Udemy Review

There’s no denying that Udemy is one of the most popular and well-known online learning platforms in the world. But with such notoriety, people have rather conflicting opinions about the site. In this Udemy review, we are going to try to determine which of the claims are legit and which are complete nonsense.

We’ll start off by briefly talking about the platform itself - what it is, what purpose it serves, and so on. You can’t really analyze an e-learning platform without getting to know it, now can you? Once we get that out of the way, we’ll take a look at the platform’s courses, services, and general customer feedback.

Finally, we’ll see if we can draw a clear and concise conclusion on whether Udemy is a legit platform dedicated to learning and teaching, or if there are better alternatives.

Verdict at a Glance: Udemy offers a wide range of courses across diverse subjects, providing flexible, on-demand learning. It stands out for its accessibility as well as paid and free course selection. However, its course quality can be variable, given the open instructor model, and it doesn't provide accredited certificates. Despite this, Udemy remains a popular choice for self-paced, skill-based learning.

Udemy Review: Introduction

Udemy, at its very core, is an online learning platform. As many Udemy reviews state, it was developed with the intention of providing an ability to learn new things to people who would otherwise not necessarily have the means of reaching the desired education.

Founded in 2010, it is one of the largest e-learning platforms today, with more than 62 million students (or so they claim) enrolled in over 210 thousand courses.

If you’re a student, you can go to Udemy, register, pick a course and start learning - all for a fee, of course. There’s a wide variety of courses to choose from, including such categories as IT, business development, design, lifestyle, art, and whatnot.

In fact, Udemy is one of the few online learning platforms that don't focus too much on one category, instead providing an actual course variety. Thus, you can learn JavaScript-based web development and some mad home bartending skills, all in one platform.

If you’re a teacher, though, you can create an instructor profile and upload your courses onto the platform. Every time a student purchases your course, you earn a portion of the revenue, which is paid out monthly via PayPal or Payoneer.

Therefore, Udemy itself doesn't create courses. It acts as a portal between students who want to learn and teachers who want to share their knowledge. You might be wondering now, "Are Udemy courses worth it, then?" Well, let's see.

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Udemy Review: PROS

No matter if we take a Udemy review, or that of any other e-learning provider, it's inevitable to talk about the pros and cons of the platform if you really want to understand how good it is. That being said, let's start with the pros.

User-Friendly Navigation

There are a lot of different criteria that we could use as a starting point for my Udemy review and to find out are Udemy courses worth it. Probably the best criterion to begin with, however, is usage - or, in other words, just how easy it is to use and navigate the platform.

To answer the question, “Is Udemy good?”, we should first and foremost take a look at the landing page that you would encounter if you visit their site from a Google search or a direct URL.

The page itself is pretty straightforward. You can see a promotional banner, a list of courses, and some user reviews. Besides that, you can see some of the most popular course categories and topics. Overall, the page layout is okay - it doesn’t make you feel lost or confused.

When it comes to the registration process, it is also quite self-explanatory – you just need to fill in your full name, email, and password.

Once you do that, you'll be asked to answer a few questions to personalize your account, namely, "What is your current goal?" and "What is your current profession?" Now, you don't have to do that, you can just skip this step, but I think personalization is always a nice touch.

After you sort the whole registration process out and you're finally inside the platform, you'll be taken to its homepage. It looks very similar to the landing page, apart from the fact that it's full of various courses grouped based on topic, your last searches (of course, if you've used the platform before), and popularity.

When it comes to finding a course and seeing is Udemy worth it on this point, you can either choose one from the homepage, explore the categories drop-down menu, or enter the keywords for something you want to learn into a search bar.

If you're not exactly sure what you want, but you at least know the broad topic, I think Udemy's course categorization system is your best bet at finding the perfect course. Spanning various disciplines, from technology and business to personal development and lifestyle, it is very easy and convenient to use (and many other Udemy reviews claim that as well).

What I liked most about it is that once you pick the category you're interested in (for example, personal development), you are provided with various subcategories. But that's not all, after you choose a subcategory (for example, creativity), you are then provided with the most popular topics in that subcategory.

Besides, once you choose a topic, you'll be able to customize your search results even more by using filters for price, video duration, topic, level, ratings, and so on. I find such categorization especially useful when I want to find good quality free courses.

