The number of people who choose to stay at home and study online is strongly increasing, especially due to COVID-19 that continues to spread. When learning online, it’s crucial to choose a top-rated online learning platform that provides you with high-quality content and professional instructors. Since you came to this Udacity VS Coursera comparison, you’re probably wondering which of the two players you should choose.
In this article, you’ll find a thorough Udacity VS Coursera comparison. I'll take a look at the number of courses that each of the platforms provides you with, content quality and freshness, usability, and multiple other factors that matter when choosing an online learning platform.
On top of that, in this comparison, I will include sites like Coursera as well as Udacity competitors, so that you would have more top-rated MOOC providers to choose from.
Without further ado, let’s move to the comparison criteria.
Table of Contents
Udacity VS Coursera: Comparison Criteria
When comparing Udacity VS Coursera, there are multiple aspects that must be taken into consideration. For this reason, things can get a little complicated, unless you have a clear system on how to do that.
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Now, I’ll take into account five different factors when comparing Udacity VS Coursera, including course variety and quality, certification options, usability, multiple language support and pricing. In order to make this even more clear, let me introduce to you each of these aspects one by one.
- Course Quality and Variety. The very first and most important aspect when choosing which online learning platform to choose is the course quality. If you want to improve your knowledge and seek the best results you should choose online learning platforms that ensure content quality. Moreover, if you’re planning on choosing more than one class on the same platform, you should consider the course quantity as well. Needless to say, in this Udacity VS Coursera comparison, we’ll take a look at which of the two provides more courses to pick from.
- Certification. Whether you’re thinking about Udacity, Coursera or sites like Coursera, certificates are always important and something that you should take into consideration. While the majority of top-rated MOOC providers offer certified courses, very few of them manage to offer accredited certifications. That being said, if there’s a possibility, you should always seek accredited certificates.
- Usability. Even though people take into account multiple aspects when choosing the best online learning platform, they often forget one factor - usability. When looking for specific courses, enrolling in different classes, studying the provided material, and so much more, such aspect as usability is crucially important. After all, you’ll be spending months or even years on some platforms, so it should be not only easy but also fun to use and make the entire learning process for you so much more enjoyable.
- Multiple Language Support. When people with IT knowledge hear the term “language”, they often think that it refers to programming languages. However, in this Udacity VS Coursera comparison, this term refers to languages that are used to communicate. Now, in order to attract more people, online learning platforms tend to offer multiple languages to choose from. This means that while the majority of courses that you’ll be able to find are in English, many of them will also provide you with subtitles in different languages. That being said, when evaluating Coursera VS Udacity, you’ll find out which of them supports more languages.
- Prices. When it comes to the price, it’s important to consider not only which of the learning platforms is more expensive but also what pricing options you get to choose from - single-course payments or subscriptions. Further in this Udacity VS Coursera comparison, we’ll take a look at which of them is more recommended for different groups of people.
Now that you’re aware of the most important factors that you should pay attention to when choosing an online learning platform, things should be a lot more clear. That being said, let’s jump right into the actual Coursera VS Udacity comparison and see which one is better for your needs.
Note. As I said, these are the most crucial aspects that should help you to decide which MOOC provider to choose, however, you might find that there are other features that matter as well.
Udacity VS Coursera: The Comparison
I’ll move to each of the aspects one by one in the same order that I provided in the previous section.
Course Quality & Variety
If you’re looking for very specific courses, such as Python Programming language, you don’t need a platform that offers thousands of courses. However, in most cases, people who are looking for specific courses end up learning something that they didn’t intend in the first place.
Therefore, if you want to improve your knowledge in different fields, you should choose a platform that provides you with a vast variety of courses to pick from.
Now, since this is Udacity VS Coursera comparison, which of the two provides more options to pick from?
Coursera offers 3,900 courses, whereas Udacity only 500. The main difference is that Coursera provides you with multiple subjects, including computer science, business, social science, health, philosophy, etc., while Udacity offers only technical knowledge, including computer science, languages and IT.
Course quality can be evaluated based on a few factors. The courses must include up-to-date, valuable information, high-quality videos and an enjoyable learning process.
If you were to look at Udacity and Coursera reviews, you would see that the majority of students are very pleased with the course quality of both of these platforms. That being said, whichever platform you choose, both of them will provide you with high-quality courses that contain up-to-date, valuable information.
Now if you’re looking for sites like Coursera as well as Udacity competitors, you should check out edX. It’s one of the best-rated online learning platforms.
Certification
As I already mentioned in the beginning of this Udacity VS Coursera comparison, certifications are among the most influential aspects that can help you decide which of the online platforms to choose.
Certificates are crucially important to people who want to complete courses and share their achievements with current or future employers in order to land a better job offer. However, if you’re taking online classes just to improve your personal knowledge and have no other intentions, then certificates aren’t that necessary for you.
