Udemy is, no doubt, one of the most popular websites for online education for students and professionals alike.
However, there are many reasons why people look for Udemy alternatives for e-learning and, generally, find them to be a much better option for acquiring knowledge and improving their practical skills.
If you’d like to see a graphical breakdown of the Udemy alternatives, we got you covered:
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The Drawbacks of Udemy
While it offers more than 55,000 online courses in hundreds of different categories, Udemy (see also ‘Is Udemy Accredited?‘) has some major shortcomings.
To begin with, it does not support peer-learning. You cannot talk to the instructors, professors, or other students on this platform. Not being able to share your ideas or discuss any queries you might have can really underminethe learning experience and hinder your course progress.
Secondly, Udemy (see also ‘Is A Udemy Certificate Useful?‘) rarely offers a certificate of proficiency upon completing the course. This is one of the biggest drawbacks for people who wish to enhance their CV because you don’t get any tangible proof to boast your skills to the potential employer.
Even if you do get a certificate, it is not endorsed by a reputable institute and hence, may carry little value.
Moreover, a majority of Udemy students think that the courses offered here lack strategy and content quality.
Whatever the reason might be, if you are looking for online learning platforms that are a good substitute for Udemy, here are the top sites to consider:
15 Best Udemy Alternatives
Coursera
At Coursera (see also ‘Are Coursera Certificates Worth It in 2022‘), you will find plenty of on-demand online courses for in-demand skills. You can join for free and build skills with well-structured and informative courses from leading universities from across the world.
Coursera also collaborates with over 200 international companies. So, you can be confident that the courses you take actually have practical value.
This online learning website is usually the go-to option for people trying to improve their job prospects in high-demand fields like AI, IT, and cloud engineering. And for all the right reasons too.
Survey results show that over 85% of Coursera students report career benefits like getting a raise or promotion after taking a professional development course endorsed by a renowned organization.
Moreover, it has a global community of learners that can further assist you in taking the next step towards your professional goals.
Coursera (see also ‘Can I Get Certificate From Coursera During Free Trial‘) also provides shareable certificates at the end of each course so you can demonstrate your new skills to others.
Skillshare
Skillshare offers over 28,000 different classes taught by the world’s best practitioners. They are mostly based on boosting creativity.
If you are passionate to about learning more about music, photography, graphic design, animations, writing or journaling, then this platform is for you.
You can get started for free or sign up for their premium membership at $15 per month. Students love the teaching style of the instructors at Skillshare – there are no long bouts of reading and listening to lectures.
Rather, you will be given assignments and projects that you can complete with the help of your peers.
Skillshare has a tight-knit learning community. You can ask questions, share ideas, and even provide feedback and suggestions.
Each course provides a detailed outline along with reviews from previous students to help you decide whether or not it’s right for you.
Treehouse
Treehouse features more than 300 courses and workshops on different topics related to the tech industry.
And it’s trusted by over 50,000 students worldwide. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro looking to upskill, this is one of the best platforms to learn programming, web development, cloud engineering and the likes.
It has a 7-day free trial. If you find it to your liking, you can register for a Basic Plan, Pro Plan, or a Techdegree Plan. The registration fee varies from $14.99 to $199 per month depending on the type of plan you choose.
Since the best way to learn is by practicing, all Treehouse courses have quizzes and code challenges to help you get the hang of things in no time.
PluralSight
PluralSight is another online education platform dedicated to helping students develop their tech skills. It provides web development, IT certification, and cloud training for both individual learners and professional teams.
More than 50 expert-led courses are completely free. But if you wish to gain access to its entire library of over 7000 tech courses, you will have to purchase one of their membership plans.
The prices are quite reasonable, starting from $29/month and going up to $440/year for premium learners.
PluralSight also lets you take a free online assessment to test your skill IQ level and determine which course can help you improve.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy (see also ‘Is Khan Academy Accredited? Review and Features‘) is different from most online education platforms on this list for various reasons.
For one, it’s managed by a nonprofit organization that strives to make eLearning more accessible for everyone. Needless to say, all courses on this website are therefore, completely free of cost. Plus, they are offered in around 20 different languages.
