I’m not going to deny this; I love Skillshare. It’s a great platform to learn new things and level up your skills during your spare time.
I currently use mine to learn organisational skills (a skill I had been sorely lacking all my life) and also take prompts and ideas to get my creative writing juices flowing.
You can also use it to learn languages, self-care tips, how to decorate your personal space, what to know for caring for your plants, and more!
But then comes the question; how much does it cost, especially in terms of Ringgit Malaysia?
Even better; is there a way to save money on it?
The answer is yes! But with pros and cons, of course. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about Skillshare; the plans available, the cost, and your affordable options.
Skillshare’s Available Plans
There are actually 3 price tiers for classes: free, premium, and team plans.
The free option offers thousands of free classes that are around an hour or less, but remain informative. They don’t cover Skillshare’s full library but it’s still worth going through if you’re keen to at least see if Skillshare’s format and style is perfect for you.
In contrast, the premium version gives you:
- Unlimited access to all classes
- Offline access
- No ads
I highly recommend getting premium to help you keep track of your progress too, especially if you want to join workshops.
Finally, there’s the team plans. Team plans are great if you have a whole team to join you. Some of the extra perks include:
- Usage progress reports for team members
- Admin mode
On top of the usual unlimited access to all classes and offline access. The cost for teams is highly customisable if you have more than 20 people on your team. But if you have about 20 people and you’re willing to pool your money together, check out the cost section as you have the cheapest option available!
Skillshare Cost
The current price of Skillshare Premium is now officially at USD$8 (~RM33) per month or USD$30 (~RM130) per year, which makes it USD$2.49 (~RM10) per month.
All prices mentioned, along with currency conversion, are checked as of October 2021 and are subjected to change due to time. I will do my best to update it accordingly!
Currently, the price for Skillshare Premium has significantly dropped from what I can recall. I was once charged USD$19 (~RM80) per month when my free month trial expired back in 2020.
In fact, if you were to search for what the prices are like for Skillshare Premium, most websites state that the price should be USD$15 (~RM62) per month or USD$99 (~RM413) for annual payment, making it at USD$8.25 (~RM35) per month. Which goes to show how much has changed for Skillshare’s pricing.
As it turns out the price of Skillshare Premium is now officially at USD$8 (~RM33) per month or USD$30 (~RM130) per year, which makes it USD$2.49 (~RM10) per month! So it’s actually a lot more affordable now than it was last year.
But if you have a team of 20 people with you, you can get the cheapest option available as Skillshare offers Teams at USD$139 (~RM590) annually. This makes it USD$6.95 per person (~RM29.08) per year!
How To Save Money On Skillshare
Unless you’re lucky to have a lot of friends or work in a company willing to invest in Skillshare Teams, most of us would opt for Skillshare Premium.
While the cost of Premium currently is already pretty good (in my humble opinion), you may also be looking for a good deal first. Here’s what I know and recommend.
Free trials
Pros: Can always unsubscribe before being charged
Cons: Requires credit card details (no prepaid credit card allowed)
The good part about Skillshare is the moment you decide to commit to either the monthly or annual plan, you will get 1 month free regardless. If you’re lucky, a sponsored Youtuber may even offer a 2 month free option, sometimes even 3 months! This gives you more time to explore Skillshare to your heart’s content until you decide you are done with it.
But the usual downsides include it requiring you to key in your credit card details and you possibly getting charged should you forget to cancel your subscription. Oh, and don’t think you can trick them by using a prepaid credit card either (a common tactic I would usually recommend for subscription services) as they don’t accept those credit cards.
So if you’re going with this free option and don’t want to be charged further, do your due diligence and remind yourself to cancel the subscription a day before you’re charged.
Use my referral code for a 1-month free trial!
General Tip: Try to look for classes you may be interested in, and bookmark them before you sign up for any free trial. As long as you have a set of content and classes lined up, you can use your free trials fully!
Shopee
Pros: Very cheap with promises of lifetime access with warranty
Cons: Shared account, may not get the promised lifetime access and can lose progress easily
Be sure to read my stance on using Shopee to purchase subscription services (which I will post on soon) before you jump to conclusions as to why I would recommend something that can be seen as unethical.
There are plenty of offers on Shopee where you can buy Skillshare Premium at either RM1.50-RM10. This definitely makes it the “cheapest” option if that’s what you’re looking for.
But why the wide price range? The only reason some are “expensive” of up to RM10 or even RM20 is due to the length of warranty because here’s the thing:
Skillshare Premium subscription on Shopee offered are ALWAYS sharing accounts.
I have yet to find a seller on Shopee that doesn’t offer a shared account. Because of this, the warranty determines whether you can still gain access to the shared account should you get “locked out”, either from the changed password or the account being suspended.
Say you paid for a 1 month warranty but you’ve been using the shared account for 3 months now. If that account is lost somehow, you won’t get a new shared account to access Skillshare anymore. But pay for a lifetime warranty and you’re guaranteed to get a new account access no matter what, as long as you message the seller.
I’m not a fan of shared accounts (unless I’m close to those I’m sharing with), plus there’s always the risk of a seller suddenly going MIA so I honestly do not recommend this cheap option. Unless you used up your free trial and now desperately need to access only one or two specific classes, you’re better off sticking to the free trial with a new email.
Use my referral code for a 1-month free trial!
30% discount offers
Pros: One of the safest and most affordable option for annual subscription
Cons: No first month free trial, not easy to get as it depends on luck
The last option is to use a 30% discount for the annual Premium that gets offered from time to time. I got mine from one of my favourite Youtubers (though I needed to use a different email as it was reserved for new users only), though I have noted that I do get emails offering this discount too (but missed it unfortunately).
With this 30% discount, I was charged USD$21 or RM92.32 (which makes it RM7.69 per month), after which I was informed that next year I will be charged USD$30 or RM131.88.
The only downside is getting that 30% discount really depends on your luck. If you’re lucky and were a former subscriber, keep an eye out for the discount in your emails, likely in the promotions tab if you use Gmail. Other than that, here’s hoping one of your favourite Youtubers or Bloggers gets sponsored by Skillshare and offers a 30% discount, though most offer the 2 free months option instead (remember, both of which are only for new users).
Also, just like the free trial, remember to cancel the subscription once you decide that after a year you don’t need Skillshare anymore!
Choose what’s right for you
Hopefully this gives you an idea on the costs and options you have to subscribe to Skillshare. It really is a great service worth getting, but always consider what’s affordable for you and how much you’re willing to spend.
Also, yes, you definitely save more if you just need it for a class or two. But as there’s a lot to learn in life, the annual option may be the best to keep you motivated to keep learning new skills and techniques that you can use in both your overall lifestyle and even work too.
In the end, it’s what works for you that matters.
Future Posts
I will also be doing a breakdown on other subscription services like Canva, Blinkist, Microsoft Office, and more in the future. So if that interests you, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram where I will post updates on my upcoming posts!
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