Best Of

Hey instructors,

We're always testing new ways to bring more learners to Udemy – and ultimately to your courses. One new path is a lower‑priced, ad‑supported subscription called Starter Plan.

In the coming days, we'll begin a limited test of Starter Plan in select markets. As part of this test, we'll also pilot a way for instructors to potentially share in revenue from ads. This continues the work we've been doing to explore ads that began last summer.

What this means for you:

• Starter Plan Course Inclusion: 18,000+ Personal Plan courses will appear in Starter Plan. If your course is included, we’ll notify you in-product. 
• Learner experience: Learners who subscribe to Starter Plan will be served only pre-roll video ads in video lectures. We may display ads in more places as we learn more in the coming months.  
• Instructor ad revenue: Starter Plan includes a way for instructors to potentially earn from ad revenue. Courses included in Starter Plan may qualify to receive a share of ad revenue, creating an additional revenue stream alongside subscriptions. Each month, we'll create an ad revenue pool from Starter Plan ad revenue, after deducting applicable Udemy and third-party fees. From this pool, 25% of revenue tied to eligible ad placements on qualifying courses is shared with instructors.

Your earnings are based on learner engagement—specifically, the minutes learners spend consuming your qualifying courses relative to total consumption across all qualifying courses that month. Higher engagement with your content may lead to higher earnings, though results will vary by course and learner behavior.

Course eligibility depends on factors such as inclusion in Starter Plan and course consumption patterns. When ad payouts begin, you'll see a dedicated "Ad Revenue" line under Starter Plan in your Individual Subscription reporting, alongside your subscription earnings.

What happens next

We may roll out Starter Plan more broadly in the coming months, but we'll first carefully evaluate this limited test for its impact on both learners and instructors. Both Starter Plan and the instructor ad-revenue sharing model will likely continue to evolve as we learn from this test. We'll share updates as we gather insights. Instructors included in the test can expect the first ad payouts to happen in June

Get the details in the Help Center. 

• How do I Earn Revenue From Udemy Business and Subscription Plans?
• Instructors: Subscription Plan Frequently Asked Questions – Udemy

Questions? Drop them in the thread. 

Bear in mind that it is 25% of ad revenue only, after Udemy and third-party fees.

I imagine the end result might be…about 15%. ;-)