# The Great Courses vs GCC Buddy

The clearest difference is update cadence: The Great Courses at fortnightly against GCC Buddy's every 5 months. The Great Courses also leads on chart position (#86 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and GCC Buddy sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, GCC Buddy every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and May 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Great Courses | GCC Buddy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **17K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 39.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#86** | — |
| Size | 120 MB | 146 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [The Great Courses](https://appshunter.io/developer/636818508) | [PAVI PUBLICATION PRIVATE LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1790866777) |

## What reviewers say

### The Great Courses

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

**Currently charting:** #86 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


### GCC Buddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gcc-buddy/id6502503545)

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Package - AT | $34.99 | one-time |
| Package - AX | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BB | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - AY | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BD | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BC | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BE | $44.99 | one-time |
| Package - BF | $49.99 | one-time |
| Package - BH | $49.99 | one-time |
| Package - BG | $49.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Great Courses free?

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

### Is GCC Buddy free?

GCC Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do The Great Courses or GCC Buddy have ads?

Neither The Great Courses nor GCC Buddy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Great Courses or GCC Buddy?

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, and GCC Buddy every 5 months. Most recently, The Great Courses was updated on September 27, 2026 and GCC Buddy on May 17, 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.*