So, thinking about which about LinkedIn Learning or Pluralsight | which is better, a few things come to mind.
LinkedIn Learning is the better choice for the average person or business. LinkedIn has a more extensive variety of courses, considerably more course diversity, and a much higher quality of content that makes their platform the winner of this contest.
If you’re specifically searching for technology-focused courses, then Pluralsight will edge the points due to its way more in-depth tech courses about a vast array of topics.
The online learning space is a huge business right now, with multiple companies vying for your e-learning dollars. Whether you want to take an accredited education program or teach yourself new skills, today is the day to get started and smash your educational goals to develop your career effortlessly.
Today, we will compare two of the biggest MOOC (massive open online course) providers in the online learning industry, LinkedIn Learning vs. Pluralsight.
Both of these platforms can meet your needs but making the right decision on which one to learn with will dictate your success.
Alright enough chat. Let’s dive in and determine who wins our online learning platform review of LinkedIn learning vs. Pluralsight.
Overview of product differences
We have collated what are the most significant differentiating factors between these two programs.
LinkedIn Learning
- Higher quality of course production.
- Although not certified, LinkedIn provides completion certificates that can be uploaded to your public profile.
- Larger range of courses across a broader range of subjects.
- The weight of LinkedIn’s resources behind them.
- Consistently evolving and innovating the platform, including more AI and LXP development.
Pluralsight
- One of the best platforms for technology-focused courses.
- Reasonable subscription cost.
- Leader in the world of Dev Ops.
- Well-designed course learning paths.
- Pluralsight mentoring and tutoring.
LinkedIn Learning Review
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional development networking community and is a game-changer in furthering your career.
Before LinkedIn Learning came into reality, it was a reasonably sized business focusing on the core offerings of its online community.
In 2015, LinkedIn acquired the well-known online learning business of Lynda.com, and it was from this point that LinkedIn Learning really took off as an industry-leading MOOC.
Lynda originally started off very slowly, and initially, the platform started as online support to help with Lynda Weinman’s classes and books, but over time began to grow organically with a dedicated audience, and in 2002 started the greatest flex of their history, which included creating to sell courses online.
Before LinkedIn’s purchase, Lynda.com had thousands of courses in its library and was one of the world’s top learning companies; no wonder LinkedIn was interested, right?
In 2016, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, and since then, LinkedIn has grown massively and continues to expand its offerings to over 16,000 courses covering three main categories of technology, Creative, and Business.
Microsoft’s enormous resources have helped LinkedIn bolster its market standing, and are now up there with the top players in the eLearning industry.
When you first look at LinkedIn Learning, you can see Microsoft’s influence. LinkedIn’s user interface has improved an insane amount over the years, and the way they have made their platform extremely user-friendly (almost dummy proof) is a testament to the work they have put in over the last almost decade.
What is the course quality like?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
I spoke to LinkedIn about this, and I found the answer interesting.
LinkedIn Learning picks its content creators very carefully and has a whole “vetting” process with a checklist of prerequisites to ensure the highest levels of quality.
Related: Is LinkedIn Learning Worth It? The Only Review You Need
They also have the 2nd largest video production studio in North America outside Hollywood studios, and they invite selected creators to film in a dedicated, sound-treated space to provide learners the best overall listening and viewing experience; that’s pretty amazing in my book.
Also, the courses are run by industry leaders, experts in their fields, or tech experts, so you know you’ll get some of the best tuition around.
Lastly, If you’ve ever taken a course through LinkedIn, you’ll have seen how super professional the quality is from the audio, video, and scripting is. It’s made into a mini film production which can be good for having a cleaner learning experience, but on the hand, it can be great to be less professional and just get to the information asap; what do you reckon?
What courses are on offer
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
LinkedIn Learning provides a wealth of content in its 16,000+ courses.
