LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) vs. Pluralsight Skills

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Lynda.com (now offered as part of LinkedIn Learning) is an elearning course library acquired and now supported by LinkedIn in May 2015.N/A
Pluralsight Skills
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Pluralsight Skills is a skill development solution that enables employees to build in-demand skills in a way that’s personalized to their current knowledge and preferred way to learn. The course library includes content on software development, DevOps, machine learning, security infrastructure, and cloud, as well as certification practice exams, hands on learning experiences and cloud labs, and skills assessments.
$29
per month
Pricing
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Individual - Standard
$29.00
per month
Individual - Premium
$45.00
per month
Team - Professional
$579.00
per user, per year
Team - Enterprise
$779.00
per user, per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Considered Both Products
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
We like LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) for its large content library and variety of content. Go1 is good for the Australian content. Litmos is good for the compliance training. They each have their purpose.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
I like LinkedIn Learning much better than Alison. It is more in-depth, while Alison seems to discuss topics with a much broader scope.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
SAP Enterprise Portal
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
I personally think that LinkedIn Learning is a better educational eContent platform in comparison to the other solutions I have used. The catalog is more expansive, offers more in depth tutorials and trainings, has educated instructors, and offers a path to become an expert of …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Well compared to other competitors the payment method is far more streamlined for Indian audiences, especially against Coursera. The courses provided are very business oriented and keep in mind the limited time availability with working professionals. It keeps the content short …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
As compare to Pluralsight LinkedIn has much more short duration courses.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
have used internal tools, from the companies where I spent, I think bringing a little more modernity to the way the courses are presented can be an advantage
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Linkedin Learning is more up to date than Mineral. Mineral's content is a little older and training isn't as engaging
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Again, this corporate form is trying to force me to choose from products with slightly different names while not offering common options.

Udemy seems similar in many respects, but my recollection is that their subscription model was less appealing. I didn't find they offered …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
I have looked at Google's training courses along with other free online vendors/in-person course and no one comes close to LinkedIn Learning. They make it easy, fun, and retainable.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
LinkedIn Learning wasn't our first choice; what it came down to for the organization was the cost for the value of the product. The other services provided better training, better metrics, and better reporting. LinkedIn Learning (or Lynda.com) provided the most affordable …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
We didn't get too deep into the comparison outside of a surface review of the other options. LinkedIn Learning reps were responsive and quick to put something together to meet our needs. Moreover, initial cost fit within our budget and the integration between LinkedIn and …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
The quality of Udemy courses ranges from meh to blah to OK.LinkedIn Learning has better quality, the content seems more vetted, and the platform is better.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Hubspot Academy offers more specific video training on a variety of marketing and sales topics, which is also good, but LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) offers a much broader variety of videos that accommodate needs in different areas of business from more technological to sales …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
We used an internal training solution prior to the switch, and LinkedIn Learning was leaps and bounds better than that system. I cannot speak to why it was selected, as I was not involved in the selection process.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
I haven't evaluated any other learning platforms but I have really enjoyed my subscription to LinkedIN Learning/Lynda. It's allowed me to figure out how to do things on my own when I needed to. I love that it's there and I don't have to wait until a training or conference to …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
I preferred Lynda.com because it provided me with better choice of classes I am interested in. I also like the interface better and the overall experience, from quality of material presented to the complexity of exercises. Also, Lynda.com is integrated with LinkedIn and I feel …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Udemy for Business is a crapshoot. The consistency is non-existent. Some courses go incredibly deep, while other courses don't go deep enough. Even when we got a few free months of access to Udemy - I still couldn't find why I would use Udemy over LinkedIn Learning.

