Online Course Provider League Table - 2016

Free & Low-Cost

These providers offer an alternative to traditional campus based courses by providing free and/or affordable skill-based or academic courses online, some with transferable credit which is recognised by certain colleges or universities. This category of online course providers does not include MOOC platforms. If you wish to view our MOOC Platform League Table, please click here.


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Click on the column headers to sort by criterion See Comparison Table

Hover over titles for more information or click on the Provider Titles for full review.


Rank 2016PlatformNº Courses
Weight factor: 1

Quantity of courses offered:

1 = less than 30 courses
2 = 30 to 49 courses
3 = 50 to 99 courses
4 = 100 to 500 courses
5 = more than 500
Partner Institutions
Weight factor: 3

Quality & standing of the partner institutions providing the courses:

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Course Format
Weight factor: 1

How well the courses are structured to facilitate learning:

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Materials
Weight factor: 2

Quality of materials used to deliver the courses – videos, tutorials, e-books etc:

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Instruction
Weight factor: 3

Quality of the instruction provided (content & delivery):

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Assessment
Weight factor: 1

Provision & Quality of quizzes, assignments & feedback:

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Accreditation
Weight factor: 2

Awarding & recognition of certificates/credits:

1 = None
2 = Progress Tracking
3 = Statement of Accomplishment
4 = Verified Certificate
5 = Credits
 		Social Tools & Features
Weight factor: 2

Provision & quality of tools & features to facilitate social interaction with peers and staff (user profiles, forums etc):

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Interface usability
Weight factor: 1

Quality of the interface & ease of navigation around the site:

