Skillshare Review 2024 Is It Worth It? (My Experience)

I’ve shared my honest Skillshare review after taking the course.

Skillshare offers a wide variety of courses for creators, entrepreneurs, and others who are on the path to self-improvement. 

However, since every individual has a different learning approach, it is crucial to have a broad understanding of the platform’s course structure, learning process, course duration, and price. 

So read to the end to learn more about Skillshare courses and other important details about this online community. 

The Verdict at a Glance: Skillshare Review 

Skillshare is worth it if you want to opt for flexible learning and courses.

Aspect	Description
Number of courses	30000+
Types of courses	Creative Lifestyle Marketing Freelance & entrepreneurship Productivity, etc.
Price	Free & paid courses ($13 to $168)
Features	Flexible learning Downloadable course material Course certificates
User-interface	User-friendly interface
Course quality	Well-curated courses with a learner-oriented approach

What Kind of Courses Does Skillshare Offer? 

Skillshare offers over thirty thousand courses in various in-demand fields, making it one of the most popular online learning platforms among curious minds. 

Skillshare courses have been segregated into the following categories so learners with specific interests in a certain field can easily navigate to them: 

1. Creative: Courses under this category include art, music, writing, photography, graphic design, UI & UX design, music, instrument learning, etc. These classes are typically focused on helping students explore and get better at their creative skills. 

2.  Lifestyle: You’ll find courses in cooking, interior design, knitting, gardening, fitness, personal development, meditation, and other lifestyle-related areas. 

3. Language: Skillshare offers online language classes for Spanish, Chinese, English, Korean, and others. There are also separate courses for IELTS. 

4. Business: There are several business courses like entrepreneurship, marketing, leadership and management, freelancing, and other business-related topics. These classes can help one understand the core particularities of starting a business or improving their existing one. 

5. Technology: This category includes courses in data science, simple web development, bootstrap, artificial intelligence, and other related fields, helping you learn about a wide variety of tools and techniques. 

The platform provides a diverse category of courses, so there are options for everyone. The courses have bite-sized lessons, which make them easily digestible. 

Make sure you browse through the library well to shortlist a course that meets your learning needs. 

Check Out The Following Skillshare Features 

You might have questions like how the platform works and whether its features are suitable for every learner. Skillshare has a user-friendly interface to ensure learners can easily navigate the platform and select their favorite courses. 

Besides that, here is what you can expect from Skillshare: 

1. Self-paced learning 

Once you sign up for the Skillshare membership, you can learn quickly. The courses have no time limit, so everyone can learn according to their comfort. 

Such a flexible learning approach makes learning easier for working individuals, students, freelancers, or anyone with a busy schedule. 

2. Skillshare Community 

The Skillshare community makes it possible for their learners to connect, share ideas, and get inspiration from their learning goals. 

Skillshare has introduced groups to keep its growing community of learners interconnected. There are four types of groups: creative, technology, business, and lifestyle. 

Once you join a group, you’ll meet other creators from the same field, opt for collaboration, give and receive feedback on your work and theirs, and discuss anything you want. These groups have been created with the help of some Skillshare teachers, and they are a great way to stay connected with talented creators from various parts of the world. 

Please note that only premium members can post in Skillshare groups. Free account holders can join and see other people’s posts but cannot post themselves. 

3. Student Projects 

This is a place where everyone can share their completed projects and ask for feedback. This is similar to a social media platform where students share posts liked and commented on by others. 

It is the best way to showcase your talent and connect with some popular creators. 

4. Skillshare CromaCourse 

Skillshare CromaCourse is a recent addition to the platform, a four-week course. The idea is to keep the group exclusive and share content from expert teachers along with live Q&As. You may also get personalized feedback from instructors being a part of CromaCourse. 

5. Diverse Learning Platform 

Skillshare isn’t limited to a single learning format. It has video lectures, projects, and a community to share work, allows offline learning, and does not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Skillshare Course Structure: Explained 

Skillshare does not have a fixed course format. Some courses, especially longer ones, are divided into different lessons. Short classes, within 10 to 30 minutes, usually continue with a single video lesson. 

There are two courses on Skillshare: Skillshare original and other classes. Skillshare produces the original classes. 

They usually collaborate with popular personalities like Ali Abdaal (YouTuber and doctor), Marques Brownlee (Tech Head and YouTuber), and platforms like Moz.  

