Before you cancel, know this: most Coursera courses can be audited for free. You get all the lectures, readings, and materials without paying. You just can't submit graded assignments or earn a certificate. If you're paying $59 USD/month and only watching videos, you might not need to cancel at all. You might just need to stop paying.
Which subscription do you have?
Coursera has several subscription types, and the cancel process is the same for all of them, but it helps to know what you're dealing with:
- Coursera Plus Monthly ($59 USD/mo): Unlimited access to 7,000+ courses. Cancel anytime.
- Coursera Plus Annual ($399 USD/yr): Same access, paid yearly. 14-day refund window.
- Individual course subscription: Some specialisations charge a monthly fee ($39-79 USD/mo) until you finish. These auto-renew.
Check what you're subscribed to at coursera.org/my-purchases.
How to cancel (website)
- Go to coursera.org and sign in
- Click your profile icon (top right), then Settings
- Select My Purchases (or go directly to coursera.org/my-purchases)
- Click Manage Subscriptions
- Find the subscription you want to cancel and click Cancel
- Confirm the cancellation
Cancel from the Coursera app
- Open the Coursera app and tap the settings gear icon (top right)
- Tap My Subscriptions
- Find the subscription and tap Manage Subscription
- Tap Cancel subscription and confirm
If you subscribed through Apple or Google Play, you'll need to cancel through those platforms instead (same process as any other app store subscription).
You keep access to course materials until the end of your current billing period. Any certificates you've already earned are yours permanently, stored in your Coursera account and on any linked LinkedIn profile. Your course progress and notes are saved, so if you resubscribe later you pick up where you left off. After your billing period ends, you lose access to graded assignments and new certificates, but you can still audit courses for free.
The 14-day refund window
Coursera Plus (both monthly and annual) comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. If you signed up less than 14 days ago, you can request a full refund through the Coursera Help Centre.
This only applies to your first Coursera Plus purchase. Renewals are not refundable. For individual course subscriptions, refund eligibility is within 14 days of purchase or before you earn a certificate, whichever comes first.
Current pricing
Coursera bills in USD. Approximate AUD conversions below.
| Plan | Price (USD) | AUD approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Audit (free) | $0 | $0 |
| Individual course | $49-99 USD one-off | ~$79-160 AUD |
| Specialisation subscription | $39-79 USD/mo | ~$63-127 AUD/mo |
| Coursera Plus Monthly | $59 USD/mo | ~$95 AUD/mo |
| Coursera Plus Annual | $399 USD/yr ($33/mo) | ~$640 AUD/yr |
If you're on Coursera Plus Monthly and plan to keep learning, the annual plan saves about 43%. Worth considering before cancelling outright.
Audit courses instead of paying
This is the detail most cancel guides skip. Coursera lets you audit the majority of individual courses for free. You get:
- All video lectures
- All readings and course materials
- Access to discussion forums
You don't get graded assignments, quizzes, or a certificate. But if you're learning for your own benefit and don't need the credential, auditing is genuinely enough.
To audit a course: go to the course page, click Enrol for Free, and when prompted, look for the Audit link (usually smaller text below the main enrol button). No credit card required.
Not every course offers the audit option (some specialisations and professional certificates don't), but most individual courses from universities do.
Free alternatives
- edX (edx.org) offers audit mode on most courses, similar to Coursera. University-level content from MIT, Harvard, and others.
- MIT OpenCourseWare (ocw.mit.edu) has full MIT course materials published for free. No enrolment, no deadlines, no certificates.
- Khan Academy (khanacademy.org) covers maths, science, computing, and economics. Completely free, no subscription.
- Coursera's own audit mode as described above. You might not need to leave the platform at all.
One subscription reviewed. But Coursera probably isn't the only recurring charge you've been meaning to look at.
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See what you're paying forChris Raad
Chris is the founder of Subtracker. He built this tool after experiencing the pain of discovering thousands of dollars in unused SaaS sprawl just before tax time.