Comparison

The Great Courses vs MasterClass

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Great Courses

Access thousands of educational videos from world-renowned professors and experts. Explore a vast range of subjects, from history and science to personal development, with flexible learning options available online and offline. Start your learning journey with a free trial.

Highlights
  • Thousands of educational videos
  • Courses by world-class professors
  • Diverse subject matter
  • Online and offline access
  • Flexible learning pace
  • Free trial available
Features
Read full description

Unlock your potential with The Great Courses, the premier platform for online courses that offers a wealth of educational videos to help you explore, learn, and grow in a wide variety of subjects. The Great Courses specializes in courses taught by the world’s greatest professors and experts covering diverse topics such as history, science, math, philosophy, religion, literature, health, travel, personal & professional development, and more. It’s the place to experience the pure joy of learning—anytime, anywhere. The Great Courses ensures an engaging and enriching learning experience for all. Catering to learners of all skill levels and interests, our platform provides the flexibility to deep-dive into specific topics or explore a variety of subjects at your leisure. The Great Courses grants seamless online and offline access to our extensive library of online courses, empowering you to learn and grow at your own pace. Existing users can sign in to access their purchases and subscription content, while new users can register and subscribe directly within the app to access thousands of educational videos online and offline for one low price. Optimized for iOS 15 and higher, The Great Courses offers a variety of subscription plans, along with a Free Trial to start your educational journey. Payment Details: - Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed or canceled by accessing your Apple account - If you cancel during a Free Trial period, you will have access until the end of the trial period Privacy Policy: https://www.TheGreatCourses.com/Privacy Terms of Service: https://www.TheGreatCourses.com/TOS

About

MasterClass

Learn new skills from world-renowned experts across a vast range of subjects. Access thousands of bite-sized lessons on professional development, creative arts, wellness, and more. Watch on any device, with offline options available.

Highlights
  • Learn from world-renowned experts
  • Vast range of premium courses
  • Thousands of bite-sized lessons
  • Accessible on multiple devices
  • Offline learning options
  • New content added regularly
Features
Read full description

LEARN FROM THE BEST. BE YOUR BEST. Build crucial skills so you can thrive at work, at home, and beyond. Whether you want to negotiate a raise, write a book, dial in your health, or perfect your baking techniques, our instructors—world-renowned experts, industry leaders, and cultural icons—are here for you. Check out our online courses, and get ready to learn new skills and thrive. A VAST RANGE OF PREMIUM COURSES Choose from classes on professional development, business, wellness, creative skills, food, writing, home & lifestyle, sports & gaming, music, photography, and more—all featuring MasterClass’s cinematic storytelling. 200+ EXPERT INSTRUCTORS. THOUSANDS OF LESSONS. Each class is broken up into bite-size lessons. Quit doomscrolling and binge a whole class—or learn new skills in just 5 to 10 minutes. EDUCATION THAT’S ACCESSIBLE ANYWHERE Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. For on-the-go learning, switch to audio mode or download select classes to build skills offline. BOOST YOUR CAREER WITH BUSINESS LEADERS Access business training courses taught by top leaders, including Martha Stewart, Mark Cuban, Bob Iger, Rich Paul, Sir Richard Branson, and Anna Wintour. IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH & WELLNESS Tap into expert-led educational videos on healing and boosting your gut, brain, and skin, plus courses on everything from menopause to meditation. COOK TO IMPRESS WITH WORLD-CLASS CHEFS Enjoy immersive cooking classes with culinary titans like Gordon Ramsay, Roy Choi, Dominique Crenn, Massimo Bottura, Wolfgang Puck, and Thomas Keller. FINISH YOUR BOOK WITH BESTSELLING WRITERS Break through blocks and get your work out in the world with writing courses from Malcolm Gladwell, Margaret Atwood, James Patterson, Amanda Gorman, David Sedaris, R.L. Stine, and more. LEARN TO BE LEGENDARY FROM ICONIC ARTISTS Hone your creative skills with the likes of Amy Poehler, John Legend, Mindy Kaling, Issa Rae, RuPaul, Steve Martin, Shonda Rhimes, and Helen Mirren. Music lessons and photography courses are also available. LEVEL UP YOUR GAME WITH ALL-STAR ATHLETES Find out how champions like Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams, Steph Curry, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Hawk, and Simone Biles (plus legendary coaches like Geno Auriemma and Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski) train and win. NEW CONTENT ADDED REGULARLY Extend your online learning journey with new classes, playlists, and even offers to meet with our instructors. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP TERMS The annual membership is an auto-renewing subscription plan. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and applicable notices below. Your Apple account will be charged the noted amount for the first year and will be charged annually thereafter at the then-current rate unless you cancel before the end of the current period. No refunds for partially unused periods. To cancel or update payment information, go to your App Store Subscriptions. See our Privacy Policy at https://www.masterclass.com/privacy See our Terms of Service at https://www.masterclass.com/terms CA Privacy Notice: https://www.masterclass.com/privacy/states#california For CA residents: Do Not Sell My Info: https://www.masterclass.com/privacy/states#do-not-sell

