They say, “Online Learning”, and we hear, “Learn from anywhere, anytime!”
The E-learning industry has transformed the face of modern education.
Making it much more feasible, flexible, effective, and comfortable, several professional courses are offered digitally by several e-learning platforms, where you can enhance your skills, knowledge, and whatnot!
It becomes, therefore, necessary at such times to choose the right platform that fits you.
For the sake of convenience, we’ve listed some of the best and most exceptionally performing Online Learning Platforms of 2023.
10 Best Online Learning Platforms: In A Nutshell (2025)
| Sr. No. | Online Learning Platform | Best Suitable For |
| 1. | edX | Professionals, Serious Learners |
| 2. | Coursera | Degree & Certification Programs |
| 3. | Udemy | Courses & Certifications |
| 4. | MasterClass | Learning from Industry Experts |
| 5. | LinkedIn Learning | Professional & Short-Certification Courses |
| 6. | Skillshare | Creative Skills, Arts, Music, Video |
| 7. | Khan Academy | K-12 Students, SAT Prep., Teachers |
| 8. | Mindvalley | Personal Well-Being, Spirituality, Meditation |
| 9. | YouTube | Vlogs, Guidance, Series Courses, Opinions |
| 10. | Udacity | Beginners, Students, Serious Learners |
In this article, you’ll learn about these e-learning platforms, the courses they offer, and the fees they charge. Let’s begin.
1. edX:
Content on this platform is offered in partnership with 160+ prestigious universities and schools like MIT, Harvard University, Columbia University, and many more.
This makes their course content quality one of the finest.
edX offers Programs and Degrees and a wide array of Courses to choose from.
Courses:
Around 3800+ Courses from 31 different subjects, including Architecture, Medicine, Humanities, and Social Sciences, are available on the platform.
Of these, around 2000 are free.
For Programs and Degrees, we have:
- Executive Education
- Professional Certificates
- Master Degrees
- MicroMasters Program
- Bachelor’s Degrees
- MicroBachelor’s Programs
- XSeries
Fee Structure:
Almost all the courses offered are free, except if you wish to earn a certificate or degree, for which you’ll be charged a small fee depending on the type of course you choose.
| Offerings | Fees |
| Courses | US $50 to US $300 |
| Degrees/Programs | up to US $2000 |
⭐ Rating: 4.7
2. Coursera:
Coursera collaborates with 275+ leading companies and universities, including Stanford University, Duke University, Google, Microsoft, etc., to offer its content.
Coursera offers Online Degrees, Certificates, and Free Online Courses.
Courses:
- A broad category of subjects ranging from Business, IT, and Math to Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences etc.
- Close to 2600 free courses are available on the platform.
- Moreover, with Coursera Plus, you can get unlimited access to more than 3000 courses.
For Online Degrees, we have the following:
- Bachelor’s Degrees
- Master’s Degrees
- Postgraduate Programs.
For Certificates, we have the following:
- MasterTrack Certificates
- Professional Certificates
- University Certificates
Fee Structure:
Courses on Coursera are almost free, but to earn a certificate or a degree, you’ll be required to pay a certain sum depending on the course you choose.
Some institutions even offer financial aid if you cannot pay the course fee.
With the Coursera Plus Plan, you get unlimited access to 3000+ courses, hands-on projects, certificate programs and much more. You can also take a free trial of the paid plan for a limited period. You can also get a discount on your Coursera Plus subscription with our special discount offer here.
| Offerings | Fees |
| Annual Subscription | US $399 |
⭐ Rating: 4.5
3. Udemy:
Unlike the previous two platforms, Udemy offers only courses and not accredited degree programs.
You must pay for each course separately to access it, except for a few.
You’re shown a preview for each course so you can decide whether to buy it.
However, once you buy a course, you’ve lifetime access to it and receive a certificate of completion.
Courses:
Over 2 lakh courses are offered from diverse backgrounds like Marketing, Design, IT, Development, Teaching, Music and many more.
Fee Structure:
| Offerings | Fees |
| Courses | US $6 to US $150 |
⭐ Rating: 4.1
4. MasterClass:
This premium e-learning platform offers online classes taught to you by more than 180 world’s well-known personalities, including top celebrities, business leaders, U.S. Presidents, authors, chefs, athletes and experts in other respective fields.
You can watch inspiring stories from your favourite personalities on various topics ranging from Business to Homemade food.
Courses:
MasterClass offers classes from 11 different categories.
On average, a class includes 20 lessons, around 10 minutes each.
The high video & audio quality content indulges you in your learning.
MasterClass allows you to learn at your pace and stream from a number of electronic devices, including your smartphone, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku streaming media players.
Moreover, the lessons could also be downloaded for offline learning.
Fee Structure:
Get a MasterClass Membership with these Plans –
| Offerings | Fees |
| 2 Individual Memberships | US $15 |
| 2 Duo Memberships | US $20 |
| 2 Family Memberships | US $23 |
| At Work (Companies of all sizes) | Varies by request |
However, MasterClass does not offer any certificate of completion.
⭐ Rating: 4.5
5. LinkedIn Learning:
LinkedIn, as we know it, famous for connecting people professionally, acquired Lynda, which we know today as “LinkedIn Learning”, and is one of the finest e-learning platforms.
LinkedIn Learning offers short certification courses to prepare you professionally and be industry-ready.
No free courses are available. However, LinkedIn allows you to experience a free trial for one month.
Courses:
LinkedIn Learning offers over 1 lakh courses in 7 different languages.
You can choose your course from a broad range of professional topics such as Business, Leadership & Development, Professional Development, Creative, Technology and many more.
Almost all courses are paid, except a few.
