Whether you’ve decided to take on an advanced professional degree, are looking to learn a new skill, or you’re even considering changing career paths, then a learning platform is exactly what you need – with a range of courses, there is sure to be something that catches your eye.
What is ideal about these platforms is that you no longer have to worry about traveling miles away or spending thousands of dollars enrolling in institutions to complete the desired course.
Instead, you can enhance both your knowledge and skills from wherever you are – plus, with a much smaller fee! – thanks to online learning platforms such as Coursera vs DataCamp.
Not only are these much cheaper than your traditional academic institutions, but they allow you to learn at your own pace, too.
However, deciding which platform to choose can sometimes be a difficult choice, especially when Datacamp and Coursera are so similar!
Luckily for you, we’re here to help! This DataCamp vs Coursera article will provide you with an in-depth review of both learning platforms, looking into the many features and differences.
Once finished, you’ll be able to make a clear decision about which online learning platform is the best choice for you.
Let’s get straight into it!
What is Coursera?
Coursera is one of the largest online learning platforms currently available, with over 80 million learners all around the world, you can trust that they offer reputable services.
Founded in 2012 by two Stanford professors, Daphne Koller, and Andrew Ng, the platform has continued to grow, providing world-class education without a hefty price tag for both organizations and individuals.
Here, the platforms provide varied opportunities for students, this includes everything from degree programs, course specializations, guided projects, and job-relevant certificates. (See ‘Can You Put Your Coursera Certificate On Your Resume?‘)
Regardless of who you are and where you live, you can benefit from Coursera’s services to help transform both your professional and personal lives.
This is highlighted in their commitment to connecting with highly-ranked learning companies and institutions that ensure you a fire-rate and flexible learning environment.
Ultimately, Coursera’s aim is to remove any barriers preventing individuals from high-quality education, they aim to achieve this progress by empowering their users and reinforcing the idea that anything is possible.
Therefore, if you’re looking to undertake experience, as well as in-demand career skills to improve your position within the global market, then Coursera is a good place to start, offering a wide range of online courses to help you achieve your goals.
From the comfort of your home, you can receive recognized credentials from a number of different fields, all without accumulating tons of debt which is usually the case.
Here, learning takes place at your own pace and at an affordable price, too.
What is DataCamp?
We’re living in a world that is richer in data than it has ever been before. With this also comes a wealth of insights and information just waiting to be utilized.
Therefore, those who are able to tap into these banks of knowledge and make good use of them can change the future as we know it into something positive.
This is one of DataCamp’s core values, they understand this concept and strive to make data skills available for everyone to learn.
Founded in 2013 by Jonathan Cornelissen, Martijn Threuwissen, and Dieter De Mesmaeker, DataCamp focuses on providing its users with opportunities to learn a variety of skills, from programming to data science skills.
Here, you’re provided with a range of different DataCamp courses to help to learn or improve your skills, allowing you to excel in the professional world more effectively.
This is achieved through the platform’s dedication to targeting both comprehensive career tracks and specific knowledge areas, like data science courses.
The career tracks were created to prepare those in a specific career path with the knowledge to get a job, from start to finish.
Moreover, regardless of what option you’re choosing, with DataCamp, you’re guaranteed skill development and high-quality education.
Now that we have taken a look into what each online learning platform is, the next section will explore the differences and similarities of each platform in terms of its features.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Curriculum
Wondering what types of courses you can find on these platforms, and who these courses are targeted towards?
Then let’s take a look!
Coursera
One aspect that Coursera prides itself in is its partnership with colleges, universities, and organizations, providing a wealth of learning opportunities to its students. As such, there is a wide range of courses and areas of specialization you can choose from.
While Coursera is generally regarded for its certificates, it can also offer a range of advanced educational degrees through many accredited institutions. Here, you are able to earn college and university credits, or even utilize specializations and certified courses to improve your skills.
Coursera provides its users with a range of different courses at different levels, from beginner to advanced, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees, too.
DataCamp
On the other hand, DataCamp’s curriculum is designed for those looking to learn data science or any other programming-related skill online.
Here, hands-on projects, accessible learning materials, and flexible environments are combined for both businesses and individuals looking to improve their skills in this field.
DataCamp ensures that their students are engaged, and remain engaged, from the very beginning – with each course being designed to be taught and completed within a short frame of time.
Plus, to help you choose which course to take, the platform provides a skill and career track based on your different interests.
Conclusion
In this category, Coursera is considered the winner. While DataCamp offers a rich education service, its courses are more niche, on the other hand, Coursera provides its users with a broad curriculum.
Therefore, Coursera is a good choice for those looking to learn the basics and improve their skills and knowledge to an even higher level.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Ease of Use
When navigating through your online learning platform, you want it to be as easy as possible. The last thing you want is to encounter any difficulties since this can impact your learning experience. Plus, it also makes it harder to learn, too.
