Today, we will be taking a look at some of the very best Udemy courses available. Established in 2010, Udemy has taken the E-learning world by storm. It stands toe to toe with its main competitors, such as Coursera. Udemy, however, is different from its rivals for several reasons.
For one, the price of the courses. In general, Udemy classes are considerably cheaper than those of its counterparts. And, more often than not, even the very best Udemy courses are heavily discounted.
Second, another major strong point of Udemy is the variety of topics covered. On Udemy, you can find a class for virtually anything. There are Udemy courses for all walks of life, whether you want to get into knitting, neuroscience, or stamp collecting.
But the huge variety of topics and the overall accessibility of the platform make Udemy a bit of a double-edged sword.
How come?
Well, you can think of Udemy as the wild west of online learning platforms. There, almost everyone can have a voice. Or, in this case, almost everyone can be a teacher. This means that the quality of Udemy courses tends to be hit-or-miss.
On Udemy, you can find some of the best online courses in the world. But, one wrong choice and you will be spending your hard-earned money and time on glorified charlatans. This is why we decided to round up the very best classes Udemy has to offer.
These online classes have stood the test of time and will help you develop your skill set for the jobs of the future.
Without further ado, here is our selection of ten of the best Udemy courses:
Best Courses on Udemy
Best Excel Course: Excel from Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
Ah yes, Microsoft Excel. A software so widely used yet so misunderstood.
Misunderstood? How?
There is a widespread myth that advanced Excel is as complex as metaphysics. This is just not true!
Several great online Excel classes prove how easy it is to master this immensely beneficial software. Udemy has a very good Excel course as well.
“Excel from Beginner to Advanced” is a course for beginners in Excel. It is a 17-hour course taught by Kyle Pew, a Microsoft Certified Trainer. With his 15+ years of experience in teaching Excel, he projects confidence when guiding novices to master this piece of software.
So, what does the curriculum of this online course contain? It takes you through all four levels of Microsoft Excel proficiency: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and finally, Macros/VBA.
But why should one invest in Excel proficiency Want to master your budget? Impress your boss and move up on the career ladder? Start your own business? All of these will get a kick-start with improved Excel skills.
For such a widely used software, it is remarkable just how in-demand Excel skills are. And, for mastering Excel, this online Udemy class is one of the best options out there.
Best Digital Marketing Course: The Complete Digital Marketing Course (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
Starting an online business can be an intimidating endeavor. There is seemingly so much to learn, discover, and plan. But, as with most things, the first step is always the hardest.
And this is where “The Complete Digital Marketing Course” from Udemy comes to help. For anyone planning on starting an online business from scratch, this course would be a fantastic starting point.
This leads us to the “12 in 1” in the title. It stands for the 12 major digital marketing topics discussed in this class, which include market research, website building, copywriting, and social media marketing. The course itself takes approximately 24 hours to complete in full. For maximum results, use this class as a step-by-step tutorial on building a successful online business.
Sounds too good to be true? While it won’t land you a well-paying job at a Fortune 500 company, you will, however, be acquainted with the skillset of a modern digital marketer. Combine these practical skills with some hard work and creativity, and you might surprise even yourself.
To summarize, this course is useful for anyone interested in starting or already having an online business. The course explains the major digital marketing concepts meticulously making it accessible even for people who have absolutely no prior experience with online businesses.
Best Speed Reading Course: Become A SuperLearner (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
Speed reading is a “learning hack” that can be highly beneficial in a variety of scenarios: Learning a new language. Picking up a new skill. Improving memory. And with the right online course, it is entirely possible to self-learn this unique skill.
One of the most popular online courses for speed reading is “Become A SuperLearner” from Udemy.
This is led by an experienced “life hacker” Jonathan Levi. Not only is he one of the leading experts in the field, but he is also a very captivating speaker. So, not only will you become a “super learner,” but you will likely enjoy the ride getting to that point as well.
The content itself takes approximately 7-9 weeks to finish in total. Since speed reading is a fully practical endeavor, the curriculum of the course is supported by exercises you should work on throughout this period and beyond. However, if you do put in the time and effort (and the program is a good fit for you), the payoff can be immense. Many report being able to read and learn 3x faster than the average college graduate, without losing in comprehension and retention.
This is an online course that can benefit nearly anyone. The ability to absorb information fast is one of the key skills for success in the modern world. And, this course will teach you just that.
Best Drawing Course: The Ultimate Drawing Course – Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
In this course, the focus is on teaching drawing. As you see from the title, this 11-hour long course promises to take total beginners to an advanced level.
The class is led by Jaysen and Quinton Batchelor. Jaysen is an illustrator and a designer, while Quinton is a photographer. The instructors are clearly passionate and knowledgeable about their fields. This makes the course very easy to follow and practical. It takes students from learning the line fundamentals to practicing highlighting and drawing shadows.
Like other Udemy courses, it comes with lifetime access. So, if you need to brush up on your skills in the future, feel free to revisit the course.
So, what are you waiting for? Time to unleash your inner Picasso. And if you would like to continue your creative learning, see our other recommendations for courses on illustration and watercolors.
Best Photography Course: Photography Masterclass - A Complete Guide To Photography (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
“Photography Masterclass” is the best course on Udemy for photography.
This 22-hour course is suitable both for total beginners and people already practicing photography. So, what makes this online class stand out among a myriad of similar photography courses?
