I’ll bet that Udemy has shown up in all your course searches, and you’re wondering:
and
2 – Are there any good Udemy Competitors I should research? Or should I just give up and go bake cookies instead?
Udemy offers 210,000 courses, which means they pretty much have every topic covered, even “Intro to Cookie Baking 101.” But still, there are other options besides Udemy for continuing ed.
Here are some key factors to weigh when choosing an online learning platform:
1. Price – Can you get a sweeter deal elsewhere?
2. Accreditation – Will your certificate be more than just decorative?
3. Knowledge flexing (certification) – Can you show off your new skills to impress friends (and hiring companies)? We’ll see how Udemy stacks up against competitors, so you can make an informed decision. Or just say ” Forget it!” and go back to baking. More cookies for me!
TL;DR:
- Udemy’s prices are competitive so long as you shop during a sale (to always get sale prices, see my Udemy hack: How to Get Udemy Sale Prices in 2024 (It’s Way Easier Than You Think)).
- Coursera partners with major universities to offer accredited courses, allowing you to earn credits toward your degree.
- Pluralsight focuses on cloud computing, software engineering, and data sciences with a strong emphasis on career preparation.
- Udacity is similar to Pluralsight. It is laser-focused on cloud, AI, software, and data science.
What are the Best Udemy Competitors?
Udemy has a huge course catalog with thousands of technology classes.
Its prices are competitive, especially if you shop during a sale (to always get sale prices, see my Udemy hack: How to Get Udemy Sale Prices in 2024 (It’s Way Easier Than You Think)). You can also look at these Udemy competitors.
| Table: Top Udemy Competitors | |
| Pluralsight | Pluralsight focuses on cloud computing, software engineering, and data sciences with a strong emphasis on career preparation. |
| Coursera | Coursera partners with major universities to offer accredited courses, allowing you to earn credits toward your degree. Coursera focuses on Arts And Humanities, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Health, Language Learning, Math And Logic, Personal Development, Physical Science And Engineering and Social Sciences. |
| Udacity | Udacity is similar to Pluralsight. It is laser-focused on cloud, AI, software, and data science. |
Pluralsight
One of my favorite Skillshare features is their Learning Paths.
Learning paths are like treasure maps for students seeking knowledge.
They guide you through a carefully curated series of courses, ensuring you navigate your educational journey purposefully.
By following these paths, you can embark on a transformative learning experience, acquiring the necessary skills and expertise in a subject by taking classes in the right order.
Key Benefits
- Pluralsight allocates 10 weeks to assess the quality of each instructor it hires.
- The online community supports every student.
- Employers recognize Pluralsight certificates.
- Choose from 7,000+ courses.
- Use Skills groups to organize your learning path (R, Python, React, Java, C#, Ruby, AWS, Azure, Angular)
- Use A Cloud Guru groups to specialize in cloud skills (AWS, Azure, GCP, Linux, Cloud, DevOps, Security, Kubernetes, Terraform)
- Pluralsight is a substantial educational player with 2,000+ employees.
- Pluralsight partners with Adobe, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Unity, Stack Overflow and Amazon Web Services
- Meet the instructors (virtually) to help you decide
Pricing
Pluralsight sells subscription access to its courses.
It has two individual and three business subscription plans.
- The Standard Individual plan is $29/month or $299/year if paid upfront.
- The Premium Individual plan is $45/month or $449/year if paid upfront.
- The Business Starter plan is $33.25/month for 2-50 users or $399/year if paid upfront.
- The Business Professional plan is $48.25/month for 2-50 users or $579/year.
| Pluralsight Cost Tiers | |
|---|---|
| Standard Individual | $29/month or $299/year |
| Premium Individual | $45/month or $449/year |
| Starter Business | $33.25/month or $399/year |
| Professional Business | $48.25/month or $579/year |
Pros
- The Standard Plan is only $29/month (or 24.90/month if you pay yearly) for access to 2,500 courses, feedback on your skills help with your direction, and curated learning paths with Skills and A Cloud Guru.
- The Premium Plan is only $45/month (or $37.41/month if you pay yearly) for access to 7,000+ courses, technical conference recordings, hands-on projects, certification exam preparation and coding challenges.
- The Free Trial gives you 10 days and 200 minutes of content. Cancel before renewal to avoid a charge.
- Don’t just passively watch videos (YouTube). Solidify your knowledge with exams, quizzes, projects and challenges.
