15 Best Online Learning Platforms in 2022

The rise of online learning platforms and online courses – we all saw it coming. We just didn’t know it would grow THIS FAST, but here we are!

It’s probably the circumstances, or it’s time to transition into online everything, but there are now so many online course platforms that are beneficial for both students and educators.

How do you know which platform will help you learn the most? That’s where we come in.

We’ve reviewed 15 of the most popular online learning platforms so you can decide which one will be best for you.

Quick Overview: Best Online Learning Platforms

Some of you may not have the time to go through this long (but informative) list of online platforms, we understand. No hard feelings!

Here’s a quick overview of the course platforms we’ll review and their best feature:

Skillshare: Best for creative courses; for upskilling
Udemy: Largest pool; easy to enter for instructors; self-paced learning
Udacity: Career advancement; formal online courses
MasterClass: Entertainment; prominent instructors; video streaming
Coursera: Accredited certificates; higher-education degrees
edX: Official certificates; open for instructors; higher learning
PluralSight: Specifically for IT students or developers
LinkedIn Learning: Professional and career development; networking
The Great Courses Plus (now Wondrium): Video streaming; in-depth lectures; like MasterClass but more serious
CodeAcademy: For coding; community and interactive
Khan Academy: Free; non-profit platform; highly effective
DataCamp: Focuses on data analytics and data science
CreativeLive: Creative community
MindValley: Focus on mindfulness; well-being; “soft” skills
TeamTreeHouse: Coding, development, and design

But of course, if you want to know more about these online course platforms so you can decide on the best one, we suggest reading through the next sections!

Table Of Contents

Quick Overview: Best Online Learning Platforms
The Best Online Learning Platforms in 2022
[Summary] Let's Categorize All These Online Learning Platforms!
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding The Best Online Learning Platforms (FAQs and Q&As)
Conclusion

The Best Online Learning Platforms in 2022

Okay! Are you ready?

For each learning platform, we’ll list down the best features they offer, the benefits or advantages, drawbacks or disadvantages, and our overall thoughts about it.

1. Skillshare (~$99/year)

If Skillshare sounds familiar, you’ve probably heard it from content creators who promote this online learning platform. This alone shows the wide scope and creative nature of Skillshare’s online courses, wouldn’t you agree? But allow us to break it down further for you below.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Most online classes on Skillshare are creative courses – but they’re not limited to that.

They have four main categories:

Creative Arts (i.e., animation, drawing, graphic design, illustration, photography)
Business (i.e., entrepreneurship, leadership, digital marketing, productivity)
Technology (i.e., data science, game design, web development, etc.)
Lifestyle (i.e., crafts, health and wellness, languages, etc.)

Their main proposition is they promote lifelong learning, emphasizing that their online courses let you learn real-life lessons that you’ll bring with you for a long time.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of Skillshare that we think really stood out:

Affordable price
Wide-range of topics
Interactive lessons
High-quality courses
Free trial sessions
They also have free courses (even beyond the free trial sessions)

Drawbacks to Consider:

But some downsides might be important for you to know:

No professional certificates after the courses
Support (as in, customer and help support) is only through email
Most courses (if not all) are only in English

What We Think About Skillshare?

Overall, we love Skillshare.

In our opinion, it’s the most practical online education platform for the reason they don’t charge unreasonably high but still deliver good quality. And we’re not just saying “good” for the sake of it, the classes truly have good quality!

The mentors are actual players and creators in their fields and you can tell through the video lectures they care about their craft and what they’re teaching. If you plan to teach with them, you can check it out on their website.

This is the best online learning platform for students who want to learn new skills but have a limited budget. Whichever course category you want, almost all the courses are priced the same. They also offer free courses for the first seven (7) sessions.

It’s mainly self-paced learning, but we also appreciate the forums that create a sense of community where you can interact with others.

The biggest downside, however, is the lack of a certificate which is quite important in proving that you took the online courses these days. But considering the price, and we also have to take into account that Skillshare is not an actual academy, it’s mainly for upskilling only and not meant to be a substitute for formal degree programs.

2. Udemy (~$14.99 to $199 for Paid Courses)

Among this list, it’s safe to say that Udemy is the largest online learning platform.

