Best Online Learning Platforms [Updated 2023]

In the past, when we were a kid, the process of learning a subject was completely different. We have to be physically present in school, sit in the classroom, and depend on our teachers to give us knowledge about a subject.

In those days, the teachers used to engage with the class by writing the topic on the board, reading aloud, and encouraging students to take notes. They would then ask cross-question and check notebooks to ensure students understood the topics.

Within just a few years, the whole process of learning completely changed due to digitalization and replaced the traditional way of education.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, it became mandatory to shut down schools, colleges, and universities, 168 million students stopped going to schools and were affected globally.

Moreover, the pandemic pushed the need for online learning and made it a necessity for the Ed-tech industry to make advancement toward it which slowly made online education a new norm.

Within a few years, the market has seen the entry and exit of many online learning platforms for education. But some E-learning apps are users’ favorites and have exceptional images in their minds.

It is necessary to know how much progress has been made in the sector and which platform is currently ruling the market. Whether you are a student, trainer, or Edupreneur knowing emerging trends and innovations in online learning that are shaping the future of education is necessary.

This blog is curated with the same intention to provide you with complete knowledge about the best online learning platforms with detailed descriptions of every platform. If you are looking to get into the E-learning sector and want to know the top online learning platforms, then this is the right blog for you. Let’s dive in-

What is an eLearning Platform?

An e-learning platform or online learning platform is a digital platform that simplifies the delivery of educational content throughout the internet to students.

It serves as a digital learning environment where learners can access a wide range of educational resources including virtual classrooms through which they can tutor, and learners can interact with each other.

Apart from lectures, the online learning platform also includes many amazing features including assignments, quizzes, learning interactions, and progress-tracking tools. These E-learning platforms allow learners to access educational content at their own pace and convenience making education accessible anytime and anywhere. 

At current times, online learning platforms cater to every type of learner whether it’s a student seeking academic courses to professional learning, all available in one place.

Apart from that, these virtual platforms also allow us to chat, share files, and participate in social forums. Online learning has become cheaper, more efficient, and more productive than traditional ways of getting education. 

So, it can be said that these virtual platforms are a comprehensive solution that satisfies the needs of businesses, teachers, and learners.

It serves as a versatile tool to create, manage, and monetize their courses effectively while providing learners with a hub to engage with all educational resources serves as a one-stop solution that brings together necessary tools and resources to provide a never imagined learning experience. 

List of The Best Online Learning Platforms

While there are 100s of platforms that are designed to develop and grow your skills, it becomes hard to analyze which is the best among different types of eLearning platforms. To save you time and effort, we have brought the list of top online learning platforms that are constantly evolving as per trends and are loved by users. 

1. Coursera

Coursera needs no introduction; it is a U.S.-based enormous course provider that was launched in 2012. The platform has partnered with colleges, universities as well and companies to upskill people by providing well-curated courses such as Google and IBM.

These online education platforms provide 5,800+ courses, and 450+ specializations, partnered with 300+ leading universities, all from world-class companies.

Coursera is moving forward with a huge community of 100 million registered students, it allows users to add a new skill to their resume or enhance existing ones through interactive video lectures, smart quizzes, and astonishing assignments.

Users can access educational content from the sea of 1600+ free courses and learn about them, but they don’t provide certificates. But, with Coursera Plus you can access most of the content, guided projects, and even get access to authorized certificates.

The platform offers a lot of great courses like business, social psychology, data science, digital marketing, computer science, and IT courses.

You have the choice to buy individual courses or opt for the Coursera Plus plan that ensures unlimited access to all courses through a yearly subscription fee.

Features of Coursera-

• Offers more than 1500 free courses.
• Provide professional skill-based development.
• Collaboration with top experts and professionals.
• Provides industry-recognized certificates and degrees.
• Offers skill-gap analysis.

