To create an e-learning app, you need to define your learning niche, integrate live or recorded learning features, and build a platform on a secure, scalable tech stack. In 2026, websites like Unacademy have transformed education through live classes and expert guidance. Thus, developing a similar app could bring quality education directly to learners’ fingertips, which will be discussed in this article.
Unacademy-Like eLearning App Market Overview
According to Custom Market Insights, the e-learning app market was valued at approximately USD 366 billion in 2025 and is expected to continue growing rapidly. Among all, India is one of the fastest-growing e-learning and mobile-learning markets, directly supporting Unacademy apps. Furthermore, India’s Online Education Market is estimated to be approximately USD 3.6 billion by 2025. Another report states that learning-related videos generate millions of views with a global share of 28% Asia and 35% North America.
As per the current segmentation data, corporate learning accounts for approximately 58% of total global e-learning usage. Surprisingly, corporate training alone generated about USD 245.5 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow at 13% CAGR through 2027. Factually, most industries are now leveraging e-learning for workforce development, given the global need for digital training.
Key Features of a Unacademy-Like App
To meet Unacademy learning app expectations, review the provided features and try to include them in your app:
1. Exam and Course Categories
Include clear exam categories, such as UPSC and NEET, to help users find the right content. Moreover, incorporate filters and search options to allow sorting by subject, level, and language.
2. Daily Live Classes
It allows educators to teach in real-time with audio/video and on-screen writing, giving students a sense of the classroom. Plus, class schedules and reminders ensure learners know when important live lessons are happening.
3. Live Interaction and Chats
With a live chat feature, students can send messages during classes and ask their teachers questions. Additionally, built-in live polls and quick quizzes enable instructors to assess understanding in real time.
4. Recorded Classes (Watch Later)
All or most classes should automatically record and be stored for students to watch later. Moreover, playback controls, such as pause, 1.25x/1.5x speed, and rewind, allow learners to revisit challenging sections multiple times.
5. Mock Tests and Exam Simulation
Full-length mock tests replicate the actual exam format, timing, and marking scheme, helping students manage pressure. Furthermore, detailed analysis by subject and topic shows a clear picture of where to focus next.
6. Lecture Notes and PDFs
Teachers can upload lecture notes as downloadable PDFs so students can review them without having to watch the entire video. Similar to the Unacademy website, it should include formulas, key points, and solved examples to serve as a quick revision guide.
7. Multi-Device Access
One subscription works across phone, tablet, and web, enabling learning to attend live classes from anywhere. Learning progress, watched minutes, and test history sync across devices, ensuring students can pick exactly where they left off.
8. Progress Tracking and Stats
A progress dashboard should include the number of classes attended, tests taken, and improvement trends over time. Most importantly, badges and small rewards encourage consistency for daily study habits among young learners.
9. Multi-Language Content
Courses, notes, and tests must be offered in multiple languages to enable learners from different regions to study and engage. Additionally, language filters on course lists help users to hide content they cannot follow or focus on.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an eLearning App Like Unacademy
For a similar app development, it’s important to understand what Unacademy is in terms of its learning model. From planning features to ensuring seamless performance, every step below plays a role in shaping a scalable app:
Step 1. Define Your Learning Niche and Users
First, decide what your app will focus on, for instance, test prep like UPSC/JEE, or professional skills. Moreover, define your main users (students or educators) and their goals to support them in every feature you build.
Step 2. Plan Core Features and User Roles
List down the main features, such as student profiles, course catalog, live classes, and recorded videos options. After that, define roles and permissions for admins, teachers, and students to know who can create courses or schedule classes.
Step 3. Design UX/UI and Learning Flows
Create wireframes showing how a learner will sign up, choose an exam/category, and join a live class. Additionally, keep screens clean with simple navigation, strong search, and visible progress tracking so even first-time users feel comfortable.
Step 4. Power Live Classes with ZEGOCLOUD Real-Time Interaction
Instead of building live classrooms from scratch, integrate ZEGOCLOUD Live Video SDK and real-time messaging capabilities to support large-scale, interactive online classes. ZEGOCLOUD enables low-latency live lectures, real-time Q&A, teacher–student interactions, and screen sharing, which are critical for exam preparation and concept-heavy courses. With built-in scalability and global infrastructure, it helps ensure stable class quality even during peak sessions with thousands of concurrent learners.
Step 5. Build Learning, Testing, and Content Tools
Next, implement course creation (modules and lessons), video uploads, and attachments for notes and homework. Add up tools like secure user authentication, question banks, and mock tests, assisting students to improve over time.
Step 6. Add Payments, Subscriptions, and Analytics
In addition to the above tools, you can integrate secure payment gateways to support subscriptions, course bundles, and discounts. Later, build a dashboard for admins and educators to track active users, class attendance, and revenue for better analysis.
Step 7. Test, Launch, and Iterate with Feedback
Run thorough testing on different devices and networks, especially for live classes and video playback. First, launch a beta with a small group of learners and teachers to gather feedback on app performance. Finally, assess class quality and continue improving features, content, or performance through regular updates.
