By Clay Shumate · Prices checked October 2026
Short answer: For most individual teachers, the best value is a free base (Edutopia plus your state’s free PD portal) and one paid option chosen by what you need. If you need ideas and reading, the ISTE+ASCD Enhanced Digital membership ($99 a year, with four ebooks and two Learning Academy courses) is the strongest dollar-for-dollar subscription. If you need graduate credit for a pay raise or recertification, Teaching Channel (formerly Learners Edge) is priced per course at $289–$489, so buy only the credits you need and confirm your state or district accepts them first. Coursera Plus ($399 a year) only pays off if you’ll finish several courses and your district counts the certificates.
Value here means three things together: what you pay, whether your state or district will count it, and whether it changes what you do in class on Monday. This page compares the options we could verify on all three. For a broader look at PD formats, see our guide to online professional development for teachers.
How do the main online PD options compare?
No single subscription wins on all three measures, so match the platform to the job.
| Platform | Price for one teacher | Credit or record you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edutopia | Free | None | Classroom-tested ideas, videos and podcasts |
| State portals (example: Texas Gateway) | Free | State CPE credit, in Texas | Required hours in your own state |
| ISTE+ASCD membership | $59–$299/yr (digital $59, $99, $199) | Enhanced and Pro include two Learning Academy courses a year | Reading, books, webinars, a professional network |
| ISTE+ASCD Learning Academy | $399/yr individual subscription | Completion records; 100+ self-paced courses | Teachers who want many short, focused courses |
| Teaching Channel (formerly Learners Edge) | $289 / $389 / $489 per 1-, 2- or 3-credit course; non-credit $99–$189 | Graduate credit through partner universities, or a letter of completion | Salary lane changes and recertification |
| Coursera Plus | $59/month or $399/yr | Course certificates (not degrees) | Teachers who’ll finish many courses, including outside education |
| edX | Free to audit; verified certificates usually $50–$300 | Certificate only on the paid track | Trying a subject before paying |
| Kappa Delta Pi | $95/yr practicing teachers; $65 candidates | Membership certificate; webinars and workshops | Community, publications, scholarships |
Sources are linked in each section below. Prices change, so confirm on each provider’s site before you buy.
What is the best free online PD for teachers?
Edutopia is the best free source of ideas, and your state’s own portal is the best free source of countable hours. Edutopia is run by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3), which describes it as “a free resource” that spotlights what’s working in education (GuideStar profile). It publishes videos, podcasts and topic pages (Edutopia, About). It doesn’t award credit.
Some states run free portals that do. The Texas Education Agency’s Texas Gateway, for example, offers free self-paced courses that earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit for Texas educators (Texas Gateway). Check your state department of education and your regional in-service center before you pay anyone. More free options are collected in our free professional development for teachers guide.
Is an ISTE+ASCD membership worth it for one teacher?
The $99 Enhanced Digital tier is the sweet spot for most teachers. ASCD now operates as ISTE+ASCD, and it lists these individual tiers (ISTE+ASCD membership):
- Starter Digital, $59: eight digital issues of Educational Leadership, bi-weekly expert webinars, topic guides and an online network.
- Enhanced Digital, $99: everything above, plus four member ebooks and two free Learning Academy courses a year. ISTE+ASCD values the books at $130 and the courses at $170.
- Pro Digital, $199: eight ebooks and two research journals, plus a companion membership.
- Print versions run $79, $129 and $299.
The membership page also lists 25% off Learning Academy courses. Dues are non-refundable and not prorated. If you’d rather have unlimited courses than books, the Learning Academy individual subscription is $399 a year for 100+ self-paced courses in two-hour and five-hour formats, with completion records (ISTE+ASCD Learning Academy). The page doesn’t say those records count as CEUs, so check with your district.
What does Teaching Channel cost for graduate credit?