2. Skillshare

If you have any creative interests and want to take them forward, you should check out Skillshare. The platform has 35,000+ classes on a wide range of topics including design, photography, video editing, and more.

The platform is divided into three categories basically, one is “Thrive” where you can take classes for Lifestyle and Productivity, second is “Build” you can learn Marketing & Freelance & Entrepreneurship, Third is “Create” which consists of content on Animation, Creative Writing, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Music, UI/UX Design, Illustration, & Photography.

One thing that will make you a fan of Skill Share is it offers courses led by renowned creatives and keeps them in a short time frame that helps individuals access online platforms for learning with limited free time.

Skillshare also emphasizes collaboration and social learning. Learners can upload their projects on the platform, other students can view and engage with those projects, This harbours motivation in other students to engage with creative skills.

Features of Skillshare-

• Wide range of courses for creative and practical skills.
• Offers engagement and analytics reports.
• A large puddle of different courses led by renowned industry professionals.
• Provides easily consumable and bite-sized learning experiences.
• Offers a free seven-day trial.

3. LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn is a go-to- platform for everyone, either to find a job or read people’s experiences. But are you aware of LinkedIn Learning, It is a MOOC platform that has a variety of courses, online training videos, and tutorials that help you to advance your skills and add to your resume. It is one of the biggest Online learning platforms with 16,000+ online courses that are taught by industry experts.

LinkedIn Learning was launched in 1995 as “Lynda” to provide assistance and resources for Lynda Weinman’s educational support, but they started selling courses online in 2002.

If you are a professional looking to improve your skills and make progress in your career, then LinkedIn Learning is good to start.

After completing your preferred course LinkedIn Learning provides certificates that you can display on your LinkedIn profile that can open doors for many valuable opportunities. 

Features of LinkedIn Learning-

• Provides personalized recommendations for courses.
• Delivers certification after course completion.
• Get access to 16,000+ expert-led courses.
• Offers hands-on exercises and quizzes.
• LinkedIn video tutorials undergo through vetting process to ensure their credibility.

4. Udacity

Udacity is among the best online learning platforms that aim to provide the best education in the fields of technology, data science, artificial intelligence, and business.

With a mission to “Power careers through tech education”, Udacity offers a wide range of industry-relevant courses including data engineering and business analytics.

Udacity also offers a “Nanodegrees certificate program” to equip you with in-demand skills such as coding, data science, robotics, and many more.

The platform has partnered with expert instructors and 200+ global industry partners including Facebook, Mercedes-Benz, and many more to provide professional help and empower individuals to prosper in the rapidly changing market.

Udacity has 16.9 million+ registered users in more than 240 countries, 2.6 million+ projects submitted, and within the first year, 73% of graduates experienced a positive career shift.

Features of Udacity-

• Nanodegree programs and courses are designed by industry experts. 
• Flexible learning options.
• Offers hands-on learning through interactive projects.
• Course recommendation to fit your preference.
• Industry-aligned curriculum portfolio of projects and practical skills. 

5. Udemy

Udemy is among the top online learning platforms that provide a wide range of courses to learners seeking to advance their skills or learn new subjects.

The platform was launched in 2010 to empower individuals and organizations by offering flexible and effective skill development opportunities and has now grown as popular online learning platforms with 62 million learners, 70k+ instructors, and 830M+ course enrolments. 

Udemy courses are created and taught by experts in their respective fields ensuring high-quality content. Their courses have a wide range including finance, development, business, music, health, and fitness.

“Udemy Business’’ helps companies with all-inclusive employee training and development by offering access to 7,000+ courses, learning analytics, and many more.

Udemy offers extensive courses making it a popular choice for individuals seeking affordable and flexible online education to acquire new skills or expand their knowledge in different fields.

Even as a businessman, To develop an eLearning platform like Udemy, you can take the help of a leading elearning app development company and get amazing features that are user-oriented. 

