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Modern Online learning platforms come with a lot of advantages. They allow you to learn at your own pace, and in the comfort of your own space. They are also cheaper and more effective than traditional classroom training and they provide a great addition to your resume.

If you’re looking to increase your knowledge, then read on to discover more about the best online learning platforms so you can determine which one is the right fit for you.

Udemy

Udemy is the best online learning platform because of its expansive collection of free courses in numerous categories. You can also engage in language studies!

Skillshare

Skillshare is perfect if you want to learn something quickly and efficiently. Gain access to thousands of hands-on creative classes with a single membership.

Coursera

Coursera has a massive collection of specialized classes, taught by experienced world-class talent. You'll get a degree by completing a specialized course.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning features a rich library of courses in a vast number of subjects - all of which are taught by industry experts. This platform is ideal for professionals.

CodeGym

CodeGym specializes in providing courses for programming; in this case, Java. This is the best place to learn Java and begin your coding career quickly.

What Are the Best Online Learning Platforms?

1. Udemy

Best Overall Online Learning Platform

Udemy is a free learning site offering MOOC courses. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course – a model that delivers learning content online to anyone who desires to take a course without limits to attendance. The platform’s goal is the disruption and democratization of the educational system, and if you’re looking to develop new skills and achieve your goals, then this is a great platform to choose.

It offers the best free online courses and the widest range of courses, with 13 main categories covering business and marketing, finance and accounting, graphic design, IT and software, office productivity, personal development, and many more. This makes it one of the best online learning platforms out there.

The educational site offers video and audio lessons, eBooks, eJournals, encyclopedias, and many other materials to enhance your lessons. There’s a library of over 150,000 courses to choose from – making this one of the top online learning platforms with regard to content.

You can expand your skills and knowledge in any imaginable field, from business, branding, and marketing to handweaving, jewelry making, and crafts. Like most other educational portals, Udemy offers lessons in a variety of languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and more. 

However, unlike many other learning platforms like Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, etc., Udemy does not offer a subscription plan, you must purchase each course individually. Fortunately, courses are very cheap, starting from just $9 and ranging up to $200 per course.

If you’re not 100% satisfied with any course on the platform, you can get a full refund within 30 days of purchase. 


2. Skillshare

Best Online Learning Platform for Quick Lessons

Skillshare is a well-established online platform that’s focused on providing high-quality education on numerous topics related to eCommerce, graphic design & illustration, lifestyle & productivity, crafts & fine arts, and more. There are thousands of hands-on creative classes available to you with a single membership and all classes are taught by real creators – many of whom have vast experience in their chosen fields. 

Whether you’re a dabbler or a pro, a beginner or a master, you’ll be able to find a course to take your skills to the next level. You can view the outline of each course to determine if it’s what you’re looking for. There’s no pre-qualification required to take any course.

All you need is a connection to the internet and you can take the course on any device. With real-world projects to work on and online classes to fit your busy routine, you’ll be able to finally achieve your dream of learning and growth. 

No matter your skill level, you’ll find that there’s plenty of inspiration to discover on the platform. Skillshare offers a free membership which includes access to over 2,000 classes to help you unearth skills, tools, and techniques for a broader range of creative topics.

Premium membership comes with unlimited access to 30,000+ classes. There’s a 30-day free trial so you can start learning for free and determine if this platform is right for you. 


3. Coursera

Best Online Learning Platform With Classes from World-Class Talent

Coursera is a popular free online education platform with a wide range of programs to explore. In fact, it’s one of the most used platforms for learning and career building. From college courses to master’s degrees and specializations from leading universities, you’ll find an impressively wide range of programs to choose from. 

There are even free programs from accredited institutions. All are available in a wide variety of languages, including English, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, French, and more. 

All courses on Coursera come with pre-recorded video lectures that you can watch whenever it’s convenient for you. Here, you’ll get world-class training and development programs. You can start, advance, or switch your career with over 5,400 professional certificates, degrees, and various other courses from over 275 top companies and educational institutions, including Yale, IBM, Duke, Stanford, and Penn. 

You can join for free by signing up on the website. Leverage the courses on this platform to get job-ready for an in-demand career. No prior experience is necessary, and you’ll get everything you need to break into any field, including new fields like data science or information technology.

You can also try Coursera for Business, an employee training & development program, to help you accelerate business transformation.  This allows you to upskill your employees to help them excel in the digital economy by rapidly deploying training for in-demand skills.

All in all, Coursera is one of the best online learning platforms for furthering your own education, and that of the people around you.


4. Linkedin Learning

Best Online Learning Platform for Professionals

LinkedIn Learning is a platform that has an extensive library of courses in a wide range of subjects – all of which are taught by expert instructors. If you’re looking for ways to take control of your academic life and achieve your business growth, then this platform can help you achieve that goal.

One of the site’s biggest selling points is that it allows you to learn from the best industry experts available, and connect with a worldwide network of experience – all of this on your time, how, and where you want.

