Kevin JohnsonByju’s is a multinational educational technology (edtech) company based in Bangalore, India. Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath founded the company in 2011 to offer online video-based learning programs for competitive exams and the K-12 segment. In 2015, the firm launched Byju’s Learning App.
In April 2023, Byju’s had over 150 million registered students. Byju’s was India’s first edtech unicorn in 2018. In October 2023, the firm announced plans to sell its assets to settle debts and used over $2 billion on acquisitions. It is facing lawsuits in the US after defaulting on a $1.2 billion loan it took in 2021. [1]
Byju’s expanded services through acquisitions, including Epic, TutorVista, Scholr, WhiteHat Jr, Aakash, Great Learning, Toppr, Gradeup, Tynker, and GeoGebra. These brands helped Byju’s venture into the global market. The company offers a tutoring app, exam preparation, higher-education MOOCs, and tuition centers.
In April 2021, the firm launched Byju’s Future School to provide an interactive learning platform in the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico. Byju’s uses a hybrid model in 500 tuition centers across 200 Indian cities. In September 2023, the company had a $5.1 billion valuation. However, Byju’s faces stiff competition from Vedantu, Canvas LMS, Khan Academy, Unacademy, GoReact, Simplilearn, McGraw-Hill Connect, upGrad, Coursera, Adda247, Speexx, and PhysicsWallah. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of Byju’s’ top competitors and alternatives:
1. Vedantu
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: Bengaluru, India
Vedantu is an interactive online tutoring platform. Its app and YouTube channels provide free content, tests, and videos to over 35 million monthly users from over 10,000 cities across 50 countries. In 2022, Vedantu reduced its workforce by 11.6% in three rounds to enhance its growth towards profitability. The company had around 3,300 employees in January 2023. [3]
Vedantu offers individual and group classes across K12 and test preparation segments. Over 1 million students attend live classes monthly on the Vedantu platform. In October 2022, Vedantu acquired the test-prep platform Deeksha for $40 million. The firm plans to leverage Deeksha’s technology to increase its competitive advantage over edtech rivals in the hybrid learning space. Vedantu is the top Byju’s competitor and alternative in India. [4]
2. Canvas LMS
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Salt Lake City, Utah
Canvas LMS is a world-leading learning management system offered by Instructure, Inc., an edtech company. The platform helps educators streamline education experiences to support students’ success. In Q3 2023, the Montana University System (MUS) migrated ten campuses from two competitors to Canvas. [5]
Canvas LMS streamlines online learning, in-person, and hybrid models as the central hub for classroom materials and interactions. In Q3 2023, CFRE chose Canvas to serve its 18 brands and 30,000 students in Germany. Instructure also signed a 10-year contract with the Pasadena Independent School District in August 2023 to replace its classroom solutions. This deal brings around 50,000 students to Canvas’ platform, making it one of the best alternatives to Byju’s.
3. Khan Academy
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Mountain View, California
Khan Academy is a non-profit educational platform established by Sal Khan. It offers online learning tools to help tutors and institutions educate students. In March 2023, Khan Academy launched its AI-powered chatbot Khanmigo.
Khan Academy produces short, video-based lessons and supplementary practice exercises and materials. In August 2023, the organization released Khanmigo to over 8,000 teachers and students. The chatbot offers individualized guidance on several subjects, a writing tutor, and a debate tool with suggested topics. Over 10,000 educators and students have tested Khanmigo in its pilot phase. Khan Academy is an innovative competitor of Byju’s. [6]
4. Unacademy
Year founded: 2015
Headquarter: Bengaluru, India
Unacademy is an Indian multinational edtech company. Its online educational platform offers content on beginner-level and skill-building courses, and helps students get ready for competitive exams. In 2022, Unacademy laid off over 2,000 employees in four rounds.
Unacademy started as a YouTube Channel and launched its mobile app in 2014 to provide live classes to students’ smartphones. In June 2023, Unacademy reported its first cash flow positive month since its founding. The company also acquired Scenes in early 2023 to expand its online learning capabilities. Unacademy is one of the top competitors for Byju’s. [7]
5. GoReact
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: Orem, Utah
GoReact is an interactive platform for teaching performance-based skills online. It is like a game film for communicators. According to G2, GoReact has a 4.7-star rating out of 5 from 337 customer reviews versus 3.4 stars for Byju’s.
