Udemy Review: Everything You Should Know (2022 Edition)

Are you looking to sharpen your real-life skills or acquire new ones to give your career a boost?

Udemy’s selection of 183,000 online video  courses can lend you a hand!

In addition to a broad range of topics, this online learning platform offers some incredible features, including lifetime access to materials and certificates of completion for each course. 

Interested? 

Read our Udemy review to find out more about this eLearning platform. 

What is Udemy?

Udemy is an exceptional place for connecting students from all over the world with the best instructors in their respective fields. Udemy believes the world’s best teachers aren’t always found in classrooms, so they gather instructors from virtually every country and offer courses in 65+ languages on a variety of topics.

Who is Udemy for?

The platform caters to students looking to expand their work portfolio or pick up new skills in their spare time. As such, it has a variety of topics covering anything from film and animation to computer forensics and accounting for investment banking. 

There is also a Udemy business package that gives companies access to over 14,000 courses from industry experts in the demo version alone. 

Content Quality

As mentioned above in our Udemy review, the platform has a wide range of courses on nearly every topic you can imagine, including harnessing the power of crystals, mastering watercolour painting and learning ethical hacking. 

It does not focus entirely on creative arts like Skillshare, nor does it offer academic content like Coursera and the Khan Academy. Instead, Udemy falls somewhere in the middle, offering good quality tutorials for professional and personal development.

What topics does Udemy cover?

Udemy courses are divided into four sections: Development, Design, Business and Personal Development.

Whichever section you choose, you will find a wealth of courses on each topic, starting from Photoshop courses to tutorials on Android and iOS development, business analysis and strategies, and workshops on time management and communication skills. 

Courses are updated regularly but always covering trending and in-demand topics. They last from 60 minutes to up to 17 hours of content, depending on the course structure. However, they are divided into easy-consumable sections, with each video lesson lasting around 10 minutes. Videos can be paused or fast-forwarded, while closed captions and subtitles are available so learners can really take their time to master each section.  

Udemy Features

How can Udemy facilitate the eLearning process? Let’s review the most important Udemy features. 

Lifetime Access

With Udemy, learners have access to course material even after finishing the classes, provided the platform still holds the licence and your account is in good standing.  Even though feature is by no means exclusive to Udemy, access is unlimited, unlike some platforms that impose restrictions on which courses one can view after completion. 

Certificate of Completion

Every user earns a certificate after they complete the course. Although not accredited, it is a nice touch to your CV and might just put you ahead of other candidates for the job. Linkedin Learning also offers certification (also not accredited); however, there is the option to add the document to your Linkedin profile, thereby getting more exposure from potential employers.  

Become an Instructor 

As with Skillshare and Teachable, anyone can become an instructor on the platform, gaining complete control over course content from planning the curriculum to adding resources and practice files. This is a great opportunity for anyone wishing to inspire learners and expand their professional network, as well as earn some extra money on the side. 

However, if you are interested in learning from university professors or big names in the industry, you should consider other options.  

Udemy Free Courses

In addition to over 180,000 paid courses, Udemy offers more than 500 free courses. Users can enjoy some of the platform’s most popular classes on coding, photography, and public speaking for free, getting unlimited access both offline and after the course is completed. 

That said, there are quality online learning platforms out there that are 100% free, although none of these offer the wide range of topics Udemy does. 

Udemy App 

Every Udemy course is accessible on all devices, including Chromecast or AirPlay. The platform also has native Android and iOS apps, allowing you to explore 130,000+ courses, download them to watch offline, or listen to them as a  podcast audio. There is also the possibility to take quizzes and add learning reminders, bookmarks and notes, thus enhancing the learning experience on the go. 

Linkedin Learning and Pluralsight offer similar features on their apps, with the latter even giving you a chance to compete with other users as a fun way to assess your progress. 

Udemy Community

Udemy has three official communities for instructors, where they can exchange ideas and discuss course management. 

The platform also has an extensive Help Centre that can answer almost all your questions. For additional doubts and issues, you can always reach out to the instructor through the Q&A section—an excellent opportunity to communicate not just with the teacher but with other learners as well. 

Udemy Price

Courses on the platform can be purchased individually, ranging from $9.99 to nearly $200, although you can always get a lower price as Udemy runs continual promotions and discounts throughout the year, some even taking the cost down by 80%. 

Udemy Free Trial

Udemy has a free trial, although not all users are eligible to take advantage of this feature. To see if you qualify for a free trial, go to your Subscription page, found in the drop-down menu in the top right corner.  

Udemy Pricing Plans

Udemy also has two paid subscription plans:

• The Personal Plan that gives users access to thousands of workshops and courses.
• Udemy Pro which is designed for students interested in getting IT certification. 

Unfortunately, not all students can sign up for a subscription at this time, which is a big drawback as a monthly or annual subscription, offered by some of Udemy’s biggest competitors, gives you access to a platform’s full library and a multitude of courses and topics. 

There are business plans available as well, which are crafted specifically for enterprises and companies, although the price is not disclosed. If you are interested in one of the Udemy for business courses, you need to contact the company and create a personalised payment plan. Keep in mind that many well-known companies are using the platform for their L&D needs, including Netflix, Lyft and Nasdaq, so the Udemy business plan is definitely worth considering. 

How to Cancel Udemy Subscription

You can cancel your Udemy subscription at any time during or after the free trial. An upside is that you will continue to have access to course material even if you cancel your subscription, that is until the billing period is finished. 

This platform also includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, an uncommon feature in the industry. Other platforms come with a 14 or 7-day free trial but rarely provide refunds. 

Is Udemy Worth It?

Udemy’s main selling point is the variety of courses on offer. It may not have the academic scope of Coursera or the coding-focus of Treehouse or Codecademy, but it does cater to the latest trends and learners’ interests. The quality of content is also quite good, considering that almost anyone can create a course and upload it on the platform. Plus, lectures are incredibly easy to follow, as instructors approach the topics casually and break up courses into easily-digestible sections. 

In reality, the only downside is the lack of a subscription model. Despite the 30-day refund policy, purchasing classes individually can add up the price and make it more complicated to explore the full capacities of the platform.