Free Online Courses Platform

Over the past few years, global employers and training managers have been heavily relying on online course platforms to carry on with the training of their employees regardless of their location and work arrangement. The COVID-19 crisis prompted even more businesses to embrace these resources to continue providing effective training to their now-remote team and stay on top of their competition. In fact, studies suggest that the adoption of online course platforms will persist even in the post-pandemic world and will most likely be worth $325 billion by 2025.

Searching on Google, you’ll find hundreds of online courses platforms with a range of easily accessible learning resources readily available for deployment. The best ones even have intuitive tools that allow you to build your online courses from scratch and monitor the learning progress of your employees. Perhaps you’ve been cracking your head looking for the best online course platforms that you can use for your next training initiative? We’ve got you covered with our comprehensive list of the best online course platforms, which you can use as a guide when deciding what’s best for your team. Continue reading to find out more.

EdApp LMS sets the standard for high-quality online course platforms, recognized for its comprehensive microlearning content library filled with expertly designed courses for various industries. Here, you’ll get to explore topics about retail, construction, cybersecurity, leadership and management styles, and food and hospitality. With more than 30 expansive categories to choose from, there’s surely world-class content for every team.
Cost: Free
Key features: Microlearning content library, editable courses, authoring tool, gamified quizzes, AI translation tool

Over the years, Coursera has gained increased popularity for its paid and unpaid online courses that are mostly hosted by the best university professors and industry experts from around the world. The majority of their programs are aimed at virtually any professionals seeking to improve their skills and abilities, receive a promotion or raise, or start a new career. Whether your industry falls to information technology, business, or social sciences, Coursera definitely has something ready for your team.
Most of the courses in this platform are delivered in online video lectures that your learners can take on their best availability. Some are also deployed with self-paced quizzes and hands-on projects, ensuring optimum engagement from your team. Coursera can provide a certificate of completion, although you may have to pay a small fee from $39-$99 USD.

Cost: Free; paid courses with certifications
Key features: Expertly designed online courses, video lectures, self-paced quizzes, hands-on projects, certificate of completion

edX is also a great place to find high-quality online courses that can help your team expand their skills and knowledge and drive them to deliver exceptional performance. There are over 3000+ courses on this platform, designed and hosted by some of the world’s leading institutions such as Harvard, MIT, University of Oxford, the University of Tokyo, as well as Google, IBM, and Microsoft. They are delivered in video format, which your learners can take at their own pace. A download option is also available so they can stream the classes anytime and anywhere, whether they’re grabbing a quick coffee or sitting on the bus on their way home.

As a global non-profit organization, most of the courses here are free for everyone. The only downside with this platform is that it has no authoring tool that you can use to customize or edit training content.

Cost: Free
Key features: Educational-oriented online courses, self-paced learning, offline streaming

Developing new skills and expertise can also be achieved with FutureLearn. This online course platform has more than 2,000 unique programs that deal with a variety of subjects, including healthcare and medicine, business and management, creative arts and media, and so many more. Similar to Coursera and edX, these courses are also prepared by world-class universities and industry experts and delivered through videos, articles, discussions, even quizzes, and other activities.
But what makes this platform special is that it offers unique microdentials and programs focused on providing in-depth courses in a specialized field. These are backed with independent certification management software, some even with academic credit that they can use to earn a professional degree. They are also 100% online and can be taken within 10-15 weeks.

Cost: Free
Key features: Unique online courses in videos, articles, discussions, and quizzes, microdentials and programs

MasterClass is not your usual online course platform. Here, your team will have access to 100+ online classes hosted by acclaimed and well-known experts and celebrities. They can learn how to cook restaurant-grade cuisines from Gordon Ramsay, build a brand and create a visual identity from Diane von Furstenberg, and develop their own fashion style from Marc Jacobs. Each course includes 15-20 well-produced and engaging videos that are mostly 10 minutes long. Supporting a self-paced learning experience, your learners can take and complete them anytime their schedule allows. They can also download the app on their phone and view the courses on the go.
The con for this platform is that their course catalog is scarce and limited since they only invite the world’s top best to discuss their topics. Plus, most courses target those at the beginner level, which doesn’t sound enticing if you plan to retrain your existing and already seasoned employees.

Cost: $15 USD per month
Key features: 100+ online classes hosted by acclaimed and well-known experts and celebrities, self-paced learning, mobile device accessibility

At Skillshare, you’ll find hundreds of online video courses that delve into a wide array of different topics, including entrepreneurship, photography, film and video, leadership and management, marketing, and so much more. The video classes, which vary from recorded to live, are hosted and facilitated by experienced teachers, who are acclaimed reputable experts in their respective fields. They are also 100% online, allowing the learning to take place anywhere and anytime with their preferred gadgets, from desktop computers to tablets, even mobile devices.
Perhaps the biggest downside of this platform is that the learning resources are limited only to educational videos. They usually last 30-40 minutes in length, which isn’t exactly ideal for those with short attention spans.

Cost: Pricing plans available upon request
Key features: online video courses (live and recorded), desktop and mobile accessibility

If you need training content fast, ELearning Brothers is the ultimate lifesaver. Regardless if you need to develop hard or soft skills or update your team on the recent compliance or safety regulations, they have you covered with their safety training software. Here, there are thousands of mobile-responsive microlearning courses put together by subject-matter experts and instructional designers. Most of these online lessons are already designed with interactive elements such as images and short videos, as well as knowledge checks and assessments, ensuring successful learning within your remote team even without the need for a face-to-face training session. You can purchase a course one at a time or the entire library to keep the costs down.
This platform can also lend a hand in developing custom training content with its advanced authoring tool. There are a variety of templates, frameworks, and interaction elements available, so you no longer have to spend hours designing the perfect course content for your team. If you like, you can also develop courses in a VR format and apply some real-life scenarios, ensuring a more fun, engaging, and satisfying learning experience for your employees.

Cost: Pricing plans available upon request
Key features: Ready-made microlearning courses, content development with advanced authoring tool, VR training