This article includes answers to frequently asked questions instructors have regarding Udemy’s subscription plans.
- Udemy Learner? View frequently asked questions about Udemy’s subscription plan offerings:
Table of contents
- How can instructors get involved with the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
- How does content exclusivity work for courses in the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
- How does Udemy decide which courses are selected for the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
- How often is content added to or removed from the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
- Why was my course removed from the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
- How does the revenue share work for the Udemy Business program? How is it reported on instructor revenue reports?
- Are there any bonuses instructors can earn from Personal Plan enrollments?
- What is the ad revenue instructors can earn from Starter Plan enrollments, and where can they see it?
Udemy subscription plans
What is Udemy Business?
Udemy Business is Udemy’s B2B (business to business) learning solution. The Udemy Business program empowers organizations to address their biggest workforce challenges, by engaging employees in skills training and development using Udemy courses.
- Learn about the companies that leverage Udemy Business
Udemy Business offers a subscription package of thousands of Udemy courses, chosen for their quality and relevance to a business audience. Instructors included in Udemy Business benefit from unique brand visibility in front of a new business audience, and also gain an additional revenue stream.
What is Personal Plan?
Personal Plan is a broad subscription that provides enrolled learners with access to thousands of top courses in hundreds of course topics, ranging from IT, web development, soft skills, business, marketing, and design.
Here is some additional information about Personal Plan:
- Access: Eligible learners pay for monthly or annual access to the subscription, with unlimited viewing of content within it. For first-time subscribers, there may be an option to trial the collection for a limited time before subscribing.
Since Personal Plan is a subscription product, it does not offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, and no refunds or partial refunds are available unless required by applicable law (or as required by Google or Apple for subscription purchases made through mobile app stores).
- Audience: Currently, Personal Plan is only available to learners in specific markets. We will continue to update instructors in the Teaching Center and Community as we offer the Personal Plan to new audiences.
- Content: The Personal Plan subscription includes courses taught in English. Depending on a learner’s location, a localized course collection may be available to them.
What is Starter Plan?
Starter Plan offers professional and lifestyle courses in an ad-supported format. With this plan, learners will have access to:
- Top-rated business, creative, and lifestyle courses
- Guided learning from the AI Assistant
- Quizzes and assignments to reinforce learning
Access: Learners can subscribe to Starter Plan on a monthly or annual basis and enjoy unlimited access to the included courses. If they wish to explore even more content, they will have the option to upgrade to Personal Plan at any time, for access to a broader selection of courses.
Please note: Starter Plan is not available to all learners at this time.
General
How can instructors get involved with the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
Make sure to opt in to the Udemy Subscriptions Program on the Premium Instructor Application so that courses are eligible for inclusion.
More information is provided in the Promotions Policy, such as the requirement for Exclusivity for courses in the Udemy Subscriptions Program.
Please note:
- Opting in to the Udemy Subscriptions Program doesn’t guarantee inclusion in subscription plans, but it makes your courses eligible for selection by Udemy.
- To opt out of the Udemy Subscriptions Program completely, see more info here.
How does content exclusivity work for courses in the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
Once your content is included in a Subscriptions Program collection, you agree not to offer on-demand content that directly competes with or injures the sales of that content on any site or platform other than your own. This does not apply to content on your personal or professional websites, or to separate offerings such as in-person training, books, or coaching.
Please note: exclusivity remains in effect until your content is removed from all collections, which may take up to 12 months after you opt out. To mark an individual course as ineligible for inclusion in the Udemy Subscriptions Program, please fill out the eligibility form found in course settings. For more details, review the Promotions Policy.
Course inclusion
How does Udemy decide which courses are selected for the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
Udemy uses various criteria to determine which courses are added to the collections in the program:
- Instructors must opt in to the Udemy Subscriptions program for their courses to be considered.
- Udemy sees a lot of value in using the power of the marketplace to assist with course selection. One of the primary ways the Udemy team chooses courses is based on student feedback through things like reviews, refund rate, and reports of inappropriate content or technical issues. We may also consider factors such as how regularly the content is updated, how engaged learners are, and how responsive the instructor is.
To provide our global learners the courses that best meet their needs, we're currently only prioritizing content which is fully localized to their desired languages. Courses which have been translated using captions or dubbing would not be eligible, as our policy requires:
- Consistency in the language used on all courses (audio, slides, resources, and so on)
- Courses be taught by a fluent or native language speaking instructor
- Use of localized examples and practical exercises to provide learners with a culturally nuanced learning experience
We recommend visiting the Instructor Teaching Center, which has more information on how to optimize content for Udemy Business and create accessible and inclusive learning content.
Please note: We're unable to consider suggestions for Udemy Subscriptions Program course additions from instructors. If the course is marked eligible, rest assured it’s already up for consideration.
Udemy Business content opportunities
Udemy also considers factors such as the subject matter demand by Udemy Business customers, and their overall content strategy.
- Learn more about the Udemy Business content opportunities tool.
How often is content added to or removed from the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
The collections in the Udemy Subscriptions Program, including Udemy Business, Personal Plan, and Starter Plan, are refreshed over time to add promising new content and remove content that’s underperforming or no longer meeting quality standards. While the curation teams for both collections collaborate, there may be some differences between the collections at a given point in time. Generally speaking, content that is added or removed from one collection will eventually also be added to or removed from the other collections.
Why was my course removed from the Udemy Subscriptions Program?
We regularly review the Subscriptions Program collections to assess course performance and identify topics that may be missing or saturated. We may remove content from a collection if:
the course falls below the applicable rating threshold for that collection,
we determine the course is not appropriate for or serving the needs of our audience, or
the instructor does not adhere to our Trust and Safety policies.
Rating thresholds may differ by collection. If possible, our curation team will reach out with tips for quality improvement before we take action.
Revenue
How does the revenue share work for the Udemy Business program? How is it reported on instructor revenue reports?
Learn how instructors earn revenue from Udemy Business.
Are there any bonuses instructors can earn from Personal Plan enrollments?
Yes, instructors are eligible to receive bonuses from Personal Plan subscription enrollments. Learn more about Personal Plan subscription bonuses.
What is the ad revenue instructors can earn from Starter Plan enrollments, and where can they see it?
Learn more about instructor payments for ad revenue and where you can view them.