What Sensei LMS itself requires
On 30 October 2026 the WordPress.org listing for Sensei LMS showed version 4.26.4, last updated 29 September 2026, requiring WordPress 6.9 or higher and PHP 7.4 or higher, tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, with 9,000+ active installations. Those are the only server numbers Sensei publishes in the places we read. The Getting started documentation tells you to install the plugin from Plugins > Add New and lists no PHP, database or memory requirements.
Two practical consequences follow. First, the WordPress 6.9 floor is recent, so an old site pinned to an earlier WordPress version must be upgraded before Sensei will install. Second, PHP 7.4 is a floor, not a recommendation: WordPress.org itself recommends PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or greater or MariaDB 10.11 or greater, and HTTPS support. Use the WordPress.org recommendation as your target unless a plugin asks for more.
If you run a multisite network, Sensei's documentation notes that Sensei LMS must be connected separately to each site, and its pricing page says a Sensei Pro licence is for one site only.
Selling courses is where WooCommerce comes in
The free plugin teaches; selling is a Sensei Pro feature. The WordPress.org listing puts "set a price and sell courses" under Sensei Pro and says Pro integrates with WooCommerce Subscriptions, Payments, Memberships and Affiliates. Sensei's WooCommerce Paid Courses FAQ says a yearly Sensei Pro subscription is required for course-selling features, lists it at 179.00 USD per year, and notes that payment gateways charge their own per-transaction fees.
WooCommerce Paid Courses is the same product bought as a WooCommerce extension on WooCommerce.com; the FAQ says its features match Sensei Pro bought elsewhere and that the bundle includes Sensei LMS. The FAQ says Sensei supports WooCommerce Memberships and Subscriptions and that no other WooCommerce extensions are actively supported. WooCommerce Gift Cards are not supported; a 100% off coupon is the documented way to gift a course.
So a paid Sensei site is really three moving parts on one install: Sensei LMS, Sensei Pro and WooCommerce, plus a payment gateway plugin. The hosting floor is set by whichever of those asks for the most.
The combined requirement floor
WooCommerce publishes two sets of numbers that do not agree. Its WordPress.org readme (version 11.2.1, read on 30 October 2026) says PHP 7.4 or greater is required with 8.0 recommended, and MySQL 5.5.5+ or MariaDB 10.1+. Its server requirements page on woocommerce.com asks for WordPress 6.9 or greater (for WooCommerce 10.8 and later), PHP 8.3 or greater (tested up to PHP 8.4) and MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+. Plan to the stricter documentation page; it also lines up with WordPress.org's own recommendation.
| Component | WordPress | PHP | Database | Memory and HTTPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensei LMS 4.26.4 (WordPress.org) | 6.9 or higher | 7.4 or higher | Not stated | Not stated |
| WooCommerce 11.2.1 readme (WordPress.org) | 7.0 or higher | 7.4+ required, 8.0+ recommended | MySQL 5.5.5+ or MariaDB 10.1+ | 256 MB recommended; HTTPS recommended |
| WooCommerce server requirements page | 6.9 or greater (WooCommerce 10.8+) | 8.3 or greater, tested to 8.4 | MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+ | 256 MB or greater; HTTPS support |
| WordPress.org recommendation | Current release | 8.3 or greater | MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+ | HTTPS support |
| Target for a paid Sensei site | 7.0 or higher (WooCommerce sets it) | 8.3 | MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+ | WP memory limit 256 MB+, HTTPS on |
What WooCommerce adds to hosting
A free Sensei course site behaves like a logged-in content site: lessons, quiz attempts and progress updates run PHP for each learner. Adding WooCommerce adds cart, checkout and account pages that must never be served from a shared page cache, plus payment callbacks that must reach PHP directly.
Kinsta's Edge Caching documentation says it excludes common private paths such as wp-admin, cart, my-account and checkout, and that anywhere a user is logged in bypasses the cache; it also notes edge caching does not respect custom site-cache exclusions, so any extra exclusion should be requested for both layers. Kinsta's site cache expires every 24 hours by default and page bypass rules are added by Support. On SiteGround, the Speed Optimizer documentation says logged-in users are not served cached pages by default, and you can add your own exclusions under Speed Optimizer > Caching > Exclude URLs from Caching, using * wildcards, so an entry such as *checkout* matches any URL containing checkout.
