Learning platforms 🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland Since 2007 4.8 · 12K ratings

Alison

Free online courses with paid certificates and diplomas, from Galway.

Visit alison.com All companies
free CPD-accredited courses
6,000+
learners in 193 countries, by Alison
50M+
graduates, by Alison
15M+
on Trustpilot, 57,134 reviews
4.5

About Alison

Alison is an Irish online learning platform that Mike Feerick launched in Galway in 2007. It has more than 6,000 free self-paced courses at certificate and diploma level, and says 50 million people in 193 countries have used it. Studying and passing the assessment cost nothing. Alison earns money from ads, merchandise and the sale of certificates and diplomas, from $29.28 for a digital certificate in its price list. The CPD Certification Service in the UK accredits its course publishing process, and Alison Premium removes ads for €7.99 a month.

Alison publishes short online courses that anyone can take for free. A certificate course takes 2 to 3 hours and a diploma course 8 to 15 hours. Learners pass with 70% on beginner certificate assessments and 80% on all others, and they can retake an assessment as often as they need. After passing, a learner can buy a digital or printed certificate or diploma, or download a free Learner Record as proof of completion.

Mike Feerick launched Alison in Galway on 21 April 2007 with six courses. The company behind it is Capernaum Limited, registered in Ireland in 2004, and Alison calls itself a for-profit social enterprise. Feerick says Alison makes its money through advertising, merchandise and the sale of certificates and diplomas. The headquarters is Mount Carmel, a former Carmelite monastery in Loughrea, and the team works remotely.

Courses come from 445+ course creators and fall into 10 categories, from business and IT to health and teaching. The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK) accredits Alison’s publishing process, so a certificate can count towards CPD hours. Alzheimer’s Disease International accredited nine dementia courses in 2026. Alison also runs a free LMS for organisations, the paid LMS+, psychometric tests, a CV builder and an app for iPhone and Android.

History

  1. 2004 Capernaum Limited, the company that trades as Alison, is registered in Ireland on 26 March.
  2. 2007 Mike Feerick launches Alison in Galway on 21 April with six courses.
  3. 2008 Patrick Lynch first funds Alison. He becomes a shareholder in 2010.
  4. 2010 Alison is one of four winners of the UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for ICT in education.
  5. 2016 The President of India announces a partnership between Alison and the National Skill Development Corporation on 5 July.
  6. 2021 The European Economic and Social Committee awards Alison its Civil Solidarity Prize in February for a free coronavirus course.
  7. 2021 Buys Dash Beyond, an Indian career development company, in March. The current iPhone app comes out in May.
  8. 2025 Former Irish minister Ciarán Cannon joins as Vice President of Global Affairs. Alison adds a psychometric suite to LMS+.
  9. 2025 Alison graduates its one millionth learner in the United States in May.
  10. 2026 Alzheimer’s Disease International accredits nine Alison dementia courses in September.
  11. 2026 Launches Workforce Certified for US public workforce organisations on 2 October.

Leadership

  • Mike Feerick Founder and CEO
  • Patrick Lynch Investor and shareholder, leads the audit committee
  • Andrea Sinclair Non-executive director
  • Peter High Non-executive director
  • Olivia Cosgrove Head of Government Solutions and Social Impact

The first four are on the Alison board of directors page. Olivia Cosgrove is named in the Workforce Certified press release of 2 October 2026.

