Skillshare Costs: What are your options?

In this article, we talk all things Skillshare costs, pricing and everything in between. If you’ve spent anytime browsing the Skillshare homepage, you’ll have noticed that you won’t be able to find any information about its costs and subscription plans.

The only way to access the platform is by clicking on the “Get Started for Free” button and from there you’ll be able to sign up to Skillshare. I’m sure that still leaves you with a bunch of unanswered questions like; How much is Skillshare? Do I have to sign up for one year? What’s its refund policy?

That’s where we step in, I myself have signed up for a Skillshare membership, taken a bunch of classes and know how its subscription plan works. If you have the time, please read on as I explain in detail about Skillshare costs, memberships, refund policy and more.

Skillshare Costs Overview

Skillshare offers a monthly membership for $29 USD or an annual membership plan costing $168 USD (working out at $14 USD a month). When you first sign up to Skillshare you’ll be entitled to a 30-day free trial, once that finishes, you’ll be charged for either the monthly or annual, depending on which plan you choose. Be mindful that when you do sign up to Skillshare you’ll need to enter your card details to get access to the free trial. As well as individual plans, Skillshare offers memberships for teams and organizations of any size, Skillshare for Teams costs $159 USD per user, per year. Skillshare does offer a refund policy on its annual memberships, so if you do change your mind you have 14 days to request your refund after the charge has been processed.

Is Skillshare Free?

The simple answer is YES! But it’s only for the first month.

Skillshare 1 month free trial

To get access to a 1-month free trial, you’ll need to create an account with Skillshare you can click on Sign Up and add a valid email address or use your Facebook, Google or Apple account (see image below).

Skillshare Sign up

Once you are signed up, you will need to add your card details and choose either a monthly or annual plan. Remember though, you won’t be charged anything until your free trial ends. This may leave you a little apprehensive about signing up. I get it, but if your intention isn’t to continue with a paid Skillshare plan, you are free to cancel at any time. Plus, Skillshare will email you 7 days before your trial ends to remind you.

The 1-month free trial, will give you full access to the Skillshare platform. Be mindful that once the free trial ends, your monthly or annual membership plan will begin, and your card will be charged.

What’s included in a Skillshare Membership?

So, you are probably asking yourself, what do I actually get with the Skillshare Premium membership?

Skillshare Premium Free Trial

Firstly, you’ll get unlimited access to all of Skillshare classes, that’s a whooping 35,000+ classes covering a wide range of creative topics from Animation, Graphic Design, Photography and much more.

On top of that, you’ll also be able to enjoy the following with Skillshare Premium;

• Creative Community: Get support and feedback on real, hands-on projects
• Offline Access: Download classes to your smart device with the Skillshare app
• No Ads: Watch your classes with no interruptions
• Supports Teachers: Funds the royalty pool that pays teachers each month
• Perks: Discounts on exciting creative resources, services and benefits

Skillshare Perks discount for premium users

The Skillshare premium membership gives you exclusive discounts on your favorite creative services like Adobe and Squarespace starting at $14 USD a month when you subscribe to the annual plan.

> Try out Skillshare Premium here

Skillshare Teams Plan

Like most elearning platforms, Skillshare offers a plan for businesses and teams, which gives unlimited access to its 35,000+ classes. The plan is designed for a team or business of any size and each user will have a personalized experience.

Skillshare For Teams Package

The Skillshare For Teams Package is designed to help you and your team build hard and soft creative skills, if your team grows, you can add users to your account, plus you can reassign seats if someone in your team leaves. Skillshare for Teams costs $159 USD per user, per year that is billed annually, there is no monthly option.

The Skillshare for Teams also includes:

• Unlimited access to 35,000+ classes
• Easy-to-use admin capabilities
• A personalized experience for each user
• Casting, offline, and mobile capabilities
• Detailed reporting and analytics

> Try out Skillshare For Teams here

Corporate Gift Cards

If you like the idea of giving your employees something a little different, then the Skillshare corporate gift card maybe the answer. The corporate gift card has a minimum of 25 members and is designed to be a short-term skillshare membership. Not only can they be customized, but they are easy to set up and can be redeemed at anytime of year.

Skillshare Corporate Gift Cards

You will need to Contact Sales and specify what you are looking for, and they will be in touch with a customized pricing plan. Skillshare is generously offering a 40% discount on its gift cards, and you can get in touch here to find out more.

> Check out Skillshare Corporate Gift Card here

Skillshare Chroma Courses

Skillshare has recently introduced four-week, immersive small group courses called ChromaCourse. The idea of it is to give of small group of learners access to exclusive content from expert teachers with live Q&As that are personalized feedback on your assignments.

Anyone can enroll on a Chroma Course, you don’t need to be a Skillshare member. All you need is access to Slack and Zoom, so you can participate in the live sessions. New Chroma Courses are launched each month and if you find the course you would like to join is full, there is the option to join the waiting list. You can purchase a Chroma Course with a debit or credit card, and then you will receive confirmation of purchase in your email.