GoReact offers cloud-based video software. This solution provides feedback, grading, and critique of student speeches, presentations, and performances. In August 2023, the company introduced a new GoReact interface and terminologies to enhance the user experience. GoReact is one of the best alternatives to Byju’s. [8]
6. Simplilearn
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: San Francisco, California, and Bangalore, India
Simplilearn is the world’s leading online Bootcamp for digital economy skills training. The company raised $45 million in November 2022 for global expansion. In January 2023, GSV Ventures named Simplilearn on its 2023 GSV 150 list, featuring the world’s most transformational growth companies in digital learning and workforce skilling. [9]
Simplilearn offers live online classes featuring top industry practitioners, trainers, and global leaders. The company has helped over 4 million professionals across 150 countries upskill in digital tech. In 2022, Simplilearn acquired US-based Fullstack and leveraged its network to access new university partnerships. Simplilearn is one of the best alternatives to Byju’s. [10]
7. McGraw-Hill Connect
Year founded: 1888
Headquarter: New York, New York
McGraw-Hill is a leading global publishing company. The firm offers McGraw-Hill Connect, a digital teaching and learning environment. As of August 2023, McGraw-Hill Connect served 5,000 higher-education institutions and 13,000 K-12 school districts across 50 US states.
McGraw-Hill Connect offers state-of-the-art features and interactive SmartBooks. In August 2023, DLSII launched its integration with McGraw Hill to deliver personalized learning experiences and online classes. DLSII brings 10,000 students to the McGraw-Hill platform. McGraw-Hill Connect is a formidable competitor for Byju’s. [11]
8. upGrad
Year founded: 2015
Headquarter: Mumbai, India
upGrad is a leading Indian edtech company that partners with the best universities to offer degree, diploma, and doctorate courses. In March 2023, upGrad laid off nearly 30% of its workforce at Harappa Education, which it acquired in 2021.
upGrad offers degrees, diplomas, doctorates, skilling, short-certification courses, Bootcamps, and job-linked programs, and completed 22,000 placements in FY23. In March 2023, upGrad secured INR 300 crore via the rights issue. The firm had previously raised $210 million in August 2022 at a $2.25 billion valuation. UpGrad is a fast-growing competitor of Byju’s. [12]
9. Coursera Inc.
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Mountain View, California
Coursera is one of the world’s largest online learning platforms. The company partners with over 300 leading universities, colleges, and other organizations to provide courses, guided projects, degrees, and certificates. In January 2023, Coursera had around 1,400 employees.
Coursera seeks to provide universal access to world-class learning. Organizations use the platform to train their employees, citizens, and students in several fields, such as data science, technology, and business. As of March 2023, Coursera had 124 million registered learners, making it a formidable competitor for Byju’s. [13]
10. Adda247
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Adda247 is an Indian edtech startup offering a vernacular learning platform. In October 2023, Adda247 had 50 million monthly active users and over 2 million paying customers. The company plans to go public within 3-4 years.
Adda247 offers skilling and test-prep courses for exams in banks, government departments, and railways. In October 2022, Adda247 raised $35 million in a funding round. The company doubled its revenue in FY 2023 and laid off 250-300 employees to cut costs and attain profitability. Adda247 is the best alternative to Byju’s for vernacular learning. [14]
11. Speexx
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: Munich, Germany
Speexx is a leader in digital people development. It helps institutions drive productivity by enhancing employee communication skills across borders. As of January 2023, Speexx served over 8 million users in 1,500 organizations.
