# BBC Maestro: Online Courses — user reviews > 117 indexed App Store user reviews of BBC Maestro by BBC Maestro, rated 4.90/5 from 959 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bbc-maestro-online-courses/id1631849210/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bbc-maestro-online-courses/id1631849210.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 881 · 4★ 45 · 3★ 18 · 2★ 7 · 1★ 8 ## What do users think of BBC Maestro? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Easy to use - 🚀 High-quality videos - 💡 Diverse range of courses - 👍 Excellent instructors - 👍 Engaging content - 👍 Informative and inspiring - 👍 Convenient for learning on the go - 👍 Great value for money **Cons** - 🐛 Buggy video player - 🔍 Limited course selection - 💰 Expensive subscription cost - 🤔 Unclear pricing information - 🔀 Distracting camera angle changes **Commonly reported bugs** - Video playback issues when casting or locking screen - Inconsistent video quality and resolution options - Subscription cost not clearly disclosed upfront **Most requested features** - Add a favorites or library section - Improve app navigation and functionality - Offer offline viewing or download options - Provide more resolution and quality settings - Integrate with TV platforms for easier viewing ## Newest reviews (15 of 117) ### 3/5 — Nice videos. Buggy app and expensive. *2026-06-11, version 2.9.3* The quality of the videos is good, with nice extra reading material from the experts; however, the app is very buggy after you watch a video. It's very frustrating to go to the next video or to come back to the main menu if you want to watch a different video. I always end up closing the app altogether and then going back in to get to the main menu. The other thing I'm not so keen on is the subscription. Why can't you just pay once? Everything has to be a subscription now. Let's pay for the rest of our lives, shall we? ### 3/5 — A few bugs *2026-03-24, version 2.7.0* Love the content so far, but there's a bug that requires me to open the account page every time I open the app in order to get it to load the fact that I have a paid membership. Also, there seems to be a bug with syncing my last viewed video. Also, a spinner sometimes shows over the video until I close and reopen it. ### 2/5 — App issues *2026-03-21, version 2.7.0* Despite having a subscription and being signed into my account, every time I try to watch a lesson it asks me to sign in and takes me around in circles. ### 3/5 — Nice app, varied content but too pricey *2026-02-24, version 2.6.2* This is a great app if you want to learn a bit about a broad variety of topics. The experts are great, the content is well presented. I’ve subscribed for a couple of years. It’s a good selection from a trusted brand. Unfortunately the annual subscription cost is too high to make it a viable long term auto-renew for me. This app has a value certainly, but not at the current full price point. I hope the developer reflects on this as, if more affordable, I’d continue to subscribe on auto-renew rather than what I’ve switched to - subscription gaps/relying on my memory to remember to subscribe in future. Hope that helps! ### 3/5 — Defaulting to landscape is frustrating *2026-01-29, version 2.6.1* The content is really good so far and I enjoy listening to it like a podcast because the video in my current lesson is just talking heads, doesn’t show me anything more than an audio book would. So it’s frustrating that when pressing play it automatically throws my phone in landscape viewer, making it difficult to switch apps and lessons. Personally I’d find it more usable if it defaults to a vertical player with episode info/other episode list underneath. And give me the option to play landscape if I’d like to. An example is trying to listen to it as a podcast but using gps navigation. Switching apps shouldn’t throw my phone into landscape mode it’s not ideal. Otherwise good content and app. ### 2/5 — What am I watching? *2026-01-16, version 2.6.1* It’s hard to navigate to courses that interest me because I can’t even tell (from the interface) what the courses are. So far, the content of the courses I’ve watched so far is excellent. The app, itself, is the problem and the reason for the low rating. Offering a list view or options for organizing a table of contents by subject matter would improve my user experience quite a bit. Now I just feel like I spend more time browsing and navigating than I do learning. Great potential, awkward execution. ### 4/5 — Great content *2025-11-19, version 2.4.6* The content is great. Getting different