MasterClass vs Optimal State
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Optimal State
Track your mental and emotional state alongside physical sensations. Gain insights into your patterns with visual charts and receive personalized tools and suggestions for improvement. Daily reminders help you stay balanced and make positive life changes.
- Mental/Emotional State Tracking
- Body Feeling Assessment
- Visual Pattern Charts
- Daily Check-in Reminders
- Personalized Tools & Suggestions
- Intuitive Navigation
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Track your Mental/Emotional State & how that’s connected to how you feel in your body! We now have 6 assessment charts, 2 for Mental Health & 4 regarding how your body feels. Simply click on the app chart title at the top of the page to bring up the full list and choose one of the 6 chart options. Navigate Easily: We get it, navigating through apps can be stressful. We’ve designed our app to make things easier for you by being extremely intuitive. You will always be a click away from wherever you want to go – so there’s no stress. Our App is simple enough that we know your main focus will still remain on what really matters: improving your life! See our Getting Started Guide. Intuitive Way to Track: We have used colors and a visual representation to help you track your patterns more easily. We feel that the language of the red, blue, white and gold zones makes it easy for everyone to have self-awareness and check in throughout the day. Clear Snapshot of Habits & Patterns: Get a quick snapshot of your habits & patterns, giving you a better overview of your mental and physical health. Once you learn your personal patterns at different times of day, days of the week, months or seasons of the year, you will have valuable insight into why and how you get out of balance. Check in Reminder: Daily reminders for ideal times to have you check in will help us create personalized real-time targeted interventions to bring you back into balance. There are certain times of day that are the best time to check in, allowing us customize your intervention based on what might be most helpful at this particular point. Personalized Tools & Suggestions: Whether you’re looking for a way to change your energy levels, or trying to improve how you feel, or you want to have more contentment, we have the tools and suggestions that can help you change your life from the inside out. We offer personalized plans that will help bring out your state of health both mentally and emotionally, as well as on a physical level. The newest research in neuroscience is showing that our mental health resides not only in our brain, but also in our nervous system and our tissues. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
MasterClass and Optimal State both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Optimal State's written reviews are positive against 29% of MasterClass's. Optimal State also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). MasterClass's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (123K vs 4). 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. MasterClass sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $119.99 per year and Optimal State sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for MasterClass against 5.0 for Optimal State. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MasterClass has 123K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 29% of MasterClass's written reviews are positive against 100% of Optimal State's.
MasterClass ships an update every 3 weeks, Optimal State every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MasterClass | Optimal State |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (123K ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 123K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #35 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 128 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | MasterClass | Optimal State LLC |
Customer experience
MasterClass
Optimal State
Bugs and requests
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
Optimal State
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MasterClass
- MasterClass Individual$119.991 Year
- Duo (Free Upgrade)$179.991 Year
- All-Access Pass upgrade1 Year trial$179.991 Year
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- MasterClass Duo$179.991 Year
- Family (Free Upgrade)$239.991 Year
- MasterClass Family$239.991 Year
Optimal State
- Optimal State$4.991 Month









