On August 12th, 2022, I decided to sign up for Skillshare and give this learning platform a try. Since then, I have taken over 4 classes. In this post, I’ll share with you guys my review & experience of Skillshare and whether it’s worth the money.
So let’s dive right in!
What is Skillshare?
Skillshare is an online learning platform where you can take classes on a wide range of topics. It works on a subscription model in which you have to pay an annual fee to access all of the classes on the platform. Many classes on the platform are taught by professional and well-known people. Some of the instructors are celebrities, famous YouTubers, and industry experts. Most of the classes tend to be short and made for beginners. But you can find longer and advanced level classes too.
I heard about Skillshare on YouTube. A lot of YouTubers were promoting this learning platform and later Google bombarded me with Skillshare ads. So I visited their landing page and saw all these classes taught by well-known people. That’s when I decided to give Skillshare a try.
What classes are on Skillshare?
Skillshare has a great variety of classes so you can find classes on most topics. There are more than 39,000 classes on Skillshare.
You can find classes on:
- Animation
- Creative Writing
- Film & Video
- Fine Art
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Music
- Photography
- UI/UX Design
- Web Development
- Business Analytics
- Freelance & Entrepreneurship
- Leadership & Management
- Marketing
- Lifestyle
- Productivity
There are even more classes on Skillshare than mentioned above. I was able to find classes on topics like Artificial Intelligence, personal development, copywriting, web development, data science, woodworking, SEO, industrial design, and a lot more.
The full list of categories is much bigger than what I found. I recommend browsing through Skillshare categories to see whether they’ve got the classes that you’re interested in. You can even view the first lecture of the premium classes for free. And there are also a lot of free classes that you can take without paying any money.
I highly recommend going through their platform and carefully reviewing the classes before making a purchase decision.
You can try Skillshare for one month for Free to test the waters.
Skillshare features and sections
Learning Paths
Learning Paths is a page that provides a direction for learning a specific skill. This page provides a sequential list of classes to learn a certain skill. These classes are curated by Skillshare staff members to help you get started learning a new skill.
Discussion section
Discussion is another helpful section that Skillshare has. In this section, you can start a conversation about the class you’re taking. You can ask questions to the teacher and other fellow learners. You can also share a practice project to receive feedback which is crucial for skill acquisition. You can read what other learners are saying and see what they have built.
Reviews
Skillshare also has a reviews section that lets you see what people are saying about a particular class before taking it. You can also leave a review of a class that you’ve taken.
Projects and Resources
Some instructors provide practice projects for the learners to try out. Some even provide resources like PDFs, templates, and source codes. These things can be accessed in the Projects and Resources section.
Transcripts
This is one of my favorite features. The ability to read the contents of a course in textual form can be helpful for a lot of people. It helps to understand a particular section of a class where the pronunciation of the instructor was confusing. And other times, it helps to quickly revise the class you’ve taken.
Skillshare Perks
Another useful benefit that you get with Skillshare premium subscription is the perks. Skillshare has a section called Perks where you can get discounts on various third-party services. Some of them include Adobe Creative Cloud, Squarespace, Adobe Photography, Todoist, Canva, and more. You can check the full list of perks here.
How are Skillshare classes?
Most of the classes on Skillshare are of good quality and well-taught. The classes are mostly taught by experts and well-known people. The production quality of most classes is quite remarkable. But not all classes maintain that standard. Some of them are averagely produced and taught.
Many instructors include projects in their classes but not all. The classes are usually short and basic. All of the classes I took so far were somewhere between 1 to 2 hours long. And I also found that the classes on Skillshare were not in-depth. They were mostly beginner-friendly bite-sized classes produced to help you get started with a certain skill.
But there are also some classes on Skillshare which are longer (6-8 hours) and more advanced. I saw a class on data science that was more than 8 hours long. The overall quality of the classes that I took on Skillshare was quite good and satisfactory.
My experience with Skillshare
I started using Skillshare on 12th August 2022 and since then I’ve taken about 4 classes. The first class that I took was on copywriting. I took this class to improve my copywriting skills to write better sales pages and website content.
This “Copywriting For Beginner” class was surprisingly good. It was well-taught and the advice was super actionable. I was finally able to understand how professional copywriters write high-converting sales pages for companies. The instructor also provided a downloadable PDF which included a lot of exercises and techniques. This class was taught by Jesse Forrest who is a well-known copywriter.
One of the other classes that I took was woodworking. It was taught by Brittany Joyner. The class was short and concise, the instructions were beginner friendly and the instructor was entertaining.
How much does Skillshare costs?
Skillshare works on a subscription model in which you’ve to pay annually to access all of their classes. Skillshare’s annual subscription costs $165 a year – which is something like $13.75/month.
Skillshare does have a 7-day free trial in which you can try their platform without paying a dollar. And their 30-day money-back guarantee further adds a safety layer.
Surprisingly, the price of Skillshare in India (where I live) is relatively low. I paid Rs.1923 or $24 for a one-year subscription which is almost 7 times less than the original price. Currently, Skillshare costs Rs.1,800 a year in India.
I find this price to be a great deal. You get access to more than 39,000 classes for only Rs.1800/$22 a year.
The pricing model of Skillshare remains confusing and unclear. I wasn’t able to find a clear and separate pricing page on their website. But the prices that were found came from the checkout page.