Concurrency is the next limit. Kinsta's PHP documentation lists 2 PHP threads on Single 35k and 4 threads on Single 65k. Its Redis add-on costs $100 per month per site for a dedicated 2 GB instance, and Kinsta describes it as especially beneficial for WooCommerce stores and membership sites. On SiteGround, Memcached is switched on in Site Tools under Speed > Caching > Memcached and then in the Speed Optimizer plugin.
Plan limits that matter for a paid Sensei site
Prices and limits read on 30 October 2026. SiteGround introductory prices apply to a 12-month prepaid first term.
| Plan | Price | Storage | Concurrency or resource limit | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SiteGround StartUp | $2.99/mo first year, renews at $17.99/mo | 10 GB, 1 website | 1,000 CPU seconds per hour; 200,000 inodes | A free Sensei pilot on a single site |
| SiteGround GrowBig | $4.99/mo first year, renews at $29.99/mo | 50 GB, unlimited websites | 2,000 CPU seconds per hour; 400,000 inodes | A small paid catalogue, or more than one site |
| Kinsta Single 35k | $35/mo or $350/yr | 10 GB | 2 PHP threads, 512 MB pool | Low-traffic store; checkout and quizzes share 2 threads |
| Kinsta Single 65k | $50/mo or $500/yr | 10 GB | 4 PHP threads, 1 GB pool | Cohorts that take quizzes and buy at the same time |
Worked year-one cost
SiteGround GrowBig plus Sensei Pro: 12 x $4.99 = $59.88 for hosting, plus $179 for Sensei Pro, is $238.88 in year one. At the $29.99 renewal, year two is $359.88 + $179 = $538.88.
Kinsta Single 65k on annual billing plus Sensei Pro: $500 + $179 = $679 a year. Adding Redis at $100 a month brings it to $1,879. Payment gateway fees come on top of either and scale with revenue.
The cheaper path is reasonable while you validate a course. Move when checkout or quiz submissions slow at the times learners overlap, or when the CPU-seconds graph on SiteGround approaches the plan limit, rather than on total enrolment numbers.
Pre-launch checklist
- Confirm WordPress 7.0+ (needed by WooCommerce) and PHP 8.3 in the host control panel before installing.
- Confirm MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+ with the host; ask in writing if the panel does not show it.
- Set the WordPress memory limit to 256 MB or more, as WooCommerce asks.
- Install Sensei LMS, Sensei Pro (or WooCommerce Paid Courses) and WooCommerce on staging first, then run a test purchase end to end.
- Check that cart, checkout and my-account pages return uncached responses for a logged-out visitor; request extra exclusions from Kinsta Support or add them in SiteGround Speed Optimizer.
- Log in as a test learner, take a quiz and complete a lesson to confirm progress saves.
- Note the Sensei Pro renewal date; the licence is annual and covers one site.
Questions before you decide
Can the free Sensei LMS plugin sell courses?
Sensei's WooCommerce Paid Courses FAQ says a yearly Sensei Pro subscription, listed at $179 a year, is required for course-selling features, and the WordPress.org listing places selling under Sensei Pro.
Do I need WooCommerce Subscriptions or Memberships?
Not to sell single courses. The Sensei FAQ says selling requires a yearly Sensei Pro subscription, with payments taken through a gateway that charges its own fees. Memberships and Subscriptions are the only WooCommerce extensions it says Sensei actively supports.
Which PHP version should a paid Sensei site run?
PHP 8.3. Sensei's own floor is 7.4, but WooCommerce's server requirements page asks for 8.3 or greater, and WordPress.org also recommends 8.3.
Does Sensei need special caching rules?
Logged-in learners should bypass page cache, which Kinsta Edge Caching and SiteGround Speed Optimizer do by default. WooCommerce cart, checkout and account pages must also stay uncached.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- WordPress.org: Sensei LMS plugin listing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Sensei LMS: WooCommerce Paid Courses FAQ Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Sensei LMS: Pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Sensei LMS: Getting started Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WordPress.org: WooCommerce plugin listing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WooCommerce: Server requirements Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WordPress.org: Hosting requirements Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Edge Caching Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Site caching Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Redis cache add-on Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: PHP settings and threads by plan Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: Pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Shared hosting features and plan comparison Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Fair use of hosting resources Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Speed Optimizer caching settings Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.