Skillshare - the creative learning platform | Test & my experiences

Skillshare is an international e-learning platform with over 35,000 different online courses (Classes) and over 11 million course participants (Creative People). Skillshare* impresses with creative courses, a subscription model, and a large selection and variety of courses.

Video: What is Skillshare. Duration: 1:01 minutes

How do the courses work?

Skillshare offers a wide range of courses and continuing education in the areas: Creativity, Business, Technology, and Lifestyle. The spectrum ranges from marketing courses, programming languages, and learning instruments to cooking and gardening tips – almost everything is offered. The e-learning platform is like a "Netflix" for online continuing education. As you can see in the screenshot above, mostly creative topics are offered.

• The online courses consist of video lessons and are mostly project-based. This allows you to actively participate during the course.
• The required files for tasks are often attached under the course (Resources, see screenshot).

Under the course, participants can rate the course in the Reviews category and under Discussions they can ask questions that the community or the instructor answers.

Project results can also be shared in the community under the course. Personally, I like the platform's community, especially watching the creative project results of other participants is interesting.

Community project results under a Blender course, here you can like and comment

New: Skillshare Learning Paths. Skillshare now bundles several consecutive courses on a topic into so-called learning paths (usually 2 to 7 courses), currently more than 100 in areas such as business, art, and design. The learning paths are included in the regular subscription and are meant to help you find your way around the large course selection more easily. According to Skillshare's Privacy Policy, the platform now also uses automated AI processes to recommend suitable course content to you.

Skillshare Costs

 

The e-learning platform works with a subscription model. There is a monthly and an annual subscription. The monthly subscription can only be purchased via the app (App Store or Google Play), not via the website. The annual subscription costs approx. €13 per month. The subscription gives you unlimited access to all available Skillshare courses.

The annual subscription costs approx. €12.99 per month, but you have to pay €155.88 (12x €13) immediately.

(Prices may vary!  As of: 28.08.2026)

Thanks to the Skillshare partner program, I can offer you one month free for the Premium subscription. This allows you to use over 35,000 courses and download them anytime on your phone! (But please don't fall into the subscription trap)

Free courses without membership are no longer available on Skillshare: Since September 2021, Skillshare has abolished the distinction between "Free" and "Premium" courses; for every course you need at least an active free trial. Accordingly, there is no longer a filter for free courses in the course search; the paywall reliably pops up when you try to start a course.

Cost conclusion:  Since you don't have to buy the courses individually, you are not in danger of spending your money on bad courses. E-learning courses that do not meet expectations can be safely canceled and switched.

The learning platform also offers you so-called perks: This gives you discounts on memberships of other companies. There is, among others, a 20% discount code on Adobe Premiere and Canva Pro.  

Skillshare for Teams. In addition to the individual subscription, there is also a business plan for companies with two or more members with "Skillshare for Teams". The price is $159 per user per year, there is only annual billing, no monthly rate. Team admins also get a dashboard with evaluations of course usage in the team.

How do I cancel my Skillshare membership? 

1.  Click on your profile
2.  Account Settings
   1. Membership & Payments / Under the menu item Membership & Payment you will also find out when the next debit from your account will take place

My experience and the quality of the courses

What I learned: 

Personally, I was able to greatly improve my skills in Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere using Skillshare tutorials. The Skillshare community and the respective downloadable project resources were super helpful.

Tip: With the link you can try Skillshare for free for one month. If you don't like Skillshare, you can cancel your membership at any time before the month ends without having to pay anything. But then don't forget to cancel in time, otherwise the subscription may be extended by a year if applicable.

Tip: Skillshare has a rating system for courses, it's worth reading the reviews before starting a course.

Skillshare App – Download courses

The Skillshare app is available for iOS and Android. The main advantage of the app is that, unlike the Skillshare website, you can download courses. The app thus enables you to learn independently of location on buses and trains and in many other places.

What are Skillshare Live Sessions? 

Skillshare Live Sessions are virtual group events that take place in real time. Unlike the usual on-demand courses, the live courses are only available on specific days and must be purchased via Eventbrite. The live courses then do not take place on Skillshare as you might expect, but you receive a Zoom link. The courses then cost a little extra on top of the Skillshare subscription. As you can see in the screenshot below, not all courses cost extra, there are also some free ones. 

Skillshare 1-on-1 Sesssions

The 1-on-1 sessions on Skillshare allow you, unlike the sessions mentioned above, to learn directly in a personal conversation with a teacher or expert. These 1-on-1 sessions are particularly useful if you are looking for deeper insights or individual advice on a specific topic. The 1-on-1 sessions used to run via the separate platform Superpeer. That was discontinued at the end of 2024, the sessions now take place directly on Skillshare. Mainly offered as 1-on-1 sessions are creative advice, but also business advice or mindful breathing. I myself have not tried the 1-on-1 sessions yet, but I suspect that the quality there also varies greatly due to the many different instructors. 

External app reviews

My opinion is just one of many. That's why I checked how the Skillshare app performs in both stores.

Reviews from the German App Store and the German Google Play Store, retrieved on 31.08.2026.

In the App Store, Skillshare is doing very well, in the Play Store only decent. You should note that Skillshare constantly delivers updates. A review from 2023 therefore refers to a completely different app than the one from today.

Negative points: 

• Confusing app
• Search function in need of improvement 
• Content that was saved on the web version is not displayed in the app 

Positive points: 

• Many creative courses / good selection of courses
• Courses can be downloaded

Skillshare courses in German?

• It is important to mention that Skillshare is an international online learning platform and therefore the course language is English.
• In German there are unfortunately still few courses available, but recently more and more courses are being added.
• Automatically generated subtitles are available in German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish in addition to English, but not for every course.

Top 10 Skillshare Courses

When selecting the courses, I used a list from Classcentral that lists the courses with the highest number of participants.

Course	Course	Description	Website
	Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate	Course content: ✅ Setting up the first canvas ✅ Using the selection tool, brushes, and erasers ✅ Creating and organizing your layers ✅ Adding color, texture, and effects	to course*
	Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design	Course content: ✅ 5 basic design principles ✅ Critiquing your own work for effectivenes and balance ✅ Applying each core concept to future projects	to course*
	iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos On Your iPhone	Course content: ✅ Taking impressive photos using composition ✅ Optimizing your iPhone camera settings to take the best photos ✅ How to create depth in your photos ✅ Tips, tricks, and much more!	to course*
	Mastering Productivity: Create a Custom System that Works	Course content: ✅ Basics of task management ✅ Digital and physical file organization ✅ How to take (and keep) notes ✅ Tips and tricks for email	to course*
	Fundamentals of DSLR Photography	Course content: ✅ Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO for perfect exposure ✅ Freezing and blurring motion with exposure time ✅ Controlling background blur via aperture ✅ Edit your photos in 5 minutes or less	to course*
	Character Illustration: Drawing Faces, Figures & Clothing	Course content: ✅ Exploring movement and poses ✅ Drawing the four most important expressions ✅ Adding colors ✅ Creating a character that exudes personality	to course*
	Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners	Course content: ✅ Organizing and starting a Premiere Pro project ✅ Performing basic edits, arranging clips, and working with multiple layers ✅ Performing advanced edits using the tool palette, masks, and blending techniques ✅ Applying and adjusting video/audio effects	to course*
	Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Color

Adobe Illustrator CC – Essentials Training

Basic Skills / Getting Started with Drawing