# The Great Courses vs Below Me

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Below Me at 100% against The Great Courses's 40%. Below Me also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). The Great Courses's advantage is ratings volume (17K vs 1) and chart position (#101 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Below Me sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Below Me holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Great Courses has 17K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of The Great Courses's written reviews are positive against 100% of Below Me's.

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, Below Me daily. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Great Courses | Below Me |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/below-me/id6813999006/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **17K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 39.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#101** | — |
| Size | 120 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [The Great Courses](https://appshunter.io/developer/636818508) | [Marc Bachmann](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896278158) |

## What reviewers say

### The Great Courses

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

**Currently charting:** #101 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

Access thousands of educational videos taught by world-renowned professors. Explore diverse subjects like history, science, and philosophy with online and offline learning options. Enjoy a flexible learning experience at your own pace.

**Highlights:** Thousands of educational videos, Expert professors and specialists, 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


### Below Me

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/below-me/id6813999006)

This app uses your device's camera to show you countries and geographical features on the other side of the Earth. It provides a live augmented reality view of borders, sea names, and distances, allowing you to explore the planet from your current location or simulate others.

**Highlights:** Live AR view of country borders, Distance and direction readouts, Offline functionality, Simulate locations worldwide, Detailed geographical relief, Day-night line visualization

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Below Me Pro Version | $3.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Great Courses free?

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

### Is Below Me free?

Below Me is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, The Great Courses or Below Me?

Below Me is rated higher. The Great Courses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while Below Me averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do The Great Courses or Below Me have ads?

Neither The Great Courses nor Below Me shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Great Courses or Below Me?

The Great Courses ships an update fortnightly, and Below Me daily. Most recently, The Great Courses was updated on November 8, 2026 and Below Me on November 4, 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.*