Top 10 Best Online Learning Platforms To Start Your Career – The evolution of online learning has been noticed in the past few years in a very progressive way. While initially only working professionals who wish to pursue higher studies were the students of online learning, today there are also many usual students who opt for online learning. As competition in the career market is quite steep at present, students prefer to pursue an education in more than one course for better opportunities. This has given a sudden rise in the demand for online learning platforms among general students too as students pursue a second course from the online learning platforms along with the main course that they are pursuing from a full-time university.
Also Check:
- Best Career Options after 12th
- 15 Highest Paying Jobs in 2023
- Top 10 Distance Learning Universities
- How To Earn Money Online
No doubt, today you will come across a wide number of platforms offering online learning. But when you are looking for the best options, you cannot rely upon any random one. It is always better to conduct proper research and come up with the best options.
Top 10 Online Learning Platforms in 2023
It is quite obvious that everyone is so engrossed in their work that conducting such research gets quite challenging. Hence, we have curated a list of the top 10 online learning platforms to go with for your higher studies.
-
Coursera
Coursera is considered one of the best platforms for online learning today where you will get courses that are being taught by faculties from popular universities such as Yale and Stanford. Also, the students are provided support from experts who are from some of the top companies in different industries.
Whatever course you take, you can learn in diverse languages such as English, French, Arabic, and many others. The courses are made interesting in the form of assignments, video lectures, and other different forms.
Must Read: Do Companies accept Online Degrees?
If you are not sure of the platform, you can start with a free trial of 7 days after which you can subscribe to Coursera Plus. The platform offers certification and degree courses in a wide range of subjects such as Humanities, Information Technology, Business, and others. Depending upon which course you are opting for, the courses will cost you between $29 to $99 and you can pursue multiple courses at the same time according to your comfort zone.
|
Name of the Platform |
Coursera |
|
Founded on |
2012 |
|
Headquarter |
California, United States |
|
Types of Courses |
Degrees, Certificates, and Free Courses |
|
Number of Courses |
7000+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Data Science, Finance, Machine Language, and Business |
|
Free Courses Available |
Yes |
|
Number of Free Courses |
5000+ |
|
Form of Learning |
Online learning, assignments, and video lectures |
|
Top Employers |
Google, ISB, IBM, AWS, and Meta |
|
Official Website |
https://coursera.org |
-
Edx
It was MIT and Harvard that introduced the idea of Edx, which offers college-level online learning. The platform offers some free courses through the Audit Track but these will be not graded and the students will not receive any certificates. But if you wish to get a certificate, you should upgrade your profile to Verified Track.
Edx platform offers as many as 2500 courses and more in diverse languages. The courses focus on different subjects such as Nutrition, Law, Electronics, Architecture, and others. Apart from learning through text and video sessions, you can also ask questions to your mentor and also can have discussions with other students.
Edx usually offers Masters’s level courses and the pricing of the courses is somewhere around $1500.
|
Name of the Platform |
Edx |
|
Founded on |
2012 |
|
Headquarter |
Cambridge |
|
Types of Courses |
Degree, Certification courses, and Executive courses |
|
Number of Courses |
3600+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Artificial Intelligence, Business Management, and Data Analytics |
|
Free Courses Available |
No |
|
Number of Free Courses |
NA |
|
Form of Learning |
Virtual environments, video lectures, quizzes, and assessments |
|
Top Employers |
IBM, GE, Walmart, and Ford |
|
Official Website |
https://www.edx.org |
-
Udemy
Udemy is considered again one of the best platforms for online learning because of its wide range of content. The platform is known to offer as many as 150,000 courses that are divided into 13 categories such as Accounting, Marketing, Design, Health, and many others. You can explore the courses in diverse languages similar to Coursera. The courses include video tutorials along with assignments, quizzes, and other elements that you can attempt online as well as offline.
