Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

LinkedIn Learning VS Column

Compare LinkedIn Learning VS Column and see what are their differences

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LinkedIn Learning logo LinkedIn Learning

Online training through LinkedIn's professional network.

Column logo Column

Social network built to be high-signal in a world of noise.
  • LinkedIn Learning Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25
  • Column Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-30

LinkedIn Learning features and specs

  • Professional Focus
    LinkedIn Learning offers courses tailored for career development and professional growth, making it ideal for individuals looking to improve job-related skills.
  • Expert Instructors
    Courses are taught by industry experts and professionals, ensuring high-quality content and real-world relevance.
  • Wide Range of Topics
    Covers a vast array of subjects including business, technology, creative arts, and personal development, catering to a diverse audience.
  • Certification
    Completion of courses can earn you certificates, which can be added to your LinkedIn profile to showcase newly acquired skills to potential employers.
  • Integration with LinkedIn
    Seamlessly integrates with your LinkedIn profile, allowing you to easily share your learning progress and achievements with your network.
  • Flexible Learning
    Offers flexible learning options with courses that can be accessed anytime and from anywhere, allowing you to learn at your own pace.
  • Corporate Plans
    Provides corporate learning solutions for businesses, offering company-wide training to improve employee skills and productivity.

Possible disadvantages of LinkedIn Learning

  • Cost
    LinkedIn Learning requires a subscription, which might be expensive for some users, particularly when compared to other free or lower-cost learning platforms.
  • Limited Interactivity
    Courses typically lack interactive elements and hands-on projects, which can be less engaging for learners who prefer a more interactive or practical approach.
  • Content Depth
    While there is a wide range of topics, some courses might not offer the depth or specialization required for advanced learners.
  • Subscription Model
    Access to courses is available only as long as the subscription is active, meaning users lose access to all content if they cancel their membership.
  • Platform Dependence
    Users must access content through the LinkedIn Learning platform, limiting the flexibility to download and use materials offline in some cases.
  • Overlapping Content
    Some courses may cover similar content, leading to redundancy and making it harder to find unique or distinct learning opportunities.

Column features and specs

  • Bank-owned infrastructure
    Column operates as a nationally chartered bank itself (Column N.A.), rather than partnering with a third-party sponsor bank. This reduces the layers of intermediaries typical in banking-as-a-service models, potentially leading to more reliable service, fewer conflicts of interest, and direct control over compliance and risk management.
  • Developer-first API design
    Column offers modern, well-documented REST APIs that are designed with engineers in mind, making it easier for fintech companies and developers to integrate banking services such as ACH, wire transfers, and account management directly into their products.
  • Direct access to payment rails
    Because Column is a chartered bank, it has direct access to Federal Reserve systems like ACH, Fedwire, and FedNow, which can result in faster processing times and more reliable payment operations compared to companies relying on indirect access through sponsor banks.
  • Experienced leadership
    Column was founded by William Hockey, co-founder of Plaid, bringing significant fintech industry experience and credibility. This background can inspire confidence among potential partners and investors regarding the platform's vision and execution capability.
  • Transparent and flexible pricing
    Column is known for offering clear, usage-based pricing models without hidden fees, which can be appealing to startups and fintechs looking for predictable costs as they scale their banking operations.

Possible disadvantages of Column

  • Limited track record
    As a relatively new entrant in the banking-as-a-service and chartered bank space, Column has less historical performance data and fewer long-term case studies compared to more established banking infrastructure providers, which may create uncertainty for risk-averse clients.
  • U.S.-only operations
    Column's banking charter and services are limited to the United States, which restricts its usefulness for companies seeking to offer banking services internationally or in multiple countries.
  • Technical integration burden
    Because Column emphasizes a developer-first, API-driven approach, companies without strong in-house engineering resources may find it challenging to implement and maintain integrations compared to more turnkey banking-as-a-service solutions.
  • Shared compliance responsibility
    While Column handles core banking compliance, partner companies still need to manage certain regulatory and compliance obligations related to their specific use cases, which can add complexity and require dedicated legal or compliance expertise.
  • Smaller ecosystem and support network
    Compared to larger, more established banking-as-a-service providers, Column may have a smaller partner ecosystem, fewer third-party integrations, and potentially less extensive customer support infrastructure, which could impact scalability for some businesses.

