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Skillshare is the world’s largest online community for creativity. It has over 13 million registered users and offers 40,000+ classes in just about any topic you can think of.
If you’re reading this Skillshare review, you may be wondering:
Is Skillshare worth it? How much is Skillshare? Can I get a Skillshare free trial? What are the best courses on Skillshare?
I’ll be covering that and more. But if you’re short on time, here’s the lowdown.
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Quick summary
Features
- Over 13 million registered users
- 40,000+ available courses in almost any topic you could wish for
- Great quality lessons with transcripts and subtitles available for each class
- Curated learning with Skillshare picks and suggestions to help guide your learning
- Unlimited access to every single course with a Skillshare membership plan
Pros
- Most lessons are bite-sized (around 10 minutes) which makes it easier to fit learning in
- Classes typically have a great mix of practical and theory
- Curated learning makes it easy to continue your learning journey without having to put too much thought into where to go next
- Skillshare has a great class review system which helps the algorithm to match you with the best classes possible
- Tangible, real-life results (I implemented one of my Skillshare classes and won 5x back my Skillshare fee in 2 days!)
- Skillshare Perks: discounts for Adobe, Canva, Freshbooks, and more
Cons
- Skillshare courses are not audited which means there are some really bad ones out there
- While short lessons can sometimes be a pro, it also means that a lot of courses only cover surface topics, not going into the deeper details
Best for: creatives and entrepreneurs looking to quickly learn skills that will help them grow and thrive.
Overall: One of the (if not the) best learning platforms out there for creatives. There’s tons of really valuable content with instructors who focus on getting tangible results. It really helped me upskill in areas related to my business, and also as an individual. Plus, with a one month free trial, you can sample it without losing out.
And now, for the detailed Skillshare review:
Table of Contents
- What is Skillshare, who are the instructors and how does Skillshare work?
- How much is Skillshare and is there a free trial
- What a lesson is like
- Best Skillshare classes in 2025
- Skillshare for business
- How I reviewed Skillshare, what I liked, and thought could be improved
- Who Skillshare is for
- Skillshare gift options
- Tips on finding great Skillshare courses
- Is Skillshare legit?
- Skillshare refunds
- Alternatives to Skillshare
- What others have said – Skillshare Reddit reviews
- How to open a Skillshare account
- Is Skillshare worth it?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is Skillshare?
The core philosophy of Skillshare is simple:
“Anyone can learn anything, at any age, at an affordable cost, anywhere in the world”
And to prove the point, Skillshare has become an education giant, offering over 40,000 courses to its 12+ million users. Skillshare’s stats are impressive.
Skillshare is renowned for its classes in creative disciplines such as Photography and Sketching, but also offers courses in fields such as Business and Productivity. It’s been featured in Forbes, the NYT and Business Insider.
Most courses are incredibly digestible: averaging around 60 minutes of content spread across 5 or 6 videos. In a world that runs at full-speed, being able to equip yourself with new skills in one hour flat is a great opportunity!
Who are the instructors?
Skillshare instructors come from all walks of life and as such, you can find an expert instructor for pretty much every niche.
Some of the top instructors on the platform include:
- Anne Ditmeyer, designer and creative coach: Anne is a Paris-based American designer and one of the original Skillshare teachers Over 26,000 students have taken her courses which cover Basic InDesign, Map Making, and Redesigning Your Resume, among others
- Dominic Flask, designer and illustrator : An independent designer and illustrator, Dominic specializes in icon and badge design, motion graphics, and more. His Intro To Graphic Design series has helped over 40,000 students on their journey with design
- Brad Woodard, illustrator and graphic designer: Brad Woodard is the creator of the most popular course on Skillshare: “Learn the Ins and Outs of Illustrator”. His other courses cover both specific skills for illustrators and designers, and others cover more general creative topics such as the art of self-promotion. With almost 100,000 students taking his classes, he is one of the top instructors on Skillshare
You might also come across some of your favorite creatives. Two of my YouTube icons — Jessica Kobeissi and Bradon Woelfel — both have courses that you can take and already being a fan makes it extra special.
How does Skillshare work?
Skillshare works on a subscription basis -annual or monthly- which allows you unlimited access to any classes while your subscription is active.
Once you have purchased a subscription, you don’t need to worry about any extra costs to participate in courses. You can take as many as you like!
When you join, you’ll get access to:
- 40,000+ high quality courses
- Curated learning suggestions personalized to you
- An online community to share and comment on projects with
- Offline viewing options with the Skillshare iOS and Android apps
- Skillshare Perks (annual subscription only): exclusive discounts for products such as Adobe Lightroom, SquareSpace, FreshBooks and Canva
While the focus is often on Skillshare’s creative offerings, there are courses available in pretty much every field. These courses might be less obvious from the home menu, but a quick search reveals classes covering Visual Arts, Music, Cooking, Business, Finance, Animation and Lifestyle.
Anyone can become a Skillshare instructor, but Skillshare’s algorithm favors popular courses by ranking in order of most watched to least watched classes. This means that classes are effectively reviewed and audited by other learners.
How much does Skillshare cost?
There are several different pricing options for Skillshare and its costs are also location dependent. If you live in a country where the cost of living is very low, you’re likely to pay less than someone in a country where the cost of living is high.
Currently, a Skillshare Premium account costs $168 (USD) if you purchase an annual subscription, or $32 per month on a monthly payment plan.
$168 works out at only $14 per month. That’s similar to a Netflix plan, or only a handful of coffees per month.
Individual business courses outside of the Skillshare platform can easily set you back hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, so the cost does represent great value for money.
This is especially true if you plan to implement your newly learned skills into your business. I took Attabeira German’s course on Instagram Reels, implemented a new strategy based off her course, and won a client that covered my Skillshare cost in multiples. How did they find me? Reels.
Not all Skillshare courses will work magic, and of course, there’s no guarantee of immediate success, $14 per month isn’t a huge amount to help set yourself up for success.
There are also pricing plans for business teams, depending on your requirements. Standard business pricing starts at $159 per year but custom pricing is available for larger business purchases.
You can also see the latest and best Skillshare discounts here.
