Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning
Free WordPress LMS plugin. Create and sell online courses with an AI course builder, quizzes, certificates and multi-instructor revenue sharing.
Solid choice
Academy LMS is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 77/100 on our health check.
- Loved by users — 4.9/5 from 120 reviews
- Actively developed — last update 1 week ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Academy LMS stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| course builder | #7 |
| elearning | #4 |
| learning management system | #20 |
| lms | #14 |
| online courses | #12 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 from 120 reviews
About Academy LMS
From the official readme · v3.8.5Description
Free WordPress LMS plugin to create, sell and manage online courses
Academy LMS is a lightweight, self-hosted learning management system (LMS) for WordPress, rated 4.9★ by its users. Build a full eLearning site with an AI course builder, a frontend course builder, quizzes, certificates, student and instructor dashboards, and built-in course selling. You don’t need to write any code.
Many other WordPress LMS plugins charge for the features course creators need first. Academy LMS includes these in the free version:
- AI Studio. Generate course outlines, lessons, quizzes and images from a text prompt.
- Frontend course builder. Instructors can build courses without opening wp-admin.
- Quiz builder and completion certificates.
- Multi-instructor revenue sharing. Instructors can request withdrawals from the frontend.
- Sell courses with StoreEngine, WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, plus SureCart in Pro.
- Fast React admin dashboard. It runs as a single-page app, so screens load instantly and the plugin adds little weight to your site.
You own your platform, your students and your revenue. There are no SaaS subscriptions and no per-sale platform fees.
👉 Academy LMS | Live Demo | Documentation | Academy LMS Pro | Video Tutorials | Public Roadmap
🎬 Watch the Academy LMS overview
Who Academy LMS is for
- Course creators and educators who want to launch and sell online courses on their own website
- Coaches and solopreneurs who sell courses, 1:1 sessions and memberships from one site
- Training businesses and academies that run multi-instructor course marketplaces
- Schools and institutions that need quizzes, gradebooks, attendance and certificates
- Membership and community sites that combine courses with a learner community
- Agencies and developers who build LMS sites for clients, with webhooks, white label and a React SPA admin
🤖 AI Studio: build a complete online course in minutes
Enter a topic, and Academy LMS AI Studio drafts the whole course for you: the outline, lesson content, quiz questions and course images. You can then review and edit every part in the course builder. It cuts the time to launch a course from days to minutes.
🎓 Course builder and course management
- Frontend course builder with an intuitive drag-and-drop curriculum (topics and lessons)
- Unlimited courses, lessons, quizzes and students
- Video lessons from self-hosted files, YouTube, Vimeo or HTML5, plus Gumlet video integration
- Course trailers and video posters to raise course-page conversions
- Difficulty levels and exact course duration
- Content security to protect premium course content
- Course Q&A, reviews, ratings and wishlists for student engagement
- Global announcements for all enrolled learners
- Lesson notes for learners
- MathJax and LaTeX support for math and science courses
- Course attachments and downloadable resources (Pro)
- Course prerequisites (Pro)
- Course bundles (Pro)
- Content drip, to release lessons on a schedule (Pro)
- SCORM support (Pro)
📝 Quizzes, assignments, gradebook and certificates
- Built-in quiz builder with true/false, single choice, multiple choice, short answer, image answer and fill-in-the-blank questions
- Question explanations that show learners why an answer is right
- Negative marking for exam-style assessments
- Quiz layout customization and quiz attempt filtering
- Completion certificates, with a certificate builder for custom designs
- Assignments attached to course topics (Pro)
- Gradebook to grade and evaluate students (Pro)
- Auto-complete lessons and courses (Pro)
- Want to reward learners? Add GameEngine for points, badges, levels and leaderboards.
💰 Sell online courses and share revenue with instructors
- Native checkout with StoreEngine. No WooCommerce required.
- WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads integrations, plus SureCart (Pro)
- Multi-instructor revenue sharing (free). Set commission rates between the admin and instructors.
- Earnings management and frontend instructor withdrawals
- Recurring course access with WooCommerce Subscriptions (Pro)
- Membership-based course access with MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, SureMembers and WishList Member (Pro)
📊 Student and instructor dashboards, analytics and reports
- Student dashboard with enrolled courses, progress, quiz attempts and certificates
- Instructor dashboard with courses, students, earnings and withdrawals
- Public instructor profiles
- Course progress tracking with detailed course, lesson and quiz statistics
- LMS analytics and reports covering courses, enrollments and earnings
- Advanced analytics (Pro)
- Attendance tracking (Pro)
🎥 Live classes, notifications and communication
- Zoom and Google Meet live classes (Pro)
- Automated, customizable email notifications (Pro)
- Push notifications (Pro)
- Tutor booking for 1:1 coaching and consultation sessions (Pro)
- Community discussions for learners with ZenCommunity, plus BuddyBoss, BuddyPress and FluentCommunity (Pro)
📱 Turn your LMS into a mobile app
Use ZenAppBuilder to publish your Academy LMS site as a native Android and iOS app. Learners can take courses on the go, and every page is mobile-responsive.
