationor other features that can improve the overall user experience in your courses.

LearnDash took a different approach: It's a WordPress plugin, so you're not building your website on rented land. However, when it comes to creating courses, LearnDash uses a proprietary custom post type that allows you to assign modules and lessons. If you cancel your LearnDash license, your content will no longer be usable. Fortunately, some plugins like AccessAlly can help you restore and migrate your content if you decide to move away from that plugin.

Unlike Podia, LearnDashLMS integrationto extend its core functionality.

However, it is quite common for LearnDash users to have 6 or more different plugins to ensure that everything works together to create a functional learning experience. When it comes to your tech stack, think long term because the more plugins you add, the higher the risk of something going wrong.

LearnDash is a great plugin if you're just selling one course and don't need a lot of extra features.

Having a strong customer support team and system is essential for SaaS and technology companies to ensure the success of their users, but most companies approach customer support differently.

Podia customer support is available 24/7 via email and there are live chat times scheduled 7 days a week. They offer free migrations for annual plan customers and everyone on their "Shaker" level. They also have a vast knowledge base to help you get set up step by step.

By comparison, LearnDash does not offer 24/7 support, and email-only support hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. m. to 4 p.m. m. ITS T.

Don't let that stop you. We have found email support to be very effective, especially when you have a more complex problem to solve.

This way, the support team can resolve the issue and offer a reliable solution.

And remember, most SaaS and LMS companies have online user groups to get real-time support from existing users.

With Podia, the scope of your integration with your email platform is that you can send new contacts to your email system after they have signed up with Podia. This is best described as a "one-way" integration.

Fortunately, Podia comes with built-in email automation, so this doesn't have to be too complicated. On the other hand, your design options are limited and simpler than when using a traditional email marketing or CRM system.

Since this feature is built in, it makes sense that they don't prioritize integration with other email platforms.

Similarly, with LearnDash, you need a third-party tool like Zapier or WPFusion to connect your created online courses to your WordPress site and send information to your CRM.

If you have a more advanced use case, these tools may not be the ideal solution for your business.

The webinar integration is a big win for Podia users. Unlike most online course plugins and SaaS solutions, you can set up webinar functionality built into your membership site or online course powered by YouTube Live.

Podia makes it possible to offer free webinars as part of your sales funnel, easily sell evergreen replays, or host live sessions for your members.

This feature is not available to LearnDash users. However, just like with any WordPress site, you can embed YouTube live events and link to a Zoom webinar link. It's not just an automated process like in Podia.

Marketing automation tools are here to stay.

Use your marketing automation tool to optimize your course and membership program by leveraging AccessAlly's deep two-way integration.

It's designed to help you sell more, teach better, and engage with your students longer.

This is where LearnDash really stands out compared to Podia.

LearnDash allows you to add a quiz or assessment at any level during a course, be it at the end of a course, a specific lesson, or a specific topic.

With 8 question types to choose from, timed assessments, and the ability to submit any type of media as an input field, your assessment options are endless.

You can also request homework assignments by class or subject, issue report cards, and track assignments and assessments with grade books.

LearnDash has even taken progress tracking to a new level in its latest version, tracking course progress across all course levels and integrating right into the design.

A great way to motivate students to complete your courses and materials is to use LearnDash's built-in certificates to reward them once they complete a course.

While Podia allows you to create assessments to reinforce material and assess student retention, the selection of quizzes and question types isn't as robust compared to LearnDash. Podia only allows you to create multiple choice questions.

If your online course plans involve tracking your students' progress to make it more engaging and motivating for graduation, you're unfortunately out of luck with Podia. On a positive note, Podia includes a live chat component to facilitate direct contact with prospects and existing customers for 1:1 live support to increase engagement and retention.

For brand conscious entrepreneurs who value design, Podia might not be for you due to the limited customization of the theme.

It's great if you're just getting started or can't figure out exactly what your sites will look like, but it's not ideal for those who want complete design flexibility.