Features of Udemy-

• Courses are available in different formats such as Video lectures. Presentation and more. 
• Easy to access as the platform is mobile-friendly.
• Offers lifetime access to purchased courses.
• Provides certificate after completing the course.
• User-friendly interface and easy to navigate.

6. edX

Initially started as an experiment by Harvard and MIT, edX has evolved into the best online class platform with over 76 million individuals worldwide with top-quality online education.

edX is part of 2U and has expanded its reach to provide real professional opportunities in almost every career discipline including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and more.

By collaborating with universities and colleges, offers MicroMasters programs and online degrees, enabling learners to earn academic credentials in a more flexible and accessible manner.

edX offers 3500+ courses from the best universities and organizations offering quality education globally. edX will have around 41 million learners by 2022 and currently offers courses across 30 subjects.

Features of edX-

• edX offers a vast library of courses in different subjects.
• Many courses are self-paced for learners to study to their suitability.
• Courses often include interactive exercises, video lectures, and more.
• Offers graded assessment and certificates upon successful completion. 
• Users can offer many courses for free and pay for a certificate at the end.

7. Google Classroom

Google Classroom is free enterprise learning management system that was launched by Google in 2014 for educators and learners. It allows teachers to create, distribute, and manage assignments in a virtual classroom.

Since it has Google Backup, it gets upgraded with new features sooner and faster. The platform improves collaboration and communications as teachers can provide real-time feedback and conduct discussions.

With the widespread use of learning and development platforms, Google Classroom has witnessed widespread adoption as teachers swiftly embrace paperless journeys.

The platform incorporates some great Google tools like Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Calendar, and many more that help to effectively manage virtual classrooms. The inclusive suite of tools allows educators to adapt and deliver effective online teaching while fostering engagement and collaboration among students. 

Features of Google Classroom-

• Educators can provide real-time feedback to students. 
• Promotes digital submission of assignments streamlining the grading process for teachers.
• Google Classroom is accessible through mobile also allowing easy access.
• Teachers can conduct live teaching sessions and Q&A sessions during Hangouts or Meet.
• Promotes collaborative tools among students, fostering teamwork and interaction.

8. BYJU’S

If you don’t know about BYJU’S, then you are about to get introduced to one of the best digital learning platforms in India “BYJU’S”. Headquartered in Bangalore, BYJU’S was launched in 2011 and was esteemed at $5.1 billion as of June 2023. BYJU’S currently operates in eight big cities including Delhi and Mumbai.

BYJU’S was developed for parents so that they can access their children’s performance, This garnered their platform a lot of appreciation and awards too including Deloitte Technology fast 50 awards and CNBC- TV 18 Crisil Emerging India Award.

BYJU’S has also acquired Aakash educational firm which has been famous for its educational offers for medical and engineering entrance as well as for students.

BYJU’S stands out as an innovative online learning platform with unique features that set it apart. With some exceptional features, BYJU’S has garnished and become the most popular eLearning platforms among users.

Features of BYJU’S-

• The platform offers 5000+ educational videos covering different classes.
• Offers progress tracking and performance analysis features.
• Engaging quizzes and assessments.
• Live classes and doubt-solving sessions. 
• Covers various subjects and topics in 3D and 2D.

9. Photomath

No need to get stuck with your math problem, solve quickly and easily by taking the help of Photomath. Not being able to solve your children’s math problems is one of the worst nightmares every parents has to face, the same was the difficulty of “Damir’’ who created Photomath to help children solve their Maths problems in a simple and accessible manner.

The app is best online learning platform for people to solve Maths problems that it was downloaded 300 million downloads and is referred to as the “World’s most used math app”. Available in 200+ countries and more than 30 languages.

You can access Photomath for free, and to enjoy Photomath’s advanced premium, you can subscribe to “Photomath Plus” to solve more complex mathematical problems such as mathematic word problems.