> Check out Chroma Courses here

Accepted Payment Methods & Currencies

Skillshare accepts credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) plus PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and SEPA are all available.

Skillshare is available in many currencies, which you can pay for with an annual subscription in your local currency. Check out the table below to see the prices for the most popular currencies.

Skillshare for Schools

Skillshare offers special and discounted pricing for high school and higher education institutions who are looking to purchase 20 seats or more. These special packages will give young students the opportunity to switch traditional textbook learning to the full library of courses on categories like graphic design, leadership, web development and much more.

If you are interested in discussing plans and discounts for your school or University, then you can contact Skillshare for a free consultation to find out more.

Scholarships

Skillshare offers a selection of Scholarships that give eligible applicants a discount or access to a Skillshare membership for one year.  It is currently offering a selection of scholarships from 50% off a one-year membership for College and University students to furloughed workers in the UK.

The application process seems really straightforward. All you need is your name, email and explaining why you are eligible for the Scholarship

> Check out Skillshare Scholarships here

Financial Aid

There are a couple of ways in which Skillshare makes the resources available to those with financial needs:

• Every student that has a valid .edu email address will have a 50% discount on the Skillshare Premium cost.
• The One for One Skillshare policy means that for each premium subscriber they donate a free membership to those in need of financial help.

To apply for a Skillshare scholarship, you’ll need to follow these steps:

1. Create a free Skillshare account
2. Submit the scholarship form and explain how you will use what you’ll learn at Skillshare. Submit a summary of your financial situation.
3. Wait for the Skillshare confirmation
4. If approved, enjoy access to Skillshare for 1 year for free

If you’d like to help someone with limited financial resources by giving them access to Skillshare, you can become a benefactor to sponsor students.

How To Cancel Skillshare

You’ll be able to cancel your Skillshare premium membership at any time. To cancel your membership, you’ll need to follow a few easy steps.

1. Click on Account Settings

2. Then select Payments

3. Finally, click on Cancel Membership

Once you click on Cancel Membership, you will instantly lose access to the premium membership (including all the classes and access). If you cancel before the end of your free trial, you won’t be charged anything.

Skillshare Cancel Membership

Skillshare Refunds

Skillshare only offers refunds on its membership plans. To get your full refund, you must contact Skillshare within 7 days after the charge has been processed, and it can take up to 14 business days to receive your refund. Sadly, they do not offer refunds if you choose the monthly membership (e.g. paying month to month).

Skillshare Premium Start Your Free Month

If you click Start your free month (see image above) for the Skillshare Premium you agree to be charged after that 1 month finished. If you do decide to cancel before the 1 month has finished, you won’t be charged.

If you purchase Skillshare via a third party (e.g. Google Play or Apple), you’ll have to contact them in order to request a refund or cancellations – Skillshare won’t be able to help you here.

Skillshare Costs: Last Thoughts

Alright, we’ve reviewed Skillshare costs, and we’ve seen that:

1. It’s reasonably priced for the content you have access to
2. The Skillshare prices and plans are easy to digest

This popular platform is focused on improving or learning new (creative) skills and if you are an individual you get to try out the free trial before committing to the annual premium membership. The premium membership plan costs $168 USD annually and gives you full access to the 35,000+ classes, the community and offline viewing. I leave you here with Skillshare’s strengths and weaknesses as a summary of the platform to decide if it’s right for you.

Skillshare Pros

Skillshare Cons

> Try out Skillshare Premium here

Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Article Updates:

11/03/23 – Skillshare Monthly Plan – Added

10/15/23 – Skillshare Introduction – Updated

09/04/23 – Skillshare Costs Overview

07/30/23 – Skillshare Corporate Gift Card

06/28/23 – Skillshare Costs Overview – Updated

05/30/23 – Is Skillshare free?

05/02/23 – FAQ: Do you pay monthly or yearly for Skillshare?

04/30/23 – Skillshare Pros and Cons

04/09/23 – Skillshare Teams Plan

03/28/22 – Prices update

03/02/22 – Skillshare Chroma Courses

02/30/22 – Skillshare for Schools

02/03/22 – Skillshare Annual Cost

11/30/21 – Skillshare Scholarships

11/19/21 – How to Cancel Skillshare

10/21/21 – Skillshare Premium Plan & Team Plans

09/23/21 – Skillshare Costs

07/12/21- Skillshare for free & Premium membership

Catherine Cooke

Hey. I am Catherine and I have been working as a freelancer for many years now. In 2005, I graduated from a BA honours in Art & Design from BCU and then went onto complete a Master’s Degree in Teaching from UEL. The skills I gained from learning and teaching have led me to create Upskillwise, a place for learners like myself to find the best possible resources and courses to train and upskill themselves, either personally or professionally. If you have a question, please feel free to ask me anything or leave me a comment.