The world has changed — we are all now aware of how valuable learning is. New jobs require new skills. And new skills need to be learned and honed through practice in order to land those sought-after jobs.
Education provides the means to acquire new skills, while life experience allows us to integrate knowledge into our everyday lives and develops our unique character.
The internet has brought us countless opportunities to learn and teach through videos, blogs, interactive games, and much more.
Each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages – but whatever your needs for online learning platforms are, there is something for everyone in this article.
What Are The Best Online Learning Platforms?
1. Udemy
Learning online has never been more accessible, and Udemy is leading the way. Udemy has the world’s experts in virtually every subject you can think of. There are so many great reasons to learn on Udemy, including:
- A 6-month course guarantee with a full refund
- 30-day money-back guarantees
- Affordable prices (most courses are $10 – $200)
- No prior experience or credit required
- They have courses for beginners & experts alike
- 24-7 library of endless learning options
They offer the best online courses, video tutorials, and learning resources for technology, marketing, business, music, photography, and more taught by top instructors in the world.
Udemy has dynamic and engaging classes led by industry experts in an interactive learning environment, and a supportive global community to connect with classmates and teachers.
If a course does not have a video component you can simply view the course outline, download any necessary files (including PDFs), and read the accompanying material through your web browser.
Pros
- Courses are affordable
- It offers free courses
- Wide selection of course
- 30-day refund policy
Cons
- Certificate only comes with paid courses
2. Thinkific
Most students enrolling in coursework on their own will want to use an online learning platform to organize the flow of that information, and the best of those seems to be Thinkific.
This intuitive platform provides a robust learning environment with excellent organization tools and a flexible system for handling quizzes and grades, as well as for scheduling in-person meetups with study groups or teachers.
With unlimited access to its team of experts and small class sizes, you’ll be able to learn at your own pace and in a manner that fits your schedule.
Whether it’s learning to code, build websites, design, or find a new job, Thinkific has got you covered with the best online learning platform for students.
Pros
- Easy to navigate
- Offers certificates
- It also offers some free courses
- Courses can be downloaded
Cons
- You may not find the course you’re looking for
3. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is one of the online learning platforms with interactive video and text lessons. This program offers real-world lessons taught by real teachers, covering everything from academics to business skills.
It offers a variety of online courses for students that include professional certifications, interactive whiteboard lessons, and Skype-based classes. From basic English to computer science and electronics, LearnWorlds has it all.
LearnWorlds massive library of education resources includes hundreds of carefully curated courses to help anyone from homeschooled kids to busy parents to busier professionals achieve success.
In addition to basic online courses, the platform also offers executive online courses that are catered specifically to senior managers.
Pros
- A comprehensive selection of courses
- Allows digital downloads
- It also has a custom native mobile app
- Offers interactive engagement
Cons
- Varying quality of courses
4. Kajabi
The learning platform of choice for over 400,000 students, experts, and entrepreneurs from training on Facebook Marketing to eCommerce site-building to WordPress Themes and Plugins, Kajabi makes it easy for you to teach or learn with outstanding content.
One of the biggest problems that schools, colleges, and universities face when it comes to teaching students is the lack of consistency. That is something that Kajabi focuses on solving.
Kajabi was built to help you learn anything, do anything and live a better life. Kajabi is for students who love to learn and teachers who love to teach.
Basically, with this platform, you can build your own classroom – whether you want to teach people about a certain skill set that you are good at or want to focus on creating a course for a certain subject, this platform works great.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Course materials can also be downloaded
- Students can ask questions and provide feedback
- Certificate at completion
Cons
- Focuses more on online course creation
5. Teachable
People all over the world use Teachable to learn or teach online. It is one of the top education platforms and one of the most exciting products of its kind on the market.
Teachers love it because they can create, design, and sell their own online courses. And students can learn anything at their own pace.
The platform helps anyone create beautiful and engaging online courses with feature-rich design elements, professional audio/video, marketing tools, and student analytics.
