Even if you are new to the world of online courses, you have probably heard about Udemy. If you haven't, it's an online learning platform where people can buy courses on just about anything. Udemy courses are put together by people who are experts in their field and they'll often include video, multiple choice quizzes, and sometimes even a certificate of completion.
If you've never taken a Udemy course or hosted your own course on Udemy, you may be wondering what Udemy courses cost and how often Udemy has sales.
Udemy sales occur frequently and you can expect a sale almost once a month. Plus, they have special discounts that can get you an even better deal running constantly. You can almost always find courses on their platform at low prices.
So, if you're looking to learn some new skills or improve your skills in a particular area, it's definitely worth checking out Udemy. Who knows, you might just find the perfect course for you.
What is Udemy?
Udemy is a marketplace for online learning that offers many courses on a wide range of topics. Students and teachers can connect with each other and offer training courses in subjects like business, technology, web development, languages, and many more. Udemy's global community includes over 49 million learners and 185,000 courses in 75 languages.
All of the courses hosted on Udemy are owned by the course creators. The courses are entirely on-demand, meaning a learner can begin and finish the course on their own timeline. There are no due dates, and a learner can access the course even after they have finished it, assuming their account is in good standing and that Udemy is still licensed to share the course.
How Udemy Pricing Works
The Udemy pricing structure can get a bit complicated when you factor in the different fees and revenue shares, sales, and creator pricing tiers. In general, the course creator either offers a free or paid course the instructors set the cost for their particular course.
In order to charge a fee for your course, the creator must be a Premium Instructor. In this case, Udemy takes a percentage of the cost per sale in exchange for hosting and marketing the course on their platform.
Free Udemy Courses
Udemy also allows creators to offer free courses. These are courses that the instructor has made available for free, either in their entirety or as a sample of what the course contains. Anyone can create a free course and host it on their platform, and they do not have to be approved as a Premium Instructor to do so.
Why might a course creator choose to offer their course for free? There are a few possibilities:
- To drive traffic to their paid course on Udemy
- To attract new students to Udemy who may be interested in taking more courses from that instructor
- To build a following for their brand or business
- To give back to the community by providing helpful information for free
Does Udemy offer subscriptions?
Yes, Udemy does offer a subscription service for online learners who want to take multiple courses. Learners who are enrolled in a subscription program will have lifetime access to the content for as long as they pay the monthly subscription cost.
How often do Udemy courses go on sale?
Udemy courses go on sale all the time. In fact, they have a sale section on their website where they offer courses for up to 90% off. Plus, they often have special deals and discounts that can get you an even better deal. If you have your eye on a particular course, check for Udemy sales throughout the year to find low prices on your desired course.
Types of Sales Udemy Offers
Udemy offers several different types of sales:
- Sitewide sale: During sitewide monthly sales, you can get almost all the courses on sale for $11.99. Since there is not an exact day for this sale, you may want to sign up for their email list in order to get notified of the next Udemy sale.
- Country-specific sales: There are also country-specific sales where certain counties will have discounted course prices.
- Category-specific sales: You can get huge discounts on specific course categories from Udemy. It happens one to two times per month.
- Course-specific sale: Some featured Udemy courses might go on discount. During this time you can get up to 95% discount on featured bestselling courses.
Does Udemy have Black Friday sales?
Udemy does usually offer Black Friday sales and a Cyber Monday sale, although the discounted prices may not be much different than the normal sales they run.
Other Major Udemy Sales
The best time to buy a Udemy course is during a sale. That way, you can get the course for a fraction of the price. These sales typically offer discounts of 60% off or more, so it's definitely worth checking them out if you're interested in taking a Udemy course.
In addition to the Black Friday sale, Udemy also offers a number of other special events and sales throughout the year:
- Cyber Monday sale
- Memorial Day sale
- Fourth of July sale
- Back-to-School sale or education sale
- "Buy More, Save More" sale in March if you buy many courses
- End of Year sale
When is the next Udemy sale?
Since Udemy has sales pretty much all the time, there's a good chance the next sale is coming up soon. If you've taken courses on Udemy before, you know that you should almost never pay full price for a course, because there's usually a lower price coming sooner rather than later.
Udemy offers an introductory sale for brand new users, so if you've never taken a course with them before, grab a few for a reasonable price. Since you can take them at your own pace, schedule them in when you have some free time and you'll be set for the year!
