vs.
Course Marketplace
8.5
10
Course Marketplace
8.3
10
FutureLearn vs. Skillshare - Complete Comparison
Written by
Janosch Herrmann
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Overview
ToggleDescription | FutureLearn FutureLearn is a British online learning platform that offers courses developed by their more than 175 university partners worldwide. The platform was founded in 2012 and has since attracted more than 10 million learners worldwide. | Skillshare Skillshare is an online learning platform with a focus on creative & business skills, ranging from fine art to productivity and everything in between! Today, Skillshare has more than 8000 teachers teaching 35,000+ classes. |
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Types of courses | FutureLearn BACHELORS DEGREE Bachelor's DegreeGet a Bachelor's degree from one of FutureLearn's partner universities $10000 - $30000 USD 10-15 hours per week MASTERS DEGREE Master's DegreeGet a Master's degree from one of FutureLearn's university partners. $10000 - $40000 USD 1-3 years INDIVIDUAL LEARNING Short CoursesShort courses on a wide variety of topics, created by universities and other institutions FreeIncluded in subscription 2-4 hours per week INDIVIDUAL LEARNING MicrocredentialsCreate specialized courses created by top academic institutions worldwide. Some courses might count as academic credit towards a degree. $500 - $1000 USD 6–12 weeks | Skillshare INDIVIDUAL LEARNING Skillshare classesThousands of self-paced classes, all included in the Skillshare subscription. Free Self-paced COHORT BASED 1-on-1 sessions1-on-1 sessions with top instructors from Skillshare. $50 - $300 USD 1 - 2 hours COHORT BASED Live sessionsLive classes with some of Skillshare's top teachers. Free 1 - 2 hours |
Subscription plans | FutureLearn PERSONAL FutureLearn UnlimitedUnlimited access to 1400+ online courses from FutureLearn $20 - 40 USD per month | Skillshare PERSONAL Skillshare PremiumAccess to all Skillshare classes $15 - 25 USD per month |
Pros & cons | FutureLearn
| Skillshare
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General information
ToggleType | Course Marketplace | Course Marketplace |
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Number of courses | 2000+ | 28000+ |
Popularity | Relatively niche | Popular |
Available categories | Business Analytics & IntelligenceComplianceData ScienceDesign ToolsDigital MarketingEntrepreneurshipFinanceIT CertificationsLanguage LearningLeadership | 3D & AnimationAccounting & BookkeepingAffiliate MarketingArchitectural DesignArts & CraftsBeauty & MakeupBrandingBusiness Analytics & IntelligenceBusiness LawBusiness Strategy |
Available languages | English | EnglishSpanishFrenchGermanPortuguese |
Evaluation
ToggleFull score | 8.5 10 | 8.3 10 |
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Features
ToggleSupport options |
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Available apps | No apps available... |   |
Company
ToggleCompany name | FutureLearn Limited | Skillshare, Inc. |
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Company size | Medium | Large |
Founded in | 2012 | 2010 |
Headquarters | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | United States 🇺🇸 |
Founders | The Open University | Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Malcolm Ong, Aaron Schwartz |
External reviews |  Trustpilot 4.7740 reviews | App Store 4.823100 reviews Play Store 4.157000 reviews Trustpilot 1.21621 reviews |
Our opinion
ToggleFutureLearnFutureLearn is one of the few online learning platforms that offer full online degrees. We also like that you can access a lot of their regular courses for free for a limited amount of time, with the upgrade to the paid course being offered as an optional add-on. In contrast to some other similar companies, their offering is also a lot more streamlined and easier to understand, which we think is another benefit of FutureLearn. That said, their catalog isn't as big as that of some of their competitors, which means that you might not find the course you're looking for, especially if it's a bit more niche. Overall, we can recommend FutureLearn for students that want to take full online degrees, as well as students that want to learn with courses from universities, instead of courses from individual instructors.
SkillshareSkillshare offers a large catalog of courses on both career and hobby-related topics. We particularly like that you can get access to every course on the platform with just one, affordable subscription. You can also book one-on-one sessions with instructors, which is a bit pricey, but a super unique offering that no other online learning platform currently offers. We can therefore recommend Skillshare to anyone trying to learn digital & creative skills, especially if a subscription sounds better than buying individual courses.