Skillshare team plan
Skillshare has a separate team plan for organizations and businesses. The team plan is also billed annually and the cost is based on per user.
Currently, the Skillshare team plan costs $159 per user, per year. So if you want it for 10 people, it’ll cost you $1590 per year. This team plan is not that cheaper than the individual plan.
Things I liked about Skillshare
High-quality classes
One of the things that I liked about Skillshare is the quality of the classes. The classes that I took were of good quality. They were clear and concise, well-taught, and helpful. Not all classes on Skillshare are good – some of them are average. But most of them are well-produced and best for beginners.
Access to all classes
With Skillshare’s premium membership, you get to access more than 39,000 classes for one year. You can take as many as classes you want during your membership. This is super handy as you can take classes each week and keep learning new stuff without paying any extra money.
Easy-to-use platform
Skillshare is a relatively easy-to-use learning platform. Their user interface is quite friendly and encourages learning. Everything is easy to navigate and less cluttered. It also has all of the useful features for learning like bookmarking, saving classes, adding to the calendar, transcripts, and more.
Things I didn’t like about Skillshare
Doesn’t offer a certificate
Skillshare doesn’t offer any certificate upon completing a class. It’s nice to have a certificate as proof to show your future employer. Most other learning platforms like Udemy and Coursera offer a certificate upon completing their courses.
No monthly plan
Skillshare currently doesn’t offer any monthly subscription plan. They only have an annual plan which locks you with them for a whole year. I would like to see a monthly Skillshare plan and a clear pricing page on their website.
Not for mastering a skill
The classes on Skillshare are mostly short and beginner-friendly. Most of them are not in-depth, comprehensive, and advanced. They are good and informative but not enough to make you a master in a certain subject. Mastering a skill requires rigorous course materials and constant feedback which Skillshare happens to lag.
Is YouTube better than Skillshare?
YouTube provides relatively more value than Skillshare. You can find ‘how-to’ videos on pretty much anything on YouTube. It also has thousands of courses on various topics. And all of this content is completely free (although you do have to watch a couple of ads).
In that sense, you might question whether Skillshare is even worth the money. Is YouTube just better than Skillshare?
There is a subtle difference between YouTube and Skillshare. YouTube has way more content than Skillshare and there is a great variety. You can find some of the best-produced videos and instructors on YouTube. But there is also a lot of poorly produced content on YouTube. Some of the educational content is even confusing and misleading.
On the other hand, Skillshare has comparatively less content but the density of good quality content is more than YouTube. Even the low-level classes on Skillshare can be compared to YouTube’s average-level videos. This is because Skillshare maintains strict quality guidelines for instructors.
YouTube’s platform is not very learning-friendly. You have a lot of distractions and other stuff on it. In contrast, Skillshare’s platform is optimized for learning.
YouTube is better than Skillshare in terms of the value it provides. Skillshare is a good choice only if you have extra money to spare and want only high-quality content.
Is Skillshare better than Udemy?
Skillshare works on a subscription model while Udemy on a ‘pay for individual course’ model. The courses on Udemy are more in-depth and longer. Udemy has more courses and a bigger category than Skillshare.
And Udemy somehow manages to give you a huge discount on courses every time you visit their website.
If you want to learn or master a specific skill then Udemy is better than Skillshare. You only have to pay for the individual course that you’re interested in and you can access it for a lifetime.
But if you don’t have a specific skill in mind and want to learn multiple things then Skillshare is a better choice. Skillshare is a great choice if you want to improve multiple aspects of yourself such as communications, time management, writing, public speaking, art, and more.
Is Skillshare better than college?
Skillshare is not better than college due to some practical reasons. It mostly has short classes that teach you the basics of a particular subject. There are some longer classes but those can’t be compared to college-level courses.
College courses are more rigorous and feedback intensive than the ones on Skillshare. They make students go through a set of subjects and keep them highly accountable. They provide constant feedback on how a student is performing in a given subject. And regular class assignments and tests further reinforce learning.
Instead of comparing Skillshare with college, you can think of it as a compliment to your education. It is something that you can use to improve your creative and general skills during your college.
Can I use skillshare for free?
Yes, you can use Skillshare for free using their 7-day free trial. It will require a credit or debit card but you won’t be charged during your trial. With this free trial, you can access all of the premium classes on Skillshare without paying a dollar.
What happens if you cancel Skillshare?
Skillshare works on a subscription model in which you pay a yearly fee to access all of the classes that they have. But when you cancel your subscription, you lose access to all of the premium classes even the ones you completed.
Final verdict
So after reading this long Skillshare review, should you buy it or not? Is it really worth the money? I will simply answer who should buy it and who shouldn’t.
Who should buy Skillshare?
If you’re someone who is not looking to learn a specific skill but just wants to learn multiple things to advance yourself then you should go with Skillshare. It is also a great option for someone who is a slow and self-paced learner as there are no hard deadlines. You can take classes whenever you want at your own pace.
Who should not buy Skillshare?
If you’re someone who is looking to learn or master a specific skill (like full-stack web development) then you should not buy Skillshare. You should probably find a course somewhere else about the thing you want to learn and just pay for that. Skillshare doesn’t provide a dedicated course that will help you master a certain skill.