Teaching Channel charges per course, not by subscription: $289 for one credit, $389 for two and $489 for three. Non-credit, hours-only versions cost $99, $149 and $189 and come with a letter of completion. New customers get $100 off a first 3-credit course, and buying more than one graduate-credit course in one order takes 10% off (Teaching Channel pricing).
Learners Edge became part of Teaching Channel in 2023 (Teaching Channel), so if you’re searching for Learners Edge courses, this is where they are now. Credit is issued through accredited partner universities, including American College of Education, Southern New Hampshire University, Concordia University St. Paul and others. Some partners only accept residents of certain states (Teaching Channel university partners).
At $489 for three credits, that’s about $163 a credit, or about $130 a credit with the first-course discount. Before you buy, get written confirmation from your district or state that the credit counts for what you need.
Are Coursera and edX good for teacher PD?
They’re good for learning and weak for credit. Coursera Plus costs $59 a month or $399 a year and covers most of more than 10,000 courses and certificates, but not degrees or some programs (Coursera Plus). Education-specific options exist, such as Commonwealth Education Trust’s Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Introduction, which is included with Coursera Plus and rated 4.6 from 875 reviews (Coursera).
edX lets you audit most open courses free. The audit track doesn’t include certificates or graded assignments, and verified certificates usually cost $50–$300 per course (edX Help Center).
The catch for both: a course certificate isn’t automatically a state-approved CEU. If you need hours that count, ask first.
Is Kappa Delta Pi a PD subscription?
It’s closer to a professional society than a course platform. Dues are $95 a year for practicing teachers and $65 for teacher candidates, and some chapters add local dues. Benefits include webinars and workshops, The Teacher Advocate magazine, The Educational Forum journal, scholarships and discounts (KDP FAQ). Its FAQ doesn’t describe formal courses or continuing education credit.
How should a teacher choose?
- Find out what counts. Ask your district which providers it accepts for recertification hours and salary credit. That one email can save hundreds of dollars.
- Use free first. Edutopia for ideas, your state portal for hours.
- Need graduate credit? Buy individual Teaching Channel courses, and only as many credits as you need.
- Need ideas and reading? ISTE+ASCD Enhanced Digital at $99.
- Taking a lot of courses? Compare the Learning Academy ($399) and Coursera Plus ($399) based on which catalog fits your subject.
- Apply one thing. PD that doesn’t change a lesson isn’t good value at any price. Our PD courses guide and continuing education guide go further.
Where does Elevate the Norm fit?
It isn’t a PD platform and doesn’t award credit. Elevate the Norm is this site’s own free grades 6–12 classroom approach, built by Clay Shumate, a certified 6–12 social studies teacher, and it hasn’t been independently evaluated. Its classroom management and project-based learning materials are free with no email gate on the resource library, which makes them a no-cost complement to whatever PD you buy. If you’re weighing a schoolwide framework instead of individual PD, start with the classroom culture frameworks Q&A hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free professional development for teachers?
Edutopia is a strong free source of classroom ideas, and many state education agencies run free portals that award state-approved hours, such as Texas Gateway for Texas teachers.
How much is an ASCD membership?
ASCD now operates as ISTE+ASCD. Individual digital memberships are $59, $99 or $199 a year, and print memberships are $79, $129 or $299. The $99 Enhanced Digital tier includes four ebooks and two Learning Academy courses.
Is Learners Edge the same as Teaching Channel?
Yes. Learners Edge became part of Teaching Channel in 2023. Graduate-credit courses cost $289, $389 or $489 for one, two or three credits.
Do Coursera certificates count as teacher CEUs?
Not automatically. Whether a certificate counts depends on your state and district, so ask before you pay. Coursera Plus costs $59 a month or $399 a year.
What is the best value PD subscription for one teacher?
For ideas and reading, ISTE+ASCD Enhanced Digital at $99 a year. For graduate credit, individual Teaching Channel courses, bought only as needed after confirming your district accepts them.
How this page is maintained
Prices and plan details come from each provider’s own site as listed in October 2026, and we only include platforms whose prices we could confirm. Corrections follow the editorial standards and corrections policy.