Pluralsight vs O’Reilly Safari
There’s Eclipse vs Intellij, tabs vs spaces, and then there’s Pluralsight vs O’Reilly Safari. While learning platforms may not be as contentious as coding styles or IDEs, we do have our preferences as Java Developers.
Pluralsight and O’Reilly are far from the only paid options, but are two of the best and worth comparing. You can also find plenty of good content elsewhere at sites such as Udemy or Lynda, now known as LinkedIn Learning.
A Few Caveats
It’s worth noting up front that I’m comparing Pluralsight vs O’Reilly Safari on some specific content areas that I’ve personally frequented. These content areas are Java, Spring, Cloud, Microservices, Docker, and Angular.
Pluralsight
As a video dominant platform, Pluralsight really shines with its user experience. Both the desktop and mobile usability are outstanding. The quality of Pluralsight content is also very good.
Pluralsight also offers the ability to download content to your mobile device. This is definitely useful for offline scenarios or to prevent choppy streaming from a mobile data connection.
The content library overall is well sized though not extremely large. This can actually be a benefit as it’s easier to find what you want without having to choose between 10 similar options.
Another item in the plus column is cost. While a monthly plan costs roughly the same as O’Reilly Safari, the yearly subscription option is much more affordable. I’ve seen regular discounts on a yearly plan for Pluralsight for $199 down from its regular price of $299.
There are also some additional features such as Learning Paths and Certification Practice Exams. I haven’t personally utilized these, but they may appeal to some learners.
O’Reilly Safari
The content library is massive! The best feature of this platform is having access to both video and written content.
The written content library alone is huge and has books from O’Reilly, Packt Publishing, Manning Publications, and Apress to name just a few. If you’re fine with digital copies of tech books, this alone makes the O’Reilly Safari service a good value.
The video content on Safari can feel a little sparse, though it is not. I think it’s just that the written content library is so big that it feels this way. You can easily search for just video or just written content to remedy this.
The large amount of content also means that you can reliably find the most up to date books or videos. You’d be hard pressed to find a popular technology that doesn’t have a number of content options available.
Understandably, this all comes with an additional cost. Though the monthly subscription price at $39 is comparable to Pluralsight’s at $29, the real difference shows up in the yearly price.
O’Reilly Safari checks in at $399 for a yearly subscription.
***UPDATE***
An intrepid reader gave me a great tip to check out ACM membership. This membership looks to include O’Reilly Safari access for a much reduced price. As of this writing a yearly ACM membership is $149, regularly priced at $198.
While I have not personally gone this route, you should check it out if you’re interested in O’Reilly Safari.
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Likewise, another area of improvement for Safari is the user experience, especially when watching video content. The Pluralsight experience just feels better both on mobile and desktop. O’Reilly Safari’s video experience isn’t bad, but it could use some improvement to be on par with its top competitor.
Summary
The Pluralsight vs O’Reilly Safari comparison really boils down to what’s most important to you.
Are you primarily interested in video content? Are you cost sensitive? Is user experience a big concern for you? Pluralsight will deliver the goods if these are your determinant factors.
Do you want a massive content library? Is written content important to you? Does a moderate price difference mean little to you? Then O’Reilly Safari will be a better choice for you.
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either platform. I’ve subscribed to both and found them to be excellent resources for ongoing learning.