Udemy Vs Lynda 2020 | Which One Is The Best? ( #1 Reason)

These days, it is not just convenient but also a necessity to get the environment of a classroom right into your home. Online course providers that offer learning techniques like practice exercises as well as lectures like Udemy vs Lynda ensure that the classes can be accessed anytime and anywhere, wherever internet access is available. They make it possible for students to study and learn either at work, home, or even in a coffee shop.

The content of both Udemy, as well as Lynda, focuses on adult aged people with experience in the industry. It enables customers to gain knowledge at their own time with minimum investment. So which platform is better - Udemy or Lynda? This review will look into the offerings of each platform and give you an idea of which platform will enhance and improve your educational development.

Udemy Vs Lynda 2020 | Which One Is The Best? (The #1 Reason)

Udemy

Udemy is popularly known as an online as well as a global marketplace for learning as well as teaching wherein student can enhance their skills in different fields. Learners focus on certain skills and opt for interactive classes that help in achieving their long term goals. Udemy has quite an extensive library wherein registered users find about 4500+ courses offered by expert trainers.

The course material is given by way of interactive videos sometimes, however, a few topics are covered with some additional articles. Users can access courses of Udemy through a mobile app that is user-friendly. Learners can obtain active support from a few professionals of Udemy via the mobile app or the official website. This learning site mainly focuses on offering a platform where people can teach and learn regarding a certain topic. Udemy allows people to register on the platform and create a course on their own which can be sold at a profit. Once you complete a course, you will not get college credit.

Lynda

Lynda is quite a popular platform of online learning and it has a very big user base from different organizations all over the world. They offer classes on skill development on subjects like software, business development, technology, and they also cover many creative topics.

Lynda is an online platform that was designed to help learners in achieving their professional along with personal goals easily. This platform has been active from the last 20 years and at present, about 10000 or more organizations are benefiting from the online training system offered by Lynda. The tutorials can be accessed in five languages like English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and German.

Udemy

In this platform, the very popular course topics are those on entrepreneurship, arts, health, business, academics, fitness, music, technology, language, etc. The users can get access to about 42000 courses or more on this amazing platform of online learning. The best part about this platform is that the courses can be taught in about 48 distinct languages. Now, the platform of Udemy follows a standard video duration which lies between 2-30 minutes.

A lot of the demo videos on Udemy are less than 2 minutes. Also, there are courses on Udemy which offer a certificate of completion, which might not add much value to your resume. Udemy's courses might also offer credit towards the technical certification. A few courses can be a lot cheaper or could be free as well, depending on the course teacher.

This platform is popular for a lot of creative topics such as photography, graphic designing, creative writing, etc. There are, on an approximate, about 5467 courses on this platform. The majority of these courses are being taught in English whereas people could also choose topics in 3 more languages such as German, Spanish, and French.

Lynda

On this platform, many videos range in between just seconds to minutes. The videos on this platform are not very lengthy and comprehensive. The courses in Lynda do offer a certificate on skill development.

When you buy a course on Udemy, you do not have any timeframe to complete this course. Once you pay for a course, you are provided lifetime access to this course and its material. This is quite convenient as people can learn and complete the course at the time which is convenient and at their own pace. They need not hurry and rush with the course in order to complete it.

Once, the pressure of timelines is eliminated, the user will learn a lot better and have a great learning experience. Udemy's goal is to provide a service that makes sure unlimited learning is offered in a very accessible manner. The platform also has an application for Android as well as iPhone users. Remember that in Udemy, the one-time purchase is the mode of payment - you can buy a course and get lifetime access to that course.

Udemy

Lynda is a platform that works on subscriptions. They give you a trial of 30 days and you can try out the platform. In case you are interested, you could opt for the Monthly Subscription. Once you have this subscription, you can access about 12,000+ courses in 5 languages - Japanese, German, English, French, and Spanish. A subscriber can access unlimited courses. Every week, there are new classes added and this offers customers a lot of variety as well as unlimited skill learning.

Lynda

On this platform, in case a person has valuable content for a course, then they can get enrolled into this platform as an instructor or trainer easily. The professionals on this platform will check the content and approve the course, post which it will be made available to the learners in case it is of good quality.