The pool of online classes, instructors, and students is wide – there is so much to choose from. Approximately, they have around 56,000+ instructors and 155,000+ courses!

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

First, we think having a large pool worked to their advantage. Unlike Skillshare and other online learning platforms, Udemy has online courses in languages other than English. And of course, their big course library is definitely a big win. There is educational content for almost every topic you can think of!

To name a few, they have computer science, project management, creative courses, communication, personal development, digital marketing, and so much more. Plus, under each category are even more specific topics.

Benefits Over Others:

We have our favorite benefits about Udemy, of course:

Learning at your own pace, individual courses
Lifetime access (unlimited courses)
Fairly affordable
Easy for instructors to start and sell courses
Free classes are available
Availability of other languages (though English is still the dominant one)
A wide selection of courses

Drawbacks to Consider:

But here are some drawbacks to look out for:

No certificate for students after classes
No interactive learning with other students and instructors alike (mainly video lessons)
For instructors, competition is high since there are many of you
Class quality is not always guaranteed (it’s not as consistent)

What We Think About Udemy?

The best word to describe Udemy is literally a “platform.”

Think of it as a large online learning platform that teachers and students use, but there aren’t many interactions. It’s literally that – an online course platform.

Certainly, this has advantages too. For students who want to develop new skills but are generally busy, Udemy’s self-paced nature is a big help.

For instructors, starting and setting up is very easy with little to no cost. You can easily sell online courses after applying to them. You have full control over your classes – from the creation to the publishing, and the marketing.

But then, the downside with that is there’s practically no guidance or interactive learning throughout the entire course. For students who want a hands-on learning experience, you won’t get it here.

With the full control instructors have, it also means you have to strategize how you’ll market the class. Keep in mind there are over 155,000 courses – which is good for students, but a threat to teachers selling online courses.

Naturally, it will also be hard for Udemy to control all the courses being shared, so expect that not all of them will have consistent quality. Overall, we think Udemy is undeniably one of the best online learning platforms. But it caters more to self-paced learners and to those who want to sell online courses as a sideline only.

3. Udacity (~$700 to $2,000)

Going up the price range hill, we have the more premium online course platform that’s Udacity.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Some of you are probably startled by the price, but let us defend Udacity by saying they are more career-focused and they pride themselves on their VIP partners.

Bigger companies like Google and Lyft also recognize Udacity graduates in terms of job applications. Their courses are not simple tutorial videos, they are guaranteed to be of high quality as compared to other platforms.

Plus, they have an online degree certificate. Though not exactly accredited certificates, think of them as diplomas. And employers recognize them.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of Udacity that we particularly like:

They offer career advice to their students
Availability of individual courses, business courses, and government courses
Quality, quality & quality! (From the online courses to the instructors, to the partners)
Self-paced or asynchronous learning
The online courses are more advanced
You can reach out to the mentors for questions
Project-based and active learning (not just purely videos and modules)

Drawbacks to Consider:

But while it all looks great, here are some disadvantages to look into:

Still not a virtual classroom setup (though more interactive than Udemy)
Expensive
No free courses (only free demo)
No accredited certificates (but with a Udacity certificate, don’t confuse them)

What We Think About Udacity?

Just by a quick scroll on their website, you’ll already get the hint that their online course platform is a more formal or serious one – and the price confirms it.

Though the premium price tag can be a con for some, we also have to realize that Udacity’s audience is different. This learning platform is for those who are looking to apply for jobs and seriously expand their careers – not just for learning a new skill.

After completing the classes, you’ll get a certificate as evidence that you finished the online courses.

But don’t confuse this with accredited certificates (i.e., TOEFL, IELTS, etc.), this is an exclusive Udacity certificate. But we have to point this out, employers – like Google, Lyft, and Mercedes to name a few – recognize this Udacity certificate and its weights application.

4. MasterClass (~$15/month)

We’re 90% sure you’ve heard of MasterClass. Understandably so, their landing page already shows us their star-studded mentors.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

MasterClass is more of an entertaining online learning platform with its celebrity mentors. But don’t get us wrong, “entertaining” does not mean there are no lessons to learn. They’re renowned figures in their fields, so there is surely a lot to pick up.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are our favorites advantages of MasterClass:

“Big-time” mentors! (We have to admit, it’s exciting.)
Affordable online courses despite the celebrity mentors
Videos are cinematic and with a full-production vibe
Lifestyle and applicable insights (not textbook lessons)

Drawbacks to Consider:

But also consider some of the downsides:

It’s not an educational online degree
Not open for online teaching or selling courses of your own (unless you’re a public figure to an extent)

What We Think About MasterClass?