🛠️ Admin, security and developer tools
- React SPA admin dashboard for fast course management
- Built-in LMS migration tool to move from another WordPress LMS with no data loss
- Manual student enrollment
- CSV import and export for lessons, plus bulk enrollment (Pro)
- Drag-and-drop registration form builder
- Webhooks to connect Academy LMS with external apps
- Google reCAPTCHA and 2-step email verification
- Built-in password reset and auto-enrollment after registration
- Device login restriction to stop account sharing (Pro)
- White label for agencies (Pro)
- RTL-ready and translation-ready. Use WPML for multilingual course sites (Pro).
- Private REST API endpoints for student data, including lessons, notes, certificates and quiz attempts
🔄 Switch from another LMS with no data loss
The built-in migration tool moves your courses, lessons, quizzes and student data from other WordPress LMS plugins into Academy LMS. You keep your content and don’t have to rebuild anything.
⭐ Free vs Pro
Academy LMS (free) lets you create and sell courses from day one. It includes AI Studio, the course builder, the quiz builder, certificates, course selling, multi-instructor revenue sharing, dashboards and reports.
Academy LMS Pro adds:
- Zoom and Google Meet live classes
- Assignments, gradebook and auto-complete
- Content drip, course bundles, prerequisites and SCORM
- Advanced analytics and attendance
- Membership integrations (MemberPress, PMPro, RCP, SureMembers, WishList Member)
- WooCommerce Subscriptions recurring access
- Email and push notifications, and tutor booking
- Social login, Google Classroom, GamiPress and WPML
- Bulk enrollment and CSV import
- Device login restriction and white label
- Priority support
🔌 Integrations
Page builders: Gutenberg (native blocks with aBlocks), Elementor and Divi (with Academy Divi Modules)
eCommerce and payments: StoreEngine, WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, plus SureCart (Pro)
Membership: MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, SureMembers, WishList Member and Group Plus (Pro)
Community: ZenCommunity, plus BuddyBoss, BuddyPress and FluentCommunity (Pro)
Email, CRM and marketing: GemCRM (native), FluentCRM, Mailchimp and SendFox (Pro)
Gamification: GameEngine and GamiPress (Pro)
Live classes: Zoom and Google Meet (Pro)
Education and more: Google Classroom, social login and WPML (Pro), plus Gumlet video, ScreenPal video and MathJax-LaTeX
🧩 Build a complete eLearning business with the Kodezen ecosystem
- StoreEngine – eCommerce for courses and digital products
- aBlocks – Gutenberg page builder blocks
- QuizPress – advanced quizzes with 20+ question types and certificates
- GameEngine – gamification with points, badges and levels
- GemCRM – WordPress CRM and email marketing
- ZenCommunity – learner community, support tickets and live chat
- ZenAppBuilder – publish your LMS as an Android and iOS app
- GemBooking – appointments and coaching schedules
- Zaplane – no-code workflow automation
Watch the ZenCommunity walkthrough:
🤝 Join the Academy LMS community
Installation
From your WordPress dashboard
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for Academy LMS.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
- Follow the setup wizard to configure your LMS.
Manual installation
- Download the plugin from WordPress.org.
- Upload the
academyfolder to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate Academy LMS from the Plugins page.
- Follow the setup wizard.
Frequently asked questions
What is Academy LMS?
Academy LMS is a free WordPress LMS plugin. It turns any WordPress site into a full eLearning platform where you can create, sell and manage online courses.
Is Academy LMS free?
Yes. The free version includes AI Studio, the course builder, the quiz builder, certificates, course selling and multi-instructor revenue sharing. Academy LMS Pro adds live classes, assignments, a gradebook, content drip, SCORM, memberships, white label and more.
Do I need coding skills?
No. You can build courses with the drag-and-drop course builder and design pages with Gutenberg, Elementor or Divi.
How does Academy LMS compare to other WordPress LMS plugins?
Academy LMS includes several features in the free version that other plugins often charge for: AI course generation, a frontend course builder, multi-instructor revenue sharing and native course selling. Its React SPA admin also keeps course management fast and the plugin lightweight.
Can I create courses with AI?
Yes. AI Studio generates course outlines, lessons, quizzes and images from a text prompt.
Can I sell courses without WooCommerce?