After finally picking a course that you’d like to start learning, you’ll notice that the designated page for that course is pretty generic and doesn’t at all stand out of the ordinary - a preview video, course requirements, a description, user reviews, etc.

Keep in mind, though, that this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad point for this Udemy review. A generic and familiar page can be inviting - it avoids possible confusion and gives you a feeling of familiarity.

If you picked a paid course, you'll see that the checkout process is also intuitive and familiar - you simply need to add the course to your cart, choose a payment method and, well… pay. That is if you haven't subscribed to the Personal Udemy plan, which I'll cover a bit later.

All in all, Udemy offers a pretty standard experience when it comes to the actual navigation of the site, which is a good thing for sure.

Smooth Video Player, Notes, and Learning Reminders

Now, another thing I want to cover in this Udemy review is features related to the functionality of the site - video player quality, unique technical features, etc.

So, let’s see is Udemy legit when it comes to that.

The video player, user interface and downloadable content all seem to work fine. They’re quite intuitive and don’t crash or cause any bigger issues. Even though in some Udemy.com reviews, users do point out that they've experienced technical difficulties, I have encountered none of that.

What I really like about Udemy's video player is that you can add notes at any point in the video. While it's not a feature unique to Udemy, it's definitely one that any top-notch online learning platform should have. The notes can also act like bookmarks because they are added at a specific time in the video.

However, a feature that is quite unique to Udemy (at least, I haven't seen it on all online learning platforms) is the ability to set learning reminders. You can schedule calendar events on Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook. Though, if you don't want to set a specific time, you can just set reminders on your Udemy mobile app.

It's a great feature for you if you enjoy meticulously planning your day, down to the hour, and maintaining a detailed calendar to track all your activities. Of course, it's also a valuable feature if you occasionally forget your tasks or require a gentle nudge to stay on top of things.

Latest Udemy Coupon Found:

Lifetime Access and Course Gifting

Now, when you purchase a course (at least this is the case with all of the courses that I checked out), you receive a lifetime access pass to that course, some downloadable content (usually - this depends on the course) and a certificate of completion.

Udemy doesn’t really advertise the certificates all that much (at least from what I’ve seen), so it’s tough to say just how valuable they truly are. What I can say, though, is that they are not accredited, but they can be used to showcase your newly acquired skills nonetheless.

However, a pretty cool feature worth mentioning in this Udemy review is the possibility of gifting a course to your friends or family members. You just pick a course, fill in the recipient's name and email address, choose the time the course should be sent to them, and add some nice message.

So, next time you're struggling to come up with a perfect gift for someone, keep in mind that Udemy just might be your savior.

Over 600 Free Courses

It's worth noting that Udemy, unlike some other e-learning platforms, extends a generous offering of free courses across a diverse range of subjects. Whether you're interested in programming languages, digital marketing techniques, or personal development skills, you'll probably find a free course on that on Udemy.

This expansive array ensures that learners of all backgrounds and preferences can find something that piques their curiosity. In essence, the free courses epitomize Udemy's mission to make education inclusive and available to everyone, regardless of financial constraints.

Thus, beyond their intrinsic educational value, Udemy's free courses embody the platform's commitment to democratizing education.

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Udemy Review: CONS

Now that we've talked about all these great features, we also must address some Udemy complaints. Otherwise, this wouldn't be an honest Udemy review.

Limited Interaction With Instructors

One of the most prominent points of struggle seems to be the limitations when it comes to interaction with instructors. You see, some other online learning platforms always have a discussion / Q&A section under the video player where anyone can ask questions and communicate with the instructor (or even one another).

With Udemy, it's not always the case. There is a Q&A section under some videos, but the keyword here is some, because instructors can turn off this feature. Besides, it doesn't act as a discussion portal where anyone can answer your questions – only the instructors can do that, and they might not do that quickly.

Speaking of communication, it's also worth pointing out that a few Udemy.com reviews include Udemy complaints about their support system. These reviews state that users received little to no response to certain questions or they had to wait a really long time to get a response.

