Online learning sites enable you to expand your mind and creative spirit. No matter where you are in the world or how little prior experience you have with a subject, you can learn just about anything, so long as you have an internet connection. These services are where you can pick up new programming skills, become a better manager, study the art of memoir writing, watch a tutorial on how to set up a sewing machine, and listen to a world-renowned master in their field explain how they got there. You can learn any of these things and more. Read on for the top services we've tested, including the excellent Khan Academy and MasterClass, followed by everything you need to know about online learning.
Overview
-
Jump To Details
![Khan Academy]()
Best for Free Academic LearningKhan Academy
-
Jump To Details
![MasterClass]()
Best for Celebrity InspirationMasterClass
-
Jump To Details
![Coursera]()
Best for Free Access to University CoursesCoursera
-
Jump To Details
![Skillshare]()
Best for Creatives Learning Practical SkillsSkillshare
-
Jump To Details
![Kahoot!]()
Best for Quizzes and GamesKahoot!
-
Jump To Details
![Udacity]()
Best for Programming and Vocational SkillsUdacity
-
Jump To Details
![LinkedIn Learning]()
Best for Business SkillsLinkedIn Learning
-
Jump To Details
![Udemy]()
Best for Taking One-Off CoursesUdemy
You Can Trust Our Reviews
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
-
Credit: Khan Academy/PCMag
![Khan Academy]()
Best for Free Academic LearningKhan Academy
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Khan Academy is one of the best online learning sources because it clearly and strategically helps you learn academic subjects for free. Whether you need to master a mathematical concept or advance your understanding of macroeconomics, Khan has you covered. The videos, readings, and interactive components it uses to teach are well thought out and delivered with care.
Who It's For
Budget-conscious students: Khan Academy offers learning materials for students from kindergarten through early college, including classes in computing, economics, history, math, and science. Best of all, it won't cost you a dime.
Specs & Configurations
Built-in Tools Free Courses Free Trial Quizzes Some Courses Free Starting Price Free User Forums Video Tutorials Learn More Khan Academy Review -
-
Credit: MasterClass
![MasterClass]()
Best for Celebrity InspirationMasterClass
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
MasterClass's combination of practical skill and inspiration deserves an A+. Its notable instructors are among the top names in their fields, and each class is meticulously designed for engaging learning. The production quality is superb, too.
Who It's For
Creative types: MasterClass offers instruction in many fields, but it's best known for its celebrity teachers across various artistic arenas. You'll find Nancy Cartwright (voice acting), Misty Copeland (dance), Samuel L. Jackson (film acting), and David Lynch (directing), among many others.
Specs & Configurations
Some Celebrity Instructors Learn More MasterClass Review -
-
Credit: Coursera
![Coursera]()
Best for Free Access to University CoursesCoursera
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Coursera differs from many other online learning sites because it hosts free courses from prestigious universities. You get recorded lectures and reading materials from a class at, say, Yale University without paying anything at all. For some courses, you can pay to earn a professional certificate, a bachelor's degree, or a master's degree.
Who It's For
People who want free courses from prestigious colleges: Coursera is for folks who want access to real university classes from the likes of Duke, Stanford, and Yale, and have the self-discipline to follow through on all the assignments, which can often take weeks or months to complete. You mostly learn through videos, readings, quizzes, and assignments, with the option to get feedback from other learners in some cases.
Specs & Configurations
Some Courses Free Learn More Coursera Review -
-
Credit: Skillshare
![Skillshare]()
Best for Creatives Learning Practical SkillsSkillshare
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Skillshare's videos teach you skills to lead a creative life. It covers everything from creative hobbies to tips for running a creative online business. This site offers short videos, sometimes as part of a much longer series, where you learn and practice mostly hands-on skills. You get additional materials, such as PDF handouts and sometimes community forums where you can upload examples of your work to get feedback from other learners.
Who It's For
People who want to develop creative and practical skills: Skillshare is especially good at helping people with cooking, digital arts, drawing, painting, sewing, writing, and other crafts. It also offers very short sessions within courses that you can complete as a one-off. For example, if you just want to practice drawing cacti for five minutes, Skillshare has videos for that.
