Udemy

The world's largest online course marketplace with 210,000+ courses from independent instructors.

Founded: 2010 by Eren Bali, Gagan Biyani, and Oktay CaglarHQ: San Francisco, California210,000+ courses across every conceivable topic

505

Courses on SC

4.5

Avg Rating

21

Free Courses

$17

Avg Price

Overview

Udemy is a global marketplace where anyone can create and sell courses. This open model means the catalog is enormous (210,000+ courses) but quality varies significantly. The best Udemy courses rival anything on Coursera or edX, while the worst are barely worth watching. The key to Udemy is knowing which courses to take — ratings, reviews, and instructor reputation matter enormously. Udemy's pricing model is unique: courses have a list price of $50-200 but are almost always on sale for $10-20.

Our Ratings

overall

4.2

value

4.9

quality

3.8

variety

4.9

Pricing

$10-20 on sale (list price $50-200)

  • List price: $19.99-199.99 per course
  • Sale price: $9.99-19.99 (sales happen every 2-3 weeks)
  • Never pay full price — wait for a sale or use a new account discount
  • Lifetime access once purchased (no subscription needed)
  • 30-day money-back guarantee on all courses
  • Udemy Business: $30/user/month for teams (8,000+ curated courses)

✅ Pros

  • +Incredible value — most courses under $15 on sale
  • +Lifetime access (buy once, keep forever)
  • +Massive catalog covering every topic imaginable
  • +Sales every 2-3 weeks (never pay full price)
  • +30-day money-back guarantee
  • +Community Q&A on every course
  • +Some outstanding instructors (Jose Portilla, Maximilian Schwarzmüller, Angela Yu)

❌ Cons

  • Wildly inconsistent quality — no curation or vetting
  • No university affiliation or accredited certificates
  • Certificates have limited value to employers
  • Reviews can be gamed — check recent reviews specifically
  • No structured learning paths or specializations
  • Some courses are outdated and rarely updated

Who Is Udemy Best For?

  • 🎯Budget-conscious learners who research before buying
  • 🎯Specific technical skill learning (React, Python, Excel)
  • 🎯Hobbyists and lifelong learners
  • 🎯Anyone who values lifetime access over subscriptions

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