LifterLMS vs Tutor LMS

Evenly matched on the points we can measure. Here's how they compare on price, features, ratings and deals.

Feature	LifterLMS	Tutor LMS
Our score	8/10 (better)	7.6/10
Starts at	$199/year	$199/year
Free version	Yes	Yes
Refund window	30 days	30 days
Billing	Subscription	Subscription
Active installs	10K+	100K+ (better)
Last Black Friday	–	50% off
Category	Membership & LMS	Membership & LMS
Vendor	Lifterlms	Tutorlms
Black Friday 2026	Not announced	Not announced

Which should you choose?

Choose LifterLMS if…

Course creators on WordPress
Membership sites that need a free starting point

LifterLMS review Visit LifterLMS

Choose Tutor LMS if…

Course creators selling courses on WordPress
Agencies building learning sites for clients

Tutor LMS review Visit Tutor LMS

Features

LifterLMS

Course builder
Memberships and access plans
Payment gateways
Cart abandonment recovery
Email and form integrations
Quizzes and assignments
Private groups and cohorts

Tutor LMS

Course builder
Quizzes and assignments
Course selling
Payment gateways
AI Studio
Certificates
Live classes

Pros and cons

LifterLMS

Core LMS plugin is free with unlimited courses and students
Paid bundles include ecommerce and marketing add-ons
30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans

Ecommerce and advanced features need a paid bundle
Paid bundles renew at full price after the first year

Tutor LMS

The core plugin is free
Tutor LMS does not take a percentage of course revenue
All paid plans include unlimited courses and users
Lifetime plans are available
30-day money-back guarantee

AI Studio requires your own OpenAI API key
The Individual plan covers one site only
Sites beyond 10 need the Agency plan

Pricing plans

LifterLMS

LifterLMS Core Plugin
Free
Unlimited sites
- Unlimited courses
- Unlimited memberships
- Unlimited students and teachers
EarthStarts here
$199/year
1 site
- Unlimited support for 1 user
- Ecommerce add-ons for Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce
- Cart abandonment recovery add-on
Universe
$299/year
5 sites
- Unlimited support for 2 users
- Sky Pilot theme
- Email marketing and CRM add-ons

Tutor LMS

IndividualStarts here
$199/year
1 site
- All pro add-ons and features
- Unlimited courses and users
- Priority support
Business
$399/year
10 sites
- All pro add-ons and features
- Unlimited courses and users
- Pro themes
Agency
$799/year
Unlimited sites
- All pro add-ons and features
- Unlimited courses and users
- Updates for 1 year

What Reddit says

LifterLMS

Reddit mentions of LifterLMS are thin: a 2019 sysadmin thread lists it as one WordPress LMS option for a 500-user organisation, and a 2026 post reports that Elementor editing did not work on course pages until course and lesson options were enabled in Elementor settings.

Tutor LMS

Reddit users see Tutor LMS as a cheap, workable choice for simple course sites, but several say it gets expensive once extra features are needed. Threads also mention bugs that affected unrelated pages and a critical authentication bypass in Tutor LMS Pro.