Therefore, when deciding which platform to use, ease of use should always be considered. With this in mind, below we will see how Coursera and DataCamp compare in this aspect.
DataCamp
When looking at user-friendliness and navigation, DataCamp is both fun and incredibly easy to use. The platform itself features a sleek and simplistic design, meaning that finding what you’re looking for is a piece of cake.
Whether you’re looking for Datacamp’s pricing, browsing the course lists, or wanting to read through their ‘about’ section, then this couldn’t be easier.
This whole interface is designed with the consumer in mind – to be both beginner-friendly and intuitive.
Coursera
When it comes to ease of use, Coursera also scored highly, similar to its counterpart. The user experience and interface couldn’t be more smooth.
Once you’ve signed up, it should only take you a few minutes to get acquainted with the platforms, allowing you to easily find what you’re looking for and get from one point to another.
Each feature and button is conveniently placed to allow you to locate and identify them when required.
Conclusion
When it comes to ease of use, both platforms are a breeze to use and offer incredible, user-centered features that allow you to easily get from one place to another.
So, when looking at this category, both platforms score the same.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Instructors
Before you jump straight into enrolling in a specific course, it is important to understand the credentials of the people who are going to be teaching you these courses.
Here, the more established a specific instructor is, the more confident you will feel in their teaching and the quality of education you’re receiving.
Coursera
All the different instructors found on Coursera are known to be professional educators who have worked in renowned universities. With this experience, you can trust that they offer a wealth of information both as skilled workers in the specific field they’re teaching and as lecturers.
Coursera allows you to view a specific instructor’s bio, depending on the course you’re selecting. Here, you can also view what colleges, universities, and organizations the specific instructor is affiliated with.
In each of the instructor’s bios, you’ll also find the degrees they’ve earned, the amount of experience they have in the specific field, as well as other information you need to know.
DataCamp
The instructors found on DataCamp are described as subject matter experts who have come from various universities and organizations to share their knowledge.
Here, you’re provided with the tutor’s profile which features a brief description and details regarding the specific instructor’s background.
Although that being said, some of the information here can be slightly vague. Instead of being able to see a summary or list of the instructor’s degrees or industry experience, you may only find their title showing their occupation and place of employment.
Conclusion
Here, the clear winner would have to be Coursera since it provides its users with established professors and instructors who all have reputable credentials in their payroll.
Coursera ensures a high-quality learning experience for its students. Plus, you’re provided with the confidence that you’re being taught by an industry professional, too.
On the other hand, DataCamp provides very little information regarding the occupancy of its tutors. This could leave you feeling like you’re not receiving the best quality of education if you’re signing up for a particular course.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Course Offerings
Depending on the type of skill you’re looking to learn, you may prefer DataCamps course offerings over Coursera.
Below, we compare how each platform performs in this area.
DataCamp
Currently, DataCamp offers its users over 350 courses to choose from. This combines 50 skill tracks and more than a dozen career tracks.
The courses are made of individual lectures and projects that you are able to undertake. These courses are typically centered around learning data science specialization and programming.
Below, we have outlined some of the course topics you may find on DataCamp. These include:
- Python Data Science Toolbox
- Introduction to Machine Learning
- Introduction to SQL
- Intermediate R
Here, skill tracks provide you with a curated list of courses, allowing you to resources necessary to master a specific skill. Below, we have outlined some examples of the skill tracks offered by DataCamp. These include:
- Statistics Fundamentals
- Applied Finance
- Data Visualization
- Marketing Analytics
Moreover, another course similar to skill tracks is career tracks. However, these are designed to help you launch a career in a specific field. For instance:
- Machine Learning Scientist
- Data Analyst
- Python Programmer
- Statistician
To help you get up and running, DataCamp provides its users with a free assessment test, allowing you to understand your skill level before taking the course.
From here, the platform will recommend a course based on your results, what you want to learn, and how to progress from here.
Coursera
From specializations, professional certificates, guided projects, degrees to choose from, and over 3,000 courses, the offerings provided by Coursera are extremely diverse.
Moreover, the types of courses the platform provides are determined by the field you’re studying in. For instance, these include:
- Information technology
- Business
- Physical Science and Engineering
- Arts and Humanities
- Social Sciences
- Math and Logic
- Language Learning
- And much more!
The platform also offers the chance to study at Bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels that are well-regarded by reputable institutions. (Check out ‘Do Colleges Acknowledge Coursera Certifications?‘)
To qualify for an online degree, you’ll have to complete the application process and pay tuition. Plus, you’ll have to dedicate a few years to its completion.
Although, if this sounds like too much commitment, you can also opt for a specialization that only takes a few months to complete.
Plus, there are other courses that only take a mere few hours or days to complete, although this is entirely dependent on the person and their learning style and speed.
