Which online course platform is best for digital creators, influencers, coaches, or entrepreneurs?

If you’ve been considering picking up a new skill or hobby, there has never been a better time to start. 

With thousands of online courses available, you can even learn an entirely new job from the comfort of your home. Maybe you’re an influencer who wants to learn how to run your own business. Or maybe you’re an inspiring online business owner who needs to build a website. No matter your situation, there is an online course out there for you.

But with so many platform options, how do you decide which to choose?

Today, we will be looking at two major competitors, Skillshare and Udemy, so you can decide which online course platform is best for you.

Udemy VS. Skillshare – Online Courses For Digital Creators.

Udemy

What is Udemy?

Udemy is an American educational technology company that was founded in 2010. The platform has over 59 million learners from all over the world, as well as over 200,000 courses you can choose from.

The main course topics are employment and other job-related skills, such as courses helping towards teacher certification, HTML coding, and more. 

How does Udemy work?

Udemy operators under two different plans. You can either pay for each class individually, or subscribe to a personal plan. 

Depending on your needs, either path could be a great choice for you. If you know you only want to learn how to start freelancing, perhaps you only need to purchase one or two classes. 

Purchasing Individual Classes

Individual classes can range in prices, as well as course length, and even in ratings and skill level.. 

As you can see below, classes have a wide price range.

Typically, courses are $19.99-$199.99 and don’t exceed over $200. Though sometimes teachers will have discounts to make their courses less expensive. 

While picking your course, it’s important to read reviews, as well as learn what the class is about. 

The course description will give you the lowdown on what you’ll learn, as well as oftentimes a short introduction video on the course.

You can also favorite and save the course for a later date. 

You can even see what companies have used this course, as well as if there are any requirements to start the course. This is important information to look at so you can make sure you’re in the right place and not in a course that is above your skill level.

Once you pick a class, your learning dashboard will allow you to keep track of your classes. There is no limit to the amount of classes you can purchase, but remember you want to keep up with the coursework. You also have access to learning tools, such as being able to schedule reminders to keep up with your courses.

Purchasing a Personal Plan

When you purchase a personal plan on Udemy, you pay a monthly fee rather than paying for classes individually. If you know you’re planning on taking a large range of classes, this is definitely the most cost effective option. 

The personal plan is $16.58 a month, billed monthly. This gives you access to over 8,000 of their 200,000 courses, and specifically targets courses in technology, web development, and data science. 

You can also be certified in IT, as well as learn more about digital marketing. There are also personal development courses, such as language learning, arts, and personal finance. 

The personal plan is great for professional development and focuses on courses that are the most in-demand The courses all have an average of 4 stars and above, as well as 4,000 practice exercises and over 3,000 of Udemy’s top instructors. 

Become a Udemy Instructor  

If you feel you already have a skill you can monetize, you can also start your own course at Udemy. 

This is great for coaches, influencers, and online business owners who want to make some extra money. 

While the salary of an instructor will vary, if you have a steady intake of students, many people report on making excellent money through the program.

Udemy pays their teachers in two ways. The first way is if someone uses your referral link or code, meaning they came to Udemy specifically for your course. In this case, you will receive 97% of the sale value. So if your course is $100, you receive $97.

 However, if they find your course through the Udemy marketplace, you only get 37% of the sale value. 

The more you grow your business and market yourself online, the more people will take your course. So it’s important to use the skills you’ve learned from previous Udemy courses to market yourself online. 

If you are new to teaching or coaching, Udemy offers detailed guides to help you out. Below are a few of those tips. 

Skillshare

What is Skillshare?

Skillshare is an online learning program and community that was founded in 2010 in New York. The courses range from entrepreneurship, to design, technology, and more. 

In the past, Skillshare was a free and paid program. But as of 2021, Skillshare has discounted the ability to take free courses. So, you now have to subscribe to a premium plan to access any of their courses.

Skillshare has been known for their wide marketing campaigns, as well as having very well known instructors. Some of these instructors include Yuko Shimizu, Paula Scher, and Gary Vaynerchuk.

How does Skillshare work?

Unlike Udemy, which allows you to purchase individual classes without a paid plan, you have to pay for a premium subscription to access any courses.

Skillshare offers an individual plan and a team plan. 

If you run a company or business and will have multiple team members who need to be taking these courses, the discounted price will be $159 for the entire year. 

Otherwise, your individual rate will be $13.75 a month.

Taking Your Courses

Once you’ve signed up for your plan, you can start to browse courses and add them to your cart.

The courses will range in topics from advertising to design, or business and gaming. You can even take courses in cooking, music, and photography. 

Once you pay your monthly fee, you have access to all 30,000 courses, which is much more than Udemy’s personal plan offers you.

All courses include a hands-on project that you will complete when you’re done. You can then share this project with the rest of the class, as well as the entire Skillshare community who can give you feedback.  It’s important to give back to the community and give feedback on other’s projects as well. 

Teaching on Skillshare

You can also become an instructor on Skillshare. 

It’s reported that most teachers on the site make between $0.05 to $0.10 per minute watched. This depends on the size of your class, and can go up as your course becomes more popular.

Skillshare offers a step-by-step guide on how to create an engaging online course. This guide will help you improve your video setup and also teach you how to promote your course through SEO and marketing tools.

Which online course platform will you choose?

Both programs offer a wide range of affordable options to learn highly sought out skills. If you’re only going to purchase a few classes, Udemy might be the option for you. But if you want a wide range of courses, Skillshare offers a much wider selection.