Skillshare vs Udemy (2024): Best Online Learning Platform?

Are you looking for an unbiased, detailed comparison of Skillshare vs Udemy?

Here is my unfiltered opinion of how Skillshare and Udemy rank for students to learn from and teachers to earn. I will give you the complete details of their pros, cons, pricing, and standout features. 

Let us dive into it.

Skillshare vs Udemy: Quick Comparison 

If you are in a hurry, here is a quick overview to help you compare the two platforms. 

Feature	Skillshare	Udemy
Subject Focus	Creative fields such as design, photography, etc.	Diverse range covering virtually every subject, but more technical subjects.
Monthly Subscription Cost	$29 per month billed monthly$8.25 per month billed annually	Personal Plan: $21/month Team Plan: $30/month
Free Trial	30-day free trial	7-day free trial
Number of Courses Available	30,000+	210,000+
Course Quality	Varied but good-quality videos	Varies; some courses may lack quality control
Community Interaction	Strong community engagement	Limited community features
Instructor Quality	Selective application process for instructors	An open-door policy for instructors
Accredited Courses	None	Some courses are accredited

Skillshare vs Udemy: Pros and Cons 

Now that you have a taste for these two platforms, let’s dig deeper into their strengths and weaknesses. 

Skillshare Pros:

• Creative Emphasis: Skillshare offers more courses in creative domains such as design, photography, and illustration.
• Community Engagement: Skillshare also lets you interact with fellow learners and instructors through forums, discussions, and collaborative projects.
• Affordability: Skillshare’s best feature is that you can access all courses for a monthly subscription fee, making it cost-effective for regular learners.
• User-Friendly Interface: Skillshare has an intuitive interface, a vibrant website, and a mobile app with a simple access dashboard. 
• 30-day free trial period available to try out the platform for free. 

Skillshare Cons:

• Subject Limitation: While excelling in creative fields, Skillshare’s course catalog may feel limited in other areas like technical fields.
• Quality Variability: As courses are instructor-driven, the quality may vary significantly between offerings.
• No certificates or accreditations are available on completion of a course. 

Udemy Pros:

• More extensive Course Selection: Udemy offers 210,000 classes covering diverse subjects, catering to learners with varied interests.
• Self-Paced Learning: With Udemy, you can enjoy the flexibility to progress through the courses at your preferred pace without rigid schedules.
• Better Revenue For Teachers. 
• More Customization Features for engaging students. 

Udemy Cons:

• Quality Control Challenges: Since anyone can be an instructor at Udemy, the quality of courses is only sometimes consistent.
• Pricier Option Between the two platforms.

Skillshare vs Udemy: Best Features Compared 

Now that we know what Skillshare and Udemy offer, let’s explore each platform in detail. 

User Interface 

When it comes to UI, Skillshare and Udemy are tied. Both have a vibrant and intuitive website and are available as apps for iOS and Android. 

You can access their courses from a central dashboard where you can also keep track of your course, payment plans, and customers. Skillshare and Udemy prioritize user experience and are easy to navigate, even for beginners. 

Number and Quality of Courses 

In most cases, this is the criteria that becomes the deciding factor when choosing the right platform for you. 

Skillshare currently has 30,000 classes hosted on its platform. These courses are divided into three different groups:

1. Create
2. Build 
3. Thrive

As you can see, most of the courses hosted by Skillshare lean on the creative side, and if that is what you are looking for, you will find good quality courses in Skillshare. 

Also, while Skillshare’s library of courses is larger than Udemy’s, its quality is more consistent. 

Udemy, on the other hand, hosts 210,000 courses on its platform. The categories of classes are as follows. 

If you are into technical subjects, there is a better chance you’ll find a class in Udemy than Skillshare. 

That being said, with each having its ups and downs, I rate both a solid 4.5/5 in quality and numbers. 

Certificated and Accreditations

Now, this is where Udemy shines. Skillshare does not offer any accredited certification of course completion, but Udemy does have courses with certified completion certification in association with recognized universities and institutions.

In this section, Udemy wins. 

Customization Features 

Here is what Skillshare has when it comes to course customization. Skillshare has an active community of 60k+ members, and they can interact with reviews, comments, and projects. But that’s about it. 

In Udemy, you have more customization features that allow teachers to make quizzes, q&As, and other things that make the classes more interactive to their students. 

Although Udemy has a larger number of learners, over 6 million, its engagement is slightly less than Skillshare’s. 

That being said, Udemy wins in this category. 

Teaching on the Platform

Both Skillshare and Udemy allow anyone to become an instructor and create courses. However, Skillshare’s application process is more selective, focusing on quality and relevance to its community’s interests. Udemy, on the other hand, has a more open-door policy, allowing anyone to publish a course.

As a teacher, Skillshare pays you monthly for the minutes people watch their classes. You typically earn between $0.05 and $0.10 per minute. You also earn 60% of the subscription fees if someone signs up using your referral link. 

On Udemy, you will bet better promotional features than Skillshare at 97% of the subscription fees if someone signs up using your referral link. 

That being said, I think teachers have more control over their Udemy courses, which is why Udemy wins in this category. 

Free Trials and Offers

Both platforms run occasional promotions and student discounts. 

Skillshare has a 30-day trial period, compared to only a 7-day free trial period in Udemy. During this period, you can access all premium features in Skillshare, but in Udemy, you need to subscribe to a high-tier plan to access everything. 

As you can already see, Skillshare wins in this category. 

Skillshare vs Udemy: Pricing & Plans

Now, coming to the pricing and plans of Skillshare and Udemy. 

Skillshare:

• Monthly Plan: $29/month for unlimited access to all courses.
• Annual Plan: $8.25/month billed annually ($99/year).
• Teams Plan for 2-49 users: $159/seat annually.
• Teams Plan for over 50 seats: Custom Pricing. 

All Skillshare plans include a 30-day free trial period during which you can try the platform for free and have unlimited access to all courses+. 

Udemy:

• Personal Plan: $21/month for access to most of the features on Udemy.
• Team Plan: $30/month for unlimited access to all features for 2-50 people.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom Pricing
• Leadership Academy: Custom Pricing

That said, I also want to mention that you may have to pay individually for top-rated courses with accreditations. 

All plans from Udemy come with a 7-day free trial period during which you can try out the platform for free. 

As you can see, overall, Skillshare and its subscription-model-based pricing are the cheaper options among the two.

It’s the perfect opportunity to try the tool out for yourself with an additional financial commitment and judge whether it works for you. 

Conclusion: Which is better? 

In my honest opinion, because of the sheer number of courses, better revenue for teachers, and more customization options, I may overlook the quality found in Skillshare and let Udemy win. But if you are looking for a creative topic to learn, Skillshare has it all. 

I hope this article helps.

Frequently Asked Questions

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