Features of Photomath-

• Offers AI-based animated tutorials. 
•  Photomath scans your problem through camera and provides a detailed solution asap.
• Parents and teachers can use Photomath to track the learner.
• Photomath can solve complex mathematical challenges too.
•  Offers interactive animations that visually demonstrate mathematical concepts.

10. WhiteHat Jr

WhiteHat Jr is an online coding platform that is designed to empower children aged 6 to 18. The platform offers one-on-one learning classes to help users with a more structured approach and help them learn basic nitty-gritties of coding- logic, structure, sequence, and many more to produce resourceful outcomes.

WhiteHat Jr was founded in 2018 by Bajaj to enhance children’s coding and math abilities. WhiteHat Jr offer a platform for students to nurture their creativity, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

The platform’s gamified teaching methods and real-world project-based learning enable kids to develop a better foundation for their coding and inspire them to pursue careers in technology. In 2020, the platform was acquired by BYJU’S for a considerable $300 million and combined afterwards into their coding teaching segment.

Features of WhiteHat Jr-

• Promotes logical thinking.
• Their curriculum includes Python, Javascript, and more.
• Offers a student-centered approach.
• Aim to foster creativity and logical thinking.
• Has an Interactive and gamified teaching methodology.

11. Khan Academy

Khan Academy was founded by educator ‘Sal Khan” in the year 2008, It is a non-profit American educational organization that aims to develop a range of online tools to educate students. These tools consist of small video lessons, accompanied by supplementary practice exercises and educational materials for teachers.

The platform provides high-quality course that covers a variety of subjects including math, science, history, computer programming, and more. At Khan Academy, learners can access instructional videos, practice exercises, and interactive quizzes to strengthen their understanding of concepts. 

By 2022, Khan Academy had 135+ million users, among which 2.3 million were utilized for SAT. The impact of Khan Academy videos is pretty evident as their videos have been amassing over 2 billion views since November 2022.

Features of Khan Academy-

• Short brief video lessons for several subjects. 
• Personalized learning tools for individual progress tracking.
• Promotes self-directed learning.
• Provides support through supplementary practice exercises. 
• Free and easily accessible.

12. FutureLearn

Founded in 2013, FutureLearn is the best online learning platform in UK without which the list of e-learning platforms is incomplete. The platform offers access to various high-quality content on different subjects such as arts, science, technology, and more. FutureLearn courses are designed to be flexible and easily accessible for all types of students varying from beginner to expert level.

Initially, it was brought into existence with 23 founding partners and now vaunts 175+ global partners, including some renowned universities such as the University of California, Lancaster University, University of Leeds, and more.

One of the platform’s unique features is the social learning aspect where learners are given the freedom to join with the global community of students, exchange ideas, and improve their learning journey. The platform has both free and paid options, allowing learners to choose the courses that suit their needs.

Features of FutureLearn-

• Offers flexible and accessible courses for all levels.
• Allow learners to acquire new skills and advance their careers.
• Offer video lectures, interactive discussions, and discussion forms. 
• Encourages people to acquire new skills and advance their careers. 
• Provides a global community of learners for social learning experiences.

13. Unacademy

Unacademy is a well-renowned name in the list of online learning platforms which was founded in the year 2015. The platform offers a variety of online courses in subjects including Academic subjects, test preparation, language, and more.

Unacademy offers a free model and in 2019 they also launched Unacademy Plus to offer courses with different needs and budgets.

With a user-friendly interface, Unacademy empowers millions of learners to access quality education at their convenience and in different languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, and more. In 2020, Unacademy launched Graphy which enables creators to establish their online schools swiftly in less than 60 seconds.

Subsequently, they have also offline branches in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and more. Over the years, it has grown a user base of 50 million learners and 50,0000 educators making it a popular choice for test preparation and academic studies. 

Features of Unacademy-

• Compatible on mobile.
• Offers high-quality pre-recorded video lectures and live classes.
• Access to top educators and subject matter experts.
• Interactive video content and doubt-clearing sessions. 
• Community engagement through forums and group discussions.