What’s important to understand, though, is that there are two different types of certificates - accredited and non-accredited ones. Both of them are better than nothing, of course, however, while non-accredited courses are less valuable they may not help you to get a better job offer. Accredited certificates, on the other hand, are valued among employers and can be used to prove your knowledge.
The thing is that getting accredited certificates is not always that simple. You have to successfully complete every quiz as well as the final exam that tests your knowledge. This is the only way to ensure that you were sincerely studying and are worthy of the certification.
Now, when it comes to the Coursera VS Udacity comparison, I have both good and bad news. Udacity provides certified courses, however, certificates are not accredited. Coursera, on the other hand, offers accredited certificates that are highly recognized among employers.
What’s important to understand about Coursera is that this online learning platform offers university-level courses. You’ll find courses that are taught at Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, Oxford, and other elite universities. Needless to say, when it comes to the courses’ value, Coursera should be considered a winner.
Usability
When evaluating Coursera and Udacity’s usability I not only tested both of the learning platforms but also considered multiple student reviews. I have to say that the results are clear.
One of the main reasons why these online learning platforms are evaluated so well is the ease of use. Both Coursera and Udacity are super simple to navigate, you can find courses without much effort, start learning insantly and monitor your progress.
What is more, you’ll find clear courses’ descriptions, information about lecturers, how long it should take you to complete a course, and additional details.
That being said, if usability is one of the most important aspects for you, it doesn’t matter which of the two platforms you choose. Both Udacity and Coursera are highly recommended.
Multiple Languages Support
If you were ever looking for the most recommended online learning platforms, you probably noticed that the majority of them provide courses in English. While a huge part of learners speaks English pretty well, a significant number of people do not understand this language.
The leading MOOC providers understand that everyone has the same rights when it comes to online learning, so they try to provide multiple language support.
That being said, while most uploaded courses are in English, you’ll be able to find subtitles in multiple languages. Thus, if you think that your English skills are not good enough, you should find a platform that offers subtitles in your native language. This way you’ll have the best learning experience.
Now, which of the two, Udacity or Coursera, supports more languages?
While Coursera supports 10 languages, Udacity offers an impressive number of 25 languages to choose from. That being said, an increasing number of people can start learning online.
If you want to find a MOOC provider that offers the highest number of languages to pick from, you should check out Udemy. This online learning platform provides you with 65 languages to choose from. Moreover, Udemy is considered to be one of the Udacity competitors.
- Easy to use with a learn-by-doing approach
- Offers quality content
- Gamified in-browser coding experience
- Free certificates of completion
- Focused on data science skills
- Flexible learning timetable
- High-quality courses
- Nanodegree programs
- Student Career services
- Nanodegree programs
- Suitable for enterprises
- Paid certificates of completion
- A wide range of learning programs
- University-level courses
- Easy to navigate
- University-level courses
- Suitable for enterprises
- Verified certificates of completion
Prices
The final aspect that’s left to be discussed in this Udacity VS Coursera comparison is pricing.
As already mentioned, when it comes to pricing, you usually have two options - to pay for individual courses or choose subscriptions. Single-course payments are recommended for those who don’t have much time to learn and choose one course at a time. Subscriptions, on the other hand, are recommended for those who enroll in multiple courses per month.
Now, Coursera is one of those online learning platforms that allow you to pay for individual courses as well as choose subscriptions. The main point to be mentioned here is that subscriptions can be chosen only when you choose specializations that include multiple courses.
Udacity, on the other hand, offers only subscriptions. However, that’s because this platform offers Nanodegree programs that take months to complete.
When it comes to pricing, Coursera subscriptions start from $39. Udacity Nanodegree courses will cost you $399 per month. Needless to say, the pricing difference is significant.
There are also certificates. Coursera certificates cost from $39, however, what’s important to mention is that a huge part of courses can be accessed completely free. Now, Udacity won’t charge you additionally for certification.
The good news is that both platforms have free trials. Coursera provides you with a 7-day, while Udacity 1-month free trial. That being said, it’s recommended to try both of these platforms before making a long-term commitment.
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Conclusions
Therefore, as promised in the very beginning, I evaluated Udacity and Coursera based on five specific aspects, including course variety and quality, certification options, usability, multiple language support and pricing.
While both platforms are easy to use and offer a variety of high-quality courses, it’s clear that Coursera wins at multiple levels. It offers university-level, accredited courses, high-quality content, the ability to learn for free, and multiple other perks.
However, Udacity is still a great option, especially if you’re looking for courses that will teach you technical skills. It supports 25 languages and is suitable for beginners and advanced learners.
If you’re looking for sites like Coursera that would provide you with the same perks, you should check out edX. This online learning platform offers a good amount of university-level courses to choose from, accredited certificates, professional instructors and relatively good prices. That being said, you might want to check it out as well.
I hope that this Udacity VS Coursera comparison answered all your questions and you already know which of the two platforms you’re going to pick. Start learning and improve your knowledge!
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