Think of MasterClass as a more serious Netflix or YouTube, but not as formal as other online learning platforms. There are no official learning management systems or anything like that.

This is for those looking for a video podcast platform where prominent stars or figures recognized in their respective fields share their learnings and experiences. We personally enjoy the video content and insights are everywhere.

But then again, if you’re looking for a certificate or career expansion, this is not the right platform.

5. Coursera (~$29-$99/month)

So we’ve tackled upskilling, a career expansion, and a podcast-type platform. Coursera differentiates itself as an online course platform that builds specialization on top of your existing knowledge.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Coursera offer accredited certificates like that of Harvard, or whichever university the online course is partnered with. Yes, they have partner universities and companies like Stanford, Google, and IBM, among others.

As compared to others on this list, Coursera is one of the online platforms that leans towards the formal education side. They also have specialized classes that are almost equivalent to a master’s degree.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are some benefits of Coursera:

Affordable
Free courses and free trial sessions
Specialization courses
Certificates and degrees upon completion of online courses
Other language options

Drawbacks to Consider:

You may want to look into their drawbacks as well:

For instructors, you can’t sell online courses unless you’re part of their partnered universities/institutions
Online course topics are not as surface-level for beginners (but there still are!)

What We Think About Coursera?

In terms of education, we think Coursera is one of the top online learning platforms in this field. Their learning management system is good, their classes have quality, and they’re priced reasonably.

They are also generous with their free trial offers, and you can learn a lot even with the free courses. We know this for a fact since we’ve tried some of their free courses using university privileges.

Building on that, our favorite thing about Coursera is its partnerships with institutions. You can use some .edu email addresses to avail discounts! Moreover, it amps up their caliber and their courses are more legitimate. The accredited certificates are a good testament to that.

This is great news for students, but not so much for those looking to build an online course business. Unfortunately, Coursera’s instructors are limited to their partners. If you want to really sell online courses with Coursera, you can try applying to the partner institutions instead.

6. edX (~$50 for Individual Courses)

EdX is most likely Coursera’s biggest competitor. Since we’re not choosing sides, we’ll also include edX here since it’s also one of the best online learning platforms in terms of more technical education.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Like Coursera, edX has a lot of member universities. Some of which are the best institutions you’ve surely heard of.

We absolutely love their main vision, which they positioned as unlocking potential “without the barriers of cost or location.” We think this shows with their reasonable pricing despite the high-quality online course offerings they have.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of the edX online course platform:

Affordable individual courses (they also have official degrees for $10,000)
Official and recognized certificates from their partner universities
Official online courses and educational degrees
Interactive online learning experience
Open for mentors looking to sell courses as an online business
Free trial programs are available – you can upgrade from there
Wide variety of topics (from project management to ESL to engineering, you name it!)

Drawbacks to Consider:

Here are some of edX’s downsides:

Technical online course topics (not the best option for beginners)
The interface might be complicated for non-techy instructors
Lack of non-English courses

What We Think About edX?

Overall, we’re amazed by everything that edX has to offer.

If we may say, it’s basically a one-stop shop for your online course needs. The online learning experience is also more professional and formal, setting it apart from some of the upskilling course platforms.

The certificates they offer are also top-notch, and you can acquire them by completing their intensive online courses. That’s a promising deal!

Its main difference from Coursera is it’s more welcoming to teachers who want to apply as instructors. You don’t have to be a partner institution – though that will certainly help.

There’s not much to say and criticize about edX, it’s a commendable platform and we suggest checking them out for unlimited courses and professional degrees alike!

7. PluralSight (~$159 to $239/year)

If you want to up your technical skills in terms of development, data, and such, PluralSight will be the perfect platform.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Though the other online learning platforms also offer technology courses, nothing tops the specialization of PluralSight. One look on their website already shows you their expertise in the field.

They help you with technical lessons such as cloud services and JavaScript, and you can secure an official certificate upon completion.

