Promotions Policy

This Promotions Policy was last updated on 4th November 2020.

This Promotions Policy (“Policy”) includes information about methods that Udemy instructors can use to promote their content, including instructor coupons, course referral links, and Udemy’s optional marketing programs. This Policy is incorporated by reference into our Terms of Use and Instructor Terms. Any capitalized terms that aren’t defined in this Policy are defined as specified in the Terms of Use or Instructor Terms.

You can find translated versions of this Policy by following the Help Center language instructions available here. The following translations are also available for languages not supported by the Help Center:

• Korean (프로모션 정책)
• Chinese - Traditional (促銷政策)
• Chinese - Simplified (推广政策)
• Dutch (Promotiebeleid)
• Russian (Политика порядка проведения промоакций)
• Romanian (Politica de promoții)
• Indonesian (Kebijakan Promosi)
• Thai (นโยบายโปรโมชั่น)

Any version of this Policy in a language other than English is provided for convenience and you understand and agree that the English language will control if there is any conflict.

1. Instructor Coupons & Course Referral Links

As an instructor, you may be able to increase your sales by promoting your course through a course referral link or coupon code. You may generate a coupon code for a discount or at Udemy’s current price, as permitted within the Services. Note that the actual discount may be slightly higher due to rounding and currency conversion. When a student applies your discount coupon to a foreign currency transaction, we will apply a proportional discount in the student’s applicable currency.

Where a student applies your coupon code or course referral link at checkout, your revenue share will be 97% of the Net Amount less any applicable deductions, such as student refunds.

Alternatively, you may be able to generate 100%-off coupons to offer your paid course for free. These coupons may be subject to limits, and you may not sell free coupons on third-party websites or otherwise offer them in exchange for compensation.

2. Promotional Programs

2.1 How the Promotional Programs Work

Udemy offers premium instructors several optional marketing programs (“Promotional Programs”), which you can opt into through the Promotional Agreements page of your instructor settings or by a written agreement (including by email) between you and Udemy for certain programs as detailed below. The specific programs offered may change from time to time. In connection with the Promotional Programs, your content may also be priced higher at Udemy’s discretion.

Not all deals or programs will be available in all geographic territories or for all Udemy content. Udemy has sole discretion to determine which content to offer as part of the Promotional Programs and to set or update sale prices. Udemy may remove any of your content from the Promotional Programs at any time and in its sole discretion, with or without notice to you.

The discount amounts referenced below are approximate, as the actual discount may be slightly higher due to rounding and currency conversion. Udemy does not guarantee any minimum level of success in connection with the Promotional Programs.

2.2 Udemy Deals Program

The Udemy Deals Program helps increase your revenue potential by enabling Udemy to offer your content at a compelling discount and list price as part of targeted promotions. The Deals Program allows Udemy to offer your content to students at a discounted price or list price no lower than $10 USD (or local equivalent), except in Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey and sales to Udemy’s resellers or distributors, where the price may be lower. 

Where a sale to a Udemy reseller or distributor results in a sale price for your content that is lower than permitted by this Policy, Udemy will calculate your revenue share based on a Gross Amount permitted by this Policy.

Deals Program deals may be promoted through the Services, communications to users, or third-party platforms, and the duration of the deals may vary.

By participating in the Deals Program, you agree that your revenue share will be 50% of the Net Amount of the sale less any applicable deductions, such as student refunds.

2.3 Marketing Boost Program

Udemy has a network of tens of thousands of affiliate sites and established relationships with third-party deal sites. We also have a team dedicated to placing paid digital advertisements. Through the Marketing Boost Program, Udemy leverages these partner sites and advertising platforms to promote your content to new students at no up-front cost to you.

By participating in the Marketing Boost Program, you authorize Udemy to employ third parties, including resellers, distributors, affiliate sites, deal sites, and paid advertising on third-party platforms (together, “Advertising”) to promote your content. In calculating your revenue, Udemy may deduct fees associated with this Advertising from the Gross Amount before calculating the Net Amount of the sale.

By participating in the Marketing Boost Program, you agree that your revenue share will be 25% of the Net Amount of the sale less any applicable deductions, such as student refunds.

