Udemy is the world's largest online learning marketplace with 250,000+ courses taught by expert instructors covering programming, design, business, marketing, photography, and personal development. With 62+ million students and courses ranging from $10 to $200, Udemy's marketplace model enables independent instructors to reach a global audience while learners access lifetime course ownership for a one-time purchase. Udemy Business provides curated course collections for corporate L&D teams seeking scalable employee training.
Udemy
Online learning marketplace with 250,000+ courses on technology, business, design, and personal development, taught by independent instructors.
Best for: Self-directed learners who want to pick up specific technical or business skills at their own pace, and businesses that need scalable employee training
- Free plan
- From $9.99 per course (frequent sales)
Starts at
From $9.99 per course (frequent sales)
Opens the official website in a new tab.
The editorial note
What to know about Udemy
Is it right for you?
Who Udemy suits
Choose it if
- Self-directed learners who want to pick up specific technical or business skills at their own pace, and businesses that need scalable employee training
Look elsewhere if
- Learners needing structured credentials with mentorship and career support — Udacity Nanodegrees and Coursera Professional Certificates provide more structured pathways with expert feedback and career services that Udemy's self-paced marketplace cannot offer
What you get
Key features
- 250,000+ video courses
- Lifetime course access
- Mobile learning app
- Offline downloads
- Completion certificates
- Subtitles in 65 languages
- Q&A with instructors
- Udemy Business for teams
Works with
Integrations7
What it costs
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Courses | From $9.99 per course (frequent sales) | Buy courses individually. Prices vary; most courses go on sale for $10–$20. |
| Personal Plan | $16.58/month (billed annually)Billed monthly (billed annually at $199/year) | Unlimited access to 28,000+ top courses, certification prep, AI coding exercises, and goal-focused recommendations. |
| Team Plan | ~$30/user/month (billed annually)Billed per user/month (billed annually) | For 2–50 people. Includes 28,000+ courses, analytics, adoption reports, and 15-language international collection. |
| Enterprise Plan | Custom pricing | For 20+ people. Adds 30,000+ courses, advanced analytics, dedicated customer success, and customizable content. |
Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.
The trade-off
Pros and cons
Pros
- Massive course catalog of 250,000+ courses — virtually every skill has multiple course options
- Frequent sales reduce most courses to $10-$15 — extremely cost-effective for skill development
- Lifetime course access means revisiting content years later without re-purchasing
- Instructor diversity provides multiple teaching styles and perspectives for the same topic
- Udemy Business provides affordable corporate training with progress tracking for team managers
Cons
- Course quality varies enormously — no consistent standard means great and poor courses coexist
- No mentoring, project review, or live interaction — purely self-directed video learning
- Certificates carry less employer weight than university credentials or dedicated platform certifications
- Some courses use manufactured urgency with perpetual fake sale pricing misleading buyers
Quick read
At a glance
- Category
- Education & Courses
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- Entry plan
- From $9.99 per course (frequent sales)
- Free plan
- Available
- Free trial
- Not listed
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Website
- udemy.com
- Last reviewed
- Oct 4, 2026
The verdict
Our take on Udemy
Udemy's marketplace model gives you an enormous breadth of courses at a low per-course cost—especially during sales. The Personal Plan is best if you plan to take several courses per year. Quality varies by instructor, so check ratings and reviews before buying, but the top-rated courses rival paid bootcamp content at a fraction of the price.
Editorial review
From the journal
Editorial review of Udemy
Udemy's marketplace model gives you an enormous breadth of courses at a low per-course cost—especially during sales. The Personal Plan is best if you plan to take several courses per year. Quality varies by instructor, so check ratings and reviews before buying, but the top-rated courses rival paid bootcamp content at a fraction of the price.
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