The Top 6 Best Udemy Alternatives

Online courses are the rave these days, and it's obvious why it's popular. Whether you want to improve already-know skills or pick up new skills, or just have been involved in a new hobby, there are a broad range of online courses to help you!

In 2020 alone, during the pandemic, over 180 million learners enrolled in MOOC (Massive open online courses). The reason for the popularity of Online courses is that it is convenient and flexible as learners can learn at their own pace, and they are generally very affordable too, especially when compared with the rising costs of universities.

When it comes to online course platforms, Udemy is one of the popular names in the industry for self-paced learning. Not just for learners, Udemy makes a great platform for teachers who want to sell their expertise and make some money.

Why look for Udemy alternatives

When there is Udemy, why look for Udemy alternatives? The answer is simple: Every course platform won't be appealing to everyone. Udemy's pricing is a little high, and creators who want to set up a business account must have a minimum of 5 people.

Plus, Udemy isn't a great choice when you want to establish a business around selling online courses. There are course creators who have done excellent on Udemy, but that's because of the hard work they have put in to promote it.

They have given a share of their hard-earned money to the platform as commissions as well. If you want to avoid all of that and want to own 100%. Udemy makes you take risks when compared to owning your own website, where you host your online courses and take full ownership.

Before getting into Udemy-like website development, let's explore the best Udemy alternatives available.

Coursera

An online course platform that has been around for several years is Coursera. Coursera hosts online courses from reputed universities, and learners can access all learning resources from real classes.

Coursera also partners with private organizations to provide accessible education to students in various subject areas, some for free and some for a price.

Learners can also access professional degree courses, bachelor's and master's degrees, and get professional access.

The course certificates are from real colleges and universities, which learners can use on their resumes. If you want to enroll in degree programs, you will have applied to the host university by meeting the requirements, fee schedule, and all the rules set by the respective college.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn learning is a venture by LinkedIn where it offers online courses across a broad range of niches, including software skills and soft business skills. The courses hosted by Linked are intended for business professionals to excel in their areas of expertise. Learners need to subscribe to LinkedIn to access advanced features in LinkedIn.

The reviews about the quality of content on the platform are mixed; the video quality is better than Udemy's. For business-related courses, the presentation is of business grade, some are text-based, and some are animated. The progress of the courses you enroll will be updated on the account so that you can track it whenever needed. Learners will also receive a certification after completing the course, which can be downloaded and added directly to your LinkedIn account.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a Britain-based course creation platform owned by SEEK ltd and Open University. Being one of the primary educational platforms in the country offering a broad range of Online courses from American colleges. Learners can use FutureLearn to provide specialized education as it has a partnership with top universities around the country.

Once enrolled in a learning program, learners will get learning materials, weekly lessons, videos, interactive quizzes, test materials, and more. The platform also gives certificates from accredited Universities rather than from the site.

Skillshare

Skillshare is an online course platform with a mission to bring change and growth in people's lives, both personal and professional. The platform is built to inspire creative exploration that supports learning and its practical application.

Skillshare hosts courses on different topics like video, freelancing, photography, writing, business management, and more. Learners can also leverage Skillshare to attain professional skills or pick up skills like craft making or cooking.

The platform also has online courses taught classes that teach creative skills and concepts. Compared to Udemy, the pricing of Skillshare is reasonable, where learners can subscribe for a fair price. The subject areas in Skillshare are also broader than on Udemy.

Udacity

Another alternative to Udemy is Udacity which is a course website that focuses on the tech industry. The name Udacity might sound similar to Udemy, but both platforms differ in their core concept.

Udacity offers more guided learning programs to its learners, which are project and skill-based development programs. The learning programs popularly known as Nanodegrees are longer than an average Udemy course and contain real assignments and project reviews with educators. Course creators on the platform have to work with the Udacity team and create lessons, classes, videos, projects, and other learning materials.

Conclusion

While Udemy is great for online course creators who are just starting their careers, other Udemy alternatives are good enough, like Udemy or even greater than it. It might be challenging to choose an alternative, but let this guide be an inspiration to understand more about other course creator platforms existing in the market. Use the free trial provided by most platforms to test out the different platforms so that you can make an informed decision.