This platform is popular among students of all ages and backgrounds because it offers short yet informative lessons on a wide range of topics.
Khan Academy’s library of trusted courses comprises of standard-aligned training for math, science, grammar, and history for primary classes to early college.
Udacity
Udacity is a relatively small but extremely useful alternative to Udemy. With hundreds of courses on machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation, and more, this platform provides you with a fast and efficient way to master the skills that tech companies want.
Udacity partners with more than 200 industry experts (from Google, Facebook, Salesforce, etc.) to create high-quality courses.
The courses, therefore, contain job-focused content and are designed in a way that allows you to build practical skills. You will have to complete real-life projects, but the classes are self-paced, so you easily do them at a time that’s convenient for you.
This online education platform is generally free. However, the subscription for nano degrees costs around $199 per month. These degrees zero in on a particular skill and provide advanced-level technical training in the specific area to boost your career progress.
EdX
EdX (see also ‘What Is EDX?‘) is a well-established online course platform that is open to all learners worldwide.
It features carefully curated content from renowned institutions like Microsoft, MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley University, to name a few. It’s all arranged into 1600+ online programs available for free or a nominal fee.
The main subjects include Art, Medicine, Communication, Data and Design, Computer Science, Math, Literature, Food and Nutrition, and more.
Codecademy
As is evident by the name, Codecademy (see also ‘Is Codecademy Good? Pros and Cons‘) is an online course platform that is wholly dedicated to help people learn how to code. It features extensive online programs for almost all the main coding languages, including C++, HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, etc.
The Basic Plan is free, but you will have to pay around $20 per month to unlock certain features in some courses.
Codecademy (see also ‘Is Codecademy Worth It?‘) provides a rich learning experience with its instant feedback option. Students are not only asked to submit assignments, but their codes are also tested within minutes so that you always know if you are on the right track.
Masterclass
Masterclass (see also ‘What Is A Master Class?‘) features specialized courses taught by famous celebrities and renowned industry professionals. You might some course plans a bit on the pricier side, but if you are serious about learning new skills, it’s an investment worth making.
- Learn from the best!
- New classes added every month
- 180+ classes to choose from
"Bored of TV, check out this Incredible content and cast"
From business and politics to sports, entertainment, fashion, and more, Masterclass gives you the opportunity to learn from the best as they share their stories, skills, shortcuts, and other tips for achieving success.
Teachable
Teachable is an intuitive and easy to use eLearning software. Here, you will find practical and enjoyable courses from authors like Mark Dawson and online entrepreneurs like Pat Flynn.
Its clean and simple aesthetics give students the ability to decide whether a program is right for them by giving them a clear outline of what they are signing up for.
The courses on Teachable are typically paid. However, depending on the course you choose, you can pay in increments as the course progresses or make a lumpsum payment at the beginning instead.
Learning.Ly
This online education website is run by The Economist. So, it’s not too surprising why several courses on Learning.ly have a much better content quality and performance score than the alternatives offered elsewhere.
It is ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to make sure that they are investing their time and moneylearning something that has a significant value in the real world.
The courses are not free but Learning.ly has a 100% refund policy if you are not satisfied with their program in any way. Members also get to enjoy a range of other benefits such as getting early alerts about special events, free newsletters, and exclusive discounts on Economist books.
Bloc.io
Bloc.io is an eLearning website offering structured online training programs in software design and development (see also our favorite AutoCAD classes) (see also our favorite AutoCAD classes).
Its courses are specifically created for career-mined adults with busy lives. In other words, you can take online classes on this website at your own set pace without the need to rush.
In At the end, you will be rewarded with a recognized degree or certificate that can share in your network to improve your professional profile.
Fiverr Learn
The gig economy is growing is at a tremendously fast pace. If you are looking for online courses that can help you gain a strong foothold in freelancing, you must check out Fiverr Learn.
Fiverr, as you may know, is a hub of activity for freelancers. So, it goes without saying that all the courses featured on Fiverr Learn are specifically designed for self-employed users.
They cover all the main bases, including graphic designing, copywriting, digital marketing, and branding. The courses are taught by top experts in their fields and provide an in-depth view of each topic.