Tech Stack You Need to Build an App Like Unacademy
While users ask, Is Unacademy free? The real strength lies in the technologies that enable both free and premium experiences. Therefore, have an overview of the listed stack to ensure your platform can support thousands of learners:
| Area | Recommended Options |
|---|---|
| Mobile App | React Native or Flutter |
| Web App | React.js, Vue.js, or Angular |
| Backend Framework | Node.js (Express/NestJS) or Python (Django/FastAPI) |
| Real-Time Classes & Chat | Integrate ZEGOCLOUD video call or voice call SDKs. |
| Database | PostgreSQL or MySQL (+ Redis cache) |
| Storage & CDN | AWS S3 + CloudFront or Google Cloud Storage + CDN |
| Notification and Messaging | Firebase Cloud Messaging, APNs, email/SMS provider |
| Auth and Security | OAuth 2.0 / JWT, HTTPS, role‑based access |
| Analytics and Monitoring | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, server logs/APM |
Why Choose ZEGOCLOUD for eLearning App Development?
One of the strongest choices for Unacademy-like apps is ZEGOCLOUD because it gives you ready-made building APIs. Its engine works across 1500-plus device models, supports up to 4K video with adaptive quality, and keeps calls stable. Moreover, Video Call SDK includes a screen-sharing feature that helps teachers elaborate on and explain their perspective. You can record video streams for later review and playback at your convenience.
With its Live Streaming API, instructors can interact with their students at a low latency of less than 300ms. Users can enhance live videos from low resolution to high resolution using the Super Resolution feature. Additionally, integrate the In-app Chat SDK to enable one-on-one chat with a student to address their queries. Impressively, you can conduct a group chat with multiple students or teachers on a specific course or topic.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App Like Unacademy
Estimating the cost to build a similar Unacademy learning app depends on several factors, including feature complexity. Therefore, the listed components collectively show the final cost to create a competitive e-learning platform like Unacademy:
| Stage | What it Covers | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery and Planning | Market research, scope, and basic documentation | $2,500-$5,000 |
| UI/UX Design | User flow, wireframes, and visual design for apps/web | $3,500-$7,000 |
| Frontend (mobile & web) | Android, iOS, and web interface learners and teachers use | $18,000-$28,000 |
| Backend and APIs | Server logic, database, APIs, and admin panel | $11,000-$19,000 |
| QA & Testing | Manual + automated testing on devices, fixing bugs | $3,000-$6,000 |
| Launch & Deployment | Store publishing, basic DevOps setup. | $7,00-$1,300 |
| Basic MVP Total | A simpler Unacademy-style MVP with limited features | $25,000-$35,000 |
| Full Product Total | Rich Unacademy-like app with core features | $38,000-$66,000 |
| Enterprise-Grade Platform | Large-scale platform with advanced live streaming + AI integration | $250,000-$500,000+ |
| Standard Education App Range | General range for education apps, from basic to very advanced. | $25,000-$300,000+ |
How Long Does It Take to Develop a Unacademy-Like App?
Developing a complete Unacademy-like app usually takes about 4 to 8 months with a skilled team. Research shows that a strong e-learning app with main teaching and management features often needs around 6 months to build. However, an app with medium-to-complex features typically takes more than 9 months to develop.
If you build only a basic MVP (Minimum Viable Product), the development process can be faster. According to Netguru, a simple first version of an app can be ready in about 3-4 months. Thus, a detailed e-learning product typically takes 12 months, after which you continue adding features.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we’ve found that e-learning apps like Unacademy have set a strong benchmark with live informational classes. For such a successful app, a well-planned learning model, user-focused features, and reliable infrastructure are needed, as explained. However, ZEGOCLOUD is introduced as an immense solution for developing a high-performance app with its pre-installed 20+ UIKits.
FAQ
Q1: How to make an e-learning app like Unacademy?
Start by defining your learning niche and target users, then design core features such as courses, live classes, and assessments. Use ready-made SDKs for live video and interaction to speed up development, and focus on scalability from day one.
Q2: How to start an eLearning platform?
To start an eLearning platform, choose a specific education segment, validate demand, and build an MVP with essential features like content management, live or recorded classes, and user analytics. You can later expand with subscriptions, exams, and certifications.
Q3: Can I create my own LMS?
Yes, you can build your own LMS by developing custom modules for user management, course delivery, and progress tracking. Compared to off-the-shelf LMS tools, a custom LMS gives you more flexibility in features, branding, and monetization.
Q4: How to create an educational app?
Creating an educational app involves defining learning goals, designing an intuitive user experience, building learning content and interaction tools, and testing across devices. Many teams use third-party APIs for video, chat, and analytics to reduce development time.
Q5: What features are essential for an e-learning app?
Core features usually include user accounts, course catalogs, video lessons, live classes, quizzes, progress tracking, and payments. Advanced apps may also support real-time interaction, analytics dashboards, and content moderation.
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