# The Great Courses vs A Starting Point

The Great Courses and A Starting Point both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of A Starting Point's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's. A Starting Point also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). The Great Courses's advantage is ratings volume (17K vs 757) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. A Starting Point asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for The Great Courses against 4.9 for A Starting Point. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Great Courses has 17K ratings behind it against 757, 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 95% of A Starting Point's.

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, A Starting Point every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Great Courses | A Starting Point |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651/reviews) | **[4.9 (757 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-starting-point/id1500947762/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **17K** | 757 |
| Positive reviews | 39.6% of reviews | **95.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | **#93** | — |
| Size | 120 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [The Great Courses](https://appshunter.io/developer/636818508) | [A Starting Point Llc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1500947761) |

## What reviewers say

### The Great Courses

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651)

**Currently charting:** #93 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TGCPlus Monthly Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Subscription | $44.99 | per 3 months |
| TGCPlus Annual Subscription | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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!

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### A Starting Point

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-starting-point/id1500947762)

This app provides a bipartisan platform for Americans to communicate with their elected officials. It offers concise, video-based explanations of current issues to foster a more informed electorate.

**Highlights:** Bipartisan communication channel, Connect with elected leaders, Video-based issue explanations, Understand issues in under 2 minutes, Informed electorate creation

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Informative and unbiased
- 🚀 Concise and easy to digest
- 🔍 Provides direct access to politicians
- 💡 Facilitates bipartisan dialogue
- 👍 Visually appealing and intuitive

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional app crashes
- 🔍 Limited content and topics covered
- 🔍 Lack of closed captions or transcripts
- 🔍 Absence of independent or third-party perspectives

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen not functioning properly
- Video playback issues and stuttering

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Implement a way for users to submit questions
- Provide a filter to view content by home state
- Expand the range of topics and issues covered


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Great Courses free?

The Great Courses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is A Starting Point free?

A Starting Point is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Great Courses or A Starting Point?

A Starting Point is rated higher. The Great Courses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while A Starting Point averages 4.9 from 757 ratings.

### Do The Great Courses or A Starting Point have ads?

Neither The Great Courses nor A Starting Point shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Great Courses or A Starting Point?

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, and A Starting Point every 5 weeks. Most recently, The Great Courses was updated on October 29, 2026 and A Starting Point on October 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*