CreativeLive Vs. Udemy – Which Learning Platform Is Better?

CreativeLive vs. Udemy – Which online learning platform is better? Let’s find out!

Online learning platforms are an effective yet affordable way to learn new skills while improving old ones.

Alongside Masterclass, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning, CreativeLive and Udemy are some of the best platforms for writers, business owners, and students.

You get to learn from famous people like Tim Ferriss and Mel Robbins, and it only costs a few dollars.

Before the internet, you’d have to pay thousands to learn from these instructors. 

I’ve been using CreativeLive and Udemy for a few months now, and it helped me improve my writing. This post covers my experience with each tool, the pros and cons, and which is better.

Product Name	Availability	Pricing	Use For	Features
CreativeLive	Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and the mobile and desktop app.	A monthly pass costs $39, and the annual plan costs $149.	Professionals looking to fine-tune creative skills like writing and art.	You can access some of the best instructors in the world with a small monthly fee.	Try Now
Udemy	Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and the Udemy app.	The personal plan costs $30 per month, while individual courses range from $10 to $200.	Those looking to learn new skills like coding, writing, or cooking.	Udemy offers courses on almost every topic imaginable.	Try Now

Who Can Benefit From Using CreativeLive?

Award-winning photographer Chase Jarvis and Craig Swanson founded CreativeLive while living in San Francisco in 2010. Jarvis is a photographer and director, while Swanson is an entrepreneur who’s passionate about education.

Together, they aimed to build the largest learning platform targeted towards creatives. Here, you’ll find live classes covering various topics like photography, design, art, and writing. 

I’ve been using CreativeLive for the last few months, and it has helped me improve my understanding of these topics. I’m also a big fan of its writing courses, notably Melissa Cassera’s class titled “How to Create Addictive Content.”

CreativeLive offers additional benefits like:

• Interactive classes
• Free learning
• Additional exercises to do at home

I like CreativeLive’s classes since it isn’t just a video with an instructor talking to a camera. Instead, there’s always an audience that instructors speak to, and they even complete interactive exercises. 

If a specific class is live, you can type into the chatbox, and the instructors answer your questions almost like you’re in a classroom. 

After using CreativeLive for a few months, I feel like these people can benefit from it:

• Photographers
• Freelance writers
• Those passionate about self-improvement

Photographers

The co-founder of CreativeLive is a professional photographer, so he puts a lot of emphasis on creating the best photography courses.

Also, many of these courses are entirely free. All you need to do is sign up for a CreativeLive account, look for a free course that catches your eye, and you can start learning.

Here are some helpful video lessons for photographers:

• Photographers Ignite by Kevin Kubota
• Fundamental of Photography by John Greengo
• Posing and Lighting by Bambi Cantrell

You’ll notice that not anyone can post a course on CreativeLive. CreativeLive handpicks its instructors so you know you’re receiving the best possible information. 

Freelance Writers

I’ve been taking classes on CreativeLive for the last few months, and alongside Masterclass and Skillshare, CreativeLive helped me become a better researcher, writer, and editor.

You’ll find famous writers giving classes on this platform. Some include:

• Lisa Cron
• Joyce Maynard
• Jeff Goins

Personally, I’m a big fan of Jeff Goins. His books The Art of Work and You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) are some of my favorites. So it was an absolute honor to watch his video classes and ask questions via the chatbox.

My favorite Goins course is “Starving to Successful.” Here he goes over everything you need to know to become a freelance writer earning the money you want. For example, I learned about scaling my business, building traction, and conducting surveys to improve my services.

The platform covers blog writing, poetry, storytelling, copywriting, screenwriting, and more. It doesn’t matter what type of writer you are; you can learn something on CreativeLive.

Some of my favorite writing courses on CreativeLive include:

• Copywriting for Crafters by Lisa Jacobs
• Writing Your Story by Joyce Maynard
• Starving to Successful: How to Become a Full-Time Writer by Jeff Goins

If you don’t know what writing course to watch first, consider the above since they are in-depth, and the classes are super engaging.

