In this competitive world, more and more people want to learn new skills as soon as possible. Taking an online course is a good option. In this post, we introduce two of the most well-known online course platforms for you: Skillshare and Udemy. We’ll compare them side by side to help you to decide which platform is right for you.

-> You can read my comparison of Udemy Vs Udacity to understand the differences between these 2 popular e-learning platforms.

-> or check out my guide and comparison of Udemy VS Coursera here.

1.   Overview –Skillshare vs Udemy

Both Skillshare and Udemy offer more than 100,000 online courses. Both platforms offer thousands of courses on topics like business, photography, music, cooking, writing, technology, and more. The main differences between the two-course platforms lie in:

1. Cost Structure: On Udemy you will pay for each individual course while on Skillshare, you pay a monthly or annual subscription to unlock all coursers.
2. Course length: Skillshare classes can be as limited as 10 minutes, whereas, on Udemy, 30 minutes is the minimum course length.

2.   Skillshare vs Udemy: Costs

One of the main difference between Udemy and Skillshare are how they’re structured in terms of cost.

If want to take some courses on Udemy, you have to pay for each individual course. After paying, you’ve got lifetime access to the courses you bought. Courses are typically $10 – $15 per course, but some older courses are priced at $99 or even higher. 

Tips: Courses frequently go on sale. So if you wait a week or two, you can probably get a big discount on any course that you’re thinking about buying.

If you’re someone who wants to be constantly learning new things, then Skillshare may be your good choice. In Skillshare, you pay monthly subscription fee and get access to every course available. You don’t have to think about whether you want to spend money on a course or not, because you’ve already paid for your subscription. 

3.   Skillshare vs Udemy: Subjects/Topics Taught

Udemy has more than 30,000 courses taught by 18,000 instructors. Courses cover a huge variety of topics including Finance & Accounting, Development, Business, IT & Software, Office Productivity, Marketing, Photography and more.

Skillshare has more than 23,000 courses which cover a wide variety of categories such as creative, business, lifestyle, and technology.

In general, the biggest differences between course offerings of the two platforms:

1. Skillshare classes can be as limited as 10 minutes, whereas, on Udemy, 30 minutes is the minimum course length. Both platforms also offer courses that are several hours long. But in general, Udemy tends to go a bit more in-depth into course materials
2. As for topics, Udemy has more different course while Skillshare mainly focus on creative coursers.

Course Examples

Skillshare

• Adobe Illustrator CC – Essentials Training
• Creative Writing for All: A 10-Day Journaling Challenge
• Animating Emotions: Using Movement to Convey a Feeling
• Excel for the Real World: Gain the Basic Skills of Microsoft Excel
• Creative Transformation: 9 Exercises to Draw, Write, and Discover Your Future

Udemy

• The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2020
• The Complete 2020 Web Development Bootcamp
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate 2020
• The Ultimate Drawing Course – Beginner to Advanced
• Learn to Code in Python 3: Programming beginner to advanced

4.   Skillshare vs Udemy: Who Are the Instructors

Unfortunately, instructors on both Udemy and Skillshare are common people just like you. Anyone can sign up and start producing coursers of their own. Respective experts in their field bring their experiences to each platform to offer lessons to others.

While most teachers on both Udemy and Skillshare don’t necessarily have credentials such as a Ph.D., the course quality can vary dramatically.

Only for this perspective, Skillshare is more welcomed because of its subscription model. If you don’t like a particular course or find it valuable, you can just move on. However, if you buy a course that you aren’t satisfied with on Udemy, you’ve paid for it individually.

5.   Udemy vs Skillshare: Accreditation & Certificates

How do Udemy or Skillshare look on your resume or CV? Neither Udemy or Skillshare are academically accredited institutions.

Udemy offers completion certificates for all courses completed on its platform. However, most companies won’t value the skills you’ve learned through the platform the same way they would a university degree, so their value is questionable. 

Skillshare doesn’t offer any kind of certificates.

In this perspective, neither Udemy or Skillshare is very good if you’re looking for extra items to add to your CV or resume.

Conclusion

After going through all the aspects of both, Udemy seems to be a good choice for people who want to learn in-depth. Plus, there are more courses in Udemy than that in Skillshare. However, Skillshare is a good option for creatives, or people who want to try out a number of different subjects.

Since both Skillshare and Udemy are so inexpensive compared to other forms of education, we recommend trying out both free options of Skillshare and Udemy to see which you prefer.  You might want to have a Skillshare subscription, but then also purchase individual courses on Udemy when you see something offered that more fits your requirements, especially if they’re on sale.