Pluralsight …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
With Udemy you pay per course whereas with Lynda you pay a monthly fee for unlimited courses. For people looking for a long term learning tool, Lynda is the better choice as you get more value for your money.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Coursea offers more credible certifications, while Udemy offers individual courses that don't require a monthly subscription. Ultimately, all 3 platforms provide quality content and a wide range of courses. However, some may specialize in different areas than others. My …
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Lynda.com and Coursera and so similar. I believe Coursera has more statistical programming courses than Lynda.com
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Udemy for Business and Coursera
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
Lynda has a better user interface for operation and again can be used in a group setting which Coursera is not ideal for.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
O'reilly Safari - it's a good tool, but more focused on reading; sorry, I just don't enjoy that! It's also not as polished in the areas of interface and navigation.
Chose LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
While ease of use is better with Udemy or Coursera, nothing compares to lynda.com's catalog and pricing model (other than Khan Academy re: the latter).
Pluralsight Skills
Chose Pluralsight Skills
It had more discounted offers back then... and still, more marketing is done. It's cheaper than LinkedIn Learning.

Downside, PluralSight is more [theoretical] than hands-on.
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Before using Pluralsight, staff was using YouTube to help them with developing certain aspects of their knowledge. However, YouTube is much less structured/organized than Pluralsight. Pluralsight has a very wide offering of courses and it has lot of good content. One quick …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight does a much better job of delivery and course paths.
Chose Pluralsight Skills
They provide a lot of courses, but not every course is given and explained in detail like Pluralsight does.
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight is simply more robust and makes more sense for an organization like ours where we want our employees to have the freedom to explore a wide variety of disciplines, and the adaptability to start/stop courses at any skill level. On a trial basis, the feedback from our …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight offers a much stronger technology learning opportunity than Lynda.com, but lags behind Lynda.com in its soft skills training. As a technical manager, I often recommend Pluralsight to my engineers for learning new skills but will use Lynda.com myself for improving my …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Lynda is a very similar experience. Used it for a very short time and it was tied to classes at a university that I was taking. I think overall it would be very comparable. We only watched small segments that the instructors of the class found to be relevant. It was also great …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Although alternative e-learning platforms, such as Coursera, offer a wide variety of learning topics, their broad reach and extensive list subject matter clutters their platform. Unlike Pluralsight, Coursera offers a more classic / regimented style of online learning. It's very …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Treehouse and Pluralsight are in similar realms: video content for technology professionals. They're different in that Treehouse is geared towards beginners and people looking to switch careers to break into the industry and Pluralsight is better suited for seasoned …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight offers a broad range of courses with high-quality content and features that surpass those of Udemy. My organization has adopted Pluralsight and built trust in it, especially with its strong offerings at the organizational level. In contrast, Udemy focuses more on …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
I think pluralsight's price point is a little better, and I think the depth and breadth of classes offered is oriented more towards my field than Coursera. While Coursera has a nicer interface, Pluralsight, at the time, had more classes and seems to be designed for enterprise …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
I often purchase courses on from Udemy when I don't see the content I need from Pluralsight. For example, When I needed to learn AngularJS, Pluralsight had many courses but the ones on Udemy quickly explained what they were going to build in the course and they provided small …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight is a great training resource and it was offered at the college. Before being a faculty member, I found free videos from Pluralsight (then, digital tutors) via YouTube and thought they were very helpful.
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Pluralsight has a broader offering, from design and drawing to enterprise software development. It offers content from professionals to professionals on well known technologies.
Most other competitors focus on few technologies and the offering is not as rich. They also don't …
Chose Pluralsight Skills
Lynda is only a half-assesed online course whereas Pluralsight has a robust catalog of courses.
TrustRadius Insights
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Pluralsight and LinkedIn Learning are eLearning content providers. Businesses use Pluralsight and LinkedIn Learning to train their staff on new concepts or skills. Individuals, on the other hand, use the platforms to improve their hireability, enhance their current job skills, or even pivot careers entirely. LinkedIn Learning covers a wide variety of subjects, while Pluralsight is designed for in-depth technical learning. Both platforms are primarily used by large enterprises, likely because businesses with more employees can gain more value from a company-wide learning platform.

Features

Pluralsight and LinkedIn Learning both offer a wide variety of courses, but they distinguish themselves with their content types and extra features.