Of course, it’s probably a bit unrealistic to think that the staff at Udemy could manage to answer all of the student questions very quickly, seeing that there are more than 62 million users on the platform. Nonetheless, I personally didn't encounter such problems with Udemy's support.

Content Quality Conundrum

A very important point of any Udemy review (or other online learning platform reviews) surely is the quality of the content. After all, it is one of the determining factors when it comes to picking an online course marketplace. However, with Udemy, this aspect is a bit complicated.

In general (if you’d look at other user Udemy reviews online), there’s somewhat of a mixed opinion going around. It’s true that the majority of people say that most of the courses on Udemy are truly worth it. However, there are some reviews that claim Udemy courses do not offer the best quality.

Naturally, it would be almost impossible to check all of the courses on the platform to find out is Udemy worth it or is Udemy good. However, there’s an important point to take into consideration - the courses on Udemy are (mostly) marketed by the instructors themselves.

Keeping that in mind, it's obvious that no instructor is going to talk badly about their course - everyone claims that their lessons are the best in the world. Surely, though, Udemy should have a system to check the quality of the courses, right? Well, yes and no.

The site boasts that it has more than 210 thousand courses to choose from. It’s quite frankly impossible that a company could “quality check” such an amount of courses. However, once you create a course, you have to submit it for review. And, guessing from the quality of the courses I've watched, it's fair to say that the company checks a lot of them.

Besides, if you've ever tried any other online learning platforms, you probably noticed that some courses offer amazing quality, whereas others are below average. That's just the way things usually are, as it's difficult to ensure the top quality when there's such a number of courses.

Either way, the key thing you should keep in mind is that everyone might have a different experience based on their course choice. Also, while Udemy seeks to ensure the best learning experience for students, there are thousands of courses of various quality. At the end of the day, it's all in your hands when it comes to picking the right one.

However, one thing that can help you determine Udemy course quality is their rating system. Many Udemy reviews point out that a lot of the courses on the platform have super-high ratings, so it's safe to say that it answers the question, “Is Udemy legit?” or, to be more specific, "Are Udemy courses worth it?"

Udemy for Teachers & Businesses

What if you want to teach instead of learning? I did tell you before that Udemy is like a portal between learners and teachers, so the possibility to teach is a big part of the platform that should be mentioned in any Udemy review. Great, so how to become a teacher?

Actually, it's pretty easy to start. You just need to go to the "Teach on Udemy" page and click "Get started." Then, you'll be prompted to answer a few questions to determine your experience and your current audience (if any).

Once you do that, you'll end up in an instructor dashboard, which will be tailored based on your answers. There, you'll be able to create a new course, watch some learning material, join various instructor challenges, and communicate with other instructors.

Udemy provides its instructors with various advice about student engagement and the general quality of learning. It seems that even if the company doesn't create its own courses, it does care about what its students get and, thus, wants to improve their learning experience in any way possible.

Now, it looks like it's very easy to become an instructor on Udemy, right? This even often leads to some Udemy complaints considering the content quality. However, while anyone can create a free course (which will be reviewed, by the way), only premium instructors can charge for their courses (they do have to share a portion of their revenue with Udemy, though).

To become a premium instructor, you will have to undergo an evaluation process. While it might not be the most extensive one, it's still there.

That's pretty much all the basic information for wannabe Udemy instructors. However, there is one more big branch of Udemy, which must be discussed - Udemy for Business.

Not every Udemy review mentions it, but they should! It's a comprehensive learning platform made specifically for organizations. It provides an extensive library of online courses covering a wide spectrum of subjects, ensuring that employees have access to relevant up-to-date knowledge.

What sets Udemy for Business apart is its adaptability. It allows companies to customize learning paths, ensuring that employees receive targeted training that aligns with their roles, responsibilities, and career aspirations.

Additionally, the platform offers robust reporting features, allowing organizations to track the progress and measure the impact of their learning initiatives.

Beyond course access, Udemy for Business offers content curation tools. This empowers companies to select and recommend courses that are most pertinent to their industry, sector, or organizational goals. Besides, the platform easily integrates with other existing tools and systems.

Overall, Udemy for Business is a versatile solution suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries. Whether their objective is to upskill existing talent or onboard new hires, Udemy equips them with a dynamic learning platform.

