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TLDR: Skillshare vs Simplilearn
Skillshare is a popular platform for creatives who wish to work on their skills for fun, but there are some business and marketing-related categories too. The platform doesn’t offer any certificates, doesn’t support individual course purchases, and comes with monthly ($32 per month) and annual ($13.99 per month) plans. The website offers classes in creative categories like web design, filmmaking, creative writing, and similar.
Simplilearn is a website for serious learners who are after a professional and college-level learning experience. The courses come with a Simplilearn certification and are much more extensive content-wise compared to Skillshare. You can expect to pay from $300 up to a few thousand dollars per course in many tech- and business-related fields.
Skillshare vs Simplilearn: Who Is It For?
Skillshare
Skillshare is a popular online learning platform for casual learners who want access to quality education without investing a fortune. A learner on a budget can benefit from thousands of short pre-recorded courses that will prepare them for a new creative career or help them learn a new business or marketing skill. This platform is best for learners who wish to obtain knowledge continuously, as the website doesn’t allow individual course purchases.
Simplilearn
Simplilearn is a great website for learners who are after professional certifications to boost their tech or business-related skills. This platform is made for motivated and hardworking users who can commit time and energy to active participation, homework, and off-class activities. In this regard, Simplilearn is very different from Skillshare which is more casual.
Skillshare vs Simplilearn: Types of Courses Offered
Skillshare
Skillshare offers thousands of courses in different categories, but creatives are the most prominent learner demographic. There are three separate learning sections – Create, Build, and Thrive.
In the Create path, you can find the following course categories:
- Animation
- Film and Video
- Creative Writing
- Fine Art
- Illustration
- Graphic Design
- Photography
- Music
- UI/UX Design
- Web Development
The Build section covers the following course categories:
- Freelance and Entrepreneurship
- Business Analytics
- Leadership and Management
- Marketing
Finally, in the Thrive section, you can find courses in the following categories:
- Lifestyle
- Productivity
When you click on each of these categories, you’ll be taken to a separate page where you can further filter the results by related skills.
Do note that most Skillshare classes don’t offer official certificates. You can use the projects you create on the platform to show you’ve completed a class, but don’t expect accredited programs and certifications.
There is a separate “Online Certifications Classes” section where you can browse through programs that offer certifications. These are mostly related to tech or business skills like advertising, marketing, HTTP, SEO, and similar topics.
Simplilearn
Simplilearn has plenty of courses oriented toward business and technology fields. In fact, these two sectors are the main product of the website.
There are currently 13 categories of courses you can try:
- AI and Machine Learning
- Cyber Security
- Project Management
- Business Analytics and Data Science
- Cloud Computing
- Big Data
- DevOps
- Digital Marketing
- Agile and Scrum
- Business and Leadership
- Software Development
- Quality Management
- IT Service and Architecture
You can find additional sub-categories for each of the abovementioned sections.
The program offer is very rich and contains short courses, postgraduate programs, and master’s university degrees. You can find specialized programs from some of the most renowned universities and educational institutions in the U.S., like the Caltech Coding Bootcamp, Purdue University, University of Massachusetts, Wharton Business School, and others.
Is Simplilearn Legit?
Absolutely. Simplilearn is a fully legit and transparent company that offers online education programs. They have partnerships with accredited universities and offer accredited programs and college credit. You can also get a professional Undergraduate or Master’s degree fully online.
Skillshare vs Simplilearn: Pricing & Refunds
Skillshare
Skillshare has flexible pricing options to suit most learners’ needs. There is a seven-day free trial for users who aren’t ready to commit yet but wish to explore the platform’s possibilities. Note that when you sign up for the free trial, you’ll be asked to enter your credit card details. However, you won’t be charged until the end of the trial.
Skillshare free courses only exist as a free trial. Otherwise, you need to pay for a membership to access the courses beyond the first seven days of opening the account.
Users can choose between monthly and yearly subscriptions.
The monthly Skillshare cost is $32 at the time of writing this article.
For the yearly subscription, you can expect to pay around $170. This is equal to around $14 per month, so if you plan on using the site over the long term, you can save a lot of money with this option.
An important thing to be aware of is the website’s dynamic pricing. You can get a different pricing option depending on your location. So if you read an online review that states you can get a yearly subscription on the platform for less than $29, this isn’t fake news. It’s just the company’s way of making online education possible in different parts of the world.
Skillshare also offers team pricing packages that support from five up to 50+ members. The Skillshare price for the most extensive programs (Enterprise and Revive) is custom and depends on the number of members. For the Starter plan that supports up to 49 members, the price is $159 per year per user.
There’s also a team discount, as well as 50% off for verified .edu email addresses.
Please note that Skillshare doesn’t allow users to purchase individual courses. When you sign up, you get access to all their programs for the price. Users who only wish to complete a single course can do so by joining the Skillshare free trial.
Skillshare Refund Policy
The platform offers refunds for annual memberships up to 14 days after the purchase. You can only get approved for one refund per account. Also, note that there aren’t any refunds available for monthly memberships. If you got charged a fee for a monthly subscription, make sure to cancel your membership to avoid getting re-charged the next month.