Udemy

Udemy is a platform that gives instructors from all over the world open access. Also, there is a particular plan for the course requirement, the revenue share, and the format of videos, which is quite easy to understand. The courses can be uploaded by the instructors on their own whenever it is needed.

In this online learning platform, becoming an instructor is quite a complicated task as the platform is very particular regarding the skills and qualities. A form can be filled online and you can send across a video lecture to the experts of Lynda

Lynda

People are not provided information regarding the process of becoming an instructor on this platform. Once your application is processed and approved, you will be given the rules of the platform.

Udemy has a few free courses in addition to the paid courses. The courses could range anywhere between $20 to $200 with increments of $5 in between. You can also get some special discounts on the courses. Many times instructors do offer coupons on their courses to attract the learners to their course.

So you could get a course costing $200 at almost half the price or lesser. Also, before you purchase any course on this platform, you can get access to some videos of the instructor free of cost.

Udemy

Users get a free trial on this platform for a period of ten days. Once the trial period is complete, you can choose any plan for yourself. The monthly subscription for membership on this platform is about $19.99 a month whereas

in case you wish to move a level higher and be a premier member you will have to shell out $29.99 a month. Learners can make selections related to the group course plans.

Another service offered by Udemy is known as Udemy for Business, which enables businesses/organizations to pay for employees to undertake specific courses that improve their overall success. Companies can choose from a range of about 25,000+ courses and the topics could be technology, design, business management, and development, etc.

This platform also gives the employers the opportunity to personalize a course plan which can ensure that the employees are learning the required skills in a very consistent manner. The bosses of the companies or businesses can also see the performance of their employees in these courses. This access to the learning patterns is essential to make sure that the content is well-understood.

Lynda

A premium feature offered by this online platform is the ability to contact people whom you might not be connected with on LinkedIn. This gives workers the opportunity to connect with other people who may have insight into particular jobs or to get some professional advice as well. The buyer can also check who has checked out their profile on this platform in the last ninety days, thereby giving them a lot of information on the potential competition related to the jobs that they have an interest in or might have applied for.

So, how easy is it to find a course on this platform or just simply navigate on the Udemy platform? When you have a look at the landing page of Udemy, you will realize that it is quite straightforward. What you see on this page is a promotional banner, the list of various courses on this platform and you will also be able to check out some reviews put up by users when you scroll to the bottom. The page layout is simple and will not cause confusion. When we talk about the interface of Udemy, the user can select from the drop-down menu and check out the courses and the subcategories.

Lynda

Or the user can also check for courses using the search bar. Once a course has been selected, you will observe that the course page is simple and generic. It shows you a preview, states the requirements of the course, the user reviews on the course, etc. In case you decide to purchase a course, you will be quite happy to have a very simple and familiar method of checkout. On the whole, the experience provided by Udemy is quite a standard and basic one. There is nothing extraordinary that will surprise you. However, an area of caution would be their system of rating - all the instructors rank their courses!

Udemy

Once you visit Lynda's homepage, you will notice a few main courses and subjects which can be previewed. The first promotional gimmick to attract users is the blue button which offers users of a free trial for a month. Once you scroll down further, you will come across sections like top courses, partner lists, reviews, learning paths, self-promotion, etc. Though this is the basic information that can be found on almost every single online learning platform, it has been presented well on Lynda.

The homepage follows a theme of black and white which gives it a very professional appearance. Every section through simple is quite appealing and cannot be termed as "generic". You can select the subjects, or browse through the different categories or learning paths, etc. When you select a course, the page has all the required information - overviews, list of lectures, descriptions, or instructor notes, and the like.

It is quite short and crisp, yet has a feeling of emptiness in contrast to the various MOOC providers in the industry.

Lynda

When we talk of an online platform, an aspect that is very important is the content and the quality of content offered by an online learning platform. Now, Udemy is known as an open platform, where if someone has good content and a good course, they can become a trainer on this platform. Now, there is no specific process to be followed in order to become an instructor on this platform unlike other platforms in the market.

