Udemy vs Udacity: Which eLearning Platform is Better?

Are you comparing Udemy and Udacity? Which online learning platform should you join to learn online?

Udemy and Udacity are two of the most popular e-learning communities online. Deciding which one you should join is not always easy.

Among the questions you may ask yourself are:

• How much does Udemy cost compared to Udacity?
• What are the differences between Udemy and Udacity courses?
• Which course will help me advance in my career?

Here is a detailed comparison of Udemy and Udacity so you can decide which platform is right for you.

In this comparison of Udemy and Udacity, we will cover the following topics.

What are Udemy and Udacity?

Both are online virtual education platforms (or MOOCs: Massive Open Online Courses) for anyone who wants to learn a new skill or brush up on certain knowledge.

Udemy

There are many topics you can learn on Udemy, and they teach in many different languages. It is a short course that focuses on skills training, is inexpensive, and is taught by an experienced instructor.

Udacity

Udacity offers a limited number of courses that are accessible to anyone who wants to learn technical skills. They provide specialized training, are expensive, and have been developed by industry leaders.

Udemy vs Udacity: Popularity

Popularity is not usually a factor that should lead us to prefer one vendor over another, because popular products and services are not always the best choice. (Anyone else remember the Facebook phone?).

The study is a good way to assess the market and see how each e-learning platform compares.

The screenshot was taken during the period COVID -19, which explains the spike at the bottom of the graphs from Udemy and Udacity.

Udemy is clearly more popular than Udacity, as you can see in the graph above.

Since 2010, Udemy has become one of the largest e-learning communities in the world. The platform has been visited by more than 300 million students, is available in 65 languages, and offers more than 150,000 courses.

In 2011, two Stanford faculty members decided to offer one of their courses for free, thus founding Udacity. This privately owned platform has since grown, has 12 million users, employs over 300 people, and has trained over 100,000 students in one of its programs.

Udemy vs Udacity: User Interface & Ease of Use

I do not know about you, but a user-friendly interface and a platform that makes my life easier are a big plus for me. Below are the platforms that I find easiest to use.

Registration

Signing up for Udemy is very simple. All you have to do is enter your email address, password and name and you are ready to go – you’ll need to check (and confirm) the email confirmation you receive from the site.

You will need to provide your name, last name, email address, password, and set your date of birth to register with Udacity. Alternatively, you can sign up with your Facebook or Gmail account.

Backend and design

You will find that the Udemy platform is well organized and very easy to navigate after you register.

To manage different courses in one workspace (for example, Photoshop courses in one workspace and photography courses in another), you can create your own categories.

The course interface is also easy to use and pleasant to use.

You can change the video speed, enable subtitles, adjust the quality, and even take notes during certain parts of the video.

The lessons are organized and presented in the right menu in a very user-friendly way (see screenshot above).

Track your course progress by checking and unchecking each item.

You can access Udemy from any modern internet browser on your computer or laptop. You can also download the free Apple or Android apps.

In addition to having a very user-friendly system, Udacity does not have the ability to create lists of courses and categorize them, but since there are not that many courses, you probably will not need this feature.

Udacity’s lessons are structured in a clever way. First you’ll see a brief text introduction about the lesson, on the left you’ll find resources, and then a summary of the concepts follows.

The YouTube video player seems to be used to play the videos. This is great, because it’s an advanced player that lets you adjust the playback speed, manage your subtitles and even adjust the video quality.

At the time of writing this comparison between Udacity and Udemy, Udacity does not have a mobile app yet, since the company is working on a new experience for cell phones.

Udacity is easy to use and its system is very smart, but the fact that there are no annotations on the videos and no mobile app (yet) makes Udemy our winner.

Udemy vs Udacity: Courses

It’s hard to say which courses are the best, but let us look at a few factors that will help you decide between Udemy and Udacity.

The number of courses and programs available makes it difficult to choose the right one. However, there are some e-learning communities where it is easier to find the relevant information.

On Udemy, there are hundreds of courses that are well divided into 13 main sections (and dozens of subsections).

Udemy’s filtering system is one of the best I have seen. There are filters for levels, languages, duration, student feedback, and price.

The classic star system that ranks courses from 0 to 5 makes it easy to read reviews from previous students. There is an introductory video for each course so you can learn more about the course structure and instructor.

