In an increasingly connected world, online education has become an essential part of many people’s lives.
Whether you are looking to advance your career, start a business, learn new skills, or just expand your knowledge, online education can be a great way to achieve your goals.
There are many benefits to online education compared to traditional education:
- Ability to learn at your own pace;
- The convenience of being able to study from anywhere;
- Ability to take courses that might not be offered at your local school or university.
If you are considering pursuing online education, it is important to research and choose a platform that is right for you.
So in this guide, I will compare the best online learning platforms and rank them from best to worst.
I will compare the most popular platforms such as Skillshare vs Udemy vs Coursera vs YouTube vs edX and tell you which is the best and for whom.
What are the best online learning platforms?
There are a number of different online learning platforms available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
It can be difficult to determine which platform is best for your needs.
The best platforms for learning skills online are:
What is Skillshare?
Skillshare is an online learning community with over 24,000 classes taught by industry experts. Their best features include affordable pricing, a wide range of courses, and a community of like-minded learners.
The platform is mostly targeted toward learning creative skills like video production or graphic design.
I recommend checking out this list of the best courses to take on Skillshare.
Price:
Skillshare has a free trial for 1 month, then, after the trial, the monthly membership costs $32 per month and the annual version of the premium membership costs $168 per year ($14 per month).
The pricing also differs depending on which country you’re from.
What I think about it:
I think Skillshare is a great resource for anyone looking to learn new creative skills online or improve their current ones.
They also have an app for your iPhone or Android which makes online learning one the go very convenient.
My favorite courses include:
- “Productivity for Creators” by Ali Abdaal;
- “Master Google Sheets: Creating a Simple Monthly Expense Tracker” by Thaomaoh 😉
- “Storytelling Through Film” by Thomas Dajer.
Is Skillshare membership worth it?
Skillshare is worth it if:
- You want to take multiple courses per month (if not, then the free trial is enough to consume everything that you need).
- You’re open-minded about learning new skills and improving on your current ones (if not then what’s the point).
- You implement the things you learn (if not then you’ll forget most of the things you learn anyway).
Get started with Skillshare.
What is Udemy?
Udemy is an online learning platform with over 130,000 courses and 35 million students.
Founded in 2010, Udemy is a global marketplace for learning and teaching online.
The platform offers a variety of courses, including development, design, marketing, and business.
Students can choose to learn at their own pace, or they can follow an instructor-led course.
Udemy also offers a Udemy for Business subscription, which provides access to a curated selection of courses for businesses.
Price:
Most Udemy courses are priced between $10 and $200.
Unlike Skillshare, Udemy doesn’t have a subscription model.
You pay per course you take.
There are some courses that are free, but these are usually shorter and pretty basic.
If you’re looking for something specific, you can use the Udemy search bar to filter by price.
This is a great way to find courses that fit your budget.
Once you find a course you’re interested in, you can click on the “Buy Now” button to purchase it.
Udemy accepts major credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay.
Once you purchase a course, you’ll have lifetime access to it.
This means you can take it at your own pace and revisit it as often as you like.
What I think about it:
If you’re looking to learn something specific then Udemy is a great choice.
The platform gives you lifetime access to the courses you purchase.
But the downside is that if you want to learn a course you have to buy it individually rather than paying for access to all courses on a monthly basis.
However, if you’re not sure what you want to learn and just want to explore different courses, then Skillshare would be more worth it.
Skillshare offers a subscription model which means that you have to pay monthly to get access to all the courses.
So if your goal is to learn and dabble in subjects as much as possible you’ll find that it’s cheaper to do so on Skillshare rather than Udemy.
Get started with Udemy.
What is YouTube?
YouTube is a video-sharing website where users can upload, view, and share videos.
YouTube was founded in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees.
The name “YouTube” was chosen as a play on the word “you tube”, a reference to the then-popular practice of watching videos on YouTube.
YouTube’s headquarters are in San Bruno, California.
