Datacamp vs Coursera – What’s Right for You? Side-by-Side Comparison

Online learning platforms are a great way to expand your knowledge regarding your course topic. 

So, if you want to design a course on data science, our top two recommendations are Datacamp and Coursera.

While both of them are great in data science specialization, only one can be the right one for you. 

In this Datacamp vs Coursera review, we will compare both of the platforms as well as go over their features, pros, and cons.

Features	Datacamp	Coursera
Pricing	4 and a half stars	4 stars
Subjects Taught	4 and a half stars	4 and a half stars
Quality of Instructors	4 stars	5 stars
Ease of use	4 and a half stars	4 and a half stars
Support	4 and a half stars	4 and a half stars

We’ve provided a brief overview of some of the features. Let’s move on to an in-depth analysis to see which online learning platform is the best fit for you. 

Datacamp Review – Best Data Science Courses

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Datacamp, let’s see what it’s really about. 

Essentially it sets out to do the same as what other e-learning platforms are doing, which is educating people on new or stronger skills through online administered courses.

But, as it’s apparent from the name, Datacamp has a stronger focus on courses related to data science. 

It does this by breaking down learning into courses. 

It offers:

• Beginner-level courses
• Skill tracks
• In-depth career tracks

Features of Datacamp

• Courses on STEM field 
• 3 subscription plans
• Includes the signal skill analytics system 
• Over 312 courses on data science
• 300 instructors 

Pros	Cons
• Allows monthly billing • Good courses on Python, R, and SQL • Aims at interactive learning through different videos • A good beginner-friendly option for people learning data science  • Conducts skill assessment tests to see where you are standing • Runs code in the browser so no additional apps are needed	• Free courses are restrictive • Less content other than data science • No affiliation with universities

Benefits of Datacamp

As we mentioned before, Datacamp’s curriculum is targeted towards people who want to learn data science. 

It’s a great way to enrich your online course or improve your online business.

Since it provides flexible learning, you can take the online courses at your own convenience. 

Moreover, it focuses on engaging students at a beginner level through its hands-on projects. Each online course is created to be completed in a short amount of time. 

One unique feature we came across while researching the platform was their Signal Data Science Assessment Program. 

This machine-learning system gives you a full assessment of your progress as you use the platform. It also helps you figure out the right courses for you. 

To test the assessment program, our team took the assessment for data analysis for SQL. It (rightfully) told them that they were novices and recommended courses to start from. 

Moreover, Datacamp offers some great coding challenges. 

This is an excellent feature because you won’t need any outside applications to learn these skills. These challenges are highly interactive and encourage you to continue learning. 

If you’re taking a course on data science just for the certificates, Datacamp does offer them upon completion of the course. However, it is important to note they do not include any professional certificates. 

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Datacamp

Pricing

Datacamp offers three plans for individuals as well as enterprise and professional plans for teams. 

The individual plans include: 

• The Free Plan 
• The Basic Plan for $25 a month.

 It gives you access to 44 full courses, unlimited skills assessment, two career tracks, and access to community chat. 

• The Premium Plan for $12 a month.

To avail of this plan, you will have to sign up to Datacamp for at least a year. It gives you access to 334 online courses, 14 career tracks, 43 skill trades, 82 projects, and priority support. 

However, we feel obliged to tell you that the Free Plan for Datacamp is almost non-existent.

If you’re looking for free courses, you’ll have to look somewhere else since the free plan is very limited and not entirely useful. 

Subjects Taught  

While comparing Datacamp vs Coursera, we noticed Datacamp has a smaller course catalog. 

But, we also found Datacamp courses to be far more engaging for amateurs. 

It offers around 500 courses, out of which 312 are on data science only. 

The individual courses consist of lectures as well as project exercises. 

Some of the course topics include:

• Introduction to Machine Learning 
• Python Data Science Toolbox
• Intermediate R 
• Introduction to SQL 

Skill tracks are a curated series of courses to help you specialize in a particular skill. 

Examples of skill tracks on Datacamp are:

• Applied Finance 
• Marketing Analysis 
• Data visualization 
• Statistics fundamentals 
• Text mining 

Skill Careers, on the other hand, are helpful in launching a particular career. 

Such as: 

• Data Scientist 
• Data Analysts 
• Machine Learning Scientist 
• Python Programmer 

Quality of Instructors 

Before enrolling in any course, we highly recommend researching the instructor you’ll be learning from. 

Datacamp has listed around 300 instructors each belonging from various educational institutions or organizations. 

Each course also connects you to the instructor’s bio, a brief paragraph about who they are, the instructor’s background, and other courses they teach. 

However, we noticed some of these bios to be quite vague. For example, we found one bio that stated “Data Analyst at Data Camp.”

So, instead of listing their experience or degrees, you might just find their occupation and place of work. 

Easy of use 

We were pleased to see how minimalist the website design is for Datacamp.

It made finding whatever we were looking for a piece of cake. The website is extremely easy to use in regards to both user-friendliness and navigation. 

Whether you want to view Datacamp’s pricing or view its course list, the whole interface is designed to be beginner-friendly and intuitive. 

Support

Both Datacamp and Coursera have excellent support. 

Datacamp’s support page looks like this:

When you click on “Your Datacamp Account” or “Help Center”, you are directed towards a page with plenty of information on different issues and how to resolve them. 

Otherwise, you can also directly contact Datacamp’s support team for help. 

What Do the Customers Think?

We searched the internet for Datacamp reviews to see what people are saying about the platform. 

Many people used it for learning data science or for successfully scoring a job as a data scientist. 

They particularly loved Datacamp’s model of interactive learning, its byte-sized video lectures, and coding tips. 

