CourseLit vs Tutor LMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted learning & courses options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | CourseLit | Tutor LMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 73 · Good |
| Category | Learning & Courses | Learning & Courses |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,267 | ★ 126 |
| First released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Teachable, Podia | Teachable, Thinkific |
What are CourseLit and Tutor LMS?
CourseLit
CourseLit is an open-source learning management system for creating, hosting, and selling online courses. It includes a course builder, payment integration, and a student dashboard.
- Course builder
- Payment integration
- Student dashboard
- Email marketing
Tutor LMS
Tutor LMS is an open-source learning management plugin for WordPress that turns a site into a full course platform. It supports course building, quizzes, certificates, and instructor monetization.
- WordPress-based LMS
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Quizzes and certificates
- Instructor monetization
CourseLit vs Tutor LMS: key differences
CourseLit is written in TypeScript, while Tutor LMS is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for CourseLit versus GPL-3.0 for Tutor LMS. CourseLit has the considerably larger community, at 1,267 GitHub stars versus 126. CourseLit lists first-class Docker deployment; Tutor LMS does not.
Why pick each one
Choose CourseLit if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Tutor LMS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is CourseLit or Tutor LMS better?
Neither is universally better. CourseLit has the larger community, while Tutor LMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CourseLit and Tutor LMS free and open-source?
Yes. CourseLit is licensed under MIT and Tutor LMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CourseLit and Tutor LMS with Docker?
CourseLit: yes. Tutor LMS: check the project docs for container support.