LinkedIn Learning Vs Coursera: Which is Better?

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways” – Robert Greene.

This famous quote sums up why we must hone our skills and acquire new ones.

Being good at something doesn’t automatically ensure success. That is why online certifications are increasingly becoming important.

Enrolling in courses and completing them shows you are interested in improving yourself. However, it will all have been for nothing if the courses you enroll in don’t have quality content or do a poor job of teaching you a new skill. Choosing the right learning platform and the course is crucial for success.

That is why we will discuss the LinkedIn Learning Vs Coursera debate in detail and compare the pros and cons of both platforms. You can happily enroll in your desired course on the learning platform of your choice once you have completed reading this comparison.

About LinkedIn Learning and Coursera

LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform best known for its courses on business and tech skills. However, it is not a suitable platform for learning creative skills even though it offers several courses on creative topics. LinkedIn Learning is an excellent option if you want to advance in your career by improving your business strategies and technical prowess.

Coursera is one of the best learning platforms available and its popularity keeps increasing. It offers courses on a wide range of topics and does an excellent job of helping you understand them. As most courses require you to complete a final project incorporating everything you have learned, you will be ready to face real-world situations.

Both are great platforms, but only one victor will emerge in this Coursera vs LinkedIn Learning battle. So, let’s delve into the various components of both websites to determine one’s superiority to the other.

Comparing LinkedIn Learning vs Coursera

You have to understand how Coursera and LinkedIn Learning work to determine whether Coursera or LinkedIn Learning will suit you better. After all, one size doesn’t fit all. How well a course benefits you depends on the content quality, instructor compatibility, learning level, etc. 

Therefore, we will analyze every aspect of the two platforms to help you pick one that fits your requirements. You will know with absolute certainty whether LinkedIn Learning or Coursera is the right choice.

Course Offerings

LinkedIn Learning has awesome learning paths. For example, if you want to master soft skills, it recommends a learning path consisting of 13 courses. These courses focus on various topics such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking, time management, persuasion, collaboration, etc.

Learning paths are a huge help if you have no idea or are confused about what skills to focus on to boost your career. Moreover, LinkedIn has a wide variety of courses in Business and Technology topics.

Business analysis & strategy, finance & accounting, leadership and management, and marketing are popular business sub-categories.

AI, cybersecurity, programming languages, network & system administration, and data science are popular tech sub-categories on LinkedIn Learning.

However, it has comparatively underwhelming courses on creative skills. Most of them haven’t been updated for years. 

Coursera offers courses on a broader range of topics. Moreover, you get access to updated and relevant content as it collaborates with tech giants and prestigious institutions to create the courses. Business, data science, IT, personal development, health, and social sciences are popular categories on Coursera.

Each category has numerous sub-categories. You will never get tired of exploring the thousands of courses Coursera provides. For example, the business category has six sub-categories: leadership & management, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, business essentials, and business strategies.

Business communication, HR management, organizational development, decision-making, etc. are popular topics under leadership & management. And, you get 1,248 results if you click on ‘decision-making’. How cool is that? Furthermore, you can earn degrees from well-recognized, trusted Universities on Coursera.

Therefore, the answer to the nibbling question at the back of your mind – is Coursera better than LinkedIn Learning – is yes, Coursera is better when comparing the diversity of courses offered.

Content Quality

Coursera has consistent high-quality content; it’s one of its greatest strengths. Since experts from reputed companies and universities develop the course content, they can’t afford to let the quality deteriorate. Moreover, up-to-date courses in all categories are available at your fingertips on this platform.  

Is LinkedIn Learning better than Coursera? Nope. LinkedIn Learning has a mix of updated and outdated courses. Therefore, it falls short of expectations when analyzing the overall content quality. Moreover, the consensus is that LinkedIn Learning doesn’t provide in-depth knowledge of a specific topic. It is good for gaining a general understanding, though.

Coursera’s specialization programs and professional certificates consisting of multiple courses each give you a far deeper understanding of your chosen topic. The ‘guided projects’ feature is also great for quickly developing relevant skills.

Instructors Experience

Coursera has exemplary instructors who know precisely what you need to know and how to teach it. All instructors are either professors from reputed universities or experts from various industries. Therefore, they are competent and keep track of the trends in their field of interest. This, in turn, helps them teach you relevant content.

LinkedIn Learning has expert instructors, too. LinkedIn members can become instructors only after a careful review of their application. However, they can’t quite match the quality of instructors on Coursera and aren’t as interactive. As such, Coursera wins this round in the LinkedIn Learning Coursera debate.

Learning Methods

Both platforms use video lectures, slides, and text to help you learn. However, Coursera goes the extra mile with graded quizzes, assignments, and hands-on projects.

LinkedIn Learning has very few quizzes and only a few courses have practical projects. This can be incredibly frustrating as you can’t know how good you are at applying what you learned.  

Practical Focus

It’s natural to ponder ‘Which is better Coursera or LinkedIn Learning?’. Which platform will help you gain practical knowledge? LinkedIn Learning courses are known for their focus on developing skills. However, the lack of rigorous quizzes and projects makes it less appealing.

On the other hand, Coursera courses require the completion of a final project that will be a stellar addition to your portfolio. Merely, gaining theoretical knowledge isn’t sufficient to impress a prospective employer. You need to prove that you can apply what you learn. That is why, Coursera courses are highly valued.

