10 Best Affordable LMS [2024]

ccording to Gartner, typical LMS price ranges from $15 to $40 per user, per month. But what should those do who don't have the budget yet still need to run their online educational programs? Yeah, try to find more affordable online LMS options or even free ones. Actually, this is exactly why we have gathered here today 🙂.

In this article, we’ve collected the top affordable LMS systems in 2024 that you should pay attention to.

#1. EducateMe – Best Affordable LMS for SMBs

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Pricing: 14-day free trial; $100/month for Advanced Plan, $200/month for Pro Plan, and Enterprise Plan starts from $1250/month

EducateMe stands out as most affordable online LMS designed for corporate training, including employee onboarding, upskilling, and customer education. It offers a comprehensive, white-labeled platform that allows businesses to quickly launch branded courses within hours. 

EducateMe excels in providing a blend of cohort-based and self-paced learning, integrating tools for engagement, live sessions, video conferencing, and detailed analytics. Its robust automation features streamline assignment management, reporting, and course creation, making it an ideal solution for SMBs looking to enhance their training programs efficiently. 

💡Best For: SMBs and corporate training programs that require a flexible, user-friendly LMS with a focus on engagement & automation

#2. Moodle – Best Open Source LMS

Pricing: Free

Moodle is a leading affordable learning management system widely used by administrators, educators, and learners. It offers a secure, scalable, customizable platform for delivering dynamic online learning experiences.

Supported by a global community of developers, advocates, and users, Moodle benefits from a collaborative network that enhances both teaching and learning. Its extensive features are complemented by additional services, such as Moodle Cloud hosting, Moodle Workplace, and a network of certified service providers.

Moodle stands out with its robust set of features, including advanced course management, personalized learning pathways, detailed analytics and reporting, and built-in support for multimedia content. It also offers powerful tools for collaborative learning, such as forums, wikis, and group projects. 

💡Best For: School learning and teaching; Professional education, Higher education, Non-profit organization, corporate governance

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#3. TalentLMS – Best Affordable LMS for Employee Onboarding

Pricing: Free Plan; Core – $89/mo; Grow – $139/mo; Pro – $179/mo; Enterprise – by quote

TalentLMS is oneof the cloud-based affordable lms systems, designed for training students, employees, partners, and clients. It offers an intuitive learning experience and serves as a robust e-learning development tool.

The software provides a personalized learning experience with a quick and easy setup process. It also boasts a responsive customer support system, ensuring that both experts and learners receive the guidance they need. TalentLMS also features built-in gamification tools to engage users and supports multi-language options. 

💡Best for: Remote or in-house product training, employee onboarding, skills training, and compliance training for employees

#4. Thinkific – Best Affordable LMS Software for Selling Courses

Pricing: Free Plan; Basic Plan – €48/mo; Start Plan – €97/mo; Grow – €195/mo

Thinkific is a learning management software designed for creating online courses and selling digital products, such as bundles, study materials, and memberships. Both businesses and experts use this tool to preserve knowledge, scale their operations, and drive growth.

Thinkific offers built-in tools for marketing, payment processing, and course analytics, making it easier to sell and manage your courses. It also provides top-notch support and the easiest technology for managing your online education business. You can create courses and publish them online for your students, who can then log in and follow the courses at their own pace. 

💡Best For: Creating & selling online courses

#5. LearnDash – Best LMS for Collaborative Learning

Pricing: LearnDash Plugin and MemberDash Plugin – $199/year for 1 website and $399/year for 10 websites. Additional add-ons for communication or course management, like Notes or Gradebook, cost $49/year each

LearnDash is an LMS plugin specifically designed for building courses directly on your WordPress website. Its intuitive drag-and-drop course builder lets you easily organize quizzes, create and manage assignments, and incorporate various content types, including text, video, and SCORM formats.

LearnDash also offers extensive integration options, allowing you to facilitate communication through platforms like Slack and other collaboration tools. Additionally, it supports flexible e-commerce strategies, enabling you to set up subscriptions, sell memberships, and run promotional campaigns. This makes it a versatile choice for collaborative learning environments.

💡Best For: Community learning and academies as the next part of your online business

#6. Canvas – Best Affordable Online LMS for K-12

Pricing: Free; Quote-based pricing approach for organizations

Canvas is an advanced affordable lms software designed to enhance the teaching experience and support successful student learning. This platform offers comprehensive tools for onboarding, training, and continuous support for both students and educators.

