FutureLearn review

FutureLearn suits an adult who wants to sample short university courses before committing money. Its Unlimited page lists 1,400+ short courses from 200+ institutions and educators, with examples such as Computer Programming for Everyone with the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding. The free Limited Access plan lets you sign up and start courses, but lessons arrive weekly rather than all at once, test steps are locked, there are no certificates and access ends after the course. Unlimited, sold as an annual or monthly subscription, opens all course content at once, adds digital Certificates of Achievement on eligible courses and keeps access to courses you have finished. FutureLearn also sells ExpertTracks, microcredentials and online degrees for learners who want more than a short course. The page we fetched showed prices in euros only, so the US dollar price is pending. The main weak point against Coursera is the catalog size and the shorter, less in-depth format.

Who it is for

learners sampling short university courses on a free plan

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Limited Access plan at no cost for sampling 1,400+ short courses
• Unlimited plan with full access, digital certificates and kept access to course content
• Courses from 200+ institutions and educators
• ExpertTracks, microcredentials and online degrees beyond short courses
• Unlimited sold as an annual or a monthly subscription

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: The free plan lets you start any of 1,400+ short courses
• Strength: Unlimited keeps access to courses you have finished
• Strength: Short courses cover healthcare, teaching, psychology and IT
• Weakness: The free plan has no certificates or tests and releases lessons weekly
• Weakness: Free learners lose access once a course ends
• Weakness: Prices on the page we read were in euros, so we could not confirm a US price

Key facts

• Short courses: 1,400+
• Institutions: 200+
• Free plan: Limited Access, no certificates
• Paid plans: Unlimited Annual or Monthly

Where it ranks

FutureLearn is No. 7 in our Best Online College Courses verdict.