The best apps for learning skills you actually use at work
Work skills split into two kinds. There is software and process, where a video course is the right tool, and there is everything harder: difficult conversations, running a meeting, managing up. Most apps only serve the first kind. This guide covers both.
Disclosure: Learning Cadence publishes this article and makes Cadence, one of the apps listed. We have a commercial interest in Cadence. Every other app is described from its official pages, linked in each entry, and we say plainly where a different app is the better choice.
Search for work skills and you get spreadsheet courses. That is because software is easy to teach on video: there is a screen, a click, and a correct answer.
The skills that actually decide how work goes are harder to package. Telling someone their work is not good enough, getting a decision out of a meeting, disagreeing with your manager without damage. This guide covers both halves and says which app is right for which.
Start here
Pick by the skill you need.
Swipe the table to see every column.
Pick by the skill you need
If you need
Use
Why
Software and workplace tools
LinkedIn Learning
Broad catalogue, and often free through your library or employer.
A certificate for your CV
Coursera
University and company courses with a recognised paid certificate.
One specific technique, soon
Udemy
Buy the single course that covers the exact thing you need.
Data and analytical thinking
Brilliant
Problem-first lessons that build real reasoning, not just formulas.
Conversations, feedback, and managing people
Cadence
Daily lessons on the situations you are actually in. This is our app.
Perspective from people at the top
MasterClass
Taste and judgement from practitioners, not a graded path.
Covering management books quickly
Headway
Summaries to triage which books deserve a full read.
The apps
Every app, with what it is bad at.
Each description comes from the app's official pages, linked in the entry and checked on the review date at the end of this article.
01
LinkedIn Learning
Workplace and software skills
LinkedIn Learning covers business, software, and creative skills in video courses, and completed courses can be shown on your LinkedIn profile. Many public libraries give cardholders free access, which is the cheapest way in and is often overlooked.
Best for
Workplace software and management topics, especially if your library or employer already pays for it.
Not for
Deep academic subjects, or learning without video.
Price
A subscription, included with some LinkedIn Premium plans. Many public libraries provide free access with a library card.
Coursera hosts courses from universities and companies, with video lectures, readings, and graded work. Many courses can be audited for free, which means you can watch the material without paying. Graded assignments and the certificate are the paid part.
Best for
Subjects where the name on the certificate matters to an employer or an application.
Not for
A ten-minute daily habit. Most courses expect real study blocks.
Price
Many courses are free to audit. Certificates, some assignments, and the all-access plan are paid. Check the course page for what the free option includes.
Practical and technical skills, bought one course at a time
Udemy is a marketplace, so anyone can publish a course. Quality varies a lot between instructors, which makes the ratings and the free preview lessons worth using before you buy. It is strong for software, tools, and other subjects where you want a specific technique.
Best for
One concrete tool or technique you need soon.
Not for
Consistent quality without doing your own checking, or a daily learning habit.
Price
Courses are bought individually and are discounted often. Check the course page for the current price.
Brilliant teaches through problems rather than lectures. You are given a puzzle, you try it, and the explanation arrives once you have already thought about it. That order is harder work than watching a video and it is why the ideas tend to stay.
Best for
People who want to actually think during a lesson, not watch one.
Not for
Anyone looking for a free option, or for subjects outside maths, science, and computing.
Price
Brilliant's help centre says the free tier unlocks the first chapter of each course. Everything after that is a subscription, and the free trial asks for card details. Check the official site for the current price.
Cadence takes a topic or a practical goal you type in, then builds it into an ordered course of short daily lessons. Each lesson takes about ten minutes, you can read it or listen to it, and the course remembers where you stopped. Lessons include quizzes or other checks, and you can ask a coach for another explanation without leaving the lesson.
Best for
Learning something specific that no fixed catalogue covers closely enough, at one lesson a day.
Not for
Anyone who needs a recognised certificate, a named instructor, or a language course with speaking practice.
Price
Free to start, with one short lesson and quiz a day plus custom courses, audio, progress, and coaching inside the published limits. Plus raises those allowances for US$39.99 a year on the web, with a 7-day trial.
MasterClass films well-known practitioners talking about their craft, and the production quality is the point. You get perspective and taste from people at the top of a field. What you rarely get is a graded path that tells you whether you are improving.