These courses cover a vast array of subjects and topics; some of the most popular are the following:
- Training and Education
- Finance and Accounting
- Data Analysis
- Project Management
- Diversity and Inclusion
Related: LinkedIn Learning Courses
The great thing about how courses work on LinkedIn Learning is that you have so much variety to choose from, and if you choose multiple that are pretty similar to each other, you can add them to the learning path, which allows you to take each course in a linear approach to enable a multi-course program.
What do the courses look like?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
The courses are all video based meaning it’s really easy to learn on the go.
Let’s check out what is included within a course to help you navigate the interface a little better.
Video Player
The video player sits in the centre of the LinkedIn Learning interface and provides the main place to watch your course.
On the player, you can control speed and place in the lesson; you can like, share the course, add it to your ongoing content, add captions, or adjust the volume.
Chapters
All the lessons and chapters are listed down the left-hand side of the user interface. This makes things easy when you want to check your current status, move between lessons, and check how long each lesson will take to complete.
Course Details
At the bottom of the course are multiple tabs where you can access certain other information about the course in question.
Overview
Here you will see the standard overview, including the author’s information. And any related course content, such as exercise files.
Further down, you will see what skills will be covered by completing the course.
Sometimes the learning objectives are listed here to enable you to see if the course will be right for you as well as user reviews which is a great way to judge how good the course is from people who have actually taken it.
Q&A
Next up is the Q&A.
Here you can do some social learning by asking the author or the broader LinkedIn community questions about the course or the content.
This can be super useful as you can find answers that can help you before and after taking the course on topics that you may find challenging and need more clarification.
Notebook
With the notebook, I haven’t found much use for them, but in essence, it allows you to write personal notes about a course to come back to, especially if you choose to use the exercise files.
Transcript
Again, this is the first time I have used the transcript, but this tab provides a transcript of the entire script of the course. This is extremely useful for accessibility and enables more people to access the content. Some courses only have partial transcripts, so that this part can be a little hit-and-miss.
What is LinkedIn Learning’s support like?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
I’ve been an active user of LinkedIn Learning for about four years, both personally and through their business enterprise stream, and I have to say they are very attentive to your needs. If you have an issue and need their help, they will hopefully get back to you with a solution very quickly.
What are trending courses?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
When you log in to your LinkedIn learning account, on your learner dashboard, you will see a range of courses on a banner carousel at the top of the screen. These courses are usually about extremely popular or “trending” topics that people are talking about at a given time.
Related: Do Coursera Certificates Expire? (All You Need To Know)
For example, at the time of writing this comparison post, popular topics in vogue include courses such as:
- Managing teams in a hybrid workplace.
- Managing a multigenerational team.
- How to support flexible work.
We can see that due to going through a pandemic the last few years, these courses are about hot topics where the workplace is shifting in multiple directions, and business leaders need to stay ahead of the curve.
Keep an eye on these courses, as they could be of real value to you in your ongoing learning with LinkedIn.
What about the mobile app?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
LinkedIn Learning has a very professional and well-developed app for mobile devices. The positive of this is that it allows learning anywhere at any time, which is definitely the world we live in right now.
The app allows you to see what courses you are currently taking in a streamlined list and recommendations made by LinkedIn through their AI engine based on your historical course choices.
You can also see significant topics and categories to filter your search more on mobile and go into the My Learning section to look at your learning history.
Please be aware the mobile app is way more limited than the desktop version, so there are numerous functions you cannot do, but if all you want to do is watch a course while, e.g., commuting to work, then this is a great solution using an app that was developed with a lot of thought and care.
Pricing
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
For what you get, pricing for LinkedIn learning is very affordable, but it does depend on who you are purchasing it for. Whether you are an individual or buying it on behalf of a business, the methods and pricing will differ.
Below, we have listed the overall pricing for each situation to advise how pricing stacks up.
Individuals
If you are an individual, you have a couple of options depending on your needs.
Pay per course: As long as you have an active LinkedIn Premium account, you can buy courses individually, giving you lifetime access to them to use as and when you need to.
The price for this method will vary per course but, on average, comes out to between $20.00 and $50.00 per course.