2.4 Subscription Programs

Premium instructors may also participate in our subscription programs, including the Udemy for Business (“UFB”) Program and Udemy Subscription Program, subject to the additional terms in this section.

Because the collections associated with these programs are subscription-based, we may select sale prices and offer free trials at our discretion. While your content is included in a collection, you may not unpublish that content or make it private. 

If you’ve agreed to provide any Assessment Questions (as defined below), you are also subject to the additional terms in Section 2.4.5 (Assessments).

2.4.1 Udemy for Business Program

The Udemy for Business collection (“Udemy for Business Collection”) is a subscription-based content collection available to business customers, including private, public, non-profit, and government organizations (“UFB Customers”), featuring a select group of Udemy’s top content for professional and personal development skills.

By opting into the Udemy for Business Program, you agree to make all of your content eligible for inclusion in the Udemy for Business Collection. We may elect whether to select your content for inclusion in the Udemy for Business Collection, and may change the selection from time to time at our sole discretion. 

2.4.1.1 UFB Revenue Share

By participating in the Udemy for Business Program, you agree that your revenue share will be calculated as follows:

1. Each month, Udemy will calculate the total monthly subscription fees paid to Udemy on behalf of all current UFB Customers minus any applicable Transaction Taxes, foreign exchange fees, and third-party payment processing fees.
2. Twenty-five percent (25%) of this amount will be allocated to instructors participating in the Udemy for Business Program ("UFB Instructor Revenue Pool") as further described below.
3. Each month, Udemy will calculate the total minutes of content (including course videos, quizzes, practice tests, and coding exercises) in the Udemy for Business Collection consumed by all current UFB Customers ("Total UFB Minutes Consumed"). For clarity, the Total UFB Minutes Consumed does not include any consumption by access through a free trial.
4. Each month, Udemy will also calculate how many of the Total UFB Minutes Consumed are attributable to each of your items of content that were included in the Udemy for Business Collection that month ("Your UFB Content Minutes").
5. To calculate your revenue share each month, Udemy will divide the UFB Instructor Revenue Pool by the Total UFB Minutes Consumed, then multiply that per-minute amount by Your UFB Content Minutes.

As Udemy makes additional types of content (such as assessments and labs) available through the Udemy for Business Collection, we may update subsection (3) above to specify additional types of content that will be included in the calculations to determine the Total UFB Minutes Consumed and Your UFB Content Minutes.

2.4.2 Udemy Subscription Program

The Udemy Subscription collection (“Udemy Subscription Collection”) is a subscription-based collection of content and functionality available to individual and business customers (“Udemy Subscription Customers”). 

By participating in the Udemy Subscription Program, you agree to make your content, as mutually agreed between us in writing (including by email), available for inclusion in both the Udemy Subscription Collection and the Udemy for Business Collection, as described in Section 2.4.1 (Udemy for Business Program). For content accessed through the Udemy for Business Collection, your revenue share will be calculated in accordance with Section 2.4.1.1 (UFB Revenue Share).

We may elect whether to select your content for inclusion in the Udemy Subscription Collection, and may change that selection from time to time and at our sole discretion. 

2.4.2.1 Udemy Subscription Revenue Share

For any of your content included in the Udemy Subscription Collection and accessed by Udemy Subscription Customers who are not UFB Customers accessing through the Udemy for Business Collection, your revenue share will be calculated as follows: 

1. Each month, Udemy will calculate the total subscription fees paid by all current Udemy Subscription Customers (other than UFB Customers) for that month, prorated for partial months and minus any applicable Transaction Taxes, refunds, foreign exchange fees, and third-party payment processing fees. 
2. Twenty-five percent (25%) of this amount will be allocated to instructors participating in the Udemy Subscription Collection (“Udemy Subscription Instructor Revenue Pool”) as further described below. 
3. Each month, Udemy will calculate the total minutes of content (including course videos, quizzes, practice tests, and coding exercises) in the Udemy Subscription Collection consumed by all current Udemy Subscription Customers (other than as accessed through the Udemy for Business Collection) (“Total Udemy Subscription Minutes Consumed”).
4. Each month, Udemy will also calculate how many of the Total Udemy Subscription Minutes Consumed are attributable to each of your items of content that were included in the Udemy Subscription Collection that month (“Your Udemy Subscription Content Minutes”).
5. To calculate your revenue share each month, Udemy will divide the Udemy Subscription Instructor Revenue Pool by the Total Udemy Subscription Minutes Consumed, then multiply that per-minute amount by Your Udemy Subscription Content Minutes.