Although Udacity has a smaller catalog than Udemy, it offers 40 programs in 7 categories.

Although Udacity’s filters are not as advanced, you can narrow your search by subject, free and paid courses, duration, level, and skills you want to learn – you may not need as many filters since the offerings are more limited.

Udacity’s courses have ratings on their course landing pages, which can be a bit difficult to find.

Some of the courses are still too new to have reviews, so it can be difficult to find out what former students have thought of the courses and programs.

Udacity programs have a video that includes an overview of the program and feedback from graduates. However, it is more of an advertisement. Detailed course information and an overview of the curriculum are very easy to find. For each program, there is a section that includes information about the instructors.

Currently, Udemy has 150,000 courses (11,000 are free) compared to Udacity’s 40 programs and 200 free courses. Both platforms take a different approach, as Udacity creates its own content (Udemy does not).

It’s a tough call because Udemy offers more courses and makes it easy for you to find resources, but Udacity’s courses are much better.

Udemy vs Udacity: Free Courses

Free courses are not always easy to find. It really depends on what you are looking for. If quality is more important to you than quantity, then things are different.

The answer to this question depends entirely on what you are looking for.

In the past, Udemy had the largest collection of free courses, but in early 2020, the company changed its free course offerings to help learners distinguish the value of paid and free courses.

There are currently over 600 free courses on Udemy, which offer a streamlined learning experience compared to paid courses. For example, in free courses, there are no course features such as questions and answers.

It is still possible to take a free course to test Udemy and the instructor and decide if you want to invest more time and money in the course, the instructor, and Udemy in general.

Although Udacity has just over 200 courses on its platform, there are not as many as Udemy.

Given Udacity’s 200+ free courses and partnerships with tech giants like Mercedes and Google, Udacity deserves the spot.

Udemy vs Udacity: Available Languages

You can search for courses in a specific language on Udemy. Udemy supports 65 languages, as you can see in the image below. Content is available in English, Portuguese, Spanish and German, among others.

While the backend of Udacity is available in a variety of languages (English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Portuguese, etc.), I could not find any courses in any language other than English.

Udemy vs Udacity: Certificates & Career Advice

Udemy offers completion certificates for courses you take on the platform, but they are not accredited in the same way as a university or other educational institution.

Therefore, these certificates are unlikely to be of much value for your interviews when you apply for a job.

You can learn new skills on the Udemy platform through self-study. Entrepreneurs can learn a new skill either as a hobby or for their own business.

You should not use it if you want to add credentials to your resume or CV.

The university is also not accredited and does not award traditional degrees.

However, the nanodiploma programmes it offers are unique collaborations with industry leaders.

Udacity’s industry partners contribute to the development of its content and also hire graduates from its programmes.

Udacity’s nanodegrees may not yet look as impressive as a university degree on your resume, but their reputation and value are definitely growing. Especially in the tech sector.

The course material for Udacity’s nanodegree programmes is tailored to careers that certain tech companies are hiring for, so they may value them even more than a traditional degree.

For other companies, the courses may not be as important, so it can be difficult.

It’s safe to say that a Udacity nanodiploma will look much more impressive on your resume than a course certificate from Udemy when you apply for a job in the tech industry.

Udemy vs Udacity: Teachers & Community

No matter how hard you work, you will only reach your maximum potential if you have a great teacher and a supportive classroom environment.

Almost anyone can become a teacher on Udemy if they meet the formal course requirements (and are willing to put a lot of effort into creating a course).

However, you’ll still need to prove that you have certain skills, and your course will need to pass a quality review.

Interaction with the instructor and other students is possible, but to be honest, engagement is not the best and really varies from course to course.

There are many differences between Udacity and other courses. To become a lecturer, you need to have a lot of professional experience in your field. Also, Udacity curates its own content and partners with big brands like Amazon, Uber, and Google – so you can imagine that the average person is not involved in Udacity courses.

You can interact with other students and Udacity’s course mentors, who are always available to answer your questions. Udacity has, I think, a more active community of program mentors and students, but I can not vouch for every one of them.

Udemy vs Udacity: Customer Support

Udemy’s support system is fantastic, there is pretty much a help article for every question you might have. Also the support articles are generally very transparent, at least I think so (e.g. prices, certificates, etc.).