Those Passionate About Self-Improvement

If you’re passionate about developing your skills, then CreativeLive is a must. For example, recently, I got into meditation because people said it’s supposed to help with concentration and creativity. CreativeLive made it easy for me to build this habit. 

Some of my favorite meditation classes include:

1. Meditation for Everyday Life by David Nichtern
2. Creativity, Spirituality, & Making a Buck by David Nichtern

These courses dive deep into why you should meditate, how to do so, and how to make it a habit. You’ll also find famous entrepreneurs teaching classes on CreativeLive. Some include:

• Mel Robbins
• Tim Ferriss
• Jason Nemer

Now that we’re covered who can benefit from using CreativeLive, let’s look at Udemy.

Who Is The Ideal Udemy User?

Eren Bali, Oktay Caglar, and Gagan Biyani founded Udemy in 2009. Together, they wanted to make education accessible and affordable for all, which is how Udemy was born.

Udemy now has offices all around the world. Its headquarters is in San Francisco, with additional offices in Dublin, Denver, Ankara, and Gurgaon. 

When buying a Udemy course, you can get your money back within 30-days if you aren’t happy with the class.

After buying several courses on Udemy, I think it can benefit the lives of:

• People learning a new skill
• Freelance coders
• Teams

People Learning A New Skill

If you’re looking to learn the basics of coding, songwriting, or web development, then using Udemy is an affordable and helpful option. Most courses on Udemy cost between $20 to $100.

Regardless of what skill you’re looking to learn, you’ll find professionals on Udemy teaching that subject. This is where Udemy has the edge over CreativeLive; the courses on Udemy are endless.

Most of these courses are also marketed towards beginners, so everything is clear and easy to understand.

For example, I always wanted to learn basic coding and web development skills, so I bought “The Web Developer Bootcamp” by Colt Steele. Each video lesson is only a few minutes long, and he makes complicated topics super easy to understand.

However, when doing courses on Udemy, especially ones covering web development, prepare to set aside a few hours because they’re long. For example, Steele’s total course time on web development is 63 hours. This took me a few months to complete.

Here are some shorter coding and web development courses on Udemy:

• The Advanced Web Developer Bootcamp by Colt Steele 
• Web Developer Bootcamp With Flask And Python by Jose Salvatierra
• The Complete Front End Web Developer Bootcamp by Igneus Technologies

Freelance Coders

Udemy is popular amongst coders since the lessons are super affordable. Most coding courses on the platform range from $10 to $20. These courses are also detailed and cover almost everything you need to know about a specific coding topic.

Udemy offers video classes on every coding language. Some include:

• JavaScript
• Python
• Java
• C++

Some of these lessons are also targeted towards more advanced coders. So if you feel like you’re hitting a plateau in your coding career, Udemy can help.

But if you’re like me and you just know the basics of coding, consider taking a Udemy course for intermediates. These courses don’t cover the bare basics; however, they give practical tips and exercises that help you improve.

If you don’t know which coding course to choose, consider the following:

• The Complete Course To Advance Your Coding Skills by John Bura
• Learn How To Code With Python 3 by Joseph Delgadillo
• Python Best Parts (Beginner To Advanced) by Zoltan Peto

Teams

If you’re managing a few employees, then Udemy’s courses will allow your team to learn new skills at an affordable price.

Udemy offers courses covering marketing, customer service, and sales. So with a Udemy team plan, new marketers, customer support people, and salespeople can learn these essential skills.

When buying Udemy Enterprise, your employees get access to over 6,000 courses and premium custom/;H.er support. Their team plans are so effective that major companies like Apple, VW, and Tata trust them for employee training.

Now that we know who CreativeLive and Udemy are for, let’s see how they face off against one another.

Credibility of Instructors

When choosing a learning platform, a significant factor to consider is the expertise of those teaching.

Fortunately, when signing up for CreativeLive, you’ll find that most instructors are world-famous specialists who have decades of experience. Some popular instructors on the CreativeLive platform include:

• Tim Ferriss
• Mel Robbins
• Chase Jarvis

With Udemy, you won’t find celebrity instructors. Anyone can teach a course on Udemy, and most instructors are just ordinary people.