Individuals create other Skillshare courses with years of experience in the field. 

All the courses included assignments, projects, and additional resources for an all-round learning experience. 

Popular Skillshare Instructors

Let’s take a look at some of the popular Skillshare instructors and their courses: 

There are over 8000 teachers on Skillshare, and here are some popular personalities: 

1. Mel Armstrong 

She is a full-time illustrator, surface pattern designer, and teacher who loves creating beautiful things. She teaches pattern design and design illustrations, and some of her popular courses are “Master Textures in Procreate,” “10 Photoshop Tips for Surface Designers,” and “Surface Pattern Design Fundamentals.” 

2. Hyden Aube

He is another popular designer and illustrator who teaches character design and illustration. His famous classes include “Journaling for Beginners,” “Adobe Illustrator,” and “Teach Yourself to Draw Anything. ” 

3. Sean Dalton 

This popular travel and lifestyle photographer, is a teacher in Skillshare, and he offers classes in lifestyle and photography. You can check out courses like-” Photography Essentials,” “Short Form Video,” “iPhone Photography Essentials,” etc. 

Popular Skillshare Courses

Skillshare has divided its classes into three main categories:

Create: Animation, Creative Writing, Film & Video, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Music, Photography, UI/UX Design, Web Development, and so on are a part of this category

Make: these courses include Business Analytics, Freelance & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Management, and Marketing.

Thrive: Lifestyle and Productivity make up the thrive section for personal growth.

A few popular classes from each category are listed below:

1. A Beginner’s Guide to After Effects

Taught by Jake Bartlett, a Motion Designer, this class is beginner-friendly and comprehensive. It covers everything you need to know to start creating animations in Adobe After Effects, including Panels and workspaces, Resolution, Frame Rates, Combining Effects, and much more. Over 12,000 students have watched this class, and 80% of students have shared positive feedback.

2. Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners

Taught by Jordy Vandeput, a filmmaker and Youtuber, this class is beginner-friendly and will teach you how to turn your creative ideas into amazing videos with Adobe Premiere Pro. Users get to access a very detailed program about a solid basis of Premiere Pro, which allows you, people, to perform basic edits, create custom graphics and texts, mix audio from speech, deal with music and sound effects, and so on. This class has been watched by over 71000 students, with over 60% of students sharing positive feedback.

3. Graphic Design BasicsCore Principles for Visual Design

Taught by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips – co-directors of the Graphic Design MFA program at MICA – this class is every beginner’s dream and will give you a solid foundation. With a focus on core principles of graphic design, you will learn the five basic design principles, critique your work for effectiveness and balance, and apply each core concept in future projects. This class has been watched by over 106000 students, with 80% of students sharing positive feedback.

4. Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate

Taught by Jarom Vogel, a Digital Illustrator, this class is beginner-friendly and will teach you how to use Procreate on your iPad to create digital artwork. The key lessons in this course will include setting up your first canvas, using select tools, brushes, and erasers, creating and organizing your layers, and adding color, textures, and effects. This class has been watched by over 115000 students, with over 50% of students sharing positive feedback.

5. Stock Market Fundamentals

Taught by Zac Hartley, an Entrepreneur and Day Trader, this class is beginner-friendly. It is specially designed for people who are looking to get into day trading, swing trading, or dividend investing. This class has been watched by over 2000 students, with over 80% of students sharing positive feedback.

6. User Experience Design Essentials

Adobe XD UI UX Design – Taught by Daniel Scott, an Adobe Certified Trainer, this class is beginner-friendly. You will learn the tools necessary for creating excellent wireframes, including type, colors, icons, and much more. This class has been watched by over 21000 students, with over 70% of students sharing positive feedback.

Skillshare Price Plans 

Skillshare has a simple price structure. There are no separate basic or premium plans, unlike most online learning platforms. 

Skillshare for Individuals 

There is a premium plan for individual learners, which costs $167.88 annually and gives you access to the entire course library. 

Skillshare for Teams

This price plan is especially for businesses that cost $159 per user per year. The team plan does not offer a monthly payment option, so you must pay the entire yearly amount when signing up for the course. 

• Starter: for groups of 5 to 49 members, $159 per user per annum
• Enterprise: for groups of 20+ members, contact Skillshare for custom Enterprise pricings.
•  Revive: Contact Skillshare for custom Revive prices for groups of 50+ members.