One downside of Udemy is that it does not offer a free trial. But the courses are priced quite low that ranging between $9 to $200. Also, if you do not like the course that you have taken up, you can get a refund within a time space of 30 days from the time you have got enrolled.
|
Name of the Platform |
Udemy |
|
Founded on |
2010 |
|
Headquarter |
California, United States |
|
Types of Courses |
Certification courses |
|
Number of Courses |
2,10,000+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Python, Financial Analysis, Cyber Security, Photoshop, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
No |
|
Number of Free Courses |
NA |
|
Form of Learning |
Video lectures and assessments |
|
Top Employers |
Nasdaq, Box, Eventbrite, and TCS |
|
Official Website |
https://www.udemy.com |
-
UpGrad
UpGrade was founded in the year 2015 and since then it has been a favorite of many companies in India who wish to upgrade their employees in terms of skills and certification courses. Also, a lot of students have preferred to join Upgrad for different courses that it offers such as in the field of Law, Technology, Marketing, Data Science, and others.
The platform offers learning from the faculties of some of the topmost universities across the world such as Liverpool Business School, Deakin University, University of Arizona, and many others.
Upgrad is known to offer free as well as paid courses so that the students can explore opportunities according to their requirements. The platform boasts highly about its students who are placed in some of the best companies at present such as ESPN, Microsoft, Amazon, and Accenture.
|
Name of the Platform |
UpGrad |
|
Founded on |
2015 |
|
Headquarter |
Mumbai, India |
|
Types of Courses |
UG/PG Degrees, Doctorate, Bootcamps, and International courses |
|
Number of Courses |
100+ |
|
Popular Courses |
MBA, Data Science, Software Engineering, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
Yes |
|
Number of Free Courses |
60+ |
|
Form of Learning |
Live classes, videos, assessments, and online library |
|
Top Employers |
ESPN, Microsoft, Amazon, and Accenture |
|
Official Website |
https://www.upgrad.com |
-
Skillshare
Skillshare is all about skills and this can be known by the wide range of courses that it offers under its three major categories that are called Thrive, Build, and Create. Under these categories, there are a number of courses from diverse fields such as Animation, Business Analytics, Lifestyle, and others.
As mentioned earlier, the idea of Skillshare is to make students skilled and hence it takes a practical approach to its training. The students are provided classroom mode of learning along with projects and video presentations.
Though Skillshare is a great platform to enhance your skills, you should know that the platform does not offer certification to its students for any of the courses. The platform has a free trial of 30 days that the students can take to understand whether they can go ahead with the platform or not with a paid version.
|
Name of the Platform |
Skillshare |
|
Founded on |
2010 |
|
Headquarter |
New York, U.S |
|
Types of Courses |
Only certification courses |
|
Number of Courses |
8500+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Animation, creative writing, painting, small business, self-care, and many more |
|
Free Courses Available |
Yes |
|
Number of Free Courses |
4100+ |
|
Form of Learning |
Online classes, video lessons, projects, and assessments |
|
Top Employers |
NA |
|
Official Website |
https://www.skillshare.com |
-
Swayam
Swayam is one of the national Massive Open Online Courses platforms in India that started from the year 2017. The platform provides more than 2500 courses with the help of over 1000 instructors from 135 different universities. Students can pursue free courses as well as certification courses in different fields such as Engineering, Business, Art, Health, Mathematics, and others.
Like many other popular online learning platforms, Swayam also offers courses in different languages. The only difference is that Swayam offers courses mostly in Indian languages such as Assamese, Hindi, Gujarati, and others. The courses are free to take but you have to pay a fee if you wish to get a certificate for the courses that you have pursued.
|
Name of the Platform |
Swayam |
|
Founded on |
2016 |
|
Headquarter |
New Delhi |
|
Types of Courses |
School-level, Undergraduate, and Postgraduate courses |
|
Number of Courses |
2500+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Animation, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
NA |
|
Number of Free Courses |
NA |
|
Form of Learning |
Online learning with assignments and projects |
|
Top Employers |
NA |
|
Official Website |
https://swayam.gov.in |
-
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn is especially meant for professionals and is also one of the most popular social networking platforms. The platform came up with its online learning form LinkedIn Learning after it acquired the e-learning site Lynda. Now the platform offers courses not just for professionals but also for beginners in different sectors such as Economics, Business Management, Software Development, and others.
