What to Know About Pluralsight

Pluralsight is a platform for online learning and workforce development that assists businesses and individuals in adapting to changing technology. The platform, which employs a data-driven approach, focuses on training for tech-related professions such as IT operations, security, and software development, as well as leadership, including managers and product leaders.

Pluralsight provides resources for assessing various skill levels and visualising workflows to increase worker productivity, and it educates users through video courses and certification exam preparation. The platform divides its approach into two paths, each with their own set of goals: Skills and Flow.

The Skills path teaches users how to sharpen or upgrade their skills, as well as how to adapt to new and evolving tools. Pluralsight focuses on four primary groups: individuals, software development teams, IT operations teams, and security teams. People can learn at their own pace from thousands of on-demand video courses ranging from cloud computing and web development to architecture and cinematography. These users can also create learning programmes, participate in interactive projects, and practise certification exams. Managers can use analytics to determine where their team members need to improve, and members can hone their skills through courses and projects with the software development, IT operations, and security team options.

The Flow path, on the other hand, simplifies the engineering workflow. Teams can compare new and old code, identify and fix project bottlenecks, and visualise pull requests. Managers can use data to better assess team members' contributions and success, especially when it comes to code production. Similarly, product leaders and executives can use analytics to better understand team dynamics, encourage collaboration and sharing, and improve culture to create a more efficient workforce. Individual engineers can also use data from the Flow path to improve their own work patterns and contributions.

Pluralsight's headquarters are in Draper, Utah, and the company has offices in Boston, Dublin, and Sydney.

Pluralsight Cost and Pricing

Individual users can purchase a monthly or annual Skills personal plan. The monthly plan is $29 per month and includes access to the entire course library, while the annual plan is $299 per year and includes learning paths, channels, guides, course descriptions, and more. Pluralsight's premium personal plan, which costs $449 per year, is available for interactive courses, exams, and projects.

Pluralsight also provides Skills plans for groups. The professional plan costs $579 per user per year and includes basic reporting and user analytics. The enterprise plan, which includes advanced analytics and access to the cloud lab, costs $779 per user per year.

Users of Skills can sign up for a free trial that lasts 10 days or 200 minutes of viewing time, whichever comes first. You can access video courses, create channels, take notes, and earn completion certificates with the individual free trial. A premium free trial gives users access to interactive courses, projects, and certification practise exams.

Skills subscriptions may be eligible for seasonal discounts. An annual Skills plan for individuals, for example, was on sale for $179 per year on Black Friday. A premium subscription cost $269 per year for each user. Both plans included the option to begin with a free trial.

Flow plans are divided into three categories: standard, plus, and enterprise. The standard plan begins at $499 per active contributor per year and includes operational insights, code fundamentals, phone and email support, and other benefits.

The plus plan includes a proficiency report as well as additional insights and reports. It costs $599 per year for each active contributor. The enterprise plan, which costs $699 per active contributor per year, includes advanced support, delivery insights, and the option of being self-hosted or cloud-hosted, among other things.

There is a 30-day free trial option for the standard and plus plans, and you can request a demo of the enterprise plan. The price of a plan is determined by the number of active contributors, and custom options are available.

Pluralsight Refund Policy

Pluralsight does not provide refunds, but users have the option to cancel at any time. Individual users with paid subscriptions can continue to access their course library after cancelling until their subscription expires. Users will be unable to access their courses once their subscription expires unless they resubscribe. Pluralsight Skills business and Flow subscribers can cancel their plans by contacting Pluralsight. Those who tried Pluralsight for free and decided not to continue must cancel within 11 days of beginning the trial. If you do not cancel within this time frame, the trial, which requires billing information, will automatically convert to a paid subscription.

Is Pluralsight Worth It?

Pluralsight may be worthwhile for you if you work in technology and need to improve your skills, or if you're a manager or leader looking to improve the performance and productivity of your team. The platform includes two distinct tools: the Skill IQ and Role IQ measurements, which can assist you in narrowing down what you or your team should prioritise.

"Skill IQ is a dynamic assessment of a user's proficiency in a given skill," explains Brandon Peay, Pluralsight's executive vice president of skills. "The Skill IQ assessment takes less than ten minutes to complete and provides a personalised skill analysis, allowing learners to get a benchmark of where their skills stand and understand where they should begin their learning journey." We also offer a learning path to help learners improve their knowledge and skills."