Also, one of their highlights is they have the best sense of community out of the online learning platforms we’ve listed. They have phone support and good service if you encounter problems.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are some benefits of PluralSight:

Expertise
Already affordable for what they offer
No free courses, but they offer free trial sessions (either 10 days or 200 minutes)
Quizzes and assessments
Offline video downloads are available

Drawbacks to Consider:

Here are some cons to think about:

Limited topics (if you’re not into technology and development, this isn’t for you.)
Courses are not free (only free trial only)

What We Think About PluralSight?

Since the content and nature of PluralSight are more specialized, there are not many comparisons to make. What we know for sure is that the courses they do offer have high quality.

8. LinkedIn Learning (~$240/year)

If you’ve heard about Lynda.com, then you know about LinkedIn Learning.

And if you’re familiar with the career connection app LinkedIn, then you’re familiar with this platform – and we’re quite confident that you do.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Be it the app or the online platform, we know that LinkedIn branding is all about professional development and networking.

So if you’re looking to learn about developing your career, expanding your networks, and honing your professional skills, LinkedIn is one of the best online learning platforms for that.

You can either avail yourself or secure a training program for a team you’re working with. Unlike traditional training programs, you don’t have to uproot your team’s entire schedule for training.

The beauty of this emerging online setup is you can do it at your own pace without fully compromising quality.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are our favorite LinkedIn Learning benefits:

The LinkedIn name has good recognition
They have a 1-month free trial
You’ll get certification privileges
Quizzes and assessments
You can network with other professionals and aspiring professionals
Quality content
Fairly affordable
Wide pool of topics (over 16,000+ as of writing)

Drawbacks to Consider:

Consider some drawbacks of LinkedIn Learning:

Not easy to be onboarded as an instructor
No free courses (only a free trial)

What We Think About LinkedIn Learning?

When we say professional development, we’re talking about learning how to manage a project, how to recruit effectively, how to lead, etc. This is more of their expertise.

Of course, they also have the animations, graphic design, and the more creative fields, but less than, say, Skillshare.

Overall, we think this is a good training option if you’re looking to improve your skills or of your employees or team. It also helps that it connects with your LinkedIn profile if you have one.

Once you finish a course or earn credits and recognitions, you can show that on your LinkedIn profile and we know how much that helps with connections!

9. Wondrium, aka The Great Courses Plus (~$150/year)

Don’t be confused! Formerly The Great Courses Plus, it’s now called Wondrium. With the name change, there have also been improvements in this platform.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

The Great Courses Plus is basically a premium version of The Great Courses; the latter offers a lot of free courses.

Wondrium offers more of a serious lecture – which some may describe as “boring.” But for serious learners who enjoy sitting through hours of lectures, the Wondrium library will be your haven.

We particularly appreciate how Wondrium adapted to the changing setup of learning.

From a video subscription (as in literally DVDs, VHS, and CDs) system, they’ve evolved into an online video streaming site where you can learn through their collection of lectures.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are some of Wondrium’s advantages:

Longer and in-depth lectures
A large scope of topics
Teachers are professors with formal degrees
Affordably priced
14 days free trial with access to the whole platform

Drawbacks to Consider:

Consider some disadvantages of Wondrium:

Subscription-based; you can’t buy individual courses (though you can still do that on TheGreatCourses.com!)
Not immersive; a little old school
Some lessons are hard-to-absorb alone

What We Think About The Great Courses Plus?

To give a little background, The Great Courses Plus or Wondrium has been through a lot of evolutions. They started from a traditional DVD/CD/VHS subscription system and they’re not catering to the online learning realm.

So, let’s be a little forgiving if it seems a bit outdated in terms of interface and some of the lectures. The important thing here is they didn’t compromise on the amount and quality of content you can get on this platform.

The learning platform that’s similar to Wondrium on this list is MasterClass. They both have a video-only type of system – like Netflix for lectures.

The only difference is that MasterClass has a more high production style of videos with more entertaining topics, while Wondrium has actual lectures in a more serious format (think college lecture videos).

In essence, they cater to different types of students, so there’s really no intense competition between them.

If you’re on the hunt for hours of lectures – and we’re talking about 30 minutes to 6-12 hours – Wondrium is a great option.