Specs & Configurations
Some Celebrity Instructors Some Courses Free User Created Classes Learn More Skillshare Review -
-
Credit: Kahoot!
![Kahoot!]()
Best for Quizzes and GamesKahoot!
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
We picked Kahoot! as one of the best online learning platforms because it lets you create games, quizzes, and other interactive content for your learning materials. Whether you are designing games and quizzes or playing them, Kahoot! is easy to use. It adds engagement to all kinds of get-togethers, whether in the classroom, meeting room, or living room.
Who It's For
Businesses and schools: Kahoot! is an ideal platform for companies that need to teach a topic and for educators who want to make their content more engaging. Once you have an account, you'll see other fun ways to use the platform to create (such as trivia for family gatherings or activities at conferences).
Specs & Configurations
Some Courses Free User Created Classes Learn More Kahoot! Review -
-
Credit: Udacity
![Udacity]()
Best for Programming and Vocational SkillsUdacity
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Udacity is one of the best online learning platforms because it teaches highly specific, job-focused skills and gives learners the opportunity to create sample work to demonstrate them. Udacity offers rigorous courses, called Nanodegrees, primarily in the tech industry. Some Nanodegrees have been created in partnership with big-name companies, such as Google and IBM Watson. Learners come away not only with new skills but also—fairly often—sample projects to show their work, perhaps for a job interview.
Who It's For
Job seekers: Udacity is clearly for people who want to work in a specific technical field and perhaps with a specific employer. How specific? There's a course called Self-Driving Car Engineer, developed in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia, Uber, and other companies. In addition, Udacity has more general business courses on topics such as marketing.
Learn More Udacity Review -
-
Credit: LinkedIn Learning
![LinkedIn Learning]()
Best for Business SkillsLinkedIn Learning
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Many years ago, there was a learning site called Lynda.com that was absolutely brilliant at teaching software skills, such as Photoshop and other business-level creative programs. Then LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com. Fortunately, all the old Lynda.com courses are still available on the site that's now known as LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn has added new content, too, mostly focused on business skills.
Who It's For
People who want to develop business skills: With LinkedIn Learning, you learn both hard skills (like using Tableau) and soft skills (management, leadership, etc.). It's great for people with a paid LinkedIn membership, since access to LinkedIn Learning is included with the subscription.
Specs & Configurations
Free Trial Quizzes Some Celebrity Instructors Video Tutorials Learn More LinkedIn Learning Review -
-
Credit: Udemy
![Udemy]()
Best for Taking One-Off CoursesUdemy
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Udemy makes the cut because it sells discrete video courses on an array of topics. Generally speaking, Udemy's content covers both personal and professional development, with excellent lessons in management training, software use, and programming. You can pay for Udemy courses one by one, with prices varying per course, or you can get access to a catalog of content with a business subscription.
Who It's For
People seeking a wide range of classes: Udemy excels at teaching both professional lessons (developing soft skills) and wacky lessons (using crystals for healing purposes).
Specs & Configurations
Some Courses Free User Created Classes Learn More Udemy Review -
Compare Specs
Our Pick | |||||||||||
Rating |
5.0 Exemplary |
4.5 Outstanding |
4.0 Excellent |
4.0 Excellent |
3.5 Good |
3.5 Good |
3.0 Average |
3.0 Average |
5.0 Exemplary |
4.5 Outstanding |
4.0 Excellent |
Best For | Best for Free Academic Learning | Best for Celebrity Inspiration | Best for Free Access to University Courses | Best for Creatives Learning Practical Skills | Best for Quizzes and Games | Best for Programming and Vocational Skills | Best for Business Skills | Best for Taking One-Off Courses | Best for Free Academic Learning | Best for Celebrity Inspiration | Best for Free Access to University Courses |
User Created Classes | |||||||||||
Some Celebrity Instructors | |||||||||||
Some Courses Free |
Buying Guide: The Best Online Learning Services for 2026
How Effective Is Online Learning?