The Canvas workspace is built for collaboration, offering customization and reliability to make learning more effective. It allows students to interact with educational materials, submit assignments, and receive notifications with ease.

Canvas is specifically designed to foster dynamic communication between students and teachers, making it an ideal choice for K-12 education.

💡Best For: Schools, academies, universities, and single creators

#7.  LearnWorlds – Best AI-Powered Affordable LMS 

Pricing: free plan; Starter Plan – $29/mo; Learning Center Plan – $299/mo; High Volume Plan can be settled upon a separate call with sales

LearnWorlds is one of the best AI-powered affordable LMS providers that excels in content diversity, offering interactive video and audio formats. It comes equipped with robust marketing and sales features that include the opportunity to create landing pages, set up sales funnels, and leverage affiliate marketing. 

Additionally, LearnWorlds supports membership and subscription payment models, enhancing its flexibility. Unique features include a mobile app builder for course delivery and a page and pop-up builder as part of its comprehensive marketing suite. LearnWorlds supports the SCORM format, catering to the needs of learning providers, academies, and businesses. However, it has some limitations in engagement, management, and reporting tools, and the interface can feel heavy at times.

💡Best for: Academies and course creators that use self-paced learning model

#8. Podia – Best LMS With Marketing Tools

Pricing: Free Plan; Starter – $9/mo; Mover – $33/mo; Shaker – $89/mo

Podia is a cloud-based software platform designed for online creators, educators, administrators, and entrepreneurs. It enables you to host and sell digital courses, communities, digital downloads, and webinars, all from one place. With Podia, you can easily launch and grow your online business, thanks to its robust support system, including live chat, guides, video tutorials, and articles.

It offers various learning methods, such as online lessons, virtual sessions, and even in-person classes, ensuring flexibility for users.

In addition to its educational capabilities, Podia allows users to manage, deliver, and monitor audience engagement effectively. You can schedule real-time sessions, create membership plans, and record webinars with ease.

💡Best For: Selling digital educational products

#9. Tutor LMS – Best Affordable LMS for Building Community

Pricing: Basic Plan – free, Premium Features – starting at $149 per year

Tutor LMS is the most affordable LMS and versatile plugin designed to create and manage online schools on WordPress. This plugin includes a drag-and-drop course builder, support for multimedia content (including text, video, and SCORM), and ready-to-use themes optimized for smooth integration. 

Tutor LMS also allows multiple instructors to contribute to a single course, and it includes built-in marketplace functionality for selling courses. Additionally, it provides various integrations, including options for social logins, and it’s compatible with popular WordPress page builders like Elementor.

💡Best For: Small to medium-sized educational institutions or individual instructors looking to launch online courses on WordPress

#10. Acadle – Best Affordable LMS Platform for Customer Training

Pricing: Basic – $39/mo; Essential – $99/mo; Advanced – $399/mo

Acadle LMS is an advanced, yet affordable learning management system designed to empower businesses with seamless onboarding, customer education, and product adoption. The platform offers a white-label solution, fully customizable to match your brand's identity, and integrates smoothly with your existing SaaS ecosystem. 

Acadle enables businesses to create diverse courses using videos, PDFs, presentations, and recorded demos, making it ideal for engaging and educating customers or employees. It also supports live video streaming for up to 1000 users, perfect for webinars, product walkthroughs, and training sessions. Additionally, Acadle fosters community engagement through integrated discussion forums and gamification features, enhancing user interaction and knowledge sharing.

💡Best For: SaaS companies and businesses looking for an all-in-one solution to improve customer onboarding, product adoption, and user engagement

Final Thought

So there you have it — a roundup of the top 10 affordable LMS options for 2024, covering a range of needs from corporate training to selling online courses. Whether you're an SMB searching for budget-friendly solutions, a school in need of a robust platform, or a content creator looking to reach a wider audience, there's something here for everyone.

If you’re particularly interested in how EducateMe affordable LMS can elevate your corporate training and enhance employee engagement, why not take it for a spin? Book a demo with EducateMe today and get a free expert consultation to see how this LMS can be tailored to fit your specific needs. Happy learning and training!