The Great Courses vs MZed
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Thousands of educational videos
- Courses by world-class professors
- Diverse subject matter
- Online and offline access
- Flexible learning pace
- Free trial available
Read full descriptionHide 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
MZed
Access a library of film-making education courses on your mobile device. Download lessons for offline viewing and learn on the go. Offers a Pro subscription for expanded access.
- Film making education courses
- Downloadable lessons
- Offline viewing
- Mobile access
- Pro subscription
Read full descriptionHide full description
Watch MZed’s film making education courses on your iPhone or iPad with the official MZed app. Download lessons to watch offline and on the go. Terms of use - https://www.mzed.com/terms-of-service Privacy policy - https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/8137241
Screenshots
Verdict
The Great Courses and MZed both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of MZed's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's. MZed also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.0). The Great Courses's advantage is ratings volume (17K vs 8) and chart position (#100 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and MZed sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $299.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
The Great Courses holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Great Courses has 17K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 40% of The Great Courses's written reviews are positive against 75% of MZed's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, MZed weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Great Courses | MZed |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (17K ratings) — better | 4.6 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 39.6% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #100 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Great Courses | The Dorsia Group LLC |
Customer experience
The Great Courses
MZed
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- Ability to browse other content while playing a lecture
- Note-taking during content and live closed captioning
- Ratings and reviews for content
MZed
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Great Courses
- TGCPlus Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Month
- Quarterly Subscription7 Days trial$44.993 Months
- TGCPlus Annual Subscription7 Days trial$149.991 Year
MZed
- MZed Pro$299.991 Year
- Lighting People - On Location$44.99
- The Language of Lighting$46.00
- Cinematography for Directors$56.99
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- The Art & Science of Lenses$57.99
- How to Start a Podcast$90.99
- Anamorphic Cookbook Part 2$113.99
- Definitive Guide to Resolve$129.99
- Panasonic EVA1 Camera Primer$149.99
- ARRI AMIRA Camera Primer$149.99
- The Secrets of Optics$149.99
- Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18.5$170.99
- ARRI Certified Camera Training$199.99
- Filmmaking for Photographers$229.99
- Art & Technique of Editing$249.99
- Master the Moment$284.99
- Mastering the Image$349.99
