The best e-learning platforms
Learn where, how and whenever you want thanks to e-learning platforms
More and more students and pupils are opting for the online version with e-learning platforms when learning. Gone are the days when you had to cramme through several hundred to a thousand script slides from your professors to study for the next exam in order to pass. There are now a large number of practical e-learning providers on the Internet with which you can learn day and night, whenever it suits you. All you have to do is download the relevant online courses and save them on your mobile device or desktop PC – and you’re good to go, whether it’s on the couch in the afternoon or in bed in the evening. Most Requested Features: Flashcards, Summaries, Learning Plans & Mind Maps. In the following, however, we do not only want to go into learning apps, but also language apps like Babbel, apps for jobs like Udemy or business learning apps like Lynda.
But which e-learning providers are there? Which of the e-learning platforms is best? Which platform offers what?
We want to answer these questions for you here.
E-learning platforms overview and comparison
There is a very large selection of e-learning platforms. We want to introduce you to the best here.
– the free and most intelligent e-learning platform for school and university
disciplines
is an all-in-one learning app for students and pupils. The learning app from Munich is completely independent of subject and content, so that everyone can learn with the learning platform.
number of users
has been on the market since January 2018 and already has millions of users.
Offerer
User-generated content, as well as experts who create their own learning articles on thousands of topics of all directions. Learn with millions of shared flashcards and summaries, create your own content in record time, or learn with the knowledge of our experts. On there are transcripts, index cards, exams and much more.
Languages
Since is independent of content, it doesn’t matter which language you want to learn in. It doesn’t matter whether it’s English, German or any other language. Everyone can learn with .
Prices / Subscriptions
Premium subscription and free version that will always remain free.
certificates
Levels, badges and tiers that can be achieved through learning.
unique features
The app covers the entire learning process. You are automatically connected to fellow students who are learning the same thing. In this way, learning groups are formed within a few seconds. You can quickly create flashcards, summaries, study plans, mind maps and more and share them with friends. There are also many other features such as uploading lecture slides and exercise materials, taking part in a quiz to check your current level of knowledge, favoring and sharing your learning sets, accessing thousands of learning content from your university or school and your subject, having yourself queried, taking notes directly from your Create documents, create flashcards from your learning materials automatically and in seconds, remind you to learn, find a study group, document your progress, mark important points in your notes with the Magic Marker, create a learning plan for you, explore a wide variety of learning sets and much more
Coursera – all courses from the best universities in America
disciplines
Learning platform with 3000+ courses and certificates – this e-learning provider covers all sorts of subject areas including big data, machine learning, economics and business, and other academic courses.
number of users
around 30 million users worldwide.
Offerer
American company for further education offers and some distance learning courses, which works together with very renowned universities like Duke, UPenn, University of Michigan, Stanford and many more.
Languages
unfortunately only available in English so far. Other e-learning platforms are often multilingual.
Prices / Subscriptions
most of the courses are free. However, you do not get an official certificate or other proof that you have participated in the free courses. Otherwise, you will be faced with between €35 and €55 per month. If you book Coursera plus* to have access to over 3000 courses and projects at any time, you pay either 343 euros per year or 50 euros per month.”
certificates
these cost up to a maximum of 90 US dollars (around 80 euros).
unique features
Amazon MBA programs were recently introduced for the e-learning platform Coursera. Economic global players such as Google, Facebook or IBM offer very interesting and well-rated courses in various disciplines at Coursera.
Udemy – the world’s largest e-learning platform
disciplines
Udemy specializes primarily in job-related IT skills such as programming courses and courses for office applications.
number of users
44 million users worldwide.
Offerer
the provider uses the content of freelance content creators, which it then resells to learners. The quality of the free courses varies greatly.
Languages
75 languages including German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
Prices / Subscriptions
the courses available from this e-learning provider cost around 10 (Black Friday prices) to around 180 euros, depending on the scope. There is the possibility to take out a “personal subscription”.
certificates
you will receive a certificate from this e-learning provider for completing a course; there are no officially valid certificates here. Platforms like Udemy tend to be controversial and the quality of the courses on these platforms varies widely. Coursera scores with the consistently high quality of its content.
unique features
practical evaluation system which you can use to get information about the quality of the course you are aiming for in advance. In addition, you can access the course content you have already purchased for life.
Udacity – First-hand content
disciplines
IT courses are mainly offered on topics such as Android development and cloud development, infrastructure, web design and data analysis. Therefore, Udacity has a very limited range of topics compared to the other course platforms.
number of users
Estimated more than 1 million users from Germany. More than 50 million worldwide.
Offerer
the learning content of this e-learning provider is created by high-ranking employees of companies such as Google, Facebook and AT&T and is made available to you for learning.
Languages
so far also only available in English.
Prices / Subscriptions
The up to twelve-month courses at Udacity are priced at around 200 US dollars per month (around 170 euros).
certificates
after passing the course exam, the provider provides the download of an officially recognized certificate.
unique features
shortly after it was founded, the provider was positively received by the media. The computer magazine «Chip» awarded the provider the «Initiative of the Year» prize in 2012.
skill share – the platform for particularly creative learning skills
disciplines
This e-learning platform provides you with a variety of online courses on topics such as illustration, design, photography, video making, freelance work and much more.
number of users
currently around 2 million users around the world.
Offerer
the contents of this e-learning provider all come from amateur artists and professionals from the corresponding subject areas.
Languages
most courses are only available in English, but there are now more and more courses in German, French or Spanish.
Prices / Subscriptions
You can watch a variety of content from this provider for free. In addition, unlimited access and offline mode is offered for only US$10 per month.
certificates
You will not receive any certificates or attestations from this provider.
unique features
In June 2018, the Skillshare team launched another platform called «Skillshare Originals» that offers courses created exclusively by the professional Skillshare team.
LinkedIn Learning with Lynda – the business e-learning platform
disciplines
LinkedIn Learning can help you achieve your professional goals by providing you with useful business, technical, and creative development courses
number of users
LinkedIn has a total of more than 810 million users.
Offerer
the content on this platform is created by professional writers as well as entrepreneurs and professors.
Languages
sometimes you can use Lynda’s learning opportunities in German, French, Spanish and English.
Prices / Subscriptions
LinkedIn’s e-learning programs cost €39.33 per month or €29.49 per month for annual subscriptions.
certificates
After completing the training here, you will receive a corresponding certificate of completion if you successfully complete it. You can also forward this directly to customers, employers and colleagues via the platform.
unique features
the Lynda platform was renamed “LinkedIn Learning” in 2014 and also took over the Canadian startup “Compilr” in the same year.
babble – the best-known German e-learning provider
disciplines
Babbel is a language app that you can use to learn different languages. You can learn up to 14 languages here.
number of users
the provider sometimes has around 10 million subscriptions sold worldwide.
Offerer
Created by a team of more than 150 language experts.
Languages
The fee-based offer from this e-learning provider is now available in 14 languages – including German, Danish, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Indonesian, Norwegian, Russian, Polish, Swedish and Turkish.
Prices / Subscriptions
You are offered various subscriptions with different terms from one to a maximum of 12 months. The basic access per month costs…