Teams and Organizations
If you buy a team’s license, things change quite a bit as this is more enterprise-focused.
LinkedIn does not make this information widely known to the public, as they want to keep pricing competitive and not allow their competitors to get a foothold with private information.
From what we can tell through a lot of research, LinkedIn Learning for Teams is priced in the following ways.
2-20 team member licenses seats = 1-month free trial and then $379.99 per year per license.
21+ team member License seats = You must contact LinkedIn for a discussion on pricing.
Pros and Cons
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Pros
- 1-month free trial
- Certificate of completion
- Easy to use
- High production value of courses
- Broad course selection
Cons
- Lack of in-depth technology courses
- Categories could be simpler
- No full accreditation
Can LinkedIn Learning help you develop your career?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Let’s be quick here, yes, 100% LinkedIn Learning can help you develop your career.
With endless course options, high production value, and industry-leading tutors, LinkedIn Learning can provide you with what you need to build your skills correctly.
One of the ways I have managed to bring LinkedIn into my workflow is to work with my manager to understand where my skills and knowledge gaps are and supplement those needs with some courses and learning paths from LinkedIn.
Related: 15 Free Courses Helping Professionals Land Top Jobs
This should be used in collaboration with other methods of learning. This has worked for me, and it may work for you too.
But if you have the chance to use LinkedIn, you should go for it, as it can make a real difference in your career.
Buying LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
So, with all that considered, should you buy LinkedIn Learning? Yes, you definitely should, but only if technology courses are not your focus. But, if you are looking to develop your skills in a broad range of crucial business areas, then LinkedIn Learning is your ticket to success.
To purchase LinkedIn, feel free to click the button below:
Level up your skills with LinkedIn Learning!
LinkedIn Learning is the best choice for your learning needs. Get it now by clicking the big button below.
Buy LinkedIn LearningPluralsight Review
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Pluralsight started as a very different business from what it is now.
In 2004, Pluralsight was founded as an in-person training company that would send an instructor to a business or organization to conduct physical training sessions.
In 2007 though, the company understood the winds of change were coming and morphed into the online learning provider they are today.
Pluralsight is a company focused on technology and software development learning content, which differs massively from the audience targeted by LinkedIn Learning. However, that is how they have carved out a niche for themselves in the super competitive world of online learning.
Pluralsight currently has 7000+ courses with over 1,500 tutors offering education to students from around the world, so if you would like to enter the world of software development, high tech, or technical engineering with some outstanding education behind you, Pluralsight might be the ticket.
What is the course quality like
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Courses on Pluralsight are exceptionally well thought out, developed with a professional eye, and provide enough education and ability to test your knowledge for anyone to become a technical expert.
The courses look great, are extremely well structured, and look really slick. For some reason, I think the color scheme of black and pink is more pleasing to the eye (IMHO) and seems to have a better design language than others.
The dashboards in Pluralsight are highly intricate and not as “user friendly” as what LinkedIn Learning provides, but do you know what, considering the topics on the platform are highly technical, and so are the students taking the courses, the level of difficulty is probably about right.
Related: Pluralsight Review: Is Pluralsight Worth It? – Learnopoly
Due to this being a technically focused platform, the use of AI for recommendations and assessments is considerably better than LinkedIn, including Skill IQ, where you can assess yourself on key metrics to understand what level you are at currently. We’ll talk more about skill IQ later in the review.
The courses themselves are more streamlined than LinkedIn.
Before starting the course, you have a few tabs you can choose from to prep for the course ahead of you. Let’s talk about those now:
Table of contents
The table of contents tab is precisely how it sounds; it provides a rundown of the entire course, broken into chapters and the individual lessons that make up the broader course.
You also get the chance to bookmark each chapter and see how long it is estimated to complete each part, which is great for estimating the time needed to complete.
Description
The description is an overall course description of what the course is. Overall, I think Pluralsight does a decent job here; it provides you with an excellent synopsis of what you have to look forward to and provides enough information to decide if it’s the right course for you.