Winner: CreativeLive

Video Production Quality

When signing up for CreativeLive and Udemy, I was impressed by each platform’s video quality. Although CreativeLive’s classes are filmed by professionals using top-quality video equipment, I find that Udemy matches their video quality using basic cameras and lighting.

CreativeLive handpicks their instructors, and when recording a class, instructors talk to a group of people. 

With Udemy, lessons must first go through an extensive quality check. This ensures that video lessons meet Udemy’s requirements. Also, most instructors use a basic camera angle pointing to their face, giving the class a personalized feel.

Winner: Tie

Number of Classes

Another factor to consider when comparing CreativeLive to Udemy is variety. You want a learning platform that offers many courses in different niches.

CreativeLive only offers around 2,000 courses, and this is limited to creative niches. If you aren’t in a creative field, then CreativeLive won’t benefit your life.

When shopping for a Udemy course, you can choose between 155,000 courses. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a writer, coder, or entrepreneur; Udemy has something for you.

Winner: Udemy

Pricing

CreativeLive offers hundreds of free courses. Paid courses start at $20 and go up to $200. However, these courses go on sale all the time, and if you sign up for CreativeLive’s email list, they’ll send you an email when a course is on sale.

But if you want unlimited access, consider signing up for the Creator Pass. You’ll have two payment options:

1. A monthly plan of $39
2. An annual plan of $149

With Udemy, a few months ago, you could only buy individual courses. But they recently started offering a monthly subscription.

Udemy’s Personal Plan costs $30 per month and gives you access to over 5,000 video courses.

If you’re looking to buy an individual course, then the price can vary greatly. Prices mainly depend on your chosen niche. Courses start at around $10 and can go up to $200. If you’re taking a class on machine learning, it’ll be more expensive than a course covering how to cook.

Winner: Tie

Areas of Improvement

CreativeLive Doesn’t Offer Certificates

After finishing a course on CreativeLive, you won’t receive a certificate to add to your resume. CreativeLive is an informal learning platform. If certification after completing a course is essential to you, then CreativeLive might not be a practical option.

Instead, consider using Udemy since it gives certificates and diplomas to its users.

Udemy Doesn’t Vet Course Content

Unlike other learning platforms, Udemy doesn’t handpick its instructors. Anyone can publish courses on Udemy, and this leads to a lower quality of overall content. I’d like to see Udemy regulate who can upload videos to their platform, so the quality of courses is similar.

If you want to learn from world-renowned experts, consider watching Masterclass and CreativeLive.

My Testing Criteria

When testing and reviewing CreativeLive and Udemy, I looked at the following criteria to see if I should recommend them to my fellow creatives:

1. Credibility of instructors
2. Video quality
3. Affordability
4. Variety of classes

After using both platforms for a few months, I’ll recommend them to those looking to learn new skills or sharpen existing ones.

CreativeLive handpicks their instructors, which ensures the information you’re getting is reliable. Udemy doesn’t regulate content, but many creators are well-known professionals in their niches. 

The video quality of both platforms is also high, and you can get access to these classes for an affordable monthly price.

Why Trust Us?

I’ve bought, tested, and reviewed several learning platforms like Masterclass, Skillshare, and Lynda. Each platform has its own set of pros and cons.

But as a writer, these platforms helped me learn more and create better content. For example, with CreativeLive, I took classes taught by writing experts like Lisa Jacobs, Jeff Goins, and Joyce Maynard. Without it, I’d have to pay thousands to get these professionals to teach me.

Udemy also offered me the same benefit but with more variety. I’ve always loved computers, so when I joined Udemy, I watched a few classes covering coding and web development. These videos are long but engaging and are an effective way to learn a new skill.

Final Word on CreativeLive Vs. Udemy

Learning platforms are super helpful because they allow you to learn new skills within hours. Before the internet, you’d need to pay famous experts thousands of dollars to learn from them. Now, all you need is a few hundred dollars.

Both CreativeLive and Udemy are effective learning platforms that’ll benefit different people. In short, use CreativeLive if you’re mainly looking for courses that teach creative skills like photography, writing, and art. Use Udemy if you want access to a wide variety of courses covering topics like marketing, management, and coding.