Udemy's Pricing Palette

Ah, the question of pricing. This is probably the most prominent issue that a company like Udemy can face - it’s always tough to find the correlation between user satisfaction and revenue generation^[1]. Let’s see if the company has this figured out.

As Udemy states on its “Student FAQ” page, they are not the ones who price their courses - this is the instructor’s job. This means that all of the prices that you see when you view the course list on the site are determined solemnly by the creators of those courses.

One exception to that rule is promotions - both the instructor AND Udemy can offer promotions with a discounted price tag.

The general pricing on the site seems to make sense. The prices do vary (usually from $9.99 up to $199.99), and this is often the main subject that comes up when someone asks, “Are Udemy courses worth it?”. The courses with more information, tougher subjects and longer run-time seem to be more expensive than their counterparts - this makes sense.

Also, courses often get discounts, and there's a 30-day refund policy. So, if you're disappointed with a course you paid for, you can easily get your money back within 5 to 10 business days.

Now, as I've mentioned before, there are also free courses that you can take, depending on your points of interest. Let me just jump ahead of your train of thought and say - free doesn’t necessarily equal bad! A course being free can mean that it’s on a promotion, or the instructor wants to build a name for themself and is simply looking to increase their student numbers.

There are, however, user Udemy.com reviews that are very… straightforward with their opinions about the pricing and quality ratios of certain courses. That’s the thing, though - you never really know what you’re getting until you actually purchase the course and start learning.

Sure, each course offers a short video preview, but as some Udemy courses reviews point out, that’s rarely enough to get a full-circle type of understanding. However, there is another payment option, one that does not involve purchasing separate courses but rather accessing thousands of courses with one payment.

What I'm talking about is the Personal Plan. It basically is a subscription plan that provides users with over 10,500 most popular courses from over 3,000 top instructors. In addition to that, if you are (or want to become) a web developer or data scientist, the Personal Plan provides you with career guides.

It costs $16.58 per month and can be billed either monthly or annually. Besides, you get a 7-day free trial. If you plan to use Udemy a lot (not only for some specific courses), I'd say this is a great deal.

Lastly, it's worth noting that Udemy for Business has separate pricing plans. If you have a team of 5-20 people, you can choose the Team plan, which costs $360 per person per year (plus taxes).

If you have a team with over 21 people, on the other hand, you should pick the Enterprise plan. It offers much more than the Team plan does. For the pricing, though, you'll need to contact Udemy.

Phew... That seems like a pretty complex pricing system, which might make you confused. Here's a short summary to make things less confusing:

Table: Udemy pricing summary

Final Udemy Learning Experience Verdict

So, what is the learning experience on Udemy like? This is actually a really tough aspect to cover, since each person’s learning experience depends on many different factors - the actual course that they’ve chosen to learn, internet connection speed, general mood, expectation management, etc.

However, there’s always a general consensus on just how fun and worthwhile it is to learn on the platform.

Speaking of that, people seem to be satisfied with their experiences using Udemy. Sure, there are still those wondering is Udemy good and others leaving negative Udemy courses reviews, but that’s quite unavoidable - it’s frankly impossible to please everyone.

Nevertheless, the company seems to be constantly trying to improve the learning experience for its students. And, even though there will always be Udemy complaints when it comes to this specific topic, it’s seemingly doing a good job at it.

When it comes to my personal learning experience, I've already covered most of it throughout this Udemy review. To summarize, though, I think the platform is easy to use and has an impressive variety of courses to choose from, even free ones, which is definitely appreciated.

However, if you plan to buy one, make sure to do thorough research about the course and the instructor beforehand.

Top Udemy Course Picks

Speaking of choosing courses, I know it can get a bit overwhelming with such a huge variety. Therefore, I've picked a few free and paid courses for you to try out. FYI, these are just my personal picks.

Top free Udemy picks:

• 7 Scientifically Proven Steps to Increase Your Influence by Vanessa Van Edwards. If you want to up your persuasion game, whether it's at work or just in your everyday life, this might be a course for you. It teaches how to communicate more effectively, make better connections, and basically have people listen to what you have to say.
• ChatGPT Quick Guide - Prompt Engineering, Plugins, and More by Jose Portilla. This course is like a little treasure trove for anyone interested in getting the most out of ChatGPT, the revolutionary chatbot^[2]. It walks you through all the nifty tricks, like how to craft prompts, use plugins, and a bunch of other insider tips.