Here are some reviews we came across: 

Best Data Science Courses

Datacamp offers the best courses to help you learn data science. All its courses are beginner-friendly and self-paced. They cover all aspects of data science in R as well as Python. If you believe in learning by doing, Datacamp is the best option for you.

Coursera Review – Versatile and Affordable 

If you are an online course creator who is looking for a more versatile e-learning platform, we would recommend Coursera.

Along with IT courses like data science and machine learning, it offers courses on biology, mathematics, business, and more. 

Similar to Datacamp, Coursera offers self-paced courses. However, it takes a more academic approach by providing more in-depth knowledge. 

This is great if you want to learn theoretical knowledge for your online course to see how things work behind the scenes. 

Features of Coursera

• Free Courses
• Smart-Review 
• Personalized browsing 
• Progress checker 
• Guided projects
• Professional certificates
• In-courses assessments
• Graded assignments  

Pros	Cons
• Offers courses free of cost • Good data and computer science courses • Strong community • Offline learning • Learn at your own pace • Professional instructors	• Some courses are timed • Not as focused on data science • Complicated for some users

Benefits of Coursera

If we compare Datacamp vs Coursera, Coursera offers a much more diverse selection of online courses.

As an online course creator, there are thousands of courses you can choose from. You will find classes in just about every area of interest whether it’s data science or anything else to improve your course. 

We feel one of the biggest advantages of taking courses from Coursera is that the lectures are short and won’t take a lot of your time. 

This is great for scheduling purposes so you can take the courses at your own pace. 

Furthermore, since Coursera collaborates with leading universities, you’ll be able to learn from instructors who really know their stuff. 

Coursera is also one of the few platforms that provide you with a professional certificate that is worth something. This is because of its affiliations with universities like Stanford, Yale, etc. 

Therefore, if you’re taking a data science course for a verified certificate, Coursera is your best option. 

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Coursera

Pricing

Coursera has a much more flexible subscription plan. 

You can get around 1000 Coursera courses for free.

It also offers courses a la carte. This means you can pick and choose the premium courses you want, thus getting the most value out of the pricing plan. 

Each course costs around $30 to $100, depending on if you want to pay for a verified certificate or not.

Furthermore, you can get specialized courses for $40 to $50 a month. 

While degree programs will cost you a hefty $15,000 to $25000.

Subject Taught 

As mentioned before, Coursera offers a wide range of subjects.

Here are some of the Coursera courses you can take:

• Python for everybody 
• Programming for everybody (Introduction to Programming Language)
• Applied Data Science in Python 
• Market Research 
• Machine Learning for beginners 
• Machine Learning (Advanced)

…and the list goes on. 

In addition to these, Coursera offers online degrees including a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree.

Quality of Instructors

Since Coursera partners with some of the best universities in the world, we were thoroughly impressed by the expertise of the instructors. 

Almost all instructors at Coursera have established professors with a Master’s degree, a Ph.D. as well as significant real-world experience.

Ease of use

While comparing Datacamp vs Coursera, we found Coursera just as easy to use as its counterpart.

After signing up, you’ll need a few minutes to find your bearings and navigate the website. 

However, everything is so perfectly placed that the interface and experience leave nothing to be desired.

Support 

In our experience, Coursera has an extremely dedicated support team that’s eager to help you. 

All you need to do is reach out to them. 

You can access Coursera’s help center by the “Help Center” tab on its website. 

From there, you’ll be taken to a repository of articles to guide you with your problems regarding your Coursera account or app. 

What Do the Customers Think?

We found no shortage of positive reviews for Coursera. It has a collective of 4.5 out of 5-star rating on www.g2.com

Most students prefer Coursera since it allows you to audit courses for free. It has amazing video lectures that break down more complex topics for anyone to understand.

Moreover, it provides financial aid for its students that have a zeal to learn. They have grouped the courses according to their skill levels such as absolute beginners, intermediate and advanced. 

Below are some of the reviews we can across during our research:

Versatile and Affordable 

Coursera is the most versatile and affordable platform we came across. It offers a wide range of courses from data science, and data engineering to programming languages and business. Moreover, you get unlimited access to free courses, quizzes, and code challenges to enhance your data skills or help you learn data science. 

Datacamp vs Coursera – Buyers’ Guide

Choosing the right e-learning platform can be difficult especially if you have limited knowledge. 

We have compiled a list of factors to look out for before purchasing an online learning platform:

Pricing 

The first thing you need to consider before subscribing to an online learning program is its price. Your courses should be affordable and within your budget as an online course creator. 

Subjects Taught 

You’ll need to research your e-learning platforms before you financially commit. 

Make sure they have courses on all the subjects you require to get the most out of your money. 

Quality of Instructors 

It’s crucial you know the credentials of the instructors before you enroll in a course. 

Go for an e-learning platform that has experienced teachers preferably from well-known universities. 

Ease of Use 

The usability factor is another major factor you need to keep in mind while selecting an e-learning platform.

You don’t want a website that is hard to navigate or has clunky features.

Support 

You don’t want to be interrupted while you’re learning with one issue or another. 

The level of support offered by your learning platform can greatly impact your learning experience since it determines how easy it will be to resolve any issues you come across. 

Final Verdict

This concludes our Datacamp vs Coursera comparison. 

In the end, choosing the right e-learning platform depends on your needs as an online course creator. 

If you’re looking for certifications or a more academic approach to improve your data science skills, Coursera might be the best option for you. 

On the other hand, we would recommend Datacamp if you’re a beginner or an intermediate learner. 

Which e-learning platform is right for you? Let us know in the comments below.