As one of the most popular e-learning platforms out there, Skillshare has become synonymous with online courses. It is being advertised heavily across YouTube and other social networks and all with a good goal – to help as many people find their way to new skills, knowledge, and experiences (and all of that at an affordable price).
Now, the question is how does Skillshare rank compared to the dozens of other e-learning platforms out there? It is no secret that the online learning business model has become insanely popular in the last two decades. With that said, we now have access to many platforms that technically offer the same thing – online courses.
The only difference is in how well they do it and how much it costs to enroll in one of those educational programs. We’ve looked at everything the platform has to offer and we’ve compared them to other platforms on the market to put together this in-depth Skillshare review. Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
What is Skillshare?
Skillshare is an online learning platform that features thousands of courses on different subjects, ranging from business and entrepreneurship to music and creative arts. The platform was founded back in 2010 by Michael Karnjanaprakorn and Malcolm Ong. Originating from New York, Skillshare is now being used by millions of people across the world.
With over 41 000 courses and 8 million users, there is no doubt that this platform is one of the best-established industry leaders in the e-learning space. Here’s a quick run of what you can expect when logging into Skillshare: the platform offers a 7-day free trial for you to test out its content and courses.
Then you can either opt for an annual price plan or a monthly plan with full access to thousands of courses on the platform. Sounds good, right? There are also plenty of plans to choose from and even scholarships and financial aid that can help eligible users finance their courses. Let’s take a deeper dive into what Skillshare has to offer.
How Does it Work?
As is often the case with online learning platforms, Skillshare pays close attention to the user experience. Hence, you can rest assured that their platform is optimized for easy use and navigation. It works simple – set up an account, subscribe to their only payment plan (Skillshare Premium), and start taking the courses you’re interested in.
It’s important to mention that their payment plan is subscription-based, meaning you’ll get access to any course on the platform as long as you pay the monthly subscription (billed annually). By purchasing the premium plan, you will unlock extra features as well.
SkillShare Features
Speaking of which, let’s dive into Skillshare’s features and focus on what the platform has to offer.
Choosing the right course
A Skillshare subscription gives you access to most (if not all) courses on the platform. Now, we know what you’re thinking – it must be difficult to decide which course you want to take if you get to choose between thousands of them.
Thanks to Skillshare’s filter and class description features, it’s easier than you think. The filter feature allows you to narrow down the search based on the category you’re looking for, course length, popularity, and more. Although Skillshare does not offer as many filtering options as Coursera or Udemy, these tools can still help you find the right path.
Now, once you narrow down the options to the 10 best courses that match your criteria, you can choose which one you like the best based on Skillshare’s class description. Each course has a landing page where you can find the ‘about’ section with details on the type of content, difficulty level, and more. You can also leverage Skillshare reviews to check what kind of experiences other people had with the platform.
Learn More About Instructors
What’s great about Skillshare is that they go the extra step when presenting course instructors so you can know exactly whom you’re learning from. Every instructor on Skillshare has a page with a short bio, their professional experience, and a section about their teaching goals. That way, you can sense the vibe of their courses and decide whether or not they’re a good match for you.
7-Day Free Trial
Much like other e-learning platforms, Skillshare offers a free trial period during which you can test the waters and play around with different courses and topics. Although their free trial lasts only 7 days, chances are you’ll come across their free month link somewhere on the internet.
Skillshare invests a lot of time and money into marketing campaigns, especially influencer marketing. That’s why you’ll often hear YouTubers promote their Skillshare affiliate link that gets you a one-month free subscription. If you can find one of those, you’ve just expanded your free trial significantly.
Skillshare Mobile App
Perhaps one of the best features that sets Skillshare apart is its mobile app that allows you to access their courses via smartphone or tablet. You can also access all materials offline if you’re subscribed to their premium membership plan. Those who invest in this subscription will get the option to download classes through the app and access them offline. If you have a long commute or you’re planning to travel, offline content access can be a real game-changer.
Skillshare for Teams
If you’re a member of a team or you own a company, you’ll be happy to hear that Skillshare offers three special plans for teams, including the Starter plan for teams of 5-49 members, the Enterprise plan for teams of 20+ members, and the Revive plan for teams of 50+ members. These plans include unlimited access to 35 000+ courses on the platform. Naturally, the Enterprise and Revive plans have more advanced features such as analytic reports and API integrations.
Skillshare ChromaCourse
We can’t talk about Skillshare’s features without mentioning the Skillshare ChromaCourse – a four-week immersive small group course that gives the group members exclusive access to top-notch content and expert teachers.