Speexx offers cloud-based online learning solutions for businesses in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. In September 2023, Speexx won first place in ten categories in G2’s Fall Reports and was awarded 39 G2 badges. Speexx is one of the best alternatives to Byju’s for companies with global workforces. [15]
12. Physics Wallah (PW)
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: Noida, India
Physics Wallah (PW) is an Indian multinational edtech company. The firm became a unicorn in June 2022 after raising $100 million of funding at a $1.1 billion valuation. In October 2022, PW acquired PrepOnline and Altis Vortex to bolster NEET prep and study materials verticals. [16]
PW’s app attracts 2 million students daily, with each student spending around 80 minutes on the platform per session. In 2023, PW recorded 100% growth in its online business. The firm expanded into the offline space in 2022 to attract more students who prefer a hybrid learning approach. PhysicsWallah is a fast-rising alternative to Byju’s. [17]
13. Lumio
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Calgary, Canada
Lumio is a digital learning platform that helps teachers transform lessons into active and collaborative learning experiences. In June 2023, Lumio unveiled new features to simplify teaching and enhance students’ engagement.
Lumio provides innovative strategies to enhance interactivity, collaboration, and learning to millions of educators and students globally. In June 2023, Lumio launched a new integration with Canva for Education. Users can add Canva designs and visual communication tools to Lumio to enhance learning engagement. Lumio is one of the top competitors for Byju’s. [18]
14. Udemy
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Udemy is an edtech company providing an online learning and teaching platform. Users can access courses and lectures from top-tier universities, professional educators, and experts. In Q2 2023, Fortune ranked Udemy 13th on its Best Workplaces for Millennials list.
The Udemy marketplace offers thousands of courses and learning tools to help students, instructors, and enterprises achieve their goals. Global giants like The World Bank, Fender, Glassdoor, On24, and Volkswagen use Udemy Business to train and upskill their employees. According to Stack Overflow’s 2023 Developer Survey, Udemy is the most popular online course for learning to code. Udemy is one of the top competitors for Byju’s. [19]
15. Veranda Learning
Year founded: 2018
Headquarter: Chennai, India
Veranda Learning is an Indian edtech company founded by Suresh Kalpathi. It offers training programs for exam prep, including PSC, banking, insurance, railways, IAS, and CA. In October 2022, Veranda Learning acquired the coaching institute JK Shah Classes. The company also purchased Edureka in September 2021 and T.I.M.E in April 2022. [20]
Veranda Learning seeks to create synergy between different age groups through acquisitions and investments. The firm invested in seven companies in 2023. In August 2023, the company acquired test-prep giant Sreedhar’s College of Competitive Exams, making Veranda Learning one of the fastest-growing competitors for Byju’s. [21]
16. Nearpod
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Aventura, Florida
Nearpod is a website and app-based digital learning platform. It is a hybrid e-learning tool that intuitively combines multimedia learning with digital assessments for use in class and other real-world environments. According to G2, Nearpod has a 4.6-star rating out of 5 from 114 customer reviews.
Nearpod users can create slide-based learning resources from scratch or use over 15,000 lessons and videos in the library. However, the main selling point of Nearpod is its robust features, including virtual reality, poll questions, multiple-choice quizzes, and collaboration boards. Nearpod is a user-friendly alternative to Byju’s. [22]
17. Next Education
Year founded: 2007
Headquarter: Hyderabad, India
Next Education is a SaaS-based edtech company revolutionizing India’s K-12 sector. In September 2022, the firm launched its flagship solution Next 360. Next 360 offers audiovisuals, hands-on activities, simulations, lesson plans, books, and assessments. [23]
Next Education seeks to leverage Next 360 and Next Academic Partnership Program to reach 1,000 schools and increase its annual earnings to INR 1,000 crore in 3-4 years. In November 2022, the company disclosed plans to launch an international platform to expand into the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and Latin America. Next Education is a fast-growing Byju’s competitor. [24]
18. Skillshare
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: New York City, New York
Skillshare is an online learning community offering educational videos. It caters to students and professionals who seek to upskill or expand their knowledge base. As of September 2023, Skillshare’s catalog had over 25,000 creative classes.
