Blog  •  Friday, Mar 7th 2025

Udemy vs Pluralsight: Which is better for developers?

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Karan KalraDeveloper, CodeCrafters
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Sarup BanskotaCo-founder/CEO, CodeCrafters

We evaluate both platforms through the lens of a software engineer.

As a bonus, we also cover alternative platforms you can consider at the end.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series and focuses on the pros and cons for developers. If you're looking to purchase for your team, read this instead.

Course Catalog

Udemy

Udemy is an open marketplace with over 200,000 courses, allowing anyone to create and sell content.

This model drives competition, resulting in:

  • tons of options for a topic
  • low prices and frequent discounts
  • up-to-date content
  • niche topics you won't find on other platforms
Udemy game development course
You won't find a course that teaches you C++ while making video games anywhere else.

While some courses are excellent, others are subpar. You need to choose carefully.

Udemy excels at beginner-level content. Courses like Complete Python Bootcamp (Jose Portilla) and JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts (Tony Alicea) have helped millions improve their skills.

However, advanced courses are inconsistent in quality and often lack depth.

The course format combines video lectures, exercises, and DIY projects.

Pluralsight

Pluralsight curates its content for developers, with more than 7000 expert-led courses on software development, AI, data, and business skills.

Pluralsight authors.
Pluralsight authors are industry veterans with years of domain expertise.

Courses are dense and to the point, with short videos and interactive elements for hands-on learning.

It is easier for experienced developers to find quality advanced courses. The content is thorough, and covers emerging industry topics.

Also, courses are accredited. While not a major factor for job seekers, they may count toward university credits.

Pluralsight certification prep.
Pluralsight also offers prep for in-demand certifications.

Pluralsight operates as a closed marketplace, and it is hard to maintain such an extensive third party catalog. Some courses inevitably become outdated or fall short in quality.

Learning Experience

Udemy

Udemy offers university-level courses without the hefty tuition fees.

You watch lectures, complete quizzes, and build academic projects. Some courses use a boot camp approach, guiding you through a project step by step.

Since it's an open marketplace, you choose courses and build your own learning path. It's well-suited for beginners and intermediate learners.

Because Udemy serves a broad audience, experienced developers may find it less tailored to their needs.

Udemy assignment
Udemy's exercises feel like university assignments, lacking a sandbox or feedback mechanism.

Some limitations include:

  • Varying technical depth.
  • No interactive exercises or sandbox environments.
  • No project or code feedback.

But if you choose courses carefully, Udemy still works for deep dives into specific topics.

Pluralsight

Pluralsight is built with a developer-first approach.

Users follow structured "paths" curated by industry experts, designed for comprehensive skill development in a given topic.

Pluralsight design patterns path.
For example, the C++ Design Patterns path starts with basic creational patterns and gradually progresses to advanced structural and behavioral patterns.

Skill assessments help determine your level and recommend the right entry point into learning paths.

You learn by watching short videos and then write code to practice.

Labs are Pluralsight's sandbox environments to run interactive exercises and projects with instant code feedback. They are effective for hands-on learning, an area where Udemy falls short.

Pluralsight labs.
Labs simulate real tasks that programmers work on in a job environment.

That said, it is still an in-browser experience. While great for guided practice, it doesn't fully replace the depth of doing real-world projects.

Pricing

Udemy

Udemy's pay-per-course model offers great value.

Here's why:

  • good courses start as low as $10
  • you pay only for what you will actually use
  • frequent discounts
Udemy flash sales.
Udemy runs multiple flash sales throughout the year.

You get lifetime access to courses once bought, which is great if you want to learn at your own pace.

They also offer a $30/month subscription plan with access to 11K+ courses on varied topics. While the catalog includes programming courses, Pluralsight offers a more comprehensive subscription plan at the same price.

Still, it's a good option for beginners in learning mode and also has bonus courses beyond programming.

