Alva Courses vs LDT Online Courses
Alva Courses is a Shopify app that builds, sells and delivers online courses natively through the Shopify checkout — with built-in video hosting, certificates, drip scheduling and branded email. LDT Online Courses is a Shopify course and LMS app known for a free tier and storage-based paid plans. Here's how the two compare across features, pricing, and the merchants each one fits best.
Side by side at a glance.
| Feature | Alva Courses | LDT Online Courses |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9.99/mo · Pro $14.99/mo · 14-day trial | Free plan + paid tiers; check current pricing |
| Primary focus | Course delivery, video hosting, certificates | Course / LMS with storage-based tiers |
| Built-in video hosting | Alva Video Hosting: 50 GB, no per-video limit (Pro) | Storage tiers (e.g. 50 GB / 200 GB); check listing |
| External video sources | YouTube · Vimeo · VdoCipher · Loom | Supports private video; check current listing |
| Completion certificates | Custom template, auto-awarded & emailed | Available; check current listing |
| Quizzes & assessments | Built into lessons | Available; check current listing |
| Drip scheduling | Drip by days after enrolment + scheduled publish | Check current listing |
| Discussions / comments | Per-lesson discussions with moderation | Check current listing |
| Branded email + custom domain | Customizable templates, send from your domain | Welcome email; check current listing |
| Native Shopify checkout delivery | Checkout · thank-you · order status · account | Runs inside Shopify |
| Member & enrolment management | CSV import/export, per-course & global views | Membership options included |
| Limited-time access | Sell time-boxed course access | Time-limited access; check current listing |
LDT Online Courses is a well-regarded Shopify course and LMS app, frequently chosen for its free entry plan and storage-based paid tiers. Pricing and feature tiers change over time, so check the LDT Online Courses app listing for current plan details before deciding.
When Alva Courses is the better fit.
LDT Online Courses is a strong choice when a free starting plan matters most. But many merchants want predictable, all-in pricing and a polished delivery experience: clean checkout delivery, video that isn't capped by Shopify's file limits, certificates students can show off, and email that comes from their own brand. Five reasons merchants pick Alva Courses:
Alva Video Hosting on the Pro plan gives you 50 GB of dedicated storage with no per-video limits, so you're not boxed in by Shopify's 1 GB / 10-minute cap. You can also pull in YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom on any plan.
Alva keeps it to two flat plans — Unlimited at $9.99/mo and Unlimited Pro at $14.99/mo — both with unlimited courses, members and comments. No storage-tier upgrades to track as your catalogue grows: build sections and lessons, add quizzes and certificates, drip the content, and ship.
Award a custom-designed certificate automatically on completion and email it to the student. Drip lessons a set number of days after enrolment, or schedule them to publish on a date — built in, not bolted on.
Enrolment and certificate emails are fully customizable — from-name, subject, message, footer and a "Start Learning Now" CTA — and you can verify your own sending domain so students hear from your brand, not a third party.
Courses are delivered the moment an order is paid — on the thank-you page, the order status page, and in the customer account. Students watch lessons in a branded storefront player with no second login and no separate platform.
Choose Alva Courses if you…
- Want flat, predictable pricing instead of storage-tier upgrades
- Need video hosting that bypasses Shopify's 1 GB / 10-min cap
- Award completion certificates and run quizzes
- Drip content or sell time-boxed access
- Send branded enrolment email from your own domain
- Prefer two simple flat plans at $9.99 and $14.99/mo
LDT Online Courses may suit you if you…
- Want to start on a free plan before committing to a paid tier
- Prefer to pay for storage capacity in steps as you grow
- Need a wide range of content types on a budget-friendly app
- Are testing course ideas and want minimal upfront cost
Three differences, in detail.
Video hosting: dedicated storage vs Shopify's file cap
Shopify's native files have a 1 GB and 10-minute limit per file. For a course with long-form lessons, that ceiling is the first thing merchants hit. LDT Online Courses offers storage-based tiers (its plans list capacities such as 50 GB and 200 GB), so available space depends on which plan you're on — check its current listing before you commit.
