Khan Academy
Skillshare
| Feature | Khan Academy | Skillshare |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | From $13.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | students, parents, teachers, self-learners | creatives, designers, freelancers, hobbyists |
| Founded | 2008 | 2010 |
| Video Lessons | ✓ | ✗ |
| Practice Exercises | ✓ | ✗ |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Tutor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Teacher Dashboard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mastery Learning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sat Prep | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project Based Learning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Community Feedback | ✗ | ✓ |
| Offline Viewing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Class Discussions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Curated Paths | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Teacher Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Khan Academy Pros
- Completely free for all learners worldwide
- Comprehensive K-12 math and science curriculum
- Personalized learning with mastery-based progression
- Khanmigo AI tutor for personalized help
- Teacher tools for classroom integration
✗ Khan Academy Cons
- Content depth limited for advanced college topics
- Video-based format not ideal for all learners
- Some subjects have less coverage than others
✓ 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
Khan Academy is built for students and parents, with a focus on video-lessons and practice-exercises. Skillshare targets creatives and designers and leads with project-based-learning and community-feedback.
Khan Academy uses custom enterprise pricing, while Skillshare starts at $13.99/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Khan Academy 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.
Khan Academy edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 4.2). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Khan Academy 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.