On top of that, the ChromaCourses include live Q&As and personalized feedback on your assignments. Interestingly, you don’t need to be a SkillShare member to enroll in a ChromaCourse. Anyone can join and, if the course is filled, you will be added to the waiting list as well.
Groups and Communities
Skillshare is a very community-oriented platform that connects its members across all corners of the world. Their online learning community is a place where you can communicate and connect with people to get inspired, grow your network, and expose yourself to new experiences.
They also feature Skillshare Groups in 4 categories, including Creative, Technology, Business, and Lifestyle. You can use groups to share your work and connect with other creators. As a member of a free account, you can only join the groups as an observer. You can only post in them if you have a premium membership.
What Type of Courses are Offered on SkillShare?
Skillshare offers courses in a variety of creative categories including animation, film & video, creative writing, fine art, graphic design, photography, and more. Here are some of the most popular options in each of these categories:
Animation
The two most popular courses in the animation category are The Beginner’s Guide to After Effects taught by Jake Bartlett, and the Blender 3D: Your First 3D Character. The first course features a beginner-friendly approach that covers the basics of doing work in After Effects, including how to use panels and workspaces, how to leverage resolution and frame rates, and most importantly how to combine effects for best results.
The latter is another beginner-friendly course taught by Remington Markham that focuses on the design, modeling, and texture of 3D characters. If you’ve always dreamed of making your 3D character, then this course will teach you the basics you need to know to kickstart this project (just ask one of the 12,500+ students who took it).
Creative Writing
Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact and Writing for Self-Discovery: 6 Journaling Prompts for Gratitude and Growth are the two most popular courses in this category. The first course is taught by Roxane Gay and it is geared toward writers of all levels who are looking for inspirational ways to take their essays to the next level.
The latter course taught by Yasmine Cheyenne consists of 12 video lessons, as opposed to Roxanne’s master class that’s 1 hour long. Yasmine’s course goes over the importance of journaling in cultivating confidence and growth.
Film & Video
The two most popular courses in this field are Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners, taught by Jordy Vandeput, and YouTube Success: Build an Authentic Channel That’s Worth the Follow taught by the well-known Sorelle Amore. The Adobe Premiere Pro course dives into video editing for beginners and gives you tools to produce solid videos without much experience.
Sorelle’s course, on the other hand, goes way beyond just editing. It includes tips and techniques on how to build your channel from the ground and authentically gather a significant following. If you’re dreaming of becoming the next big YouTuber, this may be your starting point!
Fine Art
The Fine Art category features The Art of Science of Drawing and Acrylic Painting: Learn the Basics for Beginners as the two most popular courses. The first one, taught by Brent Evidton, helps illustrators, artists, and painters learn how to leverage drawing tools to their maximum ability.
The second course, taught by Laurie-Anne Gonzales, is more oriented toward acrylic painting and it includes tips and techniques for absolute beginners. The course is broken down into categories including, Workspace, Color Mixing, Brushes, Texture, Dimension, and Depth of Field.
Graphic Design
The two most popular courses in the graphic design category are Adobe Photoshop CC – Essentials Training Course Taught by Daniel Scott, and the Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design, taught by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips. The first course is a beginner-friendly Adobe Photoshop CC training that will teach you how to retouch photographs and manipulate images.
The Graphic Design Basics course, as the name suggests, covers the basics of graphic design in a neat and beginner-friendly manner. If you opt for this course, you will learn about 4 different design principles and how you can implement each in your future project. It’s safe to say that this is a popular course given that it’s been watched by more than 100,000 students.
Photography
This section could go on forever if we were to list every single category available on Skillshare, which gives you an idea of how vast their offering is. But, to keep this short and useful, we’ll go over one more – photography. The two most popular courses in this category are the Fundamentals of DSLR Photography, which is very self-explanatory) and iPhone Photography: How to Take Good Photos on Your Phone.
You may be more interested in the latter one given that nowadays everyone can become a professional photographer with just a phone in their hands. This course, taught by Dale McManus, goes over the best practices when taking photos on an iPhone (or any phone for that matter).
9 Key Decision-Making Factors in this Skillshare Review
Before diving into the pros and cons of Skillshare as a learning platform, let’s take a look at the criteria we follow when grading online learning platforms. Most importantly, let’s see how Skillshare ranks in these 9 different categories, which we consider to be the most important when determining the quality of service.
User-friendliness & learning interface – Score 4 / 5
When it comes to the way Skillshare has organized its content and services, there’s nothing to complain about. The platform is simple and easy to use, it takes only a quick email and password to sign up, and you can even register using your Google account to skip this one extra step. The learning interface is modern and easy to navigate. The only downside is that their knowledge base is not too detailed and could be better.
