Memberium / LearnDash vs AccessAlly – Let’s Compare the Two

When it comes to learning management systems, which one’s better?

More specifically, what’s better…AccessAlly, or Memberium with LearnDash?

Actually, that may be the wrong question.  A better question would be, which one’s better for your specific situation?

Let’s take a look at the difference between these two alternatives.

First, there’s AccessAlly, both a membership site-building tool and learning management system.  Then, there’s the combination of Memberium, a membership site building system, and the LearnDash learning management system.

AccessAlly packages a “membership” function and a learning function.  The first function allows users to add content based on things purchased on a website.  It’s sort of a “guard gate” that allows people to get into the only part of the website they’re allowed in, or the content they’re only allowed to see.

AccessAlly also has a management learning system.  This means you have online courses.  This part shows the way the course appears on the website.  If the lessons consist of topics, they’re organized in a visible hierarchy.  There are also progress indicators.  If you are at a certain lesson and have to leave, a bookmark tells you where you left off.

AccessAlly makes for a good management learning system.  “I’m not gonna knock it, it’s pretty full-featured,” says “online marketing evangelist” and speaker, Jorge Díaz.

As for Memberium, they took a different path than AccessAlly.  This particular platform is designed as a membership site builder.  So, they function as the “guard gate” described before.  That is, it’ll let you in or not into a course or website section, based on what you’re allowed to see.

However, while AccessAlly takes care of the whole operation, Memberium delegates the learning portion to companion LearnDash.  Other platforms are also supported.   Memberium delegates the learning portion because its makers aim to provide what they call a “best of breed” learning system.

“I’m a real fan of LearnDash,” says Díaz, citing a lot of similar features between AccessAlly and LearnDash.  But if the course requirements get more advanced, LearnDash gives you a lot more options.   This isn’t just because of LearnDash’s own features, but also because it offers third-party add-ons from other vendors.  This gives users even more features.  For instance, this includes having courses with multiple administrators or instructors teaching.  Different people taking the course can be kept out of others’ business.  There’s good reporting, plus the ability to get notifications if people submit assignments and you want them graded.  So overall, there’s a pretty advanced set of features.

Díaz observes that if you start with AccessAlly, but a feature is not provided by it, “you’re kinda stuck.”  You’d need to change platforms as a result.  Memberium can be used with the simpler features on LearnDash, but if you want more features, it’s a very easy upgrade with no changes.

The cost for AccessAlly is $79 a month.  Memberium is only $47 a month, plus you add on LearnDash for just $59 a year.  The monthly combined cost for the latter two programs is still less than the former.  However, depending on what you want to accomplish, you must consider these things, compare them to each other, and then decide which tools are right for you.