Simplilearn Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives [2024]

Simplilearn is one of the best online learning platforms for courses with certifications recognized by 40+ training organizations worldwide. It offers a unique way to learn with self-paced learning videos and live instructor-led classes.

At-a-glance:

• Simplilearn is recognized by most employers and more than 40 training organizations worldwide as an official certification training provider. 
• Simplilearn offers different learning plans: Self-Paced if you want to take your time and go your own way and Online Bootcamp if you’d like a mix of self-paced and live instructor-led training.
• Simplilearn stands out from the crowd with live lectures for some courses.
• Learning starts at $600 and can cost as much as $3,000.
• Although well-regarded in the industry, Simplilearn reviews may sometimes show some students’ dissatisfaction with the quality of some courses on the platform.

So, is Simplilearn worth it? 

In this Simplilearn review, we’ll discuss everything there is to know about the platform, how it works, how much it costs, and whether its certifications have value. We’ll also break down and rate every aspect to give you a holistic idea of Simplilearn. Is Simplilearn for you? Read on to find out!

What is Simplilearn?

Simplilearn is an online learning platform established in 2009 by Krishna Kumar in Bengaluru, India. An official online certification training provider, Simplilearn partners with over 40 accrediting bodies such as IASSC and PMI to help students earn certifications. The multi-awarded company now has offices in Bangalore, India, and San Francisco, California.

Is Simplilearn Legit?

Absolutely! It’s normal to be wary of online learning platforms, especially when the prices they ask aren’t insignificant by any means. However, you can rest assured that Simplilearn is 100% legitimate. Don’t believe us? Let the information below speak for itself:

Simplilearn partners with world-renowned names in education and tech.

Simplilearn continues to provide global companies with education to help upskill their workforce.

Simplilearn has many awards and accolades under its belt, including the ones in the screenshot below.

Bottom line? If you enroll in one of Simplilearn’s courses, your money (and learning experience) is in good hands.

Is Simplilearn Recognized and Accredited?

If you are looking for courses that you can use as credit for continuing college or graduate education, you may not find them here.

However, because it is recognized as an official certification training provider by more than forty training organizations around the world, Simplilearn offers certificates that employers will recognize. It partners with global accrediting bodies like the IASSC, PMI, and Exin, ensuring that its curriculum is developed only by highly experienced experts who are well-respected in their fields.

Is Simplilearn certification worth it? In our opinion, absolutely. The fact that future employers worldwide recognize certifications from the platform as valid and respectable makes courses on Simplilearn a worthy investment. You’ll be able to add your certificates to your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Who Should Use Simplilearn?

Simplilearn is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to learn new tech or business skills. But, it can be the perfect choice for you if you're a professional looking to “upskill” or improve your knowledge and skills. The knowledge you gain through Simplilearn can help you improve your career, especially if you do well during your course.

One thing that makes Simplilearn unique from other similar platforms is that it recognizes that not everyone learns in the same way. Simplilearn understands that some people prefer a different learning method compared to others, which is why many of the platform’s courses are available in multiple learning options. You can choose self-paced if you prefer to call the shots. Or, you can choose the online bootcamp option if you do best when attending live lectures.

Simplilearn seems to have something for everyone — or at least for those who want to learn within tech and business fields.

How Does Simplilearn Work?

Signing up for Simplilearn is simple and intuitive. Once you have an account, you can start enrolling in courses. Then, you can choose between self-paced or live classes. Simplilearn courses generally last about a month, though some may be shorter or longer. Students are asked to watch videos, attend live lectures (if eligible), complete quizzes, work on projects and assignments, and complete final exams.

How to Open a Simplilearn Account

Registering for an account with Simplilearn is incredibly simple, just follow the steps below!

1. Go to Simplilearn.com and click on Log in, located in the top right corner of the page.
2. From the next page, click Sign Up.
3. Choose the option you prefer and follow the directions — and that’s it!

The Pros and Cons of Simplilearn

Is Simplilearn good? It may be difficult to decide, but these pros and cons might help: 

How Much Are Simplilearn Courses?

Simplilearn offers different training options, depending on the course. Some courses only offer self-paced learning while others only offer online bootcamp options. Then, of course, you do get courses that have both options. All courses seem to have corporate training available, but if you’d like to know the pricing you’ll need to get in touch with Simplilearn’s sales.

Self-paced learning seems to start at around $400-$500, while online bootcamp options start at around $700. Simplilearn offers its courses as one-time purchases.

