Coursera Plus - Get Unlimited Access to 7,000+ Online Courses
Coursera Plus - Get Unlimited Access to 7,000+ Online Courses
Coursera Plus - Get Unlimited Access to 7,000+ Online Courses
Coursera Vs FutureLearn: Know the Differences
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Coursera is a treasure trove of courses that can catapult your career to new heights.
FutureLearn is a wise guide that brings together curious minds to create a vibrant learning community.
So, how do you know whether Coursera or FutureLearn is the right choice? Let’s analyze the unique charms of both online learning platforms and how they help develop your skill set to figure out the answer.
Quick Overview: Coursera Vs FutureLearn
| Criteria | Coursera | FutureLearn |
| Course Quality | 4.7/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Instructors | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Support | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Value for Money | 4.3/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Overall Rating | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Check for Discount ↗️ | Check for Discount ↗️ |
Comparing Coursera Vs FutureLearn
Learning new skills or honing old ones is too important to close your eyes and point your finger blindly at one of the sites and be done with it.
Therefore, we will analyze the various features of both platforms in this FutureLearn vs Coursera review to help you make an informed decision that you won’t regret later.
⚙️ Variety of Courses
FutureLearn has amazing short courses, microcredentials, ExpertTracks, and degrees from reputed universities.
It has 14 major categories ranging from business & management and creative arts & media to politics & society and teaching.
With 1,400+ courses, FutureLearn has great variety.
However, Coursera is unsurprisingly better as it has 7,000+ courses grouped into 11 categories ranging from data science and IT to arts & humanities and social sciences.
The professional certificate programs, guided projects, specializations, and MasterTrack programs are fantastic.
And, you can get degrees from top universities from all over the world.
✅ Winner – Coursera
🤩 Free Resources
If you are patient enough, you can complete most courses on FutureLearn for free. Content is unlocked every week, but you can’t take tests or get a certificate if you continue with the limited-access account. The blogs are informative though slightly lengthy.
Most Coursera courses are available to audit for free. Again, you need to pay to get a certificate or access graded assignments, quizzes, and projects. The Coursera articles are fun and practical, too.
✅ Winner – Coursera
💯 Content Quality
FutureLearn’s courses are robust, practical, and to the point. The content quality is excellent, but Coursera still beats it.
Coursera is renowned for its rigorous courses with high-quality content. Moreover, it has several thousand courses more than FutureLearn which makes its quality control measures all the more impressive.
✅ Winner – Coursera
🧑🏫 Course Instructors
The instructors on both platforms are mostly professors from top-notch universities and industry experts.
Those on FutureLearn are less stuffy while teaching, whereas Coursera’s instructors are (mostly) straight out of a traditional, strict, by-the-book classroom environment.
A few instructors do have fun while teaching and let it show but they are significantly less than the stricter ones. Perhaps, that’s what helps them explain complex concepts in such simple terms.
✅ Winner – Coursera
📚 Learning Methods
Both platforms predominantly use pre-recorded video lectures to help you master the concepts/skills.
Coursera provides quizzes, assignments, readings, and projects to determine how well you can put into practice what you learned. Most of the assignments and projects are peer-graded, which is a point of contention for many, as some learners get valuable feedback while others are stuck with vague comments.
FutureLearn uses articles, discussions, polls, and practice exercises to help you hone your practical skills. This platform, too, uses a mix of peer and instructor-graded assignments and projects.
If you analyze the FutureLearn vs Coursera differences though, you will find that the projects on Coursera are slightly more interesting.
✅ Winner – Coursera
🎯 Practical Focus
Coursera excels at balancing theory and practice. After all, you have to grasp the theory and gain a deep understanding to apply it.
FutureLearn tends to lean more towards practice. However, that doesn’t mean it automatically wins the FutureLearn vs Coursera debate in this round.
I prefer Coursera because, in addition to the course projects, you can always enroll in guided projects. They help develop the required skills in a short time.
✅ Winner – Coursera
📃 Certification Value
FutureLearn certificates are pretty valuable. The certificates of achievements provide details of what you learned, your test scores, and the study hours.
Coursera certificates are globally and industrially recognized due to their accreditation. Moreover, they prove you were committed enough to complete rigorous courses. They certainly improve the chances of getting a job or career advancement.
✅ Winner – Coursera
💰 Pricing and Value for Money
FutureLearn provides a free account with limited access to courses. The lessons will be unlocked gradually every week. Once you complete a short course you can’t access the materials or content anymore.
However, if you upgrade to FutureLearn Unlimited, you get unrestricted access to all courses and continued access to the ones you completed. The monthly plan costs $39.99 for the first month and renews at $49.99 later. The FutureLearn Unlimited Annual plan costs $349.99.
Alternatively, you can purchase the courses, microcredentials, and ExpertTracks if you prefer a one-time payment to get access. Subscribing is more cost-effective if you plan to enroll in multiple classes or tracks.
Coursera, too, allows you to buy individual courses. However, professional certificates and specializations require a month-to-month subscription.