10. CodeAcademy (~$0 to $149/year)

From the name itself, you already know that they specialize in teaching you all about coding.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

You’ve probably noticed that most of these online learning platforms don’t really have a sense of community. They’re mostly straightforward lectures with limited interactions with other learners.

For CodeAcademy, that’s not the case. They have interactive lessons and forums where you can connect with their community. They even have a Discord server!

The youthful and friendly approach to it makes coding less intimidating, especially for new learners. And we’re all for that!

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of CodeAcademy:

Free courses and a free basic plan (YESSS!)
Newbie-friendly
Affordable
Lets you build your portfolio after learning with them
Community support
Modern interface
Wide-range of programming online courses

Drawbacks to Consider:

Check out some of the downsides of CodeAcademy:

Limited to coding
No certificates provided
Not accredited

What We Think About CodeAcademy?

Everything about the CodeAcademy is exciting and approachable. From their branding to how they build their community, you can feel how much importance they put into supporting each other.

We think this is a good way to make the concept of coding and programming, which sounds scary for beginners, easier to digest. So if you’re looking for a way to learn to code or improve your programming skills, you’re lucky!

They even help you create your portfolio so you can start a career in the field after you finish courses with them.

The main downside is that since it’s a fairly new platform, and the people behind seem to be young professionals who just really want to help teach coding, don’t expect it to have the same level of accreditation as that of Coursera or edX.

In fact, there are no certificates or anything afterward.

Plus, there’s little information about your instructors which is quite the opposite for the platforms we have reviewed above where mentors’ information and credentials are completely listed down.

11. Khan Academy (FREE!!!)

Okay, you have to bear with us if we sound like we have favoritism with Khan Academy. Slightly, we do.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

Surely, you’ve heard of Khan Academy. When you don’t understand a topic in school, you hop on Youtube to watch a Khan Academy lecture, and voila! You aced your test.

The best feature of Khan Academy is that they’re effective, easy to understand, and accessible, and all these are for free. Because they’re a non-profit organization, they rely on donations and volunteers. It’s the first thing you’ll see on their landing page.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are Khan Academy’s advantages over online learning platforms:

FREE
Huge topic range (you can learn literally anything!)
Instructors are volunteers, but most (if not all) of them are experts
Did we already say free?

Drawbacks to Consider:

There are only a few drawbacks:

It’s not exactly a classroom setup
If you’re looking to sell courses, this isn’t the best place (it’s mostly voluntary work)

What We Think About Khan Academy?

We do think it’s a bit unfair to compare Khan Academy side by side with the other platforms since their approaches are totally different.

Don’t get us wrong, paid programs and selling your courses are not bad at all!

It’s just that Khan Academy’s goals and advocacy are slightly different, and its main mission is to deliver free courses to students and families who can’t afford formal schooling or expensive programs.

Considering its nature, it’s also not as interactive as you’d want it to be.

It’s not as easy to ask questions if you don’t understand the topic since it’s an asynchronous learning method. But hey, for those who have tried Khan Academy, we’re sure you know how easy it to digest their lectures are.

You can also donate and help their development if you want to.

12. DataCamp (~$0 to $25/month; $300/year)

Like CodeAcademy, DataCamp is mainly for data science. Another similarity between the two is how they build their community.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

DataCamp believes in data, and how much it drives learning. So if you’re someone interested in data science and how you can apply it in different fields, we recommend signing up for this platform.

And of course, their best stand-out point is the certificate of completion that you get to help jumpstart your professional career in data science and technology. They can also help certify you if needed.

Benefits Over Others:

Datacamp’s benefits are:

The quality of the course is exceptional (as expected from a data-driven company)
Interactive and engaging lectures
Instructors are experts
Free plans are available for starters
Good for beginners to intermediate learners

Drawbacks to Consider:

But consider these disadvantages:

Expensive
Some lessons are not easy to understand

What We Think About DataCamp?

Though admittedly on the expensive side, we think DataCamp is worth it if you’re looking to specialize in data science or in improving your data skills.

With the increased recognition of the importance of data, finishing a course will definitely be an advantage for you. We think DataCamp are good teachers in this field.

Also, there aren’t many platforms that have the same kind of expertise when it comes to data and analytics – so there isn’t much choice either.

