Coursera Plus Review: Is it Worth It in 2024?

Coursera Plus offers a lot of value, and in this article, I will tell you why you should consider it. In fact, in this Coursera Plus review, I’m going to share everything you need to know about it.

If you enjoy learning online and find that you learn better by taking online courses, trust me, this article is going to be super helpful to you.

Here is what we’ll be discussing today…

We’ve lots of things to cover. So, without any delay, let’s dive right in…

Introduction to Coursera Plus:

I have already shared my Coursera review in my earlier article, but what is Coursera Plus and what does it include?

Well, Coursera Plus is a subscription plan that allows learners to access a vast library of courses and specializations on the Coursera platform for a flat monthly or annual fee.

The best part is that all courses included in this subscription are offered by top universities and tech giants such as the University of Michigan, Google, Microsoft, and many more. Hence, it brings trust to the course material.

Now, let’s discuss whether you should opt for Coursera Plus or take individual courses.

Who is Best Suited for Coursera Plus?

If you have the zeal to learn skills in various subjects such as business, IT, health, data science, arts, and more, you may consider opting for Coursera Plus.

If you want to build a career or switch careers to a new field and wish to learn from the basics to advanced levels, Coursera Plus can be also a suitable choice.

For example, let’s say you want to learn programming from scratch and envision a future in it. Taking just one course might not suffice, and repeatedly paying for multiple courses can deplete your finances.

However, with Coursera Plus, you can access multiple courses on programming from top universities and tech companies. In any case, if you find yourself not enjoying the content of one course, you have the flexibility to switch to another one. That’s the most significant advantage of Coursera Plus.

Now people can be anyone like homemakers, working professionals, or others.

[Read also: Is Careerist worth the cost?]

What Coursera Plus includes

Coursera Plus offers a lot of value; I have already mentioned this at the beginning. Let’s now explore exactly what Coursera Plus includes.

(Later, I’ll also discuss what it does not include. After all, it costs a significant amount of money for this subscription, doesn’t it?)

1. Unlimited learning in a variety of subjects:

As I mentioned earlier, a Coursera Plus subscription allows you to pursue courses in different subjects, whatever you want to learn.

From professional tech courses such as Data Science, IT, and Computer Science, to personal development, arts, and humanities, you can take courses on these subjects.

Overall, Coursera Plus claims to include 7,000 courses. If that’s true, it means unlimited learning for you. If you get bored by taking one professional course, let’s say programming, you can switch to any public speaking or language learning course.

This will not only improve your mood while learning but also enable you to acquire meaningful skills. The best part is that Coursera has designed these courses based on their duration. Let’s explore this:

• Guided Projects: These courses are designed for short durations, not longer than 2 hours. That means you can learn any job-relevant or life skills in under 2 hours with hands-on tutorials. These types of courses are perfect for transitioning from one subject to another. While one Guided project costs around $10 (or ₹826), with Coursera Plus, you can enroll in all Guided Projects for free.

• General Courses: This type of course may take 4-12 hours, depending on the subject and topics it covers. These courses are available for free for every learner; however, if you wish to acquire a certificate as well, you may need to pay a fee. However, Coursera Plus allows you to earn these course completion certificates for free, making it a significant cost-saving opportunity.

• Specialization and Professional Certificates: This is the best part of Coursera Plus, which includes many specialization programs and professional certificates offered by top universities and companies. These courses are specifically designed to build job-ready skills, with durations ranging from 3 to 6 months depending on the course you choose. Enrolling in one course in this category may cost you $49 per month, while Coursera Plus is only $59, allowing you to access most courses.

There are also other programs that Coursera offers, but these are not included in Coursera Plus. I’ll tell you more about those programs later. However, for me, everything discussed above as part of the Coursera Plus offering is referred to as ‘Unlimited Learning.

2. Learning from top universities and companies:

Coursera is currently one of the most popular online learning platforms, and the primary reason for its popularity is its collaboration with leading universities and companies, including Columbia University, California Institute of the Arts, Duke University, AWS, Meta, Google, and many more. In fact, all courses are actually created and offered by these institutions.

You may check this list of all the universities and companies that are included and excluded with Coursera Plus.

From these top universities and companies, you will not only receive professional training but also be more likely to trust their content and course materials. Additionally, their certificates can enhance your career prospects.

You may have heard of Google Career Certificates, which are created by senior practitioners at Google and are specifically designed to help individuals establish a solid foundation in leading tech fields such as Cybersecurity, UX Design, Digital Marketing, IT Support, Project Management, and more, enabling them to secure entry-level jobs.

Recently, I had the opportunity to review Google’s UX Design Professional Certification, Google Digital Marketing Professional Certification, and META Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate by personally experiencing them. While these courses do have some flaws, the learning materials are of high quality.

3. Valid Certificates and Career Assistance:

This is going to be most beneficial for job seekers or people who want to learn skills for getting a job.

These valid and accredited certificates are great to include on your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV to showcase your skills and increase your chances of quickly landing a job. Additionally, pursuing these programs also provides guidance on job search and interview skills.

Please note that holding a valid certificate does not guarantee you a job, but it will certainly set you apart from the crowd and improve your chances of getting one.