Pluralsight focuses on in-depth technical courses for developers, offering deep dives into specific programming languages, data analysis libraries, and IT operations tools. It also includes one-on-one training with experts to supplement the video courses. Practice exams help users prepare for certification tests, and interactive courses give users in-app coding tasks with immediate feedback. Recent additions to the platform include a streamlined getting started experience for new users and administrative tools that help managers set group goals and see learning progress for their teams.

LinkedIn Learning’s standout feature is its diversity of topics. It includes courses in business strategy, customer service, professional development, sales, and more. Additionally, LinkedIn Learning has strong accessibility features and integrates with LinkedIn. Many courses offer certificates on completion, which appear on users’ individual LinkedIn profiles. Recent updates to LinkedIn Learning have added company-wide skills analysis tools and the ability to watch and share LinkedIn Learning content from within LinkedIn itself.

Limitations

Although both Pluralsight and LinkedIn Learning offer a multitude of courses, they each have limitations to consider before purchasing either.

Pluralsight’s support for outdated but still-used technology can be lacking, leaving training content for older frameworks and libraries sparse. The inverse can also be true: Pluralsight’s training isn’t always up to date with the most current developments in the technical world, especially when the software landscape evolves rapidly. Some users complain about lecture-focused learning, wishing for more interactivity in the courses (interactive courses are limited to the highest subscription tier). And, of course, Pluralsight is focused entirely on technical topics. Your subscription to their service won’t include business or personal development courses.

LinkedIn Learning, on the other hand, is severely lacking in in-depth technical content. Indeed, users generally find the overall platform to be surface-level at best, offering only the basics of a given topic. The platform also offers less opportunity for one-on-one attention from instructors. LinkedIn Learning can also be a bit slow to develop content for new technologies. Finally, some users have issues with the platform’s usability, finding it hard to navigate the variety of available courses or quickly see what’s new in an

Pricing

Both Pluralsight and Linkedin Learning offer personal plans and business plans, and offer a free trial period.

Pluralsight’s basic personal plan is $29.00 per month (or $299.00 annually) and offers access to the majority of the platform’s content and features, such as their standard course library, discussion sections, and exercise files. The Premium personal plan is $449.00 annually and includes interactive courses, guided projects, and practice exams for certifications.

Pluralsight’s team plans start at $579.00 per user per year for the Professional tier, which includes additional team-focused features like user reporting and analytics. The Enterprise tier is $779.00 per user per year and includes more advanced analytics tools, skill prioritization, and a private question-and-answer forum for their company.

LinkedIn Learning’s personal plan is $29.99 per month and includes access to their full content library, completion certificates, and a subscription to LinkedIn Premium.

LinkedIn Learning’s business plan is priced via quote depending on your organization’s needs.