Analysis of Column

Overall verdict

  • Column is a well-regarded banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform because it operates as a nationally chartered bank itself rather than relying on a separate partner bank, which simplifies compliance, reduces intermediary risk, and gives developers direct API-level access to core banking functions like payments, accounts, and card issuing.

Why this product is good

  • It is a real, chartered bank (not just a middleware layer), which reduces the multi-party risk seen in typical BaaS stacks that rely on third-party partner banks
  • Developer-first design with clean, well-documented APIs for building payments, ACH, wire transfers, card issuing, and account management
  • Backed by reputable investors (including Stripe), signaling strong technical and financial credibility
  • Direct access to the Fed and payment rails, which can mean faster settlement and fewer intermediaries
  • Transparent, predictable pricing structure compared to some legacy BaaS providers
  • Strong focus on compliance and risk infrastructure built into the platform itself

Recommended for

  • Fintech startups building embedded banking, lending, or payments products
  • Companies wanting to avoid the complexity and risk of traditional sponsor-bank BaaS relationships
  • Engineering-heavy teams that prioritize API quality and control over banking infrastructure
  • Businesses needing reliable ACH, wire, and card issuing capabilities without building their own bank relationships
  • Mid-to-large scale fintechs that need a stable, directly regulated banking partner as they grow

LinkedIn Learning videos

LinkedIn Learning Review

More videos:

  • Review - Is LinkedIn Learning Worth it?
  • Demo - LinkedIn Learning Demo & Review for Job Seekers

Column videos

No Column videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

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User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LinkedIn Learning and Column

LinkedIn Learning Reviews

10 Pluralsight Alternatives & Competitors (2024) โ€“ Our Picks
LinkedIn Learning is an adaptive learning platform that provides a wide range of on-demand courses to keep users up-to-date on their job prospects. This helps them learn and search for jobs simultaneously, which is highly beneficial for those who are looking for job opportunities.
10 Best Treehouse Alternatives in 2024
LinkedIn Learning was formerly known as Lynda.com. It caters to individual coding courses, as well as, Treehouse alternatives free and team engagements for skill development. It has more than 17,000 courses in its library with an average of 50 added every week. Real-world experts teach these courses for in-demand skill development.
Top 11 Coursera Alternatives 2024
LinkedIn Learning is an online resource that provides access to several professional courses from well-known instructors. Users can upgrade their skills with LinkedIn learning and simultaneously look for opportunities on LinkedIn. The online learning portal includes beginner-friendly video lessons for every course.
Source: freshlearn.com
14 Best Free and Paid Coursera Alternatives For Creators (2024)
LinkedIn Learning is a go-to for people who want to improve their professional career. Itโ€™s well known in the professional community and many higher ed institutions have partnered with the platform to extend the learning opportunities for their students.
New Coursera Alternatives โ€“ Which Is Best for You? (2020 UPDATE)
Since LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is part of the LinkedIn suite of services, itโ€™s no surprise that itโ€™s very focused on the business world. Offering around 13,000 courses, the platform covers business, technology, and creativity.

Column Reviews

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing LinkedIn Learning and Column, you can also consider the following products

Udemy - Online Courses - Learn Anything, On Your Schedule

Adobe Learning Manager - Adobe Learning Manager (formerly Adobe Captivate Prime LMS) is easy to setup and helps in delivering engaging learning experiences in a personalized manner across devices.

LMS Collaborator - LMS Collaborator is a state-of-the-art learning management system designed to meet the need for corporate training, upskilling, and evaluation with flexible integration abilities.

Moodle - Moodle is the world's most popular learning management system. Start creating your online learning site in minutes!

MindTickle - MindTickle is a sales readiness platform to reduce ramp time, drive consistent messaging, & ensure effective field communication

Datacamp - DataCamp is a massive open online course (MooC) platform that helps everyone from novices to experts hone their skills with data science.