Is Skillshare Free? How to Get Their Courses for Free? (2024)

Last Updated on February, 2024

If I am right, you are here because you heard something about Skillshare being free and Googled to see if it’s true but couldn’t find anything reliable. Well, same here. I couldn’t find a single up-to-date page about Skillshare’s latest pricing scheme either.

So I did a thorough research, and here I am to clarify things for you.

To answer your question: Is Skillshare free?

YES, Skillshare is free, but only for a period of 1-month.

You can access this free month by signing up for a Skillshare membership. This free trial gives you unlimited access to the Skillshare platform to explore thousands of high-quality online courses.

And if you don’t want to continue, you can quit your membership just before the trial ends to avoid being charged. Yes, you can do that.

So yeah, in that sense, Skillshare is FREE. And 1-month is plenty of time to explore the platform. Read on to learn how to get your hands on this free trial.

Quick Summary

Skillshare offers a free trial period of 1 month, during which you have unlimited access to the Skillshare platform to explore thousands of courses.

There is an annual subscription plan of $168 which gives you access to ad free content as well as video downloading.

Other cost saving options such as referring a dozen new students, getting a one year free membership, sharing your subscription and applying for scholarships to get 50% discount on annual subscription are also available.

Skillshare is an online learning platform that allows students to learn from experts, creators, professionals, and entrepreneurs through video classes.

Skillshare has courses that can benefit your career, indulge your hobbies, and help you accomplish something new that may lead you to discover new interests and hobbies.

Skillshare is aimed at people with a creative mind space wanting to develop new skills or further their existing skills. Skillshare courses help creatives take the next step in their creative journey.

The courses are designed to provide immersive learning through video classes, discussions, hands-on projects, and ‘learning paths.’ It is a fun platform to nourish your brain.

It offers more than 34,000+ courses on various topics, including UX design, creative writing, animation, business analytics, acting, cinematography, graphic design, photoshop, web development, personal development, interior design, and much more.

The teaching community of Skillshare has over 8000+ instructors from various backgrounds with different talents and experience levels.

Some of the top Skillshare teachers include:

• Mel Armstrong
• Young Guru
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Susan Orlean
• Peggy Dean
• Thomas Frank
• Dale McManus
• Cat Coquillette

Some Skillshare courses are created by partnering with celebrity instructors, such as:

• Neil Patrick Harris
• Olivia Wilde
• Chris’ Ludacris’ Bridges

You can also find influencers such as:

• Ali Abdaal
• Marques Brownlee

Unlike the strict requirements in other e-learning platforms where you need a formal educational background with experience, at Skillshare, just anyone with a knack for teaching and inspiring others to learn can join the Skillshare teacher community.

Skillshare offers a reasonable pricing scheme compared to other learning platforms. It is a great starting point for individuals to boost career skills or enjoy learning new ones.

I got you covered in my personal skillshare experience if you want to learn more about this learning platform.

As of April 2023, Skillshare offers only an annual membership plan as a Skillshare premium. Skillshare used to have a free membership option that allowed limited access to a small selection of classes.

However, that option is no longer offered since they got rid of it in September 2021. And then there is the Skillshare Teams plan too.

The Skillshare Premium subscription is priced at $168 per year, averaging $14 per month.

The Premium membership price varies slightly from time to time. Earlier this year, it was priced at $165 at some point. Different pricing options have been in use, including monthly options.

The Skillshare monthly membership option is no longer active anymore. So you cannot pay monthly; you will be billed for the annual subscription upfront.

Key Features of a Skillshare Premium Membership;

• Unlimited access to over 34,000 Skillshare classes.
• Ad-free content.
• You can download videos for offline viewing through the Skillshare app.
• A Premium subscription makes you eligible for discounts on other creative platforms, including SquareSpace and Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Interactive and immersive learning class structure.
• Receive feedback from other members and instructors.
• Easy to use platform.

Free Trial

Skillshare offers free unlimited access for 1-month after you sign up for a Skillshare premium membership.

Yes, you will need to input your payment details to access this free trial. On the bright side, you will only be charged for the Premium subscription once the free trial ends.

You can use this free trial period to exploit the unlimited access and go through free online courses of interest to decide if Skillshare has what you want.

You can take as many free classes as you want during this free trial, and if you do not wish to continue, you can cancel Skillshare anytime. And if you cancel Skillshare before the free trial ends, you won’t be charged anything.

Read my elaborative skillshare price guide.

Skillshare also has a plan called Skillshare Teams. This plan is for teams and businesses of every stage, shape, and size. Although created for teams, it gives users a personalized experience to help develop their creative skills.

The Skillshare Teams package pricings are as below;

• Starter package (For teams 2-19)- $159 per annum
• Enterprise Package (For teams 20+)- Custom pricing
• Revive (For teams of 50+)- Custom pricing

1. Try the Free Trial to Decide if it’s for You

Try the free trial to decide for yourself if Skillshare is worth it. Try out classes from topics you have no knowledge about to figure out what sparks.

There is so much to discover in Skillshare, even for those who already know where their interests lie. This way, you get to learn something new for free.

2. Refer a Dozen New Students to Score an Annual Membership

As a Skillshare member, for every new student you refer to Skillshare, you get 1-month free use of Skillshare. If you refer 12 individuals who sign up to Skillshare, you can easily score 12 months of free Skillshare use. That is one annual subscription.

3. Get the One Year Free Membership

For those who cannot afford a Skillshare membership, Skillshare awards a one-year free membership for 10 recipients every month. You can apply here by submitting a detailed description of why you are applying for it and pledging to the honor code.

You can save if you share your Premium subscription with your friends and family. If you split the cost between 2-3 individuals interested in Skillshare, you can cut the monthly cost from $14 to less than $5 a month per person.

5. Apply for a Scholarship

Skillshare gives out a 50% discount per annual subscription for college and university students from accredited institutions. Check if you are eligible for it here. If you can apply for this, you can use Skillshare for one whole year at half the price.

Explore the most popular Skillshare free courses here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Finally, we come to the big question; Is Skillshare worth the price you pay?

Based on my experience, the reasonable pricing scheme and the high-quality classes lead me to say, YES, it is worth your investment.

Skillshare is a great fit for anyone who wants to learn new skills, discover new topics, indulge in existing hobbies, and pursue new hobbies and interests.

The Skillshare platform is a practical space that makes learning fun. And who wouldn’t want to learn while having fun? If you are curious to explore fun learning, you can make Skillshare work.

However, to know if you would feel the same way I feel about Skillshare, you will have to try the free trial to know that.