Transcript
On every course, you will be able to see the transcript tab. Here you will see a full rundown of the course from the author.
Exercise Files
On most courses on Pluralsight, you should find exercise files available for you to work on. This is pretty similar to LinkedIn Learning, but with Pluralsight, they are maybe a little better laid out, and these files can really help you prepare or practice for the content you’re learning.
Discussion
The discussion board is a nice feature, but again, no different from LinkedIn. It allows you as a learner to engage with the course author and the wider Pluralsight community in a Q&A format to get answers to probing questions about courses.
Related files
Also, if the course has other files that are related to the main course content, they will be stored here, this might be things like matrices, tables, appendices, etc.
Skill IQ
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
The Pluralsight skills IQ metric is exciting. It allows you to assess yourself against various skills to understand where you are doing well and what areas you need to develop. Overall, it’s well worth spending the time to assess as it’s only 20 mins which you can probably do in about 10/15 minutes if you’re focused.
This assessment aims to measure your proficiency in a particular tech skill. After completing, you will be given a score of between 0-300, and your percentile score is then narrowed down into three possible levels, novice, proficient, or expert.
Role IQ
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
One of the really unique functions of Pluralsight is a skills assessment called skill IQ. This feature allows you to assess your skills against a particular role. For example, if you wanted to be an Infrastructure Specialist, you can measure your skills and will be provided either level 1, 2, or 3 results.
You can use this as a gap analysis to understand where your skills gap exists and what you should focus on to develop.
What courses are on offer
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
The courses on Pluralsight are pretty varied but, in all honestly, are very technology specific, so if tech is not your interest, then maybe Pluralsight won’t be right for you.
If you love tech courses, though, then let’s look at what we have on offer.
The machine learning and AI courses seem really strong and have a mantra in their creation on problem-solving, which is precisely what you need in more technical fields like this.
Also, Dev Ops courses are very robust as well with some nice courses from Chris Behrens, especially the introductory fundamentals to Dev Ops, which are very useful for people new to the field.
The main focus areas for Pluralsight courses are the following.
Don’t forget paths
Paths are an amalgamation of multiple courses that run linearly to provide you with the knowledge and skills on your chosen topic to help build your foundational knowledge and practice your talents.
Paths are the same as learning paths in LinkedIn learning, so both platforms tie here.
What do the courses look like
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
The courses themselves seem very well laid out, with beautiful color schemes (they’ve been looking at their color wheel for sure); the dark background with pink, orange, and white accents really makes the content pop, in my opinion.
The course layout is quite similar to LinkedIn learning in many ways, the chapters and lessons are listed going down the screen in the sidebar, Pluralsight has opted for the right-hand side, though, instead of LinkedIn’s left side choice.
The player provides an easy-to-use interface that allows users of various technical abilities to get on and learn very quickly, which is the name of the game with online learning right.
You should be pretty pleased with how the courses look in Pluralsight, and with consistent evolution will keep getting better and better.
Free weekly courses
Every week, Pluralsight release five courses for free that you can take; although they are on diverse topics, at least one should meet your needs, so keep your eyes peeled.
What about the creators?
In Pluralsight, course creators are known as authors. You can learn all about them when clicking on the initial course screen.
If you want to see more, click into the about page, where you can see a more in-depth bio. If you click on the blue follow button, you can be updated on new content published by that particular author, that’s pretty great, right, and really good for keeping up on the social side of things, let’s go social learning!
What is Pluralsight’s support like
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Honestly, I’ve always found Pluralsight pretty good, and the support agents are responsive to my needs. Luckily, I haven’t had to use their support too much, so I only have basic experience with this area of the company.
I had an issue getting logged in initially, and pathways seemed a little glitchy initially, but after speaking via email, the Pluralsight team helped me out, and I was away to the races soon after.