Careers

alison.com careers page
8 open roles on 7 October 2026
  • Sales3
  • Marketing3
  • Publishing2

Perks

  • Remote-first, with some overlap with Irish working hours
  • Flexible hours and no weekend work
  • Team meet-ups every two months paid by Alison
  • Upskilling with Alison courses and internal workshops

How Alison courses work

pass mark, 70% on beginner certificate courses
80%
per certificate course
2–3 h
per diploma course
8–15 h
  • Free courses and assessments
  • Unlimited assessment retakes
  • No time limit
  • Free Learner Record
  • Paid digital and printed certificates
  • CPD UK accredited publishing process
  • ADI accredited dementia courses
  • English and Spanish site
  • iPhone and Android app
  • Free LMS for organisations

Course categories at Alison

Business and work3

  • Business, 1,823 courses
  • Management, 1,136
  • Sales & Marketing, 456

Technology and trades2

  • Information Technology, 1,319
  • Engineering & Construction, 864

Health and teaching2

  • Health, 1,160
  • Teaching & Academics, 1,695

Languages and personal growth3

  • Personal Development, 1,375
  • Language, 319
  • English, 55

Course counts on the alison.com home page on 7 October 2026, grouped by us. A course can sit in more than one category, so the counts add up to more than the 6,000+ courses Alison lists.

Products

  • Free courses Self-paced certificate courses of 2 to 3 hours and diploma courses of 8 to 15 hours. Studying, the assessment and the free Learner Record cost nothing. The Diploma in Caregiving has 980,508 learners. All courses
  • Certificates and diplomas After passing, a learner can buy a digital certificate, a printed or framed certificate, or a diploma. Each purchase includes an academic transcript. Printed copies go by untracked post and can take up to 28 business days. Accreditation
  • Alison Premium A subscription that removes ads from the whole site. Every paid month adds a 10% certificate discount, up to 50%, and unused discounts stay after cancelling. It costs €7.99 a month or €79 a year. Go Premium
  • Alison app Courses and assessments on iPhone and Android. Offline learning is paid: Lite downloads one course for $1, Unlimited costs $5 a month or $40 a year. The final assessment needs an internet connection. Get the app
  • Psychometric tests and career tools Free aptitude tests (verbal, numerical and abstract), a workplace personality test, a wellbeing assessment with Welliba and an English proficiency test. A CV builder and a Career Ready Plan are also free. Psychometric tests
  • Alison for Business A free LMS for unlimited users with the 6,000+ course library, course assignment and progress reports. LMS+ adds psychometric tests and costs from $99 a month. Alison LMS

How much is Alison?

  • Courses and assessments $0 free, with ads
  • Digital Certificate $29.28 one-off per course, €27.95
  • Printed Certificate $41.26 one-off, digital + print, €39.93
  • Framed Certificate $43 one-off, digital + framed print, €41
  • Digital Diploma $55.10 one-off per diploma course, €52
  • Framed Diploma $134 one-off, digital + framed print, €127
  • Premium Monthly €7.99/mo €7.99, billed monthly
  • Save 18% Premium Yearly €6.60/mo €79, billed yearly

Is Alison free?

All courses and assessments are free, with ads. After passing, the Learner Record and Learner Verification are free downloads. Paying for a certificate is optional.

Certificate prices are list prices in US dollars and euros from the Alison shop price list loaded with alison.com pages on 7 October 2026. Alison’s terms say the final price depends on the certificate type, the course, the country of the account, local taxes and currency conversion, so checkout prices differ by country. A UK reviewer on Trustpilot paid £18.99 for a certificate in October 2026. Premium was shown to us in euros only. Premium renews automatically.

How to cancel Alison Premium

Alison terms of use
  • alison.com ↗
    1. Log in to your Alison account
    2. Go to Account settings
    3. Select Cancel Premium Membership. Premium stays active until the end of the paid period
  • Support team ↗
    1. Write to support@alison.com or use the chat
    2. Ask to cancel Alison Premium
    3. Wait for the email that confirms the cancellation
  • Premium has no minimum term.
  • Unused certificate discounts stay on the account after cancelling.
  • You cannot resubscribe until the current billing cycle ends.
  • Purchases in the app go through Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Refund rules

Premium Monthly
No refund for the month already paid.
Premium Yearly
Alison refunds the unspent time. Months already used are charged at the Premium Monthly price.
Certificates
Refund requests go to customer service by email, and Alison can refuse them. There is no refund for design preference or if an employer or body does not recognise the certificate.
Offline learning
The Lite plan for one course is non-refundable. Unlimited renews automatically.

