Having trouble choosing between LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice for your eLearning platform? You’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we will compare LearnDash against MemberPress, two popular WordPress LMS plugins, to help you decide the best option for you.
Before we begin, let’s quickly introduce the two WordPress plugins.
LearnDash vs Thrive Apprentice At a Glance
LearnDash is the brainchild of Justin and Kloé Ferriman. It debuted in 2013 and became part of StellarWP in 2021.
Thrive Apprentice is a member of Thrive Suite. The Suite began with the introduction of Thrive Architect (formerly Thrive Visual Editor) in 2013. It was acquired by Awesome Motive in 2023.
LearnDash
By StellarWP
80,000+ Active Installation
Add-ons and Integrations
Premium
Thrive Apprentice
By Awesome Motive
500+ Active Installation
Thrive Suite of plugins
Premium
Plans and Pricing
LearnDash
LearnDash’s pricing is pretty rigid. There is no free tier or lifetime license, either. You will have to sign up for one of the three yearly subscriptions, which start at $199 per year.
LearnDash doesn’t have many add-ons since most of the features are included in the plugin itself. However, you’ll have to pay an additional $49 per year for each premium add-on you use.
| LearnDash Plans | Pricing | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $199/year No Lifetime Package | 1-site license Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
| Plus | $399/year No Lifetime Package | 10-site license Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
| Pro | $799/year No Lifetime Package | Unlimited site licenses Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
Thrive Apprentice
Thrive Apprentice is a premium plugin with just two pricing tiers. The standalone LMS plugin costs $149 per year and offers basic course-building and membership functionality. On the other hand, the Thrive Suite, worth $299 per year, gives complete access to the Thrive ecosystem, including the theme builder, quiz, and more.
| Thrive Apprentice | Pricing | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Thrive Apprentice | $149/year | 1-Site License Course Builder Membership Functionality |
| Thrive Suite | $299/year | 5-site License Thrive Apprentice Thrive Quiz Builder Whole Thrive Ecosystem |
Thrive Apprentice is cheaper to get started with courses creation. However, LearnDash’s basic plan has more features.
We Recommend: That said, none of the two LMS plugins offer a lifetime license. If you don’t want to pay a subscription fee, consider other options like Masteriyo with lifetime licenses for individuals and agencies.
Features
Initial Setup
After installing the respective plugins, you are welcomed by the setup wizard, which lets you set the basic settings.
LearnDash configures basic course and payment settings. On the other hand, Thrive Apprentice guides you through design, module, and other settings.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Wizard | ✅ | ✅ (6, Available on Thrive Suite) |
| Native Theme | ❌ | ✅ (6, Available on Thrive Suite) |
| Demo Content Import | ❌ | ❌ |
| Migration | ✅ (Tutor LMS, LearnPress, Sensei) | ✅ (LearnDash) |
For a beginner, Thrive Apprentice’s setup wizard will feels more welcoming.
Course Builder
Both LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice have a drop-and-drag builder that allows you to create and edit courses to your liking.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Drag and Drop Builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Front-end Builder | ✅ (Premium Add-on) | ❌ |
| Unlimited Courses and Lessons | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Attachments | ✅ | ✅ |
| Download Materials | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Preview | ✅ (Available as Sample Lessons) | ✅ (Available on Thrive Suite) |
There is not much difference between LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice when it comes to course builder.
Quiz Builder
Thrive Quiz Builder is only available on the premium Suite plan. It lets you create basic quizzes and assessments. However, it lacks advanced features like randomization, import/export, and email notification that you get on LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Quizzes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drop and Drag Builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple Question Types | ✅ (8, Includes Survey) | ✅ (3+, File Upload) |
| Quizzes Import and Export | ✅ | ❌ |
| Randomize Questions | ✅ | ❌ |
| Quiz Duration | ✅ | ✅ |
| Limit Quiz Attempts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quiz Hints | ✅ | ❌ |
| Answer Explanation | ✅ | ❌ |
| Quiz Leaderboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email Notification | ✅ | ❌ |
Thus, LearnDash lets you create more engaging quizzes.
Built-in Order & Payment Support
LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice integrate directly with Stripe for course sales and subscriptions. The latter even has revenue sharing among instructors and admins.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in Order System | ✅ (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay) | ✅ (Stripe) |
| Course Subscription | ✅ | ✅ |
| Revenue Sharing | ✅ | ❌ |
LearnDash has order and payment system suitable for both individual creator and course marketplace.
Sales and Ecommerce Integrations
Thrive Apprentice has an order system and membership functionality built in. However, it has limited support for third-party solutions.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | ✅ | ✅ |
| Stripe | ✅ (Built-in) | ✅ (Built-in) |
| PayPal | ✅ (Built-in) | ✅ (via Thrive Automator) |
| Razorpay Integration | ✅ (Built-in) | ❌ |
| Easy Digital Downloads | ✅ | ❌ |
| Membership Site | ✅ (Paid Membership Pro, Restrict Content Pro) | ✅ (Built-in) |
Thus, LearnDash is readily compatible with more third-party ecommerce plugins.
Certificate Builder
Both LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice feature drag-and-drop builders. However, Thrive Apprentice offers pre-made templates and a QR verification mechanism.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate Blocks | ✅ (4 Custom Blocks) | ✅ (5+ Sections) |
| Pre-built Certificate Templates | ❌ | ✅ |
| Unlimited Certificates | ✅ | ✅ |
| Certificate Dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Auto Attach Certificate to Email | ❌ | ❌ |
| QR Verification for Certificate | ❌ | ✅ |
Thus, Thrive Apprentice has a better certificate builder than LearnDash.