14. Great Learning

Great Learning a division of the BYJU’S group, is a prominent digital learning platform that caters to professional and higher education. The platform has 8.2 million learners across 170+ countries and has collaborated with esteemed institutions like The University of Texas, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and others to provide programs in technology, data, and business domains.

The platform focuses on industry-relevant courses to help learners acquire new skills and align with job-market demands, They have expanded their presence in 170+ countries and successfully assisted individuals to achieve successful career movement in many top companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Deloitte, McKinsey, and more.

They offer diverse delivery models, programs in the blended classroom, and purely online formats. This helps users from different backgrounds enjoy quality education that suits their preferences and schedules. Great learning has become a famous choice as a digital learning platform for upskilling, reskilling, and surviving in the rapidly evolving professional landscape.

Features of Great Learning-

• Offers Job-ready curriculum.
• Skill enhancement for professional growth. 
• Participate in micro-interactive classes with up to 20 people
• Engage in peer-learning opportunities.
• Receive mentorship from industry experts. 

15. upGrad

Launched in 2015, upGrad is the best platform for online learning offering a diverse range of online courses and programs that improve professional skills and advance career opportunities. Currently, the platform is operated in 31 offices including India, Vietnam, USA, Singapore, UK, and Middle-East.

upGrad was founded with a mission in mind to fulfil the gap between industry demands and individual aspirations, The platform collaborates with top industries and experts to provide high-quality, future-oriented industry-relevant content and help individuals to grow with the industry trends. 

They are loved by the educators and learners & currently expanding in the industry by bringing more platforms such as upGrad rekrut for recruitment & hiring, upGrad Jeet for graduates to assist them in test preparation, upGrad Campus to provide Blended campus for college students, and Knowledge Hut which is a Global Edtech company marking its presence worldwide.

Features of upGrad-

• Offers a diverse range of courses including technology, data science, marketing, and more.
• Provide live lectures and interactive sessions.
• upGrad allows to access courses according to leaner convenience. 
• The platform offers career support to grab better job opportunities.
• Provide certificates after completion of the courses from reputed colleges and universities. 

16. Simplilearn

Simplilearn is another big name in online training platforms. With 2,500+ live classes, 400+ courses, and 2,000+ trainers deliver up-to-date content to make sure learners receive valuable insights with the latest industry trend. The platform accommodates learners of different levels from beginners to experts making it available for diverse audiences. 

Founded in 2010 Simplilearn started to authorize learners to assist them in achieving their career goals quickly and easily, and now as per their website, they have achieved the division of being known as the world’s top online bootcamp for digital economy skills training.

Unlike other online learning platforms, Simplilearn offers comprehensive courses in various domains such as Data Science, Digital Marketing, Big Data Cloud, and many more.

Features of Simplilearn-

• The platform is self-paced allowing users to progress their courses as per their comfort.
• The platform offers more than 400 courses in different domains.
• You can access the educational content for 24 hours from anywhere and anytime.
• Offers skill assessment and progress tracking tool.
• Offers 40+ global endorsements.

17. Moodle

Moodle is one of the free online learning platforms and open-source learning management systems that are used for educational institutions and organizations worldwide.

Established to facilitate online classroom and distance learning, Moodle empowers instructors to host their website and offers a plethora of plugins and a Supporting Learning Environment to enrich the experience of both students and teachers as well. 

Moodle is widely acknowledged by its users due to its compatibility and effective user engagement. The Platform has 372,000,000+ users globally, more than 2.6 billion course enrolments, and 44,000,000+ courses in different languages, This platform is the perfect choice to modernize your classroom as per latest trends.

Features of Moodle-

• Modern and user-friendly interface on desktop and mobile devices. 
• Offers drag-and-drop file features from famous cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and more. 
• Teachers and students both can track their progress with different options. 
• Offers different collaborative tools such as forums, chat rooms, and messaging.
• The platform offers the inclusion of multimedia elements like videos, audio, and images.