With just about 30 options, the course selection may seem rather small at first. But rest assured, there’s something fruitful for every freelancer no matter what their skill or experience level may be.
The best part is that completing a course successfully helps you earn badges. Since these are visible to your potential clients, it can make your profile look a lot more attractive.
LinkedIn Learning
Lynda was rebranded as LinkedIn Learning in 2015, but it hasactually been around for over 20 years. What makes it one of the best alternatives to Udemy is its extensive course library.
Most of the courses on Lynda focus on professional development. The main categories include web designing, photography, coding, and software development.
- Offers a wide range of courses and tutorials on various topics
- Boost your Career with LinkedIn Learning
- Anytime, Anywhere Learning
- Validate your Skills
Another advantage of this online course platform over Udemy is its subscription-based payment model. Unlike Udemy where you pay for each respective course, Lynda allows you to buy an annual plan at about $20/month.
You can also opt for a monthly plan to get unlimited access to all the courses. However, at a cost of $29.99/month, this is slightly more expensive than the alternative.
Alison
If you are on a tight budget, it’s best to search for your desired course on Alison.com.
With a community of over 17 million learners, Alison offers over 2,000 free online training programs related to technology, science, business, math, humanities, lifestyle, and more.
However, keep in mind that courses on this site are mostly geared towards fresh graduates. If you are a professional seeking to further build upon a certain skill, Alison might not have anything new for you.
After completing the course successfully, all students can get a recognized certificate against a payment of a small fee.
15 Of The Top Udemy Competitors
Despite Udemy having one extensive market share for its online educational courses since its inception in 2010, it now has many competitors vying for customers in this industry.
Before you decide on Udemy as your learning platform of choice, do your homework.
It turns out that there is a long list of Udemy competitors who are making inroads into the marketplace.
Competition is always positive, if not welcome, across industries as it forces higher performance levels.
Where one online educational platform offers multiple courses, the learning experience on another may outstrip stalwarts in the industry.
Let’s take a look at who is challenging Udemy.
1. Skillshare
Skillshare also began its journey of providing online learning in 2010, just as Udemy did.
Skillshare has become a Udemy competitor due to its expansive course offering. Unlike Udemy,
Project completion following each course is far more valuable than simple quizzes when testing knowledge as this teaching method challenges learning rather than simply accommodating new knowledge assimilation.
Skillshare receives high ratings from users in respect of multiple course offerings. This company also provides generous annual membership fee discounts, a 14-day premium trial offer, and interactive teaching methods.
Skillshare is clearly an Udemy competitor to watch out for as its popularity increases.
2. Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight Skills also offers courses for individuals and businesses.
As an Udemy competitor, though, Pluralsight Skills takes a different approach by focusing on IT skills.
Additionally, this online learning platform offers a skills assessment function, allowing individuals and businesses to learn about what skills they need to fill productivity and market gaps.
Pluralsight Skills also provides a different pricing model to Udemy where you can pay monthly fees to access courses, rather than paying per course.
As valuable as this strategy may be for some businesses and individuals, it is worth exploring other online learning platforms for better deals, especially if you only need one course.
3. TalentLMS
TalentLMS proves to be a strong Udemy competitor with its customizable approach to solving corporate team learning challenges.
Small companies can access this platform free of charge for five users to uptrain employees on soft skills.
A selection of monthly package pricing allows businesses to enroll more employees for monthly training in various areas. One thousand employees can access TalentLMS’s premium package and enjoy learning from an unlimited number of courses.
Another benefit of signing up for a membership on this site is that courses are divided into lessons that last from two to three minutes. Mini-lessons also focus on storytelling to support practical application and memory retention.
If your company wants to augment the employee experience and promote productivity with unlimited learning, TalentLMS is definitely worth a closer look.
4. Infosec Skills
Infosec Skills challenges Udemy as a significant competitor in the cybersecurity area as students can gain officially recognizable certification for the courses they complete.
Course certification is possible when you engage in live team training led by an instructor. Boot camps and training courses also prepare teams for individual accreditation.
The NICE Workforce Framework is demanding, and Infosec Skills provides employee assessments to determine training needs.