Pluralsight

Pluralsight offers three subscription plans as follows -

  • Core Tech Plan - Covers software, IT, product, and business modules.
  • Plus Plan - Covers Core Tech and adds one expansion module of choice.
  • Complete Plan - Covers all modules.
Pluralsight expansion modules.
There are four expansion modules - AI, Cloud, Data, Security

All modules have enough content for comprehensive skill development. They work well for both beginners and experienced programmers.

The lack of a pay-per-course option is a drawback. If you're busy or on a budget, justifying a subscription can be tough.

Our Take

Udemy is a solid choice for beginners and junior developers.

Most software engineers go to it for -

  • great beginner material
  • self-paced learning
  • variety in learning styles
  • affordable prices

But they offer courses on everything under the sun, and thus do not tailor their approach to appeal to developers.

They lack dedicated features, and advanced courses can be inconsistent in quality and depth.

Pluralsight, on the other hand, is built for software engineers.

They appeal to developers by providing:

  • courses by industry experts
  • deep coverage of topics
  • structured upskilling paths
  • labs with interactive exercises and projects

Compared to Udemy, it's the better choice for advanced developers.

However, they have a massive third-party catalog, and some courses inevitably miss the mark or get outdated.

Labs are great for guided practice in the browser, but they may feel too basic for experienced developers looking for a serious challenge.

Other platforms worth checking out

Udemy and Pluralsight rely heavily on passive learning. If you're an experienced developer, video courses will most likely feel slow, repetitive, and dull. You'll already know most of what's covered.

Most software engineers get really good at programming through a lot of practice, where you design, write, and debug your own code.

Also, these marketplaces operate with massive third party catalogs, making quality control and updates inconsistent.

For a more hands-on approach, you can try these platforms.

Educative

Educative also helps professional developers upskill. Instead of videos, you get text and images that you actively engage with.

Projects and exercises are embedded within the content. You apply concepts in real time without context switching.

Educative interactive exercises.
Applying your skills immediately helps with retention.

Educative's courses are rigorous and challenging. They are not suited for beginners.

They have a smaller catalog of a few hundred courses. Since text is easier to maintain and update, the content is usually high-quality. But it's not fully in-house, so occasional quality issues still arise.

Some of the content focuses too much on interview prep for top companies. These skills are valuable but don’t always translate to real expertise.

Educative interview prep.
Educative places a strong focus on interview preparation, evident right from their homepage.

Educative has a pay-per-course model, as well as subscription plans that give access to everything.

These plans are more affordable than Pluralsight, and individual courses are also budget-friendly.

CodeCrafters

CodeCrafters is built entirely in-house for experienced developers who want to go beyond tutorials and learn by building complex software from scratch.

The coursework consists of challenging and fun projects designed to develop every muscle required to build great software.

CodeCrafters BitTorrent challenge
The Build your own BitTorrent challenge is very popular among our members.

You work in your local dev environment with your usual setup. The platform creates a repository where you push code to run tests and get feedback.

You progress through stages that break these projects into manageable parts. Instructions are minimal, with some relevant links.

You can use any approach as long as your code passes the tests.

This workflow mirrors the real-world experience of programming. You read documentation, think about design, experiment with code, and debug issues.

CodeCrafters testimonials
Engineers at top teams love learning the CodeCrafters way.

Unlike other platforms, the smaller catalog is created in-house, ensuring unmatched quality. Projects cover advanced programming and design concepts and are vetted by top developers.

CodeCrafters offers subscription plans that give access to all projects. First two stages of every project are free for you to try out.

Final Thoughts

Udemy is ideal for beginners and junior developers, or people looking for affordable prices, self-paced learning or unique courses.

Pluralsight, with its comprehensive content, experts teachers, and interactive exercises, is the better choice for professional upskilling.

Educative is a great alternative for developers who prefer its text-based format, or those looking to prep for technical interviews.

CodeCrafters is designed for experienced developers looking to seriously level up their skills or onboard quickly in new languages.

No matter the platform, make sure to write a lot of code yourself. There is no shortcut around it if you want to become a great developer.