With Teachable’s easy-to-use platform, you’ll create courses in no time and teach students of all ages how to make things, grow things, fix things, code things, and lots more. You get full control over your content, your branding, and an ever-growing community of creators that you can reach out to.
With a friendly interface & powerful tools, you can create online training that is interactive and engaging, reaching students from a global audience.
Pros
- Offers great free courses
- Coupon codes are available
- Students can also comment on lectures
- Offers certificates
Cons
- Paid courses can be expensive
6. Edx
Edx is one of the best online learning platforms you can learn anything online. It is available 24/7 and you can find classes on almost anything that you can think of. Some people are comparing Edx to other competing sites, but the truth is that it has a distinct learning style.
The platform is known as one of the best online course providers outside academia. It is a nonprofit, free provider of high-quality education for everyone around the world.
It contains collections of educational resources from best-in-class institutions around the globe. Edx gives you the freedom to learn anything online and discover new career opportunities.
Start learning with video courses on almost any topic, including computer science and programming, literature and humanities, language learning, data science, business and economics, history, or even art.
Pros
- 14-day refund policy
- Offer accredited certificates
- Courses are partnered with prestigious organizations, universities, and companies
- Free course audit option
- Courses are self-paced and can begin at any time
Cons
- Limited topics
Skillshare is one of the best online learning platforms where you can learn anything. It’s one of the widest collections of creative, business, and tech classes — taught by experts — in more than 27,000 classes.
Classes include anything from music production to Python programming, to Photoshop, to digital painting, and everything in between. Skillshare classes are available to be taken both online and offline, on any device from your browser or mobile phone.
Whether you’re into design, photography, business, or any other creative thriving field, Skillshare will help you push your creative boundaries and make you better at what you do.
In addition, there are free classes that will not cost you a penny to take even at your own pace. What’s more? You can also create your own classes to teach what you know.
This platform has become an invaluable resource to millions as they navigate their professional lives and build their careers.
Pros
- Provides a big pool of classes
- Engaged community
- It also offers a free trial
- Courses are affordable
Cons
- Only available in English
- No certificates
8. Podia
The team behind this powerful platform created Podia because they believe it’s time for the online learning ecosystem to rise to the next level.
It’s time for teachers and students to experience what true quality online learning looks like. Podia’s mission is to redefine how people learn online, by allowing anyone to create an interactive, social learning experience, including videos, image slideshows, apps, polls, and quizzes.
At Podia, you can find instruction on anything, with thousands of hand-picked lessons that have been sourced and organized by their team of curators, as well as millions of guided videos across the web, giving you easy access to the best learning experiences on the Internet.
With Podia, you can learn about everything on the internet. It gives you everything you need to know to stay in the know.
Pros
- Easy-to-use platform
- Engaged community
- Courses are also affordable
Cons
- You may not find the right course for you
9. Udacity
Udacity is one of the most popular and best online learning platforms out there, and for good reason. This online learning platform boasts quality courses on web development, programming languages like Java and Python, and many other topics in both business and technology.
Udacity has worked hard to create a great accessible design, both visually appealing and easy to use using responsive design techniques.
Whether it’s learning how to analyze data in the Python programming language, build a website in HTML and CSS, or even something more complex like Google Analytics certification – it has thousands of classes from industry leaders that teach you exactly what you need to know.
You’ll have access to experts who are working on solving the same problems you face every day. You’ll also learn real-world skills that employers seek. And you’ll have an opportunity to turn your expertise into a business.
Pros
- Access to top-quality content
- Access to career services
- Offers over 200 free courses
- Offers certificates
Cons
- Limited topics
- Has no mobile app
10. Coursera
Sure you might have heard the name Coursera. This is one of the best online learning platforms with exceptional courses you can take from the comfort of your home. What is more? You can join for free.
This platform provides courses and lectures from leading experts who will deliver courses on their area of expertise. For example, if you want to become a programmer, you can visit the coursera.org website and find many courses by different experts in the programming field.