Podia has a drag and drop page builder that makes it easy to choose different elements or modules to add to your website. You can set your brand colors, but you lack the flexibility you have when building on WordPress to fully customize your theme.

Want to change what's displayed on a member's dashboard? Add a progress bar on a course or profile page? You have no luck with Podia.

On the other hand, LearnDash is oneWordPress LMS Add-on, so it can be integrated into any WordPress theme or builder plugin. The built-in course layouts and focus mode are compatible with most page builders.

The built-in course builder has a drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy to add your content and reuse existing lessons or course topics. However, when it comes to the appearance of your course pages, there is a lack of flexibility. Other than specifying a few colors, you don't get full customization of the course layout and layout.

Since AccessAlly is a WordPress plugin, you can use any WordPress theme or builder.

Or start with the AccessAlly theme, which comes with all the tracking menus and progression navigation out of the box.

Power, flexibility and beauty in one course platform.

Whether you want to offer "Bulk Licensing" or the ability to have parent/child accounts that a group leader can assign child accounts to, for example for a corporate training team or family accounts...

Unfortunately, Podia does not offer equipment ormass registration in progress.

An additional plugin developed by another company is required to implement this feature with LearnDash, but it is possible.

The podium hasstripesmiPayPal integrationwith coupons through a two-step order form. You can even increase your sales conversions by offering user coupons and 1-click upsells to increase sales. If you offer recurring payments or payment plans for your listings on Podia, you'll need to use Stripe to process those payments because it's not available through PayPal on that platform.

Podia also offers affiliate tracking features on its Shaker Tier plans. However, the affiliate feature is not as robust as most affiliate management plugins. If you are looking for a more advanced affiliate center, I recommend looking into alternative solutions.

LearnDash has limited built-in eCommerce functionality. However, if you have a simple setup and only offer one-time payments for courses, no additional plugins are required and it integrates natively with PayPal, Stripe, and 2checkout.

when you sellrecurring subscriptionsIf you do, offer paid plans, and want an easy way to upsell and cross-sell your other products, you'll need an add-on or add-on to get this functionality. The same goes for affiliate resources.

This is where the cost and complexity of LearnDash add up.

These pricing models give you an idea of ​​what to expect when you consider the cost of Podia vs. LearnDash, but that's not all.

If you want to use Podia to automate your email marketing, it is more beneficial to opt for this option. If you already have an email marketing automation platform and website, Podia can still be beneficial depending on what plugins you may need with your LearnDash build.

LearnDash works as your Learning Management System (LMS), so remember that you'll also need to add a payment processor, order forms, membership plugin, website hosting, video hosting, and other plugins like groups for forums.

Costs increase when you add these integrations and features, so keep that in mind when shopping around to consider your true investment.

• • You need a basic course website with no plans for additional features in the future
  • You want your website up and running quickly so you can test your ideas without worrying about design
  • They don't use a CRM like Infusionsoft/Keap, Ontraport, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, or Drip to run their email marketing automation.
  • Don't worry about building on rented land and giving up full control to have a website, email marketing, and course platform that takes care of it all for your membership business and online courses in one place.

• • It is open to a larger tech stack and uses many different plugins to achieve its goals.
  • Absolutely need SCORM or Tin-CanLMS integration
  • You are not picky about the look of your course.
  • You don't need deep CRM integration to create more personalized customer experiences, but you do need plenty of survey options.

Alternatives do LearnDash

• LearnDash x AccessAlly
• LearnDash contra Afinal
• LearnDash versus Teachable
• LearnDash frente a LearnPress
• LearnDash vs Mighty Networks
• LearnDash frente a LifterLMS
• Curso LearnDash vs WP

could have alternatives

• Could x Accessible
• Podia vs. Kajabi
• could vs teachable
• Podia vs Powerful Networks
• Could front of MemberPress
• Podia x Thinkific
• Could against LifterLMS