With the platform offering more than 50,000+ courses, it can be quite tough to check the quality of all courses - it is almost impossible to do so! Also, as mentioned earlier, the course rating system is a bit weird, as the instructors themselves rate their courses and yes, nobody would give their own work a negative score! There are people who have like the platform and its courses and have also benefited from them, whereas there are a few people who say otherwise. We need to remember that every online platform of learning is a business and every business is created to earn revenue and profits.

Irrespective of the attractive appearance of a site, what matters is the features offered. A lot of users are not happy with the content quality of the courses offered on Lynda. They also claim that the platform has outdated content and many topics offered are no more relevant. This is mostly applicable to courses and lectures related to technology. Technology is advancing at a pace where it can get tough to match the trends. There are updates almost every day! However, it is not a justification to the platform, as when a platform charges money, they must ensure that the courses are relevant and useful.

Udemy

Another issue faced by users is that a few courses are quite slow, where a simple topic is being explained for over 10 minutes! Though there are a few issues here and there, there are many students who have loved the experience offered by Lynda.

When we talk of features, we speak about the quality of videos, the extras received for signing up in a course, and similar things. Firstly, the video player on this platform works fine. Additionally, even the user interface along with the downloadable content function well. They are intuitive and do not crash. Also, whenever you buy any course, the platform gives you unlimited access to that particular course, downloadable content along with a completion certificate. The value of these certificates though cannot be commented upon. However, when it comes to feedback, a lot of users have complained that many times no responses are given to their queries. Most of the course-related questions are sorted out by the instructors. However, in terms of other complaints, Udemy needs to look into the issues faced.

The platform has a very unique feature known as the learning path, where there are many courses that fall under a certain "umbrella" course. For instance, in case you want a learning path that focuses on writing, then you could find one which is being taught by three instructors, covering different themes and topics. A few courses could be unique to a learning path, whereas others might simply be gathered and put together so as to create a learning path. Learning paths need a lot of time to learn and complete them successfully.

Lynda

These are treated as "tougher" alternatives to a course. If you opt for studying the learning path, then it is equivalent to studying a specific subject for college credits. There are many different such learning paths offered by Lynda.

Another feature worthwhile on this platform is the ability to learn courses offline! You will just need a desktop app and you are sorted.

Udemy vs Lynda: Student Reviews & Testimonials

Udemy Lynda

Udemy Cons:

Udemy Students Reviews

Lynda Cons:

Lynda Students Reviews

Udemy and Lynda have completely distinct models of learning. Both the online learning platforms are quite good and they cannot be compared easily. The platforms have their own pros and cons. Though the price on Udemy is quite attractive and the lifetime access can be very appealing, Lynda's monthly membership gives you access to all the courses. In case you wish to learn just one topic or all you need is some study material for future reference, you can purchase a course on Udemy.

Udemy is good for those who are keener on topics related to hobbies. Lynda does not have courses on hobby topics. If you wish to learn any subject in detail, you could opt for the Lynda subscription. It is good for those who wish to get promoted in their current job or those who are on the lookout for new jobs. The course completion certificates can be displayed in your profile on Linkedin, which could boost your career.

The platform offers more than 80,000-course options
Once you buy any course, the platform gives you a lifetime access pass to that course
There is just a one-time payment option
It offers customizable business options
It has a mobile app for android and iOS
There are discounts offered on courses regularly
You can also get some high-value courses
The courses can be taken by students in over more than 80 languages
The platform also offers free courses
The courses offered include those of intermediate as well as advanced levels
The platform has a very friendly community

They do not offer free trials
College credits are not offered, you get credit options towards technical certification
The content quality can vary as anybody can be a trainer
Some courses offered are very costly
It is quite tough to manage many courses at one go
The certificates offered for some courses are not very valuable

The videos on this platform can be watched at a 2x speed.
The course quality is quite good
The video tutorials come with commentaries
Most of the courses offered to offer a practical approach and encourages the learner to apply what is learned by building projects.
You can also get video transcripts
You can connect with other members for professional advice
You can view who has checked your profile
The courses are created by people with experience and the videos are approved only post an evaluation
The courses can be taken in 5 different languages
The courses come with a certificate of completion which can be shared with employers as well
It enables a company to pay for its employees to learn courses on some skills that are essential
The company can also track the progress of their employees on the courses