spective from authors is invaluable. The only complaint I have is the app can be a little flakey ### 3/5 — Landscape and progression *2025-10-12, version 2.4.6* The content is great but this is about the app itself. It defaults to landscape, which is fine for the video, but makes it difficult to open and close the app. And it isn’t easy to progress from one lesson to the next. Both of these issues make it difficult to safely just set it to play whilst driving, if you just want to listen to it. How do you get it to go straight onto the next episode by default? ### 3/5 — Landscape and progression *2025-06-13, version 2.4.6* The content is great but this is about the app itself. It defaults to landscape, which is fine for the video, but makes it difficult to open and close the app. And it isn’t easy to progress from one lesson to the next. Both of these issues make it difficult to safely just set it to play whilst driving, if you just want to listen to it. ### 5/5 — Fab *2025-05-24, version 2.4.5* Absolutely love this, have dipped into all sorts of courses I wasn’t expecting to be interested in. Can’t wait to see what’s next. ### 3/5 — Not great for iPhone or iPad *2025-03-31, version 2.4.4* How can somebody make an app for the iPhone or iPad nowadays and not design it so that that little white line at the bottom of the screen especially when you flip it horizontally doesn’t go away? I don’t know why Apple has it, but It’s an annoying white line that your programmers need to actually make sure doesn’t exist. So it’s just this distracting annoying thing. It’s such a basic feature you have to have for the app and this is the BBC we’re talking about. ### 5/5 — Art of Influence- Eve Poumpouras *2025-03-25, version 2.4.4* Fantastic, well captured, great person, perfectly executed with great information. The underlying message was just listen and be kind… that’s the most powerful tool in the world. Thank you so much Evy! ### 5/5 — outstanding! *2025-02-08* loved the alan moore and marco pierre white courses, looking forward to learning more! a "favorites" section would be a great addition to the interface :-) ### 5/5 — Sooooo much better than the “other one” *2025-02-07, version 2.4.3* My title is true for me but I guess it depends on the actual courses and their relevance to you / each individual person. For me, Mo Gawdat and Steven Bartlett’s courses are revolutionary and will hopefully stay with me for life. I love the format and quality of content, but most importantly, they’ve both bought lots and lots of content that I’ve not seen before despite reading their books and following them. Highly recommended even if you think there’s nothing more to see…. There is! ### 5/5 — Wonderful *2025-01-29, version 2.4.0* A feast for the curious! Lovely bite-sized pieces to “grow our minds”. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Great content but horrible app *2026-03-22, version 2.7.0* Just such a bad app. They really need to work on this. Again, the review is for the app not the content. ### 1/5 — Limited course selection *2026-01-11, version 2.6.1* The courses on this platform are not updated very often. Nicely filmed and put together but not worth the spend, limited selection, celeb courses but not impressive enough for the asking subscription fee. ### 1/5 — Download option not useable without internet connection. *2025-06-19, version 2.4.6* i get errors anytime I try and watch downloaded videos offline telling me there was an error and to try later. As soon as I bring the internet connection back all is fine . Opened a support case and they told me you cannot watch the content offline , only when you have an internet connection. If that’s the case why is there a download option at all and why does it claim you can “download and watch from anywhere “ . ### 1/5 — Very little real content *2025-06-01, version 2.4.5* Very hard to find interesting courses. Very light on content especially given the high subscription fee. ### 1/5 — Dysfunctional Video Player - Prepare to be Annoyed *2025-01-18, version 2.4.0* The content is great, but the video playback is atrocious. If you cast to your television, you can’t pause a video without resetting the entire chapter; and if your phone falls asleep and you open it up again, the whole video resets on your phone while continuing to play on your television. It’s surprisingly irritating how often this happens. You have to constantly scroll through the video to where you last left off. The design of this app is so faulty they might as well lease the content to YouTube or Prime Video because watching it on their application