Peay goes on to say that Role IQ, which employs Skill IQ assessments, determines a user's proficiency for a specific job and how their skill levels align with the job description. "From there, we make recommendations on what they need to learn to strengthen weaknesses and advance their skills," he says.

Pluralsight also has a division dedicated to providing technology-related content to nonprofit and nongovernmental organisations. Pluralsight One has three plans: spark, elevate, and amplify, with varying access to a curated library of foundational courses, basic and advanced analytics, projects, and interactive options. The annual cost of a seat begins at $40. Furthermore, the platform has collaborated with the Computer Science Teachers Association to offer free course content to educators.

Consider reading reviews of Pluralsight on third-party sites before subscribing to the platform. Pluralsight is rated 3.3 out of 5 stars by over 800 Trustpilot users, with a minority complaining about payments after the free trial or difficulty cancelling their subscriptions. The platform has not been accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but a small group of users has given it an average rating of 1 out of 5 stars.

Pluralsight vs. Udemy

Pluralsight and Udemy are both online learning platforms, but their content offerings differ. Pluralsight provides in-depth training in areas such as cloud computing, manufacturing and design, and information and cyber security. According to Peay, the platform also has over 1,500 instructors, all of whom have been thoroughly vetted.

Udemy, on the other hand, has a larger course catalogue. Udemy currently has 130,000 online courses and 57,000 instructors. Udemy courses cover personal development, music, business, and photography, as well as IT and software-related topics. According to Udemy, the most popular courses within that subset are on ethical hacking, certification preparation, and programming.

In addition, the two platforms provide additional features. Pluralsight offers data and assessments, as well as hands-on learning, whereas Udemy offers practise tests, coding exercises, and quizzes, as well as classes in a number of languages.

Pluralsight is a service that requires a subscription. Udemy, on the other hand, sells individual courses; software and IT courses start at $19.99 and can go up to $150.

Pluralsight vs. Coursera

Coursera, like Pluralsight, provides bite-sized video-based courses, and the two have some goals in common. Pluralsight focuses on existing tech teams and works to upskill team members to help businesses achieve their goals. Meanwhile, Coursera collaborates with academic institutions and businesses to provide course content on a variety of topics, including IT and cloud engineering. Like Pluralsight, the platform aims to upskill users with on-demand content while also preparing students for careers in IT.

Coursera and Pluralsight differ in terms of specific learning plans. While both platforms offer professional certificate programmes, Coursera also offers a variety of degree programmes, including online bachelor's and master's degrees.

Coursera for Business is aimed at businesses and offers guided projects and curated content to help employees assess their skills. While Pluralsight's Skills path takes a similar approach, its Flow path provides more in-depth, visible, and actionable data.

Coursera for Business costs $400 per user per year for small groups, with custom pricing available for larger groups. Many Coursera courses are free for individual users, and those that require payment begin at $39. Guided projects start at $9.99, while professional certificates begin at $39. Coursera's academic options vary in price, but online degrees start at $9,000.

Pluralsight vs. Codecademy

Codecademy is an interactive learning platform dedicated solely to coding. While Pluralsight focuses on various aspects of technology for professionals, Codecademy caters to learners of all levels. Users can take a quiz to determine which level of learning they should start at, and then choose their own courses or follow a recommended path. Beginner-friendly lessons in Javascript, HTML, and Python, for example, are among the platform's most popular courses, as are Career Path classes on the skills required to be a front-end engineer or full-stack engineer. Users of Codecademy get hands-on experience and immediate feedback on their coding. They can also put their knowledge to the test with quizzes and projects.

With videos, learning paths, and advanced reporting and analytics, Codecademy for Business takes a similar approach to Pluralsight. Users select a learning outcome, and Codecademy creates a plan to help them achieve their objectives. Users receive a certificate for each course they complete, and the platform sends out weekly reports.

Codecademy is a subscription-based platform with a variety of plan options. Individual students' basic plan, which includes interactive lessons, is free. The pro plan is $19.99 per month, billed annually, and includes additional exercises, quizzes, and real-world projects. A Codecademy for Business team plan for five to 49 members costs $240 or less per seat per year; teams of more than 50 members should contact Codecademy for pricing.