Fee Structure:
You’ll be required to subscribe to its premium monthly or yearly membership to access all its course content once your free trial period (optional) is over.
| Offerings | Fees |
| Annual Subscription | US $19.99/month |
| Monthly Subscription | US $39.99 |
⭐ Rating: 4.5
6. Skillshare:
One word for Skillshare – CREATIVE
Love Creativity? If yes, this is the right fit for you.
The platform offers a bundle of courses that will help you enhance your skills and learn new things and new ways to show your creativity.
Courses:
Skillshare offers online classes in 3 broad categories: Create, Build & Thrive.
The following topics are included in the respective categories:
Create – Animation, Film & Video, Music, Web Development etc.
Build – BA, Marketing, Leadership & Management etc.
Thrive – Lifestyle & Productivity
Unlike many other e-learning platforms; Skillshare does not offer certification courses or degrees. Instead, it focuses on hands-on projects.
Fee Structure:
Skillshare offers a premium membership with unlimited access to more than 34000 courses. You get a seven days free trial of the membership.
| Offerings | Fees |
| Annual Subscription | US $168 |
| Monthly Subscription | US $32 |
⭐ Rating: 4.6
7. Khan Academy:
It’s totally free!!!!
Yes, Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization aiming to provide free, world-class education to K-12 students & teachers.
Another key focus area is that it offers rich SAT exam preparation content.
Courses:
Online classes cover topics like Maths, Science, Computing, Arts & Humanities, and Economics for K 12 students and teachers.
Fee Structure:
It’s absolutely free. Being a not-for-profit organization, it doesn’t charge you any money, but you can donate money if you wish.
Khan Academy does not provide certifications for its classes. Its courses are an add-on to your regular schooling.
⭐ Rating: 4.7
8. Mindvalley:
Grow & Transform the inner you with Mindvalley.
We tend to ignore our health, both mentally and physically, for the sake of work, different accountabilities and responsibilities. At times it becomes challenging even to take out some time for ourselves.
Mindvalley comes in for the rescue! Bring out the best in you, and unleash the full potential of your body, mind and spirit with its life-transforming stories & classes.
With over 17,700 success stories, we get to know about its efficacy on its subscribers.
Courses:
Mindvalley’s content focuses more on topics like meditation, personal well-being, mindfulness, productivity, and personal growth, and they call their programs Quests.
Subscribe to its membership & get unlimited access to live workshops, quests, training, private social network, meditations, and much more.
The courses help you level up your thinking abilities and belief, improve your quality of life, and other aspects of personal transformation.
Fee Structure:
Mindvalley offers a 15 days trial, after which you must subscribe to its membership plans.
| Offerings | Fees |
| Annual Subscription | US $298.8 |
| Monthly Subscription | US $59 |
Not all, but most courses are offered with certificates of completion after you pass an assessment test.
⭐ Rating: 4.9
9. YouTube:
And can we forget the second most used social media platform, YouTube?
Most people think of YouTube as a social media & entertainment platform, and if you think the same, you’re not wrong. But…..
Did you ever think of YouTube as an e-learning platform?
Many well-known and start-up e-learning businesses still use YouTube as a platform to offer their content online.
A variety of Free Online Courses are available on YouTube in the form of series and playlists.
With YouTube’s wide reach and broad user database, it has become an essential platform for the e-learning industry.
Several educational contents from several other e-learning platforms are offered free of cost.
Courses:
A wide range of topics, including weaving, cooking, marketing, IT, Maths, Economics, Politics, History, Geography, Music, Dance, Robotics and whatnot!
Fee Structure:
Everything is almost Free. Courses that you complete on YouTube do not offer any certifications.
However, many e-learning channels might ask you to subscribe to their premium plans by providing a re-directing link to their courses.
⭐ Rating: 4.8
10. Udacity
Udacity is another great online learning platform that helps students gain job-necessary skills in the technology industry. Udacity offers courses that are called Nanodegrees, which take three to five months to complete, and when you complete the course, you will get a course completion certificate.
These Nanodegrees are in collaboration with major corporations like Microsoft and Google. You can grow in your career and learn technical skills from these Nanodegrees.
Courses:
Udacity offers over 80 Nanodegrees for you to choose from. All the Nanodegrees come at the same price.
There are also over 200 free courses available on Udacity, and you can learn a lot from these free courses. However, Udacity’s course completion certificate isn’t accredited. But they do add value to your resume.
Fee Structure:
Most of the Nanodegrees have similar pricing, which is $399 per month. But to get full 4-month access to the course, you may need to pay over $1300.
⭐ Rating: 4.3
Related Read:
Which Online Certification Is Better?
Honestly, there’s no best or worst e-learning platform. Every platform is unique in its way, and every individual has a unique taste with a different goal. Choose the ones where these match.
At the same time, no platform can offer you all of the skills and courses you’re looking for, even though they try to.
You can obtain several online certificates by completing the courses and showcasing them on your resume giving you a competitive advantage. But remember, this is the modern era where knowledge and skills matter more than your degrees and certificates in the market.
Choose the ones that can enhance the scope of your knowledge, as with it comes wisdom. Choose the one which syncs with your pattern of understanding.
FAQs
Online learning has several benefits, including remote learning, speed as per your convenience, personalized Q&A, community building and sharing, etc.
It depends on whether the institute or the organization values the courses/degrees you’ve done from an online learning platform.
It could be taken by anyone regardless of what your background is. However, some courses need prerequisites, and some degrees/programs need pre-qualification.
Yes, you can. You can start your courses on YouTube or any other owned media. If you wish to appear on a well-known e-learning platform, you’ll have to go through their interview processes to test your knowledge in expertise in the respective fields.
