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Online course platform price and free-trial tracker
Short answer: the cheapest ways to learn are fully free options (Khan Academy, Alison, edX audit, Duolingo's free tier). Among paid subscriptions, annual billing is almost always cheaper per month than monthly billing. Watch renewal prices and refund windows. Prices below are US list prices taken from each platform's official pages.
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| Platform | Monthly | Annual | Free trial | Free tier | Refund / money-back | Certificate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MasterClass | Not offered (annual membership only) | Standard $10/mo, Plus $15/mo, Premium $20/mo (billed annually) | see official pricing | see official pricing | 30-day money-back guarantee | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Coursera | Coursera Plus $59/mo; single programs $49–$79/mo | Coursera Plus $399/yr | 7 days | see official pricing | Annual Plus: 14-day money-back guarantee | Yes, on completion | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Skillshare | see official pricing | see official pricing | 7 days | see official pricing | 7-day trial: one-time refund if requested within 48 hours of the charge and unused; no refunds on renewals (EU/UK: 14-day cooling-off) | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Udemy | Personal Plan from $13.00/mo (billed monthly or annually) | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| LinkedIn Learning | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | No standalone individual plan | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| edX | Priced per course | Priced per course | Not applicable | Audit track (no graded work or certificate) | see official pricing | Verified track (paid) | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Codecademy | Plus $29.99; Pro $39.99 | Plus $14.99/mo; Pro $19.99/mo (billed annually) | 7 days (card required) | Basic: $0 | No refunds on subscriptions (exceptions via support) | Plus and Pro: certificates of completion | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| DataCamp | Premium $35/mo | Premium $14/mo billed annually (special price; $28 struck out) | see official pricing | Basic: first chapter of every course | Fees non-refundable except as stated in Terms | Premium and Teams | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Brilliant | Individual $30/mo; Family (6) $60/mo | Individual $20/mo; Family $40/mo (billed annually) | see official pricing | Yes (Free plan with daily lesson) | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Domestika | Plus $33.90/mo | Plus $164.50 first year; renews at $329 | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | Yes, for purchased courses completed | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Pluralsight | Core Tech $30/mo; Complete $55/mo | Core Tech $21/mo; AI+/Cloud+/Data+/Security+ $24.50/mo; Complete $39/mo (billed yearly) | 10 days (excludes labs and sandboxes) | see official pricing | No refunds on individual subscriptions | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Udacity | $249/mo | $846 for 4 months upfront, then monthly | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| FutureLearn | see official pricing | Unlimited $349.99/yr ($244.99 offer shown Oct 15, 2026) | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Khan Academy | Free | Free | Not applicable | Core library free | Not applicable | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| The Great Courses Plus | EUR only seen: €18/mo (US price: see official) | EUR only seen: €135/yr (US price: see official) | 7 days (new customers) | see official pricing | No refund for early termination | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Babbel | $17.95/mo (1 month); $15.25/mo (3 months); $13.45/mo (6 months) | $107.40/yr ($8.95/mo); Lifetime $299.99 one-time | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Duolingo | Super: SEE | Super: SEE | 1 week | Yes (free plan) | Payments nonrefundable unless required by law; app-store refunds via Apple/Google | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Alison | Free courses | Free courses | Not applicable | Study and complete free | see official pricing | Free learner record; certificates optional paid (some free) | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Teachable | Starter $39, Builder $89, Growth $189 (creator plans) | Starter $29/mo, Builder $69/mo, Growth $139/mo billed annually | 7 days | No free plan | 30-day money-back guarantee | Growth plan: course certificates | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
| Rosetta Stone | $19.99/mo | $159/yr ($13.25/mo) | see official pricing | Free sample lessons only | see official pricing | see official pricing | Source Checked 2026-10-15 |
Method
Each figure was read on the platform's own pricing page, plan page or help centre on the date shown. Where we could not confirm a figure on an official page, we show "see official pricing" with a link instead of estimating. Promotional prices are labelled. Prices vary by region, taxes and app-store billing. A script re-fetches every source and flags changes for us to review, so we re-check pages whenever they change.
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