8 best Udemy alternatives for course creators

Udemy is a well-established name for online learning. With over sixty million active users, it’s the go-to spot for courses on pretty much anything under the sun. 

But despite the platform’s widespread recognition and popularity as a course marketplace, its limitations can hinder the growth of your online course business. 

For example, one of its notable drawbacks is the lack of accredited certification for courses, a factor that deters people looking for accredited learning experiences. 

There’s also the inability to access students’ email addresses. This can seriously limit your ability to grow a profitable, long-term online course business.

That’s where Udemy alternatives come in. You’ll have many options, but we hand-picked the eight best Udemy alternatives. We’ll check out what each alternative offers, its pros and cons, and how it’s different from Udemy. But first:

Why should you consider a Udemy alternative?

Despite being among TIME’s inaugural list of the world’s top ed-tech companies in 2024, Udemy has its drawbacks. 

One significant drawback of Udemy is its revenue-sharing model, which heavily favors the platform. Udemy charges 63% of the course revenue if the students find your course on their platform. 

Even if creators bring in their students, Udemy still takes 3% of the revenue. 3% may not sound like a lot, but let’s say you brought in 100 students a month for a $50 course. In this case, Udemy will take $150/month. 

In addition, while Udemy offers promotional support to course instructors and lets them reach a wider audience, these features come at the expense of deeper revenue cuts from the 37% a creator gets for a sale. 

Finally, Udemy’s standardization of course appearance limits your ability as a course creator to establish a unique brand identity. The lack of customization hampers your efforts to differentiate yourself from others and attract students based on your teaching style or expertise.

TL;DR: Top Udemy Alternatives for Course Creators

Udemy is a popular online learning platform, but it has limitations such as a lack of accredited certifications, limited student data access, and a revenue-sharing model that favors the platform. Here are the eight best alternatives to consider:

Platform	G2 Rating	Capterra Rating	Key Features
Skillshare	3.3/5	4.7/5	40,000 courses, taught by industry professionals, paid based on content watched, free course hosting, premium tools for video creation
GetResponse	4.3/5	4.2/5	AI-powered course creator, integrated quizzes & certificates, paid newsletter subscriptions, mobile app, Stripe and PayPal integration
Udacity	4.5/5	N/A	Partners with industry leaders, over 80 nano-degree programs, free account setup, paid based on experience, collaboration opportunities
Coursera	4.5/5	4.7/5	Accredited certifications, pathways to degrees, courses from prestigious institutions, data-driven insights for instructors
edX	4.5/5	4.9/5	Established by MIT and Harvard, over 3,500 courses, partnerships with leading universities, structured academic courses
Thinkific	4.6/5	4.4/5	Customizable branded sites, course creation tools, marketing features, detailed analytics, flat monthly fee model, library of third-party integrations
Mindvalley	N/A	N/A	Focus on personal growth and development, selective application process, marketing and production support, courses created by invited experts
MasterClass	4.3/5	N/A	Courses taught by globally recognized experts, high-quality production, cost-effective subscription

All of these platforms provide various benefits, such as accredited certifications, better revenue models, and more customization options compared to Udemy. So, based on your preferences, you can select the one that best suits you.

8 best Udemy alternatives to consider in 2024

Here are the eight best alternatives to Udemy that you should consider trying out: 

1. SkillShare

G2 rating: 3.3/5 

Capterra rating: 4.7/5

Skillshare is an EdTech giant with 12 million users and a course library containing 40,000 courses on various creative disciplines such as fine arts, music production, photography, design, marketing, business, and productivity. 

One of Skillshare’s biggest USPs is that courses are taught by industry professionals and notable personalities. For example, there are courses from popular content creators and YouTubers like Ali Abdaal and Marques Brownlee. This has been instrumental in attracting students.

This Udemy alternative platform pays creators based on the time students spend watching their content instead of on a per-sale basis. As such, Skillshare encourages creators to focus on creating courses likely to be watched for longer periods.

In addition, you’ll get paid for every successful referral to Skillshare. 

The platform also offers the following features to course creators: 

• Free course hosting platform
• Premium tools for video creation and editing 
• There is no time limit for videos
• 60% payment of a new student’s first subscription with Skillshare

Skillshare also stands out because it offers a vibrant community for engagement where learners engage with others, share their work, and start conversations. This helps you engage with your audience, receive feedback, and improve your course. 

Skillshare Pros

• No maximum video length (though it has to be above ten minutes), so your lessons can be as long and comprehensive as you want
• Access to tools for video editing
• Strong focus on group learning compared to Udemy

Skillshare Cons

• High competition for creators
• Difficulty earning money at the beginning
• Lack of access to student data, which can reduce a creator’s ability to build relationships with students outside the platform
• Learners don’t get certificates 

2. GetResponse

GetResponse is a comprehensive marketing software with features that help marketers generate leads or sell products. The tool also has features that can help you monetize your content, like a course builder and a premium newsletter.