Conclusion
Since Coursera has a wide variety of courses and degrees to choose from, it has an edge over DataCamp.
This is especially true if you’re interested in non-STEM-related fields. However, if you’re looking for a specific data science course, then DataCamp’s niche courses may be ideal for you.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Pricing
When deciding what platform to choose, your budget is sure to play a huge role in the decision.
As such, below we have compared the subscription plans and prices of both DataCamp and Coursera.
Coursera
While Coursera provides you with the opportunity to explore many different courses without a cost, you won’t be allowed to participate in peer-graded assessments or submit projects.
On top of this, you won’t be able to receive a certification upon completion or take any tests for the particular course unless you opt for one of the paid options.
If you’re looking to undertake a guided project, then the starting price for this Coursera plan is $9.99 per project.
For professional certificate and specialization Coursera courses, the starting costs begin at $39 per month.
For MasterTrack Certificates – ones issued by universities, offering credits and certificates – the cost for these starts at $2,000. Although, if you’re looking to complete a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree then you’ll have to pay a starting cost of $9,000.
To learn more about the different courses and specializations, you can take advantage of Coursera’s free trials – this provides you with access to the platform without having to pay.
In addition to this, you can also choose ‘Coursera Plus’ which provides you with unrestricted access to most of the courses and projects on the platform. This costs $59 per month or $399 per year.
For those with teams, Coursera for Business provides custom pricing options to enterprises sharing small teams, starting at $399 per year.
DataCamp
Depending on whether or not you choose a personal or business plan, the prices for a course on DataCamp vary dramatically.
With the personal plan, there are three categories that divide the subscription prices, these include free, standard, and premium.
The Free plan allows you to access only the first chapter of all the skill assessments, courses, seven projects, and three proactive challenges. If you want to advance beyond this, you’ll need to pay.
Under the Standard plan, you’re provided access to all of DataCamps courses, career tracks, live code along, skills tracks, unlimited practice challenges, and much more.
This is priced at $12.42 per month billed annually, while the Premium plan is priced at $33.25 per month billed annually.
The Business plan offers two subscription options. The first option is known as the Professional ties, costing $25 per month and can be accessed by a minimum of two individuals.
The other option is known as Enterprise. Here, you’re provided with the opportunity to pay per user or per hour depending on your organization’s needs and scale.
Conclusion
When it comes to price, DataCamp is the more affordable option and even has free courses. Moreover, you’re also provided with a more transparent pricing structure, too.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Certifications
You can never go wrong with extending your knowledge. Although, having something – such as a professional certificate – that highlights all your hard work is even better.
With this in mind, we will explore what each platform offers its users in this regard.
Data Camp
Unfortunately, DataCamp doesn’t provide its students with a degree, certificate, or professional license upon completion of a particular course, career track, or skill track.
However, what you will be rewarded with, after completing a course, is a statement of accomplishment after successfully finishing a particular course.
Plus, you can also gain one of these statements of accomplishments after finishing a career or skill track, too.
Once you have finished all your designated coursework and your projects have been verified, you are provided with the opportunity to download your statement, this doesn’t cost a penny, too!
You can add your statements of accomplishments to your CV, resume, or professional social media platform profile, for example, LinkedIn.
Coursera
If you’re looking to grow your career using online learning platforms, then Coursera provides its users with a host of accredited programs.
Once you have finished a particular course, advanced program, or specialization, Coursera will provide you with real degrees and reputable certificates that are vastly relevant and recognizable to employers.
On top of this, Coursera will even provide you with the name of the instructions – for instance, Yale, Cambridge, Oxford, etc – that supplied the course.
When creating your resume or portfolio, this type of information can make you stand out in a sea of resumes.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an online learning platform that will provide you with a highly-recognized certificate or accredited degree that will boost both your academic and professional standing, then Coursera would be a better choice here.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Compatibility
Learning material offline or on a range of devices can be advantageous. Does either platform allow this?
Find out below.
DataCamp
Here, you can learn on your computer or smartphone – taking your learning anywhere! You’ll find the same tutorial videos, courses, and other materials across your devices.
Simply sign into DataCamp on your chosen device. However, it doesn’t offer offline access.
Coursera
Similar to DataCamp, Coursera allows you to access your learning on different devices. Here, you are able to download the app or simply sign in on your browser.
Plus, you can either download your learning materials and coursework onto your device, allowing you to learn wherever you are without an internet connection!
Conclusion
While both platforms provide a dedicated app for mobile and PC, Coursera triumphs here for its offline accessibility.
Coursera Vs Datacamp: Final Thoughts…
Both Coursera and DataCamp provide their users with an abundance of learning materials, thus, if you’re looking to learn a new skill, any one of these platforms is ideal.
However, when considering all these different factors, Coursera is the platform that comes out on top. Hopefully, this guide has informed you of the differences between Coursera and DataChamp.