Coursera has some great features, including a method for students to demonstrate their progress through assessments and in-video quizzes, as well as in-video hints that allow more experienced students to help out their peers–all for free. It’s all amazing.
With unlimited online courses and the option to enroll in specializations or earn certificates, Coursera is opening up education like never before.
Pros
- Courses are taught by top experts
- You can also download and learn offline
- Has partnerships with universities & organizations
- It offers about free 2,000 courses
Cons
- Some courses may require prior knowledge
11. Ruzuku
Ruzuku is a social education platform that ensures affordable access to high-quality educational content. Partnering with the world’s top universities, employers, and industry experts, the platform is designed to deliver online courses that students really need.
Students can explore millions of learning materials conveniently and quickly on Ruzuku. Whether you are a university student looking for courses in your free time, or a professional looking for continuous learning opportunities, Ruzuku is one of the best platforms that you to learn anything online.
You can further search, watch and share videos online. Ruzuku also has a customized content discovery engine that automatically recommends a learning path to each user based on their personal interest and current skills to help them learn effectively.
Fuel your curiosity, and learn something new in a trusted environment. With exciting courses taught by experts on everything from productivity to art and design, the goal is to help you learn to make progress on anything you’re passionate about.
Pros
- Clean and easy-to-navigate interface
- Offers certification at completion
- Course content is of high quality
- The subscription system is flexible
Cons
- Limited courses
12. Pluralsight
Pluralsight is the technology learning platform trusted by the world’s best companies to drive new skills innovation in their organization.
They are a team of expert trainers, developers, and technologists driven to help everyone that wants to learn to code get started on coding and develop new skills.
They believe that there may be several reasons why people are not able to learn in the classroom such as budget restrictions, quality of education, and more. For some, it is harder for them to learn things from books.
With new titles added every 4 weeks in technology areas like mobile, data and cloud computing, security, and more, their interactive learning experience allows users to learn through thousands of videos created by industry experts.
Pluralsight library is constantly expanding and offers different courses on tech topics, game development, business, design, music, and more. Its learn-at-your-own-pace model allows you to move through content as fast or as slow as you want.
Pros
- Many courses for individuals and businesses
- Offline and mobile downloads are available
- Excellent support
- Also offers a 10-day free trial
Cons
- Has no free course
- Limited course
13. Shaw Academy
You can now learn anywhere and at your own pace with Shaw Academy. You can watch, listen and even read different things online. The only thing you need to do is choose what to learn from their website.
In addition, they are currently working on an Android app as well as a mobile site so you can have fun from any mobile device available in the market today. Also, for the first month, you have free access to courses. But to continue learning, you will have to pay for a monthly plan.
Experts at Shaw Academy teach with the best explainer videos that reduce confusion and increase student engagement. If a student does not understand anything in the first showing, a secondary explainer video will address his doubts and apprehensions.
This makes it easy for you to learn any new topic online through online explainer videos. With the expert guidance of instructors who will walk you through your coursework step-by-step, you can become a pro at anything you choose to learn on the platform.
Pros
- Offer certifications to help you in your career
- Access to in-depth classes
- Courses are all flexible
- A four-week free plan is available
- Also allows downloading of class recordings
Cons
- You might not find the right course for you
- Also have limited hobby classes
14. LinkedIn Learning
Learn from one of the world’s most valuable professional content in learning environments built for adult learners that combines video, personalized recommendations, and interactive learning experiences.
If you want to get started, though, you may be wondering where to begin. On LinkedIn Learning they’re thousands of videos and courses available, but it can be hard to figure out what’s right for you.
To make this easier, the platform has picked out some of its top most popular online video courses on topics ranging from leadership to sales and more. You can also save your favorite courses for future reference and easily share them with your connections.
Whether you’re a marketing manager who wants to learn how to better market your company’s new product line or an HR director with an insatiable curiosity about how employee behavior affects the bottom line, LinkedIn Learning will give you just need.