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Capterra rating: 4.2/5

GetResponse has an AI feature that helps speed up the process of creating course outlines, modules, or lessons. Moreover, the course builder enables hosting videos locally without needing Vimeo or YouTube, and you can create lessons using different formats, such as downloadable PDFs, audio, and quizzes.

On top of that, you can use Webinars you’ve previously created and use them within courses. Jazz Musician Alex Terrier, for example, recorded his lectures using GetResponse’s webinar feature. He also promoted his courses using other marketing features, like landing pages and email marketing.

And, of course, you can provide customizable certificates at the end of each course.

GetResponse Pros

• AI-powered course creator
• Paid newsletter subscriptions
• Stripe and PayPal integration
• Marketing features (Email marketing, Landing pages, automation)

GetResponse Cons

• No integrated community feature
• Native hosting only for Videos, PDFs, and audio

Want to learn more? Discover how online teachers use GetResponse to grow, nurture, and convert their audience!

3. Udacity

G2 rating: 4.5/5

Capterra rating: N/A

Launched in 2011 by two Stanford teachers, Udacity partners with industry leaders like Facebook, Google, and Amazon to provide technical training programs and courses. It offers over 80 nano-degree programs teaching modern skills like AI, data science, machine learning, cloud, and cybersecurity. 

Here are some of the attractive Udacity features for course creators:

• Free account setup  
• Creators are paid based on experience instead of number of courses sold 
• You can film content at the Udacity production studios in California every year
• Marketing and sales are taken care of by the platform 

You will also get collaboration opportunities as a course creator with other Udacity instructors. This can be a great way to expand your reach and position yourself as an industry leader.

Udacity Pros 

• Free account setup
• Regular income per month 
• Done-for-you course marketing 

Udacity Cons 

• Difficult-to-pass application
• You’re expected to commit seven to ten hours teaching the course per week

Udacity has an earning ceiling since instructors are paid based on experience, not the number of courses sold. This is unlike most other course platforms (including Udemy), where you can increase your earning potential by simply producing more courses.

4. Coursera

G2 rating: 4.5/5

Capterra rating: 4.7/5 

While both Coursera and Udemy offer online courses, Coursera distinguishes itself by providing accredited certification from prestigious institutions and offering pathways to full-time degrees. 

Google, Meta, the University of London, Yale University, the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Michigan are just some of the institutes that offer fully online courses and degree programs on Coursera. 

Unfortunately, Coursera requires affiliation with an academic institution or a major business/tech company to teach on the platform. This means that most people cannot sign up to be instructors on Coursera. As a result, it may not be the best Udemy alternative for instructors not affiliated with recognized institutions. 

In addition, Coursera strongly focuses on professional and career development. It mostly offers courses and degree programs tailored to advancement and career change, unlike Udemy, which tends to focus more on creative areas. 

Coursera Pros 

• Lots of resources to help you become a better online course instructor. For example, they share data-driven insights to help you engage your students.
• They provide technical tools to help you build and launch your course on the platform.

Coursera Cons

• Getting accepted as an instructor is very difficult unless you are a professor at a recognized institution.

As for the payments, Udacity instructors receive 40% of the sales from their courses. 

5. edX

G2 rating: 4.5/5

Capterra rating: 4.9/5

edX is an online learning platform established in 2012 through a collaboration between MIT and Harvard University. This Udemy competitor has expanded its partnerships to include over 160 institutions worldwide and offers over 3,500 courses across 30 subject areas.

edX offers more structured academic courses and has partnerships with leading universities that ensure high-quality education compared to Udemy’s marketplace model. This means that only partnered institutions and organizations, such as corporations, universities, and professional associations, can create courses on edX.  

Moreover, while Udemy has courses on a wide range of topics, edX specializes in humanities and natural sciences courses. 

Paid learners on edX also benefit from active interactions with other students and feedback from professors, which is a more immersive learning experience compared to Udemy’s primarily self-paced model. 

edX Pros 

• An easy-to-use user interface with a simple registration process
• Create engaging course content with a mix of audio, visual, and textual teaching styles

EdX Cons

• It is challenging to join the platform as an instructor. There must be an opening for your course content, and you’ll need to be a faculty member at a recognized institution. 

6. Thinkific

G2 rating: 4.6/5 

Capterra rating: 4.4/5

Thinkific is another decent alternative to Udemy. Thinkific is an online course creation platform for educators, entrepreneurs, and businesses to create and sell online courses and digital products. 