Features
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
7.6
Ratings
12% below category average
Pluralsight Skills
7.9
Ratings
8% below category average
Course authoring6.30 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Course catalog or library8.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Player/Portal8.80 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Learning content9.30 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications8.60 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics7.70 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Social learning5.30 Ratings4.50 Ratings
Gamification6.30 Ratings00 Ratings
eLearning Content
Comparison of eLearning Content features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
6.6
Ratings
25% below category average
Pluralsight Skills
10.0
Ratings
16% above category average
Multi-Lingual Support5.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Structured Learning7.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Course Searches7.30 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Historical Metrics5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud-Based Content7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automation & Integration7.20 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)Pluralsight Skills
Likelihood to Recommend
lynda.com is well-suited for an individual OR an enterprise. You can take learning on-the-go via mobile phone or tablet. Instructors are well-known industry experts. There is a tremendous amount of courses. Ideal self-directed learning library to supplement anyone's ILT-heavy learning strategy.
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Awesome tool for teams looking to gain new skills or refine and update existing skills. I love the convenience of using this tool for recertification credits (i.e. PMP). Instead of identifying which classes I need to take, I can identify my interests and have recommendations presented for what paths I should take. It is a really helpful tool to create ladders for my team to transition from one role into the next. I think this is going to be a really beneficial tool.
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Pros
  • An in-depth tutorial, training, and reviews.
  • An influx of information and specialists/experts available to help.
  • Online courses for a multitude of topics—we're talking hundreds of videos.
  • Able to take this on the go. Don't have to be in a desk at work to use lynda.com.
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  • Pluralsight courses are delivered at a self-directed pace, enabling users to stop, rewind, or fast forward, depending on their familiarity with the content.
  • Pluralsight offers a wide variety of technical courses, providing opportunities to explore new skill areas beyond engineers' current responsibilities.
  • Pluralsight is available on most platforms, providing a high level of accessibility to the content.
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Cons
  • When they were acquired by LinkedIn, the next invoice barely noted the invoice was for Lynda.com. I at first thought it was a phishing attempt using LinkedIn as a front.
  • The invoice should be from the lynda.com domain and NOT from LinkedIn.
  • Account administrators should be able to change passwords, and see passwords, for the license entities they manage. Also, all email notices to users should be duplicated to account administrators.
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  • Finding ways to make courses more interactive and less lecture oriented would be helpful.
  • Quality of video and audio lectures could use updating to meet current expectations.
  • Continuing to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. Some classes can be outdated.
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Likelihood to Renew
It can help all employees learn to strengthen current skills or to learn new skills and then can learn to excel in their current department or they learn a new skills in a new department creating interconnection and cross-departmental value in a company.
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Great product and service so far. Awesome new content almost every week.
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Usability
The platform is very easy to use and navigate, the content is clearly itemised via the Contents section and the video playback speed can be adjusted. It's also useful to have optional captions (I always use them) and a transcript for accessibility purposes.
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Very, VERY easy to use.
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Support Rating
The technical team behind LinkedIn Learning (or Lynda.com) knows their job, and they usually solve problems very quickly. While I haven't had many run-ins with them (thus the low rating), I do find that when we call them, the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time. The flip-side of this comment is that we never have needed to call them with a high-priority issue.
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Each feedback I do for them, I get no response. Minimal communication and followups!
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Implementation Rating
By implementation we are able to achieve 1.Skill improvement 2.Reduced burden on training staff 3.Learning new market leading technologies like Generative AI.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Udemy for Business is a crapshoot. The consistency is non-existent. Some courses go incredibly deep, while other courses don't go deep enough. Even when we got a few free months of access to Udemy - I still couldn't find why I would use Udemy over LinkedIn Learning. Pluralsight is superior to LinkedIn Learning in programming/coding. They have a better library of content and more tests. What Pluralsight lacks is for non-developer skillsets. Buy Pluralsight for your devs. Coursera is not at all an option for the business environment. It follows the college model of delivering content slowly and without reason. Its focus is more on high-level possibilities, not real-world things you want to solve.
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Treehouse and Pluralsight are in similar realms: video content for technology professionals. They're different in that Treehouse is geared towards beginners and people looking to switch careers to break into the industry and Pluralsight is better suited for seasoned professionals that want to hone skills and learn enterprise-level topics. Treehouse is able to really simplify a topic for almost anyone to understand. They clearly have a standard that all teachers ("authors") must follow. After a section, there's a good chance you'll take a short quiz to make sure you understand what you heard. Quizzes are not just multiple choice, you might also have to write a piece of code that accomplishes a goal that was just discussed. Pluralsight has professional and expert level content that Treehouse does not. There's not a strict standard that all authors ("teachers") must follow for providing content. Authors tend to have their own style of teaching. Very few of the courses will quiz you on comprehension. You are more responsible for your understanding of the information.
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Return on Investment
  • I can't think of a negative impact that Lynda.com has when it relates to the extensive library of training software that is available to subscribers. I'm lucky that my job provides a free subscription for instructors. I use Lynda.com to hone in on my technical skills.
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  • Pluralsight is truly cost-effective for staying relevant. An annual Pluralsight subscription for an entire team is far more cost-effective than sending one individual to in-person training for a week.
  • When we need to get up to speed on a technology, our Pluralsight subscription is right at hand. One quick search and we can get started. This helps us shorten the learning curve. Trying to find an in-person course has become difficult because the market has mostly transitioned to online courses.
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