What are trending courses
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Trending courses are the same as featured courses on the LinkedIn learning top banner. These courses are usually about topics currently in vogue or being spoken about a lot in society or adding a lot of value to students, and Pluralsight wants to promote the course more broadly.
What about the mobile app
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
When it comes to the mobile app, it’s clean and minimal and has very little additional content, basically just what courses you have to do, what courses you can choose and not much else, and do you know what, that’s awesome. Get rid of the noise, just show me what I need to do, bingo! Well done Pluralsight!
Pricing
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Pluralsight, as a leading platform, tries its best to remain competitive when it comes to pricing and has multiple plans to choose from for individual learners. Let’s take a look at what those plans look like and which might be best for you.
Starter package = $299 USD per year
This package is great for people that want to start out slowly and want a decent selection of courses but do not need everything.
This subscription package includes the following:
Limited core library of 2,500 courses
Skill and Role assessments
Curated learning paths and channels
This package is worth considering if you are an individual learner who wants to take your first dip into the world of online learning and needs technology-focused courses; this is the one to go with.
Premium package = $359 per year (limited time only), usually $449
If you want to get the best out of Pluralsight, then the premium package is what you want to go with. You get all 7000 + courses available on the platform at your fingertips.
For this package, you get everything included in the standard pricing package, as well as the following:
- Access to the entire library of 7,000+ courses, including advanced content, niche topics, and recordings of past tech conferences
- Hands-on content and coding projects
- Certification exam prep for industry-leading certifications
- Coding challenges
So yeah, if you want to go full-on into Pluralsight, this is the best plan for you; including the discount for paying annually, which is steep for some, provides the best bang for your buck.
Free Trial
Don’t forget that Pluralsight does offer a free trial but compared to LinkedIn, it’s not quite as enticing. Pluralsight offers their free trial for ten days or 200 minutes, whichever you reach first.
If you want to sign up for the free trial and give Pluralsight a good old college try, click here to get started.
Pros and Cons
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Ok, so now it’s time to speak about the pros and cons of Pluralsight, and being fair, I would say there are a few in each category, so let’s jump in and take a look.
Pros
- Decent free trial (although a little stingy on time)
- Modern and intuitive visual layout
- In-depth technology and technical courses
- Skills and Role IQ is an ingenious way of conducting a per-learner gap analysis
- Good plans for individuals and businesses (Enterprise)
Cons
- If you’re not looking to learn technology, Pluralsight is probably not the right platform for you
- Topics are slightly limited due to the big tech focus
- No free courses are available
- Courses are really in-depth, so they may be overwhelming on some topics
Can Pluralsight help you develop your career?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
If you work in the tech field, either for a tech company or you’re working in a tech role in a different industry, Pluralsight can be a game-changer for your career when it comes to learning technical skills and upping your knowledge from beginner to expert level.
With Pluralsight, you get a wide choice of courseware from instructors with solid experience in their chosen fields and an excellent learning experience built into the platform. Pluralsight can teach you the skills you need to succeed and, most importantly, provide you with ways to practice your learnings.
Below we talk about a few other points which may help you decide which is right for you.
Buying pluralsight
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
So, is Pluralsight a buy? If you are a tech guy or girl, then yeah, definitely invest, along with other programs such as Udacity and even Udemy for certain courses.
If you want to start with Pluralsight and get their 10-day free trial, click the big yellow button below.
Level up your tech skills in Pluralsight!
If you want to learn the best tech skills, you have to become a Pluralsight subscriber. If you want to get started, click the button below.
Buy PluralsightWhat are the Enterprise plans like for both platforms?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Both offer plans for businesses which obviously will be a little different from plans on an individual basis.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers an enterprise plan for businesses in a progressive pricing structure, the more licenses you buy, the more LinkedIn can reduce the price per user.
LinkedIn doesn’t publicize prices on its website, so any prices you see other sites or blogs mentioning are pure speculation.