That’s why Coursera Plus is preferable; it grants access to courses, specializations, and professional certificates for $59/month and $399/year. The MasterTracks and degrees aren’t included in the plan, though.
Similarly, FutureLearn Unlimited doesn’t provide access to degrees. They require separate payments and the prices vary.
✅ Winner – Coursera
⏎ Refund Criteria
You can get a refund within 14 days of payment from FutureLearn if you haven’t downloaded a certificate or completed any tests.
Coursera, too, issues a refund within 14 days of purchasing a course (shouldn’t have earned a certificate) or subscribing. However, automatic renewals are not eligible for a refund. Also, if you use the 7-day trial of Coursera Plus and forget to cancel, you won’t be refunded for the automatic subscription at the end of the trial period.
✅ Winner – Both
👨💻 Customer Support
Both platforms provide customer support through chat and email. However, they recommend going through their extensive help center articles and FAQ sections before contacting them.
People appreciate FutureLearn for its helpfulness and Coursera for its thoroughness. Still, some users have bad experiences that go unresolved. So, experiences vary on both sites.
✅ Winner – Coursera
👥 Community
Coursera has a supportive community. You can use the discussion forums to interact with learners in the same course and community forums to engage with knowledge-seekers from other courses.
The FutureLearn community is more fun and lively. You can use the conversation tab in each course to share your experiences and struggles in the learning journey.
✅ Winner – Both
📱 Accessibility and Device Compatibility
Like most other online learning platforms, FutureLearn and Coursera focus on course accessibility.
You can access the lessons using laptops, desktops, tablets, and mobile phones on both these platforms.
Coursera’s web and app versions function smoothly. It’s pretty good.
FutureLearn’s web version is good but the app version needs some improvement.
✅ Winner – Coursera
👫 Learner Reviews: What Other Users Say
To make this comparison even better, I reached out to friends who have experience with both platforms and analyzed reviews shared by users from different parts of the world. Here’s a summary of their collective insights.
FutureLearn users are happy because of the interactive courses that allow the community to grow and develop together. They appreciate the flexible schedules and affordable prices. However, some users have difficulty with getting certificates and they wish the UI was even more sophisticated.
Coursera is praised for its high-quality content, interactive learning and the career benefits it provides. However, the cost and the slow responses to complaints leave its near-pristine record blemished. At least, people don’t have issues getting their hard-earned certificates. That’s a win.
✅ Winner – Coursera
Who Should Use FutureLearn?
Lifelong learners interested in a community-focused learning experience and people wanting to enroll in courses offered by institutions with a global reach should use FutureLearn. The pros of choosing this platform are:
- Great courses for skill development.
- Considerate instructors who try to adjust the content to suit international learners.
- Relatively affordable.
- Flexible schedule.
- Practical focus.
Who Should Use Coursera?
Professionals wanting to stand out among their colleagues through skill enhancement and learners seeking academic courses with the right amount of focus on practical aspects should sue Coursera. Reasons for choosing Coursera are:
- In-depth content.
- Well-structured courses.
- Financial aid and scholarships.
- Accredited certificates.
- Projects designed to help career advancement.
Alternatives
edX: edX is a great alternative if you want something with a greater course variety than FutureLearn and costs less than Coursera. You can audit the courses if you don’t want a certificate and the courses are developed and provided by top-tier universities and organizations.
Udemy: Sometimes, you see a person and want to say ‘Is there anything you can’t do?’. Well, that’s precisely what I feel whenever I use Udemy. Is there any field it doesn’t have a course for? And, it’s affordable. I am willing to put up with a few scrappy courses (I could always request a refund) if it means I get access to fantastic courses at such low prices.
Skillshare: Skillshare is one of the havens for creative-minded individuals. The projects you get to work on are amazing and help show how well you are progressing. You can get peer feedback by sharing your work with the community. The best thing? Learners rate most courses on this site as exceeding or meeting their expectations. Chances are you will be perfectly happy with them, too.
Final Verdict: Coursera Vs FutureLearn
The choice boils down to this: do you prefer a structured or flexible learning experience? Pick Coursera if you value its academic rigor and comprehensive, structured content. Choose FutureLearn if you prefer flexible schedules and more satisfying learner interaction.
FAQs
1. Is FutureLearn better than Coursera?
No, FutureLearn is not better than Coursera. In fact, a case could be made that Coursera is superior to most online learning platforms and not just FutureLearn. However, since learners have varying needs and expectations, FutureLearn is an excellent choice for many.
2. Are FutureLearn certificates valid?
Though most of the certificates are not accredited, they are still valuable. You don’t have to go to Ivy League schools to get a well-paying job. Similarly, you don’t need only accredited certificates to show off your skills.
3. Is Coursera costly?
Coursera may seem costly compared to other platforms like Udemy. However, when you take into account the content quality, knowledgeable instructors, valuable certifications, and the sheer number of courses, it is a worthwhile investment. Besides, you can always get financial aid on this learning platform.
