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Course Flow icon
Actively maintained Tested with WP 7.1 #44 in learndash

Course Flow

Course Flow is a free and lightweight WordPress plugin that lets you sell your online courses directly with Stripe Checkout — without the need for WooCommerce. It integrates seamlessly with Tutor LMS, LearnPress, and…

Active installs10+10+ tier
Downloads · 30d168▲ 4.7× vs prev. 30d
Rating5/51 reviews
Health score73/100Good
All-time downloads672Since Jan 2026
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 6.7PHP 7.4+
Downloads · 7d21▼ -41.7% week over week
Our verdict

Solid choice

Course Flow is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 3 weeks ago, and scores 73/100 on our health check.

  • Actively developed — last update 3 weeks ago
  • Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
  • Small user base (10+ active installs)
  • Very few reviews so far

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

102030Jul 8Aug 21Oct 5
Yesterday5
Daily average (1y)2
Peak day40Sep 13, 2026
Last 12 months686

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where Course Flow stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
learndash >100 391 Best learndash plugins →
learnpress #72 168 Best learnpress plugins →
lms >100 697 Best lms plugins →
stripe >100 1,793 Best stripe plugins →
tutor >100 279 Best tutor plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 2.0100.0%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

  • 5★100.0%
  • 4★0.00%
  • 3★0.00%
  • 2★0.00%
  • 1★0.00%

About Course Flow

From the official readme · v2.0.1

Description

Course Flow is a free and lightweight WordPress plugin that lets you sell your online courses directly with Stripe Checkout — without the need for WooCommerce. It integrates seamlessly with Tutor LMS, LearnPress, and LearnDash to offer a simple and fast checkout experience for course creators.

If you’re tired of slow or complicated WooCommerce setups, Course Flow gives you a direct and conflict-free way to start selling your courses online.
No extra plugins. No conflicts. No slow checkouts. Just fast, secure payments with Stripe.

💡 Why course creators choose Course Flow

  • No WooCommerce required — avoids unnecessary complexity and plugin conflicts.
  • Fast setup — configure Stripe keys and add a shortcode to start accepting payments.
  • Direct Stripe Checkout — secure, hosted checkout handled entirely by Stripe.
  • Automatic course enrollment after successful payment.
  • Optional WordPress user account creation for new customers.
  • Fully customizable buttons — text, colors, and even image-based purchase buttons.
  • Lightweight architecture — minimal frontend and admin assets.
  • Translation-ready with included .pot file.

🧩 Key Features

  • Direct Stripe Checkout integration (no WooCommerce dependency).
  • Supports Tutor LMS, LearnPress, and LearnDash (requires one active LMS).
  • One-time payments via Stripe Checkout.
  • Automatic course enrollment after successful payment.
  • Optional automatic WordPress user account creation.
  • Secure Stripe webhook handling (checkout.session.completed).
  • Test mode and live mode support.
  • Shortcodes for easy setup:
    • [courseflow_buycourse id="123"]
    • [courseflow_course id="123"]
    • [courseflow_imagebuycourse id="123"]
  • Visual button customization (text, colors, hover effects, layout).
  • Image-based purchase buttons.
  • Admin course list with ready-to-copy shortcodes.
  • Secure REST API (course-flow/v1) with capability and nonce validation.
  • Optional plugin telemetry (disabled by default).
  • Fully translatable (.pot file included).

⚡ Performance & Security
Course Flow is built for speed. It loads only minimal scripts, uses secure REST API calls, and relies on Stripe’s own hosted checkout page for PCI compliance.
All webhook events are validated via checkout.session.completed, ensuring that course enrollments are always secure and verified.

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.7 or newer
  • PHP 7.4 or newer
  • One active LMS plugin:
    • Tutor LMS
    • LearnPress
    • LearnDash
  • Stripe account (Publishable Key, Secret Key, Webhook Secret)
  • HTTPS enabled

Configuring Stripe Webhooks

To enable automatic enrollment after payment:

  1. Open Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks.
  2. Add endpoint:
    https://your-site.com/wp-json/course-flow/v1/webhook
  3. Select event: checkout.session.completed
  4. Copy the webhook secret and paste it into plugin settings.
  5. Use the TEST CONNECTION button in admin to validate configuration.

Shortcodes

  • [courseflow_buycourse id="123"] — standard buy button
  • [courseflow_course id="123"] — alternative purchase button
  • [courseflow_imagebuycourse id="123"] — image-based buy button

REST API

Namespace: course-flow/v1

  • POST /create-checkout
  • POST /webhook
  • POST /test-connection (admin only)
  • POST /save-settings (admin only)

Protected endpoints validate user capabilities and nonces.