If your goal is to learn skills, build something on your own, or try freelancing, you can go ahead with Coursera Plus and earn those certificates to showcase your skills.

Best Coursera Plus Courses:

With Coursera Plus, you get access to 7,000 courses in various subjects right off the bat, and it’s difficult to say that every course you’ll enroll in is the best. Additionally, enrolling in several courses in one subject may also waste your time.

So, based on my research, reviews, and the highest enrollment, allow me to share the best courses that you may take with Coursera Plus.

Please note that finding the best course among thousands of courses and in various subjects is not a piece of cake. There’s a chance I might miss some of the best courses as well.

Google Career Certificates:

With Coursera Plus, you gain access to all Google Career Certificates. These certification courses have been meticulously crafted by subject-matter experts and senior practitioners at Google within various job fields.

Needless to say, these courses are excellent for establishing a solid foundation in any of the aforementioned tech skills.

Google Career Certificates are widely recognized by leading companies. Whether you’re interested in Cybersecurity or Business Intelligence, you can enroll in a Google certification program.

[Read also: StationX review: Is it a good platform for learning Cybersecurity?]

META Professional Certification:

Similar to Google Career Certificates, I highly recommend considering META Professional certifications. There are hundreds of META certifications available.

If any of these tech subjects sound interesting to you, you should consider enrolling in them after subscribing to Coursera Plus. All of these Meta professional certificates have the highest enrollment numbers and have received great reviews.

Data Science: Foundations using R Specialization

This is a specialized program offered by Johns Hopkins University, America’s first research university, that trains you in Data Science and R Programming. If you want to try your hand at Data Science and see whether it’s a good career for you, you may enroll in this program.

The program is specially designed for beginners and does not require any prior experience to pursue. It includes five series of courses, and on average, it takes four months to complete (by studying 10 hours per week).

Applied Data Science with Python Specialization:

This course might be ideal for an intermediate level in Data Science. It’s once again a specialization program offered by the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

The program includes a total of 5 courses and takes an average of 3 months to complete. After successfully completing this course, you will have learned about Python Programming, Machine Learning algorithms, Text Mining, Data Visualization, and other relevant skills.

I recommend this Data Science program for learners who have a good understanding of Data Science and Python.

The Science of Well-Being:

This is one of the highest-enrollment Coursera courses that you should consider taking after subscribing to Coursera Plus. However, the course is available for free to everyone.

The course is offered by Yale University and teaches valuable life concepts that you may not have encountered in schools or colleges. It has the potential to be a life-changing experience that can alter your perspective on life.

You will explore topics such as your misconceptions about happiness, what truly brings happiness, how to overcome your biases, the rewiring challenge, and numerous other life lessons. These insights may be gained after completing the course, which also requires you to submit assignments.

The program comprises a total of 10 modules and typically takes approximately 3 weeks to complete with a recommended study time of 6 hours per week. Regardless of your profession, I highly recommend enrolling in this course.

Excel Skills for Business Specialization:

This program also has the highest number of enrollments and great reviews. If you want to upskill yourself in Excel, especially for business purposes, you may want to enroll in this course.

This specialization program is brought to you by Macquarie University, a public research university based in Sydney, Australia.

The program provides a beginner-level experience with Excel. You will start by learning the basics of navigating the Excel user interface, analyzing data, using formulas and functions, and creating easy-to-use spreadsheets, all of which you’ll learn in this course.

The course includes 4 modules and may take up to 3 months to complete if you study for 10 hours per week. Excel is one of the most valuable skills to learn today. Regardless of your profession, I recommend everyone to learn Excel.

Python for Everybody:

Python is considered one of the easiest programming languages. In fact, if you’re just starting out with programming, Python is highly recommended as the first language to learn.

If you’re also inclined to learn Python, I highly recommend enrolling in this specialization program. The program is offered by the University of Michigan and has one of the highest enrollments.

The course is specially designed for beginners and does not require any prior knowledge or experience. You will not only build the foundations in Python but also learn how to use Python to access web data, work with databases, visualize data, and understand other important concepts.

The program includes a total of 5 courses and may take up to 2 months to complete if you study 10 hours a week.

If you’re passionate about learning Python, with Coursera Plus, you can take this course for free. Additionally, you can also enroll in “Programming for Everybody,” offered by the same university, to clarify your basic programming questions.

This second course will take a maximum of 19 hours to complete but will help you clear up any doubts you have about programming.

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As I mentioned at the beginning of the main heading in this section, the best courses I featured above are not at the end of the list. There may be many more excellent courses that I might have missed, which are worth considering with Coursera Plus.

When you take Coursera Plus, search for a topic you want to learn and enroll in a course with a good rating and high enrollment.

If you find that a course does not meet your requirements, you can switch to a different course on the same subject. After all, with Coursera Plus, you have the option to enroll in multiple courses.

What Coursera Plus does not include?

Well, I have told you what Coursera Plus includes and some of the best courses you may pursue right after taking its subscription.

Now, let me tell you about what it does not include or what you might miss with a Coursera Plus subscription. These are the potential drawbacks of Coursera Plus.