We Recommend: That said, it doesn’t let you automate emails with a certificate attached. This feature is available on Masteriyo, along with all the other features discussed above.
Gradebook and Analytics
Thrive Apprentice lets you choose the grading system for each quiz and assessment. This is available as a separate add-on on LearnDash. Course reports are also built-in which require a premium add-on on LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Gradebook | ✅ | ✅ (As Assessments) |
| Course Analytics | ✅ (Available as ProPanel) | ✅ |
Thus, LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice both offer gradebook and course analytics features.
Live Sessions
Neither LearnDash nor Thrive Apprentice has built-in support for live classes. That said, they can connect to web meeting platforms like Zoom using third-party integrations.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar | ✅ (Event Calendar) | ❌ |
| Live Classes | Via third-party plugins | Via third-party plugins |
For live classes, LearnDash is a better option than Thrive Apprentice.
We Recommend: However, if you are looking for first-party support for live classes, there is Masteriyo which has live stream as lesson type and integrations for Zoom and Google Meet.
Course Protection and Security
Thrive Apprentice has multiple course restriction settings to battle privacy. Likewise, it also different measures in place to protect users data, similar to LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Content/Video Protection | ✅ | ✅ |
| Password Strength Checker | ✅ | ✅ |
| Google reCAPTCHA | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email Verification | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, both LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice provide a secure LMS environment for course creators and instructors.
Student Engagement
With Thrive Apprentice, you can let students drop comments on the learning page itself. You can even automate email based on pre-defined triggers. But it lacks a review system which is essential for course creators to receive feedbacks from learners.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Q&A Section | ❌ | ✅ |
| Review System | ✅ | ❌ |
| Course-wide Announcement | ❌ | ❌ |
| Notification System | ✅ | ✅ |
There’s no clear winner here.
We Recommend: For a complete student engagement solution, we recommend Masteriyo. It offers a Q&A section, course review, course-wide announcement, and an email notification system.
Course Control and Access
Core course access features like content drip, course bundle, and expiration are available on LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice. However, some features like course prerequisites or challenging exams are only available on the LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Preview | ✅ (Available as Sample Lessons) | ✅ |
| Course Content Access for Instructor/Admin | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Prerequisites | ✅ | ❌ |
| Content Drip | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Retake | ✅ | ✅ |
| Challenging Exams | ✅ | ❌ |
| Course Bundle | ✅ (Available as Course Groups) | ✅ |
| Course Expiration | ✅ | ✅ |
LearnDash ha a slight edge over Thrive Apprentice has it offer more access control features.
User Roles and Membership
LearnDash supports multiple instructors, which Thrive Apprentice doesn’t. That aside, the two plugins share similar user roles and membership features.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Users | ✅ | ✅ |
| User Import and Export | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bulk Course Enrollment | ✅ | ✅ |
| User Profile | ✅ | ✅ |
| Social Login | ❌ | ❌ |
| Multiple Instructor | ✅ | ❌ |
| Membership Site | ✅ | ✅ |
LearnDash is better for marketplaces and course platforms with multiple instructors.
Design and Customization
Thrive Apprentice offers tons of customization, but you will have to subscribe to the Suite plan to use it. Even then, you are limited to Thrive’s in-house tools.
On the other hand, LearnDash brings easy compatibility with other WordPress themes and plugins.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Bundled Theme | ❌ | ✅ (5+, Available on Thrive Suite) |
| Page Builder | ✅ (Elementor, Divi, Beaver) | ✅ (Thrive Architect) |
| White Label | ❌ | ❌ |
| Webhooks | ✅ (Zapier) | ✅ (Thrive Automator, Zapier) |
| Advanced Email Automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Shortcodes | ✅ | ✅ |
Thrive Apprentice has a better ecosysetm tools, whereas LearnDash has better compatibility with third-party themes and plugins.
We Recommend: Still, the two plugins don’t allow you to white-label your website with your logo and branding. If this is important to you, you should consider LMS with white-labeling features like Masteriyo.
Support and Documentation
Both LearnDash and Thrive Apprentice offer plenty of resources, from documentation to video tutorials. However, Thrive Apprentice offers different levels of support based on the subscribed plans.
| LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | ❌ | ❌ |
| Documentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Video Tutorials | ✅ (YouTube, Academy) | ✅ (YouTube, Academy) |
| Live Walkthrough | ✅ | ✅ (Available on Suite) |
| Facebook Community | ✅ | ✅ (Available on Suite) |
You don’t have to subscribe to the highest plan to access all support channels on LearnDash.
LearnDash vs Thrive Apprentice: Which LMS Should You Choose?
Here’s a summary of everything discussed so far. To give you a broader sense of the competition, we’ve also included Masteriyo in the comparison chart.
| Feature | LearnDash | Thrive Apprentice | Masteriyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | 4⭐ | 3.5 ⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Initial Setup | 4.5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Builder | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Quiz Builder | 5⭐ | 3.5⭐ | 4.5 ⭐ |
| Certificate Builder | 4⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Live Sessions | 4⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Protection and Security | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Student Engagement | 4⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Built-in Order and Payment | 4⭐ | 3.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Sales and Ecommerce | 5⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Gradebook and Analytics | 4.5⭐ | 4.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Control and Access | 5⭐ | 4⭐ | 4.5⭐ |
| User Roles and Membership | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Design and Customization | 4.5⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Support and Documentation | 5⭐ | 4.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
To conclude, Thrive Apprentice has created a good ecosystem of LMS themes and plugins. However, LearnDash still beats it with more advanced features and compatibility with third-party platforms.
Before you make the ultimate decision, we suggest looking into other alternatives, as there are a lot of new promising LMS in the market. One such plugin is Masteriyo, which has all LMS features and even more flexible pricing.
