Udemy

Udemy built its catalog by letting almost any instructor upload a course and set a price, which produced enormous range in quality alongside genuinely excellent, cheap courses in coding, software tools, and test prep. The revenue split has moved steadily against instructors on the subscription side of the business: Udemy Business payouts fell from 25% in 2023 to 15% as of January 2026, and the company has said outright it is intentionally reducing one-off course sales to push subscriptions, where it keeps 85%.

For a buyer, that internal shift barely matters. Prices stay low, frequent discounts make a $100-listed course routinely available for $15 to $20, and lifetime access to a purchased course is the norm rather than a subscription window. Reviews and ratings are visible before you buy, unlike most competitors, which helps filter the genuinely useful courses from padded ones. It fits someone who wants a specific, narrow skill fast and cheap, more than someone after a recognized credential.