will get so frustrating, you’ll barely get through a full course. Pathetic. ### 1/5 — I already pay my TV licence fee *2025-01-04, version 2.4.0* This is a disgrace. I will be writing to my MP to ensure this is properly looked in to. ### 1/5 — Over £100! *2025-01-02, version 2.4.0* When you already pay for a tv licence why is the bbc charging over £100 for a year subscription to this? This could be a really good idea but I can’t believe they’re really charging for this. There’s so much free information out there. Shame on them for being so greedy ### 1/5 — No resolution settings ? Why use this? *2024-12-25, version 2.4.0* Unless I’ve missed it, where’s a setting so you can control the video quality? The browser allows you to choose various resolutions so you can stream the courses depending on your connection, I fully expected the app to have this and more features. So unable to get a high enough stream and control the stuttering I’ve gone back to using my browser. I would also like to mention that using safari on the iPad doesn’t show you a resolution setting, yet it shows in the chrome browser. In that browser the fulllscreen option doesn’t appear to be working as of this review. Kind of disappointed as this was a Xmas gift and it’s been a poor ride trying to watch the course I was gifted this far. ### 1/5 — Cost of using app not stated before creating an account *2024-12-09, version 2.3.9* No warning about the actual cost to use this app, until after you have created an account. ### 2/5 — Very annoying video player *2026-08-05, version 2.10.3* Please make it so it does not default to only full screen. Just show the video with the playlist underneath like YouTube unless I press full screen. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Mint-deluxe *2026-07-07, version 2.9.3* Shared hands on learned experience - fact not theory. ### 5/5 — Anxious Self *2026-03-31, version 2.7.0* What an enlightening , informative course. It has enabled me to reflect on who I am and why I get anxious in certain situations. I am looking forward to working along side my anxious self to apply a steadier , calmer approach to many aspects on my everyday life. Hopefully feeling more contentment ### 5/5 — Excellent *2026-03-28, version 2.7.0* I like how the talks are broken down into bite size chapters. I’ve been listening to the lesson about anxiety. The content has been excellent; informative and easy to follow. ### 5/5 — Great value *2026-02-07, version 2.6.1* High-quality format and strong instructors. Hooked! ### 5/5 — Courses good but app not so good *2026-01-12, version 2.6.1* I am enjoying the courses but I constantly get thrown out and have to reengage even though I’m logged in. It will be a long year if it’s not fixed ### 5/5 — Great Inspiration *2025-11-24, version 2.4.6* I’ve been wanting to write a fiction story for quite some time now, but I didn’t know where or how to begin. Thanks to a commercial that I saw with Harlan Coben advertising for his BBC Maestro course, I got started and I am half way done! It’s an inspirational course and a great resource. I can’t wait to finish and publish my book. ### 5/5 — Enjoyable learning *2025-10-11, version 2.4.6* Excellent range of courses with the best teachers. Really engaging, keeps you coming back for more! I’m in my second year of subscribing.. ### 5/5 — Great *2025-08-30, version 2.4.6* These courses are taught by the people that you wished you had had teaching you at school, university and in life. Unfortunately, people this good at conveying subject matter are rare in life. Each course is brilliantly taught, the information available and easy to understand sections and the software does not get in the way of learning. Treat yourself, who would not want to be a fabulous mixologist, design rooms that are inspiring to live in and cook in a way that puts a smile on your face and on others. Highly recommended. ### 5/5 — Scott Lycett *2025-06-15, version 2.4.6* I love Scott! All the way from Australia and could listen to him all day. Can’t wait to try some of these beautiful arrangements and put into practice what I have learnt. Thank you so much. So have I found this site ### 5/5 — Not what I expected *2025-05-29, version 2.4.5* Every course I’ve taken on BBC Maestro has taught me something new. Which means that each course has had a perspective that I was not expecting. I came in thinking I was going to learn one thing and the instructor has asked me to reconsider. What they taught me was of more value than what I was seeking. To me, that’s true learning. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*