From the Alison Premium FAQ and the terms of use, checked on 7 October 2026.

Alison for Business

Alison for Business
  • 01The free LMS has unlimited users and the full library of 6,000+ CPD-accredited courses.
  • 02Admins create and assign courses and see completions in real-time reports.
  • 03LMS+ adds aptitude, DISC personality and English tests for hiring and reviews.
  • 04Alison says 12,000+ organisations have trained people with its LMS.
  • 05Workforce Certified, launched in October 2026, serves US public workforce boards.

The LMS is free. LMS+ costs $99 (Starter), $249 (Growth) or $599 (Enterprise) a month billed monthly, with 20% off on annual billing.

Alison app ratings

4.5Trustpilot · Excellent 57,134 reviews · company profile claimed in November 2018

App details, App Store US

Current version
398, released 29 September 2026
First release on iOS
24 May 2021
Requires
iOS 15.6 or later
Size
118.7 MB
Age rating
17+
App Store category
Education
App languages
English, Spanish
Google Play
10M+ downloads, contains ads
Price
Free to download, certificates and offline learning inside

Is Alison worth it?

What learners like

What learners criticise

What learners write in reviews, not our rating. Most negative reviews are about the paid certificate. Alison’s terms say certificates are optional and paid, and that learners must check in advance whether an employer or professional body accepts them.

Alison reviews

  • The Course was great!
    “I also appreciate the fact that you were truthful to what you said, the lessons were for free.”
    Paul Kyenge · 7 October 2026 · App Store
  • The courses are well structures and easy to follow
    “The courses are clear, well-structured, and easy to follow.”
    Lorena Osorio · 7 October 2026 · App Store
  • I loved the course
    “I couldn’t register with the Art Therapist HCPC register. The Alison route of learning is not recognised.”
    Sharon Joy Blackman · 6 October 2026 · App Store
  • This is lovely
    “It would be greatly appreciated if it could be made very clear from the get go, that the certificate costs more than the actual course at our community Centre.”
    Jenny Smit · 6 October 2026 · App Store

Latest news

  1. Alison launches Workforce Certified for the US workforce system
  2. Alison concludes the On The Money pilot as 30 Irish credit unions join
  3. Alzheimer’s Disease International accredits nine Alison dementia courses
  4. Alison launches a psychometric suite in LMS+
  5. Alison says it has delivered €1.5 billion worth of free learning
  6. Alison graduates its one millionth learner in the United States

Contacts and company data

Legal entity
Capernaum Limited, trading as Alison, Mount Carmel, Loughrea, Co. Galway, H62 AV62, Ireland
Company number
383734, Ireland
Incorporated
26 March 2004
Status
Normal
Principal activity
NACE 72.20, software consultancy and supply
Trading names
Alison, Advance Learning
CPD UK provider number
13761

Alternatives to Alison

How we built this profile

  1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
  2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 7 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
  3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
  4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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Alison FAQ

Yes, for learning. All courses and assessments are free, with ads. Certificates and diplomas cost money. After passing, you can download a free Learner Record as proof that you completed a course.

Alison earns money from advertising, merchandise and the sale of certificates and diplomas, says its founder Mike Feerick. It also sells Alison Premium, offline learning in the app and the LMS+ plan for organisations.

In Alison’s price list on 7 October 2026 a digital certificate costs $29.28 (€27.95), a printed certificate $41.26 and a digital diploma $55.10 (€52). The price at checkout depends on the course, the country of your account and local taxes. Premium members get up to 50% off.

The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK) accredits Alison’s course publishing process, so a certificate can count towards CPD hours. Alison certificates are not degrees or regulated qualifications. Embassies do not attest them, and Alison says learners must check with employers and professional bodies before buying.

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