There are thousands of expert-led courses that span an impressive variety of topics to cover every step of your career. Instructors on this site are vetted thoroughly and come with real-world experience to supercharge your educational experience.

You can sign up for a free month to get full access to the platform’s courses. Learn on your time with bite-sized course lessons. Earn certificates to include in your LinkedIn profile. You can find the right course for you between business, technology, or creative courses.

There are over 20,500 online courses and learning paths, and dozens more are added each week. Some of the most popular business topics on this site include time management, marketing strategy, personal effectiveness, leadership skills, and career management.

There’s also a range of technology topics, including data visualization, programming foundations, and business intelligence courses. On the creative side, you can choose topics like motion graphics, electrical engineering, video production, and construction management.

It’s clear to see that wherever your learning path takes you, LinkedIn Learning can help you get there. 


5. CodeGym

Best Online Learning Platform for Learning Java

CodeGym is an online platform for learning Java programming. The online certification courses on this platform will help you gain credentials to increase your value at work. Here, you can learn the basics of Java programming from scratch on your smartphone through educational quest games created by CodeGym instructors.

For anyone interested in software development, this is a fantastic platform that will help you achieve your goals in the quickest and most effective way possible. One of the reasons this educational site is so effective for teaching Java is that its online course is 80% practice.

Unlike reading books about becoming a programmer, you’ll actually learn from writing lots of code. From the very start, you’ll be able to learn through an interactive practice-oriented Java software programming course, which is extremely valuable for beginners, as well as those who want to develop and grow their Java coding skills. And the best part? You can start learning for free.

Simply sign up on the website and start taking the beginner’s course. Once you log into your dashboard, you’ll see a variety of courses, tasks, surveys, quizzes, games, and more to help further your education. For instance, you can learn Java by solving 1,200+ hands-on tasks of increasing complexity on the platform.

This will give you much of the experience you need to get your desired job. There is also a vast community of users and developers that you can interact with from your dashboard. You’ll find articles, success stories, chats, forums, and more to provide you with the support you need during your learning journey. 


6. Udacity

Best Online Learning Platform for Digital Platforms

Udacity is a trusted educational organization that offers massive open online courses. The online learning platform equips you with foundational skills for growing a career in everything from web applications to cloud services, DevOps, and more.

On this platform, you’ll get certificates that are a powerful investment in building your career. You can find the nano degree that’s perfect for your skill level and career goals. There’s a school of data science where you can become an expert with the right skills to advance your career.

Online programs also include beginner to advanced courses for programming. In fact, you can expand your knowledge in all things business or tech to help you get your ideal job. 

Using Udacity, you can acquire the skills you need for a well-paying career in just a few months, working at your own pace. The courses help you develop job-ready digital skills in as few as 10 hours each week, working from wherever is convenient for you.

You can start learning for free by signing up on the website using your email or Facebook account. From there, you’ll be able to browse through the huge catalog to find your perfect program.

There are over 200 courses to choose from and 40+ Nano degree programs for which this platform is well-known. Some of the most popular programs on the platform include courses for data engineers, data scientists, product managers, and programmers.


7. Brilliant.org

Best Online Learning Platform Globally

Brilliant.org is a top-notch online learning platform with the goal of creating a set of online tools to help educate students from all over the world. The platform offers a range of courses across subjects like math, science, computer science, and more.

With over 50,000 five-star reviews on Google Play and iOS App Store, it’s clear to see that this site offers high-quality, engaging, and well-structured courses that are loved by students, professionals, and lifelong learners.

When you sign up, you get the full Brilliant experience. As a student, you will learn to master concepts through problem-solving and build intuition rather than memorizing formulas in math, science, and other subjects.

Professionals can explore topics like probability, computer science, and machine learning to keep their knowledge base fresh and prepare for quantitative interviews. If you’re someone who simply loves learning for the sake of learning, you can choose from a wide range of fun, guided exercises across a broad range of topics designed to keep your mind active and enhance your critical thinking skills.

You can sign up for free on the website to try a preview of each course. You also get a daily challenge in the “Today” tab on your dashboard. The platform offers synced progress across all web and mobile apps, making it easy for you to continue your studies from wherever you are.

The premium version unlocks a lot more features, including complete guided courses and the entire Daily Challenges archive. 


8. edX

Best Online Learning Platform from Ivy League Schools

edX is yet another popular MOOC provider. It’s a great platform to start off your online education on the right foot. Created by Harvard and MIT, this educational portal is a mission-driven organization that’s committed to transforming education so as to remove the barriers of location, cost, and access. 

You’ll find over 3,000 interactive online classes on a variety of subjects including law, science, history, engineering, social sciences, business, computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), and public health. Many of these courses are free, and you can choose to receive a verified certificate for a nominal fee. To get started, simply sign up on the platform, pick a course, and start learning from the best educational institutions in the world. 

Whether you’re looking to propel your career, expand your knowledge to the next level, or get a degree, this platform has whatever you need to get there through experience, practice, and application of your new skills and abilities.

