As millions of Americans have less money and more time on their hands, many usually-pricy online classes are discounted or free.
Nikon, Rosetta Stone, Peloton, Master Class, Coursera and other companies, schools and services are offering great deals on their classes. Some of them will help you pass the time, some will improve or introduce a hobby and some will give you a leg up on getting a new or better job.
So grab that remote from under the Tostitos bag, turn off Netflix and see what you can learn.
6 Companies That Are Offering Free or Discounted Classes
Below is a list of companies offering normally-pricy classes for free. As always, make sure to read the fine print before signing up, and if necessary, set calendar reminders for yourself to cancel free trials before you get charged.
1. Peloton
Peloton is known for streaming spin classes to members who buy its $2,300 exercise bikes. Well, Peloton also streams hundreds of workouts that don’t require a bike, and now it’s offering 90 days of free classes for anyone who signs up before April 30.
Peloton isn’t producing live classes at its New York and London studios until at least April 30, but its library includes hundreds of past and new recorded classes you can click on. Choices include a 10-minutes abs class, a 20-minute cardio session, a 30-minute yoga class or a 60-minute boot camp.
Peloton also recently launched Fit Family Programming and Dance Cardio to meet the needs of families stuck inside. Users can pick classes based on music, instructor, length, level and type of workout.
The platform also automatically tracks every workout you complete, encouraging streaks of numerous days in a row.
To sign up for the free trial, visit https://www.onepeloton.com/digital/checkout/digital-90d.
2. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone, foreign language teacher to the masses, usually charges between $180 and $299 for its classes. A three-month subscription is now free to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as their parents.
For those who aren’t home schooling, the cost of packages have been reduced to $100. Paid subscribers can also receive complimentary access to its Live Group Coaching sessions, which normally cost extra, until June 30.
Rosetta Stone suggests clients spend 30 minutes a day on language work five days a week, but they can go at their own pace and on their own schedule.
To learn more, visit rosettastone.com.
3. Fender
The legendary guitar maker is offering three months of free guitar lessons to the first 1 million musicians or future musicians who sign up on their website. The company usually charges $90 a year for lessons.
Students will learn chords and scales before moving on to songs. At the end of three months, students should likely be able to play:
- “She Loves You” by The Beatles
- “American Idiot” by Green Day
- “Last Night” by The Strokes
- “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People
- “Zombie” by The Cranberries
To sign up, visit https://try.fender.com/play/playthrough/.
4. MasterClass
MasterClass’ extensive library of pre-recorded online courses include instructors like poet Billy Collins, tennis great Serena Williams, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, ballerina Misty Copeland, chef Gordon Ramsay and writer David Sedaris.
MasterClass offers live Q&A sessions with artists, experts and other professionals at the top of their fields to its members. Now those sessions are available to everyone every Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET.
To become a member, you’ll pay $90 for one class or $180 for a year of access to more than 80 classes. MasterClass is offering another special right now. If you buy an annual membership for $180, you can share another membership for free.
For more information, visit masterclass.com.
5. Nikon
Nikon Inc. is offering ten Nikon School online courses, which usually cost up to $50 each, for free through the end of May.
The Nikon School Online classes are part of Nikon’s Creator’s Hour, which offers other free tutorials and learning resources like interviews with world-renowned creators and live talks with Nikon Ambassador photographers. Classes include Fundamentals of Photography, Discovering Macro Photography, Photographing Family and Pets, Environmental Portraiture and the Art of Making Music Videos.
To sign up, go to https://www.nikonevents.com/us/live/nikon-school-online/
6. Coursera
Coursera, an education platform that provides access to online courses taught by instructors at universities and businesses, is now offering access and upgrades such as certificates of completion for no cost. Usually, customers pay $39 a month to Coursera, then can audit classes at universities around the world, including Ivy League schools, as well as companies such as Google and Amazon.
Now, anyone who signs up by May 31 can have access to the online courses taught by expert teachers for 180 days. In addition, upgrades like graded homework, one-on-one conferences and certificates of completion will be included at no charge for many of the courses.
Coursera, which was founded by two Stanford professors in 2012, says 87% of people who took professional development courses reported getting a promotion, a raise or starting a new career after taking courses.
For more information, visit coursera.org.
Katherine Snow Smith is a freelance writer and editor in St. Petersburg, Florida, and author of the book Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker.