Top paid Udemy picks:

• Master Generative AI: Automate Content Effortlessly with AI by Yash Thakker. It's a great course if you're into creating content. It dives into how AI can help you generate high-quality content efficiently and covers all sorts of cool techniques and the most popular tools.
• Time Management Mastery: Do More, Stress Less by Alexis Haselberger. This course dishes out practical tips and techniques to help you manage your time and stress levels like a pro when you feel like you're about to lose your mind.

If these don't seem like your cup of tea, don't forget that there are thousands of other courses on Udemy, so I'm sure you'll find something of interest to you.

Udemy VS Competitors

Now, the last thing I want to cover in this Udemy review is how the platform compares to some other top online learning providers.

Udemy VS DataCamp

Udemy and DataCamp both offer excellent online learning experiences but with distinct focuses. Just to remind you, Udemy is a diverse marketplace hosting a wide array of courses across a huge variety of different subjects (but you already know that).

	DATACAMP	UDEMY
Computer Science
Languages
Data Science
Business & Management
Engineering
Social Sciences
IT & Software
Health
Math & Logic
Personal Development
Arts/Music
Philosophy
	Visit site Read review	Visit site Read review

Table: The subjects of Udemy and DataCamp courses

DataCamp, on the other hand, specializes exclusively in data science and analytics, providing an immersive, hands-on curriculum. It's tailored for those specifically interested in mastering data-related skills.

So, if you're after a broad learning experience, Udemy is the pick for you, but for a deep dive into data science, DataCamp might be more suitable.

Udemy VS Udacity

Udemy and Udacity also cater to different learning preferences. You already know what Udemy offers. Udacity, however, focuses on tech-related fields like programming, AI, and data science, offering more structured, in-depth Nanodegree programs with mentorship and projects.

	UDACITY	UDEMY
Number of Courses	576	250K
Number Of Languages	+25	75
Number of Users	16.9M	73M
	Visit site Read review	Visit site Read review

Table: The stats of Udemy and Udacity

It's great for those seeking a comprehensive, career-oriented track. So, if you're after specific tech skills, Udacity provides a guided path. For broader learning interests, though, Udemy's extensive catalog offers more flexibility.

Udemy VS edX

Now, while Udemy is ideal for exploring specific topics with a flexible, à la carte approach, edX partners with universities and institutions to offer more structured, accredited courses. It's well-suited for those seeking a formal education experience, often with accredited certificates or even degrees.

	EDX	UDEMY
Overall Score	9.4	9.0
Best For	Best for Learning New Skills & for Developing a Career	Best for Different Topic Choices
Headquarters	4.7 of 5.0	4.5 of 5.0
Latest Coupons	UP TO 30% OFF All edX Coupons	FROM $14.99 All Udemy Coupons
Verdict	An online learning platform that works in collaboration with prestige universities and institutions.	A diverse online learning platform for a broad user base.
	Visit site Read review	Visit site Read review

Table: The main information about Udemy and edX

So, for specialized skills or personal enrichment, Udemy shines, but if you're pursuing recognized credentials and a university-backed experience, edX would be a better pick.

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Conclusions

That's it! We've reached the end of my Udemy review. With technical stuff, learning experiences, Udemy courses reviews and everything in between, we’ve covered most of the common points that come into question when thinking about Udemy.

Overall, an online learning platform aimed at teaching and educating a mass of different people from all around the world is a noble cause. Whenever such sites have good intentions and are focused on their actual goals and visions, they are always welcomed by the community at large.

Udemy seems to have preserved its reputation as a company that wants to educate people. It's beloved by learners from all around the world and offers some amazing-quality courses, in addition to free learning materials, too. No matter what it is that you want to learn, Udemy should provide you with the resources to do so!

I hope this Udemy review was helpful to you and that you’ve learned something new about the platform and its functions. Good luck!

Scientific References

1. A. Edmans: 'How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit';

2. B. Gordijn, H. Have: 'ChatGPT: Evolution or Revolution?'.