What’s great about Skillshare is that a single subscription gives you access to all the content available on the platform. This makes it a lot easier to enroll in courses and start the learning process with minimum friction. Most other platforms charge a fixed price per course, meaning you’d have to go through the payment procedure each time you want to start a new course. With Skillshare, this process is quick and easy, which gives the platform extra points for being user-friendly.
Convenience – Score 5 / 5
The previous point we mentioned above also adds to the convenience of the Skillshare platform. This online learning community brings new skills and connections to you without you having to leave the comfort of your home. Besides having quick access to educational materials on thousands of topics, Skillshare allows you to switch between courses effortlessly without having to pay for each separately.
On top of that, the platform offers a free trial, which is convenient in the sense that you don’t have to pay for anything before you try it out. Besides, at such a low annual cost, Skillshare offers a lot more value than you’d ever expect to receive at this price point. Hence, we give it a 5 out of 5 for convenience.
Quality of content – Score 3.5 / 5
We wouldn’t say that Skillshare has poor quality content (far from that) but, comparing it to other e-learning platforms (such as Coursera) that have a strict content quality screening process, Skillshare just doesn’t elevate to that level. However, the lack of quality control shouldn’t be a reason not to think of Skillshare as a high-value platform.
On the contrary, the platform offers great teaching resources including short and easy-to-follow classes and hands-on projects. Besides, you get access to the large Skillshare community where you can network and get feedback on your work, which gives the platform additional points on our ranking list. As for the results and outcomes of the courses, the rule remains the same – the outcome will depend on your level of involvement and effort put into the courses.
Available platforms — Score 5 / 5
This is the category where Skillshare takes a concrete win – their mobile app is by far the best e-learning application you will find on the market. For starters, Skillshare can be accessed via your regular browser or their mobile app on Android or Apple devices. The platform allows you to access courses and consume content in different forms, as well as take your course material on the go.
Mind you, users who purchase Skillshare Premium can download course content for offline learning, which is not available to those who aren’t subscribed. Overall, the mobile app gives Skillshare a great advantage over the competition.
Official certifications — Score 1 / 5
Skillshare does not offer any official certificates or accreditation that could be used to get into other educational programs or increase your chances of landing that dream job. Unfortunately, we have to give the platform a score of 1 out of 5 because it lacks this element. However, lack of certification does not indicate that Skillshare has poor quality content.
The reason there is no accredited certification is that the platform’s classes are geared toward creatives who want to improve their skills or adopt new ones. It is not their mission to partner with educational institutions or take the formal/traditional route. Skillshare is all about creativity and freedom in choosing education.
Types of courses – 5 / 5
As we’ve already mentioned, Skillshare is geared toward creatives. Hence, it offers creative type of courses in categories such as animation, video production, fine art, creative writing, graphic design, and others. The courses are typically broken down into modules and short lessons that can be consumed in short blocks of time.
Each course offers different material types and assignments. Most importantly, the courses are interactive and you can always request feedback from the large Skillshare community, which is a great plus. Overall, if you’re interested in the type of content you’ll get on this e-learning platform, what you can expect are small bite-size classes and courses with very detailed structures.
Instructors — Score 5 / 5
As you would expect, Skillshare’s classes are taught by actual creatives with practical experience in their respective fields. You’ll find courses taught by YouTubers, photographers, entrepreneurs, marketers, and professionals from all corners of the world.
Keep in mind that Skillshare gives its instructors complete control over every aspect of their course, from designing its structure to recording and uploading content and materials. The instructors receive a royalty based on the course’s watch time on Skillshare.
Payment methods — Score 5 out of 5
Skillshare features a rather simple payment procedure as they only offer one subscription model paid annually. When it comes to payment methods, you can use just about any debit or credit card, as well as your PayPal account if you’re looking for that extra layer of security. Keep in mind that the platform also offers several plans for teams and businesses at the different pricepoint.
Skillshare offers a 7-day refund for the premium subscription plan in case you’re not happy with your purchase. You should be able to get the full amount you paid back if you request a refund within the first 7 days of purchase.
Customer support – Score 4 out of 5
Last but not least, Skillshare offers decent but not the best customer support. There seems to be no way to contact them other than using the customer support email address – help@skillshare.com.
The problem with this type of contact method is that it’s quite slow and it usually takes more than a day to get a response. Considering that other platforms offer live chat and phone support, Skillshare has not brought their A game to the customer support section. Still, it’s pretty decent considering the price!