Moreover, Infosec Skills courses align with the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework to ensure business IT, security, and engineering teams prepare for potential cyberattacks with comprehensive training skills.
Although Infosec Skills is a major Udemy competitor, it is mainly a threat in the specialized cybersecurity fields. Infosec Skills also wins out over Udemy because of its course certification.
Any medium to large business will benefit from upskilling its teams in the cybersecurity area since attacks are becoming more prevalent and threatening business survival.
5. EDUCBA
EDUCBA is fast proving to be a challenge to Udemy, although its course library is still small.
EDUCBA offers a selection of free tutorials, certification courses, and resources to support student learning.
With the company’s skill-based education, students find that the guided learning method is convenient and speaks to successful learning paths.
Aspiring students prefer EDUCBA because the platform provides courses that link to job demand.
These courses also support a practical learning experience, making new learning easily applicable in the workspace.
You can sign up anytime to start your new career or augment current learning to enrich your knowledge base.
Alternatively, companies can offer EDUCBA training courses to employees as part of their benefits packages.
6. FutureLearn
FutureLearn is one up as an Udemy competitor as it partners with a range of official educational institutions.
Students can sign up with this company to earn full degrees through its partners.
This company also offers micro-credentials to gain valuable skills in fast-paced, growing industries without committing to the total price of degrees.
Students and companies also have access to a variety of courses. You can take short courses that last for two to three weeks or focus on more in-depth studies lasting between six and ten weeks.
Course selection is much smaller than what Udemy offers but is also more focused.
Anyone wanting to further their careers or personal development can sign up for free or paid courses in various subjects.
Course material is available for languages, culture, business management, science and technology, health, psychology, and many more.
7. Skillsoft
Skillsoft is one of the oldest online learning platforms, having opened its website in 1998.
Thanks to years of experience, courses, interactive hubs, and corporate training, this company focusing on training professionals and is a leader in its field.
As popular as Udemy is, it doesn’t compare with corporate training at the level that Skillsoft does, including 65% of Fortune 500 companies.
Individuals and teams have access to over 500,000 library assets that offer learning in various formats.
This learning incorporates practice to complement existing technology and developer skills, leadership training, business skills, digital transformation, and compliance.
Skillsoft is decidedly a major Udemy competitor with its professional corporate training and compliance offerings, which is why the company is so successful.
8. WeKAb
WeKAb is a small Spanish/English training platform that focuses on building a network of educational trainers with companies.
This small business emphasizes lifelong learning by expert trainers in specific fields. Companies can then source reputable experts to engage employees in different training programs where there is a shortage of skills.
Unfortunately, WeKAb’s presence appears to be isolated to Spain, so many companies in bordering countries miss out on this training opportunity.
9. Teachable
Teachable is much smaller than Udemy and offers far fewer courses.
However, like Thinkific and Coursera, Teachable comprises a business model that highlights course creation rather than course offerings.
Udemy combines course creation and course offerings, which concentrates the combined power of creating and selling on one platform.
Companies like Teachable diffuse the strength of their courses across websites that instructors create to sell their courses.
Because of the Teachable business model, the onus also falls on course creators to generate company profits. Unlike Teachable, Udemy’s profits come from course creators and customers on one platform, simplifying the process.
As an Udemy competitor, Teachable and similar sites comprise a different business model.
Courses available to the public are fewer than those available on Udemy and appear to cater to niche markets rather than companies or the public.
In other words, Teachable is like Shopify, except Teahcable focuses on course offerings.
9. Thinkific
Thinkific is like Teachable when it comes to online education.
Like the Shopify platform, educators create and market their courses on this platform. Thinkific provides educators with multiple tools to support online teaching and studies.
The company offers marketing and customer support for its vendors.
Again, the focus of Thinkific is on course creators rather than course takers. This model differs from Udemy, and some prospective learners may find it more challenging to find the courses they need to upskill themselves.
As far as being a threat, Thinkific and similar platforms don’t fall into the category of primary Udemy competitors.
10. Simplilearn
Simplilearn began its journey into online education in 2009.
This company now claims that it is the premium provider of online boot camps for skills development in the digital economy.
