TrueCommunity is a community and LMS plugin for WordPress: a private social network and a course builder in one plugin, running on your own site with the accounts your members already have.
We built it because most people who want a community with courses end up either renting a platform that charges more as they grow, or stacking several plugins that were never designed to work together.
Quick Summary
- What it is: one WordPress plugin that combines an activity feed, profiles, groups and messaging with courses, lessons and quizzes.
- Why it exists: to replace the stack of a community plugin, an LMS plugin and extras with one system, on a site you own.
- Free: the plugin on WordPress.org is a complete community with basic courses. Free features stay free.
- Pro: an add-on with advanced course tools, course selling and gamification. Every plan has every Pro feature.
- Price: from $119 a year for one site, or $249 once. Yearly plans renew at the same price.
- Honest limits: no mobile app yet, no certificates or SCORM, and paid memberships are planned, not shipped.
Ready to own your community?
The problem: one community, three bills
Suppose you teach a skill and want people to learn it together. You need somewhere for members to talk, a place to host lessons and quizzes, and some way to keep people coming back. Until recently, there were two common routes, and both have a catch.
The first route is a hosted platform such as Circle, Mighty Networks or Skool. It is fast to start, but you rent the space. Pricing, fees and limits are set by the vendor, your member data lives in their system, and costs tend to rise with your success.
The second route is WordPress, which gives you ownership but often means assembling parts. One plugin for the social network, another for courses, a third for points and badges, and sometimes a fourth for gating content. Each has its own license, update schedule and member database, and each is a place where something can break after an update.
Cost check: add up every license, add-on and fee you would need to run a community, courses and rewards together for three years. Compare that total, not the price of the first month.
What we decided to build
We set four rules for TrueCommunity before anything else.
One member, one account
Anyone who can log in to your WordPress site is already a member. There is no second sign-up and no separate user database to keep in sync. If you have existing users, the user migration tool brings them into the community in batches.
Your site, your data
The community, the courses and the member data live in your own WordPress database, and the plugin does not send that data to us. The What is TrueCommunity guide explains how it runs inside your site with any theme.
Free should be useful, not a teaser
The free plugin includes real courses and auto-graded quizzes, not a locked preview. Features that are free today will not move to Pro later.
Pricing you can predict
There are no per-member fees and no platform cut. Every plan includes every Pro feature, and yearly plans renew at the price you first paid. Plans differ only in how many sites you can use and how fast support replies.
What you get for free
The free plugin on WordPress.org covers both halves of the idea.
- Community: an activity feed with rich posts, mentions, polls, reactions, threaded comments, bookmarks and pinned posts; a member directory; profiles; friend requests and blocking; public, private and locked groups with join requests, invitations and roles; private messages; and in-app and email notifications.
- Courses: sections and lessons, auto-graded quizzes with seven question types, enrollment, and progress tracking with completion.
- Control: turn modules on or off, set your own name, URL and logos, and use dark mode.
Try TrueCommunity free, upgrade when you need more
What Pro adds
Pro is an add-on that needs the free plugin active. It is for people who run courses more seriously.
- Advanced course rules: prerequisites, drip content, seat limits, open and close dates, access expiry, free preview lessons, required video and minimum lesson time.
- Teaching tools: assignments with uploads, approval and feedback, live classes with attendance, challenge exams and the option to reset student progress.
- Selling courses: through WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, with automatic enrollment after purchase. Only private courses can be sold, and payments are handled by your store and gateway, not by TrueCommunity.
- Gamification: points with a name you choose, ranks, badges, challenges, leaderboards and a rewards page.
The Free vs Pro comparison shows every feature side by side.
Pricing in plain numbers
| Plan | Sites | Yearly | Lifetime | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | 1 | $119 | $249 | Email, about 2 business days |
| Studio | 5 | $199 | $399 | Priority, about 1 business day |
| Agency | 30 | $299 | $599 | Priority, about 1 business day |
Every payment, including renewals, has a 14-day refund window, described on the refund policy page. A site is one WordPress installation. Lifetime plans include core Pro plugin updates for life and exclude future paid add-ons. See the pricing page for the current details.
When TrueCommunity fits (and when it does not)
TrueCommunity is a new product, so it is better to be clear about where it is a good match.
It fits when:
- you want a community and courses on a WordPress site you control;
- you would rather pay a flat price than a fee that grows with your member count;
- you want to start free and add Pro only if you need advanced course features;
- you build sites for clients and want one plugin for both the community and the learning.
It does not fit when:
- you want a hosted service where someone else runs the site;
- you need a native mobile app. There is none yet, although the community works in a phone browser;
- you need paid memberships or subscription billing. These are planned and not available today;
- you need certificates, SCORM or large-scale LMS reporting. Dedicated LMS plugins such as LearnDash, Tutor LMS and LifterLMS go deeper there;
- you want members to create their own groups or courses. Only site administrators can.
Key takeaway: TrueCommunity is built for owners who want community and courses in one place, not for teams that need the deepest LMS features or a hosted platform.
How to try it
- Install the free plugin from WordPress.org. The install guide lists the requirements: WordPress 6.3 or higher, PHP 8.0 or higher and pretty permalinks.
- Follow the quick setup: name and URL, logos, modules, mail and migrating users.
- Set your community address once. The name and URL settings explain why changing it later breaks old links.
- Create your first group and course, then invite members.
- Look at Pro only when you reach a feature the free plugin does not have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TrueCommunity free?
Yes. The plugin on WordPress.org is free and includes the community and basic courses with quizzes. Pro is a paid add-on for advanced course tools, course selling and gamification.
Do I need a separate LMS plugin?
Not for basic courses and quizzes, which are built in. If you need certificates, SCORM or enterprise reporting, a dedicated LMS plugin is a better fit.
Where is my members’ data stored?
In your own WordPress database. Members are ordinary WordPress accounts, and the plugin does not send that data to the TrueCommunity company.
Is this a SaaS platform or a plugin?
It is a plugin. You host it on your own WordPress site, which means you also handle hosting, backups and email delivery.
What is the difference between yearly and lifetime plans?
Yearly plans include 12 months of updates and renew at the same price. Lifetime plans are a single payment with core Pro plugin updates for life and support at the same level, excluding future paid add-ons.
Can I try Pro before I buy?
There is no free trial, because the free plugin is the trial. Every payment also has a 14-day refund window if Pro is not right for you.
Build your community on a site you own