How Much Does Skillshare Cost and Is It Valuable For Your Business?
In just a few years, online learning has gone from being an obscure niche offering little more than homework help to a multibillion-dollar industry. Today, there are a multitude of websites promising to teach willing students anything from basic grammar to advanced calculus.
One of the most successful platforms seen today is Skillshare. Featured in Forbes, Business Insider, and The New York Times, this online learning community provides services to not only young students but also passionate business owners looking to upskill their employees – ultimately improving business.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, read more as we answer your biggest questions – covering how much Skillshare costs, what it is, as well as any alternatives to the platform that may hold greater value for your business.
What is Skillshare?
Skillshare describes itself as an online learning community, bringing together eager students and knowledgeable teachers under one digital roof.
Broad Overview
The courses offered by the platform can be divided into four categories, namely Creative, Technology, Lifestyle, and Business. These include skills like animation, creative writing, fine art, foreign languages, game design, app development, product management, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
Each skill is taught by qualified instructors, with the student being able to decide which teacher they would like to learn from. Skillshare also offers three separate modes of learning, namely Skillshare Classes, Skillshare Live, and Skillshare Groups.
Skillshare Classes
Skillshare Classes are by far the most common mode offered by Skillshare. In this setup, students take a series of classes from a single dedicated instructor over a few weeks. These classes are pre-recorded and typically last anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes in length, broken down into short 2 to 8-minute long videos.
The instructor will cover multiple facets related to the course. Then, the student will use the skills learned to build an assigned hands-on project as part of the curriculum.
For an idea about the best foundational classes to start with on Skillshare, check out this informational video.
Skillshare Live
In Skillshare Live, students attend live online classes with their instructors at a set time over several months. This is most similar to a traditional classroom setup, just with the whole interaction taking place online.
Right now this mode of learning is still in Beta mode, so it’s not nearly as popular as the other classes but it is still one way you can choose to learn with Skillshare.
Skillshare Groups
The final mode of learning, Skillshare Groups offers a collaborative environment in which people can interact with others that share their fields of interest. Operating similarly to other messaging boards like Reddit, Skillshare Groups is divided into categories and sub-categories.
A person can put up a post outlining some query and then have other members of the community respond. Both teachers and students have access to this system, ensuring there is still learning happening but just in a more informal way.
How Much Does Skillshare Cost?
The first thing any business owner does before investing in a new tool is deermine the costs associated with it. No matter how amazing the potential benefits of Skillshare may be, there is no point in bringing it on board if it causes the business to suffer.
In reality, the question of how much does Skillshare cost cannot be answered directly. This is because Skillshare offers many different programs at contrasting price points allowing you to decide how best to spend your money.
Free Trial
Every new user who signs up for an account with Skillshare is given a free 7-day trial as a way to test out the platform before being charged money. During some special promotions, this free trial may be extended to one month. If throughout the free trial, you realize that Skillshare may not be the best fit for you, you can cancel at any time without incurring any extra charges.
Subscription Plans
Skillshare offers two subscription plans, billing either monthly or annually. If you opt for the monthly subscription of Skillshare, you will be charged separately with $32 every month. If this sounds pricey to you, you can always go for the annual subscription option which will cost you $168 upfront with access to premium membership all year.
In this scenario, you will be spending about $13.99 monthly. However, keep in mind that this will only be fruitful if you end up using the platform all year.
Both subscription plans offer a 7-day free trial before committing and grant access to the same perks. This includes a library of 35,000 premium courses, an online learning community (i.e. Skillshare Groups), and the ability to download lessons offline.
The only difference is the duration of the membership you are buying and consequently, your level of commitment.
Skillshare Teams
If you want to use the Skillshare platform to improve your business, you may want to look into Skillshare Teams. This is a curated program functioning as a business solution for larger companies.
With Skillshare Teams, businesses can educate their employees in a manner that allows control of content, customized learning paths, and most importantly, in-depth insights into the impact of classes on engagement.
Discounts and Perks
Skillshare runs many promotions over the year which help in reducing the overall cost of their service.
One discount offered is the Friend Referral program. If you refer Skillshare to a friend and that person accepts your invitation to sign up to the platform, you may receive a cash reward in the form of a gift card. In case this program is not operating in your country, you will still receive one month of free access to Skillshare for every friend referral.
Other promotions include a flat 30% to 50% off on the annual Skillshare membership during important days of the year like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Year’s, and back-to-school season. You can also avail a group discount when using Skillshare Teams by signing up for multiple employees at a time (up to 50 total). The fee for each user will be $159 per year, $9 less than the annual charge for a student signing up individually.
Scholarship and Financial Aid
Students who are passionate about learning but unable to afford the fee of Skillshare may apply for a scholarship.
Skillshare chooses 10 applicants each month and grants them a year of Premium membership free of cost. Additionally, if you are a college/university student in use of a valid .edu email address, you can avail 50% off of the annual membership fee when you sign up.
Alternatives to The Skillshare Platform
Many other online learning platforms are offering similar services to Skillshare that may be worth checking out.
Udemy
Unlike Skillshare, the instructors at Udemy are not all high-caliber professionals with the system for becoming a teacher more relaxed. There is also no annual/monthly membership at Udemy, with courses being individually priced. These can cost anywhere between $15 to $150, with a large selection of courses being offered for free.
Coursera
Like Skillshare, Coursera also follows the format of short pre-recorded videos to boost learning. However, the main difference between the two is that all instructors at Coursera are affiliated with universities – offering degrees and certificates from renowned institutes all over the world. You can pay for individual courses or buy an annual membership for $399.
Youtube
Following YouTube tutorials is a great way to learn new skills free of cost. However, the quality of courses may differ greatly as Skillshare enforces a vetting process to ensure the videos they post are valuable and free of error.
Is Skillshare Worth It For Your Business?
The sheer amount of knowledge offered by Skillshare is tremendous. Instead of having to pay for every individual course, their annual fee grants access to classes on a variety of topics. This is especially beneficial when you want to learn more than one skill to further your business. However, this is only beneficial if you stay committed to your learning.
Programs like Skillshare Teams can help educate several employees at a time while also keeping track of their progress. It is specially designed for business owners as a curated solution. However, you must enroll at least 5 employees at once to be eligible.
There is no doubt that Skillshare offers great potential to any individual looking to upskill. Whether or not the platform provides value to your business depends on your needs and how you use Skillshare to meet them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Skillshare really free?
Skillshare does not offer any free courses. However, you do receive a free 7-day trial after subscribing to their monthly or annual membership.
Is Skillshare worth it to make money?
You can learn an unlimited amount of skills from the Skillshare platform, many of which may be in demand in the industry. Whether or not you can apply what you learn to earn a profit, however, is up to you. You can also earn from teaching on Skillshare.
Is it free to teach on Skillshare?
Becoming an instructor on Skillshare requires no money. Once your application to teach has been approved, you can simply record a class and upload it. In addition to receiving monthly royalties, you will also be paid for each student you recommend to Skillshare.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
At BizStack, I aim to cut through the digital noise to provide clear, actionable advice.
And more than all else, I’m a father to a (always) little girl and a husband.
Contact me at [email protected] for assistance.
Co Authors :
Ana is a content writer at BizStack and ensures our content meets and goes beyond our readers’ expectations.