All the sites included in this roundup use video as the primary teaching method. Some add interactive quizzes, PDFs, links to additional resources, and discussion areas (usually little more than a section for comments) so that everyone engaged with the material can learn from one another.
Videos can be standalone, although they are usually part of a series. A course might contain several hours of videos, but they're always broken up into parts. The best learning sites take care to plan how much content is included in each video and the sequence of videos. In this way, your learning is cumulative. You're typically building new ideas or concepts on top of what you've already learned.
When quizzes are available, you can make them private or share them with an administrator or instructor, depending on whether your login is part of a business account or associated with a formal class or tutoring (such as Khan Academy). They help you track how well you've retained new information. Some sites offer certificates upon completion. They are not widely accepted by other institutions, but they may be helpful to you in some cases. For example, if your employer pays for you to have a subscription to a learning website, you can offer these certificates as evidence of using it.
A note on learning languages: There are numerous excellent websites and apps for learning a foreign language. When you're looking for a language app, you'll have specific questions, such as: Which one offers the language I want? How much time do I need to spend on it each day? How much does it cost? You may also want to know which apps are better suited for developing a basic vocabulary versus advancing existing skills. Our roundup of the best language-learning apps and websites covers all these points and more.
Similarly, PCMag has a separate article on the best courses for learning to create websites. It's another concrete skill that comes with specific questions. We have an entire article dedicated to the best online courses for Photoshop.
Is MasterClass Worth the Money?
MasterClass is an on-demand learning website that offers hours of video featuring top talent discussing their fields. Everything about it is extremely well made, and if you're interested in even one course, we think it's worth paying for a year's subscription. You will certainly find other courses of interest once you review the catalog.
MasterClass is simultaneously binge-worthy, educational, and thought-provoking. The quality alone leaves you whispering, "How is this so good?"
In recent years, MasterClass has done a good job of expanding its lineup of instructors to include more top talent, including people of color and women (it was previously weak in this regard). The catalog of classes is continually expanding. The content is top-rate, and the quality is exceptional.
Where Can You Take Real College Classes Online?
Coursera is a great service that offers a wide range of free video courses and materials. It also partners with universities to make some of their degree programs available online. If you want the degree, you have to apply to the program and pay tuition to the school, just as if you were an in-person student. However, if you don't care about getting the degree and you just want access to real courses and materials from the likes of Yale, the University of Singapore, and Sciences Po in France, you can create a free Coursera account and have access to them.
No matter how you attend, you get video lectures, reading materials, quizzes, and, in some cases, the opportunity to submit assignments for peer review (when you audit a course) or grades (with paid enrollment).
Coursera also partners with private companies to offer accessible education across a variety of fields, from programming to AutoCAD design. Other examples of classes you can take include Introduction to Food and Health, Google IT Automation with Python, and Introduction to International Criminal Law.
What Are the Best Online Learning Platforms for Specific Job Skills?
If you need to learn specific job skills, we recommend two online sites. One is Udacity, which teaches highly specific, job-focused skills. If you are aiming to get a job from one of the companies that Udacity partners with, the Udacity courses could give you a leg up. While Udacity offers a handful of courses that aren't technical, the majority are, and they are highly specific. How specific? There's a course called Self-Driving Car Engineer, developed in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia, Uber, and other companies.
The other site is LinkedIn Learning. We like it best for brushing up on general job skills, such as public speaking and developing interview strategies; we also appreciate its video tutorials on learning creative software, like Photoshop. Many of those software programs come from Lynda.com, which LinkedIn acquired some years ago. Lynda.com was the premier resource for learning software for many years, and we're pleased it continues to live on at LinkedIn today.
Learn at Your Own Pace
The next time you feel like you need some fresh ideas, take a spin through one of these sites and learn something new. You might find yourself caught up in wonderment at new and interesting ideas or taking notes on something useful. The beauty of online learning sites is that they don't require any commitment, so you can learn what you want at your own pace.