Courses and training concentrate on data science, cloud computing, cybersecurity, digital marketing, and other business performance training.
Simplilearn captures a large portion of the market by focusing on rapidly changing industries where continuous learning is vital. More than 2,000 experts support current, continuous learning.
Eighty-five percent of training recipients report receiving promotions after completing Simplilearn courses, which place this company in an apex position.
If you’re wondering whether Simplilearn is a strong Udemy competitor, wonder no more.
11. LearnWorlds
Like Teachable and Thinkific, LearnWorlds is also all about creating individual websites to offer online courses.
Instead of courses being the company’s focus, they sell platforms for others to build schools and deliver e-learning.
LearnWords is one of the top All-In-One LMS.
Making creating, selling or marketing online courses easy for all levels.
As much as this business model is appealing to entrepreneurs, it forces experts to spend time on promoting their courses to get value for money from monthly premiums rather than relying on chance customer purchases.
Udemy gets most of its money from sales commissions, which places LearnWorlds and similar platforms in a different category.
Market demand, therefore, determines whether companies like this are genuinely Udemy competitors.
12. BlackBoard LMS
BlackBoard LMS is a global learning management system rather than a course management system (CMS) like Udemy.
BlackBoard partners with communities, governments, and organizations worldwide to bring education and training to as many people as possible.
Anyone who signs up to provide online courses for this company must use the BlackBoard platform, which uses school information systems, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive.
Unfortunately, the user experience is reportedly so poor on this online learning platform that its size and reach do not pose much of a threat as a serious Udemy competitor.
13. Learnetto
Learnetto is a small, up and coming, UK tech startup founded by Hrishi Mittal.
Learnetto’s mission is to support lifelong teaching and learning through various tools. Course offerings comprise writing, programming, nutrition, marketing, sales, design, and several other subjects.
To meet its goals, this company offers new learning experiences via books, courses, podcasts, and tutorials.
If you want to share your knowledge with others, you can sign up with this company to offer your classes.
Alternatively, suppose you want to build your knowledge. In that case, you can purchase online courses to improve your C.V.
As unique as this small company is, it has a lot of growth ahead if it is to become a serious Udemy competitor.
14. AccessAlly
AccessAlly is another LMS for ongoing online education.
This site offers powerful course-building tools for anyone who wishes to manage their own online school.
You can use this comprehensive plugin to build a WordPress site on this open-source platform to design and market a range of courses.
AccessAlly online learning creates a virtual classroom setting to support learning without attending physical classes.
This company leaves it up to educators and entrepreneurs to grow their teaching businesses by opting into this LMS.
These entrepreneurs have the full support of online LMS tools to create, present, and grow their client base through AccessAlly’s marketing functions.
Anyone who loves teaching and supports online learning is welcome to develop informative courses to increase personal knowledge.
15. Coursera
Coursera is a serious Udemy competitor that has been operating since 2012.
Like Udemy, Coursera is also a MOOC provider run by professors who received their education from Stanford University. Unlike many of the Udemy courses,
Coursera offers a lot more recognition for completing its courses in the form of formal certifications and degrees. This recognition beats Udemy hands down for most of the site’s course offerings.
Students are also not left wanting to select course material on this platform.
Ongoing learning in computer sciences, programming, psychology, business, public health degrees, and certifications are available to advance anyone’s career who doesn’t have the time to attend full-time classes.
Conclusion
Udemy competitors come in many sizes and forms.
Some competitors offer LMS, and others provide CMS to promote continuous learning. Individuals and businesses benefit from selecting online learning platforms that align with their interests.
Despite Udemy having loads of competition, it remains a popular platform for learning due to its intuitive platform and affordable pricing model.
If you or your company need new training, they should investigate the numerous platforms that support continuous learning using multiple teaching methods.
Udemy offers a diverse range of online courses for free or at reasonable rates. However, it has certain limitations, especially with respect to the credibility of its courses and the overall effectiveness of their teaching techniques.
The good news is that Udemy isn’t the only eLearning platform out there. The aforementioned Udemy alternatives feature a wide variety of courses that can help you learn new skills and advance your career successfully.
So, keep learning, keep growing!