Admin Pages

Settings — Configuration of Stripe API keys, currency, success page, account creation behavior and optional plugin telemetry.
Courses — List of detected LMS courses with IDs and available purchase shortcodes.
Button Settings — Visual customization of purchase buttons.
Image Button Settings — Management of image-based purchase buttons.

Data Privacy

Course Flow includes an optional plugin telemetry feature.

When explicitly enabled by an administrator, the plugin may transmit limited, non-personal plugin metadata (such as site URL and plugin version) to the plugin author for diagnostic and compatibility purposes.

This feature is:
– Disabled by default
– Explicitly opt-in
– Does not collect personal or user-identifiable data

The plugin functions fully without enabling this option.

More information can be found in the author’s privacy policy:
https://dev.pawelborowiec.com/course-flow/privacy-policy.html

External Services

Stripe

Stripe is used to process payments via Stripe Checkout.

  • Stripe JavaScript library is loaded from https://js.stripe.com/v3/
  • Stripe API is used for checkout session creation and webhook handling.
  • Payment data is transmitted directly to Stripe during checkout.

Service Provider: Stripe, Inc.
Terms: https://stripe.com/legal
Privacy: https://stripe.com/privacy

Localization

  • Translation-ready with included .pot file.
  • Translation files should be placed in the /languages/ directory.
  • Default language: English.

Included Libraries

  • Stripe PHP SDK (MIT)
  • Select2 (MIT)
  • Bundled local fonts (OFL)

License

GPLv2 or later

Installation

  1. Upload and activate the plugin.
  2. Go to Dashboard → Course Flow → Settings.
  3. Enter your Stripe Publishable Key, Secret Key, and Webhook Secret.
  4. Configure a Stripe webhook pointing to:
    https://your-site.com/wp-json/course-flow/v1/webhook
  5. Optionally customize buttons in Button Settings or Image Button Settings.
  6. Place a purchase shortcode on a course page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need WooCommerce?

No.

💳 Can I use Course Flow without WooCommerce?

Yes! Course Flow is designed specifically to sell courses without WooCommerce. It connects directly to Stripe Checkout for a simple, fast, and conflict-free experience.

🎓 Which LMS plugins are supported?

Course Flow supports Tutor LMS, LearnPress, and LearnDash. Only one needs to be active for the plugin to work.

🔒 Is Course Flow secure?

Absolutely. All transactions are handled securely by Stripe Checkout and verified through Stripe webhooks before course enrollment.

🧠 How do I install Course Flow?

Simply install it from your WordPress dashboard → Plugins → Add New → search for “Course Flow”.

🌍 Is Course Flow translatable?

Yes, a .pot file is included so you can translate it into any language.

🚀 What makes Course Flow different from other Stripe plugins?

It’s WooCommerce-free, lightweight, and built specifically for course creators who want fast, secure payments without bloat.

📍 Where can I find Course Flow plugin?

You can find and download Course Flow WordPress plugin from the official WordPress.org repository or directly from your dashboard by searching for “Course Flow”.

Changelog

Improved currency validation.

2.0.1

Improved currency validation.

2.0.0

Improved UI responsiveness and user experience.

1.0.0

Initial release.

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

Screenshots

Course Flow settings page for Stripe configuration.
Course Flow settings page for Stripe configuration.
Button settings page with visual customization options.
Button settings page with visual customization options.
Example course page using a Course Flow purchase shortcode.
Example course page using a Course Flow purchase shortcode.
Image-based purchase button configuration.
Image-based purchase button configuration.
Courses admin listing with generated shortcodes.
Courses admin listing with generated shortcodes.
Stripe Checkout success / confirmation page.
Stripe Checkout success / confirmation page.

For developers

Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.

Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.

Active installs badge Rating badge Health score badge

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FAQ

Course Flow: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 6, 2026

Is Course Flow free?

Yes. Course Flow is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is Course Flow safe to use in 2026?

Course Flow is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 3 weeks ago, and scores 73/100 on our health check.

How many websites use Course Flow?

Course Flow is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 672 times since it launched in January 2026. It was downloaded 168 times in the last 30 days.

Does Course Flow work with WordPress 7.1?

Yes. The developer has tested Course Flow up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.7 or newer.

What PHP version does Course Flow need?

Course Flow requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.

When was Course Flow last updated?

The latest version, 2.0.1, was released on September 13, 2026 (3 weeks ago).

Who makes Course Flow?

Course Flow is developed and maintained by Pawel Borowiec.

What are the best alternatives to Course Flow?

The most popular alternatives to Course Flow are Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDa… (20K+ installs), Design Upgrade for LearnDash (7K+ installs) and BuddyPress for LearnDash (1K+ installs).

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