You’ve done the math on LearnDash. The renewal cost, the add-ons that should’ve been included, the annual bill that keeps climbing.
Switching to something better makes sense, and Masteriyo keeps coming up as the answer: free to start, no annual fee, same core features.
But here’s what actually stops most people: it’s everything they’ve built inside LearnDash.
The course structure you spent weeks getting right. Students are halfway through your content. Order history you can’t lose.
The thought of rebuilding all of that from scratch quietly wins every time, and you end up renewing anyway.
Not anymore.
Masteriyo’s migration tool moves your courses, quizzes, enrolled students, and orders over in one click.
This guide walks you through the whole process, step by step.
Not sure yet?
Here’s a full breakdown of why Masteriyo is a strong free LearnDash alternative.
What gets migrated
Before anything else, here’s everything you can bring over from LearnDash to Masteriyo.
| What you’ve built on LearnDash | Migrate to Masteriyo? |
|---|---|
| Courses | Yes |
| Lessons | Yes |
| Quizzes | Yes |
| Enrolled Students | Yes |
| Instructor | Yes |
| Course Orders | Yes |
The migration tool reads data directly from LearnDash. Thus, both LearnDash and Masteriyo need to be active during the activation.
You can remove LearnDash and its data once everything is verified.
Before you start
Three minutes of prep here saves you from troubleshooting later.
Pre-Migration Checklist
On the LearnDash Side
Update LearnDash to the latest version
Running an outdated version can cause compatibility issues during migration. A quick update before you start prevents most of them.
Keep LearnDash active until migration is verified
The migration tool reads directly from LearnDash’s database. Don’t deactivate it until after you’ve confirmed the migration has completed successfully.
On the Masteriyo Side
Install Masteriyo and run the setup wizard
Download it free from WordPress.org or masteriyo.com. The setup wizard takes under two minutes — complete it before starting the migration.
Enable the Migration Tool addon
Go to Masteriyo → Addons and switch on the Migration Tool. It’s built into Masteriyo — no separate plugin to install, free on every plan.
Standard Practice
Back up your site
Use your host’s backup tool or a plugin like UpdraftPlus. The migration is reliable, but a restore point costs nothing and removes all risk.
Test on staging first if you can
Not mandatory, but running the migration on a staging site before touching your live site is worth the extra 30 minutes.
How to Migrate from LearnDash to Masteriyo
The whole process takes under ten minutes. Here’s how it works.
1. Install Masteriyo
Go to your WordPress Dashboard -> Plugins -> Add New and search for Masteriyo.
Install and activate it, then run through the quick setup wizard.
The free version is all you need. Migration is included at no cost.
2. Enable the Migration Tool Addon
Go to Masteriyo -> Addons and toggle on the Migration tool.
This addon is free and available on every plan. You don’t need to upgrade to access it.
3. Run the Migration Tool
Navigate to Masteriyo -> Dashboard -> Tools -> Migration.
Use the “Migration From” dropdown to select LearnDash.
The dropdown only lists plugins that are currently installed and active. If LearnDash isn’t showing, check that it’s still activated.
Hit the Migrate button. The tool runs automatically and transfers all compatible data. You’ll get a notification once it’s complete — don’t close the tab while it’s running.
4. Verify migrated content
Check the following to confirm everything transferred correctly:
Masteriyo → Courses— your courses should be here, with lessons and quizzes nested inside each courseMasteriyo → Users— enrolled students and instructors should all be presentMasteriyo → Orders— Your full order history should be intact
Once everything checks out, deactivate and uninstall LearnDash. Keep it deactivated but not deleted for a day or two — just in case you need to cross-reference anything.
After migration — what to set up next
Your data is in Masteriyo. Now you need to get everything running. Here’s what to configure before you go live.
Flush your permalinks
Go to WordPress → Settings → Permalinks and hit Save Changes without changing anything. This refreshes your URL structure and prevents 404 errors on course pages after the migration.
Set up payments
Past orders migrated, but Masteriyo’s payment settings need to be configured from scratch. Go to Masteriyo → Settings → Payments and connect your preferred payment gateway. Masteriyo has a built-in order system — no WooCommerce required.
Check that your courses are published
Head to Masteriyo → Courses and confirm your courses are published and visible. Update any that came over as drafts before pointing students to them.
Replace LearnDash shortcodes
Any pages using LearnDash shortcodes — course listings, login forms, student dashboards — will be broken. Replace them with Masteriyo’s equivalents.
You can find the full list in the Masteriyo shortcode documentation.
Configure email notifications
Masteriyo handles enrollment and course completion emails separately from LearnDash. Go to Masteriyo → Settings → Emails to set up the notifications you want students and instructors to receive.
Set up certificates
LearnDash certificates don’t transfer — Masteriyo has its own certificate builder.
Go to Masteriyo → Certificates to create and assign certificates to your courses. If you have students who have already completed courses, you can issue certificates to them manually.
Remove LearnDash and its addons
Once everything is configured and running, deactivate and uninstall LearnDash along with any LearnDash add-ons you had installed. Keeping unused plugins active is unnecessary overhead.
That’s it — your courses are home
Migration gets a bad reputation. The reality with Masteriyo is that moving your data is handled in one click. What’s left is just configuration, and you only do it once.
If anything doesn’t go as expected, the migration documentation covers the details, and the support team is available on all plans.
And if you’re curious about what else Masteriyo can do now that you’re here, take a look around. There’s a good chance features you were paying extra for in LearnDash are already included.