Screenshots

The Great Courses4 screens
MasterClass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: The Great Courses at free with in-app purchases against MasterClass's subscription. The Great Courses also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 29%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). MasterClass's advantage is ratings volume (123K vs 17K) and chart position (#27 vs #99). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and MasterClass sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $119.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for The Great Courses against 4.9 for MasterClass. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MasterClass has 123K ratings behind it against 17K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 40% of The Great Courses's written reviews are positive against 29% of MasterClass's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, MasterClass every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
The Great Courses versus MasterClass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Great CoursesMasterClass
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (17K ratings)4.9 (123K ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.6% of reviews — better28.8% of reviews
Number of ratings17K123K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#99#27 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB128 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperThe Great CoursesMasterClass

Customer experience

The Great Courses

All ratings17,169 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews313 reviews
Positive39.6%
Neutral13.7%
Negative46.6%

MasterClass

All ratings122,875 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews778 reviews
Positive28.8%
Neutral16.3%
Negative54.9%

User reviews

The Great Courses

From 17K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic, use it all the time
  • 👍 Excellent content and Outstanding Educators
  • 👍 best app you'll ever subscribe to
  • 👍 Math courses are phenomenal!
  • 👍 Loving the content in the app!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Ok content, weak app
  • 🐛 Broken
  • 🐛 Technical problems trying to cast
  • 🐛 Great content, poor streaming
  • 🐛 Far fewer courses than before? App VERY buggy

MasterClass

From 123K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great content from experts
  • 🤩 Inspiring and educational
  • 👍 High-quality production
  • 💡 Diverse range of topics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy app
  • 🤔 Confusing navigation and UI
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔌 Unreliable offline support

Bugs and requests

The Great Courses

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Audio goes out of sync with video
  • App constantly logs users out
  • Downloading content doesn't work offline
Show 3 more
  • Playback issues when switching between audio and video
  • Inconsistent behavior when pausing/resuming playback
  • Poor navigation and course tracking

Requested features

8 requests
  • Can we get a ton of courses on AI please, it's a mite urgent
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Allow audio-only downloads
  • Ability to download an entire course in one go
Show 3 more
  • Ability to browse other content while playing a lecture
  • Note-taking during content and live closed captioning
  • Ratings and reviews for content

MasterClass

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Downloaded content disappears
  • Playback issues and random pauses
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to download more content offline
  • Progress tracking and resume functionality
  • Filtering and sorting options
  • Transcript search and note-taking

In-app purchases

3 purchases

The Great Courses

Subscriptions3
  • TGCPlus Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Quarterly Subscription7 Days trial$44.993 Months
  • TGCPlus Annual Subscription7 Days trial$149.991 Year
6 purchases

MasterClass

Subscriptions6
  • MasterClass Individual$119.991 Year
  • Duo (Free Upgrade)$179.991 Year
  • All-Access Pass upgrade1 Year trial$179.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • MasterClass Duo$179.991 Year
  • Family (Free Upgrade)$239.991 Year
  • MasterClass Family$239.991 Year

Questions

Is The Great Courses free?
The Great Courses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MasterClass free?
MasterClass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Great Courses or MasterClass?
MasterClass is rated higher. The Great Courses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while MasterClass averages 4.9 from 123K ratings.
Do The Great Courses or MasterClass have ads?
Neither The Great Courses nor MasterClass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Great Courses or MasterClass?
The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, and MasterClass every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Great Courses was updated on October 20, 2026 and MasterClass on October 21, 2026.
Which is more popular, The Great Courses or MasterClass?
The Great Courses currently peaks at #99 in the App Store charts, and MasterClass at #27. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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