Brilliant
Skillshare
| Feature | Brilliant | Skillshare |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $11.99/mo | From $13.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | stem-learners, students, career-changers, lifelong-learners | creatives, designers, freelancers, hobbyists |
| Founded | 2012 | 2010 |
| Interactive Lessons | ✓ | ✗ |
| Daily Challenges | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual Explanations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Offline Access | ✓ | ✗ |
| Community | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project Based Learning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Community Feedback | ✗ | ✓ |
| Offline Viewing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Class Discussions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Curated Paths | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Teacher Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Brilliant Pros
- Highly interactive visual learning approach
- Excellent for building mathematical intuition
- Short daily lessons that fit busy schedules
- Covers fundamentals through advanced topics
✗ Brilliant Cons
- Limited free content (only a few lessons per course)
- Focused on STEM only (no humanities/language)
- Can feel too gamified for serious learners
✓ Skillshare Pros
- Strong focus on creative skills and hands-on projects
- Unlimited access to all classes with subscription
- Active community with project sharing and feedback
- Short, digestible class format
- Offline viewing on mobile
✗ Skillshare Cons
- No free tier anymore
- No certificates recognized by employers
- Limited technical and business content
The Verdict
Brilliant is built for stem learners and students, with a focus on interactive-lessons and daily-challenges. Skillshare targets creatives and designers and leads with project-based-learning and community-feedback.
Pricing is close: Brilliant starts at $11.99/mo versus $13.99/mo for Skillshare — not a deciding factor on its own.
Brilliant has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Skillshare requires a paid subscription from day one.
Brilliant edges out on user ratings (4.6 vs 4.2). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Skillshare offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Brilliant takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Brilliant has a slight overall edge — but if strong focus on creative skills and hands-on projects matters most to you, Skillshare may still be the right call.