Udemy Black Friday 2026: the median course already costs $19.99
Udemy shows a list price near $125 and charges about $20, so the question before Black Friday is whether a sale can beat a price that is already low.
- The price: the median of 158 top-listed courses cost $19.99 on October 26, 2026, and the lowest was $12.99.
- The list price: the struck-through median was $124.99, so the median price shown was 84% below it. Compare the price you pay, not the list price.
- The spread: 155 of 158 courses cost $35 or less, and topic medians ran from $17.99 (photography) to $24.99 (digital marketing and graphic design).
- The rule: Udemy's own banner advertised courses from $12.99 until October 28, so a sale was already running. A Black Friday price is a saving only if it is below the price you wrote down today.
Lattice finding
On October 26, 2026, during Udemy's own sitewide sale, the median of 158 top-listed courses cost $19.99 against a median list price of $124.99, and 98% cost $35 or less, so a Black Friday sale has to beat about $20 to save anything.
Read October 26, 2026 Prices are as Udemy displayed them on its own topic pages. Medians, shares and discounts are our arithmetic on those prices.
What do Udemy courses cost right now?
Four numbers describe the 158 courses we read. The list price is high and the price shown is low, and almost every course sits under $35.
Across 158 top-listed courses in 14 topics, read on October 26, 2026.
The struck-through price, shown on 156 of the 158 courses.
From the list price to the price shown. The range was 30% to 86%.
155 of 158 courses. Three cost more than $35.
How does the price differ by topic?
Topic medians ran from $17.99 to $24.99, a spread of $7. The full bar is the median list price and the hatched part is the median price shown.
| Topic | Courses read | Median price | Lowest | Highest | Median list | Median discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital marketing | 11 | $24.99 | $18.99 | $34.99 | $139.99 | 84% |
| Graphic design | 11 | $24.99 | $17.99 | $29.99 | $149.99 | 84% |
| AWS certification | 11 | $22.99 | $12.99 | $39.99 | $139.99 | 83% |
| Ethical hacking | 11 | $22.99 | $13.99 | $29.99 | $139.99 | 84% |
| Excel | 10 | $22.99 | $12.99 | $39.99 | $139.99 | 84% |
| Python | 12 | $22.49 | $18.99 | $34.99 | $144.99 | 84% |
| Web development | 10 | $21.49 | $12.99 | $27.99 | $132.49 | 84% |
| Project management | 12 | $19.99 | $13.99 | $29.99 | $124.99 | 82% |
| Machine learning | 10 | $19.49 | $12.99 | $24.99 | $124.99 | 84% |
| SQL | 12 | $19.49 | $12.99 | $27.99 | $124.99 | 84% |
| Data science | 12 | $18.99 | $14.99 | $22.99 | $124.99 | 84% |
| JavaScript | 12 | $18.99 | $13.99 | $34.99 | $119.99 | 84% |
| Guitar | 12 | $18.99 | $12.99 | $199.99 | $84.99 | 78% |
| Photography | 12 | $17.99 | $13.99 | $24.99 | $84.99 | 77% |
The $199.99 highest price in guitar is a course shown with no struck-through figure. Two of the 158 courses showed no list price.
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How many Udemy courses cost more than $20?
87 of the 158 courses cost $20 or less and 127 cost $25 or less. Only 9 cost more than $30.
What do popular courses cost?
A few of the courses listed first on the Python and JavaScript topic pages, with the price and list price Udemy showed on the day.
| Course | Rating | Price shown | List price | Shown discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Python Bootcamp From Zero to Hero in Python | 4.6 | $34.99 | $199.99 | 83% |
| 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp | 4.7 | $19.99 | $129.99 | 85% |
| Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Programming | 4.7 | $19.99 | $129.99 | 85% |
| Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp | 4.5 | $19.99 | $124.99 | 84% |
| The Complete JavaScript Course 2025: From Zero to Expert! | 4.7 | $34.99 | $199.99 | 83% |
| JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts | 4.8 | $22.99 | $149.99 | 85% |
Should you wait for Udemy's Black Friday sale?
