FutureLearn, Europe’s main counterpart to Coursera and edX, has increased the price of Unlimited, its catalog subscription plan.

The price hike follows another monetization move by FutureLearn’s new leadership: in January, FutureLearn expanded its paywall, as exclusively reported by Class Central.

I was surprised by this price hike. The cost of FutureLearn’s subscription is now comparable to Coursera’s. But Coursera has a significantly larger (and in my view, more attractive) catalog.

This is the latest development in FutureLearn’s tumultuous year, which was punctuated by funding troubles, leadership changes, and layoffs.

Price Hike

On March 1st, we learned in an email that, effective immediately, FutureLearn would increase the cost of Unlimited, its subscription plan, which gives access to two-thirds of the courses offered on the platform.

Here are the old and new prices of FutureLearn Unlimited in different regions:

Tailing Coursera

The price increase surprised my Class Central colleagues and me, since it puts the cost of FutureLearn’s subscription in the same ballpark as that of Coursera’s — Coursera Plus costs $399 per year.

FutureLearn’s subscription predates Coursera’s, and it launched at a significantly lower price:

• FutureLearn Unlimited launched in March 2019 and cost $199 per year.
• Coursera Plus launched in February 2020 and cost $399 per year.

The issue with FutureLearn’s price increase is that Coursera’s subscription plan:

• Boasts a significantly larger catalog.
• Includes better-known partners, such as Google, Yale, and Johns Hopkins.
• Extends to microcredentials — Specializations and Professional Certificates.

Here’s a brief comparison of both subscription plans:

(For a broader comparison of FutureLearn and Coursera, read our end-of-year analysis: 2022 Year in Review: The “New Normal” that Wasn’t.)

In light of the numbers above, I would imagine most learners would rather pay an extra $50 to have access to Coursera’s catalog for a year.

Even when it comes to discounts, Coursera recently proved more competitive. Both companies started the year with sales that lasted a month or more, but Coursera discounted its subscription by 50%, while FutureLearn only discounted it by 30%, as you can see above.

Signs of Turmoil

FutureLearn’s price increase is the culmination of a difficult year at the company, as reflected by our coverage of the platform:

• Aug 2022: FutureLearn requires extra funding to survive.
• Nov 2022: FutureLearn conducts layoffs.
• Dec 2022: FutureLearn gets acquired by GUS.
• Jan 2023: FutureLearn expands paywall.

And just yesterday, we learned that FutureLearn CEO Andy Hancock would be leaving the company at the end of the month.

The price of a subscription plan is expected to increase over time. But the fact that this increase comes in the wake of a stream of signs of turmoil at FutureLearn suggests to me that the decision may stem from urgency rather from a sound pricing strategy.