Simplilearn Refund Policy

Simplilearn does offer a refund policy with a seven-day window. If you are unsatisfied with a course, you have seven days from the purchase date to return it for a refund. However, it’s important to remember that you will no longer be eligible to receive the refund if: 

• You have accessed 25% or more of the course’s contents
• You have downloaded the course’s ebook
• You have attended online/live classes for over one day

For more information, you can check out Simplilearn’s information page here.

Does Simplilearn Offer Free Courses?

Only recently, Simplilearn added a free trial option to let you try the platform for seven days. Prior to that, you could only see course previews and that’s it!

Simplilearn does not offer any of its main courses for free. However, there’s good news — in May of 2024, Simplilearn’s SkillUp platform went live. SkillUp is a special section of Simplilearn’s website that offers many free courses available to everyone. On SkillUp, learners have access to over a thousand hours of learning about 300+ highly in-demand skills.

What Kinds of Courses are Available on Simplilearn?

Simplilearn offers Master's programs such as Data Scientist, Full-Stack Developer, and more. It also offers university programs. When you attend one of Simplilearn’s university programs you get every benefit you normally would as if you actually attended the university itself, such as university certificates, alumnus status, and career support.

Beyond those options, you of course also have the 400+ tech and business-related courses.

Simplilearn has thirteen main categories (seen in the screenshot above). You can expect to learn about things like cyber security, data science, cloud computing, DevOps, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and more.

How to Find the Best Simplilearn Courses

If you want to find the best Simplilearn courses, consider the following:

• Check all the course information - every course page has plenty of information available to help you decide whether the course is right for you. You can even preview some of the lessons included in the course. Course FAQs can also help answer some of your questions.
• Sign up for the free trial.
• Download the course syllabus - the syllabus will help give you a better idea of what to expect from a course.
• Check course reviews - the courses on Simplilearn have plenty of reviews to help guide your decision. Don’t just look at the five-star ones — check reviews from each rating to give you a better idea of the course’s quality.
• Check the course advisor - every course displays who the instructor will be, including a short bio and their experience. You can also see their social media links.

Best Simplilearn Programs

Simplilearn offers master's and post-graduate programs — excellent ways to improve your skills and your resume. However, we still believe it’s worth mentioning some individual courses, such as:

• Machine Learning- This in-depth course on artificial intelligence and machine learning covers topics like real-time data, algorithm development, and using Python for drawing predictions out of data. This course includes 44 hours of learning and four hands-on projects.

• CSM or Certified Scrummaster - This course is best if you’d like to understand Scrum methodologies and implementation better. It is Scrum Alliance certified and is taught by an expert with over 20 years of experience.

If you are interested in getting your Six Sigma certification, Simplilearn has a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification course, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification course, a Lean Six Sigma Expert Master’s Program, and a Post Graduate Program in Lean Six Sigma (in cooperation with UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management).

Our Simplilearn Review: In Summary

Want a quick overview of what we think about Simplilearn? Here’s a breakdown with different criteria:

• User-friendliness: 4.5/5 - The Simplilearn website is simple and intuitive to navigate. It’s easy to find links to help/support.

• Convenience: 5/5 - Simplilearn has mobile apps available for iOS and Android. You can also download course ebooks, videos, and material if you’d like to take your learning offline.

• Accessibility: 3/5 - Unfortunately, Simplilearn does not offer any of its courses in any language other than English. There are also no subtitles or captions for its videos.

• Affordability: 4/5 - Simplilearn isn’t the most affordable option out there, but we give it a score of four stars because it does have a one-time purchase model rather than a subscription model. It has also recently started accepting split payments from platforms like Affirm, although you’ll need to pay interest.

• Certification: 5/5 - Although you can’t use certificates on this platform as credit for university, the certificates you earn here are accredited and accepted by employers globally.

• Catalog: 4/5 - With only 400+ courses available, Simplilearn’s catalog could be better.

• Course quality: 4.25/5 -  We hesitate to give 5/5 stars on this criteria simply because many Simplilearn course reviews complain about quality.

• User support: 5/5 - Simplilearn offers easily accessible live chat and phone support. You can also request a call-back. 

• Payment methods: 4.25/5 - Simplilearn accepts debit/credit cards (Visa, Mastercard) and PayPal. It now also works with Splitit, Affirm, and ClimbCredit to allow you to split your payments (with interest).

• Refund policy: 4.5/5 - The 7-day refund policy could be longer, but it’s not the worst we’ve seen.

