Coursera vs Coursera Plus — Differences Explained

Coursera vs Coursera Plus – what is the difference? Is it worth upgrading to Coursera Plus?

While Coursera offers a free basic version, Coursera Plus comes at a premium price and provides access to some of the best courses from top universities.

But how much value does it actually hold, and is it worth trying? This question kept bothering me, so I decided to test out both versions. This article will walk you through all the differences!

Coursera vs Coursera Plus: Key Differences

Here is a quick table to help you understand the fundamental differences between Coursera and Coursera Plus.

Coursera vs Coursera Plus – Who Are They Best Suited For?

Coursera and Coursera Plus both cater to different users.

Coursera Is Best For

If the following reasons suit your learning needs, you should go for Coursera.

• If you want to take a single learning program

• If you want to do short certificate courses (1 or 2 months)

• If you want to do a degree program or a MasterTrack course

Coursera Plus Is Best For

If the following reasons suit your learning needs, then choose Coursera Plus.

• If you are a learner who wants to gain in-depth knowledge

• If you want to make your CV attractive by gaining unlimited certificates

• Saving money in your educational journey

• If you want to try Coursera Plus for free (7-Day Trial)

• If you like to be flexible about taking a course at your convenience

What Is Coursera?

Coursera is an online learning website that helps learners earn accredited certificates for various types of academic courses such as:

• Free Courses
• Guided projects
• Single Courses
• Specializations 
• Professional certificates 
• MasterTrack certificates
• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree programs

How Does Coursera Work?

On Coursera, anyone can create a free account and start their learning journey by choosing from a selection of 9,000+ free and paid courses.

Coursera offers a few free courses on its platform, but you must pay a fee to receive the course completion certificate for a particular free course.

If you buy a paid course on this website, the certificate and exam fees will be included in the payment, so you need not worry about paying separately for the certificate. 

What Coursera Offers?

Coursera includes a lot of perks for its users. A few important ones are mentioned below-

• Lifetime access to course materials.

• Access to all course types.

• MasterTrack and Degree programs are exclusively available on Coursera.

• One paid Certificate per course.

What Is Coursera Plus?

Unlike Coursera’s single-use, Coursera Plus is a subscription plan that learners interested in saving money and learning more can buy at an affordable price. The course programs included in Coursera Plus are- 

• Free Courses
• Guided projects
• Single Courses
• Specializations 
• Professional certificates

How Coursera Plus Works

Coursera Plus is a subscription plan that works as a great savings plan. Learners can choose from over 7,000+ courses and finish them to earn a course completion certificate.

The flat fee is all-inclusive of the course, course materials, quizzes, exams, and completion certificates.

However, Coursera Plus excludes a few courses and all the MasterTrack and degree programs. You can find all the inclusions and exclusions of Coursera Plus here.

What Coursera Plus Offers

Coursera Plus offers all the perks that Coursera fails to provide. To name a few of them, they are-

• A 7-day Free Trial is available only with Coursera Plus.

• Monthly and annual payment plan.

• A 14-day money-back guarantee is available on the Annual Coursera Plus Subscription. 

• You can do as many courses as possible and earn unlimited certificates.

• A flat annual fee helps save as much as $309.

Coursera Vs Coursera Plus- Pros And Cons

The good and bad sides of both Coursera and Coursera are based on facts found during my research and a few personal experiences. Let’s see what they are.

Coursera Pros And Cons

Coursera has many good things about it as a learning platform, but from personal experience, I have also found a few cons of using Coursera compared to Coursera Plus. Here are a few of them-

Coursera Plus Pros And Cons

Coursera Plus has many more perks than Coursera, so let’s find out about them. I have struggled to find many cons of using Coursera Plus, but I have mentioned a few things that I don’t like about the subscription plan.

Coursera Vs Coursera Plus- Pricing And Savings

Coursera and Coursera Plus differ greatly when it comes to pricing. In this table, I will show you how much you will be spending and saving if you opt for Coursera or Coursera Plus.

If you buy a course on Coursera, you spend more than necessary. For example, buying a course worth $49 per month and taking 8 months to finish it instead of the estimated 6 months duration can result in spending $392.

With Coursera Plus, you can buy time worth 12 months for $399 and finish your course at your convenience.

Also, buying the Coursera Plus annual subscription over the monthly subscription can save you $309, which you would have to pay for 12 months if you opted for the monthly subscription plan of $59.

Final Verdict: Coursera Plus is Better for Unlimited Courses

If you are certain that you will only take a single course and that you won’t need other Coursera courses related to your desired course, you can opt to buy only that particular course.

However, opting for the Coursera Plus membership allows one to do multiple courses simultaneously. I use the subscription plan to take classes related to the concepts I find difficult to understand in my main course. 

This way, my foundational knowledge becomes a strong base for grasping and remembering advanced concepts with Coursera Plus.

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