Best for
Perspective, motivation, and taste in a creative field.
Not for
Structured skill building with feedback.
Price
A subscription. Check the official site for current plans.
Headway condenses nonfiction books into short text and audio summaries you can finish in a sitting. It is a fast way to decide whether a book is worth your time, and a reasonable way to recall one you have already read.
Best for
Covering a lot of book ideas quickly, or triaging a reading list.
Not for
Learning a skill. A summary tells you what a book argued, not how to do the thing.
Price
A subscription with a free trial. Check the official site.
A course on a spreadsheet function can be identical for everyone, because the function is identical for everyone. A course on giving difficult feedback cannot, because it depends on who you are talking to, what you have already tried, and how much authority you have.
That is why generic soft-skills courses feel hollow. They teach a framework, you nod, and then Monday arrives and the framework does not fit the person sitting across from you.
What helps is working through the situation you are actually in, in small pieces, over enough days that you get to try something and come back.
Before you pay
Check what you already have.
Two things are worth checking before any subscription. First, whether your employer already pays for LinkedIn Learning or Coursera seats. Many do, and the seats go unused because nobody announced them.
Second, whether your public library provides LinkedIn Learning. Many library systems do, and LinkedIn publishes a help page for library patrons covering how to sign in with a library card.
Where we fit
What Cadence is built for.
We make Cadence, so this is a disclosure and not a review. Cadence covers the second half of the list: the conversations, the judgement calls, and the management situations that a video catalogue handles badly.
You describe the situation, including your level and what you want to be able to do, and Cadence builds a course of about ten minutes a day around it. The catalogue already includes reviewed courses on difficult conversations, giving feedback, running meetings, one-on-ones, managing up, and moving from individual contributor to senior.
For a spreadsheet function, a specific software tool, or a certificate an employer will check, use LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, or Coursera instead. Cadence does not issue certificates and is not trying to.
See it in concrete terms
Open a real Cadence course.
These are the reviewed Cadence courses for the harder half of the list. Each one shows its goal, its syllabus, and its first lessons before you start.
It depends which kind. For software and workplace tools, LinkedIn Learning has the broadest catalogue and is often free through a library or employer. For a certificate that an employer will recognise, use Coursera. For conversations, feedback, and management situations, a fixed video catalogue works poorly, and a course built around your specific situation fits better.
Which app gives certificates employers recognise?
Coursera and edX carry courses from named universities and companies, and their paid certificate tracks are the ones most often recognised. LinkedIn Learning course completions can be displayed on your LinkedIn profile. Cadence does not provide accredited degrees or professional certification.
How do I learn soft skills like giving feedback?
Pick one real situation you are facing rather than the general topic, learn in pieces small enough to use before the next one, and leave enough days between lessons to actually try something. Generic frameworks fail because they do not account for the specific person you are talking to.
Can I learn a work skill in ten minutes a day?
For interpersonal and judgement skills, yes, because the limiting factor is practice between lessons rather than study hours. For a technical tool or a certification, no. Those need real study blocks, and an app that says otherwise is selling you something.
Is my employer likely to pay for this?
Often, and more often than people ask. Many companies hold LinkedIn Learning or Coursera seats that go unused, and many have a learning budget that covers a subscription. Check before paying for anything yourself.
Last reviewed
How we chose
What we checked, and what we did not.
We selected apps adults commonly use for professional development, then split them by the kind of work skill they serve: software and process, credentials, or the interpersonal and judgement skills that resist a fixed video catalogue. Every description comes from the app's official pages, checked on the review date shown on this page.
Direct checks: We opened the current official site for each app named here and checked its described catalogue, certificate model, and purchase model.
Testing limits: We did not buy every subscription, and we did not evaluate individual instructors or courses inside these catalogues. No exact competitor prices are quoted because they change by region, platform, and offer. Employer and library access varies, so check your own.
Disclosure: Learning Cadence publishes this article and makes Cadence, one of the apps listed. We have a commercial interest in Cadence. Every other app is described from its official pages, linked in each entry, and we say plainly where a different app is the better choice.
Learning Cadence is not affiliated with any other product named on this page. Product names belong to their respective owners. Prices and free tiers change, so open the official page before you buy.