The site allows users to upload, view, and share videos. YouTube offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos.
Available content includes video clips, TV show clips, music videos, short and documentary films, audio recordings, movie trailers, live streams, and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.
Most of the content on YouTube is uploaded by individuals, but media corporations including CBS, the BBC, Vevo, and Hulu offer some of their material via YouTube as part of the YouTube partnership program.
Unregistered users can only watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos and add comments to videos.
Videos deemed potentially inappropriate are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old.
Price:
It’s FREE!
What I think about it:
There is a ton of content on YouTube on every subject.
But of course, such a wide variety of content doesn’t come without its downsides:
- The information is scattered and hard to condense into a single place;
- Tons of repetitive content;
- Most educational content is mostly focused on beginners.
Get started with YouTube.
What is Coursera?
Coursera is an online learning platform that offers courses from top universities around the world.
Whether you’re looking to learn a new skill or advance your career, Coursera can help you get there.
With over 3,000 courses available, there’s sure to be something for everyone. And best of all, many of these courses are free!
Price:
When it comes to choosing an online learning platform, there are many factors to consider.
But one of the most important is price.
And when it comes to price, Coursera is hard to beat.
With Coursera, just like with Udemy, you can pay as you go, meaning you only pay for the courses you take
There are no monthly fees or subscription plans.
And with prices starting at just $29 per course, Coursera is one of the most affordable online learning platforms out there.
But Coursera isn’t just affordable, it’s also flexible.
You can choose to pay for a single course, or you can opt for a Coursera Plus subscription, which gives you unlimited access to all Coursera courses for a monthly fee of $99.
So if you’re looking for an online learning platform that won’t break the bank, Coursera is definitely worth considering.
What I think about it:
Coursera is an online education platform that offers courses from top universities and organizations.
It is one of the largest online education platforms with over 24 million registered learners.
This online education platform offers a wide variety of courses in many different subject areas, such as business, computer science, data science, and more.
However, I think going with a cheaper option of Skillshare would make more sense for someone trying to learn as much as possible.
Because Skillshare offers a subscription-based membership which means that for 1 month you’re able to get access to all the courses on the platform.
With that said, if you have a course in mind that you want to take and you’re not interested in taking as many online courses as possible, then paying for it as you go with Coursera would be a better choice.
Get started with Coursera.
What is edX?
Edx is one of the world’s leading online learning platforms.
It offers high-quality courses from top universities and colleges, including Harvard, MIT, and the University of California, Berkeley. Edx also offers MOOCs (massive open online courses) from leading universities and organizations, such as Microsoft, Google, and the World Bank.
EdX is a not-for-profit organization, founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012.
Since then, edX has grown to include more than 70 partners and has provided access to over 1,600 courses to more than 18 million learners from over 190 countries.
Edx’s mission is to increase access to high-quality education for everyone, everywhere.
To achieve this, edX partners with leading universities and organizations to offer online courses and MOOCs that are affordable, flexible, and accessible to learners around the world.
In addition to courses, edX also offers certificates and degree programs.
These programs are designed to give learners the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s competitive workforce.
Whether you’re looking to improve your job prospects, learn new skills, or simply explore a new topic, edX has a course for you.
Price:
Get started with edX.
Was this list of the best online learning platforms useful?
And that wraps it up for the best online learning platforms this year.
There is no doubt that online education is here to stay.
It offers many advantages over traditional education, including flexibility, affordability, and convenience.
With online education, you can learn at your own pace, in your own time, and in the comfort of your own home.
You can also choose from a wide variety of courses and programs, which can be customized to fit your needs and interests.
Whether you’re looking to get ahead in your career or simply want to learn something new, online education can be a great option.
With that said, I’ll leave you with some more cool resources that will definitely teach you something new:
How To Create An Online Course For Free
13 Best Courses On Skillshare That Changed My Life
How To Get A 1-Month Skillshare Free Trial
Thanks for reading 👋!