All Team plans are billed annually or per multi-year contract. Additionally, the more seats you purchase, the lower the price you will end up paying for an individual seat.

Skillshare Refund Policy 

Skillshare has a 14-day refund policy, and you’re entitled to get a complete refund if you cancel your membership within the 1st 14 days after the payment has been deducted. 

At times, Skillshare may also offer a 30-day refund policy. There are no special criteria for availing of this policy, and it’s entirely up to them.

Skillshare for Business

While Skillshare is great for personal development, it is very beneficial for teams, too. Here is a list of features that make this online learning platform great if an employer is looking to create an environment for the employees to grow up to their maximum potential:

1. Unlimited access to Skillshare’s entire database and community includes 35000+ classes taught by industry experts across various categories.
2. An easy-to-use Admin Panel where you can handle your team and invite and add users anytime.
3.  The class + project model is where users can test the skills they learned and receive feedback from colleagues and other students.
4. Offline, mobile and casting capabilities are available through our Skillshare mobile app.
5.  Dedicated Customer Success Manager for 1:1 onboarding and strategy sessions (available for Enterprise only)
6. Usage and Engagement reporting (Revive & Enterprise only)
7. LMS Integrations and API capabilities (available for Enterprise only)

Skillshare Scholarships

Even though online learning platforms offer courses at a significantly cheaper price, it is still not affordable for many underprivileged yet bright people out there. To address this issue, many platforms such as Skillshare offer scholarships to the needy so that everyone can get access to top-quality content – especially when they deserve it.

Skillshare currently offers two kinds of scholarships to the needy. Scholarships range from 50% off a Skillshare membership for college and university students to one year of free membership. If you meet the requirements, you are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

The application process is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is add your name, and email (with a valid .edu address), and explain why you are applying for the Skillshare Scholarship. You will then be notified via email if you are successful.

Are Skillshare Courses Worth Trying? 

To be straight and clear, yes, Skillshare courses are worth trying. The platform is for people who want to learn creative skills or polish their existing ones. 

Its clean and simple interface makes finding what we are looking for easier. The Skillshare Learning Path further simplifies the process of deepening our skill set by suggesting a curated list of sequential classes. 

For example, I started with the most basic course on graphic design, and once I finished it, Skillshare showed me a list of classes in the same field to widen my knowledge of graphic design. 

The video lessons are engaging and intuitive. You will see the lesson numbers and their duration on the right side. Below the lesson are reviews, discussions, projects and resources, and the transcript section. 

The reviews from real users give more insights about the class; you can participate in the discussion group and check out the resources that come with the courses. 

All lessons are usually bite-sized and not more than 15 to 20 minutes. This is a great approach because if you’re like me, I cannot keep on going for more than half an hour. Besides, too much information in one go is difficult to comprehend. 

However, you’ll not get any course completion certificates or formal accreditation from the platform. 

Another drawback, in my opinion, is that there are no assessments. Once you enroll, you cannot interact with the instructors. 

But that’s the case with most online learning platforms, so it’s not a big turn-off for me. Overall, Skillshare is a good platform for learning and developing new skills. It lets you take unlimited courses with a single subscription. 

Skillshare Review: Pros And Cons

Pros	Cons
A single subscription gives access to unlimited classes across a wide range of subjects.	You don’t get any certificates upon course completion
Encourages flexible learning	Some courses are not as in-depth
Affordable, especially when compared to the traditional education program	It’s hard to get personalized feedback or help from the instructors
Plenty of hands-on projects and opportunities to practice what you’ve learned
Offers a free trial on the premium membership
Opportunity to learn from industry leaders

Related Read –

• Detailed Comparison Between Skillshare and Masterclass
• An Honest Opinion About Masterclass and YesChef

Final Thoughts On Skillshare 

I hope this Skillshare review gave you a clear understanding of the platform and helped you decide whether to sign up for its courses. With a diverse range of Skillshare courses taught by industry experts, Skillshare provides dynamic and interactive learning experiences. 

It also offers a free trial so that users can make informed decisions before making commitments. Yes, you won’t get any certificate for completing the courses; if that’s one of your core requirements, you can check out platforms like Coursera. 

If you have further questions about Skillshare, make sure to leave them in the comments! 

Frequently Asked Questions– SkillShare Review