18. MasterClass

Masterclass is a learning platform online that’s packed with necessary and erudite features but has an intuitive user-friendly interface that provides a unique and amazing learning experience to apprentices. 

The platform has wide categories to choose from such as Food, Design & Style, Writing, Science & Tech, Business, Sports & Tech. Each course is designed to provide in-depth insights and practical knowledge from experts in the respective fields. 

Through Masterclass, learners can gain exclusive access to expert-level insights, personal stories, and tips that would otherwise be hard to obtain. 

Initially, Masterclass was started with a funding of $1.9 Million which has crossed $475 million in 2021. With high production value, captivating storytelling, and inspiring content, it is surely an appealing choice for people wanting to learn something new in convenient and engaging ways.

Feature of Masterclass-

• You can stream videos anytime anywhere.
• Offers more than 150+ industry expert support.
• Provides unlimited access with your yearly subscription.
• Provide top-quality video lessons with professional production value. 
• You can access the platform from different devices.

19. Kajabi

Kajabi is a renowned name among learning online platforms, that empowers users to show their expertise through a variety of content types such as online courses, podcasts, memberships, and more, all-in-one platform.

On Kajabi content is created across different domains like health and fitness, business finance, education, parenting, and lifestyle hobbies.

Since its inception in 2010, Kajabi was 50,000 knowledge entrepreneurs across 120 countries to serve 60 million students and generate over $4 billion in sales. The company currently serves as a tech unicorn with a $2 billion valuation.

Kajabi is a top digital learning platform that offers numerous marketing tools such as email, and payment processing options facilitating the acceptance of subscription fees. 

By integrating all the necessary elements of a prosperous business in a centralized platform, Kajabi facilitates a quicker and evener start and growth for knowledge entrepreneurs just like you.

Features of Kajabi-

• Provides a smooth approach for content creation and coaching programs. 
• Offers a Suitable and user-friendly interface.
• Has a global reach for more than 120 countries.
• Keep on updating and uploading new features.
• Offers amazing SEO tools to improve online presence and reach. 

Why SemiDot is The Best Option to Choose for eLearning App Development?

US tech has successfully saved $200 million by implementing E-learning platforms indicating a promising and bright future for the market. Amidst the upside trend, it is best for your business to take part and enjoy benefits and increasing revenue.

If you are looking forward to build online learning platform, then you should consider holding hands with the perfect partner i.e. SemiDot Infotech to get an astounding solution. We are the top elearning app development company who have delivered many solutions like Alison, Mathtutordvd, Ulesson, and many more with cutting-edge technology and a customer-centric approach.

With years of experience, we first get a grip on business challenges and then our designers, developers, and experts work together to deliver innovative and result-oriented solutions. We prioritize user experience making sure to provide seamless navigation and engaging interface without compromising quality.

We always stay up-to-date with the latest market trends and make sure that our eLearning solution is competitive and future-proof while also maintaining communication and transparency throughout the journey.

You can put your trust in us and get relieved to get a top-notch eLearning app that empowers learners and provides an outstanding app to your vision.

Conclusion

It is said that the e-learning market is projected to be worth $325 billion in 2025. The popularity of online learning apps is on the increase as new generations are relying more on online education and skipping traditional methods of education.

To take this time to provide students unique and immersive learning experience, it is necessary to get an E-learning app developed by a reliable mobile application development company i.e. SemiDot Infotech.

Developing an E-learning app may seem like a daunting task which can be accomplished only if you are working with the right partner to overcome business challenges.

With the dedication and expertise of professionals at SemiDot Infotech, they can help in navigating all complexities and help you build a successful E-learning platform that meets your needs and budget.

FAQs

After reading the article, if you have any query these FAQs will help you in clearing your doubts and gaining good understanding.