1 = Very poor
2 = Poor
3 = OK
4 = Good
5 = Excellent
 		Overall
Weighted average of all the ratings
1Khan Academy
Best for: High School students, Higher Education Students, General Interest
Subjects: Math, Science, Computer programming, Arts & Humanities, Economics & Finance, Test prep
Type of learning: Academic, General
Course type: Free self-paced video courses
Languages: Site versions in Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese + Video lessons translated into almost 40 languages
Certification: No
Learning pathways: Yes
Mobile Apps: iOS
5-55552554.54
2TED.com
Best for: K-12 & Higher Education Students & Educators, Academics, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Design, Arts & Humanities, IT, Social Sciences, Business, Education
Type of learning: Academic, general interest
Course type: Free self-paced lecture videos and articles
Languages: 100+ languages
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5545511554.19
3StraighterLine
Best for: Higher Education Students
Subjects: Business, English, Health Sciences, Humanities, Mathematics, Science, Languages, Technology, and Social Sciences
Type of learning: Academic
Course type: Paid self-paced or professor-led online courses
Languages: English
Certification: College credits
Learning pathways: Yes
Mobile Apps: No
3-44445444.08
4iTunesU
Best for: K-12 students, High School Students, Higher Education Students, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, Languages, Computer Science, Business, Maths, Social Sciences, Health & Medicine, Teaching & Learning
Type of learning: Academic, skill-based, General interest
Course type: Crowdsourced Self-paced & Scheduled free courses & tutorials
Languages: Multiple languages
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5544441353.81
5Lynda.com
Best for: Professionals
Subjects: Software applications, web development, business, creative
Type of learning: Skill-based
Course type: Self-paced video tutorials
Languages: English, French, German, Spanish
Certification: Certificates of Completion
Learning pathways: Yes
Mobile Apps: Yes
5-45513243.77
6Eliademy
Best for: Professionals, K-12, Academic, General Interest
Subjects: Arts and design, Business and law, Education, Humanities, Languages, Life science, Philosophy, Physical and social science, Technology
Type of learning: Academic, skill-based, general interest
Course type:Crowdsourced Free & low-cost self-paced & scheduled online courses
Languages: Multiple languages
Certification: Certificate of Completion on some courses
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5344343553.75
7Sophia
Best for: High School & Higher Education Students, General Interest
Subjects: Maths, statistics, accounting, sciences, humanities, social sciences, economics, business & English composition, World Languages, Learning Strategies
Type of learning: Academic, General Interest
Course type: Free & paid self-paced online courses & tutorials
Languages: English
Certification: College credits
Learning pathways: Yes
Mobile Apps: No
1-44345443.69
8The Great Courses
Best for: High School & Higher Education Students, General Interest
Subjects: History, literature, the arts, philosophy, religion, science, and business
Type of learning: Academic, general interest
Course type: Self-paced lecture CDs, DVDs, audio and video downloads, and transcript books with video & audio streaming
Languages: English
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5-44441353.54
9Ed2go
Best for: Professionals, general interest
Subjects: Accounting and Finance, Business, College Readiness, Computer Applications, Design and Composition, Health Care and Medical, Language and Arts, Law and Legal, Personal Development, Teaching and Education, Technology
Type of learning: Skill-based, general interest
Course type: Self-paced interactive online training courses
Languages: English
Certification: Certificate of completion
Learning pathways: Career programs
Mobile Apps: No
4333343443.31
9GCFLearnFree
Best for: K-12 students, High School Students, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Technology, Reading, Maths, Microsoft, Work & Career, Everyday Life
Type of learning: Skill-based
Course type: Free self-paced tutorials
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Certification: Certificate of completion
Learning pathways: Yes
Mobile Apps: Yes
5-43333343.31
10Udemy
Best for: General interest, High School & Higher Education Students, Professionals
Subjects: Business & entrepreneurship, programming, academics, the arts, health & fitness, language, music, technology, games
Type of learning: Personal development, Academic, skill-based
Course type: Crowdsourced Self-paced video courses
Languages: 40+ course languages
Certification: Certificate of completion on some courses
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5333313353.13
10Coursesites MOOC Catalog
Best for: General interest, K-12 & Higher Education Students, Professionals
Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Business, Education, K-12 content
Type of learning: Personal & professional development, Academic, skill-based, K-12
Course type: Crowdsourced Self-paced & Scheduled courses
Languages: English (predominenetly), Portuguese, Italian, Spanish
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
3333333433.13
11OpenLearning
Best for: General interest, K-12 & Higher Education Students, Professionals
Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Business, Education, Sport
Type of learning: General interest, Academic, Personal & Professional development
Course type: Crowdsourced Self-paced & scheduled (Free & Paid)
Languages: English (predominantly), Malay
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: No
5333322433.06
12Open Culture
Best for: K-12 students, High School Students, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Computer Science, Business, Maths, Social Sciences
Type of learning: Personal & Professional development
Course type: Free self-paced tutorials & courses
Languages: English
Certification: Statements of completion on some courses
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: No
5333333122.81
13YouTubeEdu
Best for: K-12 students, High School Students, Higher Education Students, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, Languages, Computer Science, Business, Maths, Social Sciences, Health & Medicine, Teaching & Learning
Type of learning: Academic, skill-based, General interest
Course type: Crowdsourced Self-paced free videos
Languages: Multiple languages
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: No
5322311332.56
14Cosmo Learning
Best for: K-12 students, High School Students, Higher Education Students, Professionals, General Interest
Subjects: Applied Sciences, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Languages, Computer Science, Maths, Social Sciences, Technology & Extracurricular
Type of learning: Academic, skill-based, General interest, Extracurricular
Course type: Self-paced free videos, & courses
Languages: English
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: No
5323321132.50
15Peer2Peer University (P2PU)
Best for: General interest, High School & Higher Ed Students & Teachers Professionals
Subjects: Science, Technology, Mathematics, Social Science, Teaching and Education
Type of learning: General education, skill-based
Course type: Crowdsourced Free self-paced courses & content
Languages: Multiple languages
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: No
5222222322.31
16Coursmos
Best for: General interest, professional, Higher Ed students, K-12 students
Subjects: Business, Higher Ed, Technology, Health & Beauty, Personal Development, Hobbies, Music, Design, Sports, Languages, K-12, Travel
Type of learning: General interest, academic, professional
Course type: Crowdsourced Free short video lessons, self-paced
Languages: English
Certification: No
Learning pathways: No
Mobile Apps: Yes
5222211232.06


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