Yes. You can sell through StoreEngine’s native checkout. Academy LMS also integrates with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, and with SureCart in Pro.
Does it support multiple instructors and revenue sharing?
Yes, in the free version. You set commission rates, and instructors track their earnings and request withdrawals from their frontend dashboard.
Can I issue certificates?
Yes. The free version includes completion certificates and a certificate builder. For advanced certification, use QuizPress.
Does Academy LMS support live classes?
Yes. Academy LMS Pro integrates Zoom and Google Meet for live classes.
Can I migrate from another LMS?
Yes. The built-in migration tool moves your courses, lessons, quizzes and students into Academy LMS with no data loss.
Can I turn my LMS into a mobile app?
Yes. ZenAppBuilder publishes your Academy LMS site as native Android and iOS apps.
Does it work with membership plugins?
Yes. Academy LMS Pro supports MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, SureMembers and WishList Member.
Does it work with my theme?
Academy LMS works with standard WordPress themes, including block (FSE) themes, and is RTL-ready.
Is Academy LMS self-hosted?
Yes. Your courses, students and revenue stay on your own WordPress site, and there are no platform fees.
Does it support SCORM?
Yes, in Academy LMS Pro.
Where can I get help or request a feature?
Use the WordPress.org support forum, read the documentation, watch the video tutorials, or contact Academy LMS support. Feature ideas are welcome on the public roadmap.
Changelog
3.8.5 – 14/07/2026
- Fixed –
academy_coursesshortcode query reset issue
3.8.4 – 09/07/2026
- Fixed – Security: access-control (IDOR) hardening for quiz attempts, quiz manual review and instructor feedback, lessons, Q&A, and manual enrollment so data is only accessible or editable by authorized users.
- Fixed – Security: quiz question data and instructor earning settings are now restricted to authorized roles.
- Improved – Hardened file and ZIP upload handling to reject executable files.
- Improved – WordPress Plugin Check / coding standards compliance (output escaping, input sanitization, internationalization, and prepared database queries).
- Fixed – Translation and text-domain issues.
3.8.2 – 01/07/2026
- Fixed – Gumlet Video Integration addon settings not compatible with the Gumlet dashboard settings.
- Fixed – Course import issue with Quizzes and Assignment addon activation checks.
- Fixed – Translation issues.
- Fixed – Error when changing the status of old lessons.
3.8.1 – 15/06/2026
- Added – Gumlet Video Integration addon.
- Added – Quiz question explanations are now displayed based on settings.
- Added – PHP rendering support for quiz question explanations.
- Fixed – Translation issues.
- Fixed – AJAX API vulnerability in the Notes feature.
- Fixed – Quiz question sorting filter issue.
- Fixed – Question answer randomization sorting issue.
- Fixed – Lesson API function naming issue.
- Fixed – Missing font file issue when downloading certificates font file.
- Fixed – WooCommerce frontend dashboard course menu visibility settings were not working properly.
3.8.0 – 25/05/2026
- Added – Private REST API endpoints for student-facing resources including lessons, notes, certificates, quiz attempts, and courses.
- Fixed – Multi-media attachment files not loading after page reload.
- Fixed – Translation and localization issues.
- Fixed – Enrollment extension option not displaying conditionally based on settings.
- Fixed – Undefined error when exporting lesson data.
- Fixed – Undefined comment data error.
- Fixed – Admin panel UI issues in addon and payment settings.
- Fixed – PHP compatibility error.
- Fixed – Power-ups UI — updated icons and conditions.
3.7.4 – 13/05/2026
- Added – StoreEngine product purchase button click support before force-login restriction.
- Fixed – Previewable videos not working on the course learning page.
- Fixed – Translation and localization issues.
- Fixed – Radio button UI/UX inconsistencies.
- Fixed – SCORM file upload logic issues in the course builder.
Screenshots
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Best Academy LMS alternatives
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FAQ
Academy LMS: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is Academy LMS free?
Yes. Academy LMS is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. The developer also sells premium add-ons or a Pro version with extra features.
Is Academy LMS safe to use in 2026?
Academy LMS is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 77/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Academy LMS?
Academy LMS is active on 2K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 197,162 times since it launched in June 2021. It was downloaded 1,982 times in the last 30 days.
Does Academy LMS work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested Academy LMS up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.8 or newer.
What PHP version does Academy LMS need?
Academy LMS requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Academy LMS last updated?
The latest version, 3.8.5, was released on September 19, 2026 (1 week ago).
Who makes Academy LMS?
Academy LMS is developed and maintained by Kodezen LLC.
What are the best alternatives to Academy LMS?
The most popular alternatives to Academy LMS are Masteriyo LMS (6K+ installs), Creator LMS (100+ installs) and Fox LMS (50+ installs).
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