Final Verdict and Rating

As an online course provider, Simplilearn works hard to be competitive with other similar platforms. 

However, it does have its unique features, such as the fact that it offers live online classes and a free skill training platform called SkillUp. 

Over the years, Simplilearn has also been working hard on providing a better experience for its students. So, although there are quite a few negative reviews about its courses, we believe the platform continues to improve for its customers.

Is Simplilearn worth it? Yes — it offers many tech-forward courses that will serve you well in your professional growth. But is a Simplilearn certificate valuable? Again, yes — considering how many employers recognize the platform as a certification provider, it’s a valuable resource. 

Our verdict: 4.3/5 stars. 

Alternatives to Simplilearn

If you don’t feel Simplilearn is a good fit, you can consider some alternatives. You can try courses on platforms like Udemy if all you want to do is learn without necessarily getting certification recognized by potential employers. Check out our Udemy review to see why it might be the right online course provider for you.

However, if you want to earn certificates that are accredited or at the very least globally recognized by employers, you can consider one of the options below:

• Udacity- You can try Udacity if you’re looking for an online learning platform well-known for high-quality courses and certificates recognized by many employers. Udacity also offers its Nanodegrees, many of which were developed with massive companies like Google and Starbucks. Udacity offers its programs and courses on a monthly subscription basis. To find out more, you can check out our Udacity review.

• Coursera - Established about a decade ago, Coursera is an excellent choice for courses created by well-known educational institutions. Coursera even offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees online through partner schools. You can sign up for Coursera’s courses by paying a monthly subscription fee of $59 (or $399 for one year). Individual course pricing may vary, but the cost will usually be under $100. Degree programs are a separate cost altogether. You can check our Coursera review for more information.

• EdX - Another excellent option is EdX, a MOOC (massive online course provider) established by MIT and Harvard. Those big names alone are probably enough of a draw, but EdX also offers some free courses. At EdX, you can find university-level courses in various disciplines — if you want something outside of tech as well, you’ll probably find it here. You can also find bootcamps, bachelor’s, and master’s degree programs.

Conclusion

Finding the right platform with the right courses takes time and effort. However, it’s important not to rush your decision, especially considering how pricey Simplilearn course fees can be. 

Simplilearn courses aren’t cheap — but they aren’t as expensive as some other platforms. Our only real concern about this platform is the dissatisfaction some past students seem to have reported when we read a Simplilearn course review or two. 

Even then, the platform offers excellent value considering its certifications are recognized by employers worldwide.

We hope that this Simplilearn review has helped you better understand what this platform is all about and whether it is the right one for you. Along with business and tech courses, programming languages also prepare you for the highest-paid tech jobs. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Simplilearn Legitimate?

Simplilearn is 100% legitimate. Besides being around for over a decade, this company is also multi-awarded and has previously built relationships with tech giants like Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon. Simplilearn offers post-graduate programs in collaboration with renowned educational institutions like The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), Caltech (California Institute of Technology), and Purdue University. Simplilearn is also partnered with over forty accredited bodies like the IASSC and Exin, meaning the certificates you earn here are recognized by potential employers.

2. Is Simplilearn Accredited?

As a provider of online certification, Simplilearn partners with over forty training organizations around the world. Because Simplilearn is recognized as an official certification training provider, certificates you earn here are globally recognized by potential employers.

3. How Much Does Simplilearn Cost?

Simplilearn courses do not come cheap. Access to the self-paced version of classes starts around $400-$500, while the online bootcamp option starts at $700-$800. When signing up for a course here, you can expect costs from $400 to $3,000.

4. Does Simplilearn Provide Live Classes?

Yes. If you choose the Online Bootcamp option when signing up for a course, you get access to the instructor-led live classes. Note that the Online Bootcamp option will cost you more than choosing the self-paced option. Not all courses will have all the training options (in some cases, for example, only self-paced learning is available).

5. How Do I Add Simplilearn Certification to LinkedIn?

To add your certifications to your LinkedIn profile, follow the instructions below:

1. Visit LinkedIn and log in, then navigate to your profile.
2. Locate the dropdown menu for Add profile section, select Background, then click on Licenses & Certifications.
3. Type the name of your program or course under “Name”.
4. Enter Simplilearn under Issuing Organization.

Then, fill in the rest of the fields if you wish. Don’t forget to save!

6. Is Simplilearn a US Company?

Simplilearn was established by Krishna Kumar in Bengaluru, India in 2009. Today, it has offices in San Francisco, California, and Bangalore, India.