Softwr

LMS · head to head

Coursera vs Sana

Coursera logo

Coursera

LMS

Learn from top universities and companies worldwide

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sana logo

Sana

LMS

AI-native learning and knowledge assistant, acquired by Workday in 2025

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Coursera has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Coursera free audit does not include certificate upon completion; Sana workday completed its acquisition on 4 November 2025, so Sana is now an HCM vendor's capability; if you do not run Workday, the roadmap will be shaped around a platform you do not use and standalone availability is not guaranteed long term.
  • They diverge on capability: Coursera covers Video lectures, Sana covers Sana Agents.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Coursera and Sana actually diverge.

Attributes where Coursera and Sana differ
AttributeCourseraSana
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Coursera

  • Video lectures
  • Quizzes
  • Peer assessments
  • Certificates
  • Mobile learning
  • Offline access
  • Specializations
  • Degrees

Only in Sana

  • Sana Agents
  • Sana Learn
  • Enterprise search
  • Live collaborative sessions
  • Content generation
  • Permission-aware retrieval
  • Analytics
  • Workday integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Coursera

  • Skill developmentnot Sana
  • Career advancementnot Sana
  • Professional certificatesnot Sana
  • Degree programsnot Sana

Sana

  • An organisation whose employees repeatedly ask the same policy and process questions in Slack and where the answer already exists in a document nobody findsnot Coursera
  • A Workday customer wanting learning and an internal assistant on the same employee record rather than a separate LMS contractnot Coursera
  • Onboarding at a fast-growing company where content goes stale faster than the training team can rewrite coursesnot Coursera
  • Sales enablement where reps need an answer about a product or a contract term during a call, not a course to complete next weeknot Coursera

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Coursera

  • Free audit does not include certificate upon completion
  • Limited offline access to course materials
  • Paid specializations require monthly subscription rather than one-time purchase

Sana

  • Workday completed its acquisition on 4 November 2025, so Sana is now an HCM vendor's capability; if you do not run Workday, the roadmap will be shaped around a platform you do not use and standalone availability is not guaranteed long term.
  • Answer quality depends entirely on the state of your internal content, so an organisation with contradictory or outdated documents gets a confident assistant citing the wrong version, which is worse than not having one.
  • Permission-aware retrieval across many source systems is difficult to get exactly right, and a misconfigured connector can surface content to employees who should not see it, which makes the security review substantial.
  • Compliance-heavy training needs, such as certification tracking, regulator-mandated evidence and SCORM-based external content, are handled less thoroughly than in traditional learning management systems built for that purpose.
  • Pricing is unpublished and now negotiated in the context of a Workday relationship, which reduces a non-Workday buyer's leverage and makes a like-for-like comparison against a standalone LMS difficult.

Pricing, plan by plan

Coursera

Free
  • Free AuditFree
  • Coursera Plus$59/month
  • Professional Certificates$39/month

Sana

On request
  • Sana$undefined/year
    • Per-employee annual subscription
    • Agents and Learn licensed together or separately depending on the agreement
    • Connector scope affects pricing

Which should you pick?

Choose Coursera if

  • You need video lectures.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want quizzes.
Coursera review

Choose Sana if

  • You need sana agents.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want sana learn.
Sana review

Questions people ask

Is Coursera or Sana better?
Neither clearly leads. Coursera starts at Free and Sana at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Coursera or Sana?
Coursera has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Coursera and On request for Sana.
Does Coursera or Sana run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Coursera for free?
Yes. Coursera has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sana starts at On request.
What is Coursera best used for?
Coursera is most often used for skill development, career advancement, professional certificates, degree programs. Of those, skill development and career advancement are not what Sana is typically brought in for.
What can Coursera do that Sana cannot?
Coursera covers Video lectures, Quizzes, Peer assessments, Certificates. Sana covers Sana Agents, Sana Learn, Enterprise search, Live collaborative sessions.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Coursera: Can I audit courses for free?

Yes. Most Coursera courses can be audited for free, allowing access to videos and assignments without a certificate.

Source
Sana: Is Sana still an independent company?

No. Workday completed its acquisition on 4 November 2025 for approximately $1.1bn; the integrated experience begins rolling out in 2026.

Coursera: What is Coursera Plus?

Coursera Plus is a subscription for $59/month or $399/year providing unlimited access to over 7,000 courses and specializations with certificates.

Source
Sana: Is it an LMS or a search tool?

Both, but the emphasis is on answering questions from your existing content. Traditional course delivery and completion tracking are secondary.

Coursera: Do enterprises get custom integrations?

Yes. Enterprise plans include SSO, APIs, AI-assisted Course Builder, and 30+ LMS integrations with dedicated customer success managers.

Source
Sana: Does it work if we are not a Workday customer?

Currently yes, but the product direction now serves Workday's platform strategy, so weigh that in a multi-year commitment.

Coursera: What is the cost of a degree program?

Coursera offers accredited degree programs starting at $50,000 and above, with costs varying by program and institution.

Source
Sana: How is it priced?

Per employee per year, unpublished, and increasingly negotiated as part of a Workday agreement.

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