1. Matertrack Certificates and Degree Programs are excluded:

Coursera also offers many online degree programs for graduation and post-graduation, offered by top universities such as the University of London, IIT Roorkee, BITS Pilani, and more. These programs are not included in the Coursera Plus subscription.

Additionally, these universities also provide Mastertrack certifications (designed for Master’s degree learning within reach) and university certificates hosted on Coursera, which are also excluded from the Coursera Plus subscription.

Well, these degree programs and university certificates cost over a thousand dollars and require 1 year to more than 3 years for completion depending on the program you enroll in. So, it obviously makes sense why they are not included in Coursera Plus.

2. Many Top University and Companies programs are excluded:

Coursera has partnered with many world-class universities and leading tech companies. Although the majority of university and company programs are included with Coursera Plus, some of the best are excluded.

Despite having a Coursera Plus subscription, you may not be able to enroll in any specialization programs offered by Stanford University, Deeplearning.AI, Cisco, or IBM, to name a few.

There are many exceptional programs that you miss out on from these universities and companies. For example, there is a specialization program on Machine Learning offered by Stanford University that is not included in Coursera Plus. If you want to take it, you may have to pay for it separately.

3. IBM Professional Certificates are excluded:

Similar to Google and Meta, IBM Professional Certificates also offer programs in a variety of tech fields. IBM Professional Certificates have received great reviews and boast a good number of enrollments.

The bad news is that these are not included in Coursera Plus. This means that if you wish to enroll in these certifications, you may have to purchase them separately.

However, the good news is that Google Career Certificates, Meta Certifications, and the aforementioned best courses offered by other universities in those subjects are all part of Coursera Plus and serve as excellent alternatives to IBM Certificates.

How much does Coursera Plus cost?

Now, if you find Coursera Plus helpful, you may want to know how much it costs and whether it offers value for money. Right?

Well, if you have been reading this article carefully, I have already mentioned the Coursera Plus monthly cost.

Coursera Plus offers two subscription plans: Monthly and Annual. The monthly plan costs you $59 (or ₹4,878), while the annual plan costs $399 (or ₹32,990).

Now, which subscription is worth buying?

It obviously makes sense that with an annual subscription, you could save a significant amount of money. Additionally, with a monthly subscription, you may only finish a couple of courses.

Furthermore, with an annual subscription, Coursera Plus also offers you a 14-day money-back guarantee, while with a monthly subscription, you get a 7-day free trial.

If you’re hesitant to invest a large amount of money, then I must say you have the option to request a full refund within 14 days.

Alternatively, you may also take a free trial or a monthly subscription to explore the courses and determine whether you enjoy them or not. If you find Coursera Plus is worth the investment, you may cancel your free trial and opt for an annual subscription.

Is paying $399 per year worth it for Cousera Plus?

You may say that paying $59/month or $399/year for a Coursera Plus subscription is expensive, especially when compared to other online learning platforms such as edX ($347/year), Skillshare ($168/year), and LinkedIn Learning ($299.88/year), which cost significantly less.

Well, I’d argue that the cost of Coursera Plus is worth it, and there are a couple of reasons why I believe this.

To begin with, Coursera is the only platform that offers courses in all subjects, from tech to health, from business to personal development. Its subscription claims to include 7,000 courses, which is significantly more than what other learning platforms offer.

In addition to this, Coursera Plus offers valid and accredited certificates in collaboration with leading companies and universities. In fact, the Google Career Certificates and Meta Certification courses offered by Coursera Plus have the highest ratings and enrollment numbers, making them hard to find elsewhere.

Lastly, enrolling in just one Coursera professional or specialization program, which is generally in high demand, costs $49 per month. In contrast, the Coursera Plus subscription costs only $33.25 per month (if you choose the annual subscription option), allowing you to enroll in many professional and specialization programs without additional charges.

[Read also: Udemy vs. Coursera vs. Udacity- Which is best?

My Final Verdict:

If you have taken any Coursera courses before, you likely already know about the quality of its content. After completing several courses on Coursera, I can confidently say that its courses are highly valuable.

Coursera offers a range of professional certification and specialization programs that require you to complete projects, submit assignments, and take quizzes which makes online learning more engaging.

Whether you want to grasp the basics of a tech field such as cybersecurity or advance your programming skills, Coursera allows you to pursue your interests without the need for separate payments.

Moreover, if you ever find yourself feeling bored during a professional training session, you can easily switch to a new subject or engage in a guided project for 1-2 hours to boost your mood and continue your learning. This flexibility is one of the significant advantages of Coursera Plus.

However, it’s disappointing to note that a few university programs and IBM professional certificates are not included in Coursera Plus.

Nevertheless, with Coursera Plus, you can earn multiple certificates. As mentioned earlier, upon successfully completing any course, you will also receive valid certificates that can enhance your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV, showcasing your skills and helping you secure job opportunities more quickly.

[Read also: Udemy review- Is it worth the hype?]

Coursera Plus FAQs

(Disclaimer: I believe in full transparency. To support our blog, we may use affiliate links in this post, but rest assured that they will not affect our honest review.)