How to Get Notified of a Udemy Sale
There are a few ways to get notified of a Udemy sale. One way is to sign up for the Udemy email list. They'll usually send out a notification when a new sale is starting. You can also follow them on social media, like Twitter or Facebook, where they'll often post about upcoming sales. Finally, you can always check the Udemy website directly to see if there are any current sales or deals.
Why are courses on Udemy so cheap?
Udemy is an online marketplace that prices courses in a way that incentivizes people to come back through cost savings. Potential customers are incentivized through new user sales and are then retargeted with even more discounts during special events or promotions.
Popular Udemy Courses
These days, you can find an online course for just about anything, from computer science to personal development and everything in between. If you are considering creating an online course, you should check out some of the popular courses on Udemy and other online learning platforms in order to assess demand and competition.
If you are looking to get into the world of online course creation and aren't sure what the right course is for you, check out our article on online course niches to get some ideas of popular courses offered in 2022.
Udemy is a popular platform for entrepreneurs who are just starting out in their field, so beginner courses are very popular. Here are some examples of the most popular courses for beginners currently on Udemy:
- Canva for Beginners
- Microsoft Excel for Beginners
- Web Developer Bootcamp 2022
- Photoshop for Entrepreneurs
- The Complete JavaScript Course: From Zero to Expert!
- Become a Better Photographer, Part 1
- Become a Freelance Copywriter
Udemy's Instructor Revenue Share
Udemy has established a worldwide price tier matrix that includes the minimum and maximum list prices accepted on Udemy, as well as the pricing points in each currency Udemy supports. Instructors establish a starting price for each of their courses, which is used as the list price. For instructors who have opted into Udemy Deals, Udemy may generate and display a market-specific list price for your course that differs from the base price.
There is no cost to create and host a Udemy course, and you can publish as many free and paid courses as you like. There are two ways for a course creator to get paid when a person purchases their course on the Udemy site.
- The course is purchased through the instructor's promotion or referral site. If the creator promotes their course through a coupon or referral link, they will receive 97% of the revenue.
- The course is purchased directly through Udemy or through a Udemy advertisement. In this case, instructors only receive 37% of the revenue.
You can read more about Udemy's instructor revenue share policy here.
Should you sell your online courses on Udemy?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as it depends on a variety of factors including the type of course you're selling and your own goals and needs. However, in general, there are a few things to consider before deciding whether or not to sell your courses on Udemy.
Pros and Cons of Selling Your Online Course on Udemy
First and foremost, it's important to understand Udemy's revenue share policy. Essentially, Udemy takes a cut of all course sales, which means you'll only receive a portion of the revenue from each sale. This is standard for most online marketplaces, but it's something to be aware of nonetheless.
Here are some things to consider when deciding if you want to host your online course on Udemy:
- Exposure and Marketing: When you host courses on Udemy, they handle a lot of the marketing strategy for you. You do have the option to market your course with your own affiliate link (you'll make more money this way), Udemy courses are also advertised on their online marketplace, which has reached over 46 million users so far.
- Profit: When you choose to host your course on Udemy, you are agreeing to hand over a portion of your profits in exchange for hosting and marketing services. If you use your own hosting platform, you'll keep all your profits, but you are responsible for marketing and finding new customers.
- Requirements: Courses hosted on Udemy must meet a minimum requirement of at least 30 minutes of video and 5 learning modules. Additional teaching tools and methods can be added beyond that in order to create a better online course experience for the learner.
- Creator's Rights: Udemy's marketplace model means that you own the rights to your content. You grant them a license to host and advertise the course and make it available on their website. This may not be the case for all online hosting platforms, so be sure to do your research when you compare platforms.
All things considered, selling on Udemy can be a great way to reach a large audience and generate some extra income. However, it's important to understand the pros and cons before making a decision.
Alternatives to Selling Your Online Course on Udemy
If you choose not to host your course on Udemy, you can either host it on your own website or find another e-learning hosting platform. In some cases, you can sell your course on Udemy and offer the same course on other platforms in order to increase reach and exposure.
Here are some other popular marketplaces for online courses:
- Thinkific
- Skillshare
- Treehouse
- Khan Academy
- LinkedIn Learning
- MasterClass
How often does Udemy have sales? Final Thoughts on Finding Sales and Discounts
Whether you are an instructor or a student, it's important to understand the pricing structure and sales that Udemy offers in order to find the best prices or to understand how to price your own course. You almost never have to pay full price for a Udemy course, as there are many sales throughout the year, and sales for new users all the time.