On the other hand, I have had trouble reaching a support person at Udemy, or at least I have not been able to find the right contact page. You can contact them at [email protected].

The support system at Udacity is similar, well organized and easy to use. In addition, I was able to find help articles on the e-learning community.

It is much easier to contact the support team at Udacity. You can also ask a support representative for help by going to the help section and clicking the chatbot button. If you are a free member, it may take longer to get a response.

Udemy vs Udacity: Time Commitment

You can take a course on Udemy for as little as 30 minutes. Most courses are between 3 and 5 hours long, with some 20- or 30-hour courses at the longer end.

You should not need weeks or months to complete Udemy courses unless you really take your time.

The time commitment at Udacity is much greater.

Some of the beginner or introductory courses can be completed in a month or less. However, most courses require you to spend about 10 hours a week studying.

Udemy vs Udacity: Businesses Plans

Companies and organizations often offer their employees the opportunity to continue their education and develop their skills. Both Udemy and Udacity offer this opportunity.

Udemy offers an enterprise-based plan that gives employees access to over 130,000 courses for $360 per year (minimum five users required). There is also an enterprise plan that allows users to access content in other languages (Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Japanese), set career paths and create custom content – these plans are very expensive.

Udacity also offers a corporate plan that includes an account manager, customized courses for your company, and personalized onboarding. I have no idea what the cost is, but I am sure it’s more expensive than Udemy’s solution.

Udemy vs Udacity: Pricing

Free courses are available on both Udemy and Udacity. However, the quality of the free courses on the two platforms differs drastically.

The free courses on Udemy tend to be upsells for paid courses and generally do not add much value.

Udacity’s free courses go into great depth and cover much of the same industry-relevant material as the Nanodegree programs.

There are no project exams, mentorships, or certifications in the free courses.

A course like Udacity’s free Introduction to Computer Science course takes about three months to complete.

The course “Foundations of Computer Science: Theory and Practice” on Udemy.

Udemy offers paid courses that range from $10 to $200. Udemy often offers a 90% discount on its courses.

You can often find a well-rated course on a particular topic for $10 less than the regular price of $199.

If you want to find out how often Udemy offers clearance sales, check out my article: How often does Udemy have special sales?

Udacity’s Nanodegree programs seem to have a apartment price of $399.

Sure, there are some premium courses that cost more, but in my research this was the average price, regardless of length or whether the course was for beginners, intermediate, or advanced.

Udemy vs Udacity: Best Alternatives

If you use Udacity or Udemy, you may need an official certificate of completion. Below are the two best e-learning alternatives for these two platforms.

Coursera

Coursera can be an attractive option for students seeking an accredited certificate as it partners with post-secondary educational institutions such as Stanford, Imperial College London or Duke College.

Many Coursera courses are free to take, but you must pay if you want to earn a certificate.

There are several types of e-learning programs: individual courses (costing between $29 and $100), specializations (costing between $39 and $89 per month), Coursera annual subscriptions ($399), and full degrees (starting at $15,000).

edX

Similar to Coursera, edX also offers courses from world-class universities such as MIT, Berkeley and Harvard. As an accredited institution, you can earn degrees at edX.

There are a variety of free courses on the platform, but if you want an edX certificate of completion, you will have to pay for the course (ranging from $50 to $300).

Skillshare

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to Udemy and Udacity, you can try Skillshare. This e-learning platform’s paid plan offers over 25,000 courses for creatives and entrepreneurs.

Skillshare does not issue certificates of completion, but some of its courses have been created by leading industry experts and major companies like MailChimp, Google, and Moz.

Udemy Vs Udacity: Personal Mentoring

Udemy

Udemy students can use the support forum and interact with instructors. However, this depends on the course instructor.

Udacity

Udacity offers flexible learning and individual attention in all of its courses. Students can interact with instructors during office hours or through Slack channels. There are also many webinars available. Instructors also help students create a portfolio.

Udemy vs Udacity: Pros & Cons

As you decide which platform to use, you should consider the benefits and disadvantages of each.

Udemy Pros

A wide range of courses are available

Udemy currently offers tens of thousands of courses ranging from music to design and software development. If there’s a skill you want to learn, Udemy probably has a course for it.

