--- title: "Coursera vs MIT OpenCourseWare: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Coursera or MIT OpenCourseWare more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the MOOC platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/coursera-vs-mit-opencourseware" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Coursera vs MIT OpenCourseWare: Which is searched more? Is Coursera or MIT OpenCourseWare more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the MOOC platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Coursera and MIT OpenCourseWare - **Competitive set**: MOOC platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Coursera Share of Search**: 18.1% - **MIT OpenCourseWare Share of Search**: 0.73% ## Is Coursera or MIT OpenCourseWare more popular in search? - In September 2026, Coursera had more branded searches than MIT OpenCourseWare among MOOC platforms worldwide. Coursera had about 3.4 million branded searches, while MIT OpenCourseWare had 135,000. Coursera made up 18.1% of all MOOC platform searches we track, and MIT OpenCourseWare accounted for 0.73%. - Coursera was ahead of MIT OpenCourseWare in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Coursera’s share of searches among MOOC platforms worldwide moved from 19.3% to 18.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 4.1M to 3.4M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, MIT OpenCourseWare’s share of searches among MOOC platforms worldwide moved from 0.64% to 0.73%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 135K. ## Top MOOC platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Coursera appeared in all five answers. MIT OpenCourseWare was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Coursera was listed before MIT OpenCourseWare in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Coursera | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | edX | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Khan Academy | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | MIT OpenCourseWare | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | FutureLearn | 5th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Udemy | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | OpenLearn | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Udacity | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about MOOC platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which MOOC platform should I use?": 1. Coursera, 2. edX, 3. Khan Academy, 4. Udemy, 5. FutureLearn - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best MOOC platforms?": 1. Coursera, 2. edX, 3. MIT OpenCourseWare, 4. Khan Academy, 5. FutureLearn, 6. Udacity, 7. OpenLearn - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best MOOC platform for online learning?": 1. Coursera, 2. edX, 3. MIT OpenCourseWare, 4. Khan Academy, 5. FutureLearn - Searched Google, AI Overview "online course platform": 1. Coursera, 2. edX, 3. Udemy - Searched Google, AI Overview "free online courses": 1. Coursera, 2. edX, 3. OpenLearn Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for MOOC platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Coursera lost share of searches among MOOC platforms worldwide, from 19.4% to 18.1%. - MIT OpenCourseWare’s share of searches among MOOC platforms worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 1.3% to 0.73% in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Coursera estimated searches | Coursera Share of Search | Coursera rank | MIT OpenCourseWare estimated searches | MIT OpenCourseWare Share of Search | MIT OpenCourseWare rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 4.1M | 19.3% | 3 | 135K | 0.64% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 3.4M | 18.2% | 3 | 110K | 0.6% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 3.4M | 21.3% | 3 | 110K | 0.7% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 4.1M | 23.4% | 3 | 135K | 0.77% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 3.4M | 21.2% | 3 | 110K | 0.7% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 3.4M | 21.1% | 3 | 165K | 1% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 3.4M | 21.4% | 3 | 135K | 0.86% | 5 | | May 2026 | 3.4M | 23.5% | 3 | 135K | 0.95% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | 3.4M | 25.5% | 3 | 165K | 1.3% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | 3.4M | 23.4% | 3 | 165K | 1.2% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | 3.4M | 19.4% | 3 | 165K | 0.95% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 3.4M | 18.1% | 2 | 135K | 0.73% | 5 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Coursera’s and MIT OpenCourseWare’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Coursera**: Measured on the search term “coursera”. - **MIT OpenCourseWare**: Measured on the search terms “mit ocw” and “mit opencourseware”, summed into one figure. - [Coursera profile](/demand/global-en/brands/coursera) - [MIT OpenCourseWare profile](/demand/global-en/brands/mit-opencourseware) - [All MOOC platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/mooc-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Coursera or MIT OpenCourseWare more popular in search? In September 2026, Coursera had more branded searches than MIT OpenCourseWare among MOOC platforms worldwide. Coursera had about 3.4 million branded searches, while MIT OpenCourseWare had 135,000. Coursera made up 18.1% of all MOOC platform searches we track, and MIT OpenCourseWare accounted for 0.73%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Coursera vs MIT OpenCourseWare: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/coursera-vs-mit-opencourseware This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/coursera-vs-mit-opencourseware. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.