13. CreativeLive (~$13/month)

If we have a specialized community for coding and data, of course, we can’t miss out on the creative community!

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

CreativeLive is all about celebrating the arts and humanities, encouraging us to do what we love, and also focusing on being happy about them.

The topics are (but are not limited to):

Photo and Video
Self-Improvement
Lighting
Portrait
Money and Finance
Drawing and Illustration
Posing
Wedding
Graphic Design
Art and Design
Videography
Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
Entrepreneurship
Crafts

Do you see what we mean? They emphasize creating, growing, on improving – which is a highly inspiring community to be in!

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of CreativeLive:

Focus on arts, lifestyle, and humanities
High-quality courses
High-end
Professional mentors (some are industry icons too!)
They offer live classes streamed for free
Accessible
Good refund policy (only – or one of the few – platforms that offer this)

Drawbacks to Consider:

But here are some drawbacks to watch out for:

No certification
Some courses are expensive (especially individual ones)

What We Think About CreativeLive?

Other learning platforms also have creative classes, but the specialization of CreativeLive is unmatched. They dive deep into the craft of creating, which a creative will surely appreciate.

However, since some of the courses can be a bit too premium for individual learning, we suggest availing the classes with a team to make the most out of it.

But overall, if you’re someone looking for a career change (say, from business to fashion), completing courses on CreativeLive will definitely give you the boost you need! Learn from a community of innovators and risk-takers first-hand.

14. MindValley (~$99 to $149)

MindValley positions itself more as a supplementary learning experience to your current knowledge and as an additional resource.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

We appreciate MindValley’s focus on “personal growth” and “human transformation”.

The topics are not as technical, and if we can use the term, it focuses more on soft skills or abstract concepts. To show you what we mean, here are some of the topics they have:

Manifesting dreams
Thinking bolder
Positivity
Making an impact
Better growth mindset
Improving love relationships
Increased energy
Resilience to stress
Deeper motivation

See what we mean? And we absolutely love the focus on these things that we don’t talk about. Having resources from good trainers about these topics is also one of our favorite things.

Perhaps a good way to categorize this is that they’re under Positive Psychology – as reflected in their name, “mind,” as in mindfulness and such.

Benefits Over Others:

These are our favorite advantages of MindValley:

Free courses!
They put out shorter videos – as opposed to long lectures from other online platforms
Experienced trainers
Community is engaging
Videos have high quality

Drawbacks to Consider:

Here are the cons that you may want to consider:

More expensive
The courses are limited
Not many technical courses

What We Think About MindValley?

Overall, we love how MindValley focuses on an aspect that gets overlooked often. Most would think that these topics are limited to YouTube and podcasts, but these are real fields with science to it.

Some trainers studied and have experiences that are worth paying high amounts for. These courses are geared towards improving well-being and improving yourself!

And navigating with that theme, there’s also a great sense of community here where it’s not just technical learning. You also get to mingle with a community as your support.

15. TeamTreehouse (~$25 to $199/month)

Treehouse is more geared towards helping you actualize projects and learning wherever you are in your career trajectory.

What We Think Is Their Best Feature?

When you head on to their website, you’ll immediately feel the friendly atmosphere! It doesn’t feel intimidating and all, and the interface is easy to navigate.

Most of their courses are geared towards coding, technology, and development design.

They also have boot camp programs and intensive training for those who are serious about amping up their careers and building their portfolios.

Benefits Over Others:

Here are the benefits of the Treehouse:

7-day free trial
Lets you experience real projects for training
Course contents are high-quality
Focus on jumpstarting career and career development
A lot of their graduates start applying to big companies
Group membership discount
Self-paced but you can also reach out to a community if you have questions

Drawbacks to Consider:

But you may want to think about these downsides:

Course scopes are limited to coding and technology
Not accredited; no accredited certificates
Limited payment methods (credit card only)

What We Think About Treehouse?

If you’re looking for a platform that provides web design and coding training, we think the Treehouse is a good place to start.

The pricing is affordable, and you get to learn more holistically as long as it’s within the scope of coding and development.

Similar to CodeAcademy, there are no officially accredited certificates. But also like them, Treehouse helps you build your portfolio which we know is a critical application requirement in this field.