As Udemy makes additional types of content (such as assessments and labs) available through the Udemy Subscription Collection, we may update subsection (3) above to specify additional types of content that will be included in the calculations to determine the Total Udemy Subscription Minutes Consumed and Your Udemy Subscription Content Minutes.

2.4.3 Subscription Programs Exclusivity

Except as otherwise provided for Assessment Questions below, once your content is included in the Udemy for Business Collection or Udemy Subscription Collection, you agree that you will not begin to offer any on-demand content, such as pre-recorded courses, that directly compete with or injure the sales of that content on any site or platform other than your own. For clarity, this doesn’t include literary works or in-person instructional trainings. If you choose to terminate your participation in the Udemy for Business Program or Udemy Subscription Program, you agree that this exclusivity provision will remain in place until we remove your content from the relevant collection.

2.4.4 Subscription Programs Termination

You can choose to terminate your participation in the Udemy for Business Program or Udemy Subscription Program at any time by emailing instructorsupport@udemy.com. Udemy will remove your content from the Udemy for Business Collection or Udemy Subscription Collection, as applicable, within 12 months of termination and will continue to pay you revenue share based on the then-current rates until your content is removed from the relevant collection. 

Once your content is removed for any reason from the Udemy for Business Collection or Udemy Subscription Collection, UFB Customers or Udemy Subscription Customers, as applicable, will no longer be able to enroll in your content and you will no longer earn revenue share from the relevant program. However, any Udemy Subscription Customer or student of a UFB Customer who previously enrolled in your content will continue to be able to access that content for as long as they remain subscribed to the relevant collection.

2.4.5 Assessments

Udemy’s assessments (“Assessments”) consist of question and answer pairs with explanations (each, an “Assessment Question”) to measure proficiency and learning across certain topics, skills, domains, or occupations. Assessments are made available by Udemy as a standalone content type, separate from courses. For clarity, practice tests, quizzes, coding exercises, and labs are not considered Assessments or Assessment Questions. 

By providing an Assessment Question, as mutually agreed between us in writing (including by email), you agree to the additional terms in this section.

We may elect whether to select your Assessment Question for inclusion on Udemy.com, in the Udemy for Business Collection, and/or in the Udemy Subscription Collection, and may change that selection from time to time and at our sole discretion. If your Assessment Question is included in the Udemy for Business Collection or Udemy Subscription Collection, then you will be subject to the terms relevant to that collection above. 

You agree that your Assessment Questions will comply with all criteria as may be agreed in writing (including by email) by you and Udemy, such as the topic, format, domain, difficulty level, and quantity.

2.4.5.1 Assessments Exclusivity 

By providing your Assessment Question, you grant Udemy an exclusive license to use, copy, reproduce, distribute, display, publish, and prepare derivative works of your Assessment Question. You agree that you will not make your Assessment Question available to others (including through your own site or platform) or license or permit any third party to do so.

2.4.5.2 Assessments Termination

You may choose to terminate your license of an Assessment Question at any time by emailing instructorsupport@udemy.com. Udemy will remove your Assessment Question from the Services within 12 months of termination and will continue to pay you any relevant revenue share based on the then-current rates until your Assessment Question is removed from the relevant portion of the Services.  

2.5 Opting Out

Except as otherwise stated above, you can opt out of the Promotional Programs at any time. However, your content will remain subject to any applicable sales, campaigns, or promotions that are already active at the time you opt out, until those sales, campaigns, or promotions are completed.

3. Modifications

We may update this Policy from time to time to clarify our practices or to reflect new or different practices. If we make any material change, we will notify you using prominent means such as by email notice sent to the email address specified in your account or by posting a notice through our Services. Modifications will become effective on the day they are posted unless stated otherwise.

4. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Policy, please contact our Support Team.