TOOLNAVIA / BUYING GUIDE
LifterLMS Universe vs Earth: $100 More Now, $200 More at Renewal?
The short answer
LifterLMS Earth is currently $199 for the first year and Universe is $299, so the introductory gap is $100. The more important long-term numbers are the regular prices shown on the same page: Earth normally costs $398 per year and Universe $598, and LifterLMS says renewals are at full price. That makes the renewal gap $200 per year. Universe also raises active sites from one to five, support users from one to two, and adds email-marketing/CRM add-ons, forms integrations, the Sky Pilot theme and business-growth support. For one course site that mainly needs payments, Earth can be enough. Universe is easier to justify when several active sites or the added integrations are already real requirements.
At a glance
- Best for
- Course businesses with 2–5 active sites or real CRM/email/forms integration needs.
- Price model
- $299 first year · normally $598/year · 5 active sites
- Check first
- First-year promotion renews at full price; hosting and external services remain separate.
The first-year gap doubles at renewal
At the current promotion, Earth is $199 and Universe is $299. At renewal, the disclosed full prices are $398 and $598. Over two years, that means about $597 for Earth versus $897 for Universe if the current price structure remains unchanged—a $300 two-year difference. Current 2026 independent pricing checks corroborate the $398/$598 renewal figures and warn that the first-year discount should not be treated as the permanent annual cost.
Five active sites can change the economics
Earth covers one active site; Universe covers five. If all five Universe activations are genuinely used, the full renewal price of $598 averages about $119.60 per active site, compared with $398 for Earth’s single site. That is an internal allocation calculation, not LifterLMS per-site pricing. The benefit only exists when the sites are real. A creator with one production site receives no value from four unused activations.
Universe adds a wider integration and growth stack
Earth includes the core LifterLMS plugin plus ecommerce add-ons for Stripe, PayPal and WooCommerce. Universe adds a fourth ecommerce add-on, email-marketing and CRM integrations, forms integrations, the Sky Pilot theme, a second support user, and access to the weekly mastermind/private community currently listed on the plan. Those additions matter for a multi-site course business that wants Mailchimp/ConvertKit-style marketing connections or form integrations without buying them separately. They matter less if the buyer already uses another theme, CRM and forms stack.
Do not buy Earth just to unlock one payment gateway without checking the add-on route
The free LifterLMS core can create courses and memberships, but LifterLMS says direct card/PayPal-style payment processing requires paid ecommerce functionality. Its Stripe add-on is currently sold separately for $149 per year. That creates a useful alternative for a one-site creator whose only paid requirement is Stripe: compare the single add-on with Earth’s $398 full renewal instead of assuming a bundle is mandatory. Earth can still be better when its broader bundle features are actually used.
Infinity is a different scale decision
Infinity is currently $799 for the first year and normally $1,598 per year, with unlimited active sites and the larger advanced-add-on bundle. A business that only needs two to five sites should not jump to Infinity just because it is the top plan. Universe is the natural middle tier when the five-site ceiling and its integration bundle fit the real workflow.
The affiliate program is open through Awin and pays 25%
LifterLMS’s current affiliate page says the program pays 25% commission on qualifying referred sales, is manually reviewed, and links directly to an Awin express-signup application. The page says approval can take up to about 48 hours. Some commission examples on that affiliate page still use older product prices, so this article uses the page only for the current 25% program terms—not for buyer pricing. Toolnavia has not applied or been approved, so affiliate tracking remains disabled.
The buying rule is simple: Earth fits one active site that needs the payment bundle. Universe is strongest when two to five sites, a second support user, email/CRM/forms integrations or the included growth tools are already part of the business. Budget the decision around the $398 versus $598 renewal prices, not only the discounted first year.