Certification Value

Certifications from both platforms hold some weight. The difference between Coursera and LinkedIn Learning is that while the latter’s certification prompts an employer to consider you for the job, the former’s certification helps you land it. Do you know why Coursera is better? It’s because many of its courses are accredited.

Moreover, you have the practical knowledge to back your claim of being familiar with a concept. Coursera courses delve deeply into all concepts and thoroughly test your comprehension. Therefore, you won’t feel sucker punched when asked an unexpected question.

That doesn’t mean LinkedIn Learning certifications are not worth pursuing. It’s just that you can’t prove you learned a skill simply with a certificate. After all, you can get a certificate of completion even if you let your attention wander while the video lectures are playing. However, working on a project on your own will help solve this problem.

Pricing and Value for Money

Both learning platforms allow you to purchase individual courses. However, subscribing is a better option if you want to learn about multiple topics. The LinkedIn Learning monthly subscription plan costs $39.99 per month, and the annual plan costs $ 239.88 per year ($19.99 per month).

You can access more than 21,000 courses if you subscribe. Therefore, it isn’t a bad deal. However, the pricing is high considering its courses are good for improving business and technical skills. An individual course’s price ranges from $20 – $50. So, is the cost worth it? It may be worth it if you like learning using LinkedIn Learning. Otherwise, no, it’s not worth it.

An individual course on Coursera costs $39 – $99. The Coursera Plus monthly plan costs you $59 per month, whereas the annual plan costs $399 per year. You can audit most courses for free if you don’t want a certificate. But you have to pay to get certification. Considering the content quality of Coursera’s courses the subscription is worth every penny.

Therefore, in the Coursera Plus vs LinkedIn Learning battle the former wins. It’s okay if you are wondering why you have to pay so much when other websites like Udemy offer courses at affordable prices. 

Coursera certifications have a higher value than certifications from similar websites. Therefore, they cost more (at least the price isn’t appalling like those on edX). Paying a little extra doesn’t hurt, as you gain an edge over your competitors.

Customer Support

I have been amusing myself by viewing memes about bad customer support lately. And, one meme caught my attention in particular. It depicted how a customer died waiting for their issue to be resolved after contacting a customer support agent. That meme aptly describes the support LinkedIn Learning and Coursera provide.

Customer service/support isn’t easy, but that can’t be used as an excuse when a learning platform has less than a 2-star rating on Trustpilot. It clearly shows they don’t care about what users think. 

Community

LinkedIn Learning has discussion forums for connecting with your peers/fellow learners. However, if you ask me ‘Which is better LinkedIn Learning or Coursera?’ when it comes to providing community support, I will always choose Coursera. My choice is obvious because LinkedIn Learning doesn’t have a separate on-site community.

The lively Coursera community will help you understand complex concepts, exchange tips, and share your learning journey. Always be careful and follow community guidelines while using the forums. Otherwise, you will be reported and subsequently thrown out of the forum. Sometimes, your account may get suspended.

User Interface

LinkedIn Learning has a simple, sleek interface. Navigating the website is easy and it has a pleasant vibe. However, its search filters could use some improvement. Coursera UI is fantastic and the filters are great, too. Therefore, you can find the right course within seconds. 

Both platforms clearly explain what each course teaches you and the skills you will gain on completing it. But, it is still a good practice to check out the reviews before enrolling in a course on either platform. 

Sometimes, you can’t foresee the issues you may face with a course. Reading several reviews saves you from regretting your course choice. As the reviews are easily accessible on both websites, finding them won’t be a problem.

User Feedback

LinkedIn Learning should update all its courses more often and not just popular ones. It should work on creating more courses in the creative category. Moreover, better customer service will be a huge improvement. People get frustrated when they get charged even after canceling their subscriptions. Ignoring their justified rants will only blow up the problem.

Coursera is doing well; not many complaints can be made against it. However, it should look into cases where users couldn’t cancel the free trial or the subscription plans. Furthermore, it could add more courses on niche categories to outmatch Udemy’s course variety. 

At present, it is nowhere near beating Udemy’s course collection, but who knows, it may do so in the future. If or when it does, it will be the best online learning platform as it offers everything a learner could ask for.

Who Should Use LinkedIn Learning?

LinkedIn Learning is a good choice if you are in the business or tech field. Moreover, its courses are helpful to develop and improve your soft skills. Negotiations, strategic partnerships, and collaborative efforts will go smoother after you build the relevant skills through courses on LinkedIn Learning.

Who Should Use Coursera?

Anyone who likes the academic approach to learning should use Coursera. Its courses can be a game-changer irrespective of whether you want to get a promotion or change your career track. Coursera is a fantastic choice if you want to earn a degree from a top university or rack up credits.

Alternatives

• Udemy is an excellent alternative if you need a wider range of courses.
• Masterclass is one of the best resources for artists.
• Udacity and Pluralsight are great for improving technical skills.
• Babbel and Duolingo are fantastic choices for language learning.
• Codecademy and DataCamp are best for learning various programming languages.

Final Thoughts

As the Coursera LinkedIn Learning battle comes to an end, behold the clear victor – Coursera – the people’s champion.

In fact, Coursera wins the LinkedIn Learning Vs Coursera battle by knockout and not merely by points. Now that you know Coursera’s superiority, I hope you find the course you are searching for and have fun learning.