Thinkific is one of the best Udemy alternatives for instructors due to its extensive customization options for branding and site design compared to Udemy. It provides customizable branded sites, course creation tools, marketing features, and detailed analytics to optimize learning experiences. It also gives creators the freedom to create a unique learning experience. 

Plus, while Udemy charges a percentage of course sales, Thinkific uses a flat monthly fee model that is more transparent and predictable for creators who sell courses. 

You also get:

• Access to a library of third-party integrations 
• Feature-packed free plan with pre-built website templates and course creation tools
• Drag-and-drop website builder for custom course pages
• Advanced features such as assignments and quizzes are included in paid options
• Subscription or membership model for course access
• Done-for-you technical configuration 
• Secure cloud hosting 

Thinkific Pros

• The platform has a user-friendly interface
• Thinkific allows for scalability, accommodating unlimited courses, students, and bandwidth
• It offers email marketing integrations and affiliate marketing capabilities

Thinkific Cons

• Thinkific Plus does not support SCORM content, the most widely used e-learning standard for standardizing digital learning content. 
• Thinkific apps/integrations are expensive and, if you choose to use them, can potentially make your course unaffordable for students. 

Thinkific lets you build and monetize your own online learning business. They don’t take a cut out of your online course sales. However, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee to access the course-building features. These plans start at $36/month. 

7. Mindvalley

G2 rating: N/A

Capterra rating: N/A

Mindvalley is a global education company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, focusing on personal growth and development. It has been offering online courses, workshops, and events since 2003, aimed at inspiring individuals to realize their full potential and transform their lives.

However, creating a Mindvalley course is not as straightforward as signing up. Mindvalley courses are created by experts invited by the team based on their experience. 

Potential course creators must also undergo a selective application process and receive approval from Mindvalley. This means the platform may not be as accessible for course instructors compared to Udemy.   

Mindvalley also distinguishes itself from Udemy by focusing specifically on personal growth and development rather than offering a broad range of topics. 

Mindvalley Pros

• It provides a great opportunity to connect with other instructors through live events
• They provide marketing and course-production support 

Mindvalley Cons

• Becoming an instructor on Mindvalley is not as straightforward as it is on a platform like Udemy. You must apply through an Airtable form, sharing your background and expertise.

8. MasterClass

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Capterra rating: N/A

Launched in 2015, MasterClass is home to globally acclaimed icons teaching over 190 MasterClasses across 11 categories. Some notable tutors include Gordon Ramsay, James Cameron, Dan Brown, and Simone Biles.

The platform is renowned not just for the expertise of its instructors but also for its high-quality production standards and its skillful use of storytelling to establish a personal connection between the instructor and the audience.

Surprisingly, MasterClass is more cost-effective than Udemy and many other e-learning platforms, especially if learners share the subscription with friends or family. 

However, unlike Udemy, where anyone can sign up to be an instructor, MasterClass provides courses taught by globally recognized experts only. Unfortunately, that also means that the only way to teach on the platform is through an invitation from MasterClass itself. The platform usually seeks out experts and celebrities in specific fields. 

MasterClass Pros

• The platform houses big celebrities, attracting a huge crowd
• An easy-to-navigate user interface

MasterClass Cons

• It’s an invite-only platform for instructors

In terms of compensation, MasterClass signs unique deals with every expert they approach. These contracts are not made public, but they usually consist of an upfront fee and a recurring commission from revenue generated from the classes. 

Top Udemy alternatives for instructors FAQs

1. What is the best platform for course creators?

The best platform for course creators depends on your expertise and preferences. For example, the GetResponse Course Builder platform is great if you want more control over the student’s learning experience and are comfortable running your own marketing campaigns. There are, of course, many other great course builders you may consider, some of which we covered in this post.

Meanwhile, course marketplaces like Udemy might be ideal if you’re a beginner and prefer done-for-you marketing.

2. Is Udemy worth it for creators?

Udemy is worth it for creators who want an online course platform with a ready market. The platform also handles most of the marketing for them. The drawback is that Udemy will take a cut (up to 63%) from each sale.

In closing

If you’re a course creator looking to move away from Udemy, we hope you found your next pick in this post. 

Remember that choosing your next platform is not always about creator benefits. You must also keep your learners in mind. For example, some platforms offer a learner’s community while others do not. Similarly, some offer accreditations from prestigious institutes, while others (like Udemy) don’t.

If you’re looking for a flexible platform that gives you creative freedom to build a thriving online learning business, try GetResponse Course Builder today. Our platform lets you create membership sites, curate dedicated community spaces, and create courses (both text-based and video courses) that sell.

You’ll also have complete control over the learning experience of your students.