An Authentic Coursera Review for 2022

Coursera offers college-level courses and accredited degrees from some of the world’s most prestigious universities at a fraction of the price. 

Curious about what else this one-of-a-kind eLearning platform provides?

Go through our comprehensive Coursera review to find out.

What is Coursera Good For?

Coursera partners with more than 200 universities and companies to give users a genuine learning experience that will prepare them for the real-life job market. 

Learners can take free courses on anything from Personal Development and Arts to UX Design and Machine Learning or pay for a course and get the chance to earn a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from institutions like Yale, the Imperial College London and Stanford University. Coursera also hosts courses by some of the biggest companies providing job credentials and certificates in a variety of professional areas—a feature that only a few learning platforms offer. 

Who is Coursera for? 

Coursera is the perfect platform for anyone looking to take their career to the next level as it offers job-centred and skill-based learning. In fact, 87% of Coursera subscribers interested in professional development report real-life career benefits. 

Coursera not only caters to students; it can also help enterprises grow and build a digitally fluent workforce. With access to 5,000+ courses and 1,900+ Guided Projects, Coursera for Business is an excellent chance for companies to train, track, and benchmark employee progress in a skill-centred learning experience. 

The same features are offered to government entities who can use Coursera courses to upskill their workforce and promote modernisation projects. 

The Coursera for Campus program, on the other hand, is geared towards providing students, faculty and staff with skills relevant in today’s job market. It offers 70+ Professional Certificates and 450+ Guided Projects that will help transform and modernise the campus. 

Content Quality 

When it comes to content quality, other platforms cannot even come close to Coursera. 

Unlike websites like Udemy and Teachable, where anyone can design and present a class, Coursera tutorials are taught by university professors from actual brick-and-mortar establishments.

In terms of numbers, there are over 4,100 courses available on the platform, covering a wide range of topics that will get you ready for the job market. These include: 

Despite the variety of topics, Coursera courses tend to stay mainly in the Technology, Business and Personal Development niche, so if you are looking to learn artistic skills, such as creative writing or storyboarding and animation, you might be better off going to a platform like SkillShare or CreativeLive. 

Course structure 

Course duration and structure depends on the learning program you choose (Coursera has six learning products available). However, almost all are made up of easily-digestible lectures video classes (from two to 15 minutes long), and feature readings, presentation slides, quizzes and assignments.

Keep in mind that some of Coursera’s programs take from three to 12 months to complete, so if you want to fast-track the learning process, give a Coursera alternative like FutureLearn a try.

Features

Coursera’s main appeal lies in its focus on professional development, but it has a lot of other features going for it. 

Ease of use

All of the learning programs’ pages feature a handy search filter allowing learners to set their preferences, from topic to course duration, and find the right online classes for their needs. Once you complete a course, the platform gives you suggestions on which course to take on next, thus narrowing down the search.

That said, the sheer volume and diversity of courses available might make it a little too busy for some. In that case, you can try platforms that have a cleaner and simpler interface. 

Plenty of learning programs

Coursera has a total of six learning products:

Bear in mind that while you only need to provide your email to sign up for a Coursera course, Degrees will have you applying with the host university, just as those who enrol through the official program.

Certificate of Completion

All learners who complete a paid course will receive Coursera certificates or degrees (depending on the learning program). Those following Specializations and Professional Certificates will get a shareable certificate that can be attached to the learner’s resume or Linkedin profile. The latter is issued by the company that developed the course, giving it even more weight as Coursera has partnered with some of the biggest names in business, like Google, Meta and IBM. 

Keep in mind that free courses do not come with a certificate. Udemy and Linkedin Learning, for instance, provide certificates for all their courses, although none of them are accredited.

Quizzes and Projects

Most Coursera tutorials provide class projects and quizzes, as well as peer-reviewed assignments for students to check their progress and assess their knowledge. 

Availability 

Although there is a Coursera app for Android and iOS users, not all courses are available on mobile. If learning on the go is a must for you, we suggest taking a look at other platforms that allow you to stream video classes on mobile, TV or even download course content on desktop for future viewing. 

Coursera Community 

Coursera’s community is a place where you can interact with other learners and see recently trending classes. It also provides a chance to discuss subjects, find all the latest job search resources and share or receive pro tips and guides from other users on the platform. 

Still, this is one area where the platform is lacking and many Coursera reviews agree. There is limited interaction and not enough feedback from instructors, even with longer courses that require you to log in at certain times. Udemy, on the other hand, lets you reach out to the instructor directly through the platform’s Q&A section. 

Coursera Price 

Despite the availability of Coursera free courses, this platform is one of the costliest out there. 

Broken down into learning programs, Coursera pricing plans look like this:

Coursera Plus is a membership service that provides unrestricted access to 90% of Coursera’s learning programs, as well as an unlimited number of courses and Course Certificates. Coming in at £44/month, this is the most affordable option on the platform, although MasterClass Premium offers more perks and costs only £19 a month. 

The chance to earn a Bachelor’s Degree or credentials that can help you get your dream job does not come cheap, and there are online learning platforms hosting the same topics and engaging content at a much lower price. That said, most of them do not provide accredited certificates or the chance to take courses offered by industry leaders like Google and DeepLearning.AI.  

Coursera free trial

You can try out the platform for free for seven days and cancel your subscription at any time after that (refunds are not available beyond the free trial). Although this is more than enough time to see if the platform is right for you, Linkedin Learning has a more generous one-month free trial.

If you are unable to pay for the course, Coursera provides financial aid so make sure to check if you are eligible. 

Is Coursera Worth it?

Yes! Coursera has several learning programs and topics to choose from, giving users chances to earn a university degree, professional Coursera certificate or a shareable diploma—all from your home and at your own rhythm. 

Sure the platform is a bit costly, but the value Coursera provides in terms of professional training is unmatched by any other learning platform on the market.