What I do know, though, is that LinkedIn Learning is one of the largest online learning companies in the corporate space. This is mainly because it covers some hugely beneficial categories around skills that businesses need along with the trusted name of LinkedIn, so it’s a no-brainer in the business community.
Click here to contact LinkedIn to find out more about enterprise custom pricing.
Pluralsight
Pluralsight’s enterprise plan is relatively simple, the stated price turns out to be $779 USD per user per year, which is an ok price, not the worst and not the best, but not bad.
The enterprise package includes an advanced analytics engine for greater overview and accountability to leadership, enhanced flexibility around license cost and implementation, and easy-to-use group management.
Also, this price does not include potential negotiation, which through other platforms I have administrated professionally, I can tell you, there’s always room for negotiation, and the more licenses you buy, the price will dwindle with it.
If you want to contact sales @ Pluralsight to discuss business plans, click here.
Are both platforms accredited?
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
Neither LinkedIn Learning nor Pluralsight is officially accredited for its courses and learning paths. The two platforms are best for individuals and organizations looking to develop their skills organically, with adult learning principles at the heart of online education.
LinkedIn has certificates for certifications such as PMP, Microsoft applications, and a course from Meta for digital marketing associates. Still, none are officially accredited, whereas continuing education credits are accessible for certification completion.
Pluralsight does not have any certificates to speak of, so any courses you partake in are solely for non-accredited professional development, both individually and at the corporate level.
If you want to officially take accredited courses through some of the world’s top universities, here is our number 1 choice:
Best Online Learning Platform for accreditation
eDX
A course through eDX is a great choice as they provide hundreds of accredited programs that can professionally benefit your career. eDX was founded by Harvard and MIT, so you know the courses are coming from some of the best educational institutions in the world.
Best non-accredited alternative
Udacity
I know I mentioned accredited institutions are essential to learn from, but I wanted to add Udacity here due to being unique in the online learning space.
Udacity, while not accredited, offers nano degrees to students where you can learn via extremely in-depth technical courses in the tech space, focusing on high-tech topics.
The best thing about Udacity, though, is that they have a substantial global institution network in the technology sector, so when trying to find a job at a top company, doing a Udacity degree gives you a great chance to meet your career goals.
Final Thoughts
LinkedIn Learning vs Pluralsight: Which is better
So here we are. You probably want to know which program to choose now, right?
Well, here’s the thing: LinkedIn Learning and Pluralsight have amazing strengths and some unique weaknesses and analyzing those will make the decision for you.
From Taughtup’s perspective, we would say that if you’re in the tech field and need in-depth content to level up your knowledge and skills to better prepare and future-proof yourself for the ever-changing world of technology, then 100% you should go with Pluralsight.
They have everything you need to succeed within the tech space, with their robust amount of courses, free trial, IQ assessments, and courseware that focuses on attaining your career.
If you want to start a trial with Pluralsight, click the button below to get started.
So, what about LinkedIn Learning?
Related: LinkedIn Learning review 2020: Is it worth your time
This platform comes into its own when you want to up your skills in various business-specific competencies. Some of these competencies include:
- Project Management
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Data Analysis
- Leadership Development
LinkedIn Learning will definitely be best for most businesses and organizations, as it covers the widest variety of content that will meet the needs of most people for their professional development requirements.
If you want to start a free LinkedIn learning trial, click the below button to start your learning journey.
On balance, go with LinkedIn Learning for all instances unless you work solely in the tech field. With over 16,000 courses available to you, simple to use interface, a great mobile app, in-depth learning paths, and industry-leading instructors, by going with LinkedIn, you should have everything needed to smash your goals and build the career you’ve always dreamed of.
Hey, I’m Kris Taylor. I’m a Learning and Development professional currently in the healthcare field, with over 8 years of experience in the area of corporate education. I have created numerous instructional content for various corporate projects including eLearning, in-person facilitation, and virtual training across a wide variety of learning interventions and sectors. On Taughtup, I discuss topics ranging from how to succeed through K-12 to college all the way to instructional design tips for L&D designers.