Alva Courses solves this directly. Alva Video Hosting on the Unlimited Pro plan ($14.99/mo) gives you 50 GB of dedicated storage with no per-video limits, so multi-hour lessons upload and stream without workarounds. On the Unlimited plan ($9.99/mo) you can still host through Shopify within the file cap, and every plan supports YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher and Loom for hybrid setups.
- Alva video
- 50 GB hosting on Pro, no per-video limit
- External sources
- YouTube · Vimeo · VdoCipher · Loom
- LDT
- Storage tiers by plan; check current limits
Flat pricing vs storage-based tiers
LDT Online Courses leads with a free plan and then scales paid tiers largely by storage and support — a Starter tier that adds storage and premium features, and a Business tier that adds more storage plus priority support. That is appealing when you're starting out and want to keep upfront cost near zero.
Alva Courses takes a flat-pricing route. Two plans — Unlimited at $9.99/mo and Unlimited Pro at $14.99/mo — both come with unlimited courses, members and comments, so your bill doesn't change as your catalogue grows. The core loop is build, sell, deliver: a drag-and-drop builder, a rich lesson editor with text, video, PDF, audio, ePub, MS Office, quiz, Zoom and button blocks, plus sequential gating and drip. Native per-lesson discussions with moderation keep students engaged, and email notifications keep you in the loop.
- Alva model
- Two flat plans, unlimited courses & members
- LDT model
- Free plan plus storage-based paid tiers
- Best for
- Alva: predictable cost · LDT: free start, pay for storage
Native delivery and a branded learner experience
Both apps run inside Shopify, which already beats sending students to a separate platform. The difference is in how delivery and branding are handled day to day.
Alva delivers a course the moment an order is paid — on the Shopify thank-you page, the order status page, and in the customer account under "My Courses." Students watch in a branded storefront player with a lesson sidebar, progress bar and completion ticks; no second login. Enrolment and certificate emails are fully customizable and can send from your own verified domain, so every touchpoint stays on-brand.
- Delivery surfaces
- Checkout · thank-you · order status · account
- Learner login
- Shopify customer account — no second login
- Branding
- Custom email domain + storefront player
Two flat plans, no surprises.
Alva Courses keeps pricing simple: two flat monthly plans, both with unlimited courses, members and comments, and a 14-day free trial. LDT Online Courses is widely chosen for its free tier and scales up through storage-based paid plans — exact figures change over time, so check LDT Online Courses's current Shopify App Store listing rather than relying on a number here.
| plan | Unlimited $9.99/mo Everything to sell courses | Recommended Unlimited Pro $14.99/mo Adds Alva Video Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Courses, members & comments | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Quizzes, certificates & drip | ||
| Branded email + custom domain | ||
| Limited-time access | ||
| Alva Video Hosting (50 GB, no per-video limit) | — | |
| 14-day free trial |
Compare LDT Online Courses's tiers directly at the LDT Online Courses listing. Full details on Alva's pricing are on the Alva Courses pricing page.
Moving from LDT Online Courses to Alva.
- Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store and start the 14-day free trial — no separate platform to set up.
- Rebuild your structure in the builder. Create courses, sections and lessons by dragging; use "Create Multiple" for bulk lessons and reorder freely.
- Bring your videos across. Upload to Alva Video Hosting (Pro), or link from YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom. Add quizzes, PDFs, audio and certificates per lesson.
- Import your students via CSV. Bulk-import members, map them to courses, and set drip or limited-time access where needed.
- Run a test enrolment, then switch. Place a test order and confirm delivery on the thank-you page, order status page and customer account. You can keep LDT Online Courses installed during the transition.
Alva Courses fits a wide range of teachers on Shopify — see how it works for coaches & consultants and online educators. Comparing the whole category? Read the guide to the best Shopify course apps in 2026.
Answers before you switch.
Build it, sell it, and deliver it — all inside Shopify.
Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store. Build a course in the drag-and-drop editor, add a video lesson, place a test order, and watch it delivered on the thank-you page and in the customer account. Alva can run alongside LDT Online Courses during your transition, and the 14-day trial means no commitment to start.