Well, for one, it is very well-constructed. You start by learning the theory of photography – differentiating between different cameras, lenses, and other equipment, as well as the different styles of photography.
After this, the practical work starts. You will learn to master all the key techniques for taking the perfect snap.
What I also love about this course is that it never resorts to snobbism. Most photography courses turn their noses up at smartphone photography. Here, smartphone photography is taken seriously, with eight lectures dedicated to it. So, even if all you want to do is to master your selfie – this course still has something for you.
But the course has greater ambitions than that and also covers topics such as licensing, wedding photography, and fair use. Even the topic of starting your own business is covered. So, if you are genuinely inspired to make photography a career, this course can be a great starting point.
The course has a great balance between theory and practice, professional tutors, high-quality lessons, and exercises. Plus, it comes with a tremendous amount of downloadable resources.
Best Python Programming Course: Complete Python Bootcamp (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
With its simplified syntax, Python is commonly thought of as the most accessible programming language. So, for total beginners to programming, Python is often the best place to start.
Not only is Python a very accessible language, but it is also widely used in some of the most cutting-edge fields of the digital age. For example, in data science and machine learning.
More than 1.5 MILLION online learners have completed the “Complete Python Bootcamp”. This is a testament to the fact that it is among the most comprehensive yet straightforward online courses for Python. Here, beginners will start from scratch and finish by having completed three full projects for their portfolio.
The class contains approximately 22 hours of video lessons, 14 articles, and 19 coding exercises. Learning programming will not come easy, especially if you are learning from scratch. But the class helps – is very engaging and even humorous at times due to the excellent presentation style of the tutor, Jose Portilla.
Best Machine Learning Course: Machine Learning A-Z (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
Now that you know the ins and outs of Python, let’s see about applying your skills! “Machine Learning A-Z” from Udemy is a great entry-level course for one of the most exciting and in-demand fields of the digital age, machine learning and at the time of writing, machine learning engineers earned $125,494 per year on average.
As far as beginner-friendly choices go, “Machine Learning A-Z” is among the best options for aspiring machine learning students. For total beginners, the course will take approximately one month to finish. But like other Udemy courses, you can also learn at your own pace – so there is no need to rush.
The course explains all the key concepts of machine learning in an accessible way. And the theory is also supported by a variety of practical exercises. As long as you are well-versed in high-school mathematics, you should be able to grasp the concepts and practical exercises with ease.
So, what are you waiting for? Time to get coding!
Best Web Development Course: The Web Developer Bootcamp (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
In this class, the focus is on one of the best online web development courses. Compared to other classes on this list, “Web Developer Bootcamp” is a bit lengthier, with over 60 hours of video lessons. Don’t let this scare you off, though.
Despite the comprehensiveness, the course is welcoming to even total beginners. According to the instructor, Colt Steele, a veteran of leading boot camp-style programming courses. Steele is highly knowledgable, engaging, and humorous as well.
The comprehensiveness is however a major strong point of the course, as it rounds up an impressive amount of up-to-date knowledge on this topic. Want to become a freelance web developer? Want to build your own JavaScript-based browser game? How about building a knockout website for your business?
All this can be done by learning and mastering the skills this course teaches. It is engaging, humorous, easy to follow, and comes with lifetime access. Not to mention that it is designed to meet the real-world demands of the industry.
Best Business Course: An Entire MBA in 1 Course (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
This business course, the most sold in this category on Udemy, is led by Chris Haroun, a very engaging speaker and business education personality.
We should make it clear that the course title is misleading, even by Udemy standards – but while it is clearly not comparable to a full MBA, it is nevertheless a very useful course for anyone already managing or planning on starting a business.
In his own words, Chris has created a “greatest hits” package for his students and he shares lessons from his experience working in consulting, equity, and venture capital, as well as an entrepreneur himself.
This is a medium-length course, taking approximately 8 hours to complete. For people looking for an “entrepreneurship starter pack,” this class is a great first step, and an inspirational one at that, thanks to Chris’s charismatic delivery.
Best for Music Theory: Music Theory Comprehensive Complete! (Udemy)
New customer offer! Top courses from $14.99 when you first visit Udemy (expires 31 March 2024).
So, you are planning on picking up an instrument? Or starting a career as a freelance producer? Great idea, but what if I have no idea what a “chord” or a “key” is?
If that is the case, this is the perfect course for you. “Music Theory Comprehensive Complete!” is led by a Grammy Foundation recognized music educator, Dr. Jason Allen.
In case just mentioning “music theory” made you shiver and think of dry textbooks, don’t worry. This is not the case here. In addition to traditional music theory, Dr. Allen has a background in DJ-ing, remixing, and sound engineering. So, his style of teaching is quite far from being “dry.”
The course itself takes approximately 12 hours to complete in full. And, during these 12 hours, it manages to stay engaging throughout. The focus is on minimizing memorization. Instead, Allen mostly focuses on teaching students to understand music theory intuitively. That is, you will learn to understand the logic behind the melodies, chords, and rhythms.
By understanding these key concepts, you will move towards your music-related goals at a much better pace than average. Whether you are planning on picking up a guitar, becoming a lo-fi hip-hop producer, or embarking on some other music endeavor, this course WILL build a fantastic foundation.
It is easy to see why this class is the best-selling music theory course on Udemy. Not only is it comprehensive and well-structured, but it welcomes students of absolutely all levels with open arms.
