Skillshare is an awesome online learning platform, they have thousands of online courses available for you to use and learn from, with topics that range from creative arts to business and more.
One downside of Skillshare is that they do not give out certifications, and due to this, you know that they are not accredited courses.
This is no problem, especially if you are not using the site for career prospects and putting it onto your resume.
However, if you are short on cash anyway, and you want to gain new skills, perhaps the pricing of Skillshare with no certification may seem a bit much for you.
So, how do I get Skillshare for free, you may be asking yourself.
If this is the case you might be wondering if we have a life hack for you so you can get it free.
Good news, we do! So, how do I get Skillshare for free? Read on to find out more!
Is Skillshare Free?
Yes and no. Skillshare is free, but only for a month free-trial period, once this is up you have to pay the subscription fee for Skillshare premium membership. (Check out ‘How To Watch Skillshare Videos For Free [Is It Possible?]‘)
Now, you could, by all rights, decide that you just do not want to pay for something you do not get a certificate of. If this was the case you would need to cancel your free membership before the end of the free-trial period.
Otherwise, you could then sign up for a premium membership, however, this you do have to pay for.
So, what can you do about this?
Well, there are some deals and offers available that drop the price of Skillshare by a great deal. (See ‘15 Best Skillshare Free Courses You Can Try Today.’)
There are also nifty little tricks you can use if you have some loyal friends to gain yourself an extension of your free subscription so you can watch Skillshare courses on the Skillshare app.
Curious? Let’s look at their deals and offers first.
Deals & Offers
The deals and offers given by Skillshare won’t make your membership free, not by a long shot, however, they will make it more worth the money you do pay for it.
In the premium membership, you can get access to vouchers and codes which will give you discounts on programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, and other apps.
The vouchers will not always be a lot, but if you are starting up a new career, they have the potential to save you money.
Yes, even with the cost of the Skillshare subscription.
Do you know how expensive Adobe is?!
Then, there’s the other option.
Codes and deals with Skillshare themselves.
They do actually have money-off deals, one of which can grant you 30% off.
These codes are not always active, so you need to jump on the opportunity when they are.
You can use these coupon codes to drop your subscription costs down when it switches from the free trial to the Skillshare Premium subscription plan to watch premium classes.
You will still have access to all of the same things you do when you pay the full price, but it is just a better deal.
It is also worth noting that the cost of paying annually is significantly cheaper than if you were to pay their monthly subscription rate. It is actually cheaper by at least 50%.
So, while it is not free, it is a significant saving you can make!
Refer A Friend
There is another option if you are a bit crafty, and you have a group of friends who are willing to help out, and perhaps are thinking of joining Skillshare themselves, you could win yourself a ticket to an extension on your free subscription.
How?
Well, Skillshare has a ‘refer a friend’ plan. In this plan, you refer a friend to Skillshare, and when you do, you get an extra month of your subscription for free.
This is an awesome deal, and if you have 12 friends who are willing, you could get a whole year for free!
Of course, it is subjective to your friend group, not all of us are lucky enough to have friends who would be up for partaking in this, but if you do, you can save yourself a good $100 or so per 12 friends who join Skillshare.
Canceling SkillShare
If you are not lucky enough to have friends who are willing to contribute to you getting a free month, and if you miss the coupon code, then you will have to pay for the subscription.
The monthly subscription cost is $32 per month, whereas the yearly subscription cost is $168 per year.
If you decide that you do not want to continue with your subscription, either before or after your Skillshare free trial period is up, you can cancel your subscription with ease.
Skillshare is fairly easy to navigate anyway.
All you need to do to cancel your subscription is to sign in to your Skillshare account, go onto your account settings, and from there you can easily cancel your subscription, just following the instructions on the screen to complete the cancellation.
Is It Worth The Hassle?
So, is Skillshare worth the hassle? It really depends on you.
For some people, the knowledge they can gain from sites, programs, and video classes such as Skillshare is priceless, and it can be life-changing.
For others, it may not be.
For some people, Skillshare may not be the right program for them.
If you are looking for certification and accreditation from Skillshare classes, then it is not worth it.
However, in comparison to some other similar online learning sites like Udemy, Skillshare does have cheaper long-term use prices and better deals.
Overview
You can get Skillshare for free and watch free classes, but only for a month.
If you want to have free access to free courses for longer, you will need to take advantage of the ‘refer a friend’ program. However, without this, you will have to pay.
That being said, when you take the deals and perks of Skillshare membership into consideration, the whole package really is not that bad, and it may be the best of its kind!
