LinkedIn Learning
Udemy
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $19.99/mo | Free / from $12.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | professionals, job-seekers, corporate-teams, career-changers | self-paced-learners, budget-conscious-learners, professionals, hobbyists |
| Founded | 2015 | 2010 |
| Video Courses | ✓ | ✓ |
| Certificates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learning Paths | ✓ | ✗ |
| Linkedin Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Offline Viewing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Exercises | ✓ | ✗ |
| Recommendations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Lifetime Access | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Q And A | ✗ | ✓ |
| Coding Exercises | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bookmarks | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ LinkedIn Learning Pros
- Certificates display directly on LinkedIn profile
- 16,000+ courses covering business, tech, and creative
- High production quality with industry experts
- Personalized learning paths and recommendations
✗ LinkedIn Learning Cons
- No free plan (only 1-month trial)
- Content can feel surface-level for advanced topics
- Not recognized as formal education credentials
✓ Udemy Pros
- Massive course library covering nearly every topic
- Frequent sales with courses as low as $9.99
- Lifetime access to purchased courses
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- User reviews help identify quality courses
✗ Udemy Cons
- Quality varies significantly between instructors
- No accredited certificates or degrees
- Courses can become outdated without updates
The Verdict
LinkedIn Learning is built for professionals and job seekers, with a focus on video-courses and certificates. Udemy targets self paced learners and budget conscious learners and leads with video-courses and lifetime-access.
On pricing, Udemy is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12.99/mo compared to $19.99/mo for LinkedIn Learning. That $6.999999999999998/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Udemy has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. LinkedIn Learning requires a paid subscription from day one.
Both tools are a solid fit for professionals — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.