[Summary] Let’s Categorize All These Online Learning Platforms!

Whew. That was a lot to take in, no?

We know you’re probably overwhelmed, so let’s group these online platforms by their categories so you can differentiate them easily, shall we?

All-Around and Holistic Scope Online Learning Platforms:

These are the platforms with a wide pool of topics ranging from business to arts to technology and everything else in between.

Skillshare: Good for creatives; for upskilling (~$99/year)
Udemy: Largest pool; easy to enter for instructors; self-paced (~$14.99 to $199 for paid classes)
Khan Academy: Free; non-profit platform; highly effective (free)

Professional and Career Development:

These are the platforms that have a more professional setup but are not officially university-related.

Udacity: Career advancement; formal online course (~$700 to $2,000)
LinkedIn Learning: Professional and career development; networking (~$240/year)

Platforms with Accredited Courses:

These are those that have partner universities and provide accredited certificates:

Coursera: Accredited certificates; higher-education degrees (~$29-$99/month)
edX: Official certificates; open for instructors; higher learning (~$50 for Individual Courses)

Technological, Web Development, and Data Science Platforms:

These are online course platforms with more of the technological and data-driven topics:

PluralSight: Specifically for IT students or developers (~$159 to $239/year)
CodeAcademy: For coding; community and interactive (~$0 to $149/year)
TeamTreehouse: Coding, development, and design (~$25 to $199/month)
DataCamp: Focuses on data analytics and data science (~$0 to $25/month; $300/year)

Platforms with More Video Streaming:

While most of these platforms are video-driven, these two are more focused on videos. There are more time and effort placed on producing them.

MasterClass: Entertainment; prominent instructors; video streaming (~$15/month)
Wondrium (The Great Courses Plus): Video streaming; in-depth lectures; like MasterClass but more serious (~$150/year)

Liberal Arts, Arts, and Humanities:

And of course, these are the platforms that focus on arts and humanities. They’re more creative and have a humanities aspect to them.

CreativeLive: Creative community (~$13/month)
MindValley: Focus on mindfulness; well-being; “soft” skills

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding The Best Online Learning Platforms (FAQs and Q&As)

For some general FAQs that we weren’t able to address in the sections above, you can probably find them here!

Why Is Khan Academy Free? Is It Really Free?

We see this question a lot, and we understand that it can be hard to believe!

But yes, Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that’s focused on delivering education for free. They have a large team and many volunteers to make this happen.

They rely heavily on donations and gifts, and they may have some revenue on YouTube videos of some sort. But they don’t charge their students.

What Should I Look for When Looking For Online Learning Platforms?

This is a good question, mainly because we know that all of these choices can be overwhelming. Since online learning is booming, so are these platforms!

Remember the acronym C.L.A.S.S.:

Here’s a quick tip from us.

Content:

Of course, make sure that the platform carries the course content that you’re looking for or are interested in.

At the end of the day, the content is the most essential factor that affects your entire learning journey!

Learning pace:

Some prefer self-paced, while some want hands-on guidance.

Some training is more intensive, and some are more relaxed. We differ in terms of learning curves, so go for a platform that provides the pace you can handle.

Amount:

Also important is the budget. We know that education is an investment, but it’s also helpful to consider if the rates are within your means.

There are a lot of platforms with low rates (or even free with Khan Academy) but still deliver lessons effectively.

Scope:

As you may have noticed, some of the platforms are similar but one is more specialized than the other. Go with what you need!

If you want to specialize more, then opt for the more focused learning system. But if you want to be well-rounded with topics, then go for the large scopes. It’s really up to you!

Support:

And lastly, not all platforms have a strong sense of support. This could be okay for busy people, to begin with, who just want to finish videos or learn in a fast-paced manner. But some want a community to work with.

But for both, for sure we want a platform that has good customer service and can help us with technical glitches or if we have some concerns, right? This can also be a significant deciding factor.

Conclusion

Were you able to find the best online learning platform for you?

We sure hope we helped!

The secret, really, is to find the platform that caters to your needs. Most of these online platforms look alike from the get-go, but the key is to go for the one that fits your time, schedule, circumstances, and budget.

Anyway, you can always come back to this article for your guide.

Happy learning!