The platform LinkedIn Learning is not accredited but still it offers certificates to students who are pursuing courses on the platform. It offers a free trial for a month and then can continue based on your experience with the platform.
|
Name of the Platform |
LinkedIn Learning |
|
Founded on |
1995 |
|
Headquarter |
California, United States |
|
Types of Courses |
Certification courses |
|
Number of Courses |
5000+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Management, Computer Language, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
Yes |
|
Number of Free Courses |
20+ |
|
Form of Learning |
Instructional videos in the on-demand library |
|
Top Employers |
NA |
|
Official Website |
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/ |
-
Udacity
Udacity is known for small certification courses of 3 to 6 months duration in diverse subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Business, and so on. The platform is not accredited and it offers courses that train students in different skills. The fee amount of all the courses offered by Udacity is much higher than any other platforms on this list which is somewhere between $1200 to $2400. But the students can get a discount if they are using the platform for many months.
Udacity offers more than 200 courses as well as more than 40 non-degree courses. There are no free trials offered by the platform and the students get trained with the help of personal coaches and trained mentors.
|
Name of the Platform |
Udacity |
|
Founded on |
2011 |
|
Headquarter |
California, United States |
|
Types of Courses |
Certification courses and Nanodegrees |
|
Number of Courses |
200+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Artificial Intelligence, Business, Robotics, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
No |
|
Number of Free Courses |
NA |
|
Form of Learning |
Video sessions and workshops |
|
Top Employers |
Airbus, Toyota, Vodafone, U.S. Air Force, Accenture, and Shell |
|
Official Website |
https://www.udacity.com |
-
Simplilearn.com
Simplilearn is another popular online learning platform to go for that offers more than 1000 courses. The platform offers several courses under different categories such as Self-Paced Learning, Blended Learning, and Corporate Training. Some of the courses that the platform offers under these categories are Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Salesforce, and many others.
When you are talking about the cost, Simplilearn is extremely expensive. The course prices start from $600 and can go up to as high as $3000. Students who register for the courses get several facilities such as virtual classrooms, online videos, online practicals, social forums, and many others. Also, the platform does not offer any free trial session but if you feel that the course that you have taken is not suitable for you within 7 days, you can opt for a money-back option.
|
Name of the Platform |
Simplilearn |
|
Founded on |
2010 |
|
Headquarter |
Bengaluru |
|
Types of Courses |
Certification programs and Bootcamps |
|
Number of Courses |
400+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Digital Marketing, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and DevOps. |
|
Free Courses Available |
Yes |
|
Number of Free Courses |
1000+ |
|
Form of Learning |
Virtual classrooms, online videos, online practicals, and social forums. |
|
Top Employers |
TCS, HCL, Cognizant, and Accenture |
|
Official Website |
https://www.simplilearn.com |
-
MyGreatLearning.com
Recently, MyGreatLearning has become quite famous and has been attracting a wide number of students and working professionals. It offers users to choose their experience according to which they can get a choice of courses. The platform brings courses and faculties from different universities in India such as IIT Madras and also many international universities such as Stanford Business.
At present, MyGreatLearning has got students from over 170 countries and it offers a wide range of courses in different fields such as Cloud Computing, Digital Marketing, Machine Learning, MBA, and so on.
|
Name of the Platform |
Mygreatlearning |
|
Founded on |
2013 |
|
Headquarter |
Gurgaon, India |
|
Types of Courses |
Degrees and Certification courses |
|
Number of Courses |
800+ |
|
Popular Courses |
Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Finance, Digital Marketing, and others |
|
Free Courses Available |
NA |
|
Number of Free Courses |
NA |
|
Form of Learning |
Online learning with personalized mentorship |
|
Top Employers |
HSBC, Cognizant, Mahindra, Infosys, and American Express |
|
Official Website |
https://www.mygreatlearning.com |
Conclusion
Online learning has come up a long way to become a chosen option for many professionals as well as students. When you are choosing to get trained from an online learning platform, it is necessary that you make the right decision. The above list offers the top 10 online learning platforms based on their popularity, credibility, as well as the courses that they offer.
Subscribe to our FREE e-Newsletter for Daily Updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should you opt for an online learning platform?
Individuals can opt for an online learning platform to continue their professional career along with education or even to pursue more than one course together.
What are the best online learning platforms in 2023?
Coursera, Edx, Udemy, UpGrad, and Skillshare are said to be the best online learning platforms in 2023.
How to select the best online learning platform?
The selection of the right online learning platform should be based on different factors such as the types of courses, the form of learning, and recruitment offered by the platform.