- Compared to other online learning platforms, Pluralsight quality is consistently very high.
- Watch hundreds of hours of content for one fixed price.
- 100% remote learning
- Self-paced course completion
Cons
- Authors need to update their content more often.
- Some classes are intense.
Coursera
Coursera partners with top universities and educational institutions to offer its courses. It allows learners to enroll in courses taught by professors and experts from renowned universities worldwide. Coursera also offers certifications upon completion of courses.
Key Benefits
- Thanks to its association with 275+ universities, many Coursera courses are accredited.
- Access career-relevant technical education courses.
- Coursera offers certification. “ A Course Certificate is proof that you completed and passed the course.”
- MasterTrack(R) Certificates count toward a Master’s Degree
- Official certification from corporate partners such as Meta, Google and Amazon AWS
- Employers recognize Coursera certificates.
- Use Coursera to earn a Bachelor’s or Master’s remotely.
- Coursera offers 2,900+ free courses
- Coursera offers 770+ Guided Projects that are free or cost $9.99 each.
- The online community supports every student.
- The platform offers a link tool to share your accomplishments on Linkedin.
Pricing
- Guided Projects: Free or $9.99
- Specializations: Included in the $49/month Coursera Plus ubscription
- Professional Certificates: Included in the $49/month Coursera Plus subscription
- MasterTrack(R) Certificates: $2,000+
- Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees: $2,000+
Pros
- Learn career-oriented skills for one low price (Arts And Humanities, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Health, Language Learning, Math And Logic, Personal Development, Physical Science And Engineering and Social Sciences)
- Earn employer-recognized certificates or degrees
- Watch hundreds of hours of content for one fixed price.
- Learn 100% remotely.
- Take courses at your own pace.
Cons
- Peer-review grading is sometimes politicized and can be unfair. (You can resubmit to get a new reviewer, but this is an inherent flaw in peer reviews.)
- Customer support is understaffed and therefore students might wait as long as two days for a response.
Udacity
Udacity focuses on providing courses in the field of technology, with an emphasis on practical skills needed in the job market. It offers nanodegree programs, including hands-on projects and mentorship, to enhance the learning experience.
Key Benefits
- The Individual Plan gives you access to nanodegree programs, career guidance, certificates of completion, the entire course catalog, peer support and real world projects.
- Udacity creates its own content in cooperation and collaboration with top universities and corporations such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft and Google
- Udacity offers 216+ free courses
- The courses are career-focused
- The user interface is pleasant to use
- Mentors (not just peers) assist students with questions.
- The fee includes job interview help and feedback on Linkedin and Github profiles
- Corporations sponsor tuition assistance programs.
Pricing
- Individual Plan: $249/month or $2,390 annually
Pros
- Udacity courses allow you to learn valuable skills in Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems (self-driving cars), Business, Career Resources, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Executive Leadership, Programming and Product Management
- Courses are career-focused
- The Nanodegree program includes career counseling, resume reviews and Github/Linkedin feedback.
- Courses include projects to solidify learning.
- Many employers recognize Udacity nanodegrees.
- Watch hundreds of hours of content for one fixed price.
- Learn 100% remotely.
- Take courses at your own pace.
Cons
- Udacity is not accredited.
- The Individual Plan is significantly more expensive than other platforms (Udemy, Pluralsight)
What are Three Udemy Competitors?
Pluralsight, Coursera and Udacity compete with Udemy. They offer courses in career-focused subjects. Pluralsight focuses on cloud computing, software engineering, and data sciences
Coursera partners with major universities to offer accredited courses, allowing you to earn credits toward your degree. It focuses on Arts And Humanities, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Health, Language Learning, Math And Logic, Personal Development, Physical Science And Engineering and Social Sciences.
Udacity is similar to Pluralsight. It is laser-focused on cloud, AI, software, and data science.
Udemy’s prices are lower than its competitors:
Udemy offers individual classes, individual subscriptions, and business subscriptions.
Udemy’s classes are priced between $12 and $199, and prices vary considerably because Udemy runs several sales a year.
Udemy’s subscriptions cost as little as $16.58 per month for individual learners and $29 monthly for business users.
| Pluralsight Cost Tiers | |
|---|---|
| Standard Individual | $29/month or $299/year |
| Premium Individual | $45/month or $449/year |
| Starter Business | $33.25/month or $399/year |
| Professional Business | $48.25/month or $579/year |