One of the best things about this platform is that it teaches you new knowledge and skills in fun ways, including engaging video lectures, dynamic graphics, interactive elements, and data visualizations. Each course has a space for you to demonstrate your learned knowledge, and you can practice with open-response assessments, quizzes, and virtual environments.

This makes it a lot easier for everything you’ve learned to translate directly into the real world so you can immediately apply your capabilities within the context of your dream job.


9. OpenLearning

Best Online Learning Platform for Social Learning

OpenLearning is a social learning platform with a vast range of online courses from top universities, colleges, and educators. This platform delivers a range of viable MOOC courses that you can take advantage of to further your skills and career.

Topics include computer science, programming, art, life science, and mathematics. Although the Open Learning institute offers a limited range of subjects (compared to the other online learning platforms in this guide), a lot of detail has gone into the coursework, and students will find the instructor-led courses to be quite comprehensive.

There are short, flexible online courses designed to help you explore new subjects and acquire new skills. You can also choose OpenCreds to learn your skills with practical, stackable courses perfect for lifelong learning. If qualifications are what you’re looking for, you can stack your OpenCreds to receive credit toward industry-relevant qualifications from top colleges and universities.

Once you sign-up, you’ll get access to a wide range of course materials and assessments that you can use to learn at your preferred pace, and in a practical and social environment. Research from learning sciences has shown that this method of learning allows you to more effectively master skills through engaging group activities.

If you are ready to empower yourself with world-class courses from the best educators and institutions and engage with peers worldwide, then this is a great learning platform to choose.


10. FutureLearn

Best Online Learning Platform for Small Business

FutureLearn is a platform designed to help you learn new skills to future-proof your career. The platform has world-class experts and collaborates with leading universities to create courses that will empower you for a lucrative career.

Choose from a range of flexible short courses, specialist courses, online degrees, or micro-credentials where you can earn academic or professional accreditation. You can study flexibly online as you build up to whatever level of knowledge and skill you want.

Whether you want to upskill, re-skill, or pursue a passion – you’ll find the knowledge you seek on this platform. Some popular courses include digital copywriting fundamentals, foundations of project management, team building, transformational leadership, and language teaching methodology from the University of Birmingham.

There are high-quality courses to choose from in every category imaginable and you can subscribe or upgrade to get long-term, unlimited access to your online course. You’ll also receive a CV-ready certificate upon completion.

Each course is divided into weeks and steps, and you’ll have the ability to connect with other learners and instructors throughout your journey.

All in all, this is a great platform for you to learn anything, learn from the best, learn with results, and learn flexibly. This is something that’s evidenced by the impressive number of positive online reviews from verified learners who are happy and satisfied with the entire experience.


What Makes an Online Learning Platform Great?

There are many things that make an online platform great, notably its ability to allow students to learn anywhere and anytime. You must be able to engage with peers regardless of where you are in the world. 

The best learning institutions have well-designed activity-based learning and collaborative projects.

A great online learning platform should also be interactive and social. It should have a supportive community, and it should be purpose-built to deliver a social, constructive, and outcome-based experience for every learner. 

Most importantly, a great online platform for learning should be affordable (especially when compared to traditional classes) in order to make online education accessible to all.

Also, it’s worth noting that some digital learning platforms double as online course platforms (where you can sell your courses). This is a great way to both learn new things and share your knowledge with others!

Online Learning Platforms Q&A

What Are Online Learning Platforms?

Online learning platforms are web portals for educational content. They are designed to provide students with everything they need in one convenient place. This includes lectures, resources, and even opportunities to connect and communicate with other students. Such portals also provide instructors with an easy way to monitor engagement and keep track of student progress. 

How Many Online Learning Platforms Are There?

There are thousands of online learning platforms to help you develop your skills. Some come with certifications, and others don’t. However, there are only a few that stand out far above the rest. The platforms in this article are great examples of eLearning platforms that offer quality education across a broad range of subjects, but it’s not all-inclusive. For example, another great online learning platform is CreatorU by Samcart. But it isn’t quite as big as the others, so we didn’t give it a full listing.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬?

The best online learning platforms all have the same or similar features, tools, ease of use, and other characteristics so which ones are the best? That depends on your needs and interests. Some of the best online learning platforms may be a great choice for you but not for someone else. After all, you’ll still need to form your own opinion and make your own choice based on the comparisons between a couple of the top online learning platforms.

Udemy

Udemy is the best online learning platform because of its expansive collection of free courses in numerous categories. You can also engage in language studies!

Skillshare

Skillshare is perfect if you want to learn something quickly and efficiently. Gain access to thousands of hands-on creative classes with a single membership.

Coursera

Coursera has a massive collection of specialized classes, taught by experienced world-class talent. You'll get a degree by completing a specialized course.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning features a rich library of courses in a vast number of subjects - all of which are taught by industry experts. This platform is ideal for professionals.

CodeGym

CodeGym specializes in providing courses for programming; in this case, Java. This is the best place to learn Java and begin your coding career quickly.

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