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Udemy vs Coursera - Which Online Courses Platform is Better for Online Education?
Are you getting bored being at home? Are your days going lazy and unproductive? Then definitely, you are in my category. Even I am stuck at home. Is there any solution? Yes, there is. If you really want to be productive and learn new things, then here come the online courses, the Best way to learn and explore new things.
Not to become lazy and to be productive throughout my day, I prefer taking online classes. Yes, there is away. You might also know a lot of online course platforms but are confused about which one to choose.
Many of you might have this thought, that how online learning can be a better option than traditional. Let me explain it to you. Why? Most of the people tend to take online courses? There is a reason behind that, and in this article, I would be highlighting those reasons and also will show the comparison between the two online courses platform which is Udemy and Coursera, which one is better for you as per your requirement.
Online Courses are More Convenient than Traditional Courses
As you know, in today’s world, learning is vital. Why? Because there is so much competition, and technologies are getting advanced every single day. To survive and to be a part of that contention, one needs to be up to date. By learning all new technologies with time, you can be a part of the race. No one will be able to replace you by saying that you don’t know about the latest technologies.
Now a question arises: Are you already stuck in your 9 to 5 job, then how come you will be learning new technologies, programming, and languages? There is a way, that is online courses. Now, there is no more pressure of full-day classes at your coaching. No more tiring travels to get the coaching classes anymore. It is the very first reason why online courses are overpowering traditional courses so fast.
Here are some fundamental points about why online courses are more convenient in comparison with traditional ones. And why does one need to opt for it?
- Online courses are reasonable – Being opting for online Courses, you save $12 to $66 per credit hour, which in my opinion, is quite fair than any traditional course.
- Online courses are feasible – Most of the online courses are much more viable than traditional ones you can study as per your own schedule.
- Online courses have much more versatility than the traditional ones – Now you do not have to be limited towards your learning. You can have the options and can explore more new things.
- Online education providing platforms are easy to access – You can access the course anytime, anywhere as per your own convenience.
- There is a quality check option – It is difficult for a person who is visiting the online courses for the very first time. For such people, there comes a choice of reviews by which one can understand whether the course is good enough or not.
I have explained to you a lot of differences between online courses and traditional courses, that why online education is much more convenient than the traditional one. Now, let’s talk about online educational platforms. If you have noticed, there are plenty of online educational platforms available in the market. But today, I am going to discuss two of them, which is Udemy and Coursera.
What is Udemy?
Udemy is an open online course provider, introduced for professional adults and students. Eren Bali, Gagan Biyani, and Oktay Caglar launched Udemy, the online educational platform in May 2010.
Udemy comes under one of the best online educational platforms in today’s time. On Udemy, you can take a variety of online classes, can learn new skills, and also can upgrade your skill set. Udemy is an online learning platform where a variety of courses are available like development, business, marketing, programming, and many more.
One can easily enroll in Udemy for any interested course and can learn new skills. Also, professionals who are looking for new opportunities can enroll in and upgrade their skill belt. Udemy is the best online educational platform where you are taught by the expert instructors who have their own expertise in a particular course they are teaching you. Students can achieve their goals by enrolling in Udemy and learning from the extensive library of various courses.
What is Coursera?
Stanford University’s two science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller launched Coursera in 2012. Coursera is the massive open online course (MOOC) provider from popular universities. Coursera also comes under one of the best online educational platforms. In Coursera, there are pre-recorded lecture videos available. You can watch it anytime, anywhere, at your convenience.
By enrolling in Coursera, you can learn new skills. You can get the best lectures and teachings for topics like tech, coding, and business. Courses on Coursera are professional and informative as it has tied up with more than 190 universities and companies. If you are looking for some specific courses, then, in that case, prices are quite reasonable for that on Coursera.
Udemy vs Coursera
Now I will explain a few differences between Udemy and Coursera based on its pricing, instructors, community support, etc.
Pricing
If you will see it on a direct basis, then Udemy courses are quite expensive as it ranges from $50 to $200 usually. But the best part about Udemy is, courses on Udemy are always available at almost 80% to 90% discount, which makes it quite affordable. After the discount, the courses cost an average of $12 on Udemy with the certification.
Courses on Coursera are quite affordable and pretty much reasonable too. The average cost of the course on Coursera is $49, which includes digital certification after the completion of the course.
Who are the Instructors?
On Udemy, anyone can create their own course for profit on the platform, which means almost anyone can be an instructor on Udemy. You don’t need to be an experienced instructor. Though there are professional instructors also, but, for that, you have to be very careful while choosing the course you want to enroll in. Now, the best part is it’s effortlessly easy to identify the good one with the help of ratings of the course.
On Coursera, all the courses taught by only the experienced educators, experts, and professional instructors. This thing about Coursera makes it different and one of the best online educational platforms at a reasonable price.
Community Form Support
There is no proper community form support available on Udemy online learning platform, whereas Coursera offers an all-time community form support to its users. It again makes Coursera worth its value.
The Pros and Cons of Udemy and Coursera
Pros of Udemy Platform
- As soon as any video gets uploaded on Udemy their expert team reviews the same and after their approval only it gets publicly available
- On Udemy you can easily enroll in career-oriented courses
- Courses on Udemy are viewable on all the devices with the internet access
- One can read the past reviews and ratings for the courses before enrolling for it
- No pre-qualification is required to enroll for any of the courses available on Udemy
- If you want to audit courses then you can easily do that on Udemy
- Once the course is complete Udemy provides the certification instantly to the learner
Cons of Udemy Platform
- Udemy is not a certified institution
- All the courses on Udemy are run on a set date, you can’t change the date for it
- Sometimes it gets difficult to stay engaged with the courses
- One can easily access business-relevant content
- You cannot even take the complete courses for free of cost
Pros of Coursera Platform
- Coursera offers courses, and programs from certified institutions only
- Courses on Coursera are very well organized and structured
- You can even explore a lot of college courses on Coursera
- The courses on Coursera are all designed by the top Universities
- The lecture videos can be downloaded easily on Coursera
- On Coursera you can get feedback from the community of learners
- Coursera has the tie up and programs from Universities also which allows you to get the master’s degree or specialization
Cons of Coursera Platform
- The courses which Coursera offers are not very flexible
- Forum moderation is the biggest issue with Coursera
- The material submitted by you can’t be reviewed again after the completion of the course
- Some courses on Coursera are only accessible on particular dates
- There is no certification provided for free courses on Coursera
Conclusion
If you have noticed as per the market, both Udemy and Coursera are one of the best online educational platforms. Both platforms have their own pros and cons. From Udemy and Coursera, which one you should choose totally depends on your requirement and interest.
If you want to learn new skills in your budget and at your own convenient time, then go for Udemy. Udemy gives you better opportunities at lower prices. Udemy is for those who want relaxed learning and those who like course recommendations as per their current job.
But if you want to do a professional course in a specialized field from a well-known university, then you can enroll in Coursera. If you are looking for accreditation from a certified institution, then Coursera could be the best option for you. It has more traditional courses and timelines.
The choice is all up to you, as per your interest and convenience, which one suits you the best? You can enroll in Udemy and Coursera both.