Only if you can beat a number you have already written down. The median course cost $19.99 on October 26, and Udemy's own banner already advertised courses from $12.99. A sale that shows $19.99 for a course that cost $19.99 last week is not a saving, however far the list price is struck through.
So pick the course you want, note its price today, and check it again on the day. If you will use several courses, our Udemy pricing guide works out when the Personal Plan beats buying one at a time, and our Coursera vs Udemy vs Skillshare comparison sets Udemy beside the alternatives. Free trials of other platforms are worth checking first if you only want to try a subject.
Why does Udemy show a list price near $125?
Udemy displays a struck-through list price beside the price you pay, and the gap is what the site presents as the discount. Across the 156 courses that showed one, the median price shown was 84% below the list price. Two courses showed no struck-through figure at all, so a displayed discount is not automatic. This is why the price you pay is the figure to compare, and why a percentage off tells you little by itself.
Frequently asked
How much does a Udemy course cost?
In a read of 158 courses across 14 topics on October 26, 2026, the median price shown was $19.99 and the lowest was $12.99. The median list price, shown struck through, was $124.99, and 155 of the 158 courses cost $35 or less.
Does Udemy have a Black Friday sale?
Udemy had not published Black Friday prices on the pages we read. Its own site banner on October 26 advertised courses from $12.99 until October 28, so a sale was already running. Write down the price of the course you want and compare on the day.
Is the Udemy list price real?
The list price is the struck-through figure Udemy shows beside the price you pay. Across the 156 courses that showed one, the median list price was $124.99 and the median price shown was 84% below it, so the price you pay is the figure to compare.
Are there Udemy coupon codes?
The prices in this read were the prices Udemy displayed with no code entered. This page does not publish codes, so check the price Udemy shows for your course at checkout.
Is a Udemy course or the Personal Plan cheaper?
At about $20 a course the Personal Plan, which starts at $13 a month, is cheaper only if you finish roughly one course a month or more. Our Udemy pricing guide works through the break-even.
How this page was built
We opened 14 Udemy topic pages on 26 October 2026 in a logged-out browser, with prices shown in US dollars, and recorded the price, struck-through list price and rating shown for the first 10 to 12 courses on each, 158 in all. The topics are python, javascript, web development, data science, machine learning, AWS certification, project management, digital marketing, graphic design, photography, guitar, SQL, ethical hacking and Excel. Medians, shares and discounts are our arithmetic. The read happened during a sitewide sale advertised on Udemy's banner until October 28, 2026, so it shows sale-period prices, and the first 10 to 12 courses per topic are not a sample of Udemy's 250,000-course catalog. Prices can differ by country and when signed in. We did not buy any course.
Bottom line
The median Udemy course cost $19.99 on October 26, 2026, against a median list price of $124.99. Before Black Friday, note the price of the course you want and compare on the day, because only a price below that is a saving. Check the live number on Udemy.
Federal data behind this page
What a programme costs, what its graduates earn, and what aid is available are published by federal statistical agencies rather than by any provider's marketing page, and the sources below are the primary ones. They are linked so a reader can check a figure here directly.
- College Scorecard publishes the federal cost, completion and post-enrolment earnings data used to compare programmes.
- National Center for Education Statistics is the federal statistical agency for education and the source most published figures trace back to.
- IPEDS holds the institution-level survey data behind enrolment, price and completion comparisons.
- Federal Student Aid states what aid exists, who qualifies, and what repayment actually obligates a borrower to.
- CFPB paying for college documents how education financing works and where its common traps are.
- US Department of Education sets the policy framework the accreditation and aid systems operate under.
- Department of Education laws and policy carries the rules that decide whether a provider or credential is recognised.
This page compares programmes on published data. Outcomes vary by student, and a reader's own aid package and circumstances decide what a programme actually costs them.