Pros & Cons of SkillShare
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using the SkillShare e-learning platform:
Pros:
- Affordable courses, very budget-friendly
- There is a free trial period included
- Variety of topics and classes
- Access to the SkillShare community
Cons:
- No accredited certification
- Less quality control compared to other e-learning platforms
- No other languages available besides English
Who is SkillShare For?
As you could’ve guessed if you’ve read everything so far, Skillshare is designed for creatives who want to develop and advance their skills in categories such as animation, video production, fine art, creative writing, graphic design, and others. It is focused on creative workers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners, as well as individuals who work in marketing or other creative positions.
With that said, it doesn’t mean you have to belong to any of these categories to fit in the Skillshare community. As long as you have an interest in the courses the platform offers, there is no reason why you shouldn’t give it a shot. Well, there is one thing – Skillshare courses are not accredited or recognized by any higher institution.
That means the course you completed might not help you get into other programs or job positions since you won’t receive an official, accredited certification. With that said, if you’re after formal education and a ‘real’ degree, then try platforms such as Coursera that offer accredited programs.
How Much Does SkillShare Cost?
Now, the question everyone wants to know the answer to – how much does Skillshare cost? Given all the great features you just read about and the number of courses available on the platform, you’d think that a platform like this would charge a couple of hundred dollars per month.
However, Skillshare Premium costs only $13.99 per month and it unlocks over 40,000 courses on the platform. Keep in mind that the membership can only be billed annually so your total payment for one year’s worth of Skillshare usage would be $167.88. Sounds amazing, right?
As we already mentioned, there is a free trial that you can sign up for to test the waters and decide whether or not you want to invest in the Skillshare Premium membership. Purchasing the membership is quite simple – just enter your credit card or PayPal info and you’ll be good to go. Keep in mind that you’ll have to enter payment info for the trial period but your card/PayPal account will not be charged until the trial ends.
Similar Platforms to Consider
As always, we like to look at all the options on the table before opting for one. In this case, it’s important to address that there might be other e-learning platforms better suited for your needs, depending on what it is that you’re looking for. Skillshare was created for creatives and people who are looking for casual learning/education.
If you’re looking for the opposite end of the spectrum, that is, an educational platform that offers accredited certification and a more formal type of education, then consider trying Coursera. Being partnered with world-class universities, Coursera serves over 23 million users worldwide. They offer one-off courses and actual degree programs that can last upwards of two years. Interestingly, Coursera’s pricing ranges from as little as $9.99 per entry-level course up to $50 000 for a degree program.
Moreover, if you’re not set on getting an accredited degree or certificate and your goal is to advance in your career, consider giving Udacity a shot. Udacity is known for its Nanodegrees – degree programs that consist of several combined courses in a specific category. Speaking of categories, Udacity is geared toward tech-related topics and business analytics courses. Although they don’t offer a wide variety of courses like Skillshare or Coursera do, Udacity is great for structured and organized learning. Everything you need to know about a topic comes packaged neatly in their Nanodegrees, which you must admit sound pretty cool.
Lastly, if you want a completely different experience than those you’d get with any of these three platforms, then consider signing up for Masterclass. Believe it or not, Masterclass offers only 150 courses but all of their courses are taught by celebrities from different industries. You can learn about cooking directly from Gordon Ramsay or take singing classes held by no other than Alicia Keys. Sounds, cool, right? That’s what the Masterclass platform can provide. However, if you’re in it for the sake of career advancing skills or actual degrees, then Coursera or Udacity might be a better fit.
Is Skillshare Worth It? Final Thoughts
Before we call it a day, let’s summaraze this Skillshare review to see if the platoform is worth the time and money. Well, if we’re looking at things from a financial point of view, Skillshare is perhaps one of the most affordable e-learning platforms out there. You get over 40,000 courses for a little over $160 per year. This is an incredible price if you take into consideration how much value you’re getting.
Now, speaking of value, it is important to stress that courses on Skillshare are not accredited or in any way recognized by higher educational institutions. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad and you won’t have any benefits out of taking them. On the contrary, you can learn a lot on Skillshare because all courses are created in a user-friendly way.
Hence, we do believe Skillshare Premium is worth the investment given the volume of content you receive at such a low price. At the same time, you should keep in mind that quality control at Skillshare is not as high as it is on other platforms, meaning they don’t vet their instructors based on criteria that are as strict as the one on Coursera (which is partnered with world renown universities). If you don’t care about certificates and accreditation and you just want to improve your skills in creative fields, then Skillshare is the perfect platform to try out.