SimplivLearning vs Udemy: A Complete Comparison 2022
Published: 2022-01-04 10:49:50

One of the many (unintended perhaps) consequences, or side effects, if you like, of COVID-19 is that it has accentuated the push towards the system of working from home. As we all know, there was substantial talk about this topic even before the pandemic hit us, but one cannot deny the fact that it gained a new thrust following the outbreak.

So, as we all realized that working from home was the new normal, at least for the foreseeable future, we all -at least the industrious among us (yours truly excluded) -began to think if the time we spent on merely reaching office and then getting back home drained, could be put to some constructive use.

Enter online learning. This was an industry that was set to blossom even despite corona; with it, it grew by leaps and bounds, to use a hackneyed expression. And, not without reason. Just what else was needed for an industry like this, which had already placed itself on a growth curve, to explode? All the stimulus it needed was readily offered on a platter by COVID-19.

Today, an online learner has at her disposal a good number of learning platforms. As is the case with any supply glut, it leaves the buyer (in this case, the learner) confused about which to choose. It is to help you overcome this muddle that I will explain the characteristics of two worthy equals in this vast global industry, in this blog: SimplivLearning and Udemy.

To help you gain clarity about these two popular platforms, I will set out to explain the two in terms of these parameters:
a.	Value for money 
b.	Features and benefits 
c.	Range of courses
d.	Overall 


## - Value for money 
This is the first parameter I have taken up for this blog, for the obvious reason that when you opt for a potentially career-enhancing service such as this, this should easily be the most important aspect that you would look for.

I should admit that when I got down to dissecting and dissembling these two platforms, I was expecting a kind of David versus Goliath fight. The reason: Udemy is a platform that has been around for almost as long as this learning medium was born. It has a reputation that is as old as the online learning industry. Yet, to my surprise, I should say that despite being a relative upstart, SimplivLearning has smartly stolen a march over its gigantic rival in crucial areas. Let me explain my reasoning:

Price, price, price
By value for money, what do we mean? Just how much value we derive for what we pay, right? On this score, would your vote go to a platform that charges five times as the other for the SAME course? Surprising as it might seem, that is the truth about these two brands. 

SimplivLearning is, to me, provides supreme value for money. Some of its courses start at an unbelievable $2.99, while Udemy can charge $12.99 for the same course, that too, after heavy discounting. Without discounts, these courses sell for a hefty $50, and go all the way up to $200. On the other hand, SimplivLearning’s courses, which begin at this southernmost range, go up to $200.

On top of these already low price thresholds, SimplivLearning also has further offers on bulk purchases, meaning courses for groups of corporate employees, as well as for students.
Other packages

Another very solid factor behind SimplivLearning is that it offers live Virtual Classroom Training. These are aimed at the learner who wants to gain in-depth knowledge of a topic. Spread over many hours, these classes are for those who are aiming for certifications in their career fields. 

This is excellent value for money, because spending in the range of $199 to $299 (on average), the learner can gain invaluable preparation guidance for major examinations which win them certifications that employers value a lot.
Features and benefits

I next move on the features and benefits. Here, the two platforms are about the same. They both offer these among other features, which are common between them:
Opportunity to teach on the platforms
Both of these platforms offer the opportunity for any person to become a tutor, only so long as they have the ability and the passion for teaching and sharing their knowledge. The great thing about both SimplivLearning and Udemy is that they do not attach strings to their instructors as far as their qualifications are concerned. Both these platforms dispel the myth that one has to necessarily be highly qualified to teach. To me, this is a wonderful feature they have both included on their platforms.

Other common features
Certificates at the completion of the course
Lifetime access to their courses
Website layout
The first two of these don’t really need any description, since they are self-explanatory 

A bit on the third feature: Another area of similarity between the two is the elements on the respective websites, such as course layout, ease of access, navigability, and so on. There is not much to choose between the two, because they are both more or less evenly matched where the website look and feel, and content, are concerned. This is something you can discern by making just a cursory glance at their respective websites.  

All their courses are neatly organized, as you can see, and it is child’s play to jump to a course of your choice. Navigating from one section of the site to another is as simple as it can get. Not only this; crisscrossing between even seemingly unrelated topics is simple. If you want to jump from, say, java programming courses to photography, all that is needed is to slide the mouse, and you are done.

## - Areas of divergence
24/7 Live support and Assistance
Where assistance is concerned, surprisingly, SimplivLearning scores again. In addition to the course instructors that are available for any clarification about the course, it has put in place a wonderful 24/7 live support system, which leaves the learner with zero difficulty in getting any kind of support about most aspects of the course, within one or two hours at most. I have personally been attended to in real quick time, and I know that this feature works very well with SimplivLearning. 
I should also say that where direct access to the instructor is concerned, SimplivLearning works really fast and efficiently.
On the other hand, Udemy offers only limited assistance, only from the instructor. I wonder why Gregg Coccari didn’t think of this feature. If you are wondering whom I am talking about, Gregg is CEO of Udemy.

## - Course offerings
Another aspect where the two differ from each other is in the feature called course bundles. By this feature, SimplivLearning brings courses on related topics together as one bunch and makes them available at a bigger price cut. If one were to buy these courses individually, they would cost a lot more. The idea here is to augment and supplement learning as much as possible, and this surely is a laudable feature.

## - Moneyback guarantee
Another major difference between the two, where value for money is concerned, is in the moneyback offer. Udemy offers a 30-day moneyback guarantee, while SimplivLearning comes with a 100% full moneyback guarantee. This again is a surprise from SimplivLearning, which seems to tick more boxes where value for money comes into play. 

## - Range of courses
Where the number of courses is concerned, well, Udemy has a mindboggling figure that places it way over the top: 183,000, while for SimplivLearning, the count is about 5500. On the surface, this seems like a huge difference, but wait a minute. Numbers would have mattered if the variety of courses too differed by such a wide scale. But the fact is, while SimplivLearning has far fewer courses, these are offered on the same range of topics and subjects as Udemy. So, there are courses from SimplivLearning for anyone who wants to learn about almost anything. 

Both platforms offer courses on topics that can be anywhere from technology and tourism and from self-development to Microsoft. So, the learner is not hard pressed for topics on SimplivLearning, although the numbers vary by quite a bit. 

This, of course, is not to take anything away from Udemy. Let us give it a round of applause for its perseverance in creating such a vast collection of courses. That said, SimplivLearning has been adding courses to its collection very actively, and one can expect this number to swell. 

One has to take into account the fact that Udemy’s numbers are very much on the higher side because of the simple reason that they have been around for a decade, while SimplivLearning is a much, much younger entrant into this market. Going at the rate at which they are adding courses, I don’t see the gap to remain this high for too much more time to come.

## - Overall 

Having had a glance at the points I have highlighted in this blog, what do you think about the two platforms? As we saw, both these platforms carry their own similarity to each other, as well as their uniqueness. I would say that they are more or less equal in the overall sense. 

I say this because online courses themselves, as a whole, offer more or less the same value in the industry. Both SimplivLearning and Udemy are not attached, or affiliated, to use a more relatable term, to any educational institution, such as a university. So, this being the case, it is a matter of which appeals to the user more. If pure value for money is what matters to you, go for SimplivLearning. On the other hand, if a higher brand value is a primary criterion, then it should be Udemy.
Happy learning, then!