Is Skillshare Worth It?
Skillshare is a great learning platform for users who want to start a new creativity-based career but lack specific skills. You can get a quality education without cashing out a fortune and do so at your own pace. So, in short, yes, Skillshare can be worth it if you are after unconventional education at a low price.
However, if you’re after a professional certificate to back up the new skills obtained on this platform, you’re better off with other alternatives.
Simplilearn
Most Simplilearn courses cost from $500 to $3,000. The course type, duration, and provider can affect the price. Most courses come with a range of pricing tiers to offer the most customized and personalized learning experience possible.
Take the AWS SysOps Associate Certification Training, for example. There are three learning options:
- Self-paced learning
- Online bootcamp
- Corporate training
The self-paced learning costs $1,284 and provides lifetime access to the content as well as 24/7 system support.
The online bootcamp is $1,605 and comes with additional benefits such as flexible online class access, live classes, and more.
Finally, the corporate training option is built for teams who are after a blended delivery experience with a mixture of self-paced learning and instructor-led options. This option comes with a dedicated Learning Management System and enterprise dashboards.
Simplilearn Free Courses
Simplilearn also has a separate SkillUp platform where you can take free courses in the Business, Technology, Healthcare, Skilled Trades, and Supply Chain fields.
Simplilearn Refund Policy
Simplilearn has a range of refund policies for its programs.
If you enroll in a self-learning program, you can ask for a refund up to seven days after your purchase. However, you may not be eligible to get your money back if you have already downloaded the learning material or listened to more than 25% of the course content.
For instructor-led programs, you can apply for a refund under the same conditions as for self-learning courses. The only exception is that you must not attend online classrooms or watch recordings for more than one day of class.
Simplilearn lets post-graduate program learners get a refund up to seven days from the purchase of the program.
You can contact Simplilearn’s support team for a refund request.
Skillshare vs Simplilearn: Enrolment & Usability
Skillshare
Skillshare has a very intuitive user interface and a very welcoming front page that promotes lifelong learning. Each user is invited to register for free with a single click of a button through their social media accounts. It’s also possible to sign up using email.
As soon as you register, you’ll be taken to the Payment page, where you should select a payment method. You can choose between PayPal and Card.
After completing the payment or setting up your free trial, you’ll be able to sign up for courses from the main page. Every course comes with a detailed description in terms of duration, course content, difficulty level, number of projects, teacher information, and more.
Simplilearn
Navigating the Simplilearn website is user-friendly and intuitive. Signing up requires entering the user’s email address, and it’s also possible to create an account with social media accounts.
The important thing to note is that users aren’t required to add their credit card details during the registration.
Once you register on the website, you can explore all the programs from the upper left-hand menu. There is a drop-down window that showcases all the course categories. Simply click on the option you’re interested in to explore all the programs.
All courses come with comprehensive descriptions, so you know exactly what the program covers (“Course Content” section), what the pre-requirements are (“Eligibility” section), how long the course lasts, and more. The description also covers the project details the learner is expected to turn in in order to get a Simplilearn certificate.
Skillshare vs Simplilearn: Course Structures
Skillshare
Note that Skillshare classes have different structures depending on the course creator. All courses are divided into lessons that are usually very short (up to a few minutes), summing up to no more than two hours per course on average.
All Skillshare courses are pre-recorded. Different courses have different types of additional content, so you can find some programs have zero hands-on projects and some have more than two. The type and number of projects depend on the nature of the course. You can expect more hands-on activities in filmmaking, illustration, and similar topics.
Learners can submit their assignments whenever they get the chance – there are usually no deadlines since the courses are self-paced.
Note that Skillshare is a platform that allows everyone to become a teacher. This means the course quality and structure can also differ depending on the video-making and content-creating skills of the teacher.
Simplilearn
Simplilearn is a serious learning platform, and its courses are designed to reflect that. Most programs require dedication and attention on behalf of the student throughout the duration of the course.
You can take instructor-led classes throughout the day, participate in hands-on projects, complete assignments, etc. For instructor-led programs, the teachers will grade your work much like they would if you attended real-world college classes.
Online Bootcamps and Master’s Degree programs can get quite intensive and interactive, so you should dedicate a good amount of time to learning.
The courses mostly consist of video lectures (pre-recorded and instructor-led), downloadable materials, quizzes, hands-on projects, and graded assignments. Students must complete all tasks and projects on time before the course ends to receive their certificate.
The Verdict
Skillshare and Simplilearn are both popular learning websites but are very different at their core. Simplilearn is a better option for a motivated learner who is after professional courses and degrees. Skillshare, on the other hand, is a viable option for lifelong learning enthusiasts who are after short programs that don’t require a hands-on approach and taking tests for certification.
If you are after professional certificates, tech-related skills, and tailored learning experiences, go for Simplilearn. If you are a creative who wants to spend time casually polishing your skills, then Skillshare is a good choice.