Cost-effective

Almost all Udemy courses cost less than $200, with higher-priced courses often offered for as little as $10. The platform also offers about 10% free courses. Udemy also offers a 30-day refund if you change your mind after enrolling.

Time commitment is low

Courses on Udemy usually focus on the most important information and skills you need on a particular topic. Video lessons summarise something complicated into a few hours of video content by leaving out most of the fluff.

You have lifetime access to all the courses you purchase, so you can work through them at your own pace.

Udemy Cons

Academically unrecognized

Most employers do not find Udemy certificates as impressive when you apply for a job, compared to accredited university degrees or diplomas. Courses on Udemy focus more on teaching practical knowledge than earning academic credits.

The quality of courses can vary

Since anyone can upload a course to Udemy, the quality of the materials can vary greatly from one video to the next.

In some courses, the instructor speaks into a webcam, while others may use slideshows, screen recordings, and other presentation methods. There is generally little interaction between instructors and students.

There is less value for money

In most cases, the Udemy course offers less value than the Udacity course if they have similar course topics. Especially if you did not take advantage of an offer and paid full price for the course.

A Udemy course usually lasts only a few hours, while a Udacity course usually covers months of content.

Udacity Pros

Courses of excellent quality

By partnering with leading industry experts, Udacity offers courses that deliver exceptional value. Their free courses are no exception.

They offer a level of quality you would expect from a university course if you want to learn computer science as a hobby and do not care about credentials. Google provides some content directly to them.

Well-designed courses

There is no unnecessary information in the courses. The content is dynamic and of high quality. This is the calibre of course you can expect from an online course from a university or similar institution.

The latest course material

Udacity courses offer the most current information available. The courses offered cover topics such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and self-driving vehicles, which will grow in popularity in the future.

You can learn concepts that are already outdated in a traditional university course.

Mentoring on a one-to-one basis

For the majority of Udacity’s nanodiploma programs, you will be paired with a mentor. You can ask any questions you have, he can motivate you and answer all your questions.

Udacity Cons

It can be costly

Udacity’s nanodegrees cost $399 each, which may be more expensive than other online learning sites.

Course subjects are limited

Udacity’s curriculum is heavily focused on technology. That may be great if that’s what you are looking for, but the offerings are limited if you are interested in other areas.

Credentials are unverified

Nanodegrees from Udacity are not like traditional university degrees and are not accredited. Nanodegrees are much better than Udemy certificates, but they still have no proven value. Credentials from Udacity are difficult to interpret in a resume or CV.

They may not know enough about the programmes to trust them, nor are they interested in doing research to find out.

It can feel isolating

The discussion forums at Udacity need improvement. It is difficult to get meaningful feedback on submitted projects. Many of the courses feel isolated, especially the free courses. Compared to other online course platforms, Udacity offers limited language support.

Who Should Buy the Udemy courses?

The largest online course platform is Udemy. Courses are offered on every conceivable topic.

Udemy is a great option for people who want to improve their skills. It is recommended to use Udemy if you just want to improve your skills. You can learn anything on Udemy, whether you want to learn how to sing, play the guitar or dance.

Who should Buy the Udacity Course?

Students can also use Udacity’s “job call” feature. It is possible to learn the most current technical skills that employers are looking for. You may be able to find a job through this portal.

You will learn new technologies that are in demand in the industry, and it is good for people who want to change jobs.

Final Verdict: Udemy vs Udacity

Now that you have read this long comparison of Udacity and Udemy, you should know which eLearning community to use. Let me summarize when you should use which platform.

Udemy works on a pay-per-course basis ($19.99 to $199.99). It offers nanodegrees and one-course learning programs that cost $399 per month and can be completed in 2 to 6 months. Udemy’s strength is courses; Udacity’s strength is quality.

Udemy Is For You If You:

• You do not need to take more than one or two courses
• The subjects should be as varied as possible
• want to learn a language other than English
• The price is of course budget friendly
• You are not interested in paying a monthly fee

Udacity Is For You If You:

• You are interested in becoming an expert in a particular field (e.g., data analysis).
• The budget for the program ranges from $700 to $2,000
• You are looking for the highest quality courses
• Faculty and mentors who are good and approachable
• Community engagement is important to you