Skillshare is one of the world’s largest online learning platforms for creativity. The company offers classes and courses through paid subscriptions. In September 2023, Skillshare ranked #39 on Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces list, making it a worthy alternative to Byju’s. [25]
19. Leverage Edu
Year founded: 2017
Headquarter: Noida, India
Leverage Edu is an Indian study abroad platform. Its AI-enabled marketplace offers higher education and career guidance. In September 2022, Leverage Edu invested ₦800 million in the Nigerian market to expand its operations. [26]
Leverage Edu offers full-stack services, including counseling, application-admission support, and financing. The company launched Fly Finance in October 2022 to disburse education loans and UnivaleyOS in May 2023 to help universities automate student recruitment processes. In July 2023, the firm raised $40 million in a Series C funding round, increasing its valuation to $150 million. Leverage Edu is a fast-growing competitor for Byju’s. [27]
20. Kaltura
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: New York City, New York
Kaltura is a software company specializing in video experiences. It offers live and on-demand video educational content. According to G2, Kaltura has a 4.3-star rating out of 5 from 97 customer reviews versus 3.4 stars for Byju’s.
Kaltura helps companies and educators streamline communication, collaboration, training, teaching, and learning experiences. In July 2023, the company launched new enhancements. Content providers can leverage add-ons to manage their VOD portfolio, personalize the user experience, and improve engagement. Kaltura is one of the best alternatives to Byju’s for video-based learning. [28]
21. edX
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Cambridge, Massachusetts
edX is a global online learning platform owned by 2U. The company partners with leading universities to provide thousands of free and open courses, boot camps, certificates, degrees, and micro-credentials. Since 2012, edX has helped over 60,000 people complete boot camps and get jobs in over 6,700 companies.
edX offers skills, knowledge, and support to 48 million learners. Its online programs cover several fields, including tech, business, social work, healthcare, science, and education. In March 2023, Fast Company included edX in its annual World’s Most Innovative Companies list. edX is a formidable competitor for Byju’s. [29]
22. iQuanta
Year founded: 2019
Headquarter: Gurugram, India
iQuanta is an Indian edtech company founded by Indrajeet Singh. The firm offers online classes and on-site educational services. In 2022, iQuanta served over 3 Lakh students across India.
Byju’s and iQuanta offer online learning platforms; however, iQuanta is a market leader in the CAT online coaching sector. The edtech company leveraged Facebook and other social media networks to recruit over 3000 MBA aspirants. In 2022, the firm’s Facebook group had over 4 Lakh members. iQuanta is a worthy alternative to Byju’s for CAT coaching. [30]
23. Chegg, Inc.
Year founded: 2005
Headquarter: Santa Clara, California
Chegg is an American edtech company offering a student-first connected learning platform. It provides homework help, digital and physical textbook rentals, online tutoring, and other student services. In December 2022, Chegg had 2,071 employees.
Chegg provides personal and professional development skills training and solutions to help learners understand their academic course materials. In 2023, the company developed its AI-powered CheggMate to offer homework assistance through ChatGPT. Chegg has enough resources to compete and poach customers from Byju’s. [31]
24. Canva
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Sydney, Australia
Canva is an online design platform with around 3,500 employees. The firm launched Canva for Education in 2019 to help students and teachers unlock their creativity. As of October 2023, Canva helped over 50 million students and teachers bring their ideas to life.
Canva for Education simplifies visual content creation, collaboration, and communication in the classroom and other real-world environments. It is free for K-12 schools, teachers, and students globally. In October 2023, the company introduced new Canva for Education tools. Educators can access over 5,000 customizable classroom resources and AI-powered solutions to improve lesson planning. Canva for Education is an affordable alternative to Byju’s. [32]
25. ThinkUp!
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: North Billerica, Massachusetts
ThinkUp is a digital learning platform. It offers the ThinkUp curriculum for $13 and ThinkUp now in the i-Ready Teacher Toolbox for $11.85 to help students build the foundation of critical thinking. According to G2, ThinkUp has 4.6 stars out of 5 from 195 customer reviews. [33]
ThinkUp and Byju’s offer online learning platforms. However, ThinkUp combines common sense principles with data-driven systematic insights to help learners evaluate information at deeper levels. This approach develops critical thinkers with informed decision-making and problem-solving skills. ThinkUp is an emerging competitor for Byju’s.
References & more information
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- Featured Image by Kenny Eliason
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