Kevin Hayler: Professional Wildlife artist, author, and traveler.
It’s no secret that Udemy is one of the most popular online learning platforms out there, boasting 79 million students, 75000+ instructors, and a staggering 250,000 video courses, but is Udemy worth it for artists and creatives? Is it good value for money?
Udemy courses are worth it when you buy their top courses at huge discounts. Regular sales are a feature of Udemy, often up to 90% off. New customers are always offered cheap deals.
In this Udemy review, I’ll explain the pros and cons so you can decide for yourself.
Let’s start.
Disclaimer: When you buy something via my affiliate links I earn from qualifying purchases and sometimes earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. I am an Amazon Associate among others. I only recommend trusted sites.
What is Udemy?
What is the Quality of Udemy Courses?
Are There Any Free Courses on Udemy?
How Does Udemy Work?
First, you need to create an Udemy account and sign up, and once you’re registered, you’ll have access to a vast library of video tutorials.
What is the Udemy Course Structure?
Udemy courses are typically structured around a series of video lectures that covers specific skills or topics.
Udemy instructors provide commentary and guidance and in addition to the main lectures, many courses include quizzes, assignments, and worksheets, to aid the learning experience.
The best instructors have an easy-to-follow lesson structure with pre-recorded videos, bonus worksheets, tools, and additional resources to help you get the best out of the lessons. Some even offer a certificate of completion but don’t take those too seriously.
How to Navigate Udemy
How Much Does Udemy Cost?
You can also try to go incognito and pretend to be a new customer again, but you do run the risk of detection and getting your membership blocked. Better to sign up again with new details via a VPN.
Why are Udemy’s Courses so Cheap?
Udemy offers heavily discounted courses to attract millions of students with a simple pricing model. They attract more students with lower costs. Udemy is not an accredited institution and consequently, their costs are far lower.
They do provide Udemy certificates but they aren’t to be taken too seriously.
They entice you onto the platform with amazing deals and they act as teasers to entice you to return. There is a high probability that returning customers will pay a premium to continue.
Does Udemy Offer Refunds?
Yes, Udemy offers a 30-day refund policy which is very generous, but it’s not a no-quibbles guarantee. There are understandable caveats.
Refunds can be denied for the following reasons:
- A significant (unstated) portion of the course was downloaded or consumed before the request was made.
- The course was refunded previously to the same student
- A student has a history of asking for refunds
- To users who have previously been reported for violations
- Subscriptions are not refunded unless the law in a given country demands it.
Sometimes Udemy will offer Udemy credits in lieu of a cash refund.
The refund process is simple and Udemy instructs you to do the following, and I quote:
Udemy Refunds
- Navigate to your purchase history
- Locate the course you wish to refund.
- Below the course title, click Request Refund. You will be directed to the course refund page.
- Next, select your Refund Method. If your transaction is eligible for a refund to your original payment method, you can choose to receive Udemy Credits instead.
- Select a reason why you’re requesting a full or partial refund (please see below) for the course and then enter a brief description. The information you provide can help Udemy and the instructor improve moving forward.
- Click Submit.
Your refunds are returned using the original payment method. Note that Udemy app purchases, Apple Pay, and bank transfers will be refunded with Udemy credits.
Is the Udemy Personal Plan Worth it?
With so many promotions and heavy discounts on individual courses, it surprised me when Udemy introduced a subscription model. The Personal Plan is now widely available and works alongside the usual pay-per-course system.
Instead of buying courses individually, you pay a monthly subscription that gives you access to a curated library of popular courses. The price varies depending on your location, but it is typically around $30 per month in the United States, with regional pricing in other countries.
The subscription includes thousands of selected courses rather than the entire Udemy catalog. You can take as many of those courses as you like while you remain subscribed, but you do not get lifetime access. If you cancel the subscription, you lose access to the courses included in the plan.
Personally, I’m still not convinced the subscription makes sense for most people. Because Udemy frequently offers huge discounts, it can often be cheaper to buy the courses you want and keep them for life rather than pay a monthly fee.
.Now consider how many courses you are likely to take each month. I read somewhere (sorry I’ve forgotten the site) that the average student completes just 30% of an Udemy course, and 70% never even start!
I’m sure that applies to courses in general, not just to Udemy.
Let’s face it, a ‘Personal Plan’ isn’t great value, It doesn’t make sense to me.
The Pros and Cons of Udemy Courses
Let’s go over some of the advantages of using Udemy:
Now let’s consider the disadvantages of using Udemy:
It’s unfair to suggest there’s no quality control because there is, even if it’s not very demanding. Udemy courses require a minimum of 30 minutes of HD video (720p or 1080p) and 5 lectures or learning modules. All courses go through a basic quality review process to ensure technical quality and basic structure.
Are Udemy Course Certificates Worth it?
No, not really. A certificate of completion is awarded once you finish an Udemy course, you can join the 30% that officially complete a course. It’s nice to have for the pleasure of completing a project, but it can’t be used for formal purposes as the courses are not accredited.
Trustpilot Review
As you can see Udemy has got very poor reviews. It’s very obvious that students feel short changed.
The Ultimate Drawing Course on Udemy is the most popular
Is Udemy Worth it? Final Thoughts
The Udemy platform is not perfect by any means, but is Udemy worth it? Yes, for some it’s a great way to learn.
Udemy offers a convenient and affordable way to learn new skills from the comfort of your own home. While Udemy doesn’t specialize in art courses, you’ll be able to access a wide range of creative classes.
Where Udemy falls down is the pile ’em high and sell ’em cheap mentality. There’s nothing wrong with selling cheap courses but the way they do it leaves a lot to be desired.
They offer too many courses, and most are mediocre. Only a few top classes are really worth buying and they’ll be dramatically discounted. That’s great for a discerning buyer, but the message it sends out is clear, Udemy courses are worth next to nothing. Where does that leave the consumer?
There’s no doubt that you have to be more critical and research what’s on offer. Don’t take Udemy’s classes at face value alone, be discerning and you’ll be rewarded.
The best teachers on Udemy are very good and worth finding.
And what about the terrible Trustpilot reviews? Some students have a very negative experience, it can’t be denied.
If you read Trustpilot, some refunds have not been honored and people’s anger is directed toward the lack of customer support. You can only conclude that there is an element of risk.
The answer is simple, do not pay the listed original price. Only buy discounted courses, and if it goes wrong, you’ve only lost a few dollars.
Do I recommend Udemy? Yes, with caveats.
Hi, I’m Kevin Hayler
I’ve been selling my wildlife art and traveling the world for over 20 years, and if that sounds too good to be true, I’ve done it all without social media, art school, or galleries!
I can show you how to do it. You’ll find a wealth of info on my site, about selling art, drawing tips, lifestyle, reviews, travel, my portfolio, and more. Enjoy