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Martin Barrett
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Skillshare Free vs Premium

Skillshare Free Vs Premium

Skillshare is a popular online learning community that is used by millions.

Based in the United States, this online learning platform has thousands of online lessons covering a wide variety of topics.

From arts to science, Skillshare is a diverse and useful platform. 

However, for anyone starting out on Skillshare, you might be wondering if you should opt for the free version or the premium one. 

If this is a problem you’re currently dealing with, we’ve got you back.

In this article, we are going to cover whether you should opt for Skillshare Free vs Premium. 

Let’s dive in. 

Skillshare Free Vs Premium

Read on to find out all the differences between Skillshare Free vs Premium, how much it costs, and if it’s worth your money. 

The Main Differences Between Free And Premium

Like most learning platforms, users will need to pay for Premium in order to get access to the best features.

Although the free version isn’t half bad, it certainly doesn’t include all the benefits you might expect. 

You can still enjoy Skillshare courses and learn new skills as a free user, they are limited.

Some of the major differences between Skillshare Free vs Premium are as follows: 

  • Skillshare Premium offers an additional x5 sets of courses 
  • Skillshare Free does not include a forum/community tab 
  • Skillshare Premium offers classes as well as workshops and live teaching 
  • Skillshare Free does not allow users to access PDF-formatted books and downloadable files 
  • Skillshare Premium offers full courses, while the free version might only offer course previews 
  • Skillshare Free does not allow users to get hands-on experience as there are no live projects 

Overall, the Skillshare Premium plan allows users to have unlimited access to courses and lessons.

The Free version, on the other hand, will have limited courses, and be restricted in many regards.

The Price Of Skillshare Premium

Individual monthly membership subscriptions for Skillshare are $14 per month or $168 per year at the time of writing.

This yearly or monthly subscription gets you unlimited access to over 35,000 courses, the community tab, downloadable options, and hands-on experience. 

There are also Skillshare plans for teams. (See more here.)

These Skillshare Teams Plans are as follows:

  • Starter (2-19 individuals) – $159 USD per user per year
  • Enterprise (20+ individuals) – custom pricing
  • Revive (51+ individuals) – custom pricing 

Depending on the number of people who need to use Skillshare, these plans may be useful.

However, the average user would be focusing on the regular individual subscription, which is $14 per month.

Does Skillshare Premium Offer A Free Trial?

Skillshare Free Vs Premium 1

Yes! Skillshare offers a 1-month free trial that you can make use of if you want to learn more before making a payment.

Chances are, if you’re serious about learning, you won’t hesitate to continue with payments after the trial is over.

Does Skillshare Offer Accredited Certificates?

Not all online courses on Skillshare offer certificates. This is for two main reasons:

  • Every course is created and handled by different instructors. It is up to them to decide if they want to offer certificates or not, and Skillshare doesn’t have a say in it. 
  • Free courses and Skillshare Originals don’t guarantee any kind of certificate when you complete them. As such, you can’t expect to get a certificate. 

Skillshare as a whole is not a great place to go and learn if you need the certificates.

However, if you simply want to improve your skills or learn interesting things without expecting any kind of accreditation or validation, it’s a great option. 

This might be important if you are using Skillshare as a means of learning skills for employment.

Many employers seek certificates of completion or other kinds of validation. In this case, Skillshare might not be the best option for you.

It is worth noting, however, that there are other platforms that do offer accreditation for course completion. This includes courses like edX, Coursera, and Pluralsight

Is Skillshare Premium Worth The Money?

The answer to this will depend on how eager you are to learn. For those who want to learn new skills and constantly improve themselves for whatever reason, Skillshare Premium is worth the money

However, you should also bear in mind what we’ve talked about above.

Getting a certificate of completion or any other kind of validation is not always possible.

If you don’t mind only learning the skills without getting certification at the end, then this is a great option for you and any other avid learner.

Should You Get Skillshare Premium?

If you are serious about learning and want to get full experience, Skillshare Premium is a good choice for you.

This gives you the opportunity to learn thousands of Skillshare classes without restrictions, and even attend live classes.

Skillshare Premium membership also gives users the opportunity to get hands-on experience and download PDF-formatted books and files. 

These things are simply not possible in Skillshare Free.

Overall, you get what you pay for when you sign up for a Skillshare annual membership.

This even gives you the opportunity to access the forum/community tab.

Having this will give you the chance to talk to others and discuss topics, which can help you learn. The free version does not have this.

If you have no experience with Skillshare, initially signing up for the Free version would be beneficial.

This will give you the time to learn more about the Skillshare platform, and see what they have to offer. (Check out ‘Can I Cancel Skillshare Anytime?‘)

If you find the site appealing and would like to be more serious about learning, then upgrading to Premium would be the best way to do that.

If you can afford the Premium price, you will get incredible results and every opportunity to learn whatever you like on the Skillshare app. 

Final Thoughts

Skillshare Free vs Premium – there’s a lot to cover, but we did it!

Overall, the Free version is very limited but is still a great introduction to the platform.

If you decide that you want to be serious about learning new skills or honing the ones you already have, the Premium Skillshare membership is a must. 

Just remember that it is never guaranteed that you will get a certificate of completion.

If you like, you can try the Skillshare free trial to see how things go before spending any money, and cancel Skillshare if you’re not satisfied.

This should help you make your mind up once and for all between Skillshare Free vs Premium.

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