Pros
- Offers certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile
- One month free plan
- Clean and easy-to-use interface
Cons
- No free courses
15. WizIQ
Award-winning WizIQ is one of the best platforms for learning anything online. With thousands of users and a premium learning experience, WizIQ is your destination for any time, anywhere learning.
The users of WizIQ have the ability to create a profile, take and save classes in various subjects, connect with like-minded people and earn certifications. It makes it easy to find, understand, and retain knowledge at school, work, or just about anywhere else.
It has built-in audio and video, so you can hear and see any concept. If you miss something, it’s easy to repeat or go back. There are no ads or distractions while you learn. And WizIQ’s adaptive learning engine optimizes your study time so you get the most out of each lesson.
Overall, it’s the place you go when you want to learn anything from expert-taught skills like photography, coding, or financial management – to just about any topic under the sun like cooking, wine tasting, travel… even guitar and yoga
Pros
- The platform is easy to use
- Tests modules have more question and answer options
- Synchronous and asynchronous courses are available
Cons
- Courses or their links can’t be shared
- Course audios also are not good
16. Treehouse
If you’re out looking for some of the best platforms you learn anything online, Treehouse is one of them you can count on. The platform provides a simple and user-friendly environment for anyone to learn any skill online.
Whether you want to code, design, or just think outside the box, Treehouse offers a wide variety of tools and learning options that can help you achieve your goals. They have packs on all sorts of topics such as business, design, programming, and many more.
Treehouse has all the right ingredients for an engaging and individual approach to teaching. It offers good materials and encourages the students to know that they can learn. The platform is not just content, but also a sense of community.
Pros
- Career-focused platform
- It also offers a free trial
- Provides self-paced learning
- Access to high quality courses
Cons
- Offers limited courses
- Not accredited
Why Learn On The Best Online Learning Platforms?
- It’s self-paced
- You have the freedom to choose when you log in from anywhere in the world
- Through online learning, you can work on your schedule
- The learning platforms are user-friendly and easy to navigate
- It helps you with life-long learning
- It provides real-world career benefits
- You can learn from the comfort of your home
- It costs less than traditional colleges/universities
- There are no traditional courses or classes, which gives you a lot of flexibility
What Are Online Learning Platforms For?
Online learning platforms allow you to take college-level courses at your own pace, from the comfort of your own home, in whatever fits into your schedule.
With a variety of class types available and subject material taught by excellent instructors, online learning is an effective way to earn credits or simply learn about a new subject. They’re great resources for busy professionals or working adults who can’t commit to a classroom setting.
Best Online Learning Platforms: FAQs
What are the most popular online courses you can take?
According to research carried out by Coursera, some of the most popular online courses include:
- AI For Everyone
- The Science of Well-Being
- Deep Learning
- Functional Programming in Scala
- Google IT Support
- Data Science
- Learning How to Learn
- Social Psychology
- Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments
- Successful Negotiation
- Programming for Everybody
Is online learning effective?
Yes, online learning is effective. The growing demand for online learning and higher education has opened up a new frontier in online learning.
Universities across the globe are offering MOOCs (massive open online courses) in subjects ranging from computer science to finance. Online learning has enabled students to access numerous free and open courseware.
Best Online Learning Platforms: Conclusion
Whether you’re trying to get a promotion, change career paths, or just gain skills that will help you navigate the workplace, taking an online course on any of the best online learning platforms above can be a valuable addition to your resume and help you earn more money.
However, overall, the best online learning platform is Udemy. Regardless of your specific skill set, you’ll be able to find relevant and up-to-date information and learning opportunities on Udemy.
While some courses might cost you a few dollars, Udemy offers about 600 courses for free. So, whatever you want, there’s something for everyone on the platform.
The best part is you can take it with you everywhere you go. Whether you’re interested in learning a new language, picking up the most current software skills, or simply brushing up on certain areas of interest, Udemy is the ideal online learning platform for achieving your goals.
To learn more about Udemy and find answers to any questions you may have regarding the platform, here is a detailed article on all you need to know about Udemy.
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